Try new approach with the weight plateau

It's one of the most frustrating consequences of significant weight loss: the plateau. After weeks or months of shedding unwanted pounds, the scale suddenly won't budge. Your diet is the same and so is your workout routine. But the steady progress toward your goal weight has stopped.

Why? Because what worked for losing the first 20, 50 or even 100 pounds won't work all the way down the scale. It's simple arithmetic: With less weight to move through space, your smaller self burns fewer calories.

“If we continue to do what we did in the beginning, we won't continue to get the same results because, as you weigh less, you have to adjust to the new calorie requirement to create a deficit,” said Laura Lindsey, a Weight Watchers group leader for 10 years who has helped many clients get off plateaus.

But that's not the only issue.

After months of walking in your neighborhood or going to aerobics class, your body adapts. Muscles aren't as challenged and don't have to work as hard. You burn fewer calories per minute than you did when the exercise was new and difficult.

A weight-loss plateau is a clear sign that it's time to re-evaluate your approach and change your routine.

Terri Balzer of Tampa, Fla., hit a plateau halfway through her 33-pound weight loss.

“It was very frustrating. It was discouraging. I was working so hard,” said Balzer, 56, who attended weekly Weight Watchers meetings, kept careful records of everything she ate and went to the gym three or four times a week.

After losing half to 1 pound each week, two weeks went by without a loss. She was panicked. The clinical definition of a weight-loss plateau is going three or four weeks with virtually no weight loss, despite exercise and diet, Lindsey said.

But Weight Watchers, with its weekly weigh-ins and group meetings, doesn't let clients go longer than two weeks before suggesting changes.

Balzer and her group leader reviewed Balzer's food and exercise logs and discovered that the problem wasn't with food. Balzer needed to work out a little longer, a little harder, and change what she was doing. Balzer added strength training to her regime. That got her off the plateau.

Adding weight training to a cardio-focused weight-loss regimen is a proven way to burn more calories and lose more weight.

“Muscle burns calories,” said fitness trainer and exercise physiologist Jeanmarie Scordino. “Fat just sits there, but muscle uses energy.”

Scordino also tells clients to try intervals — alternating between a very high pace and a lower but still challenging pace, usually while walking, running or cycling.

For example, after warming up, do 30 seconds of your chosen activity at the highest speed you can manage without causing injury, then lower your pace just enough to bring your heart rate and breathing down slightly for about two minutes. Perform these speed and active rest intervals for up to 10 minutes at first, then try doing it for a half-hour or longer.

Gradually increase your high-intensity speed, or its duration, as you build endurance.

How do you know if you're working hard enough to get the results you want?

Scordino suggests you try a couple of sessions with a personal trainer to get the guidance you need. After that, you might wish to continue weekly, or just go once a month or so for tuneups.

“You get a program designed for your body, your time constraints, your ability,'' she said. “Plus, you're less likely to get injured.”

Lawyer Kathryn Welsh was within 15 pounds of her goal weight when she hit a plateau that lasted several months.

“I added more and more exercise to my routine and felt like it didn't matter. Nothing was changing. I felt frustrated,” she said.

Welsh started doing jogging intervals while power walking. And she started writing down everything she ate and discovered that she needed to make some dietary changes, too.

“I realized there were a lot of empty calories in my diet,” said Welsh. “So, I have been swapping them out for more fruits and vegetables, and that seems to be helpful. I've found I love kale.”

Registered dietitian Christine Miller says Welsh has the right idea.

“With women in particular, I usually find they are eating too many starches and not enough lean protein,” said Miller. “The balance of calories isn't right for weight loss.”

She determines their daily protein needs and tells them to get it from lean sources like low-fat or fat-free Greek yogurt, low-fat and fat-free cheeses, egg whites, skinless poultry, very lean meats, fish, beans, nuts and seeds. She also encourages moderate amounts of fruits, plenty of leafy greens and low-starch vegetables.

Portion distortion — when you think you're eating less than you really are — is a related problem. “You need to go back to weighing and measuring food, tracking it more carefully, so you have a realistic view of what you're eating,” Lindsey said.