occurs around the five to 10 per
cent mark.”
Dr Helena Popovic, an expert
in applying brain science
research to weight loss, adds
that plateaus can occur to give
the body a chance to naturally
adapt to its new weight.
“A good analogy is this: You
know when people climb
mountains and the air becomes
thinner? You’ll find you’ll start
struggling for air, but if you stay
at that altitude for a while your
body will adjust,” Popovic says.
“It’s a similar thing with
weight loss. Your body just needs
time to adapt to the new state.”
Hitting a plateau isn’t a sign
you should give up on your goal.
“It doesn’t mean anything’s
wrong,” Popovic says. “Just
keep reminding yourself howfar you’ve come and how much
better you feel. This is a time to
pause, reassess, write down all
the positive changes you’ve made
and all the positive benefits
you’ve gained beyond just the
fact you’ve changed your weight.”
Congratulate yourself, then
keep your eye on the goal with
these expert tips.EAT MORE
PROTEIN
“If you’re not meeting your
daily protein requirements you
may be losing muscle mass,
and that has a very long-term
impact upon your metabolism,”
McGrice says. “So make sure
that any eating plan you
follow meets your protein
requirements and doesn’t cause
any muscle-mass loss.”N
ot only did you feel
the great changes
taking place, but you
could see them as the number
on the scales dropped. But
then something happened:
the numbers have stopped
moving and they’ve been
stuck for a few weeks now.
You’ve hit a plateau.
But don’t give yourself a hard
time, because many of us go
through the exact same thing.
“You are always going to
hit a plateau at some point,
it’s just a matter of when,”
explains accredited practising
dietitian Melanie McGrice.
“You could be 80kg and
lose the first five to 10kg quite
easily, but then that’s where
you might plateau. Many
people find their plateau“
Just keep reminding
yourself how far
you’ve come and how
much better you feel.
38 weightwatchers.com/nz