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Weight loss feels great when the numbers are heading consistently towards your goal. The scale going the wrong way can be disheartening and the scale not moving from week to week is downright frustrating. When you’re stuck and can’t seem to get past the plateau, here are some tips to try and get you moving towards your goal.
Time to eat less
It’s not all about the calories going in, but if you’re eating the same portion size or calories as when you first started on your weight loss journey, it’s time to leave some food on your plate. After you start to lose weight, your body adjusts yet again, requiring fewer calories than it did before. Remember, what goes into your mouth has the strongest link to weight loss. It’s easier to leave the two oreos on the plate or in the package than climb 21 flights of stairs to burn them off.
Up your fibre
Shoot for eating 30g of fibre a day. Here’s a link to tally up what’s on your plate or make up a meal with fibre in mind. A study found that for every gram of fiber consumed, you can eliminate seven calories from your diet later that day. That means if you hit the 30-gram mark, you could cancel out 210 calories a day. That’ll lead to more than 16 pound loss over a year! Try berries instead of cookies and barley instead of white rice.
Change up the caffeine
Before you groan about ditching your caffeine fix, green tea still contains a good level of caffeine to get your energy hit. However, green tea has the added benefit of fat-blasting compounds called cathecins. They help you lose belly fat by revving up your metabolism and speed up the liver’s fat burning ability.
Sleep more, not less
Are you closer to a 6-hour-a night-er than an 8-hour-er? Getting less than 6 hours of sleep a night can reduce fat loss by 55% compared to those who get the gold standard 8. Sleeping less can also lead to more hunger, unbalanced blood sugar and hormone imbalance.
Work it
Either you’re not doing enough exercise, or you need to change it up. Increasing your heart rate for someone who isn’t exercising at all (as in Jerry), could get things moving. If you’re already exercising, try some interval training for faster fat burning. Warm up at an easy pace for 5 minutes. Then run at very high intensity for 1 minute and recover by running very easily for 4 minutes. Repeat five times. Increasing your muscle mass by weight or resistance training increases the breakdown and rebuild of your muscles. It’s actually a good thing, because it promotes insulin sensitivity and weight loss.
Mindful socializing and eating out
You’ve got to live, see friends, socialize and who wants to go out and say no to everything? Minimizing food or drink when out is really the best way to go. One or two less glasses of wine, beer or spirit, means less time spent working it off. Having one or two appetizers instead of five also works to your favour. If you end up having a binge night, get right back at it the next day. And no fry up for your hangover.
Go beyond the scale
Are your clothes fitting better or loose? Just because the scale doesn’t back up your clothes, remember that you can be losing inches rather than pounds depending on your activity. If you’re feeling more energetic, your skin is more radiant and there’s a balance of mood and feeling throughout your day, that’s a massive win.
Work your way through the above and let us know what had the biggest impact for you.
