Help, the Scale STILL isn’t moving!

Let’s review last week’s scenario…your goal is to lose weight. You have been working hard in the gym and with eating healthier over the past two months. Things have been good, you have been losing a pound weekly, then all of a sudden…nothing, you seem to have hit a weight loss plateau! You have stuck to your same fitness routines and been following the same healthy eating habits but nothing has changed on your scale for 8 weeks! What happened, and more importantly, what can be done to make that scale start moving in the right direction again?

Today, I am going to review three MORE strategies I use to assist my clients in moving through a weight loss plateau. These strategies are often performed outside the gym:

1. Tighten up nutritional habits to manage a weight loss plateau.

I’m a firm believer in the 80/20 rule. 80% of the time you should be working hard to follow your exercise and healthy eating goals, the other 20% of the time you are out there enjoying life, enjoying a slice of chocolate cake at your sister’s birthday. However, if you really want to see body changes and you have hit a plateau, it may be time to tighten your eating habits further.

Healthier Eating Tips:

• Increase your servings of daily vegetables. If you usually consume 5 servings of veggies, increase this to 6 or 7 daily servings. Eating more vegetables means you’ll be eating less of something else. Veggies contain fewer calories per cup vs most other foods (ie. 1 cup spinach = 15 cal, 1 cup of rice = approx. 250 calories).
• Cut out processed foods (most items found in the middle of the grocery store isles). They’re usually packaged with large amounts of unhealthy fats (often trans fat) and salt; they don’t often contain many nutrients that whole foods do. Processed foods are tasty, easy to consume and not that filling, causing them to be very easy to overeat. This can lead to not only weight gain, but also chronic disease.
• Limit eating out or reduce what you eat at restaurant. Even healthy options at a restaurant aren’t usually as healthy as what you can make at home. There have been many restaurant meals I’ve had that don’t even contain 1 serving of vegetables. If you are eating out, always order sauces, dressings and toppings on the side, and try to leave food on your plate.
• Cut out alcohol. One 5oz glass of wine contains 125 calories! It’s not only the calories that come from the actual alcohol that you have to be concerned with. It’s the extra food you’re willing to consume when you’re drinking (poutine anyone?!?).

2. Spend time relaxing your mind to manage a weight loss plateau.

We are all overworked and over-stressed nowadays. Any spare time we may have is now hijacked by errands (stores don’t close anymore), technology and social media (for work and fun). An “off the clock” mentality doesn’t exist in today’s society. The problem is, when you try to do everything, you end up hurrying everything and enjoying nothing. Too many of us step on gas all time and end up in a constant fight/flight response which is a cortisol roller coaster!

Try these tips to unwind on a regular basis:

• Meditate. This practice has been linked with many positive outcomes including lowering high blood pressure, depression and anxiety. It gets more of your brain working, thinking and learning; it brings you into living for this present time versus living for the future. Those who meditate frequently, have said that they are: happier, more compassionate, creative, forgiving and intuitive. These are some great benefits I think we’d all like to experience!
• Relaxation breathing. There are a few different breathing techniques I’ve used for myself and my clients including “Belly Breathing”, “Alternate Nostril Breathing” and the “Bellows Breath” approach. I find that relaxation breathing get more air into our body by helping us use more of our lung capacity. It’s very refreshing to try this form of breathing.
• Unplug everyday. Research has proven that the blue light from our phones leads to an increased state of sadness and hunger. The dinging alerts that most of us have calling out to us constantly, puts our bodies into an ongoing state of stress.

3. Get enough sleep to manage a weight loss plateau.

Research studies have shown time and time again, that a healthy amount of sleep is 7 – 8 hours each night. If you’re only getting 4 – 6 hours, chances are, even if you feel well-rested, you’re not.

7 – 8 hours of sleep nightly helps control hormones. A key hormone that regulates many of our other hormones, melatonin, is released when we sleep. Sleep helps regulates the hormones that control our appetite; when we don’t get enough sleep, our body ignores the “I’m full” signal, which can lead to overeating. Lack of sleeps also leads to increased levels of the hormone cortisol.

Without 7 -8 hours of sleep you may be:

• Ineffective. Lack of sleeps impairs your performance, judgment & attention span.
• Sick, due to a weakened immune system.
• At a higher risk of heart problems & death.
• Harmful behind wheel. After you’ve been awake for 18 hours+, your performance is comparable to someone who’s legally drunk!

In summary, plateauing can happen to us all.

In this blog, we covered the 3 strategies I use outside the gym to help manage through a weight loss plateau. Last week, I gave you 3 other ideas in the gym I do with my clients inside the gym to keep them progressing with their results. After trying any of these strategies, please let me know which one worked for you. Remember, the key is to stick with your fitness and health eating plans – don’t give up! Please connect with me if you have any questions.