We all reach plateaus in serious endeavors. Whether learning a language or an instrument, we will reach a point at which our once enormous progress will slow down and seem to halt. No matter how hard we work with our previously successful method, we can no longer advance. This is an all too familiar story for losing weight. The key to stoking the flames of weight loss again is to change up your routine while maintaining certain elements that continue to work. Here are certain tips that will help you conquer this plateau and keep moving forward.
Eat a variety of foods
If you are only eating a few supposedly very healthy foods, you aren���t letting your body function at its greatest possible level. Your body needs many different nutrients. By changing up your diet and getting nutrition from various sources, you will ensure that your body won���t plateau. The same food repeatedly will yield the same results.
Eat smaller portions
If you eat a few really large meals, you will feel bloated, regardless of how healthy the meals were. This won���t bode well for exercising, and your body will start storing away the fat. Avoid this by eating smaller meals more frequently. If you are serious about getting into top physical condition, you should aim for eating about five small meals throughout the day. This will keep your metabolism working since the more frequent intake will let your body know that it still needs to shed pounds. If you increase the number of meals but still eat large portions, you will simply put on more weight.
Eat whole foods
If you aren���t doing so already, eat natural foods like apples or broccoli. If you read the label and see loads of chemicals and things you don���t recognize, it might not be very good for you. Celery is healthy, and it has one ingredient: celery. Many foods are processed, so avoiding them can prove an easy and beneficial step.
Avoid empty calories
If you want to lose weight and tone your body, ask yourself how helpful each item of food is before you eat it. This isn���t to say that you shouldn���t eat because you need energy for working out, but many foods actually zap energy and simply add on calories. Avoid refined flour and baked goods such as cake, biscuits and other pastries. Pasta and brown rice have carbohydrates that give you energy.
Watch what you drink
You cannot neglect this part of your weight loss routine. Drinking water is obviously great because it keeps your body hydrated. But consider drinking more herbal tea, fruit juice, vegetable juice and protein shakes. When enjoying fruit juice, consider juicing the fruit yourself. You will be able to experiment with various recipes, and you will know that what you are consuming is fruit and not high fructose corn syrup. If you are serious about weight loss, you might need to consider cutting down your alcohol — this even goes for the one or two drinks you have over the weekend. This might contribute to your current plateau.
Keep moving forward
Everyone���s body works differently and everyone has different needs. If certain tips don���t help you lose weight, discard them. Your own personal lifestyle has a lot to do with which weight loss and health tips will best help you. Pay attention to how different drinks and foods are either helping or hindering your athletic performance. Keep experimenting with different meals and drinks. If you stick to it, you can break past this weight loss plateau.
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