Secret to Unlocking Your Weight Loss Plateau

Secret to Unlocking Your Weight Loss Plateau

How many diets are out there? Thousands. Everywhere you hear about how successful they are, how beneficial, how fast will they work. Have you ever tried them? If yes, you should know that what theirs creators will tell you just benefit them. They never, ever mention negative side of any diet. Diets are bad and have negative impact on our health. Have you ever wondered why most of diets fail? Have you ever heard of famine reaction?

Famine reaction – is a roadblock to a weight loss. When on diet, you usually do fine until the feeling of hunger increases and the weight loss effect rapidly slows down.

Why is that happening?

This is scenario for every single extreme diet. You start of and then after a while you start feeling extremely hungry. It is not everything. Even though you continue on your diet, your weight loss either dramatically slows down or stops.

Your body acts like it is not going to see food ever again and slows down its functions. This is the reason why every single diet fails.

Researchers from University of Sydney were investigating the Famine reaction. Dr Salis discovered that Famine reaction not only triggers hunger, but also lowers movements, energy levels and metabolic rate.

Dr Salis performed her research on hundreds of obese women. She said ”people can lose up to 20-24 kg  in three months compared to 5-10 kg on conventional diet”.

She discovered that extremely low calorie diets needs medical supervision because they can lead to kidney and liver issues.

It is not recommended to leave weight loss for later. People keep saying I will lose it after my promotion, after  Christmas, next month. Don’t say it. Start now, before your weight will change from overweight to obese. Take action now.

What is the bottom line here?

Being on a restricted calorie diet for prolong time is dangerous and eventually will make you feel hungry. There is a way to get around it and make it work after all, looking for steady weight loss.Think of intermittent fasting – you are lowering your calories only two days a week. If you cut calories to around 800 a day (extremely low calorie diet) just after few days you will feel hungry and unwell.

“Famine reaction happens when you are eating less than your body needs, and when you are losing weight”.

“Famine reaction is design to slow down your metabolism so you can survive with less food”

This is the main reason why you stop losing weight at some point in every diet.

How to recognize if your famine reaction has kicked in?

Let’s say you exercise regularly and are careful with what you eat. After weekly steady weight loss suddenly everything stops. Then you may feel extremely hungry, and have strong urge to eat fat food especially.

Symptoms of famine reaction:

• urgent need for fat food
• feeling lethargic
• feeling cold- low metabolic rate

Fact!  Most people that have lost excess weight will gain it back within few years.

Why we are overeating?

• stress
• sadness
• large meal sizes
• long working hours and environment
• processed food

It’s all brain work;

Famine reaction is controlled by pat of your brain called the hypothalamus. This tiny part of your brain recognises that you are losing weight. It then starts a series of chemical reactions that initiate famine reaction. It usually kicks in when you lose around 8% of yore body weight.

Can we trick famine reaction, and keep losing weight? YES!

• Exercise – if you exercise without eating more, your body may be triggered to start famine mode. Regular physical activity along with eating food that is nutritious without starving yourself may help to deactivate famine reaction.
• Drinking water, eating celery or carrots to mask hunger will do nothing to stop your famine reaction.
• The less you eat while trying to lose weigh, the stronger famine reaction is going to be.

Solution – for few weeks you need to start eating slightly more than your weight loss diet is telling you. For instance- if you were on 800 calories per day, increase your calorie intake to 900-950 calories per day. If you do that, your weight loss will be more successful in the long run.

• To beat hunger mode pick nutritious food that will keep you full.

You will not put more weight on by eating nutritious food. You will put weight though by eating anything you can find.

The best choices;

• salad
• whole grains
• eat only when you feel hunger and stop when that feel it is gone

The bottom line here is: diets are not good, especially extremely low calorie ones. By starving yourself or cutting your calories too much your body turns on a famine reaction, to help your survive dangerous times. Instead of dieting, exercise regularly and eat more nutritious food. If your famine mode kicks in, eat few calories more for few days to trick it and your weight will start dropping again.

Now, once you know the reason why you are not losing weight anymore, are you ready to make some changes? How much more you want to lose?