Jun07Hit a Fat Loss Plateau? Try These Tips
Do you feel you are currently hitting a plateau, or you haven’t seen results? It happens to the best of us. Stalling on your fat loss goal can be frustrating, and sometimes seemingly difficult to overcome. You’re trying to do all the right things, so why aren’t you losing weight? Well before you jump ship on your routine, take a minute and audit a few of the following things, and try to implement our advice.
1) Have You Given Yourself a Solid 90 Days with a Given Program?
First, give yourself some time before deciding whether or not something is working. So many people expect results to come overnight, but the truth is this stuff takes time. Fat loss or muscle gain doesn’t happen instantly. Sure, you could make a lot of progress in 90 days, but in many situations 90 days is just an “introductory” period of sorts – it involves a lot of trial and error, of finding a rhythm, and adopting new habits.
2) How is Your Nutrition?
Most tend to overestimate how good they eat. You need to be at 90/10 or at worst 80/20 to get fat loss results. This means eating clean 90% of the time during the week and you can cheat 10% of the time. Do yourself a favor and track the foods you eat for the next week and check your numbers. Does it add up? Many times, for women, a big issue is not eating ENOUGH calories.
The key is to not completely deprive yourself of your “cheat” foods. In a perfect world, if you could eat whole foods 100% of the time without any issues then that would be ideal; but the reality is that is nearly impossible. So, it’s okay to allow yourself to eat foods that would be considered junk foods in moderation (aim to satisfy a taste but don’t go overboard).
3) How are Your Workouts?
It’s not enough to be consistent with workouts, but to also progress with them. If you’re doing the same reps and sets and weight as you were 3 months ago, it’s time to increase one of those. Many people expect the weights to feel lighter or the workout to get easier, but the only way that happens is if you push past that uncomfortable zone, just a little bit. You make progress in inches, not yards.
4) Are You Getting Enough Sleep and Rest?
This is one that most people skip out on. They are working out, eating properly, but slack on their sleep. Proper sleep helps with fat loss, as our body regulates important hormones related to fat loss during sleep. Studies have shown that if we don’t sleep enough, we actually eat more (because our stress levels are higher). Missing out on sleep leads to increased levels of stress, less time for our bodies to rebuild muscle, to recover from strenuous activity, and more.
Remember, working out properly is half the battle – you need to recover hard as well. If you’re having a hard time sleeping, try to evaluate your nighttime routine. What are you doing the 2 hours before bed? Try to do something relaxing like reading a book, journaling, or stretching. Avoid blue light from phones, computers, and TVs.
If you’ve hit a plateau in your fat loss goal, evaluate the things outlined in this article and see if any of them fit your situation. If so, implement the tips we’ve shared and get back on track!