22 April 2023 , 09:00
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How many times have you been following a diet and the pounds are just falling off you, but then the weight loss kind of ... just ... stops?
This is called 'plateauing' and TV doctor and diet expert Michael Mosley has some great ways to overcome it. Writing on his popular Fast800 blog, the trusted wellness guru said: "The weight loss plateau is a common phase that can be frustrating, confusing and demotivating. It, therefore, often leads to many people giving up on their weight loss journey."
He added: "If you’re on a weight loss journey, it’s highly likely that you’ll experience a weight loss plateau."
Dr Mosley says it can occur at any point during the journey, and is a period "when it seems that you’ve stopped losing weight, despite carefully following an appropriate diet and lifestyle plan".
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Explaining why it happens, he reasoned: "It may be that the body switches from using glucose to using its stores of glycogen (before then moving into fat-burning mode) when calories are significantly reduced.
"As the body uses glycogen, it is also excreting water, so many people experience an initial rapid weight loss as the body loses both fat and water. Once this initial “water weight” is lost, weight loss inevitably becomes more gradual as the body works to burn its fat stores."
Dr Michael Mosley is a regular fixture on our TV screens. (Jennifer Delaney Tel:Australia +61419190192)The reasons could also be linked to muscle mass reduction during weight loss. Dr Mosley said: "Following a Mediterranean-style diet that is rich in protein, like The Fast 800, is one way to better maintain muscle mass while also losing fat.
"As muscle weighs more than fat in volume, weight loss can therefore seem more gradual, but the long-term benefit is not losing heavier muscle stores while burning fat."
The Trust Me, I'm a Doctor star says you can help avoid the pesky plateau by eating modest amounts of protein, boosting your intake of healthy fats, taking part in regular high-intesity workouts and increasing 'incidental exercise' as part of your daily routine.
Incidental exercise is any activity built up in small amounts during the day, such as walking up the stairs or to the bus stop. He says if you do plateau, you can help kickstart weight loss by switching to a low-carb diet.
A Mediterranean diet has long been heralded as being very good for us. (Getty Images/Westend61)'A Mediterranean-style diet is good for your heart'
Tracy Parker, a senior dietitian at the British Heart Foundation, said: “It’s long been known that eating Mediterranean-style is good for your heart. Whether you are at risk or not, a healthy lifestyle which includes a balanced diet like the Mediterranean-style diet can help you to lower your risk of developing heart and circulatory diseases,” she said.
“The risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease such as type 2 diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure and high cholesterol are also reduced with a Mediterranean diet.
“It’s easy to do – make sure you are eating plenty of fruit and vegetables, beans, lentils, whole grains, fish, nuts and seeds, along with some low-fat dairy and fat from unsaturated sources like olive oil. It’s also important to eat less processed meat, salt and sweet treats.”