Breaking Through Weight Loss Plateaus

It's extremely common to hit a plateau at some point during your weight loss journey. And, obviously, it can be really discouraging when the number on the scale doesn't move. Good news — there are certain things you can do to help bust through that plateau and watch the scale number lower.

Reevaluate Caloric Needs

As you lose weight, your body burns fewer calories — sad, but true! This means that over time, you need to consume fewer calories to lose weight at the same rate.

You have two options: 

1. Consume less food every day
2. Move a little more to make up the difference. 

Back to Basics

Good habits sometimes fall by the wayside when you get too comfortable with a program, so make sure you're as on track as you think you are. For starters, write down EVERYTHING you eat. You may not realize how many little extras you're sneaking into your day. Also, make sure you measure out or weigh your foods. Measuring cups and a small kitchen scale are great tools you can use to ensure you're eating exactly the portions you're accounting for. 

Move

Exercise burns calories. It's that simple! If you haven't started a workout routine yet, start by walking 30 more minutes a day or by trying out a dance class at the local gym.

The Key To Heart Health

If you've been working out, either step up your intensity or add an extra workout each week.

If you're on a budget, there are a lot of free videos available online, from yoga and pilates to cardio and dance. The key here is just to move more than usual, at least until you break through that weight loss plateau.

Switch It Up

Being consistent can be great, but sometimes you need to change things up to get your body back on track. If you typically eat three large meals and no snacks, try skipping one meal every other day. If you've been snacking a lot, try skipping those snacks and replacing them with larger meals. Once you've broken through the plateau, you can always go back to the plan that best fits your daily life.

Choose Fresh Foods Over Packaged

If you've been eating too many meals out of a box or bag, you may want to try adding more fresh options to your diet. This is especially true if you're a fan of mom and pop brands. Those are sometimes less accurate than mass produced items when it comes to the nutritional information. If you're struggling with stalled weight loss, you may want to skip prepared foods for now. Limiting packaged foods in favor of fresh foods (lean protein, fresh veggies and fruit, etc.) is a great way to jump-start your weight loss.

Beware of Bites

We're all guilty of having an extra bite here and there.

But those extras have calories, and those calories can really add up! Try to cut out the extras or at least be totally honest and record every single one of them in your food journal. You might be surprised to see you're eating more calories than you think!

Get Support

Invite friends to come with you on a walk, join an online health community like calorie count, or sign up with a local fitness group. Sometimes the support and help of others is all you need to get back on track.

Drink Water

This might go without saying but drinking water is super important. It keeps you hydrated, helps you feel full, and flushes out toxins. Travel everywhere with a bottle of water in hand and try to drink at least eight cups daily. 

Plateaus can be very discouraging  but is normal. Your body doesn't like when you lose weight, it things Your starving and it starts to hoard fat instead of burning fat.  

You can actually gain weight.

If you want your body to keep burning fat, you have to trick your body. Your body doesn't know how much fat is too much. Humans never had a problem with too much fat before the late 1800's. Oh sure, there has always been overweight people going back thousands of years, but not in the numbers we have today. People have always been more active than modern man and we didn't have to workout to burn calories. Also, before the 1950's we never had processed food, the food we ate was all natural. We never imported food from other countries and for the most part, our foods were locally grown.

The consumer has bought into this recent trend of buying processed foods to save time. In the future, we will discover that this trend was the biggest mistake modern man has made. 

If you really want to lose your body fat than look for my e-books at the websites listed below. You'll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet. Instead of spending hours on the internet reading dozens of posts, you can save time by picking up one of my e-books. 

There are two e-books. “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?” is available at all the online bookstores selling for $1.99. Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find my e-book. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans or meal plans. Look for my book. at Amazon.com, B&N.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

My new e-book is available on Smashwords.com, just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page.