Staying motivated while dieting can be challenging enough as it is without hitting the weight loss plateau. However weight loss plateau can be quite a frustrating experience when it is not expected as it can be misinterpreted as being a sign of regress. Experiencing weight loss plateau at certain times is perfectly normal, however weight loss plateau is more common for women over forty who are trying to lose weight. Nonetheless, regardless of gender or age, weight loss plateau occurs for two main reasons: either the body got adjusted to the diet or exercise program or due to a drastic calorie calorie intake decrease.
Making a few changes in your normal routines will be required if you want to overcome this dreaded dieting stage. However when the result is accelerated weight loss, making every effort needed is certainly well worth it. Here are some effective strategies to overcome this stage:
Keep a food diary If you don’t do it already, keeping a food diary might be an invaluable tool as it might help you identify certain slip ups that you might not realize you are making and that jeopardize your goals. Be specific about your dietary habits and make sure to rate portion sizes, number of calories ingested and even the time. This way you will be able to compare your dietary habits in contrast to your exercise habits and make adjustments if needed.
Alter your fitness regimen It is a well known fact that after the body gets used to a particular fitness routine the effort required and thus the calories burnt diminish. Making the fitness routine more challenging and adding weight training exercises to your routine can help you make more progress. Combing cardio and weight training in a single session is highly recommendable as it can burn more calories. While cardio routine raises your heart rate, weight training raises your basal metabolic rate helping you burn more calories.
Eat more meals Dividing your calories evenly throughout the day is a well known strategy in order to boost metabolism. If you are not using this strategy now is the perfect time to do it as it can prove very useful. Although varying daily calories is not usually recommended, if you maintain the same weekly caloric intake this idea might help you jump start your weight loss process again. Some theories even suggest that eating a ‘forbidden’ food once in a while might be helpful. However, with this last strategy falling off wagon is a lot easier.
Increase protein intake If your exercise is particularly strenuous or if your diet is focused around carbs, upping your protein intake might be just what you need to keep things going well. Protein is excellent for making you feel fuller longer and is essential for the fat burn process. However, making sure that protein high protein foods make up are no more than 20% from your daily calories is important.
If you suspect that weight loss plateau might be the result of drastic calorie decrease, eating more healthy foods is an obvious answer. However having realistic expectations and maintaining a positive attitude are extremely important in order to maintain your motivation so make sure not to obsess too much over this stage.
