SHAKE IT UP!

As we get older we start to develop habits and routines, and those are things to help us cope and feel comfortable. Same with our eating habits and exercise routines. Unfortunately, those same habits and familiar routines can leave us feeling uninspired and less effective when we are trying to lose weight. When we first start an eating plan to lose weight, we usually see nice results within a week (mostly we are losing excess water weight). Then the next week we feel a little lighter, then after that it seems we are no longer making progress (at least that's been my experience). Then we get a little discouraged, then we think maybe this is not working, then we slowly break away. Sound familiar? I've been through this a thousand times it seems. You're all "gung ho" at first, then results don't come quick enough and we start to taper off. Well, I've experienced that on this plan as well, and this is how I broke free from familiar patterns.

Whenever I feel I'm not making progress, I change things up. By breaking my calorie goals up into months, I can change things up from month to month. Example: Say that my goal for June is to average 2000 calories a day for the month. Then for July my goal is to average 1800 calories for the month, if I stop seeing results by the end of July, I'll kick my calorie goal back up to 2100 calories for the month of August (as long as I'm under my daily calorie recommendation of 2300 a day to lose weight...I'm still going to lose weight). Then in September, I'll drop my average calorie goal back down to 1900 a day. That usually kick starts my metabolism into high gear again. That's one way I might work through a "plateau". Note: Losing weight is a funny thing. It seems we notice a change in our faces and then the weight loss travels down from there. So after our face thins a little we might not notice how much progress we are making until we start losing weight in our face again. My first month on this plan I thought I wasn't making much progress, but then people at that gym started coming up to me telling me that I look great and to keep up the good work. So hang in there when you think you aren't making progress, you're probably just not able to tell. Keep plugging away.

Another way to keep your body alert and functioning on all cylinders, is to change up your exercise routines. You want to keep them fresh and fun. Try adding more reps to your lifting routines, or add more weight and lower the amount of reps you do. Change  the minutes of your "cardio" routine. Add more minutes, or decrease your minutes and add more lifting. Add a new exercise. Exercise in the morning instead of at night. What I'm saying is, when your workouts become boring, you are most likely to blow it off, so keep it new and fun. And don't be afraid to take a week off  if you are feeling tired and achy from your workouts.  Plus, your body gets used to familiar routines and you just are not going to see results  if you keep doing the same old thing. Shake it up, get out of your comfort zone, and wake your body up. That will get  you through the "plateaus".