You go on a balanced diet, exercise for an hour daily and lose weight every week, but then you plateau, even worse you have gained a couple of pounds. Frustrated and puzzled, you feel bad about your body image – a recipe for disaster. Sliding down the slippery slope of self-esteem with stress levels rising, you are considering self-sabotage. Stop! Here are some tips to jumpstart your weight loss.
* Don’t Stress. Stressing about not losing weight can potentially trigger weight gain according to research published in the American Journal of Epidemiology by Dr. Jason Block. Also, cortisol, a stress hormone, has been implicated in depositing fat around the middle. So, if you stew about seeing yourself as fat and unattractive – guess what? You will actualize your negative self-perception. Instead fortify your identity by participating in creative and meaningful hobbies. Get at the root of what you do well and what you love to do. When you feel happier, you are lighter.
* Vary your workouts. If your exercise routine has become just that – change it up. You know the expression, if you keep doing the same thing over and over, you won’t get different results. If they could talk, the machines in the gym would be saying, “Here he comes again. We know the routine.” You can vary time like adding an extra 15 minutes, intensity like adding more resistance and of course, the workout like trying out a new class or sport. If you work out hard every day, take a day off and go for a long walk or do stretching exercises. Sounds counterintuitive, but the body can’t build muscles, if it is constantly tearing them down. More muscle mass means burning more calories. Also, when you are resting, studies show you are likely to eat less because some people eat more after vigorous exercise, "Well, I worked out, didn’t I?!"
* Sleep your weight away. When you sleep through the night, your fat cells secrete a hormonal appetite suppressant called Leptin which also triggers the metabolism to burn more calories. Exactly how and why Leptin works is still not clearly understood by scientists. Keep in mind that daily stressors are more manageable when you wake up refreshed.
* Your friends and their friends can make you fat. Dr. Christakis from Harvard says that bad moods are contagious and apparently so is obesity. If your friends, and just as important, their friends who you don’t even know well, are overeating and not exercising, you will be sucked into their world –subtly and then overtly.
* Wear a tighter belt when you eat to feel full sooner especially when portions and food prep are out of your control like at a party or restaurant.
* Manifest your destiny. Athletes visualize winning before a competition. Imagine yourself looking fit, healthy and trim as you cross your weight loss finish line.
Put your weight loss in the right context of the big picture that is your life. How do you want to be remembered – how thin you were?
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