Multiple Plateaus in Weight Loss:
Being a normal incident during a weight loss process, plateau is considered a natural defense mechanism of the body. It is a resistance against the changes the body is facing with. Some people might plateau more than once, which is called “multiple plateaus”. If you reach plateau twice or more, you will have multiple plateaus. The higher the amount of weight you are planning to lose, the higher the chance to have multiple plateaus.
If you plateaued twice or more, you would have “staircase weight loss” pattern
People at Risk for Plateau:
You should expect hitting plateau if you have any of the following conditions:
- Unsupervised weight loss.
- Inadequate protein intake.
- Poor fiber diets.
- Insufficient water intake.
- Undernourished diets.
- Pear-shaped (Gynecoid) obesity.
- People with IRLA pattern of weight loss (See “Patterns of Weight Loss“).
- Stress, emotional or physical.
- Previous yo-yo diet.
- Rotational work shifts (night-day-night-day)
- Cellulite (also called orange peel syndrome or cottage cheese skin).
- Taking “Glucosamine” for joint health.
- Being under chemotherapy or chemotherapy within the past 6 months.
- Hormone imbalances.
- Hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
- Anti-depressants.
- Anti-anxieties.
- Sedatives and tranquilizers.
- Antipsychotic and psychotropic agents.
- Birth control pills.
- Corticosteroids.
- Medications for high blood pressure especially beta-blockers.
- Medications for migraine and seizures.
- Medications for allergy (antihistamines)
- Medications for stomach acidity (Cimetidine [Tagamet], Ranitidine [Zantac])
- Diabetes.
- Liver and kidney failure.
- Low function thyroid.
- People with totally or partially removed thyroid gland.
- Cushing disease or syndrome.
- PCOS (Polycystic ovarian syndrome).
- Sleeping disorders, especially insomnia.
- Bulimia.
- Mood disorders, especially depression.
- Chronic pancreatitis.
- Chronic pain disorders.
- Sheehan syndrome (damage to the pituitary gland due to interruption of its blood supply after a bleeding incident during pregnancy).
- Prolactinoma (a pituitary gland adenoma).
