I've come to discover that getting healthy is like going through labor.... there is conflicting advice about everything. Everyone wants to share their successes and their horror stories. And their 1 in a million event that only they have ever experienced. Sometimes the water breaks, sometimes labor is induced. Some go all natural, some get as many drugs as possible. It's all so different for everyone.
But the other day Crisanne brought out a good point. How do you get past a plateau?
This is a good question. One I've been reading/thinking/asking/researching a lot about. It's something I dread happening again. How to we avoid or overcome it?
So here's what I've discovered either has worked for me or several different sources seem to agree with. It's my own birthing story, if you will, of how to get past a plateau.
FUEL
First and foremost, make sure you have enough fuel for your body. This is the part that I have the most questions about. Five small meals? Three regular meals and a snack? No snack? Big breakfast? Big lunch? How many calories? How many carbs, protein or fat? How do you eat healthily but keep the kids satisfied too? Can my grocery bill afford it?
I thought I had all this figured out until I got sick last week. I'm trying a few new things. I've decided to start using Calorie Count from about.com. You set up your personal information and it takes into consideration your activity level and fitness goals. I did read the best advice about how much to eat at which times of day: everyone is different, find what works for you. Your lifestyle, schedule, and physical demands are different than others'.
STRENGTH TRAIN
Here's something I didn't know.... Your body protects its fat. Simply said, your body will get rid of excess muscle before it will use its fat to burn fuel. So, you have to use and develop your muscles so your body will revert to burning fat. Plus, muscle will help your metabolism function much better.
Don't worry about getting all huge and buff. Just learn how to gain the type of muscle you want. Heavy weight with fewer reps will give you muscle mass. Lower weight with higher reps will give you long, lean muscles.
MUSCLE CONFUSION
Your body is always trying to find stabilize itself. That's why we get plateaus in the first place. One thing we can try is confusing our muscles. Alternate workouts. If you do a lot of running, add some swimming in there. Alternate videos. Try a different time of day. If you always workout in the morning, your body begins to prepare for your workout before you even change into your workout clothes. Let your body think it's going to work out and begin getting hyped up for it, but trick it by exercising in the afternoon instead. It'll burn more calories throughout the day. Tricky, eh?
Don't get stuck in a rut with the same old thing all the time. Try a new what, when, where, or how.
RECOVER
I read that you want to take in carbs and protein 15 to 60 minutes after your workout. You want the protein for your muscles and the carbs to keep up your energy.
Are you getting enough vitamins and minerals from your diet? Do you need a multi-vitamin? Mostly likely, a vitamin will be sufficient and you don't need to run out and get whey or something similar.
Get enough sleep. Josh brought up a good point. If you are the perfect Molly Mormon Momma and you fulfill your calling, and take the kids to soccer/band/mutual/Scouts/piano, and you work out twice a day, and you make love to your husband seven days a week (his example, remember), and you care for your garden, etc, you will still hit a plateau and stop losing weight if you are only getting five hours of sleep a night.
Hydrate yourself. I don't know that many of us can confidently say that we get enough water every single day. We need to replenish the water we've lost while sweating but also flush out all the impurities.
So, those are the things I've decided may be helpful. At least for me. Remember, every body is different. And adding a strength training routine may take a couple of weeks to see results. Muscle weighs more than fat (yadda, yadda) and adding muscle will change your inches a little. At least at first.
Maybe see if any of these things are worth trying. Give it a few weeks. And hopefully we'll all get through the plateau periods somewhat easily.
2 comments:
Thanks Shelly! I know that Jon has always done better with weight loss when he "mixes it up" a little bit. he's always been a runner and could run every day and not lose a pound, but when he adds bicycling to the mix, he tricks his body and burns more calories by using the different muscles.
I just wish I knew what was going on inside my body to help me figure out why it is reacting the way it is.
Good luck with the rest of the week!
Hey Shelly! This is Jeri Dawn...I'm apparently in my husband's account...
I feel like I have been lost in a whirl-wind and haven't been on here in a while. So, I will tell you...last week I only ran twice. But that's okay. It was Jason's marathon week and I really wanted to be able to do everything possible to support him and help him reach his goals. AND we had a Russian "elite" runner come stay with us. He was full of knowledge! And I think I learned something from him....
Sasha (the Russian) has been running for many, many years and wins marathons regularly. We had a little chat. We talked about the programs like coach potato to 5K and many of the other 16-18 week programs. I tried these programs and failed because my body couldn't do it. Even with cutting back on their recommended miles and amount per week. His advice was something like.....running is a natural thing, but like learning a new language it doesn't come naturally at first. But it can, over time. His recommendation was for me to run a small amount of miles every day (two) and then double that amount on Saturday. And do this for 3-4 weeks. You want to run a small enough amount that your body doesn't have to recover each time. What can you run right now, every day? Then give your body enough time to adjust and get used to it. Then after a month, increase. Go to 3 miles every day and then 6 on Saturday.
I love this! Most of the other programs are too fast and this is why we get knee and hip and whatever injuries. TIME! It's about time.
Not to discourage, or negate what you are doing or learning...but this is my new course of action...and if you find that your current one isn't working, here is another option!
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