First, let me preface this by once again letting you all know that I’m not an expert by any means and have no official training.
If you’re OK with that, read on.
I’ve heard from a couple of different people that no matter how much they exercise and how little they eat they’re still not losing weight.
Story of my life.
I figured I’d share what’s worked for me in the past because I’ve been in that situation plenty of times. Here’s what works for me now.
And surprise, it’s not cupcakes.
Eat real food.
I try and stick to eating paleo (everything a caveman would eat) about 80 percent of the time. I feel better when I limit pasta bread and other starches and eat an abundance of leafy greens, fruits and veggies. You can eat a lot of food and still lose or maintain your weight if you just stop putting crap in your body on a daily basis. I’ve switched cow’s milk for almond milk with the exception of my skinny vanilla lattes at Starbucks. I try and seek out new veggie sides on the regular and I sub squash or zucchini for pasta in some of my favorite dishes. I still eat yogurt and small amounts of cheese but it’s a lot easier than I would have ever imagined to stick to meat, veg and fruit.
And more or maybe less of it.
You may need to reevaluate your caloric intake after working toward your ideal weight for awhile. The 200 pound body you may have started with needed more calories than the 180 or 160 pound body you’re working with now. I like this calculator on Calorie Count.
If decreasing your caloric intake still doesn’t work after a week or two you may need to increase it. I meet a lot of people who subsist on nothing but coffee until dinner. I don’t know how they do it because I’d be ready to punch someone in the face but you may not be eating enough calories. Can’t win, right? Try increasing your calorie target by 200 to 300 calories for a few days and see what happens.
Change it up.
So you’ve been hitting the elliptical like a beast and nothing is happening. Add some strength training. Lifting the same weights three times a week and progress has stopped? Lift heavier and/or add some cardio. I can attest to the fact that just cardio or endurance training will get you nowhere. While training for my first half marathon I thought the weight would just fall off because of all the miles I was logging weekly but I actually gained weight! What, gives right? Well, all that training makes a girl hungry. I ate because I was hungry and even while burning a shiz ton of calories I stayed the SAME. EXACT. WEIGHT. I could seriously run half marathons and not lose a single pound. It wasn’t until I added strength training that I broke the plateau. You can do it. Don’t get discouraged. It takes time.
Write it down.
Speaking of eating a shiz ton of calories, it’s still possible to overeat even when you’re eating clean. I’ve found logging every single bite (green veggies are free) that goes into my mouth the easiest way to maintain or lose. You can use websites like SparkPeople or Calorie Count, both of which have apps on Android (not sure about the iPhone). Good old pencil and paper works as well. A bite of cheese here, some grapes there, tasting the paleo marinara sauce at dinner. It adds up so write it down, peeps.
So you may have noticed that three of these four tips have to do with what you put in your mouth. There’s the old saying, “Abs are made in the gym but revealed in the kitchen.” True story bro. You can workout all you want but if you keep eating garbage you’re going to look and feel like garbage. No excuses. Cut it out and see how quickly your body will thank you for fueling it better.
Disclaimer: This is what’s worked for me personally and all of these steps may not work for you. For more guidance and advice consult your doctor or a certified fitness professional.
