All set to lose weight? Be prepared for one roller coaster ride. The first few weeks will probably make you fall in love with the weighing scale, provided you are following a plan consistently. Over the next few weeks of your journey, you will see a gradual slow down. Some painful weeks will have you witness no change at all.
At this point, many people start changing the weighing scale’s batteries or strategize placement of the weighing scale at different parts and angles of the floor. Some will even go to the extent of buying a new one. The saving grace is, you’re not alone!
The odds of you losing weight will mostly be faster at the beginning of your weight loss process and will gradually slow down as you move along. Let’s try to understand why this happens.
Reasons for Initial Weight Loss
There are a variety of factors and reasons that contribute to this trajectory of weight loss and we will talk about it more in detail. INFS Faculty Akshita Arora had some insights in this regard. Here are some of the commonly observed reasons:
Creating a large calorie deficit (>25%) can result in significant initial weight loss in the first 1-2 weeks. Many people are over-enthusiastic at the beginning of their weight loss journey and hardly pay attention to creating a calorie deficit that is sustainable. They end up creating an large calorie deficit that helps them in losing a lot of weight initially. But, obviously, this is not sustainable in the long run.
Loss of Water Weight
Some diets, like the ketogenic diet, result in faster loss of water weight. When we cut calories, mainly from carbohydrates, the body starts utilizing stored glycogen. Losing glycogen is accompanied by water loss.
Affected Adherence
Generally, people are usually more motivated when they start with a diet plan but the motivation might start fading eventually in some cases.
Lack of adherence can contribute to an increase in calorie intake and slowing down the rate of weight loss.
Slow down due to efficiency in metabolic and hormonal adaptations which can slow down the weight loss and may make long-term maintenance of weight/weight loss comparatively hard.
It is absolutely essential to choose and work with an eating plan that is sustainable. If you go in for fad diets or diets that are extreme, the long-term plan of losing weight and then maintaining it would actually be next to impossible. That’s the reason why a lot of people start their fitness journeys with great enthusiasm but gradually give up their goals. They are no longer able to continue the fad diet & therefore, they simply stop their fitness journeys.
Facts about losing weight
Did you know that losing weight drastically could actually put you at risk? If you suddenly shed those extra kilos rapidly, it might pose overall health risks, greater loss of fat free mass and may impact the long term food relationship.
Heavier people actually burn more calories than those who weigh lighter. The reason for that is because people who are on the heavier side have a higher basal metabolic rate meaning that the metabolism to burn calories is greater in them compared to the lighter ones.
The most common and known techniques for losing weight is through exercising as well as maintaining a calorie deficit. If you only work with one technique and not a combination, it might not be as optimal as when you combine the two together to lose weight.
In order to prevent yourself from gaining weight again, the best solution is to start by losing all of it sustainability but consistently. So losing weight does not only mean that you are losing it in fat mass, it also means you are losing muscle, which can impact your metabolism and may not be ideal aesthetically but also from an overall health and wellness perspective.
Set realistic expectations
Social media is a great tool but can also be a façade at times. Most transformations you see are not sudden and even though they are inspirational, immense hard work and consistency have gone behind making them possible. It is important to realize that in many cases, it took years for the weight to pile on. Expecting it all to vanish within weeks or even months can be an unrealistic expectation for some, This is something that many of us don’t keep in mind while starting our weight loss program.
When this expectation fails, most of us give up! The slow down or plateau is a sign that your body is adapting to your new, healthy lifestyle and should be considered a cue to push harder!
Also, remember that everyone’s journey is different. You should never compare your fitness journey with your friend or family member. Follow the right steps and you would be able to achieve your goals.
Conclusion
You must have heard at some point in your weight loss journey that it’s as much physical as it is mental. This is true. The biggest challenge is to keep yourself motivated and replace the inner dialogue of “Why am I not losing weight?” with “I am doing great so far. How can I remain on track?” It is human tendency to seek tangible results. However, keep appreciating the intangible changes and soon the numbers will follow. A sustainable diet with a mix of exercise, combined with consistency and perseverance is the best way forward for you and everyone around you.
Diet Planning Workshop
If you are interested in learning more, then do check out our online diet planning workshop. In this workshop, you will learn all about diet planning. Important topics like energy balance, nutrient timing, fat loss plateau, cheat meals etc. will be discussed.
The workshop will include 15 participants only so you will have a good chance of interacting with our faculty members. You can ask all your doubts and queries.
Author : Saakshi, A psychologist by education and a fitness enthusiast by choice, she dreams to combine these worlds. Content writing and social media management is a passion that keeps her in the constant learner mode.
