Fitness

6 Ways to Get Over the Weight-Loss Plateau

posted on March 29, 2017 | by Chelsea Becker

We’ve all been there, right? You’re focusing on fitness and eating well and are seeing progress, then boom! You hit a point where the progress seems to lull, even when you haven’t done anything different. It’s frustrating and confusing, but weight loss plateaus are actually very common. Here are 6 ways to shake it up and get over the hump:

Explore food

There are SO many food categories to explore these days. Plus, losing weight is 80% about diet. If you’re maxed out on grilled chicken as a protein source, experiment with vegan and plant-based options. Love & Lemons is a site I find myself on whenever I need to switch things up in a healthy way. I try to make at least one new nutritious meal a week.

Ignore the scale

So often we get hung up on a number from the scale, but let’s completely set that aside for a second. Instead, take a minute to think about how you feel. Put on a pair of jeans that were maybe a little snug before you started your weight loss journey—how do they feel now? More importantly—how do you feel when you wear them? And besides, the whole muscles-weighs-more thing can totally throw your number off. Use your clothes as the indicator instead.

Mix up your routine

A lot of fitness and health professionals say you won’t continue to see results if you’re doing the same workout every day. If you’ve been killing it at CrossFit, change it up and take a yoga class. If you are a cardio girl, add in strength training to build muscle mass—which then burns fat and keeps your metabolism moving.

Encourage movement

Now that it’s lighter out later, ask your significant other or roommate to do a post-dinner walk. Or see how many times you can walk around the block on your conference call. Think about biking to your local coffee shop instead of jumping in your car on autopilot. Finding pockets of movement throughout the day will definitely lead to a difference in how you look and feel.

Follow inspiration

Everyone has bad days when it seems like their goals are out of reach. To pull yourself out of that funk and relight the fire, search for inspiration on social media. What good is Instagram if you can’t find some inspiring health and fitness accounts to follow anyways? Remi and Lauren (who is pregnant and STILL in great shape) are two women I constantly stalk to find recipes, workouts, and general healthy-life content.

Take a break

When you obsess over something, it tends to feel like you’re not making any progress. As hard as it may be, try to mentally remove yourself from the weight loss realm for a minute. Take a weekend trip with your girls (don’t spend the trip talking about exercise or your waistline) and hit the refresh button. Once you’re back, you’ll be re-motivated to keep pushing forward.