1. Keep drinking that water! You’ve heard it a thousand times before but it’s more important than ever now, since water is essential for keeping your metabolism humming along. Sip at least 1 – 1½ litres of water every day.
2. Take good measure. Stepping on the scale isn’t always the best way to measure your progress. If you’re not seeing a change on yours, use a tape measure to measure your various parts. You might be losing inches even thought the scale remains steady (remember: muscle is more dense than fat, so upping your exercise and building strong muscles could be contributing).
3. Build on your workout. If you’ve been doing the same workout for a while, you may find that it has less effect as your body adapts to it. Continue burning more calories than you eat by adding a separate five to 10 minute walk to your day. Or try working out more vigorously - increase your exercise gradually to avoid injury and consult your doctor if you are starting out on an exercise programme).
4. Remember that size matters. One common reason for plateaus is that dieters begin eating slightly larger portion sizes. Sometimes, even when you are eating healthier foods, large portion sizes can slow weight loss. Pull out the measuring scales or carb counter to make sure you’re not going overboard.
5. Keep a food journal. Track what you’re eating from week to week by writing down the foods you consume. If weight loss begins to slow, you’ll be able to identify what might have made the difference and correct it quickly.
6. Wait it out. If you’re a woman, remember that this plateau may be hormone-related. At different times in your menstrual cycle, you may be retaining water, which will show when you step on the scale. Instead of giving up, continue with the same good eating habits and see if the weight loss continues after a week or so.
7. Cut calories slightly. Weight loss tends to slow naturally as you get closer to your goal weight because it usually means you are eating close to the caloric intake your body needs to maintain your ideal weight. And while you may be tempted to cut your calories to make up for the slowed progress, you have to be careful not to go overboard. A calorie count that’s too low can slow metabolism slightly. You can decrease calories gradually, however.
8. Pump up your metabolism. One of the only proven ways to actually boost your metabolism is to add more muscle mass to your body since muscle burns more calories at rest than fat. If you’re not already doing some resistance training, try lifting weights, taking a yoga class or working out with resistance bands, two to three times per week.
9. Initiate some intervals. Some trainers say the best way to break through a plateau is by adding interval training into your current workout. Interval training is exercise that combines low-intensity and high-intensity activity in spurts. For example, alternating cycling at a moderate pace and a faster pace, or combining periods of walking and jogging. Trainers and exercise physiologists generally recommend a high-intensity to low-intensity ratio of one to three. In other words, if you are going to run for five minutes, walk for 15. Repeat those intervals for at least 30 minutes.
10. Shake things up. Though there’s not much scientific proof that it works, some dieters find that changing some of their meal plan selections from week to week seems to help them break through a plateau. Simple changes like switching some of those chicken portions for fish or having a chicken salad instead of an egg salad at lunch could make a difference for you. Not to mention ensuring your taste buds stay interested.
No comments:
Post a Comment