You've been working out and sticking to your nutrition plan. You saw some great results at first, but now, that has come to a screeching halt. You haven't changed anything. So why have the results stopped?
This period where weight loss seems to stop, even though you have more weight to lose, is called a plateau. If you've reached this part of your fitness journey, here are some tips to change up your routine, refocus, and get your body back in weight loss mode.
Up Your Cardio Intensity
That's exactly what you wanted to hear, right? As you lose weight, your metabolism tends to slow down. Increasing the intensity of your cardio will help rev it up again. And although that might not sound like a lot of fun to you, the good news is, you don't necessarily need to increase the time of your cardio. So if you're currently walking on the treadmill for 30 minutes, try increasing the intensity by adding in 1 minute run/jog intervals alternate with 1 minute walk/recovery intervals - still for your current 30 minutes.
Tune Up Your Toning
Muscle building workouts are a great aid to weight loss because muscle burns at east 4X more calories than fat. You should be incorporating strength training in to your fitness plan at least 2x per week. But you also need to be changing up to continue to challenge your body to continue getting results. If you've stuck to your same strength plan for a while now, try learning something new to wake your body up from that plateau.
Cut Some Calories
The less you weigh, the less calories you need. If you're still eating the same amount of calories you were before you lost weight, it may be time to re-evaluate your needs. To calculate your calorie needs, multiply y our current weight by 15. That's about how many calories you need to maintain your current weight. If you want to lose weight, you'll need to eat less than that or exercise (most likely both) to be in a deficit.
Keep Going
Hitting a plateau does not mean you're at the end of your weight loss road. Fitness is a life long journey. Perhaps you need some extra help from a trainer or nutritional coach. Or just call on a buddy to help keep you motivated. People on a fitness program that have people helping them along the way are 70% more successful than those that do it on their own. So don't give up! Find your trainer and your squad and make it happen!