Getting through a weight loss plateau

Q. Help! I've lost 26 pounds since last October but I seem to have reached a plateau. How can I continue losing weight?

A. First of all, take a deep breath and congratulate yourself for a big accomplishment! Losing 26 pounds in eight months is a big deal. It's also exactly the way we would suggest that you go about weight loss: slow and steady.  Good for you!  But now you've reached a plateau.  Let's see if we can help.

You don't say how close you now are to your goal weight (5 more pounds to go or 50?), which might be an important key.  Nonetheless, I've asked each of our experts to offer some suggestions on breaking through weight loss plateaus:

Weight loss coach Elaine Murphy points out that your caloric needs change as you lose weight. That is, as you get smaller, it takes fewer calories to maintain your weight. To continue losing at the same rate, you'll need to gradually adjust your calorie intake downward.  You might want to check back in with the Daily Needs Calculator to see how many calories it takes to maintain your new weight. To lose one pound a week, you'll need to create a deficit of approximately 500 calories per day.

Basically, there are two ways to increase your calorie deficit: one is to eat less and they other is to exercise more. The best of all worlds is to combine a little of each. (See Monica's post on different ways to create calorie deficits.)

Registered Dietitian Dana Lilienthal suggests that it might be helpful to keep a detailed food log, if you're not already doing this. (Nutrition Data's Total Consumption Report is perfect for this.) A detailed analysis may reveal some surprises about your diet--such as hidden sources of fat and calories that you may not be aware of.

For example, Dana says, you may be taking in more fat than you realize if you are not choosing lean cuts of protein.  If your meal plan includes a serving of chicken, for example, choosing dark meat instead of white can add 6 extra grams of fat and 50 extra calories (even if you avoid the skin)!

When you had more to lose, these small differences might not have mattered as much. As you get closer to your goal, though, you may need to tighten things up a little more.

Elaine Murphy also recommends that you:

"Check your portion sizes by actually measuring and weighing your food for a few days for real accuracy. Do I hear more complaining?  It can be an eye opener. Studies have proven that most people under report how much they are actually consuming by 40%!(Heymsfield SB, the Calorie Myth, Measurement and Reality. Am J Nutr 1995:62)"

Our exercise expert, Steve Cabral, suggests that if exercise is not currently a part of your weight loss efforts, adding exercise is a great way to break through a plateau. If you're already exercising, Steve suggests that, instead of doing more of what you are currently doing, you should:

"throw your old program directly out the window. You have to switch things up and force your body to keep up with your new routine. This means that your mind and body are going to have to figure out how to handle the new weights, exercises, reps, tempo, or all four. By literally shocking your body with new techniques you're going to burn more calories and speed up your metabolism.

For example, if you're someone who is used to do long cardio sessions on the treadmill or elliptical, then hop off and start doing some shorter sprints. Better yet, get your heart rate pumping by including some squats, deadlifts, lunges, or step-ups to burn calories, boost your metabolism, and tone your muscles all at the same time.

Lastly, if you switch up your program every 4 weeks you'll be far more successful at never hitting a plateau again!"

Finally, it may be that your body (not to mention you) might benefit from a brief respite from active weight loss.  Take a few weeks to allow your body to adjust to the weight you've lost and stabilize, without trying to lose more weight.  Use the Daily Needs Calculator to estimate the number of calories you need and simply focus on eating a healthy, balanced, nutrition diet that allows you to maintain your current weight.

This would also be an ideal time to take your fitness program up a notch as you will have a little more food energy in your diet to fuel your workouts.  After a few weeks of stabilization, launch the next phase of active weight loss by cutting back on calories and increasing your calorie deficit.

Whatever you do, don't give up! You've come a long way so far. With a little patience, you can and will reach your goal! Log in to the Nutrition Data Diet and Weight Loss Center for a daily dose of expert advice, inspiration, tips, recipes, and support.

Can you lose weight without exercising?

Q. My frustration is that I have no time to exercise, yet I eat very carefully. Is it at all possible for an aging 45-y.o. man to diet himself to better health without any substantive exercise?

A. Depends on what you mean by "better health!"

It's absolutely possible to lose weight without exercising. If you take in fewer calories than you burn, over time you will lose weight. For that matter, it's possible to lose weight eating nothing but junk food. The same math applies: As long as you take in fewer calories than you burn, you will lose weight--even if all you take in are empty calories. 

Of course, it's a WHOLE lot easier to create a calorie deficit (and lose weight) when you do both: eat less and move more. (See this related post.)  I would also argue that you will feel a lot better on a low--calorie diet if the calories you DO eat are nutritious.  When quantity is restricted, quality becomes more important.

But, here's the thing (and deep down in your heart, you already know this): Weight loss is not the only reason to exercise. Regular exercise reduces your risk of heart disease, helps prevent against bone loss, increases insulin sensitivity (which reduces your risk of diabetes), lowers the risk of getting cancer, and increases the chances of beating it. And that's the short list.

The same points could be made about eating a healthy diet.

A Visit to Low Carb Land

Last week, I had a great time recording an interview with Jimmy Moore for his popular podcast, the Livin La Vida Low-Carb Show. (You can listen to the entire podcast here.)

We talked about all sorts of things, including the fact that no one dietary prescription is right for everyone.  Jimmy's a passionate advocate of the low-carb approach and claims that it literally saved his life. I don't doubt it.  But, as Jimmy is the first to admit, it's not for everyone. (For example, it's not the right diet for me!)  As I've said here on the blog, you've got to find what works for you. 

Continue reading about my Visit to Low Carb Land.

National Eating Disorders Awareness Week

The National Association for Eating Disoders (NEDA) has declared this week National Eating Disorders Awareness Week. This year's key message, “Be comfortable in your genes. Wear jeans that fit the TRUE you,” is highlighted by a Great Jeans Giveaway event.

From NEDA:

"Too often individuals struggle against their natural, genetically influenced size just to fit into that pair of “skinny jeans” in the back of their closets. Fighting your natural size and shape can lead to unhealthy dieting practices, poor body image and sometimes eating disorders.

National Eating Disorders Awareness Week highlights the fact that body size and shape are strongly influenced by biological factors – such as genetics, while also calling attention to some of the new discoveries surrounding the role of genetics in the development of eating disorders.

While you can adopt a healthy lifestyle and aim to be fit for your particular body type, you cannot change your genes. NEDA encourages everyone to start feeling comfortable in their genes by wearing comfortable jeans. The Great Jeans Giveaway events empower individuals to donate old (or new) pairs of jeans that do not comfortably fit. "

To learn more about Eating Disorders and participate in the Great Jean Giveaway, visit NEDA online.

Modified Fasting: a good weight control strategy?

People fast for many reasons: as a religious observance or spiritual ritual, as a political protest, in preparation for medical procedures, or as an occasional health practice.   And studies have confirmed that short-term fasting can have a number of health benefits.

Yet fasting for the purposes of losing weight is not generally seen as a good idea.

But a series of new studies, summarized in the U.S. News and World Report, suggest that there may be a legitimate role for modified fasting as a weight loss tool.   Read more on the Nutrition Data Blog.

Poll: Do food logs help you eat better?

Whether you're trying to improve your nutrition or watch your calories (or BOTH), tracking and analyzing your diet is the best way to get handle on what you are actually getting from your food.  I won't kid you: it takes a bit of effort to log in what you eat. But even if you only do it for a few days or a week, I guarantee you will learn a lot and probably make some lasting changes based on what you learn.

We've also just added a new feature that makes it a bit easier to get started.

Trans fats may be more fattening than other types of fat

Most nutritionists will tell you that controlling calorie intake is the key to losing weight (or avoiding weight gain.)  But a new animal study indicates that some calories are far more fattening than others!

A six-year study at Wake Forest University, (just published in the journal Obesity) found that monkeys fed a diet high in trans fats gained more weight, particularly around the belly, than monkeys who ate a diet with the equivalent amount of monounsaturated fat.   Note: Both groups of monkeys ate the same number of calories and the same amount of fat. Yet one group got fat and the other didn't.

Controlled Indulgence

In this morning's New York Times, veteran health correspondent Jane Brody shares her secret for staying trim:  Controlled Indulgence. Brody's philosophy evolved out of her own struggle to lose weight.  She eventually  determined that "deprivation feeds desire and can lead to overindulgence at the first opportunity," and now allows herself her favorite treats (in limited quantities) on a daily basis.

It works for Jane but many people find that once that first potato chip, or chocolate chip cookie, or slice of pepperoni pizza crosses their lips, the game is over. I guess its a matter of determining YOUR diet personality. Do you do better with a program of controlled indulgence or are you more of an all or nothing type?

Opinion Polls & Market Research

Is dieting hopeless? Monica takes on a "skeptic"

In a recent post, I offered some advice to a reader who wrote to ask how many calories she should eat if she wanted to lose weight. I recommended that she aim to create a calorie deficit of about 7,000 calories per week (by reducing caloric intake AND increasing physical activity), which would lead to losing approximately two pounds a week.

Over the weekend, a reader ("Skeptic") posted a detailed critique of my post, charging that it was an "oversimplification" of metabolism and containing "a lot of inaccurate information." (You can read his entire comment on the original post.)

Input from readers is always welcome, and often adds valuable information to the dialogue.  And I completely agree with Skeptic on some points.  Fuel metabolism is complex, and we often simplify things in order to make the ideas easier to work with. For example, the equation "cut or burn 3500 calories to lose one pound" is a simplified (but still useful) approximation.

But several of Skeptic's points are worthy of further discussion.

No such thing as bad carbs?

If you find it difficult to say no to so-called "bad' carbs like white bread, potatoes, and sweets, Dr. Glenn Gaesser has good news for you! Having analyzed hundreds of studies on the effects of carbs and weight gain, Dr. Gaesser has concluded that high-carbohydrate or high-glycemic diets don't lead to weight gain. (Read more about the glycemic index on our Gycemic Index topic page.)

According to Dr. Gaesser, author of It's the Calories, Not the Carbs, people who eat high carbohydrate diets tend to be thinner and healthier than people who don't. Furthermore, he says, high glycemic foods are not necessarily unhealthy and do not impede weight loss efforts.

Of course, this runs contrary to the current dietary dogma, which holds that excessive consumption of high glycemic carbohydrates (foods that cause a quick, sharp rise in blood sugar) can increase your risk of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. Most nutritionists also advise dieters to emphasize low-glycemic (or "good") carbohydrates for better appetite control.

My take on Dr. Gaesser's contrarian view?