How to bust through a plateau
If you’ve ever been on a diet and lost weight, you know what a plateau is. It’s when despite the same routine you’ve been doing successfully to lose weight, your body refuses to let any more go. You work hard all week with no results. The closer you get to your goal, the more likely you are to plateau.
Plateaus are absolute no fun for anyone, but we have some tips on how to break the cycle and get back on track.
- Change up your diet: You’ve found a diet that works well for you, and for the most part, it’s been successful but if you find yourself stuck, make a change. Lower your calorie intake by 50 calories per day, reduce your carb intake, add in more vegetables. Make a change that is out of the ordinary for you.
- Charge up your workout: Normally workout three days a week? Why not try four or five? Usually run 3 miles? Up it to 4. Usually only walk for 30 minutes? Try an hour. Whatever you are doing, super charge it for a week to break the routine and help you rev up your body.
- Lift weights: If you don’t normally do weight lifting as a part of your workout, try it now. Your body needs strength training for proper fitness, and muscle building burns fat.
- Track your food: If you don’t keep track of what you are eating, try now. Putting it all on paper (or in a diary like on MyFitnessPal) can make a big difference and can point out obvious problems that were hard to notice before.
- Eat more fiber: Fiber makes you feel more full, and research has shown that for every gram of fiber you eat, it will cancel out about seven calories. Do the math, if you eat 20 grams of fiber, that’s like eliminating 140 calories!
- Drink more water: This is simple, just grab a bottle and keep it with you at all times, refill frequently.
Our bodies get complacent, just like we do. So we really have to make an effort to mix it up and confuse our bodies into doing what we want. Mix it up, try something new, and you’ll see results.