Working Through an Exercise Plateau

As the obesity epidemic increases, more and more individuals are choosing bariatric surgery in Naples to reach their weight loss goals. Lap band bariatric surgery has an excellent success rate, with only 10% of individuals reporting weight gain after the surgery. Adding in exercise helps to keep the weight loss going, and keeps the body healthy by mobilizing joints, muscles and metabolism. In some cases, people who have been exercising for a while will hit a plateau and weight loss ceases. Here are a few tips to follow if you find yourself in that situation.

Change Things Up

Change things around to break through a plateau. The body is very good at adapting to exercise. Once it gets used to doing the same thing over and over, it needs less energy to do it. This includes types of exercise, and how much exercise. For example, if you have been running on the treadmill, switch to biking; if you lack the equipment, change the time that you run. One day you can do short intervals and the next session change to steady-paced running. Even small changes will help break through a plateau.

It is just as important to change repetitions and the amount of weight you are lifting on a regular basis. If you have been doing sets of 12-15 repetitions, change to 6-8 repetitions, increasing weight of course.

Rest

Rest is important for the body to reset and to make all of its repairs. You may see some excellent results exercising six days a week in the beginning, but eventually the body will lose its ability to repair itself quickly and instead of going forward, you may actually start going backward and lose all of your gains.

Fuel

While it may seem counterintuitive to eat more food when you are trying to lose weight, you need to fuel the body with enough nutrients to be healthy. Make sure that you are eating enough high-quality foods that provide the necessary minerals and vitamins for your body. This includes drinking plenty of water to remain hydrated.