In a way, weight loss is a lot like cleaning your house. When the place is an absolute mess, it can look a lot better just by quickly putting everything back in its place. While you imagine hours of housework, after just 15 minutes of simply picking up and straightening the couch cushions, you’re amazed at how much better the place looks already.
But then the really tough cleaning starts and, indeed, it ends up being a lot of work and your entire afternoon is gone.
Weight loss can be the same. When we first begin a program of healthier eating and increased activity, the pounds can fall off surprisingly easily. It’s because you start your weight loss program when you have the most weight to lose.
But, just like what happens after you do a “quick cleanup” around the house, it becomes more difficult to continue to lose weight after the easy pounds are gone.
When your weight loss plateaus, you start to lose motivation and confidence. You ask yourself questions like “why am I putting myself through this if I’m not losing weight?” and “why does nothing I do seem to work?”
But you can’t let a little bump in the road get in the way of your goals. Your body makes lots of adjustments in response to your weight loss. When you learn more about how your body reacts, you’ll have a better understanding about why it sometimes stops shedding the pounds. Then you can make the adjustments needed to start heading in the right direction again.
- Adjust How Much You Eat – Whenever your body goes through an extended change to its usual routine, like the first few weeks of healthier eating habits, it tries to adjust back to the ‘norm’. If you’ve reduced your daily calories too much, your body may slow down your metabolism to try to stop losing weight. Interestingly, adding 100 to 200 healthy calories a day can help your body adjust to the larger calorie reductions and make it easier to continue to lose weight.
- Adjust Your Eating Schedule – First, if you’re skipping any meals, don’t. It’s probably a big reason why it’s become more difficult to keep losing weight. If you eat “three squares”, try spreading out your eating into six smaller meals. But don’t skip any of them.
- Adjust Your Activities – If you’re on an exercise program, try changing it up with new activities or by working out at different times of day. If you’re not on a formal program, try increasing your physical activities. If you walk, look for a route that goes up hill. Always take as many stairs as you can throughout the day. If you get a pedometer – and there’s an app for that – you can make a game of getting more steps each day.
- Adjust What You Know – Always be learning. The more you know, the better you’ll understand what your body is going through and the better you’ll be able to deal with it, especially when your weight levels off.
Want to learn more right now? The nutritional consultants at your local Herbal One Centre will help you get on a personalized nutrition program that gives your body everything it needs for healthy, consistent weight loss.
Source:
www.news.com.au/lifestyle