2609: When Your Body Gets Bored - How To Break Through Plateaus by Eric Leija on Exercise Consistency

[00:00:00] Delicious meets nutritious in the snack that packs a real protein punch, Wonderful Pistachios. Each 1-ounce serving of Wonderful Pistachios has 6 grams of protein, giving you over 10% of your daily value and making Wonderful Pistachios one of the highest protein nuts.

[00:00:16] But perhaps more than that, I love all of the flavors they have. Their sea salt and vinegar ones are my favorite when I'm craving that flavor but want to keep it healthy. But that's just the tip of the iceberg. Wonderful Pistachios come in a variety of flavors,

[00:00:30] like chili roasted, honey roasted, smoky barbecue, and jalapeno lime, perfect for enjoying with family and friends or taking them with you on the go. Whether you're a pistachio purist who loves cracking open every nut or you prefer the convenience of no-shells pistachios,

[00:00:47] Wonderful Pistachios has got you covered. Grab Wonderful Pistachios and elevate your snacking game today. So fill up with a healthy snack when hunger strikes. Visit wonderfulpistachios.com to learn more. That's wonderfulpistachios.com. This is Optimal Health Daily Episode 2609, When Your Body Gets Bored, How to Break Through

[00:01:34] Plateaus by Eric Lea of ericlea.com and I'm your host and narrator Dr. Neil Malek. Welcome back to Optimal Health Daily where I act as your personal narrator, reading the best health

[00:01:47] and fitness blogs to you so that you don't have to find and read them yourself. And with that, let's get right to another post as we optimize your life. When Your Body Gets Bored, How to Break Through Plateaus by Eric Lea of ericlea.com.

[00:02:08] Ah, the dreaded plateau. You know, as much as we hate it and it feels like we're the only ones experiencing it, the reality is nearly everyone deals with the plateau at some point and even multiple times during their fitness journeys. So remember, as frustrating as they can be,

[00:02:26] you're not alone in your struggle and countless others just like you have broken through using just a few strategies. So let's dive into them so you too can break through. Tips to Break Through a Plateau When we're trying to lose fat, hormones may

[00:02:42] be the primary reason we plateau. Our bodies are extremely adaptable, which means they readily detect changes in the types of foods we're consuming, our calorie input and calorie output, and our activity levels. Once our body detects these new changes, it adjusts our hormone levels

[00:03:00] in order to maintain homeostasis, meaning our current physique. This is especially true when we try to lose weight too quickly and drop our calorie count too low. Our body responds by rapidly adapting to the situation and it perceives that it's starving and as a result,

[00:03:20] will begin to release hormones that conserve body fat. And voila! Plateau. This is why you're soon going to hear that my tips are focused on switching things up, as this helps recalibrate your hormones so that you keep losing fat and keep building muscle. 1. Switch Up Your Workouts

[00:03:41] If you've been doing the same routine for a few weeks now, it's time to switch things up. As I mentioned a second ago, your body, which includes your muscle groups, adapts very quickly to repeated pressure, weight, and movement. Studies even back up this phenomenon, showing that 12

[00:03:59] week regimens of varied exercises are far more effective in building muscle than maintaining the same exercise routine day after day. The same is also true for fat loss. As we repeat the same style of exercising, our body adapts and these exercises become easier. We expend fewer calories

[00:04:19] to perform them, which may result in less fat burn. This is one of the reasons having a varied exercise regimen is so effective. Your body doesn't necessarily get a chance to adapt,

[00:04:31] which may cause it to steadily build muscle or drop fat. For example, if you've been doing longer steady state cardio sessions like walking or jogging on a treadmill or walking or jogging outside for 30 minutes to an hour, switch this up and try some high intensity interval training

[00:04:51] workouts a couple of times per week instead. And if you've been lifting with higher reps and the weight is no longer challenging, reduce your repetitions into the 6-8 repetition range and use a heavier weight. Try these changes out for a couple of weeks and note any differences.

[00:05:11] 2. Switch up your diet. Like training, your body also adapts not only to your calorie intake but also the types of foods you're eating. For instance, let's start with calorie intake. If you

[00:05:23] started your journey with a certain intake, it's likely that as your muscles have grown or as you've dropped some fat, your calorie requirements have gone either up in the case of building muscle

[00:05:35] or down in the case of dropping weight. Now if you're in the process of trying to build and you're also doing high intensity interval training workouts, you might want to consider upping your

[00:05:46] calories slightly like in the 300 to 500 a day range. Try that for a few weeks and see what happens. If you're trying to build and eat low carb, try adding a few days of higher carbs, whole grain

[00:05:59] carbs that is, into your regime. If you're trying to lose fat, I wouldn't recommend dropping your calories too low. First, I would add in high intensity interval training workouts before decreasing your intake. And if that doesn't get things moving, I would first cut out any and all

[00:06:17] added sugars. Fruit would be fine since it's not a type of added sugar. And then vary your carb intake. So if you've been extremely low carb, add in some clean carb sources. If you've been moderate carb,

[00:06:31] reduce that slightly and replace it with healthy fats and lean proteins. To be clear, none of these shifts have to be extreme. You don't have to go keto or high carb. Just vary what you're eating.

[00:06:45] Three, make sure you're getting quality sleep. Interestingly, lack of sleep can put a major wrench in your performance progress and your health in general. In fact, not getting enough sleep even just for a short while can have a dramatic effect on testosterone levels, which

[00:07:02] play a huge role in both muscle gain and fat loss. Studies have shown that just a week of sleep loss lowered testosterone levels by up to 15% in a group of healthy young men. So be sure you're

[00:07:16] getting in those eight hours. If you're having trouble sleeping, try blocking out all sources of light with blackout curtains and turning off even the smallest electronics because light disrupts melatonin production. Avoid screen time at least an hour before bed, including phones,

[00:07:33] computers, and tablets. And make sure you're getting enough magnesium. Four, reduce stress. Stress is another biggie that can easily result in a plateau. The infamous stress hormone cortisol is elevated during stress, which can result in higher blood

[00:07:51] sugar and higher insulin levels, making it more difficult to drop fat. Cortisol may also reduce testosterone levels, making it harder to gain muscle. Five, make time for recovery. To improve, your foundation has to be solid, and that foundation

[00:08:09] is first and foremost a healthy body. If you're overworking yourself physically, your mental and hormonal health is likely being overworked as well, and this will eventually lead to burnout. Make sure you're getting one to two days of recovery every week as this will give

[00:08:27] your muscles adequate time to repair and help prevent stress hormones from taking over. So, to recap, switching up your workouts may kickstart fat loss. Switching up your diet or the foods you're eating can re-stimulate certain hormones that may stagnate on the same repetitive

[00:08:46] diet and calorie count. Sleep is crucial for fat loss and recovery. Be sure you're getting eight quality hours. And, stress hormones can interfere with fat loss and muscle gain. You just listened to the post titled, When Your Body Gets Bored, How to Breakthrough Plateaus by

[00:09:08] Eric Lea of ericlea.com, and I'll be right back with my commentary. Dr. Neal here for my commentary. Breaking through plateaus is one of the most common questions I get. Now let's think of plateauing another way. Let's say a good friend of yours asks you for advice.

[00:09:26] They want career advice because they feel as though their career has plateaued. What would you suggest they do to get over this plateau? Would you suggest they keep doing what they've been doing, meaning the same thing day in and day out? Hopefully you wouldn't say that. More likely,

[00:09:44] if you wanted to give your friend good advice, you would suggest they consider changing something. Maybe taking a class or two to improve their skills. Ask their supervisor for more responsibilities. Maybe even look for a new job somewhere else. Either way, the advice probably

[00:10:02] wouldn't be, just keep doing the same things you've always done. We know intuitively that something has to change when we hit a plateau. So why would this rule be any different when we're trying to break through a weight loss plateau, or a muscle gaining plateau,

[00:10:17] or a personal record plateau? It isn't any different. And as Eric said in today's post, the bottom line is, something's gotta change. Maybe it's your workout. Maybe it's your diet. Maybe it's your rest days or sleep. Maybe it's all of those things. Look, try and change just

[00:10:35] one thing, no matter how small initially. The key is, just like the advice you would give to your friend, just change something. Alright, that'll do it for another edition of Optimal Health Daily.

[00:10:48] Thank you so much for listening, and I'll see you back here tomorrow where your optimal life awaits.