Bodies By Design: Getting back on track to being healthy
It’s hard to believe it, but we are nearly half way through 2022 and time is not slowing down. You had big goals at the beginning of the year to get healthy and finally shed the unwanted weight that crept on during COVID.
I have a question for you:
Have your weight loss results stopped? Or never got started?
Before you blame a fitness plateau for your lack of results, let’s take a hard look at the following:
1. Your diet: It’s human nature to begin to slip on your nutrition after a few weeks of stringent diligence. A small treat here, and a bite of something there, and before you know it you’ve fallen back into old eating habits. If your results have stopped then take the next few weeks to track your nutrition and hold yourself accountable for every bite.
2. Your workouts: If your nutrition has truly stayed on point, then your workouts could be the problem. Are you slacking on the final few reps? Have you reduced your overall intensity in the gym? Did you skip a few sessions last week? Before you blame a plateau for your reduced results, take a really hard look at your effort in the gym. Rededicate yourself to pushing as hard as you can.
3. Your sleep: This is a tough one for so many people, but you simply must be getting adequate sleep to lose fat and develop muscle. Your body needs close to eight hours of sleep each night to recover from your workouts and to maintain balanced hormone levels. Getting to bed on time is vitally important to your fitness results.
If you have tackled the three steps above and still don’t see the number on your scale moving in the right direction, then move on to these next plateau-busting steps.
4. Track your efforts: It’s time to get meticulous with tracking your fitness efforts, from exactly what your workouts consist of, to exactly what and when you eat to constantly improve. Make it your goal to outdo yourself every day. If you’re constantly performing better today than you were yesterday, then your plateau will quickly become a distant memory.
5. Track your results: Simply checking your weight on the scale is not a thorough enough measurement for your progress. Start tracking additional metrics for change. Take your measurements. Have your body metrics tested with the InBody Machine to get the most accurate measurement of body fat, water and muscle ratio to create realistic and achievable results. Take pictures of yourself weekly. It’s important to be fully aware of how your body is changing as a whole unit, not just the number on the scale. You may be surprised to find that your body fat has been dropping while your weight has stayed the same.
With that being said, once in a while you are going to have a bad week. Your nutrition will be off, your workouts will be weak, and your head will not be in the game.
That’s OK.
Remember that you are human, and that sometimes your body needs a little break. The key is to take care of yourself in that moment, to not let yourself stray too far off your fitness plan during the time of rest, and to then get yourself back on track next week.
Many people allow a bad week to spiral into a bad month, or even a bad year. My hope for you is that you’re able to give yourself time to rest and then quickly get back to your program in full force, rested and ready to get at it.
The journey is the reward, so don’t be so hard on yourself and continue to stack up little wins each day. You will look back in the near future and thank yourself for staying consistent.
If you feel like everything listed above is overwhelming, maybe it’s time to reach out to your local fitness expert and create strategies on breaking through your fitness plateau. You got this!
Fred Sassani is the founder of Bodies By Design in Pflugerville, a nationally certified personal trainer and nutrition specialist. For comments or questions, you can reach Fred at getfit@bbdforlife.com or visit bbdforlife.com.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Bodies By Design: Getting back on track to being healthy
