First thing is first… don't give up! It happens to everyone! It really does. It means that you have been working extremely hard and all of a sudden, boom… you've hit a wall. Now, the bigger question is this. Have you hit a plateau OR have you just had a really bad week? There is a difference. Whichever the reason, you need to understand that no matter what, you will overcome it. We all have our ups and downs. This is life and it is inevitable. I just need you to focus on learning how to deal with it physically and mentally so that you don't get frustrated and throw in the towel. Make sure that you tell yourself that failure is not an option, ever. Sometimes we just have to regroup and make a new strategy. We need to jump over the obstacles and become better!
This has always been a struggle for me too. I am an 80/20 kind of girl. 80% of my week I eat clean and healthy and then 20% of the time.. LOOK OUT. I am going to be cheating, hard core. I LOVE the way that my body feels when I am spot on, so that is why I am so disciplined. BUT, I am also human and I know that when we deprive ourself of something then we want it even more. When we do finally give into the temptations we usually go overboard and binge. Don't binge! Just eat everything in moderation! It is so much better that way!
I need you to always remember something- when it get's tough, when life gets hard or things get in the way, it's not time to give up! It is time to throw yourself in fully and RUN towards your goals. You want to change. You want to be a better version of you. You CAN do ANYTHING that you put your mind towards doing. And a lot of times when you hit that plateau, it just means that you need to switch up your workout routine and clean up your eating a little bit. Then, you will be seeing results in no time. And another thing. Just because you may hit a stand still doesn't mean that you just CAN'T LOSE IT?? COME ON!! Yes, you can. And yes, you will. As long as you don't allow yourself to give up. There are no excuses. No pity parties. You can do anything that you put your mind to. It is all in how consistent you are with it. I change my routines all the time. I can feel it when I start to hit a stand still!! It doesn't matter what shape or size you are, everyone goes through it! So, when it happens I break out a new program, change my eating a little bit and BOOM, back on track!! It's a no brainer! We can all do it!!
Why do fat loss plateaus happen? Fat loss plateaus happen because our bodies are designed to adapt quickly to a new routine. So, let's say for example you are going to start running. Well, the first week of running you are feeling great, motivated, your body is sore and you can feel yourself getting stronger doing it each day. Well, then by week 4 or 5 your body has pretty much gotten used to the same routine of running each day, so there is not going to be much more happening until you switch up your routine a little bit. So, now you have to throw in a little weight training, or you need to train a little harder with some hills and speed intervals, etc. Our bodies are machines. Machines get used to the new thing quickly, so they have to be tuned up often!
The same goes with food! Let's say that you decide that you want to lose 1 pound a week. Well, that means that you have to take in 3,500 calories less in that week than you did the week before. That is 500 calories a day that you are either eating less of or exercising more to burn an extra 500 calories in a day. Got it? So, let's say that you do that for 4 weeks and you lose 4 pounds! Great!! Well, your body will get used to that amount of calories being burned or eaten less of and it will start to adapt to that change. You may have to switch it up again! It is all dependent on the individual.There is only one thing that a weight loss plateau means- YOU WERE IN A CALORIE DEFICIT, BUT YOU NO LONGER ARE IN A CALORIE DEFICIT! So there are lots of things you can do to change this. Here we go!!!
The number one reason why we hit a weight loss plateau is because our metabolic rate slows down. This is so common because so many people think this way.. "Well, I will just not eat much at all today and I will lose weight… " NOT TRUE! This may work for the first week if you have a significant weight to lose, but then.. WALL. Your body kicks into starvation mode and it will hold onto all of your fat stores in order to fuel your body. This is why you HAVE TO EAT TO LOSE WEIGHT! Now, eating the proper food and proper portions are vital to this process. Do you need to figure out how to calculate calories to see how many you should be eating each day to lose weight? It is so simple. Just make sure that when you are on teambeachbody that you use the eat smart tab. This tool can help you tremendously in figuring out approximately how many calories you should be intaking each day. You also need to track your food! You can do this in different ways! Most of us have an iPhone or some kind of smart phone! There are a million apps to download, you can use your notes in your phone or you can do it the 'old fashioned way' and write it down on paper! My favorite way to keep track is with myfitnesspal. It is perfect and it takes the guess work out of my food. I am a creature of habit, so I tend to eat a lot of the same things. This app is great because it will save the foods that I input, so I can quickly add them to my favorites :) Win win!
- A HUGE factor that I have found that is one of the main parts of why people 'can't' lose the weight is because they aren't recording what they are eating/drinking. It is vital! Because you know what?? We forget about that handful of pretzels we had between lunch and our afternoon snack. We forget about the 1/2 donut we ate in the break room at work.. we are human and we forget! So, it is vital that we write it all down! Those few 'mess ups' can determine whether we succeed at our weight loss goal for the week or total fail!
-Larger people eat more calories and larger people burn more calories. Smaller people need less calories and burn less calories during a workout. It isn't rocket science, it is fact! The bigger you are, the more calories you are eating! The smaller you are means that you are eating less calories! I can repeat it 100 times and it will always be the same! So, if you want to lose weight, you have to EAT LESS CALORIES! If you want to gain weight, pack on the calories! GET IT?! So, as you lose the weight, you have to continue to eat those fewer calories, otherwise you will get bigger!
-CONSISTENCY IS KEY!! Being consistent with your workouts and being consistent with your eating is what will make you successful. If you are eating great Monday through Thursday and then Friday rolls along and you go have drinks with friends, then you are starting to slip. And then on Saturday you want to go and have breakfast at IHop with your family and you get the pancakes and eggs. Then Saturday night your hubby wants an impromptu date night and he is taking you to your favorite restaurant where you just have to get your favorite 'cheat' meal along with a few beers and dessert! Then, after church on Sunday you are asked to go to lunch at the pizza place up the street, so of course you don't want to miss out on that! Well, you weigh in on Monday and see that you haven't lost a single pound. WELL, do you see WHY you haven't lost anything? It's because you weren't consistent with your eating habits! NOW, I am NOT SAYING that you shouldn't enjoy yourself! You absolutely should be enjoying life, enjoying friends and family, etc; however, you should be SCHEDULING your ONE cheat meal a week and anything other than that… you should be eating within your caloric range for your goal weight! You can still go out to eat if that is what you want to do! Make sure that you are getting a grilled chicken salad with balsamic/EVOO on the side as your dressing! (That's just an example)… food should not consume your life!! Have you ever heard EAT TO LIVE, DON'T LIVE TO EAT?!! Well, live by this! It is the truth :)
Always remember that hurdles are a part of life. We need them to make us work harder and push further. If everything in life were easy, then it wouldn't be real! And the things that we work the hardest for are usually the things that we cherish the most!! Remember that on your journey! Remember that you didn't put the weight on overnight! It's not going to come off overnight! It is a journey and you should embrace it! Each day is a new beginning! If you fall off the horse one day, OH WELL! GET BACK ON THE NEXT!!! We are all human! We are all going to have 'bad days' and we will all have great days!! It's okay to cheat sometimes! Admit it and move on! Stay accountable, stay motivated and you are WORTH IT!
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