6 Ways to Break a Weight Loss Plateau by Lynn Robinson l Healthy Living Tips l Healthy Lifestyle Advice l Weight Loss Tips l Weight Loss Advice l Tips on Losing and Maintaing Weight Loss l Weight Loss Advice l Weight Loss l How to Lose Weight for Good

You’re the Expert on You

Everyone you talk to will have a solution for you. Try the low-carb diet. Eat more veggies! No more gluten! More protein! Less fat! Exercise more! Are they all correct? It can get to be overwhelming and you may feel like quitting. If one solution were the only one, we’d all follow it and be at our perfect weight. However, you’re the expert on you and your body. Pay attention to what’s been working (or not working) for you in the past. There are some common reasons that cause a weight-loss plateau. By understanding them you’ll have some new tools to help you feel empowered again. As you read through the following ideas, which one does your intuition tell you would be good to check out?

Boost Your Activity Level

Perhaps you’ve gotten into a fitness rut. You’re doing the same routines day in and day out. Ask yourself what would be a fun way to get more exercise. If it’s enjoyable you’ll do more of it. It doesn’t need to be a major workout at the gym. If the idea of more exercise feels overwhelming, consider doing it for 10 minutes and no more. You might actually find you like it! Add an early morning or after dinner walk, play ball with your kids, take the stairs at the office, do some extra yard work a few days a week, park at the far end of the parking lot and walk, add a different fitness routine or sign up for ball room dancing class with your partner. The key component is fun and activity.

Be Honest With Yourself

You’ve been successful at losing some amount of weight, but you want to lose more. Congratulate yourself for your success so far. You were doing something right and you can still get back on track. Make sure you’re not loosening the rules. Have you caught yourself saying something like, “That one bite of chocolate (cookie, cake, extra helping) won’t hurt?” If you’ve kept a food journal, look back at the weeks you were successfully losing. Do you notice anything different? If not, have things like your portion size increased? Be willing to consider the idea that you may also not be eating enough! If you’re constantly feeling hungry, your body may be going into starvation mode and holding onto the weight. You might try eating more frequent, small meals that include some protein. Again, trust your body. It knows what it needs to return to a healthy weight.

Visualize Yourself Thin

You’ve may have heard the idea that Olympic athletes visualize to achieve success in their particular sports. You can use it too, to lose weight. For starters, find a photo of yourself at your ideal weight. If you don’t have one, cut out a picture from a magazine that exemplifies how you’d like to look and feel. Close your eyes. Take a deep breath. Exhale slowly. When you feel calm and centered, begin to imagine yourself in your new, slim and healthy body. Use the power of your emotions to supercharge your visualization. Feel how that little black dress would look. Feel how you’d look at the gym, on the dance floor or even walking into your office with your healthy weight figure. There are lots of books, videos and meditations on the topic of visualization. If your intuition is telling you this is the tool to try, seek them out for more detailed information.

Lose Your Negative Self Talk

One of the quickest ways to gain all the weight back is to become discouraged. That hopeless feeling doesn’t emerge out of nowhere, it comes from what you tell yourself. Affirmations, sometimes called mantras, have been used for centuries to help us overcome difficulties and to instill positive wisdom in our subconscious minds. Following are a few ideas to get you started. Feel free to mix and match or create your own. Is there one that resonates with you the most?
• I love exercising daily as it allows me to reach my ideal weight.
• I enjoy staying fit, slim and healthy.
• Everyday I get stronger, healthier and slimmer.
• My intuition guides me to a healthy, strong and slim body.
• I have a slim and healthy body and easily maintain my perfect weight.

Small Steps Lead to Big Changes

Whether you’ve lost 5, 10, 50 pounds or more, you’ve come a long way. You’ve made small changes to eat healthier, move more and lose weight. Something you’ve done has worked. Keep doing it! Don’t give up. Consider trying one new thing every week. It might be an extra 15 minutes of exercise every day, repeating an affirmation, getting enough sleep, buying a pedometer, drinking more water, learning a new healthy recipe or joining a walking group or fitness class. Whatever you do, don't give up and revert to your old eating and exercise habits. You’ve come this far. You deserve to have a healthy, happy and fulfilled life. Keep up the good work!