How to break past a weight-loss plateau

As I said in my last DietBet post, I’m ready to break out of this plateau rut and kick my weight loss into high gear. So, what was my first move? I consulted the all-knowing Google machine, of course!

There are lots of different methods that claim to break past a weight loss plateau, so I’m going to give all of them a try and check in periodically to let you know how they’re going.

WebMD has 10 tips for breaking past a weight loss plateau, and the first bit of advice says to visualize yourself at your goal weight. So here goes: I’m on the beach, it’s April, I’m in my bikini in Mexico, and everyone’s like “Wow! What’s your secret?” and I’ll throw my hair back, laugh a little and say, “Secret? Oh, it’s just genetics.” Just kidding, that would make me terrible. But in all reality, when I see my ideal self, it’s just a few pounds lighter than I am now, but with nice toned muscles. Although I don’t think Crossfit is for me, I would love to be able to flip a huge tire a bunch of times.

Another tip is to record everything you eat. I’ve been pretty good at that, but we all have those little cheats (what difference does four Skittles make, seriously?) From today forward, I’m going to make it my goal to incorporate everything, no matter how small. If you haven’t checked out MyFitnessPal, it will change the way you feel about recording your food. They have almost everything on file and it’s insanely easy to use.

The article also offers a few workout tips. Push yourself beyond your normal workout to break the plateau. It’s true, now that I weigh less, I burn less calories with the same workout, so to increase, the burn, I have to up the sweat. Over the next couple weeks I’m going to try to do my normal workouts, plus a little bit extra. Hopefully some significant change will result. I’m also working on getting in the gym more. I find in classes that I sweat a lot more and work a lot harder then when I’m at home. It’s positive peer pressure, I guess. The WebMD article also talks about yoga for stress relief. I’m plenty stressed, so maybe there’s a good idea in there.

Health published an article called “5 Surprising Reasons You’re Not Losing Weight,” and the question about exercise really got me. Apparently, if you think about exercising and how many calories you’re going to burn as a result of it, you may be sabotaging your weight loss by eating more junk than you burn. I might be guilty on that one.

Many articles, Health included, say that too little sleep can really sabotage your weight loss. That’s one of my biggest problems. I’m a night owl but need to wake up early for work, so I end up tired many days. I’m hoping in the warm weather, when it’s easier to wake up, that I’ll be motivated to go to bed early and wake up early. Time will tell.

I particularly liked #6 on this Oprah.com list of ways to beat a plateau. Write down all of the reasons you wanted to lose weight in the first place and look at it to stay motivated. Better yet, share it with friends to amp up the accountability.

One piece of advice I’ve seen all over is to make sure to not eat too little. If you do that, your body can go into starvation mode. I don’t think I have that problem but it’s something I’m going to keep in the back of my mind. My hunger hasn’t been too intense lately which has made eating fewer calories easier. I know that won’t last forever but I’m taking advantage of it right now.

There are an endless number of tips out there, but I’m hoping this is a good start. Wish me luck (and if you’re trying these techniques, good luck to you as well!) and I’ll provide updates soon!