Blast Through Your Weight Loss Plateau! Keep Up the Progress

Working out day after day but just not seeing results anymore? Are you watching what you eat, but still not losing an inch? Skinny Ms. has tips for you to break the weight loss plateau and start seeing results again. 

Revamp Your Workout

Spend an extra 15 to 30 minutes in the gym or at home working out. Along with increasing your time try increasing your intensity of the workout. Adding more exercise will cause you to burn more calories. You may want to add resistance or muscle-building exercises to your normal routine. Increasing muscle mass will help your body burn more calories, causing your plateau to break!

Add more vigor to your day

Instead of doing the same old things everyday, switch it up. If you normally look for the closest parking spot at the grocery store – park toward the end of the parking lot. Try riding your bike or walking one or two days out of the week instead of driving. You may also try doing some vigorous yard work or spring cleaning once a week instead of having someone else do it.

Interval Training

Interval training mimics sport related activities, stopping and starting, which increases your ability to keep burning calories long after your workout is over. Try the pyramid interval variation, which starts off with a warm up of 3-5 minutes, then starts with 30 seconds of high intensity training to 1 minute of low intensity. Then, increase your level of high intensity 15 extra seconds each time, but continuing to leave the low intensity workout at 1 minute. Once you have reached 90 seconds of high intensity – drop back to 30 seconds high intensity to 1 minute low intensity. Finish off with a 3-5 minute cool down similar to your warm up.

Try putting on some weight

Vest or ankle weights that is! Try adding a weight vest during your normal routine or try wearing ankle weights during your running or walking routines. By adding extra weights during an exercise, you’re conditioning your body to burn more calories than without the weights.  Make sure the weights are at least an extra 10 to 40 pounds total, but do not over do it!

Eat Less

Try cutting your daily calories by an extra 100 to 200 calories a day, as long as it is not below 1200 calories total. By increasing your workout and slightly decreasing your daily calorie intake, you are sure to break that plateau. If you are still filling hungry after cutting your calorie intake, go back to your normal intake or decrease it slowly by just 50 calories a day until you have reached the 200 calorie reduction. By doing more activities while eating less should do the job.

Trick Yourself

If you have been doing the same workout routine over and over your body has gotten used to it and does not require any extra energy anymore for that routine. Try changing your workout regimen every 2 weeks! This tricks your body into not knowing what to expect next, therefore changing up the calories burned and muscles used.

So, now that you’ve learned a few new tricks on how to break the plateau, read about how to stay motivated and get motivated by a real example!