You've stayed dedicated to your diet and exercise program and are close to reaching your weight loss goal -- but those stubborn last 10 lbs. won't seem to budge. Instead of resulting to quick-fixes, such as extreme diets or weight-loss pills to shed the remaining pounds, reevaluate your diet and exercise program. When your weight loss progress comes to a stand-still, making a few tweaks in your fitness routine can help you drop those last 10 lbs.
Eat Breakfast
When you sleep, your body goes six to eight hours without food, which can slow down the metabolism. Having breakfast helps raise your blood-sugar levels to give your metabolism a morning boost and increase energy levels for the remainder of the day. So, avoid skipping breakfast. Going for long periods of time without food, sends your body into energy preservation mode, and your meals are more likely to be stored as fat, notes the National Federation of Professional Trainers. Have a serving of protein and complex carbohydrates at breakfast, such as scrambled eggs, whole-wheat toast and a piece of fruit.
Cut Back on Salt
A diet high in salt can cause weight gain due to water retention. Salt holds onto water in the body, which results in bloating. Decrease your sodium intake by seasoning your foods with spices and herbs instead of the salt shaker. Add flavor to your salads with sliced fruits or vegetables. Avoid high-sodium processed or prepared foods, including cold-cuts, frozen dinners, boxed meals and preseasoned foods. Your diet should revolve around whole foods in their natural forms.
Increase Your Protein Intake
Proteins are the building blocks of the body. Including protein in your diet and exercise program helps build muscle, which increases metabolism. Muscle helps you burn more calories, even when at rest. Eat a serving of protein at every meal to help increase lean muscle mass. Try low-fat protein choices, such as skinless poultry, low-fat dairy, fish, lean meats, soybeans, tofu and nuts. Get 10 to 35 percent of your diet from protein, suggests MayoClinic.com.
Try Circuit Training
If your weight-loss progress has stalled, it may be time for a more intense exercise routine. Circuit training builds muscle and burns fat in the same workout, so you burn more calories. A circuit training workout involves performing one resistance exercise per muscle group followed by a short burst of cardiovascular activity. Try exercises, such as triceps dips, situps, squats, pushups, overhead shoulder presses and lunges, for one set of 20 repetitions. Include 60 seconds of jumping jacks after each set. Perform the circuit of exercises for 30 to 45 minutes. You can expect to burn 500 to 600 calories on average with circuit training workouts, notes the National Federation of Professional Trainers.
References
- MayoClinic.com: Nutrition Guidelines
- "Sports Nutrition Manual"; National Federation of Professional Trainers; 2006
- "Weight Training Manual"; National Federation of Professional Trainers; 2006
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