Stuck? Get Unstuck!!!

I keep talking about being stuck and having to change things up. Our bodies are smart. The one sided conversation from our little fat cells goes something like this....

"Oh, so you are going to not give me as much food? Find, take this. 'Kazaam' thunder thighs for you. I will save all your fat, and some extra I borrowed from the fat neighbor kid, and place it all on your thighs."

or...

"Oh, what happened, we worked out all week, and I wasn't expecting it, and somehow you shook off 5 pounds of precious lard? Well, guess what, body? You've been eating the exact same healthy crap, the exact number of calories, and doing the exact boring amount of cardio for two weeks. I know your routine now, and I know the exact amount of energy that you need to use so that we don't lose any more precious, precious fat!!!"

When you eat healthy and exercise, you are a step in the right direction, but there is more to weight loss than that. You need to plan, plan, plan and plan. It doesn't matter which diet you are following. Right now, I follow the principles of clean eating. I need to know that I have healthy food and Whey protein in my house at all times. I need my fridge stocked with fresh fruit, vegetables and lean protein. I need to know that I have enough eggs, etc. If you don't have the right foods, you will fail.

Now, you settle into a routine, and that is the worst thing you can do to sabotage your success! You need to constantly commit to challenging yourself and changing things up. Normally walk 45 minutes on the treadmill? Try walking 20, jumping rope for 10 and then walking another 15. Or if you are at the gym, jump on an elliptical for 45 the norm? Try 15 on the elliptical, 15 on the treadmill and 15 on a stairclimber. Add in a day (or two or three preferably) of serious weight training. Grab a copy of Oxygen magazine, or go to their website, and you will find lots of fat blasting muscle building routines that can easily be done at home.

And settling into the same routines with food can send you into a stall as well. Eating the same amount of calories every day, at the same time every day, and the same foods every day leads your body into a lull and it becomes comfortable and uses the least amount of calories because it knows what to expect. To fire up the metabolism furnace, shake things up once in awhile. Eat a bigger breakfast, smaller supper. Try new foods. Have one "high" day where you add about 500 calories into your diet, and then back down the next. (Do this no more that twice a week though).

So shake it up somehow! My change this week was to exercise before breakfast. I had settled into a comfy routine, and the weight loss stopped. I have been right about the same for about 3 weeks now. I hope I see a change on that scale at Monday's weigh in. I really am thinking positive that I will.

And remember - when you cheat and eat bad and skip your workouts, you are only cheating yourself. You deserve the best, so give it to yourself! I am by no means an expert, but I want to help as many people as I can! Together, we can do this!

Love, laughter and light,

Mrs. ChildFun