Why Am I Not Losing Anymore Weight?!

This has been a question that has plagued many individuals that have come to me for a consultation. Most of the time the conclusion is the same. When they find out, they are baffled at first but when I explain what the body does, they see the light.
Let's get right to the point. You want to eat in order to lose weight, which many of you may know. I will use the common and easy to understand analogy of a wood furnace. When you put wood into a furnace it burns. The more wood you put into it, the longer it burns. You body is similar. The food you eat activates your metabolism and burns off the calories. That is what you want in order to lose weight. So yes, you must eat to lose. However, you must eat the right foods through the day starting with that ever so important break-fast. Why? Breakfast allows your metabolism to reactivate after fasting for your duration of sleep- typically six to eight hours. This will get the "furnace" started. Eat your lunch and a sensible dinner. Normally dinner is where you want to taper off the carbs as we tend to go to sleep after dinner not allowing the 2 to 3 hours of assimilation (digestion) to take place. Not good. This will eventually result in insulin- carried glucose having no home other than adipose tissues (building fat). Remember to always snack healthy. I will discuss more on the formula of eating in my next post.

When you do not consume enough calories-less than what your basil metabolic rate requires (BMR) and are very active, your body will go into survival mode slowing down your BMR. NEVER EVER EAT BELOW YOUR BMR REQUIREMENTS. In this mode, your body sees calories as valuable thus it retains them to make energy when needed, resulting in fat gain. Your body being in survival mode also eats your muscles (catabolism).

Time to get off the plateau. You want your body to burn calories so consider food as fuel. It's more of a physiological change if we view food as comfort or only eat when we get hungry. That mentality can be changed with practice and patience. Riding a bike took practice but you eventually got it after a few skinned knees and blooper moments. This is not different. We must constantly work at our eating habits in an effort to gain control of them, our weight, and lives. You dictate to your body and not the other way around. For more info, contact me at CM Fitness Consulting. We will hit your goal together!

 Key Points:

• Know your BMR. If you eat less calories than your BMR requires, this will put your body in survival mode so never go below your BMR. In this case, eat more.
• Eat breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks to keep your metabolism (furnace) burning.
• Food is fuel for the fire-your metabolism. Feed it! 
• You welcome fat gain if you eat and go straight to bed. Allow 2 to 3 hours for proper assimilation.
• It takes time to change your mentality when it comes to eating habits. Try changing one meal at a time.

As always, thank you for your time and for putting your health first.