Anyone who has ever attempted to lose weight will have to admit that at one point in their weight loss attempt there was a moment when they seemed stuck, and it didn't look like they'd ever reach their goals. Weight loss plateaus are so common that they can fairly be called universal. If you're attempting to lose weight, you will hit a plateau, and you need to know how to overcome it. A plateau can mean the end of motivation for many a dieter, so don't let it be what stands in the way of your true goals of fitness.
Why exactly do almost all dieters have this problem of getting stuck? Because at some point, your body adjusts to whatever changes you've thrown at it, and you stop losing pounds. It's up to you to figure out how to get the fat burning back on track. Usually the plateau is the esult of some sort of insidious introduction of food into your daily routine. It might be as simple as extra soda you're drinking, or perhaps you grabbed an 88 cent supply of Everlasting Gobstoppers the last time you were at WalMart and have been idly munching. Whatever the specfic food is doesn't matter, per say, but what matters is that you identify and isolate this variable from your normal diet. Once you've identified it, you can eliminate it! Analyze, Identify, and Eliminate. Think of yourself as being as ruthless as a robot when it comes to this practice. Find out what's causing your weight loss effort to stall and then stop doing it! The quicker you can do this, the better off you'll be in the long run because motivation wains when you don't see results. Success is achieved by eliminating or avoiding all roadblocks that lead to failure.
The more weight you have to lose, the more you'll experience plateaus for the simple reason that losing the extra weight will take extra time. The more time involved, the more likely you are to experience some period of time where all results have stalled and your original goal is a scant memory. It is during these dark days where the mantra "Analyze, Identify, and
Eliminate" will come in handy and eventually you to the finish line. The final weight loss winner is the person who can quickly adjust to real life events as they unfold and keep their weight loss strategy fresh enough to remain effective. Boring is bad. If you eat a boring diet or follow a bland exercise routine, you body will not be fooled, and you will get "stuck" for a period of time.
If you've been keeping notes, finding the trouble spots will be even easier. The information will be right there in your own words. If your weight loss effort even reads boring to you, you know you're in trouble. When you identify a potential trouble spot, you can quickly come up with a proactive solution to get yourself back on track. If you do this ruthlessly and
relentlessly, your body will quickly and permanently lose weight. As you identify and change long standing habits, the weight falls off with ease and you'll begin to wonder why you were even apprehensive about in the first place. There are no real barriers to your weight loss. With proper effort, you will undoubtedly succeed at whatever you set your mind to.
Training And Weight Loss
Yes, many women over 40 start off their weight loss programs full of excitement and determination, and indeed you do see the pounds dropping off over the first few weeks.
That's great, of course.
However, the next thing you know is that your progress has come to a dead stop...
...and you have just hit the dreaded weight loss "plateau."
But don't despair -- you are _not_ the only one experiencing this.
Hitting a plateau is a common experience for most women over 40 on a weight loss program.
And it can be one of the most de-motivating things to happen.
Thankfully, overcoming it is easy... IF you know the simple steps you can take.
Today, I'm going to show you some very simple and specific steps you can take to overcome your plateaus:
1. Be careful of the little things: It's easy to lapse into complacency over time, so I suggest that you keep a food diary. Writing down what you eat each day can help you to spot those times when you might be taking in more food than you realize. A little snack here and there can (and will) add up to a lot of extra calories.
2. It may not be the food: Sometimes, it's not the food per se that is the cause of the plateau. For example, work or family stress may be the culprit instead. Stress can cause you to want to go dig into that tub of chocolate ice cream. If you are feeling stressed, it's important to acknowledge it right now, and go find some other forms of relief other than reaching out for more (typically unhealthy) food. Go take a walk, listen to music or play with your dog instead!
3. Start off on the right foot: You got to eat something for breakfast every day. Not only will you start the day with your stomach feeling satisfied, eating breakfast actually kick starts your metabolism so that you'll burn more calories throughout the day.
4. Eat more often: Instead of eating 3 big regular meals each day, opt to have 5 smaller meals. After you eat, your body releases the hormone insulin, which causes your body to store fat. The larger the meal, the more insulin your body releases. But smaller, more frequent meals keep insulin levels lower and more stable. The less insulin you have in your blood, the more fat you burn, and the less you store.
5. Try water first: If you're feeling "hungry," try drinking a glass of water first before you go grab something to much on. Sometimes we confuse thirst for hunger, and end up eating more food unnecessarily. If the water doesn't make that hunger pang go away, you can always grab something to eat later. And the bonus is that the water would have helped you to feel fuller, so you don't have to eat as much!
6. Avoid snacks at night: After you've had your dinner, do not snack or eat supper. And never ever eat just before you go to bed. Take it from Oprah -- she says that one of her secrets to her successful weight loss is that she does not eat anything after 7:30pm... not even a grape.
7. Try a weekly one-day "cleanse": Choose 1 day in the week to cleanse your system by taking only vegetable juices. And please use fresh vegetable juices if you can, and avoid the canned stuff that are chock-full of sodium or added sugars!
Apply these 7 simple steps and you too will be able to overcome those plateaus easily.
Both Darren Mclaughlin & Tracy Lee are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Tracy Lee has sinced written about articles on various topics from Lose Weight. Tracy Lee is the owner of the "Weight Loss for Women Over 40" site. Get the latest news, tips & tricks that can help women over 40 to lose weight safely and permanently, and your complimentary copy of our Special Report "9 Little-Known Insider Weight Loss. Tracy Lee's top article generates over 3600 views. to your Favourites.
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