Individuals that follow the Atkins diet may have their own ups and downs during the dieting process. There may be even times when an individual may experience a plateau point. A plateau is nothing but a long span of time where the individual experiences no change in his/her weight and no change in their shape. One must note down their weight before starting a weight loss program.
The main aim of the Atkins diet is to reinstate fat into muscles that are dense and heavy. Actually, a person will gain more weight as the muscles replace the fat. The final outcome will be an increase in weight but a considerable decrease in inches or shape. This is a good way to tone your body, the body weight remaining the same.
People before taking on the diet should make it a point to measure their chest, waist, hips, upper arms, thighs and calves muscles. This helps in detecting where the fat has been burnt and where the fat has been converted to stronger muscles. Typically, the body is toned and gets realigned or readjusted to the changes happening inside the body. You will have to check your body weight and other measurements only once in a week so as to track the progress of this dieting program.
One should be prepared to wait for 3-4 weeks before looking for weight differences. Keeping a track on the shape and the weight can help one understand whether the body is gaining weight or burning the excess fat. Every weight loss program has its own strategy to help one lose weight and those who have adopted the Atkins diet will for sure experience the stall time.
Stalling may be regular if the individual is 5 to 10 pounds away from the ideal weight. A low-carb and high-protein diet helps in building strong muscles. The muscle-to-fat ratio becomes more than before, reducing the ability to lose fat. Always listen to your body as it indicates anything that does not suit its functioning.
Besides all these, there are a few other causes for stalls and plateau when following a weight loss program. If you find that even after four weeks of rigorous dieting neither your weight nor your scale has reduced, here are a few tips that you can follow to succeed your goal. Check you carbohydrates level first. The weight stalls when a person has more than necessary carbohydrate content. Check the label of all the packed food you buy, and also get to know the amount of carbohydrates present in dressings and sauces to keep a check on this nutrition level.
Measure the amount of water you drink everyday. If the body dries up, the water taken will only retain mimicking a plateau state. Drinking sufficient amount of water will help you flush older ketones, making space for new fat burning ketones.
Eating lesser than recommended also leads to condition like weight loss plateaus. Do not let your stomach starve. Eat smaller quantities of food but maintain a regular interval between two meals. Just keep in mind that you are only on a carbohydrate-restricted diet and not on a calorie-restricted diet. Include protein in all your meals and do not keep your stomach empty for more than 5 hours. People often misinterpret their diet and stop eating calories or try to drastically reduce the calorie intake. Cutting down calories suddenly will often lead to fatigue related problems finally forcing you to give up on the diet program.
Exercising should be a must and one should regularly follow an exercise regime also. Make sure to increase the exertion and vigor after some time because our body muscles easily get used to the daily exercise. Include 2-3 new exercise to your regular schedule or increase weight by performing resistance training.
Do not panic if you happen to notice a stall or plateau in your weight. Follow these tips to get back on your weight loss program. Remember, maintaining a health body is in an individuals hand and not in any dieting program.