5 Reasons Your Fat Loss Has Come To A Standstill

You finally made up your mind to get to fit! You made the decision to get rid of excess fat, to get stronger and feel better in your own skin. You cleaned up your diet and started exercising regularly. You even started seeing results for the first month or so, until it all came to a standstill! Has this ever happened to you? It’s like, no matter how hard you try, the weighing scale refuses to budge! The same food and exercise routine that helped you to get rid of that initial weight is no longer working. YOUR FITNESS JOURNEY HAS HIT A PLATEAU and you are no longer seeing results!!!!!!

Well, you are not alone. Your body adapts very quickly to metabolic changes and this can slow down your progress or you may completely stop seeing results. The key to seeing continuous progress in your fitness journey is to constantly surprise your body.

Before we talk about what you can do to jumpstart your fat loss and get your body back into fat burning mode, let’s talk about how our body gets rid of excess fat.

When you eat carbohydrates like sugar, bread, rice and pasta, the body breaks down the carbohydrates to produce glucose. This glucose is released into the bloodstream, raising your blood sugar levels. This increase in blood glucose signals your pancreas to produce insulin. The insulin tells cells throughout your body to take in glucose from your bloodstream. As the glucose moves into your cells, your blood glucose levels go down. Some cells use the glucose as energy. Other cells, such as in your liver and muscles, store any excess glucose as a substance called glycogen. Your body uses glycogen for fuel between meals.

Are you with me so far?

At this point, any glucose (produced from the excess food you eat) is converted to fatty acids and stored as body fat! So, if you are overweight, you have excess fat stored in your fat cells.

Now, when you start making healthy eating choices and add exercise to your routine, you are creating a calorie deficit in your body, due to which your body if forced to use your stored fat reserves as a source of energy, thereby shrinking your fat cells and reducing body fat! For your fat loss to continue, you need to keep your metabolic rate high and basically burn more calories than you are consuming!

Let’s get back to why your fat loss might have hit a plateau and what you can do about it.

1. The “healthy foods” you are relying on, may not be that healthy after all:
For years we have been told to stay away from dietary fat to lose body fat. Eat sugar-free food to avoid sugar. Eat every two hours to boost our metabolism. The truth is, that these practices might be causing us more harm than good! The most effective way to lose body fat is to go back to your routes and eat unprocessed, home-cooked food that is fresh and organic where you live. It is also important to understand that your body will give you enough signals to tell you when you need to eat and when you are full!

Here are some things you can do right now to boost your fat loss:
• Learn your food groups and eat a well-balanced meal.
• Stay away from sugar and processed food.
• Include plenty of fresh vegetables, fruit and grains in your meals.
• Include lean protein in your meals.
• Include good fats in your meals.
• Include fiber and starchy carbs in your meals.

Eat when you are hungry. Stop when you are full. If you are unclear about food groups and portion sizes, Download the Om Food guide here >>. It also comes with several healthy recipes if you don’t know where to start.

2. Your exercise routine might be repetitive:
Regular exercise will definitely create a bigger calorie deficit and boost your fat loss process, but your body can adapt to physical activity very quickly. As you get stronger you need to increase the intensity of your workouts to keep your metabolic rate high. Also, the most effective way to burn calories and increase body strength is to include a combination of weight training and cardiovascular exercises in your routine. HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) is also an effective way to burn calories in a short amount of time.

Here are some things you can do right now to boost your fat loss:
• Don’t do the same physical activity every day. Mix up your exercise routine. If you don’t know where to start, try different activities and decide which ones you like.
• Make sure your workout is challenging for your fitness level, even if it is for a short period of time.
• If you love doing one type of exercise, then increase the intensity of your workout as you get stronger.

Need help coming up with an exercise program that will jump-start your fat loss?  I am happy to help. Sign up for a 15-Minute Phone Consultation here >>.

3. You might be doing too much cardiovascular exercise:
Walking, Jogging, Running, Spinning, Biking, Dancing fall in this category. Cardiovascular exercise is great for fat loss, but if you are only doing cardio and not supporting it with strength training, you will definitely hit a plateau in your fitness goals. More importantly, you will have to rely on longer periods of cardio to maintain your fat loss. Strength training increases the muscle tissue in your body. The more muscle you have the more calories you will burn, even when you are not working out!

Here are some things you can do right now to boost your fat loss:
• If you get bored of going to the gym, try home workouts. They are quick, effective and the right combination of cardio and strength training.
• If you are short on time, include functional moves in your workouts. That way, you are exercising your entire body at the same time.
• Check out the – FIT IN FIFTEEN-  here  >>

4. You are stressed and anxious all the time:
Your mind has a huge part to play in your fitness journey. Mental stress can trigger over production of the hormone cortisol. When this hormone is over produced, the body’s natural response is to seek high calorie foods like chips and cookies! It is important to identify the activities that help you to calm down and get centered. Then make your activity of choice a part of your routine.

If you don’t know where to start try one or all of the following:
• Try meditating for 5-10 minutes everyday. I use the guided meditations from www.headspace.com
• Join a yoga class.
• Join a book club.
• Join an art class or learn to play your favorite instrument.
• Listen to music that calms you down and makes you happy.

The activity can be of your choice, as long as it gives your mind some peace and gets you out of your stressed out mood.

5. You are not getting good quality sleep:
Getting quality sleep every night will be a huge game changer in your fat loss journey. I am not just taking about 6-8 hours of sleep, but really deep and undisturbed sleep can elevate your mood, increase your stamina and boost your metabolism.

Here are a few things that can help you sleep better:
• Have your last meal at least 2 hours before your bedtime.
• Stop watching TV or playing on media (Phone/I-Pad) at least 1 hour before bedtime. Read a book, meditate or talk to your partner instead 🙂
• Keep your room dark and cool when it is bedtime.

I hope you can apply some of these tips to jumpstart your fat loss and crush your 2017 fitness goals! I would love to hear from you in the comments below.

If you are interested in a more personalized program check this out the “Om Mind & Body Reset” >>

Much Love,
Uma