Weight Loss Plateaus: A Good Thing?

If you've ever tried to lose weight (and I assume that almost everyone has), then you've probably experienced a weight loss plateau (or a stall in weight loss) at some point.  Weight loss plateaus can be a seriously frustrating experience, so let me tell you why I think weight loss plateaus are a GOOD thing, and why you need to honor them. 

Every body has a set point weight. The set point is your "happy weight," or the weight that your body fluctuates around give or take 4-5lbs.  Now, when you're trying to lose weight, you need to train your body to reset your set point to a new, lower one, and sometimes that happens during a plateau. 

Let's say you're 200lbs, trying to reach 150.  You get to 175, and all of a sudden, the weight loss stops.  What are you doing wrong? Nothing!  Some folks want to know every tip and trick to bypass a plateau like this and continue pressing on toward the end goal, but I caution you to not blow right past it, and here's why.  

What is happening in a plateau, is that your body is now resetting its set point to the new weight.  It's resetting from 200 to 175.  Even though your goal is 150, you want your set point to slowly decrease as you get closer to your goal, so that when you do reach your end goal, your body isn't doing everything it can to go back up and reach that original 200.  When you honor the plateau at 175, now your new set point has a chance to become 175, and that's what your body becomes happy with. 

Once you do hit your end goal of 150, you now must maintain it in order for it to become your new set point.  This can take years.  Ideally, if you lose weight, you want to stay at that weight/keep the weight off for 1 year, in order to find long term success at maintaining the new weight.  

Check out my video below to learn some more insights on why honoring a weight loss plateau may be just what you need.