If you have been following your diet for a while now, you may have noticed that it is harder to stay motivated as time goes on.
There are many reasons for this. Often we hit a plateau, where even though we are sticking faithfully to the rules, our weight or size does not change for a week or two.
This happens to everybody and the reason is often physical. Losing weight is not a linear process. We lose and then the body needs time to adjust before losing more. Sit it out and you will almost certainly begin losing again, perhaps when you least expect it. This is a good time to step up the exercise.
Keeping a diary can also help when the going gets tough. If you have not been recording what you eat every day, now is the time to start. Perhaps portion sizes have been creeping up, or there is more snacking.
You can also record other things in your diary. Weigh yourself once a week at the same time of day, and enter that. You may find you are losing a little each week, even if it does not seem much day by day.
You may also want to measure yourself each week. Using a tape measure, take several measurements e.g. thigh, hips, waist, chest, upper arm. Often you will find that even if you are not losing weight, you are losing inches. Remember that muscle weighs more than fat and this is the effect of toning.
Record all of your exercise in your diary too. You may want to set weekly exercise goals in terms of time or reps. Keeping a diary will help you track and achieve these goals.
Finally, you can enter other information such as supplements taken, how you feel (both physically and your mood), sleep patterns etc.
All of this information can be hugely helpful in getting you over a plateau as well as figuring out what went wrong if you gain or have a bad day. It is worth investing this time for weight loss success.
