Why You’ve Plateaued (external factors)

 

Last week we talked a little about hitting that wall where nothing you do seems to make the scale budge in the direction you want it to. I listed some of the most common reasons why you may have hit this thing called a plateau, and how to identify if you actually have in fact hit a true plateau. If you need to come up to speed you can read that here: Are You Stuck At Your Weight? 

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Ok, so now that you know what and why, let’s get to the ‘what to do about it’ part:

First, you need to look at that list and determine which one(s) apply to you. Today let’s talk about external factors in a plateau. That means things that you can’t always seemingly control (notice the word seemingly).

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What Is A Plateau and Why Did I Hit One?

 

One of the biggest frustrations I hear from you all through email or when you come in for your body diagnostic at my studio is that you feel like your weight loss progress has just come to a screeching halt. Just last week I had at least 3 women come in and tell me how all on their own they had lost 25lbs, 30lbs, one woman had even lost 50lbs. But each and every one of them could not seem to get one more pound to budge. Can you relate?

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This is called a plateau and it’s the #1 reason that women fail at weight loss once they get past all the initial danger spots. Women who have gone for weeks, even months faithfully getting their workouts in, saying no to diet temptations and have thrilled at seeing it all pay off, suddenly stop doing it all and soon enough they find the weight creeping back on one sneaky pound at a time.

Can you relate?

Well I’m going to tell you exactly what a plateau is, why you’ve hit it, and what you can do about it.

This is gonna help you avoid a LOT of frustration. I’m also going to tell you how to avoid a plateau if you haven’t hit one yet.

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Perseverance, Not Perfection Is the Key

Here it is the 3rd Monday of the new year already. Let’s take a minute to talk about your fitness goals for the new year, have you taken one step forward and two steps back, or two steps forward and one step back? (I’ll give you a sec to read that again…..)

Hopefully you said the latter cause that would mean that despite hitting a few roadblocks you are on your way to fulfilling your new fitness goals and can actually feel that you’re beginning to make a difference.

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Even if you’ve only managed to stick to your new eating plan for 2 weeks then you had a “bad week”, or if you’ve already missed a week of workouts, get right back on track and take some steps forward. As you string success after success together you’ll find that you take more like 3 steps forward, one back. Then 5 steps forward, one back. You’re not going to get to the point where you never have a slip up because we are imperfect humans and it happens to the best of us. But continue to strive to do your best and before you know it, success will become a habit that you are eager to stick to again and again.

Here are some of my favorite quotes on the subject of perseverance:

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Guilt Free Coffee (2 recipes)

 

Have you seen it yet?

As of January 1st all restaurants are required to post the caloric content of all their menu items right on the main menu boards. No more hiding them in a pamphlet that you had to ask for and that they never seemed to have. No more telling you to go online to see nutrition data. Now it’s right there, right in your face. And this includes everyone guilty pleasure –Starbucks.

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I was in line there the other day and there was a long line as usual. The girl in front of me was dutifully studying the new data while we waited, when it was her turn do you know what she ordered after waiting in line for well over 5 minutes? WATER! She said after seeing all those calories “I can’t bring myself to order anything. I’ll just take this bottled water”. I guarantee you, that’s a girl who is going to stay in her skinny jeans.

And while I believe in the 90/10 rule of eating clean and “cheating” most of us enjoy having coffee everyday (or almost everyday), so today I have a recipe for you that is a healthy recipe alternative for a normally sinful vice many of us have these days…  gourmet coffee drinks!

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The Storm Is Coming

It’s here-just look at the seasonal shelves in your favorite store. Retailers refer to this time as the holiday season, but I like to be more accurate:
Weight Gain season starts now and runs straight through New Year’s.
The next month and a half will bring ample opportunity for you to indulge, to enjoy and to expand your waistline. Of course the choice is yours.
Why do I bring this up now and not mid way through December? Quite frankly now is the time for you to plan for the weeks ahead. Once the whirlwind of activities and obligations begins, you’ll be too caught up to put a plan into action.
So in this moment of clarity, this calm before the storm, let’s outline a plan that will save you from unwanted holiday pounds.

I’ve highlighted two simple steps that could make the difference from squeezing into your little black dress to slipping into it easily.

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The Chicken And Rice Diet

I hope you enjoyed my article yesterday on the best way to keep dieting simple. It really isn’t as complicated as we tend to make it. In fact my husband swears by his “Chicken and Rice” diet. When he really wants to get lean and “get on it” he eats, [Read more…]

3 More Reasons People Fail

Yesterday I shared 5 reasons that people fail in any goal  and specifically weight loss.
I originally planned on listing  just the 5 reasons I gave you yesterday but there are three more that I think are probably the most important so I couldn’t leave them out and let you miss out on the “aha” moment I’m positive you’ll have after reading them.

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When Only 30lbs In 30 Days Will Do

 

Ok, I’ll admit, all women are a little preoccupied with their weight. But I recently met with someone about my personal training services that I would say fell into the category of obsessed with weight loss. Not just any weight loss, FAST weight loss.

She listed to me every fad diet and gimmick under the sun that she had tried to lose weight including some
pretty dangerous prescription diet drugs.

This person bluntly told me that the whole 1-2lbs a week thing didn’t cut it for her. She was only interested in super fast weight loss.
She wanted to see 4-5lbs a week come off every single week. That was the only way she was going to stay interested.

Of course I told her about the difference in scale weight and body fat and how slower safe weight loss would result in long term results that she could maintain for life.

Not interested.

I told her that in just 3 months she could get to her goal and learn the habits along the way that would keep her there.

Not sexy enough.

I told her that if she did not decide to finally do things the right way 90 days would roll around and she would be right where she was now.

Yeah, ok, but can I lose 30 lbs in about 4 weeks with you?

I left that appointment shaking my head, wondering why someone would be so stuck on doing things in a way that she had proven to herself time and time again would not work.

Have you ever heard of self-sabotage?

One way women often do this when it comes to fitness and fat loss is by setting unrealistic expectations of what they can do or what they should expect.

For example: Trying to lose 30lbs in 30 days, trying to exercise 7 days a week from day one. Expecting to be able to keep up with other women who have been exercising for months or years. Feeling like if they haven’t eaten perfectly all day the day is a total loss.

If you read my blog post from a few days ago where I talked about “trying” to do something, you now realize that “trying” is nothing more than giving yourself a way out.

Well the same is true of unrealistic expectations.

Trying to be perfect and then failing because you are not is a vicious cycle you will be bound to repeat for your entire life.

When you set the bar so impossibly high for yourself that you can’t help but fail, you are doing nothing more than giving yourself a way out.

I know I ask this a lot but……aren’t you tired of that yet?

If you want a step-by-step nutrition program and a tough, enjoyable, effective fitness plan that will get you to your goal as quickly and safely as possible, come talk to me.

http://www.getfitwithsarai.com/boot-camps-for-women.html

Sarai Jones

Follow My Lead

 

Alright, this is going to sound strange, but hear me out…

A few months ago I signed up on a website called, www.Twitter.com (some of you may remember).

Over the last few weeks especially, many of you have been asking me for a sample meal plan or for my food log. So to make things easier and accessible to all, I have decided that a great way to use this nifty little site is to post what I am eating all day everyday.

I will be posting all of my meals, snacks, and nutrition tips over the course of the day so you’ll see exactly what I eat each day to get and stay lean.

I know, websites like this can seem a little funny(or “young”)at first, but I’m using it to help YOU out and I think once you start using it too, you’ll really like it.

So I’m committing to you that I’m going to post all of my meals each day, showing you how to eat fast, nutritious foods even when you are traveling or are really busy.

I’m holding myself accountable to you. By doing this, I’m going to be more focused on eating healthier than ever because I don’t want to have to report to YOU that I’m cheating on my diet.
(And if I do cheat, feel free to call me on it & tell me to get back on track!)

For many people, being ACCOUNTABLE to others is their #1 way to stay motivated and on-track with their diet and exercise program.

So head over to this site and “follow” BootybootCamp to see what I’m eating at every meal.
http://www.Twitter.com/bootybootcamp

You’ll also get little insider nutrition tips all day long.

By the way, you should follow my lead and start posting your daily diet and exercise
somewhere for someone who is holding you accountable.
I would love to have you posting on this free twitter site with me or you can post here on my blog.

Accountability is one of the major MOTIVATION SECRETS to success.
Check me out here:www.Twitter.com/bootybootcamp

Stay in touch!

Sarai Jones