How to Break Through A Weight Plateau

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We’ve all been there: you commit to getting back on track (or the treadmill), eating well, sleeping better, noticing your pants fitting better every day and then suddenly—even though you haven’t reverted back to late night snacking—you stop losing weight. And you’re still 10 pounds short of your goal. This is what we call the dreaded weight plateau.

“I think that we all plateau, from fitness experts to regular folks at every fitness level,” says David Kirsch, celebrity trainer, author and owner of David Kirsch Wellness and the Madison Square Club in New York City. “What that means is we need to change our exercise routine, food and attitude. The last 10-20 lbs. are so hard to lose; it’s like running a marathon, when the last mile or two are the hardest. You think you’re there, but you’ve got just a little further to go, and that’s when people stall out if the change in program and mental fortitude doesn’t kick in.”

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Change is the most effective way to break through a weight loss plateau, as in altering your workout plan—including the type of exercise you do, when you do it—and how you eat. “Bump up your cardio,” says Kirsch. “If you’re only doing the elliptical, either alter your routine entirely or add sprints on the rowing machine or the treadmill to mix things up and keep your body guessing.” The idea is to challenge your muscles, to push your body to burn calories in new ways. Believe it or not as your brain (and spirit) becomes bored with your workouts, so does your body—and that’s when it stops burning fat. “Try a new workout partner, get a new trainer, find a new machine to try,” says Kirsh, who says that just about any change will help.

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Your diet should follow suit. “The body is very smart,” Kirsch explains. “If you go on a calorie-reduced diet without increasing your level of exercise, at a certain point your body will lose a little weight and then plateau. You need to trick your body to burn more fuel than you’re ingesting so you can continue to lose weight.” Even if you eat salad every day, your body adjusts to that limited amount of calories and stops burning fat. Kirsch suggests adding grains to your salad or a lean piece of chicken so that your body remains challenged and satisfied. “Adding those things also revs your metabolism because they’re a little harder to digest. Your body also doesn’t think it’s being starved, so it won’t store the food as fat, it will start utilizing and burning the calories. Those small changes along with changing your exercise plan will help.”

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You already know the key to staying fit is a balanced diet and regular exercise, but the key to pushing through that inevitable plateau is change. “You know when it’s all working together, when you feel amazing and like you’re on top of your game where your engine is purring. If you don’t feel that way, stop. Regroup. Change your routine. Change what you’re eating,” says Kirsh. “Your body is smarter than you are, so you always have to stay one step ahead.”