Improving the Shed

Well the weigh in this morning was 104kg.  It seems like I’ve hit that dreaded stage people call the plateau.  For a while now I’ve felt like I’m not making as much progress as I did in the early stages.  I knew it would happen but I’d hoped it would be more around my goal weight.  Oh well.

Plateaus aren’t something new.  I think anyone who tries to lose weight has hit a plateau at least once, I know I have.  I guess there’s a lot of research into why we hit them and what the biological reason is but my take on it is fairly simple, your body hates change.  In biological terms your body is a homeostatic machine regulating everything within tight controls.  Temperature is an easy example to point out.  If your body gets too hot you sweat to cool yourself down. Too cold and you shiver to generate heat.  When it comes to weight loss you also need to couple that homeostasis with survival.  Fat stored in the body is stored to help you through the tough times.  It’s like an energy savings account.  If you go hungry for a few days then your fat stores will see you through.  The problem is though your body will try and maintain those fat stores as long as it can so as you continue to burn them the burn rate slows down so you can eek out survival.  Hence the plateau.  M body has just adjusted to my new living conditions and is now maintaining my fat stores at a constant level.

So what to do about it?  Most of the things I’ve read basically say you need to make a change.  Get into a routine for 8-12 weeks or so and then change it.  Constantly keep your body guessing as to what your new equilibrium should be.  So that’s what I’ll be doing.  It comes at a good time since I’ve switched gyms and was starting to get a little bored of my old workout.  Before I make the change though it’s time for a rest.  When I work out I tend to work out quite hard and I’m starting to creak a little bit.  My knees are hurting from doing the kitchen floor, my shoulders are hurting, my right ankle hurts and my muscles generally feel a little tense.

This week then my goal is a modest 103.5kg, so just a pound of weight-loss.  I’ll be taking it easy in the gym, switching to a gentle 10 minute warm up followed by lots of stretching, gentle swimming, sauna, steam and jacuzzi.  I’m also going to use one of the discount vouchers I got for the massages at my new gym.  On the food side of things I’ll be trying to get some home-made smoothies in with plenty more fruit and veg and not so much meat or carb.  Hopefully this time next week I’ll feel ready to rock again.

I’ll also spend the week planning some new exercise regimes.  I want to hit the weights soon but not until I’ve made my 100kg goal. I’ve noticed my upper body strength leaving me so I’ll need to sort that out.  I’ll also be looking into doing some more HIIT work.  I haven’t done it for a while but it’s perfect for squeezing in during lunchtime.  Then I’ll probably balance out the HIIT with some pilates or yoga or something similar, it really depends on the gym timetable.  I also need to get in some more walks at the weekend.  I need to get back to walking fitness for the 3 peaks challenge in June.

Wish me luck.

Sid.