You're doing all the right things; you're exercising and eating better than ever, yet your motivation is starting to wane as you can't quite figure out how to lose the last 10 pounds. Sound familiar? Some call it a plateau while others think it's the end of the road since their body won't ever drop below that set point. It's a common scenario that is almost inevitable on the weight loss journey.
Don't give up just yet. Oftentimes all that's needed is a little check up followed by a readjustment. What worked for your body in the beginning of your journey may not be working now. Or, perhaps what worked for your body in the beginning would still work for your body today but you're not willing to work for it (ouch, a bit of reality there but that's what I'm here for).?
When you hit a point in training where you aren't seeing progress, it's usually because of one of the following four things:
1. Intensity of training isn't high enough, frequent enough, or has not been changed in over 6 weeks
We've all seen those people who read a novel while leisurely riding a bike at the gym. Here's a fitness tip for you: If you can read while you're exercising, your intensity level is too low. One of the best ways to gauge your intensity level during a workout is to use the Level of Perceived Exertion-a scale judging how hard you feel your body is working. By combining all levels of stress, effort, and fatigue and putting this feeling on a scale of 1 - 10, this will give you your Level of Perceived Exertion. With one being no exertion at all and 10 being maximal exertion where you can not continue, you would want to be achieve levels between 6 - 9, or between hard and extremely hard. For example, you may start out your set of bicep curls at a weight that feels hard (level 6). As you continue and begin to fatigue, the level of exertion may feel between 7 - 8. By the time you get to your last 2 repetitions, your exertion level should be at a 9 and feel extremely hard. The same method can be employed for cardiovascular fitness utilizing intervals.
Frequency of workouts should be more than 4 days a week up to 6 days a week to see improvements. Anything less will generally cause you to maintain. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that you get 60 minutes of exercise on most days of the week.
Finally, your workouts must be ever-changing. The body is highly efficient and able to reduce the workload as the body adapts to the same exercises. Switch your routine every 4 - 6 weeks to keep the body challenged.
2. Improper nutrition
Nutrition is more often than not is the main cause of lack of results. You say "I don't really eat that bad" but that isn't much different than admitting you don't really eat that well either. The last 10 pounds can be the most stubborn so you have to be really strict if you're serious about seeing results. I recommend keeping a food journal, watching calories, grams of protein, carbohydrates, fat, fiber, and water intake. You may think that you're eating ok, but if you're not monitoring your intake you really have no way of knowing for sure.
There are four main components that make up every meal: lean protein, vegetables, high-fiber complex carbohydrates, and quality fat with every meal every 3-4 hours. Make sure the foods you eat are unprocessed or minimally processed- meaning whole, fresh foods like lean organic meats and fresh veggies while eliminating anything in packages like breads, pastas, crackers, cookies, granola bars, etc. You'll also need to take in 25-35 grams of fiber each day and drink half your body weight in ounces of water each day. Those two little things alone could be the hiccup in your routine. Finally, eliminate as much alcohol and sugar from your diet as possible.
?3. Overtraining or not enough recovery / sleep
Overtraining is a common pitfall for those looking to lose the last 10 pounds yet, resorting to the "more is better" philosophy can actually hinder your success. It's very important that your body has enough rest and recovery because this is actually when the body is building the lean muscle. The lean muscle is the metabolically active tissue that burns calories even when you're at rest, boosting your resting metabolism. The workouts tear the muscle down, not build it up (hence soreness) so if you don't allow the body time to rebuild with rest, you will never gain that metabolism boosting lean muscle. Additionally, rest is critical as it also helps to reduce stress hormones in the body that will halt fat loss efforts.
You should sleep 8 hours a night (Yah right, I know! But that's what all the science shows time and time again). Even if you hit the sack just 30 minutes earlier each day, you'd have 3 hours of extra rest each week. Bump it up to an extra hour a night and by the end of the week you've gained almost an entire night of extra sleep! Also, you should have one day a week where you don't do a strenuous workout. A walk or gentle yoga would be fine on your "off" day, but give the muscles and joints a break from the pounding of running, jumping, and lifting.?
4. Inconsistency with exercise, nutrition, and rest combination
Inconsistency is the easiest thing to let slide when we're training. If you eat perfect four meals a day, but then blow it on the other two, then you won't get the results. If you only workout two days a week, you won't get the results. If you eat perfect and exercise perfect for two weeks, then take a week off, you won't get the results. Likewise, exercise twice a day for 30 days in a row, live on caffeine and only get 4 hours of sleep each night, you won't get the results. Consistency with all the elements is the glue that will hold it all together. It's not enough to "not eat that bad" or skip workouts on a regular basis. You have to have all the right ingredients for the right amount of time in order to see results. While you'll notice small changes along the way, it usually takes about 8 weeks of consistently exercising and eating nutritionally before you will see lasting results.
It's possible to lose the last 10 pounds. Check through the list to see if there is anything you may be missing in your routine. If you're truly doing all the right things, you may just need to give yourself a little more time.
Carrie Morgan is a nationally recognized Certified Personal Trainer and Certified Fitness Nutrition Coach. She is the co-founder of motivFIT with her husband Jeff and together they created the original Body Blast Challenge program. Carrie was the Prenatal Nutritional Coach for the Platinum Mommies program with award-winning doctors in Las Vegas. With her medical background as an EMT, she has over 12 years experience in the health & wellness industry and specializes in women's health issues & fitness nutrition. Outside of helping others, Carrie also enjoys long distance running, cooking, and writing. For more information go to motivfit.com motivfit.com or join her blog at blog.motivfit.com blog.motivfit.com.
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