If it seems like it’s been weeks since you’ve lost weight, even though you swear you haven’t changed a thing in your diet or workout, then you’re probably desperate for ways to break a diet plateau. As awful as they can be, diet plateaus aren’t permanent, and they can be broken! Here are 7 ways to break a diet plateau. Come on, let’s get to it!
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Be Patient!
You can use these ways to break a diet plateau, but it will take some time, as long as two or three weeks, even, so be patient! Everything worth having takes a little time and effort, so now that we’ve talked a little about ‘time,’ let’s move on to the ‘effort’ part of the equation.
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Count More Carefully
Perhaps you’re at a plateau because you’ve gotten a little careless with your calorie counting and portion control. Just in case, track your eating and workout habits with renewed zeal (and honesty). You might be surprised to find you’ve slacked off a little, and have missed about, oh, 500 calories a day!
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Kick up the Intensity
If you’ve been tracking everything like you should, but you’re still at a plateau, maybe it’s time to kick up the intensity of your workout to help you push through. Add a little incline on the treadmill, or a little more resistance on the other machines at the gym. That might be all it takes!
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Add Some Time
Along with adding to the intensity of your workout, try adding another 10 or 15 minutes to your routine. In the time it takes you to make a plate of pizza rolls, you could be on your way through that pesky plateau… so put down the pizza rolls, switch off the TV, and hit the gym!
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Add a Day
If you’ve stopped working out 6 days a week, and dropped down to 4, for whatever reason (busy holidays, for instance?), then it’s time to visit the gym at least one more day. I know it’s hard to make time, but it’ll be worth it when you’re in skinny jeans without a muffin top.
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Try Something New
Maybe you’ve stopped going to the gym as often as you should because you’re bored with your workout. If so, it’s time to try something new! Sign up for a yoga class at a local studio, or see if your parks and rec center offers Zumba classes. Why not?
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Stay Away from the Scale
As you work through your diet plateau, it’s going to be tempting to weigh yourself every day to see if it’s working, if you’re actually losing weight again. This is a bad idea — your weight won’t change right away (patience, remember?) and not all scales are configured the same, so what you weigh at the gym may be different than what you weigh at home. Give yourself three weeks to break through the plateau, then weigh yourself again.
Your best bet would be to combine several of these tips, but even just doing one of them may mean the difference between a diet that drags on forever or a quick finish to losing that last ten pounds. If you’ve ever been at a diet plateau before, which of these tips helped you break through it? Do you have any other advice or ideas to share?
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