A Time for Change: 9 Ways to Break through Plateaus with Fitness and Nutrition

Here is the scenario many of us fall into…… we take a class, buy an exercise DVD or work with a trainer for a period of time and learn a routine.  This works out great for us because as the weeks pass we begin to walk up the stairs a bit quicker, notice that our jeans are a little looser and we are even passing by the “free candy” at the front desk.  Weeks pass into months and the routine that once gave us so much motivation and results suddenly stops working.  We can’t imagine how this happened!  We think of how religious we are to the routine, we are glad the scale went down but that was months ago, so in our frustration we say “forget it” and we purposely help ourselves to the “free candy” at the front desk to bury our disappointment, plus we think; “I deserve a treat every once in a while.”

STOP!!!! Let‘s take a look at how the body looks at this.  You begin a routine and the stored fats within the cells, begin to be used as a fuel source to provide the body with energy as you work out. The more calories you burn the less you store=looser jeans. If you are choosing to eat more nutrient-dense foods, the more efficiently your system will work= higher metabolism.  Research tells us about 80% of your results happen in the kitchen.  As the body is learning this new way of life, it is trying to compensate for the workload but eventually, it gets smart on us and figures out the pattern and thus the results SLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW down!!  This is not the time to go back to old habits; it is time for a change to the routine.

Practical Ways to break the plateaus

1.    Try a different class.  If you have been doing an aerobics-based class, try a class that uses weights, or try yoga or Pilate’s class.

2.    If you workout at home, buy a different DVD, look through fitness magazines and put together a new routine. 

3.    Hire your trainer again to give you some new ideas.

4.    Instead of the standard 12-15 reps, try super-setting your routine.  Some ideas would be: perform a strength exercise (8-10 reps) and then an endurance/core exercise (1min). Ex:  Squats & Push-ups, Back Cable Row & Superman/Cobra,   Bicep Curls & Hip Lifts.

5.    Keep a journal of everything that goes into your mouth (yes drinks count as well). Nutrition is all about chemistry so add more veggies to your diet daily and cut down on foods higher in sugar, breads, pastas etc

6.    Avoid processed, refined, chemical -laden foods.  The body has a more difficult time breaking this down.

7.    Eating well? Shock the body, have a “cheat” meal each week.

8.    How many meals do you eat?  To break plateaus begin to eat every 3-4 hrs, high quality super foods.

9.    Take a healthy cooking class or check out the new Eat clean cookbooks.

Have fun with your workouts and planning your meals to keep up your motivation. Be flexible as you notice you have reached a plateau and use some creativity to change some things so that you can begin to reach your goals!!