by Shelley G. Cole, M.D.| Published on February 25, 2020 |

Why is my weight stuck? Does my body think I am starving?

There is good news and bad news.

If we are anything alike, I always want to hear the bad news first. So here is the bad news first. Have you tried low carb diets and got results in the past? Yet, now, it doesn’t seem to work. It’s been called “hitting a plateau,” and it inevitably happens when you are losing weight.

The thyroid, that regulates your metabolism or how many calories you burn freely, slows down. That is really bad when you are trying to burn off fat. Why does it happen?

If your weight loss has slowed to a crawl, the message is clear.

Your body thinks you are in starvation,

so it will slow down your metabolism to protect you!

In a way, that is comforting to know it is a protective mechanism, that’s good. But, the fact is it is much harder to lose weight, so bad!

If you restrict calories for extended periods of time, the message is very clear, you are in starvation mode. The body will kick in hormone mechanisms to slow the metabolism so you won’t burn off as many calories.

So is there a way to trick the body into thinking it is not in starvation? Now here is the good news!

You need to eat! Eating is the only way

to convince your body that it’s okay to freely burn fat.

That is the good news. You have to have a “feast day” once in a while to remind your body you are not starving.

Try once a week feasting.

If you have chronically been restricting calories and you can’t lose weight, try this strategy. All I can say to that is, that is great news.