From the Desk of Dr. Koop
Jump Off That Weight Loss Plateau

By Serena Gordon
drkoop.com Health Correspondent

You've followed your diet faithfully, watching every morsel that passes your lips. And, every day, rain or shine, you've been out there exercising. So, why has it been weeks since the numbers on the scale have budged?

You've probably hit a weight loss plateau, as many dieters do. "A weight loss plateau is when during the course of a weight loss regimen, weight loss stalls or stops," says Karen Miller-Kovach, a chief scientist for Weight Watchers International. Fortunately, there are as many ways off a plateau as there are ways to get stuck on it. But first you have to figure out what caused your weight loss to stall. Take Notes One of the biggest causes of weight loss plateaus is that dieters stop paying enough attention to what they're eating and how much they're exercising as time goes by. "The vast majority of weight loss plateaus are caused by a loosening of compliance to your weight loss regimen," says Miller-Kovach. "As time passes, you're not as dedicated as you used to be." "A lot of times it is just mental," concurs Amy Stachnik, an exercise physiologist at the Rippe Lifestyle Institute at Florida Hospital's Celebration Health facility in Celebration, Fla. "You get fired up at first and then fall off the wagon. People get a little bit lax." Size Does Matter Another reason weight loss stops is because you need fewer calories as you lose weight. "As you get smaller, you require fewer calories because there's less of you there," said Miller-Kovach. According to Samantha Heller, R.D., a senior clinical nutritionist at New York University Medical Center, plateaus are often just the body's way of adjusting to fewer pounds. "You have to be patient with the body until it adjusts to a lower metabolic rate," says Heller. Oddly enough, the cause of your plateau could be that you're doing too well on your diet. If you're restricting calories too much, your body may go into starvation mode and do what it can to hold on to extra weight. "If someone is losing weight too quickly, the body will freak out and metabolism will slow down because it thinks it's starving," says Heller.

Sometimes the cause of plateaus is something you have little control over -- water retention. Women, due to fluctuations in their hormone levels, can retain as many as several extra pounds of water without even feeling bloated, according to Miller-Kovach. But once you've recognized what's causing your weight loss plateau, you can take the proper steps to correct the problem. See the Pattern For example, if your weight loss has stalled because you haven't been paying close enough attention to what you eat, start writing down what you're eating everyday. It's very important to be aware of what you're eating because it's easy to unconsciously add several hundred calories a day, says Heller. And you don't have to be meticulous about keeping a food journal. Miller-Kovach suggests developing a shorthand system that works for you, and points out that knowing what you've eaten can help you truly see what your eating patterns are and what you might need to change. She also suggests measuring out portions again, as you may have done when you started to lose weight. A cup of pasta can easily become a cup and half if you're just eyeballing portion sizes.

Hitting a weight loss plateau also means it's a good time to reevaluate your caloric needs. If you've lost weight, you generally need to eat fewer calories per day. Of course, it's just as important to make sure your body is getting enough calories so that it doesn't go into starvation mode, which will lower your metabolism. For the average healthy person, daily caloric intake shouldn't go below 1200 calories, unless you're on a medically supervised weight loss plan, according to Heller. "Weight loss should be about one to two pounds a week," said Heller. And, if you have less than 10 pounds to lose, a half a pound a week is a reasonable loss, according to Stachnik. Anyone losing weight faster than that is probably not eating enough.

The Truth Hurts

If you haven't yet added exercise to your weight loss program, now is a good time to do it. The more exercise you do, the more muscle mass you build, and muscle burns more calories when you're resting than fat does. Aerobic exercise is great for the heart and to help losing weight, but strength training will help keep your metabolism running higher, reports Stachnik. She recommends weight lifting at least two to three times per week, and working out all of your major muscle groups each time you do it. Variety isn't only the spice of life, it's the key to maintaining your weight loss success. It's easy to get complacent if you keep things the same, says Miller-Kovach. By changing what you eat or where you eat it, you have the start of thinking about your diet again, which could be just the kick-start your weight loss needs. So, if you've been eating three square meals a day, try having four to six mini-meals instead. If you've been walking every day, try cycling one or two days a week for a change, recommends Stachnik. "You need to challenge your body and surprise it," she said. If you know you're doing everything right and the scale still reads the same thing every week, you could be retaining water. To lose excess water, try exercising, which Miller-Kovach says helps your body to release water. And, try drinking extra water -- the more you drink, the less your body feels the need to hold on to it.

Don't Give Up

It's also important to realize that you will lose a lot more weight in the first few weeks of a weight loss plan than you will later on. In the beginning, dieters tend to lose a lot of water weight, which is why you can lose four or five pounds the first week on a diet. "Weight loss generally isn't very steady," says Miller-Kovach. "Know you're doing the right thing and keep the faith."

GOOD LUCK IN LOSING THE WEIGHT,
YOU CAN DO IT...............

THEN YOU'LL SAY WITH PRIDE TO YOUR ADMIRERS,
"THAT'S ME"