There is nothing more frustrating than committing to a weight loss program and then finding out that you are still gaining weight. Steve Edwards, over at Team Beachbody, has a new article about common weight loss conundrums. Below are three of the five points that I found most interesting and relevant to my fitness. 1. Cortisol. This performance enhancing stress hormone is present in your body for the "survival instinct". When you begin a new workout program, your body believes it is in survival mode until it adjusts to the demands of the program. So, you retain water to help rebuild muscle tissue. Once your body adjusts to the program, it will release less cortisol.
2. Under-eating. Some of Beachbody's programs have a kick-start eating plan in the beginning which asks that you not eat too much until you work yourself back up to a healthy eating plan. You may see weight gain during this time because of...you guessed it, cortisol. It's important that, while working out, you maintain a healthy eating plan so that your body does not think it's in survival mode.
3. The plateau. If you have been doing the same routine or workout for an extended period of time, you will stop seeing results. It's important to push past a plateau by adding resistance, increasing your intensity, or changing your workout program altogether.