Step 5 - Break Any Stalls

If after a few months of consistently working out and reducing your calorie intake you notice that the scale no longer moves and your measurements show no reduction in body size, you have probably stalled. There are a number of things that could be responsible for you reaching this plateau. Your job is to identify the culprit and get back on track. Here are some things to help you figure out why you are no longer seeing results and what you may need to do to start losing again:

Log your food intake to assess whether you are eating too many calories (more than you are burning or breaking even) or you are not eating enough. Eating too few calories will cause your body to go into starvation mode and your metabolism will slow down. Eating too many calories will cause you to either gain or break even, leaving you spinning your wheels. Eventhough you may think you are staying on track with eating, a food journal might show you otherwise and allow you to pinpoint the reason for your stall.

Are you drinking enough water? If your body goes into dehydration mode, it can no longer burn fat efficiently. In turn, it begins to hold onto every droplet of water that it absorbs from the foods you eat and fluids you drink. This causes excessive water retention and may contribute to a subtle gain in weight. As a rule of thumb, try to consume 6-8 glasses of water a day.

Have a cheat day … or two, or three. Our bodies are very smart and can adapt very quickly to a change in our eating habits. Your body will begin to expect fewer calories each day and adjust its engine accordingly. This is why you may initially see huge results when starting a new diet and exercise regimen but then the results start to taper off. If you have been dieting for over a month and need to break a stall, confuse your body by increasing your calories for two to three days. Add at least 500 calories for each of these cheat days and enjoy some of the things that you’ve been missing, like ice cream or pizza.  Make sure you don’t get carried away and go beyond the three days.

Change your workout routine. Sometimes your mind or your body says I have had enough and I am just going to do the bare minimum to get by. When this happens, changing the order of your workout will fool the body into thinking you are performing a new workout routine. If you usually get on the treadmill or elliptical first, switch things up a bit and do your weights and stretching first, followed by the aerobic activity. This change in the order of your activity will give you a sense of freshness to help you continue towards your weight loss goals.

Additional resources that just might help …

• Master Your Metabolism: The 3 Diet Secrets to Naturally Balancing Your Hormones for a Hot and Healthy Body! by Jillian Michaels
• Fat  Loss Troubleshoot by Leigh Peele
  

More Fat Blasting Steps:

Step 1 - Establish a Goal
Before starting any new programs you must create a target that you can track and measure. Establishing a goal gives you something specific to work towards …

Step 2 - Know Your Burn
In order to lose fat, you must burn more calories than you consume. This is called a calorie deficit …

Step 3 - Eat Clean, Eat Lean
If you are trying to lose weight, making a conscious effort to improve the way you eat is a MUST. Sure, you would probably lose weight if you exercised like crazy every day and still ate pizza and french fries …

Step 4 - Attack the Fat
The fastest and most effective way to lose body fat is through high intensity interval training (HIIT) combined with strength training (also known as resistance training). This combination will melt away …