Let’s get one thing straight about weight loss: It is not a destination but a journey. A lifelong journey. I know that sounds cliché, but it’s 100% true. It takes work every single day of your life to continue on your journey.
There’s one thing I can almost guarantee will happen on this journey: Your weight will plateau.
Weight loss is a dynamic process. Your body needs time to catch up with what’s going on and get used to the new body changes that weight loss creates.
In essence it’s deciding whether it’s in survival mode or a healthy state.
I think of a plateau as actually a good thing because it means your body is done changing and is now adapting.
When weight-loss warriors hit a plateau, one of these things usually happens:
They assume what they are doing isn’t working and therefore not worth it. Outcome: Throw in the towel.
They become obsessive over the details of their new diet and weight-loss plan. Outcome: Neglect other important areas of life.
They think something is wrong with them and they are the only ones on the planet with this issue. Outcome: Self-loathing.
None of these outcomes is very positive. I think these feelings are among the reasons why “dieting” is so despised. No one likes feeling this way about himself or herself. Instead of going down one of the negative paths listed above, think of plateau-busting as troubleshooting. It’s time to go through your lifestyle changes one by one and determine what is still working and what needs a tweak. Many people believe that what worked for them once will always work again, but that’s just not the case.
Calorie tracking apps like MyFitnessPal and many others now available on play store are one of the perfect tool to help you troubleshoot because it makes tracking your food and exercise so easy. Many times we think we are doing something positive (e.g., eating more vegetables, eating less sugar, drinking fewer high-calorie beverages), but when we track, the truth comes out. Oftentimes there are several lifestyle areas that need to be re-evaluated and simply tweaked to get you back on track and losing weight.
I chose #fitnesspal as my best pal to be honest to my body and be accountable to what I eat! And trust me if you’re really longing to track your weight, the best way is to really write down or summarise somewhere what your eat throughout the day. Now in today’s busy life and techy world who the hell will write on a piece of paper, hence a fitness app like #fitnesspal is a better option where you just have to download an app on your mobile (come on you’ve got hundreds of stupid apps on your phone, un used so how will one more which is useful would matter)
From my experience, people are hesitant to track because they are embarrassed about what they might learn. These feelings come from a dieting mentality that says we should be A+ eaters and never struggle. However, I see tracking as simply data on our bodies. It is not supposed to be used for grading how good of a person you are but rather give you a state of the union on your lifestyle to help you identify necessary changes. Here are ways you can use this helpful tool to break through a plateau and make tracking your food and fitness easy:
1. Choose a realistic calorie goal.
2. Calculate the Nutrition Facts for your favourite recipes.
3. Do track your water. It is very essential part of your diet. One must drink at least 3 litres of it everyday!!
4. Focus on fiber.
HI-TECH TIP: To view your fiber intake, click on Reports, then choose fiber from the drop-down menu.
5. Write in the Notes section.
6. Track your weight weekly.
7. Track your fitness — cardiovascular and strength training.
As i always say, be fit, be hit!! Cheers to a healthy lifestyle always.
Thanks for reading! 🙂 Contributed by Prakriti, a good friend of mine. Do share your intake on same and be a fitness lover person 🙂
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