Break Through Your Diet Plateau
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March 5, 2008
By Susan M. Callahan, Associate Editor and Featured Columnist
You know the syndrome. You've been on a diet for a month or
so. Things are going great, you've lost pounds and inches.
You're just starting to feel like you're going to make it to your
goal weight, after all these years of trying. Then, you hit The
Wall.
The Diet Plateau. All of us have hit that wall. And, no matter
how much harder you pedal that elliptical trainer, no matter
how thin you slice that measly piece of meat you allow your
self, when you step on the scales, the same numbers stare back
at you.
What is a diet plateau? Why causes a diet plateau happen? How
can we break through?
Diet plateaus have several causes. There could be many
reasons you have hit your particular plateau. Short plateaus
lasting a few weeks are normal and unavoidable. Everyone hits
them.
But if your plateau has lasted longer than two weeks, you will
need to jolt your routine. Why?
The body settles into a metabolic routine after a while of being
on a diet/exercise plan, and you need to shock it again to get
the weight loss restarted. Here is a game plan:
1. Eat More to Break Through a Diet Plateau. One thing you
might do is eat a bit more. Yes, I said "more". Often, if we are
eating too few calories, the body's metabolism slows down too
much and starts to hold on to its fat reserves. In effect, it acts
as if you are starving, so it hangs on to your fat.
Eating just a bit more will trick the metabolism into relaxing
again, bringing it out of starvation mode.
You might try eating an extra pear or small apple with a small
piece of cheese for a snack. Also, try eating a bit more of foods
that speed up your metabolism like peppers. Try that for a
week, without changing your current exercise pattern.
2. Change Cardio to Break a Plateau. Another tried and true
strategy for breaking out of plateaus is to change your exercise
pattern. Change it 180 degrees. If you always start with
cardio and follow with weights, switch up. Start with weights
and follow with cardio. If you always run for 2 miles, then skip
a day, switch it up. Run for 2.5 miles, skip for 2 days. Or,
better yet, if you have been doing a step class fro your
aerobics, try a hip-hop dance class. The stop-and-start
movements will wake up your metabolism.
After two weeks of your new routine, your metabolism should
kick up. Then, you should be able to go back to your old
routines with continued weight loss.
If that doesn't work, I have posted a simple plan below.
3. Strength Training Breaks All Plateaus. Muscle is the place on
your body where calories are burned. Muscle burns 8 times
more calories to maintain itself that fat. For this reason, the
most effective way to lose weight and break through a diet
plateau is to train with weights. Here is a weight training
routine you can do at home.
Learn more about what foods to eat and which exercises to do
to lose weight and keep it off over the long term: 7 Healthy
Salads That Will Help You Lose Weight/ Weight Loss -New
Studies Show Which Diets Actually Work/ Drinking Cold Water
Burns Calories
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Why We Go Soft In the Middle
Why Americans Read In Bathrooms-The Hidden Epidemic of
Constipation
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Sugar-The Disease Connection
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