Question
During a weight loss program, after a period of time some people eventually stop losing weight. In this case, do we have to change the nutrition plan or change the exercise intensity?
Answer
Achieving your goal weight can be challenging. While weight tends to come off fairly rapidly at first, at some point, it seems as though your weight won’t budge. So here are few tips for breaking your weight loss plateau:
1. Reducing your carb intake may help get your weight moving in the right direction again when you feel hopelessly stalled. It increases fat burning and promotes other metabolic changes that favor weight loss.
2. Revving up your exercise regimen may help reverse a weight loss plateau. This is because, unfortunately, your metabolic rate slows down as you lose weight. Performing exercise, especially strength training, can help offset the drop in metabolic rate during weight loss.
3. Researchers have reported that people tend to underestimate the amount of food they eat. Tracking your calories and macronutrients — protein, fat, and carbs — can provide concrete information about how much you’re taking in. This will allow you to modify your diet if needed. Besides, research suggests that the act of recording your food intake alone may enhance your weight loss efforts
4. If your weight loss has stalled, increasing your protein intake may help. This has to do with the thermic effect of food (TEF), or increase in metabolism due to the digestion of food. Protein digestion boosts calorie burning by 20–30%, which is more than twice as much as fat or carbs. Moreover, maintaining a high protein intake can help protect against the loss of muscle mass and a drop in metabolic rate, both of which typically occur during weight loss.
Bibliography:
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19927027/
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18356845/
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21367948/
The FAQ is part of the online nutrition course at Institute Nutrition. For more information on the course click here: https://institutenutrition.com/courses/fitness-trainers-nutrition-fuel-your-clients-workout/