I have been dieting and working out for a few months and I am happy to report that I have lost twenty pounds so far! Although I am thrilled with this, I am hoping to lose another ten pounds to get to my goal weight, however, it seems that I am “stuck”...

First of all, congratulations on your weight loss so far! That is great! You voice a rather common complaint that many dieters have. After following the same diet and exercise routine for a few months, many people notice a slowing of their results. I feel your pain, people! I have been there myself. Five months after my son was born, I had about 5 pounds of weight left to lose before my first post-baby photo shoot. I had been dieting and exercising consistently for five months and it just seemed like my body wanted to hang onto that last little bit of pudge. I might have thrown in the towel and said “Hey. I’ll just live with this little layer of fat over my abs”, but I had a photo shoot to do! Not only that, but I have the “Never Settle” attitude and it’s not like me to accept defeat. Allow me to let you in on a little secret that I learned: the human body is smart. After a certain amount of time doing the same thing to lose weight, your body figures out what you are trying to do and doesn’t allow you to continue to lose bodyfat at the same rate. There are a number of reasons why this occurs. When you consume fewer calories, your metabolic rate will slow down. This happens very slowly but eventually, your weight loss will hit a wall and you won’t be allowed to continue to keep doing the same routine day in, day out and continue to lose weight. I like to think of this as the plateau effect. But I have great news—you can outsmart your body and break through this plateau by keeping it guessing. A few small changes to your routine and you can be back on the road to that bikini body you have been working so hard to achieve. Here are my tips for busting through the plateau to help you lose that last bit of weight:

1. Try Carb Cycling To do this, try eating lower carbs one day and higher carbs the next day. For instance, lets say you eat oats with your breakfast, wheat bread with your lunch and rice with your dinner. On one day, try cutting out the bread and rice and substituting them with green veggies or a nice big salad. On the next day, add back in the bread and keep the greens in place of the rice at dinner. On the following day, have all the carbs back in. By cycling your carbohydrates this way, you keep your body guessing so you get out of that metabolic rut of eating the same number of calories every day.
2. Try HIIT If you haven’t tried HIIT cardio, in my opinion, this is the most effective form of cardiovascular activity. This form of cardio will get your body out of that rut as you perform intervals of low intensity exercise with bursts of maximum intensity exercise. This is another effective way of getting your body out of that comfortable state of performing the same old exercise routine every day. See my blog entry “HIIT me baby” for instructions on how to effectively perform HIIT cardio.
3. Try Active Rest When you are weight training, try dropping the weights after a set and perform 60 to 90 seconds of an exercise that gets your heart rate up INSTEAD of resting. You can do some plyometric moves like lunge jumps, pop-squats or walking lunges. When I have a weight loss deadline, I take a jump rope with me as I hit the various weight stations and skip in between sets. I also add in ab exercises between sets thus resting very little as I train. This helps to burn more calories during my training as I am constantly moving through the entire lifting session.
4. Lift More If you are weight training with low reps and higher weight, try increasing the number of reps you perform. Decrease the poundage of weights and go for 15-20 reps and a nice burn. If you are lifting lower weights with higher reps already, try lifting heavier for fewer reps. The key here is to increase the workload of your training sessions. By challenging your muscles to something different, you will break through that plateau by giving your body something different than the routine you have gotten accustomed to.
5. Add 1-Db° to Your Program If you haven’t tried 1-Db°, this supplement is an excellent thermogenic compound that will enhance your metabolism and turn your stubborn body into a fat-burning machine! Last year as I set my sights on my first competition after my son was born, I was struggling to get the last bit of weight off. I was frustrated and needed something to help kick my metabolism back into high gear. My hubby Brett had been working with 1st Phorm and introduced me to 1-Db°. When I took my first dose, it was as if angels appeared out of the sky and began singing Halleluiah! I was bursting with energy, my workouts rocked and my cravings vanished! I got leaner than I ever thought possible after having a baby and went on to win the NPC Missouri State bikini championships! If you are like me, you are a busy person with a hectic schedule. Sometimes it’s difficult to gather the energy to workout like a rock star when you have had a long day of work, the kids have homework and soccer practice and you have piles of laundry as tall as Mount Everest! 1-Db° gave me the energy I needed (without giving me that jittery feeling that some weight loss supplements do) to get an awesome workout and keep up with my busy lifestyle. And if you are stuck at a certain weight, 1-Db° is the secret weapon you need to annihilate that stubborn body fat!

In summary, in order to outsmart your body and break through your weight loss plateau, you have to continue to challenge your body. You have to work out smarter and eat with deliberation. The most important thing you must not do, is you must not give up! The statistics show that people who give up on their diet before reaching their goal often gain back the weight they have lost PLUS MORE! Don’t fall into this yo-yo dieting pattern. Not only is it bad for your physique, but yo-yo dieting is very detrimental to your metabolism and health. I am reminded all too often in my line of work as a nurse that life is short. Don’t lose sight of your goal! Get the body that you want NOW, not later!!

As always, I love getting your questions and feedback. You can contact me by email at Gillian.Risebury@1stphorm.com or on Facebook at facebook.com/jillian.amy1.

Gillian

The post I have been dieting and working out for a few months and I am happy to report that I have lost twenty pounds so far! Although I am thrilled with this, I am hoping to lose another ten pounds to get to my goal weight, however, it seems that I am “stuck”. I’m really bummed out because it seems like I just can’t get the last ten pounds off. I’m ready to give up. Can you help? appeared first on 1st Phorm.