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Have You Hit A Weight-loss Plateau? Here's How To Break Through

Has your weight suddenly stopped changing? Don't throw away the scale, you have just hit a weight loss plateau.

Have You Hit A Weight-loss Plateau? Heres How To Break Through

You can get ahead of a weight loss plateau by restructuring your calorie intake

HIGHLIGHTS

  1. Changes in weight can be due to water, fat or muscle changes
  2. Reduce your calories intake as lose weight as you need less energy
  3. Weight training is better than cardio for losing fat
Have you suddenly stopped losing weight in the middle of your weight loss plan? It may be so that until a few weeks ago, you were easily slicing fat off your body but now, it just doesn't budge. If your answer is a yes, than you have hit a weight loss plateau. This is a time when even after religiously following your diet and exercise plan, you haven't lost any body weight in more than 3 weeks. And to get over this plateau, you need to first understand why you hit it.

But first, check if it is fat-loss or weight-loss?

Your body can lose(and gain) weight due to three reasons. Decline(or increase) in fat, water or muscle. The most ideal is the loss in fat, which is what you aim for by moderating your diet and performing the cardio. But if on an average day, you drink very little water, your body will retain a lot of it automatically and this will make you add a few grams to the scale. This may show as additional weight for a few days or a week but if your weight doesn't change for more than 2 weeks, it is a fat loss problem.

Now coming to what has caused the plateau. Generally, as you lose fat, losing more becomes tougher because your body works harder to stick to the fat stores. It has a comfortable weight and your body wants to stick to that. Also, if your diet and exercise routine allows you to lose 1% body fat per week, then while you transition from 95 to 80 kg, you lose .95 kg of fat every week. But once you hit 80, you are losing only .8 kg every week. So fat loss is naturally slower.



4 easy ways to break through this halt


Adjust your calories



You body will need lesser calories now since your body mass has reduced. So adjust your required calories and kick out carbohydrates and high-sodium food out of your diet.

Listen to your stomach

Eating slowly will help you know when you are actually full. It's also a good idea to stock up on fiber rich foods so that with every bite you feel more full. Make sure you don't starve yourself or this could put a halt to your metabolism, leading to weight gain.

Drink and eat water

Drinking water flushes sodium out of your body and science also proves that it helps in weight loss. Eating foods with high water content like fruits, potato, corn and brown rice will also feel you full without adding to your fat.

Lift more weights


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You will need to exercise more to lose more fat. Perform stretching exercises everyday and aerobic activities at least 3 times a day. Lifting weight also helps in speeding your metabolism and accelerating fat loss.

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