Sometimes your body just stops losing excess weight, even when you follow an exercise regimen and a healthy diet. If you have hit a weight loss plateau, then you need to know how to overcome it.
If you have undertaken a serious weight loss or fitness program, then you must have a weight loss goal in mind. When in the beginning of your program you lose weight steadily but after a point the scales doesn't budge at all, it is known as hitting the weight loss plateau. For most people, this is a frustrating point in a weight loss program and not seeing the scales move at all can leave them demotivated. If you too have hit a weight loss plateau, then you need to know how to break it. The first thing that you need to do when you are unable to lose any further weight is to carefully observe your diet. If there are changes you have made in the past week or so, or are indulging in sweet treats, it might result in you not losing any weight. Sometimes the body gets used to the current exercise regimen and needs something more challenging to budge the weight.
How to Break a Weight Loss Plateau
The main thing to remember if you are encountering a weight loss plateau is not to lose your motivation and give up your current exercise regimen at any cost. Also don't get depressed and start gorging on fatty food. Instead celebrate the fact that you have been successful in losing a significant amount of weight and have only hit a temporary plateau phase.
Change your Workout Style
Sometimes one workout style leads to a weight loss plateau and the best way to break it is to revamp your workout. If you had been doing cardiovascular exercises and pilates exercises for losing weight, then you can rev up your intensity by doing interval training or strength training. These are excellent way to add more variation to your workout regimen and exercise new muscles. You can also try out new exercises in your gym like kick boxing, yoga and aerobics. This will help you in not only breaking your weight loss plateau, but a new exercise regimen will also motivate and energize you. Varying your workout routine will also jump-start your metabolism.
Control your Portion Size
You might be eating healthy and non fattening food, but do you take stock of how much you are actually eating? To cut back on the portion of food you are having everyday, the best thing to do is to swap your dinner plates to salad plates. Smaller salad plates makes it impossible to pile it with food. This in turn tricks your brain into thinking that you are eating as much as earlier, since the plate appears fuller. Exercising portion control is essential when you are trying to lose those last kilos.
Drink More Water
Sometimes in your eagerness to lose weight fast, you might forget to drink the required amount of water. This makes the body hang on to water leading to water retention. This might be one of the reasons why you do not see the scales budging from one position. It is very important to drink water so that the toxins are flushed out and your body is not dehydrated.
Keep a Food Journal
You might think that you are eating healthy, but without knowing you might be sabotaging your diet by taking a bite of snack here and a sip of coffee there. Keeping a food journal where you right about every single thing that you eat and drink will help you take stock of the number of calories you are actually eating. This will help you evaluate whether you need to make any changes in your eating habits.
Everybody encounters weight loss plateau at some point of their weight loss program. It is important to stay motivated at such a point and follow the above methods of breaking the plateau.
By Rimlee Bhuyan
Article Source: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/weight-loss-plateau.html
If you have undertaken a serious weight loss or fitness program, then you must have a weight loss goal in mind. When in the beginning of your program you lose weight steadily but after a point the scales doesn't budge at all, it is known as hitting the weight loss plateau. For most people, this is a frustrating point in a weight loss program and not seeing the scales move at all can leave them demotivated. If you too have hit a weight loss plateau, then you need to know how to break it. The first thing that you need to do when you are unable to lose any further weight is to carefully observe your diet. If there are changes you have made in the past week or so, or are indulging in sweet treats, it might result in you not losing any weight. Sometimes the body gets used to the current exercise regimen and needs something more challenging to budge the weight.
How to Break a Weight Loss Plateau
The main thing to remember if you are encountering a weight loss plateau is not to lose your motivation and give up your current exercise regimen at any cost. Also don't get depressed and start gorging on fatty food. Instead celebrate the fact that you have been successful in losing a significant amount of weight and have only hit a temporary plateau phase.
Change your Workout Style
Sometimes one workout style leads to a weight loss plateau and the best way to break it is to revamp your workout. If you had been doing cardiovascular exercises and pilates exercises for losing weight, then you can rev up your intensity by doing interval training or strength training. These are excellent way to add more variation to your workout regimen and exercise new muscles. You can also try out new exercises in your gym like kick boxing, yoga and aerobics. This will help you in not only breaking your weight loss plateau, but a new exercise regimen will also motivate and energize you. Varying your workout routine will also jump-start your metabolism.
Control your Portion Size
You might be eating healthy and non fattening food, but do you take stock of how much you are actually eating? To cut back on the portion of food you are having everyday, the best thing to do is to swap your dinner plates to salad plates. Smaller salad plates makes it impossible to pile it with food. This in turn tricks your brain into thinking that you are eating as much as earlier, since the plate appears fuller. Exercising portion control is essential when you are trying to lose those last kilos.
Drink More Water
Sometimes in your eagerness to lose weight fast, you might forget to drink the required amount of water. This makes the body hang on to water leading to water retention. This might be one of the reasons why you do not see the scales budging from one position. It is very important to drink water so that the toxins are flushed out and your body is not dehydrated.
Keep a Food Journal
You might think that you are eating healthy, but without knowing you might be sabotaging your diet by taking a bite of snack here and a sip of coffee there. Keeping a food journal where you right about every single thing that you eat and drink will help you take stock of the number of calories you are actually eating. This will help you evaluate whether you need to make any changes in your eating habits.
Everybody encounters weight loss plateau at some point of their weight loss program. It is important to stay motivated at such a point and follow the above methods of breaking the plateau.
By Rimlee Bhuyan
Article Source: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/weight-loss-plateau.html
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