Plateau- Food and Routine Advice

sadamson1

Hi all- I have lost about 30-something pounds since January (much post mat leave). I would not classify my diet as anything other than generally healthy but I try to eat a significant number of raw foods (veg and fruit), very little to no red meat, very minimal dairy and only organic, preservative-free unrefined carbs. I try to stay away from all foods that are processed or have additives of any kind. I do drink wine!

My workout routine consists of strength training (jackie warner style) 2-3 times a week, cardio twice a week (jog or bike) and hot yoga once a week.

I have not been able to drop any further for the last few weeks and I still want to lose about 15 pounds. I weigh about 166 and am 5'6". I've always had a chubbier frame but strong. Any recommendations on diet or exercise that could assist in getting me the push I'm looking for?

TIA

Wuffles70

Have you measured yourself? It's hella frustrating when it looks like nothing is moving but checking your weight/arm/leg measurements and body fat can help keep you sane whilst your body does it's stubborn thing - odds are it's building muscle! :P

A friend of mine whose gone through this before says that one of the best things you can do is eat differently. Not better or worse, just differently. For example, at the moment, I eat muesli with yoghurt and cereal for breakfast. If I started to plateau I might switch to something like porridge with apple and some cinnamon. I've still got the dairy for protein, some carbs to keep me going and fruit so nutritionally speaking I'm hitting the targets I want to - it's just different. Where do you get your protein from? Maybe try a lean meat, egg or soya beans if you don't usually eat one of them.

With regard to your workout routine, have you tried altering the exercises you do a little bit when you do your strength training? It doesn't have to be huge, stuff like having your feet closer or wider apart when you do squats or sitting on a physio ball instead of the bench when you do arm exercises can help shake things up a little. (Disclaimer: I have no idea what jackie warner style means so if I've just given you really useless advice, sorry!)

The same sort of thing goes for cardio. If you usually do a long jog, try sprint training occasionally to see if that changes things. Alternatively, you could try a totally different form of cardio like swimming or try taking up a sport you've liked the look of but haven't felt brave enough to try yet. One of my closest friends worked out in the gym and ran and had reasonable weight loss until she realised she was really into ballet - because she loved it and had goals that weren't weight-orientated that she was working towards, she found the weight dropped off without her really trying. Have you ever thought about trying something like horseriding or dance? Just a thought!

reach4thestar

I have heard from certain resource that increasing the calorie intake kick starts the metabolism again. That's the reason at times when we over eat during weekends and weigh ourselves on Monday, there is no significant increase. May be you can alter your food in such a way that you eat veggies fruits more one day and have some extra calories on the second day and see if this pattern works. Changing the way we excercises also helps. Ground rule is to activate our metabolism again....

sadamson1

Thanks guys! I think you're both right, I probably need to change up my workout routine for sure (i've followed generally the same routine since January now) and probably need to change up the food. I don't track my food intake because of the foods I eat but perhaps this would help me out.

Wuffles70

Best of luck!