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Are you eating right and exercising, but no longer seeing any results? Don’t give up - you’ve merely hit a plateau, and any dieter will tell you that you simply have to fight back. Here’s how:
1. Check your plate
Eating three square meals a day may seem enough, but ask any successful dieter what their secret to weight loss was and they’re likely to tell you snacking.
Solution: Instead of limiting yourself to only breakfast, lunch and supper, break it up into smaller meals (every three or so hours) so that you’re eating five or six times throughout the day. Remember, you are trying to get your metabolism going at full power and the only way to do that is with food!
2. Check your plate. Again
A big mistake that many of us make is cutting down on the amount we eat in the hopes of greater weight loss. Thing is, when you’re eating too little, your metabolism slows down to protect itself which is not exactly helpful if you’re analysing the scale.
Solution: Because we’re not all built the same, our nutritional needs will vary. Click here for more eating and weight loss tips or visit Health24’s comprehensive diet section.
3. Shake up your routine
30 minutes on the elliptical, followed by 30 minutes on a stationary bike. Every day. No matter how diligent you are in sticking to your workout, eventually you will have to give way to change the routine. Mix it up a bit.
Solution: Try jogging at an incline, swimming against time or cycling at a higher resistance. Pushing up your intensity or adding weights may be all that is needed to drop the last of those stubborn kilos!
4. Chill-out
Yes gym lovers, there is such a thing as over-training and it happens when you, er, exercise too much. Basically, when your body is overworked it responds by decreasing the amount of kilojoules it burns so no matter how hard you train, nothing will happen.
Solution: Make sure your week includes one or two rest days to give yourself time to recover and to prevent an exercise burnout. Can’t sit still? Then try something gentle like Yoga or Pilates.
5. Move more
Perhaps the opposite is true for you and you’re not exercising enough. The general rule states that 20 minutes of light physical activity 5 days a week will maintain good health, and at least 30 minutes will help you manage your weight. Are you doing this?
Solution: Your exercise routine needn’t lie solely in the gym. Up your quotient by:
• Walking more.
• Taking the stairs instead of the lift.
• Joining a running club.
Got any more plateau-busting solutions to share with our readers? Pop your ideas in the box below.
1. Check your plate
Eating three square meals a day may seem enough, but ask any successful dieter what their secret to weight loss was and they’re likely to tell you snacking.
Solution: Instead of limiting yourself to only breakfast, lunch and supper, break it up into smaller meals (every three or so hours) so that you’re eating five or six times throughout the day. Remember, you are trying to get your metabolism going at full power and the only way to do that is with food!
2. Check your plate. Again
A big mistake that many of us make is cutting down on the amount we eat in the hopes of greater weight loss. Thing is, when you’re eating too little, your metabolism slows down to protect itself which is not exactly helpful if you’re analysing the scale.
Solution: Because we’re not all built the same, our nutritional needs will vary. Click here for more eating and weight loss tips or visit Health24’s comprehensive diet section.
3. Shake up your routine
30 minutes on the elliptical, followed by 30 minutes on a stationary bike. Every day. No matter how diligent you are in sticking to your workout, eventually you will have to give way to change the routine. Mix it up a bit.
Solution: Try jogging at an incline, swimming against time or cycling at a higher resistance. Pushing up your intensity or adding weights may be all that is needed to drop the last of those stubborn kilos!
4. Chill-out
Yes gym lovers, there is such a thing as over-training and it happens when you, er, exercise too much. Basically, when your body is overworked it responds by decreasing the amount of kilojoules it burns so no matter how hard you train, nothing will happen.
Solution: Make sure your week includes one or two rest days to give yourself time to recover and to prevent an exercise burnout. Can’t sit still? Then try something gentle like Yoga or Pilates.
5. Move more
Perhaps the opposite is true for you and you’re not exercising enough. The general rule states that 20 minutes of light physical activity 5 days a week will maintain good health, and at least 30 minutes will help you manage your weight. Are you doing this?
Solution: Your exercise routine needn’t lie solely in the gym. Up your quotient by:
• Walking more.
• Taking the stairs instead of the lift.
• Joining a running club.
Got any more plateau-busting solutions to share with our readers? Pop your ideas in the box below.
