In the beginning of a diet, you drop pounds rather quickly. As your body gets used to your new diet and fitness routine, weight loss may stall and the numbers on the scale refuse to budge. This is called a diet plateau. Diet plateaus are frustrating, but don’t let them decrease your motivation. A little hard work and extra effort can help you overcome your diet plateau and resume your weight loss.
Assess Calories
When you hit a diet plateau, assess your diet routine. Oftentimes, people don’t realize what they are actually eating during the course of the day. While it may seem innocent, a bite of chocolate cake here and a spoonful of ice cream there add up. A diet journal is an excellent tool to help you keep track of what you are eating and calculate your calorie intake. Although it may seem tedious, write down everything you eat when you eat it. At the end of each day, calculate your calorie intake. If you are taking in too many calories, figure out where you need to cut back and do so. If you are staying within your calorie needs, yet still not losing weight, you may need to reassess your calorie needs. As you lose weight, your body needs fewer calories to function properly. Reducing calorie intake can jump start weight loss and help you overcome a diet plateau.
Change Your Eating Habits
While many dieters think the key to successful weight loss is reducing calorie intake as much as possible, this is not the case. When you deprive your body too much, your metabolism slows down in an effort to conserve calories. While this mechanism is an exceptional survival instinct, it can contribute to a diet plateau. To keep your body burning calories as efficiently as possible, you have to eat regularly. This means meeting your calorie goals as well eating every few hours. Instead of eating three meals throughout the day, aim for five or six small meals or snacks. Providing your body with a steady calorie intake keeps your metabolism high and helps you lose weight.
Cardiovascular Exercise
Regular exercise is a vital component to any weight loss routine, but even with regular exercise, you may hit a diet plateau. When you do the same exercise day after day, your body gets used to the routine and weight loss stalls. The key is to keep your body guessing. Instead of jogging on the treadmill every morning, alternate jogging with swimming and bike riding. Each type of cardiovascular exercise uses different muscle groups. Combining exercises helps you use your whole body and helps you lose weight more efficiently.
Strength Training
In addition to engaging in different types of cardiovascular exercise, include strength training into your exercise routine. Strength training helps build lean muscle mass, which increases your metabolic rate and helps your body burn more calories, even at rest. Incorporate at least 3 days of strength training, such as lifting weights, each week.
Member Comments