Usually, this unpleasant condition is accompanied by emotions of despondency, resignation and sometimes even fear.
The client comes to the clinic with a negative (sometimes even fatalistic) attitude, showing disappointment and frustration towards the plateau, experienced and perceived as a therapeutic failure; in such circumstances, it is not uncommon for the subject, even before sitting down and closing the door, to start out like this: <<Doctor, I don't lose weight anymore! Will your metabolism be lowered?>>.
For further information: Slimming Diet it represents a fixed stage of all nutritional therapies aimed at weight loss; it is such a frequent event that it has even been scrutinized on a large scale, statistically analyzed and chronologically placed in a well-defined period.
Some studies have found that the plateau in weight occurs at approximately the 6th month of nutritional therapy, but (until recently) no one had been able to identify the causes. Contrary to what one might guess, weight stall is a foreseeable event and rarely constitutes a metabolic side effect of the low calorie weight loss diet.
For further information: Best Way to Lose Weight is the energy balance (BE), which must necessarily be negative: BE = energy introduced - energy expended.It is clear that this is a "simplistic statement that does not take into account all the facets essential to the composition of a nutritional therapy; on the other hand, if the energy balance is not negative, weight loss does not occur. The energy introduced is made up of the total food calories, while that expended is the result of the sum of: basal metabolism (and all that it includes) + overall physical activity.
To obtain a negative energy balance it is therefore essential:
- Reduce the calories provided by the diet;
- Increase overall physical activity and above all the desirable ones (AUS - simple physical activity or sport proper).
Fortunately, the period of "wild low calorie diets" is over; once upon a time the quantity of energy necessary to lead a "normally active" life was not much considered and the caloric reduction was aimed exclusively at the rapid and "safe" loss of weight. Today, professionals know that it is better not to eliminate more than 30% of the total calories and that on average by eliminating 3500 calories (kcal) per week "it should be" possible to reduce weight by about 2 kilograms (kg) per month.These measures are essential to preserve muscle mass which, if reduced, could negatively affect weight loss due to the consequent reduction in basal metabolism. On this topic (in some ways) bodybuilders would have a lot to teach; by carrying out a muscle-building activity, not only do they obtain an improvement in body mass, but they manage to maintain very low percentages of fat while "devouring" thousands of calories all days.
Gaining muscle mass (or preventing it from shrinking) by practicing weight-bearing exercises is a great way to reduce muscle wear during a calorie restricted diet. At the same time, prolonged physical activity (therefore aerobic) also has numerous metabolic advantages; in addition to improving blood, metabolic and general fitness parameters, it significantly increases overall energy expenditure; on the other hand, it helps to increase appetite and requires an increase in total calories.
Taking stock of the situation, if the weight stalemate occurs towards the 6th month of the diet, based on the above, it should indicate a reduction in the basal metabolic rate following the wasting of the overall muscle mass ... but no!
Analyzing the body composition of the subjects in nutritional therapy who complain of a plateau of weight it emerged that, after 6 months, the muscle mass is still almost identical to that of departure; on the other hand, what is drastically reduced is the psychological motivation. Small "snags" and rounding in the weights compensate for the energy balance which is no longer negative, nullifying all the calculations and estimates of the low-calorie diet; therefore, when asked :
<> we therapists, with a big smile and confident voice, will answer: <>.
To learn more: Effective Solutions to Lose Weight basal? "
Certainly yes, but it certainly doesn't happen after a few weeks of reasonable low-calorie therapy. A recent study has questioned various aspects of the traditional dieto-therapy method; among these I quote:
- The truthfulness of the weight loss prediction; to state that every 3500kcal less consumed results in a weight loss of 450-500g is incorrect, as the prediction does NOT take into account the subjective metabolic response of the organism.
- The nature of the plateau at the stroke of 6 months of therapy is not metabolic, but behavioral.
Let me be clear, it is true that weight stalling occurs "frequently" in the 6th month of diet, however, research has shown that a period of several years is required to obtain a change in the basal metabolic rate.
Ultimately, in most cases, the weight plateau does not depend on the reduction of muscle mass and / or metabolism, but on a reduction in compliance by the therapist; on the other hand, to avoid that even after a few years the basal metabolism undergoes a significant reduction, it is advisable to combine the low-calorie diet with a path of anaerobic and aerobic physical activity useful for the metabolic and functional improvement of the body as well as for the maintenance of overall muscle mass .
For further information: Diet to Lose Weight
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