It’s the dreaded moment in every weight loss journey: You hit the “weight loss plateau”, and despite all of your efforts, you can’t seem to lose any more weight.
Actually, you can. You’re just a bit stuck right now, because your body has become accustomed to a routine. Try these four diet tweaks to get that number on the scale moving (downward) again.
Increase your fiber intake. Fiber-rich foods are often lower in calories, but also help you feel full longer. Add an apple or some other low-calorie, fiber-rich snack to your afternoon snack, you might be feel less hungry (and eat less) at dinner time.
Bump up your protein. Remember to eat around 25 grams of protein every four to five hours, from sources like tuna, chicken salad, cottage cheese, yogurt, or hard-boiled eggs. Protein keeps your blood sugar levels even, and prevents cravings for diet-busting snacks like sugary desserts or packaged junk foods.
Check your indulgences. As you’ve lost weight, have you become a little more “comfortable” with the idea of an occasional reward? Sometimes we can lose track of those little rewards, and we don’t realize that we’re eating more chocolate or having more cocktails than we originally intended. Cut back on these sources of empty calories, and you can kickstart your weight loss once again.
Consider your caloric intake. Before you lost a lot of weight, you needed a certain amount of calories just to maintain your old weight. That’s why reducing caloric intake helped you lose weight. But now that you weigh much less, you might need fewer calories to maintain your new body size. Keep in mind that you might need to adjust your expectations downward, and reduce calories a bit more if you want to keep losing weight.
If you implement these methods and find yourself still stuck on the weight loss plateau, give us a call. Sometimes a little expert advice is all you need to put the spark back in your weight loss plan.
