It is when one has lost a substantial amount of weight, that one hits a plateau.
The weight loss beyond the 10% is what is the more difficult part and with the same amount of effort and caloric restrictions one finds no progress being made.
The problem here is that the body’s defense mechanism against weight loss kicks in which is why you have to:
- Increase activity. Not only is it the genes that prevent further weight loss, hormones also have an impact. After menopause women find their metabolism slows down and they find that they expend fewer calories than before. So what was getting results earlier won’t do the job any more. Duration or intensity of workouts would therefore have to be increased.
- Track intake: It is easy to lose track of what you eat and drink, with the accent being on drink. Often we don’t take into account calories that may come from beverages and snacks. This is what adds up. However when you keep a scrupulous account of total calories consumed you are more likely to be able to lose weight.
- Combine good diet with exercise: understand what when one loses weight and gets smaller, fewer calories than before are required to do the same activities. Also only controlling diet is not easy. It has to be balanced with appropriate activity and exercise. This is because when deprived of calories, the body will burn muscle rather than fat, which is why one needs to maintain a proper balance of exercise and diet control.