Reaching a weightloss plateau is frustrating to say the least. This article explains why dieting harder is not going to move you off the plateau and how adding a planned day of overeating is the answer to getting the scale to drop once again.Why did your weightloss plateau?The answer lies in your hormones. You see your body is reluctant to release body fat. It looks at body fat as stored energy which it can call on in times of emergency such as a famine for instance.So when you start dieting and eating less your hormones, one in particular called leptin, send a red flag up to your brain that says there is not enough food coming in and we need to do something to protect against starvation.What happens next is the exact opposite of what you want to happen on a diet. First, your metabolism drops dramatically in order to preserve that stored energy (i.e. FAT)
Second, the hormone cortisol increases circulation which encourages the production of abdominal fat. Yep, your belly grows bigger.
Third, the hunger stimulating hormone ghrelin is activated and you become ravenously hungry.So you can see that when you diet consistently your weightloss stops because your metabolism slows, your fat making hormones are kicked into gear and your hunger is stimulated.No wonder traditional diets have such a dismal success rate!To break out of the weightloss plateau you must add a day of overeating to your weekly diet. This is referred to as a "Cheat Day"Here is why cheating works.By following a diet for 6 days a week and then overeating on day 7 (we are talking whatever you want, pizza, burgers, fries, chips, ice cream, etc.) you convince your body that there is plenty of food available and it boosts your metabolism dramatically, and reverses the "bad" hormonal responses set up by dieting.Do you gain weight from the cheat day?You will retain water weight from the cheat day because you will be eating carbohydrates which cause you to retain water but what happens in your body is that your metabolism rebounds faster than your body's ability to make fat so your fat burning potential is at its peak and it stays elevated for the rest of the week giving your a greater ability to lose week after week.A weightloss plateau can zap your motivation, I encourage you to break through your plateau by learning more about how to add a strategic "Cheat Day" to your diet, you will be glad you did!
