Preventing A Weight Loss Plateau

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If you’ve ever watched weight loss programs or tried to drop a dress size before, you’re probably familiar with the dreaded weight loss plateau. After weeks of moving in the right direction, you can suddenly hit a wall, which can be very difficult to climb over. If this happens, it can be tough to maintain motivation, and you may lose heart. Hopefully, this guide will get you back on track or help you continue moving in the right direction if you’re at the start of your weight loss journey.

Tracking your calorie intake

When you first start trying to get in shape and lose weight, it’s easy to find the time and the motivation to track your calorie intake and keep a food diary. Sadly, many people find that they lose interest or life gets in the way. If you’ve stopped noticing results on the scale, there could be a very simple reason. You may have taken your eye off the ball, and not even noticed it. If you’re counting calories, attention to detail matters. Don’t stop keeping a food diary just because you’ve had a couple of good weeks. If you had bad habits beforehand, like eating a lot of takeouts or filling your body with soda, you’ll probably drop weight rapidly when you decide to give it all up. However, to lose weight in the long-term, you need to make sure that you’re using more energy than you consume consistently. You can make use of apps to save time and effort. They can track your diet as well as how much energy you burn.

Staying motivated

We all have days when we don’t feel like going to the gym, or we’d rather have a pizza than a salad. The key to sustained weight loss is making changes that benefit your body, and maintaining the motivation to make your dreams a reality. If you’re having one of those days, think about why you wanted to lose weight in the first place. Are you worried about your health? Are you trying to trim down for a wedding or a summer vacation? Are you desperate to be more body confident? Use this as a source of inspiration, and keep going.

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At the gym, you may find that you get bored easily after the novelty of starting a workout regime wears off. To prevent boredom and keep things interesting, vary your sessions, try new things, and inject a bit of fun. Work out with your partner or take some friends along to a dance or spin class. Go for a swim or a cycle instead of your usual 20-minute treadmill workout or try boxing if you’re feeling stressed.

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Pushing yourself

When you begin exercising, your body changes, and with time, it gets used to the demands of a session. If you’re not pushing yourself to do slightly more every time, you won’t be getting the best out of your body. To lose weight, you need to make your body work harder. This doesn’t mean going from doing a 5km run to a marathon in a week. You just need to build up the intensity gradually and work out in a different way. If you’re used to doing push-ups, for example, try doing chest presses for a week and then switch back. If you’re varying your workouts, they will become more challenging, and you may also enjoy it more.

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Fuelling your body

When you’re trying to lose weight, you may think that eating as little as possible is the way forward. However, this can be counterproductive if you’re working out. When you exercise, your body burns the fuel that you put into the tank through your diet. If you haven’t got enough fuel in the tank, you won’t be able to push yourself to the limits, and this will be reflected on the scale. If you’re used to consuming far too many calories, and you have a lot of weight to lose, you may be cutting your intake drastically, but you should never dip significantly lower than the recommended daily intake of 1,700-2,000 calories for women and 2,000-2,500 calories for men.

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Supplementing your diet

If you’re focused on training hard, and you’re trying to slim down and build muscle mass, you may have looked into or come across training supplements like the strongest thermogenic fat burner. There’s a huge market for these products, and if you search online, you’ll find an endless stream of articles and retailers. This can make it tough to know what you’re looking for, especially if you’re new to training. The best thing to do is seek advice from your personal trainer, as they can make recommendations based on your needs and your goals.

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Adapting your attitude

Weight loss boils down to a simple equation featuring your diet and your movement patterns, but your mind also plays a part. If you haven’t got the right attitude, you may find it harder to lose weight. Are you doing everything you could be or you taking the easy way out whenever possible? It can be really difficult to give it your all in the gym and exercise willpower, but if you’ve got the right mindset, life should be much easier. If you’re struggling to stay focused, try working out with a trainer. They can give you more structure, and they’ll also be there to crack the whip if they feel like you could give more. You may be surprised what your body can do when you really push it.

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Every person who wants to lose weight dreads stepping onto the scale and seeing the same number that was there last week. When you’ve had great results, a plateau can knock your confidence and put you off balance. The good news is that it possible to prevent a plateau, and also to bounce back if you do have an off week. Keep your motivation level high, pay attention to your diet, and remind yourself why you want to reach that goal. Try different exercises, speak to your trainer about using supplements, stay focused, and think positively.