Think you have hit a plateau?
A true plateau is when you have not lost any weight for 3 weeks. Use your tape measure as your guide instead of the scale. You could lose an inch and it might not show up as a pound.
Here are some ideas for getting off the plateau:
Eat two big raw carrots per day. Carrots bind toxins and stimulate the colon to remove waste. Food in, nutrients absorbed and food OUT is my motto!
Avoid cabbages, radishes and mustard greens unless they are cooked (if eaten raw in large amounts, they can suppress thyroid function which is the heart of metabolism). You can saute radishes in a little coconut oil until lightly golden and add a dash of sea salt for a tasty vegetable dish.
Use only celtic sea salt and not the processed kind as it contains too much iodine and interferes with the thyroid. Sea salt is actually a diuretic, it stabilizes blood sugar and also contains 48 minerals.
Consider allergens that could disturb the liver as being the cause of the plateau. Check the list of allergy foods in the LW Plan (see "Allergies"). Many times eating the "sensitive seven" can cause 10-20 pounds of water weight to occur. Even some of the healthy foods can cause the body to stop losing weight.
Dr. Raymond Peat suggests the following to get off the plateau:
Sleep less than normal unless the brain is really tired. It will help keep blood sugar up and fat down.
Lowering the room temperature and being in brighter lights will stimulate the thyroid.
Do you have acne or dandruff? If so, you might have a vitamin A deficiency and that will slow weight loss. Grassfed beef is a good source of vitamin A.
Medium chain fatty acids found in coconut oil are effective in turning up the synthesis in the liver and will speed up metabolism.
If you are not doing the deep breathing in the Living Well Plan, start doing it! Deep breathing is great for boosting the metabolism and is the only exercise I did while losing weight! You can also add some light weights to the exercises and boost your metabolism further by firming your muscles.
If you are killing yourself in the gym, take a nice walk everyday instead. Endurance exercise depresses thyroid function.
I want to point out that I have never been the type to kill myself with exercise. I used to feel guilty about it but now I am glad I never have because it would have caused more problems for my thyroid. Dr. Peat states, "it turns out that a walk through interesting and pleasant surroundings consumes more energy than does harder but more boring exercise. An active brain consumes a tremendous amount of fuel."
This makes me think an all day shopping trip would burn A LOT of calories! Only if you love to walk and shop and find the stores to be very pleasant surroundings!
