It’s important to acknowledge that stalls and plateaus are a regular occurrence and should be anticipated. Keep in mind that the fluctuations you observe on the scale may not always correspond to alterations in your body fat.
Keep in mind that your health is getting better even if your weight on the scale is not changing. Avoid comparing yourself to others on social media; you have a distinct metabolism and medical background as an individual.
Instead of fixating on weight, shift your attention to other areas, such as pursuing activities for the sake of your health or fitness, or exploring unrelated interests like picking up a new hobby or engaging in acts of kindness towards others.
Experiencing a stall or plateau can be disheartening for individuals who have adopted a keto diet with the intention of losing weight.
If you’re striving to lose a significant amount of weight but your scale has remained unchanged for some time, witnessing others’ triumphs and observing remarkable transformations can be incredibly discouraging.
Regardless of whether you are utilizing keto for fat loss purposes or as a medical therapy, it is essential to understand that it is not a rapid solution. Commitment for an extended period of time is required.
After gaining knowledge about typical keto foods that cause weight stalling and understanding weight loss blunders, the question remains: how can one retain motivation when faced with a plateau? Here are some valuable guidelines to assist you in staying dedicated during this phase of stagnant weight loss.
1. Low-Carb Living as a Lifestyle, Not a Diet
As previously stated, Keto is not a quick and miraculous solution for weight loss. While individuals with a small amount of weight to lose might experience fast results, if you aim to shed a significant amount of weight, you must commit to a long-term effort.
Consider the scenario of driving to a destination hundreds or even thousands of miles away. During such an extensive trip, various factors may cause delays or slightly divert your path.
There are certain things you can anticipate and make arrangements for, such as taking restroom breaks, refueling your vehicle, and stretching your legs. Unexpected occurrences like road construction or a delay caused by an accident can also come your way.
All the pauses or delays you encounter do not indicate that you won’t reach your destination. You are still making progress towards your destination; you have simply taken a brief break.
Climbing a mountain serves as an even more apt illustration. Those courageous individuals who set out to conquer Mt. Everest don’t initiate their journey from the base and steadily ascend towards the summit without any breaks in between.
They make several stops at different base camps to acclimate and allow their bodies to adjust for a while.
When estimating their expected arrival at the summit, they take this into account and make plans accordingly. It is advisable for us to adopt a similar approach when embarking on a long weight loss journey. The path towards reaching your goal weight is typically not a direct one.
It is natural to experience stalls while losing weight, and they should be anticipated. Rarely does anyone achieve a significant goal without encountering obstacles throughout the journey.
Frequently, there are occasional bumps and hiccups along the journey, comparable to a detour that temporarily deviates you from the path during a long drive. However, unless you allow them to hinder you, these obstacles do not permanently prevent you from reaching your final destination.
2. Redefine Your Definition of a Weight Loss “Stall”
Remaining at the same weight for a few days or even a few weeks should not be considered as a stall. According to Dr. Robert Atkins in his book, “Dr. Atkins’ New Diet Revolution,” a plateau is defined as a period of “several weeks” without any alterations in weight or body size.
It is important not to solely rely on a scale to evaluate your progress. It is quite common for changes in body size and shape to occur even if there is no change in weight on the scale. Therefore, your measurements and clothing size may undergo changes even if there is minimal or no decrease in weight.
In their book, “The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living,” esteemed researchers Dr. Jeff Volek and Dr. Stephen Phinney effectively elucidated various concepts related to low-carb diets.
Relying on the bathroom scale for your mental well-being is not advisable.
Each of us resides within a fluctuating range of about 4 pounds, causing our weight to vary by approximately 2 pounds on a daily basis. The fluctuations occur sporadically, making it uncertain where exactly our body stands within this flexible range when we step on a weighing scale.
It can be frustrating for individuals who regularly weigh themselves when, even after having the same weight for three consecutive days, they wake up the next morning to discover an unexpected 3-pound increase on the scale, without any apparent justification.
3. Respect Your Body’s Complexity
It’s not advisable to weigh yourself daily if you find yourself in a weight loss plateau or even if you’re not. However, if you have a positive and healthy attitude towards the number you see on the scale regardless of whether it increases, decreases, or remains the same, then it is acceptable to weigh yourself every day.
If the number on the scale has such a significant impact on our emotions, self-worth, and perception of being loved or valued, it is best to avoid weighing ourselves.
Sometimes You Need to Gain Weight in Order to Lose It
This situation is not uncommon for women, particularly those who have a history of prolonged calorie restriction or excessive exercise without enough rest, recovery, and nutritional replenishment.
Your body has the potential to effectively absorb essential nutrients and use them for the repair and regeneration of tissues that have been deteriorated when you consume sufficient amounts of nutrient-rich food and eliminate dietary factors such as wheat and soy which hinder digestion and nutrient absorption.
In this scenario, instead of feeling upset, a stall or even a slight increase in weight should be seen as a reason for celebration. It is important to redirect your attention from the scale to your body composition and overall well-being.
4. Move Beyond the Scale
The majority of individuals have a misconception about the concept of getting fit, assuming that the numbers on the scale should decrease every time they weigh themselves. However, there are two issues with this mindset.
The scale is just one method to gauge progress, although it is not necessarily the most effective or exclusive means to do so.
Before you become overwhelmed with worry over the amount of weight you may (or may not) be losing, it is crucial to understand that numerous factors, potentially in the range of dozens or even hundreds, can influence your weight.
Additionally, the numbers on the scale may not change for various reasons, including the fact that most scales do not consider body composition, such as the loss of fat and gain of muscle.
The scale’s second issue, which could be argued as the most crucial point to let go of concern, is that the numbers you see have the potential to influence your mood throughout the entire day.
If we rely on food as a form of reward for our achievements, we will discover that we are embarking on an arduous and exasperating journey. Furthermore, what occurs when individuals step on the scale and notice an increase in weight?
Rather than fixating solely on your weight, shift your attention to monitoring progress in other aspects of your health and fitness. Keep tabs on your steps, physical activities, and sleep patterns. Alternatively, even better, assess how you feel, the amount of energy you possess, and how well your clothes fit.
5. Look for The Goal Behind your Goal
It can be disheartening to realize that losing weight is taking longer than anticipated, leading to a loss of motivation. Furthermore, becoming frustrated with a lack of progress is a common reason for people to give up on their efforts.
Inquire within, “What is my initial objective?” Is it solely weight loss, or does it hold a deeper significance? You observe that typically, individuals embark on a diet journey by weighing themselves, determining a desired weight reduction, and setting a target number to achieve.
Setting a goal weight is fantastic, make no mistake. Without a doubt, it serves as an excellent initial action by offering a tangible objective to strive for.
However, numerous issues arise when success is quantified. Among these challenges is the common occurrence of individuals facing difficulties once they achieve their desired weight.
Without taking a moment to assess if they are truly hungry or seeking emotional comfort, they cease to pause before eating and abandon the diligent habits they have diligently developed.
Achieving and maintaining fitness is not a short-term challenge that ends after thirty days. True success lies in discovering a dietary and physical routine that brings you happiness and that you can envision sustaining in the long run.
To experience a “breakthrough” moment and discover your motivation, seek the underlying goal beyond your initial objective.
Consider the true essence of success and establish its personal definition. While aiming for a weight loss of twenty pounds is commendable, genuine success lies in transforming one’s perception and attitude towards food. It involves constructing enduring habits.
Knowing that your objective extends beyond a mere numerical value on the scale, you realize that the pace at which you are making progress is inconsequential, as ultimately you will achieve your goal.
6. Don’t let The Numbers Mislead You
Even though you may not have witnessed any movement for weeks or even months, it is crucial to realize that this does not imply you are not advancing.
If you feel stuck, keep in mind “The Stonecutter’s Credo”.
In moments of despair, I find solace in observing a stonecutter persistently striking his rock, even when there isn’t a single fissure visible after countless blows. It is only when he strikes for the hundred and first time that the rock finally splits, and I realize that it wasn’t that one blow alone that achieved the breakthrough, but rather the cumulative effect of all the previous strikes.
Similar to the rock, the scale can be misleading, failing to reflect the effort exerted. Moreover, it lacks a progress indicator indicating the remaining duration.
Consistency, persistence, and hard work are all found behind every genuine success story, even if the individuals involved may not perceive their progress.
Even though you may feel like you’re not making progress, you actually are. Remember that the most important aspect is not speed but rather consistency, especially when it seems like you’re not shedding pounds quickly enough.
When you reflect on your emotions from one month, six months, or even a year ago, that is the moment when you will feel motivated, by realizing how far you have come.
7. Control What You Can Control
An “expectation gap” arises when you anticipate one outcome but encounter a different one, leading to feelings of disappointment.
Have you ever experienced ordering a well-done hamburger at a restaurant and receiving a medium-rare one instead? Have you ever desired to reach home on time after work to have quality time with your family, only to end up spending two hours in traffic? It can be incredibly frustrating, right?
It can be frustrating when things don’t go as planned, especially when it comes to achieving weight loss. Despite making all the necessary adjustments, the lack of progress can be demoralizing.
It is simple to believe that setting expectations that consistently fail to meet our desired outcomes is a result of not adhering to a crucial rule: the expectations we set must be completely within our control.
Although we may not have control over our weight on the bathroom scale, we do have control over our reasons for eating. By determining what we can control and directing our efforts towards those aspects, we can establish realistic expectations.
We frequently fixate on our weight loss progress (or lack thereof) instead of focusing on consistency, which is what truly matters. Disturbing your thoughts with concerns beyond your control distracts you from what you are capable of.
8. Look At The Bigger Picture
When the day is over, there is nothing more discouraging than believing that you will never achieve your goal. When we sense that we are not progressing as quickly as expected and that we should be at a more advanced stage, the thought that arises is.
Most individuals tend to give up at this stage, which is regrettable. However, ponder on the fact that you didn’t reach this point just to stop here. When experiencing frustration, our inclination is to act hastily. Yet, what we truly need to do is pause and allow ourselves to carefully analyze the situation.
Here’s the rephrased version: Every individual who has quit in exasperation eventually reflects on their choice with remorse, wishing they had allowed more time before making it.
If you assess the situation objectively, you would never abandon the progress you have achieved and start from the beginning. It would be similar to embarking on a cross-country journey, becoming annoyed by the lack of progress, and deciding to return home.
It’s unlikely that anyone would ever do such a thing. Despite the distance being long, we are aware that we will ultimately reach our destination. So, why don’t we approach weight loss in the same manner? It’s because our decision-making process is influenced by emotions.
Take a “cooling off” break when you feel frustrated due to the sluggishness of your weight loss progress.
Our emotions are not constant; they ebb and flow. The way you feel today may change by tomorrow or the following day. Consequently, we don’t experience excitement, happiness, anger, or motivation consistently.
Additional comments
Just like the popular saying about the weather in [insert the place where you live], motivation also follows a similar pattern – if you’re not pleased with it, simply wait for a few minutes and it will transform.
Take your time before making a decision that could result in having to start again next month. Prioritize consistency, manage what you have power over, and you will eventually regain that sense of motivation.
