The Real Reasons Why You've Hit The Dreaded Weight Loss Plateau

It's February, and for many people, that means halfway through winter, and most likely all the way through the cessation of your well thought out New Year's weight loss plan. Yes, it happened again. You promised yourself that this year, you'd finally lose the weight. That this year, you'd improve your eating habits and that this year, you'd start training for that marathon you always dreamed about completing. Yet here you are, just like last year, with only a few pounds to get excited about.

Here's the scary truth. Maybe you did all of those things, but the weight loss just stopped. For many of my patients, it's not the big behavior changes that kept them from achieving their goals. In fact, many people make significant changes on January 1st that impact their weight and their health, like adding more vegetables to their diet and cutting down on snacking and eating out.

But it's the little (and what many people think insignificant) actions that actually make all the difference. After all, it's only February, and recognizing these little, yet very impactful habits, could get you back on track with your "healthy by summer" initiative. Here are the top 5 mistakes that can halt even the most effective weight loss approaches.

Regular exercise is one of the best things you can do to live longer and better. But when it comes to weight loss, it turns out that cutting calories is actually much more important than adding reps. Studies show that if you're using exercise, and only exercise to shed pounds; you may be disappointed with the number on the scale.

A 2015 study found that exercise alone didn't actually deliver weight loss. Researchers discovered that as you increase activity, your appetite goes up as well, and you consume more calories to satisfy that appetite. The "more" is important here because if you eat more calories than you actually burn, then you may still struggle to shed pounds.

Further, a 2016 study found that as we exercise at even higher levels, our bodies adapt to this activity and don't necessarily burn more calories. In fact, people that engaged in higher levels of physical activity to lose weight often saw a decline in weight loss after a few months.

The advice here is by no means to stop exercising. The point is that you'll need to continue to control calorie intake despite this very healthy habit. A daily run or a weight lifting session is not insurance to overindulge later on. Keep exercise in, but don't add calories to compensate once you've started an exercise routine. The sugary cereal, the syrupy coffee creamer, and that danish you chomp on in the car on the way to work - they are all killing your diet.

Sure, it's obvious that these foods are not on any "weight loss miracle" lists. But it's more than that. Having a lot of sugar early on in the day means you're not having something else - protein. Study after study has shown that starting your day with protein makes it easier to lose weight, and then resist cravings later in the day. Protein and fat also have minimal impact on blood sugar and insulin, two things that you don't want up first thing in the morning.

Try some eggs and avocado, a high protein shake, or a low fat plain yogurt with nuts a small amount of low glycemic deeply hued berries instead of a bagel and jelly or even a big bowl of oatmeal. Being hungry does not feel good. It's uncomfortable, it's scary for some, and for the majority of individuals that have put themselves on restrictive diets where deprivation is the norm, hunger can be downright detrimental.

Hunger, on a day-to-day basis, works against you in terms of regulating weight loss. In the end, you'll end up eating what you need, and then some, to compensate. A 2015 study that researched the "discomfort when hungry" phenomenon found that specific neurons that fire during energy deficits lead individuals to search for, and consume, food.