How to Remember Plateau

When you have lost weight before, you know there comes a time when your body just doesn't want to continue losing weight. This is known as the dreaded weight loss plateau. While you may be doing the same activities and eating the same food you did when you began losing weight, you notice that recently your body is putting up more of a fight to hold on to weight you want to lose. To determine whether you are experiencing a true weight loss plateau or you're simply falling victim to poor dieting and weight loss techniques, you should first learn how to properly identify a weight loss plateau.

Things You'll Need

• Weight loss journal
• Pen or pencil
• Scale
• Cloth tape measure

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Instructions

• 1

  Keep a weight loss journal. Write down everything you eat and drink, as well as how much exercise you do every day. It's easy to lose track of every little calorie you consume on a daily basis. Writing everything down will not only help you keep track of calories you may have otherwise forgotten, but also hold you accountable. Use this as a starting point when you begin noticing that your body is not losing weight at the same pace as it once was.

• 2

  Pay attention to how much you are sweating when you exercise. While sweating is not essential to burn calories, it does let you know how hard your body is working. If you notice that the exercise you usually perform is getting easier for you, it is time to introduce a more demanding exercise routine into the mix. When an exercise becomes too easy to perform, it means that your body is no longer being challenged enough or burning as many calories as it once was.

• 3

  As much as possible, try and keep track of how many calories you are burning while performing exercise. Also, recall if you have been exercising for the same duration every day or if you have been trying a new exercise routine. Either of these factors can directly influence how much weight you lose. Again, write everything down! By creating a written record of your exercise routines, you can more easily identify certain trends or patterns which can help identify a possible plateau.

• 4

  Weigh yourself every week and note the weight in your journal. Remember to always weigh yourself in the morning, as soon as you wake up. This is considered the optimal time to get true results because later in the day is when people tend to gain weight due to an influx of food and fluids within the body.

• 5

  Take measurements. Use a cloth tape measure to take measurements of your body each week. Take measurements of your bust line, waistline, high hip and low hip. Note these measurements in your journal. Measuring yourself is important as it's possible to lose inches without losing weight.

• 6

  Compare the numbers. When your weight, calories consumed and calories burned stay the same yet you notice you are not losing any more weight, this signifies that your body is experiencing a weight loss plateau.