As faithfully as you’ve been going after your weight loss goals – even if you’re doing everything right – unfortunately hitting a weight loss plateau at least once in your health journey is extremely common, and likely.
How long that plateau lasts depends on your individual body type and unique circumstances, but one thing is certain… the time period can drag on and feel like a lifetime. This is especially true if you were soaring along successfully before the plateau happened, which is often the case!
In this article, we’ll address exactly what a weight loss plateau is and our professional guidance for how to overcome or BREAK THROUGH your plateau, so you can make it to the other side and keep making major strides in your goals. Don’t give up just because things got tough… just get tougher! Keep reading to do just that.
What Is A Weight Loss Plateau?
A weight loss plateau happens when you suddenly stop losing weight, and can’t seem to get back your momentum or continued progress. Whereas you may have been losing weight steadily for weeks or months, the scale suddenly stops showing any progress, and you stay at the exact same weight – even though you’re continuing with the same healthy lifestyle routine that helped you lose the previous weight.
How long this incredibly frustrating period of time lasts can differ from person to person, and also from circumstance to circumstance. You may hit one plateau that lasts a few weeks and another that lasts a few months. But the important thing is not to become discouraged or fall back into old habits.
As frustrating as it may seem, weight loss plateaus are actually extremely normal. In fact, throughout your entire weight loss journey, it would be more unlikely to NEVER experience even one weight loss plateau. With that in mind, you should also be equipped with the right tools to help you break through a plateau when you do come across one – however long that may take.
Read on to learn our tried-and-true secrets on how to break down the walls of a plateau… And remember, you aren’t alone in your journey! We’re a Community that is #310Strong and we can help you get through to the other side. Here are our top tips to put into place right now if you’re experiencing a weight loss plateau…
7 Proven Tips for Breaking Through a Weight Loss Plateau
1) Reboot/Cleanse Your System
No matter how healthy your current diet is and how faithfully you follow healthy lifestyle practices, the fact remains that everyone can benefit from a complete total body cleanse (from the inside out) – which can help “reboot” your entire system and kick your digestive system into optimal functioning.
Though this may seem like a complicated or in-depth task at first, it’s actually very simple, and there are also 310 products that can help you thoroughly cleanse your body, reinvigorate your physical and mental energy, and get you back on the path to weight loss. And, they are SO easy to use! Here are some cleansing methods we recommend and the corresponding products to help…
Daily juice cleanse
Does the thought of daily juicing seem overwhelming? Not to worry because 310 Berry Juice greens and superfood mix makes the process ridiculously easy. Just one scoop into water or another liquid of your choice, shake or stir, and you’re done. It tastes like berries and provides over 70 superfoods, including digestive enzymes and probiotics to assist with gut health, toxin removal from the body, and a general feeling of overall wellness and vitality. It also includes a fiber blend and vitamins and minerals to help get your digestive system and metabolism back on track if it slowed, along with supporting immunity.
Of course, you can also reap the benefits of juicing your own whole fruits and veggies – supplying your body with a quick burst of fiber, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and more that can instantly help cleanse out your system, but 310 Juice is the perfect economical and yummy short cut for busy lifestyles!
Purifying herbal tea
Next up, you can also add a powerfully-cleansing herbal tea to your daily routine, which is both quick to make and extremely enjoyable. You can savor 310 Tea both hot or iced, and it contains herbs known to help energize, cleanse, soothe, and improve digestion, while helping to boost immunity and more. In particular, green tea is well-known for its array of powerful antioxidants that can help support a boosted metabolism and fat-burning.
The caffeine plus the antioxidants in green tea, along with those in oolong tea (both in 310 Tea Blend), have been studied and shown to help support weight loss, especially abdominal fat, along with weight management. In addition, other herbs such as yerba mate, rooibos, and guarana can help with appetite control, satiety, and a feeling of fullness.
Not to mention that 310 Tea comes in a variety of totally yummy flavors perfect for any mood, so it’s something you can look forward to as a daily habit. Try all the flavor varieties, currently including Peach Punch, Hibiscus and Jasmine Mint.
2) Evaluate Your Diet (And Portion Sizes)
Next, take an honest look at not only your diet, but also your portion sizes. Though it may seem like you’re eating healthy most of the time, even too much of a good thing can be bad when it comes to your weight loss goals. This is where it’s incredibly helpful to have a daily calorie goal, if you don’t already. You can check with one of the thoroughly knowledgeable nutritionists in the 310 Community to put together a plan that’s right for you, or check out this free online calorie calculator.
A great thing about 310 Shakes is that they make it extremely easy to stay within your calorie goals for each meal. With only 110 calories per shake serving in the Organic Shakes, you get well-balanced, nutritious meals complete with plant-based proteins, dietary fiber, and a variety of organic superfoods to supplement your health. Whether you drink the shake with your milk of choice or water, or add the powder into a blender to make a smoothie, it’s easy to calculate the rest of the calories that the additional ingredients add.
For weight loss, we recommend that you replace 2 meals per day with 310 Shakes – helping to simplify your diet and make nutritious food possible on a busy schedule. When you aren’t drinking a shake, aim for whole foods, including plenty of fresh fruits and veggies. A great place to turn for proper portion sizes based on your individual weight loss plan is the USDA’s MyPlate.com. This can help you get a better understanding and visual on how big or small a proper portion should be to stay within your calorie goals.
3) Balance/Alkalize Your Body
Next, it’s more important than you think for your body to have balance, and this means being at the perfect state for total health and weight loss, which is more alkaline than acidic. Why is it important for your body not to be too acidic? A body that has too much acid is more vulnerable to sickness and disease, and is known to be “out of balance”, which can cause sluggishness or mental fog, and make it harder to lose weight.
Getting the PH levels in your body back into balance by restoring alkalinity is a sure-fire way to help yourself feel better, and may help your body out of a sluggish “rut” that could be causing your weight loss plateau. The way to do this is to add more alkaline foods into your diet, and also another great way, especially for busy lifestyles, is 310 Lemonade.
310 Lemonades come in a variety of yummy flavors, sweetened from real fruits and plant-based ingredients only, and are only 10 calories per serving. Not only that, but they contain electrolyte minerals that work to help restore PH balance in the body – and it’s as easy as simply drinking a glass 1-2 times per day.
The lemonade powder can be mixed into water, and is ready to drink in seconds. Another plus is that the lemonade contains a green tea extract known to help support a faster metabolism and weight loss. And it can help crush your sugar cravings in a totally healthy way – so it’s a win-win!
4) Remember Your Accomplishments
Next, it’s important to remember that your weight loss journey is also about the process of who you’re becoming on the way to your goals, and shouldn’t just be about the destination. Even if the scale seems to be stuck in place, you undoubtedly feel much better in general than you did when you started your journey, right? You may have more energy, motivation and zest for life and may even have dropped a few pants sizes already depending on where you are in your own personal quest.
So, even though it can be frustrating to have seemingly stopped progressing, don’t forget to pat yourself on the back for what you have done so far. It can be helpful to keep track of your progress using a wellness journal – so that it’s easy to flip back and see how far you’ve come.
This type of all-inclusive journal can also be very helpful in helping you pinpoint any weaknesses, and where you might be able to improve to see even better results. You can also use it to monitor calories and keep track of your food choices each day, essential for your bottom line!
Remember that it’s necessary to keep yourself positive and upbeat during this time of a weight loss plateau – so don’t let the discouragement of the scale throw you off. Instead, praise yourself for how far you’ve come and seek to maintain where you are, while also evaluating the ways that you can keep moving forward.
5) Switch Things Up A Bit (Diet & Exercise)
The next thing you need to do if you’ve reached a weight loss plateau is switch things up a bit in your diet or exercise routine, or both, to trick your body out of its comfort zone. In truth, your body can get too comfortable with certain routines and this may cause you to stop seeing the progress you want!
Exercise
Starting with exercise, your body can actually adapt to routines if you keep doing the same ones over and over, especially when it comes to strength training. In addition, it can also adapt to your workouts if you continually exercise in the same way, for the same amount of time, at the same intensity. This means it’s time to switch things up!
The easiest way to do this is to first increase the intensity of your workouts, which will challenge your body more and also help you burn more calories. You could do this by going up a level in the type of workout you are doing (from beginner to more advanced), or adding slightly more weight when it comes to strength training than you usually do.
Along with this, you can also try varying other things about your workouts. You can try some shorter or longer workouts, and a completely different type of activity. For instance if you’re used to doing most floor mat exercises or a stationary bike, take a run outdoors once a week, or add in a dance class like Zumba! Variety is key to keep challenging your body, keeping your figure toned, and your weight loss on track.
Diet
The same is true when it comes to your diet… you’ve likely fallen into an excellent dietary routine that’s comfortable and thus far has delivered great results, but you may need to be open to some new varieties of that diet, in order to give your body and metabolism a surprise.
Depending on your particular dietary plan and calorie goals, you may be eating slightly too many calories per day, or potentially too little calories per day. Or, you may need to switch up what you eat completely. For instance, if you’re eating low-fat or low-carb, it may be helpful to switch it up and add a little more of what you’re avoiding into your diet for a short time, to see if it challenges your body to work harder to burn fat again.
The only way to know for sure what is going to work and what isn’t is by trial and error – but a good starting point is to look back at your calorie goals and be honest with yourself… Do you think you may be eating too many calories per day and could cut it down? Or, do you think you’ve been too restrictive? Where can you switch up your diet to trick your body into something new again (maybe new smoothie recipes that use a slightly different balance of macronutrients, including fat, protein and carbs).
If you think you’ve been too restrictive, adding in something such as a small baked potato to a meal, or some MCT Oil for extra healthy fats once or twice per day, may be the push you need to get your metabolism back on track. You can also add more protein into your diet by adding another 310 Shake to your day as a snack, or other protein-rich foods like nuts or seeds, lean meats, or unsweetened dairy.
6) Use The Scale Wisely (Not Too Often)
Next, if you know that you’ve hit a weight loss plateau, it’s likely because you are weighing yourself regularly on a scale. But, you may actually be weighing yourself too much. In addition, you may be putting all of your focus on the scale and forgetting about some additional very important numbers. Your success does not lie solely in the number of your weight on the scale! Realizing that is the first step.
You can also see your progress in the amount of body fat that you have versus the amount of lean muscle. And numbers like the amount of water weight you’re holding, and the amount of protein in your body are important. Investing in an advanced “smart scale” that can help you find these numbers in seconds is important and extremely beneficial – because it gives a much more detailed, well-rounded scope of your progress.
When it comes to how often you weigh yourself, it’s also something to take into account. Though you can weigh yourself every day (as long as you do it at roughly the same time each day and follow the same routine in what you’re wearing), especially when you’re breaking through a plateau, once a week is better. Pick a day and time that works for you and follow through with it each week.
When you have something like the 310 Smart Scale, it gives you additional numbers as well – so the full focus isn’t on the weight. And you may easily see that you actually HAVE improved in so many areas, such as your body fat percentage. You can also see where you might be able to improve, such as adding more protein to your diet, if your protein percentage is low.
7) Evaluate Your End Goal
As a final point, take a hard look at your end goal, and make sure that it still aligns with your values and overarching happiness. Often when people start a weight loss journey, they have a desired amount of weight they want to lose in mind, but along the way may realize that they’ve actually reached a good weight for themselves, and it would make more sense to maintain. Just because you set a goal at one point, doesn’t mean that things can’t change.
If you have a ton of energy and you feel fantastic, maybe it’s not worth it to stress about the numbers. Check in with your doctor and make sure your health is on track, and then possibly reevaluate your bottom line.
If you find that you do still want to keep climbing towards a weight loss goal, pick your method of action from the list of tips above – and remember that for both weight loss and weight maintenance, 310 offers tools that you can use continuously to keep up with the new healthy lifestyle that you’ve worked so hard to create!
Keep pushing forward and remember, take it one day at a time! Using the tips above, you’ll overcome your weight loss plateau before you know it, and you’ll also be equipped for the next time you run into the same problem – with the knowledge to help you succeed both now and in the future!
Sources:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2702352/
https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12970-016-0153-8
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8605731/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19597519
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21366839/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27331913/
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1207/S15327914NC340112#.U2tK7fl_t8E
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0031938410000703
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19271168/
