Chasing Two Rabbits

Ticked off, pissed off, grumpy, mad, frustrated and all around NOT happy. Why? Because it's a plateau time, one of the most dreaded words when it comes to exercise and losing weight. Webster's defines plateau as, "to reach a state or level of little or no growth or decline, especially to stop increasing or progressing; remain at a stable level of achievement; level off." My specific issue is around weight loss and reducing my body fat percentage. I'm stuck in the low 140s and 22%...GRRRRRR. Yes, I am still making progress as far as my lifting goes, I hit my 200 lb squat and dead lift and able to bench 100 lbs BUT the weight is not decreasing. I have mastered core exercises and all different types of lunges that I was not able to even attempt when I first started my journey but the body fat is still there and visible. What the heck is going on?

For me personally I get very frustrated and down on myself when I'm not making constant strides forward. It doesn't matter if it's mastering a new activity, getting a promotion at work or in this case, reaching the fitness goals I've set for myself. Yes, I'm hard on myself, I always have been and it's something I've come to love/hate about myself.

I've been talking with my trainer on this topic and he equates setting the goals of body fat reduction and strength training/build muscle mass to a dog trying to chase two rabbits, it's close to impossible. Yes, I'm sure it works for some but for the majority of individuals it's a damn hard thing to accomplish. You typically need to take in more good calories and protein and lift, lift, lift to build muscle mass. In order for the muscle to grow bigger, you have to tear it down and eat  and supplement correctly to allow it to rebuild, bigger. But if you're trying to reduce body fat, you need to reduce your caloric intake (not drastically), focus on a different mix of foods and supplements and increase your fat burning activities such as High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) and lifting weights, but at higher reps. Yes, you are still building muscle, but it may not look bigger, like Arnold. Then again, I'm thinking that I really would NOT look good if I looked like Arnold, LOL.

So, what am I going to do about it? Sitting hear complaining will do absolutely nothing to solve the problem, albeit therapeutic at first. First thing is pick which fitness goal is my priority - getting the "big lifts" or losing weight/body fat. I've decided to focus on reducing my body fat. While I've had fun hitting those big numbers (and I will again), I would prefer to look smaller, reduce the body fat and show off the muscles that are under there somewhere. My workouts have transitioned to increasing the intensity of my cardio and/or duration and focus on more reps and compound exercises. I'll still be at the gym the same number of times, for the same length of time, but the focus will be different. I just started this transition so there are no results yet. In addition looking at how I can modify my diet to increase the results. I'll be focusing on more clean eating, looking for hidden sugar and processed crap and increasing my lean proteins. I'm also going to do a "challenge" -- more to come on this later, but really excited to give it a whirl.

As I transition focus and get back on track, let's hear about areas you've plateaued or are stuck in. I'm sure whatever it is you're NOT alone and that we can solve the issue, the support is there to reach your goals!