Often when people start out on their weight loss journey they fixate on the number on the scale. Decreasing that number is often important, however, what many people are unaware of are the other changes happening with your body that some scales just can’t measure.
Changing body composition
When we start exercising, there are a lot of changes that occur within our bodies. With exercise, our bodies lose weight and gain muscle, however, this fat loss may not always be visible on the scales. On top of this, exercise reduces the amount of visceral fat (fat around our vital organs, of which you cannot track on your normal scales. We can however track changes in body composition through other measures such as taking waist and hip circumferences, skin folds and following changes in body fat, visceral fat and lean muscle mass on specialized scales.
Increased strength and Endurance
Upon commencing exercise, you will also find that the same activity that was once extremely challenging, is now much easier. This is because your tissues are adapting to the new loads and stresses you are placing upon your body. This can be in relation to all tissues including muscles, lungs and your heart! These changes are just as important as weight loss.
How to beat the plateau
After losing some weight many people might find themselves experiencing a plateau with weight loss which can be really quite frustrating! Often though, overcoming this plateau is possible with a few tweaks to your exercise program. This can be as easy as:
- Increasing the amount of cardio in your program
- Increasing weights
- Changing your resistance program up and adding new exercises
- Varying the intensity at which you work
If you’re experiencing a plateau and struggling to lose those extra kg’s or maybe you are just starting your weight loss journey, an Accredited Exercise Physiologist can revise and adjust your exercise program to ensure optimal results! Drop into Optimum Health Solutions and see how our Exercise Physiologists can help you!
