What is a plateau and what does the coronavirus epidemic reach a plateau mean?

Hi all! Personal trainer Pavel Korneychuk is in touch and this time we will talk about the so-called plateau effect when losing weight. What this effect is, why it appears and how to overcome it, read all about it in this article.

Before we begin, I’ll immediately note that this article is relevant for those people who want to lose weight or are already losing weight, i.e. get rid of excess fat mass in your body. It is important to understand that the number on the scale does not mean anything - it only shows the weight of your ENTIRE body, including water, muscles, bones, etc. It doesn’t make much sense to focus on the number that the scales give out, because... The scale does not show the amount of body fat, which means that weight fluctuations on the scale can be caused by many factors. If the number on the scale has decreased by 2 kg, you should not celebrate this success with a cake and think that you have lost 2 kg of fat mass in 1 day. Don't deceive yourself now so you don't disappoint yourself later.

Why does the plateau effect occur?

The process of losing weight is never uniform. The most serious results and results are achieved in the first 2-3 weeks of diet or active sports. First, you lose excess fluid by reducing your sugar and salt intake. Secondly, the “fresh” fat that you managed to gain recently is lost first. It has not yet had time to gain a good foothold, and accordingly the body says goodbye to it very easily.

Then the results begin to decrease little by little, and sooner or later a period comes when the weight rises, but the volume no longer decreases. This is due to the body getting used to your new lifestyle. It adapts to the prevailing conditions and stops actively consuming fat, which may still be useful for a rainy day. You continue to exercise and eat in a calorie deficit, but you are no longer losing weight. Your body has adapted its metabolism to new conditions, and simply in standby mode you are unlikely to force it to change tactics.

CALORIE COUNTING: step by step instructions

You will be surprised, but the plateau effect is actually good. For your body, this is a kind of point at which your weight is fixed and stabilized. Subsequently, this will help you avoid gaining extra pounds again, because during the plateau, your body successfully gets used to its new weight. There may be several such plateaus during weight loss. This is not only normal, but also an effective process for losing excess weight.

However, the plateau period can last 3-4 weeks, or even a couple of months. And without noticeable results during this time, you can lose motivation, break your diet and quit training. Therefore, it is better to think about how to overcome the plateau effect in order to continue getting rid of extra pounds.

If your weight and volume remain in the same place for 1.5-2 months, while you continue to eat right and do fitness, then it’s time to invigorate your body yourself and help it overcome the plateau effect. Please note that if your weight remains stable and your volume continues to decrease, then this is not a plateau! This means that you continue to lose weight and no further action needs to be taken. When losing weight, always focus on changes in volume, not weight.

What to do with a plateau on a strict diet?

The plateau effect when losing weight on a strict diet is one of the most common problems faced by nutritionists. The strategy for getting out of the plateau requires abandoning strict restrictions. If the diet has been followed for a long time, leaving it can lead to weight gain. To avoid this, increase your daily calories gradually - by 150-200 per week.

By the time you return to normal eating, your metabolism will have accelerated. The weight loss plateau effect will be overcome and you will be able to lose weight with a healthy diet and regular exercise.

Change your relationship with caffeine

As the world's biggest coffee drinker, I can't believe I'm saying this, but your coffee habit may be stalling your weight loss progress. A research team in Washington found that drinking more than five cups a day led to increased belly fat storage. Another study found that people who combined 5 cups of green tea with 3 hours of exercise per week lost 1 kg. more than their non-tea drinking counterparts. Green tea contains fat-burning substances called catechins, which release belly fat, speeding up metabolism and accelerating fat burning in the liver. Switching from coffee to green tea can help you get back on track with your weight loss - why not give it a try? You have nothing to lose... Although no, you have - weight!

Plateau in geography

Flat and elevated areas of the earth's surface were formed in different ways. Some were formed by long-term erosion of mountains, others were once sections of the seabed that were then uplifted.

1. The Deccan Plateau, for example, was formed from volcanic lava.
2. The plateau in Utah, located at an altitude of 1300 - 1400 m above sea level, was before Ancient Lake Bonneville.

3. In the central Andes there are two large plateaus, the length of which exceeds 1800 km, they were formed by thickening of the earth's crust, they are called Puno and Altiplano.
4. The coldest place on Earth is the Polar Plateau - land around the South Pole, 3000 km above sea level.

How long does it last

Each organism is unique and it is not possible to give an exact answer as to how long the plateau lasts. When the weight has stopped, it is important not to give up when losing weight and continue to fight excess body weight. When the body begins to readjust and get used to the new regime, weight loss will begin again. The duration of a weight loss plateau varies depending on the following factors:

• General health: if there are no diseases, adaptation occurs faster.
• Age indicators: the older the person losing weight, the higher the likelihood of encountering a similar phenomenon.
• From excess body weight: in some cases, it takes the same time to lose 30 kg and 10 kg, since in the first situation the weight stands still and decreases all the time, and in the second it hangs for weeks.
• Characteristic features of a person: some adapt more slowly to a new way of life, while others adapt faster.
• Methods of weight loss used: when dietary nutrition and sports activities are chosen incorrectly, weight will inevitably increase over a certain period.
• Measures taken to stop the effects of the plateau: if there is inactivity, there will be no positive results.

Mostly, during weight loss, the weight stays the same for 5-15 days. But these are averages. For some, the plateau lasts 2-3 days, while for others it lasts 2 months.

The dietary plateau will depend on the weight loss program. When such a condition occurs quite often and lasts more than a month, you should think about revising your nutritional principles and changing your training system. To do this, you need to consult with specialists - a nutritionist and an instructor.

Hormones and their effect on weight

In addition to slowing your metabolism, weight loss is associated with increased appetite. After eating, satiety signals from the gastrointestinal tract reach the brain. Various mechano- and chemoreceptors in the intestines detect the presence of nutrients and release a series of hormones. All of these hormones regulate satiety (when to stop eating), satiety (lack of hunger between meals) and hunger. But this is only physiological regulation of energy balance.

Many people who have lost weight notice a more pronounced desire to eat between meals, a sharper feeling of hunger, and an increase in the amount of food eaten. Physiologically, these processes are attributed to increased levels of cortisol (stress hormone).

Another hormone that can affect weight retention is ghrelin . This hormone is secreted by the walls of the stomach and pancreas. Its levels rise before eating, causing hunger, and fall during and after eating, causing a feeling of fullness. Moreover, experiments have shown that constantly elevated levels of this hormone lead to a slowdown in metabolism and stimulation of the deposition of fat reserves.

leptin is also an important player and is produced by adipose tissue. With weight loss, its level in the blood drops, which stimulates hunger and an increased need for energy.

It would seem that all these physiological, hormonal changes are the sole culprits in weight gain, and some studies indicate this, however, many others do not trace a direct connection. Of course, decreased leptin levels and increased ghrelin levels can be harbingers of such an outcome, but this, again, is not clear.

Changes in approach to nutrition and physical activity are an integral part of the process and are what contribute to successful weight loss and maintenance of the achieved results in the long term.
Many studies that are based on monitoring people in the maintenance phase, that is, after weight loss, indicate a number of important rules:

• change the composition of macronutrients (especially their protein component);
• Choose a filling breakfast that contains complex carbohydrates or complex carbohydrates and protein;
• move;
• avoid low-calorie diets - the body will compensate for everything in the future and will not allow you to maintain weight;
• watch for changes - it doesn't have to be a scale or a centimeter, but pay attention to changes in your parameters.

Despite thousands of ongoing studies of the physiological component of weight loss, nutritionists and scientists are beginning to agree on one thing - it is necessary to change habits, eat consciously and monitor changes. To a large extent, everything is related to lifestyle, although physiology cannot be ignored.

Switching to a healthy diet

If you want to lose weight by eating right, but now your menu is far from ideal, use the plan below. It will help you change your lifestyle without much difficulty and will prevent your body from going into plateau mode.

• Week 1: Focus on your meal frequency. How many times a day should you eat? Eat 4-6 times a day, but in small portions, and remember to drink enough water. In addition, eliminate all ready-made sauces from your diet, leaving olive oil for salad dressings.
• Week 2. Skip fancy pastries in favor of whole grain bread. Replace refined sweets with dried fruits, nuts, and honey in small quantities.
• Week 3. Completely eliminate all alcoholic drinks.
• Week 4: Change the way you cook. Skip frying in favor of stewing, steaming and baking.
• Week 5: Track your protein intake. If necessary, enrich your diet with fish, low-fat dairy products and legumes.
• Week 6. Listen to yourself. At some point, you will be able to hear your body's signals and understand what it needs. With careful attention to their well-being, many people switch to intuitive eating.

Don't make the common mistake of trying to overcome a weight loss plateau by further tightening your diet. This will put your body into a state of severe stress, and it will burn fat even more slowly. In this case, there is no need to talk about effective weight loss.

Improving the quality of your diet and introducing sports activities will give more significant results that will last for a long time.

The tendency to gain weight as a genetic component

Undoubtedly, lifestyle (sedentary or active) affects weight, but a considerable amount of research indicates that genetics may also be a reason for the tendency to gain extra pounds. In rare cases, it all comes down to changes in just one single gene associated with regulating feelings of satiety and hunger. Many studies (mostly conducted on twins) have clearly shown the importance of genetic factors in weight gain.
For example, a study on the relationship between weight gain and environment conducted with adopted twins found that the weight of adoptive parents and children may differ significantly, while a direct relationship was observed between the weight of children and their biological parents. Another study, also conducted on twins, showed that if several pairs of twins are fed the same food for 3 months, then the weight gain between brothers or sisters will be almost the same, and between pairs there can be a huge spread of two to ten kilograms. Similar results were found in weight loss studies.

There is also a body of evidence for differences in basal metabolism between people from different ethnic groups, which further demonstrates the importance of genetics in weight gain, loss and maintenance.

Body weight is controlled by a myriad of metabolic pathways and feedback circuits, coordinated at the molecular and hormonal level.
The amount of food consumed is regulated by the central nervous system through a series of interconnected neuroendocrine feedback loops. Energy expenditure is regulated by the autonomic nervous system and a number of hormones, the most important of which are thyroid hormones. But hormones such as insulin, leptin, ghrelin and many others also play an important role in the process.