If you’ve ever set your sights on losing some weight, there’s a good chance you’ve experienced what all dieters dread: the unholy weight loss plateau. What the heck is going on here? You followed your plan. Got in your workouts. You even skipped the whip on your latte! So why didn’t that number on the scale go down?? One minute you were on top of the world, but now you just feel like a deflated balloon.

Though you might not have lost any weight, don’t lose heart! Keep in mind that plateaus are normal and happen to even the most dutiful dieters–just ask our friend, Evelyn! A stalled scale can happen for a number of different reasons, some within your control, others not.

Today we’re going to take a look at what you can do get yourself back on track. With a little due diligence, you can overcome that weight loss plateau and see the number on the scale go down.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. This means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you when you shop with these links, which helps to make this blog possible. Thank you for your support!

Weight Loss Plateau–or Slump?

Before we dig in, it’s important to take a good, hard look at your weight history. It amazes me how often I’ve had a client complain at having not lost any weight when in reality, they have!

But I’ve only lost 5 pounds in the last 3 weeks!

Thanks to the unrealistic expectations fostered by magazines, online testimonials, and “reality” weight loss shows, too many people have been led to believe that losing 5+ pounds per week is an attainable goal for the average person. Anything less seems like a failure and utter waste of time. In reality, shooting for 1-2 pounds per week (or 1% of your body weight), is not only a more sensible goal, but it is also more sustainable over the long haul.

So before you decide that you’re not making any progress, take a look at your weigh-ins. If the overall trend shows that you’ve been steadily losing weight (with perhaps a few bumps along the way), you are not in a plateau! To the contrary, you should be excited with your progress! Just keep your eye on the prize, and you’ll eventually reach that finish line.

When the Scale Really isn’t Moving

Now, if it really has been a stretch of weeks since you’ve lost any weight, it’s time to figure out what exactly is going on. It’s time to take inventory and get some clear-eyed perspective. This is where food journaling becomes a crucial source of information. In order to truly assess your eating habits and figure out why the scale isn’t moving, you’ve got to figure out precisely how much you are putting in your mouth. This can only happen with careful food journaling.

Thankfully, food journaling no longer has to be done by hand. There are multiple apps and websites out there that do a fabulous job of helping you keep track of everything you’re eating. Virtually every food you can purchase at a grocery store or restaurant can be found in these databases, making all that math a snap. Simply enter how much you ate and the app will do the rest, giving you an accurate analysis of your caloric intake, plus a breakdown of the nutrients you’re getting in.

If you’re looking for a little direction, SparkPeople and MyFitnessPal are two food journaling websites with free apps that I heartily recommend. They have excellent food journaling tools plus so much more.

Measure Everything

Of course, a food journal can only be as accurate as your measurements. If you’re going to take the time to record what you’re eating, do it right. You’ve got to measure everything. This means that if a food is not already pre-portioned for you (e.g. a slice of bread, a packaged bar, a container of yogurt), you’re going to have to either grab a food scale or a set of measuring cups and spoons and get after it.

Yes, I know measuring everything you eat is a pain. Yes, I know your life is busy. But given that the average person underestimates their calorie intake by 500+ calories per day, measuring your food is really the only way to get a clear picture of just how much you are putting down the hatch. Until you do this, you really can’t begin to figure out whether you are actually in a weight loss plateau or simply eating more than you realize.

The Usual Suspects

In case you’re not yet convinced, here’s a short list of foods that are often overlooked and yet quickly add up. Even these little trifles should be measured and included in your food log. Remember, just 500 calories each day can make the difference between losing a pound per week and losing nothing!

• Added fats like butter, margarine, oil, mayonnaise, salad dressing, and sour cream
• Nuts and nut butters
• All the goodies you add to your coffee or tea, like sugar, honey, half and half, or creamer
• All “diet”, “keto”, “Atkins”, “low-carb”, or “low-fat” foods. Just because these foods are marketed to dieters doesn’t mean they are low-calorie.
• All caloric beverages, including those lattes and Frappuccinos.
• Any little odds and ends you randomly grab and pop into your mouth, like that handful of M&M’s, chips, or your toddlers leftover animal crackers

For many of my clients, the simple act of food journaling is the catalyst that gets their weight loss back on track. When you are measuring and logging every bite, it is a very eye-opening experience. After all, if you know you have to log that handful of M&M’s, you might think twice about popping them in your mouth! Careful food journaling will give you confidence in your calorie counting and a friendly nudge to stick to your plan.

Next Steps to Overcome a Weight Loss Plateau

Admittedly, food journaling doesn’t always solve the plateau puzzle. If you’ve made the effort to log every bite but you’re still not seeing any results, it’s time to take another look at your weight loss plan. Remember, not every plan works well for every person! With just a few adjustments, you can hone your weight loss strategy and get the results you’re looking for.

Wondering what these adjustments might be? Check out my post, Break Out of a Weight Loss Plateau. We’ll dig into the strategies that will help you overcome a stuck scale and reach your goals. Thanks for reading!

(Psst…Want to read more in the Facing Obstacles series? Check out this post!)

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If you find yourself needing to lose more than 10 or 15 pounds, it can be a bit daunting to embark on what is sure to be a challenging weight loss journey.  No doubt, this will be an endurance event.  The question is, can you stick with it long enough to reach your goal? 

Today I’ve got for you just a few strategies that will help you lose that weight without losing your sanity. Even if reaching your goal will take months (or even years!), these tactics will enable you to keep your focus until you reach the finish line.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. This means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you when you shop with these links, which helps to make this blog possible. Thank you for your support!

Set Milestones

One helpful trick for dealing with long-term goals is to set smaller, easier to attain goals along the way.  Not only will this meet your need for a bit of quick gratification, but it will also give you the opportunity (excuse) to reward yourself. 

For example, if you have 30 pounds to lose, set 5-pound milestones.  Each time you lose a fiver, treat yourself! Reward your progress with something that will enhance your continued weight loss efforts, like some new workout music, or that Restorative Yin class you’ve been dying to try.

Shed Weight, Not Tears

The changes you choose to make will also determine how easy or arduous the journey is.  Yeah, you could live off broiled chicken, brown rice, and broccoli for the next 6 months, but what sort of life is that?  And how will you maintain those painfully-earned results? 

There is a reason most people can only last for a few weeks on these extremely restrictive plans. They are difficult and unpleasant to sustain over time, to say the least! So be sure to make changes that you can truly live with and incorporate long term into your lifestyle. Remember, temporary changes will only give you temporary results!

Changes Worth Making

If you’re truly in this for the long haul–that is, you really want to change your life–you need to make changes you can live with.  In fact, a good test for any change you’re considering is to ask whether you’re doing it just to lose weight or if this is a change worth making permanently. 

Make a list of such worthy changes and, one by one, begin incorporating them into your lifestyle.  As the weeks and months go by, you’ll not only lose the pounds but you’ll also be creating a new way of living that supports your new physique.

Is the juice worth the squeeze?

Finally, as you get started with your goal, it’s always helpful to get some perspective.  As you sit there wondering whether you have what it takes to go the distance, ask yourself one simple question:  If you knew that one year from now–after all the work and diligence and perseverance–you’d have reached your goal, would it all be worth it? 

For some, this question becomes a transformative mantra because they know that one year is a small price to pay for shedding the weight and changing their lives.  One year is a small investment compared to how you will feel at the finish line.

Lifestyle change is never easy, but if the change is worth making, the rewards will be sweet! If you’d like to see examples of everyday people chasing down their weight loss goals, check out my Plan for Success series! You just might find the inspiration and tactics you need to reach your goals.

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Welcome back to The Diet Oracle! In the last post, we spent some time discussing how to create an effective goal that was S.M.A.R.T.–that is, Smart, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound. Today I want to share with you the next vital step toward making your weight loss goal a reality–formulating a solid action plan.

Though the diet industry would have you believe that there is some magical secret to shedding pounds, it still comes down to calories in versus calories out. That is, your weight is a balance between the calories (or energy) you consume from food and the calories you burn through basic metabolism, digestion, and physical activity. When those two sides of the equation are equal, your body is in equilibrium and your weight will remain stable. If, however, you’re wanting to lose weight, you must take in fewer calories than you are burning to create a calorie deficit. This forces the body to tap into your various forms of stored energy and ultimately shed pounds. While there are certainly more details to flesh out, energy balance is still the name of the game when it comes to weight loss.

So knowing you’ve got to create a calorie deficit to see that number on the scale go down, let’s talk about an action plan to make that happen. If your weight is (generally speaking) a balancing act between the calories you get from food and the calories you burn, altering one or both sides of the energy equation is the key to losing weight. Eat less, move more–right? You’ve got to change the way you eat and the way you move in order to change your body. For most people, this means making healthier food choices, reducing portion sizes, and cutting back on junk food and calorie-laden drinks. It also means getting active, increasing both the time you devote to exercise as well as incidental activity throughout the day. How you choose to alter your own energy balance is entirely up to you!

There are as many ways to create a calorie deficit as there are people. From cookie cutter calorie plans and macronutrient manipulation to intermittent fasting and good ole’ fashion portion control, the choices are nearly endless. The idea that there is only ONE right way to lose weight is utter nonsense. To the contrary, your weight loss success will largely depend on your ability to find a plan that works for YOU–one that you can stick with for the long haul and perhaps even enjoy. As long as you pick a plan that consistently creates a calorie deficit, you will lose weight.

Now that we’ve got the physics of weight loss out of the way, it’s time to make it real. In upcoming posts, we’ll be looking at a couple all-too-familiar scenarios and really dig into different strategies for creating that calorie deficit all the while promoting good eating habits and of course, good nutrition!

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Have you ever set a lofty and altogether worthwhile goal only to see it all crash and burn a couple weeks later? You had the best intentions, bought all the books, grabbed the gear, maybe even started a personal YouTube vlog to capture every victorious moment and yet…kaput. You fell off the horse. Called it quits. Conceded defeat. Threw in the towel. Despite all that enthusiasm and motivation, it was all for naught. Somehow, the goal just didn’t stick and you’ve slipped back into your old comfy habits once again.

I don’t think I need to tell you that making changes can be tough, especially if you’re staring down a particularly ingrained habit. Squaring off against your second nature takes more than just a wing and a prayer, my friends. Nope, winging it just won’t cut it. So if you’re serious about making changes, take the time to sit down, focus your thoughts, and create a goal worth chasing. Though setting a goal might seem like an exercise in the obvious, a thoughtful goal can truly spell the difference between success and failure.

So what does effective goal setting look like? You’ve probably heard of that old acronym, ‘S.M.A.R.T.’ when it comes to goal setting. If not, here’s a little refresher. Goals should be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant (or Realistic), and Time-bound. To flesh this out, let’s take a classic New Year’s resolution and give it a S.M.A.R.T. makeover. We’ll start with:

How can we make this a more effective goal? To start, let’s consider how this goal could be more Specific. Though wanting to lose weight may seem straightforward enough, this goal is definitely vague. One obvious choice might be to add a certain number of pounds, inches you’d like to shed, or some other specific outcome. Let’s go with,

Not only have we made the goal much more Specific, but now it is also Measurable, right? One can simply pop onto the scale or wriggle into those jeans to see how things are progressing. Just like the mile markers in a race, a measurable goal will help you stay on track and focused on that finish line.

What if, however, your goal was something like, I’d like to lose 50 pounds by next Tuesday and get on the cover of People Magazine? Now we’re looking at whether the goal you’ve set is actually Achievable. Though I like folks to set a goal that is motivating and exciting to pursue, choosing a goal that’s nearly impossible is a waste of time, emotion, and energy. Yeah, it’s exciting to watch those extreme weight loss shows or read those transformation testimonials, but remember that such results are typically out of reach for mere mortals living in the real world (and not at a fitness compound). Keep your goal Achievable.

Moving on to goals that are Relevant or Realistic, this is where the rubber meets the road. You’ve got a goal that’s Specific, Measurable, and Achievable, but is it actually Realistic? Let’s go back to our weight loss goal, I want to lose 25 pounds and fit into my old jeans. Sounds good on paper, but let’s say you haven’t fit into those bad boys for over 20 years and every time you have managed to shed some pounds, you’ve yet to squeeze back into those bitty jeans. Though I won’t be the one to tell you to let go of that dream, maybe your goal simply isn’t Realistic. And hey, if those favorite jeans have been up in the attic for the last 20 years, maybe your goal isn’t Relevant either!

Finally, an effective goal should be Time-bound. Giving some sort of timeframe or end point to your goal will help you have a clear finish line and just enough pressure to stay focused to the end. Just like it’s easy to put off an assignment with no deadline, a goal with no timeframe is easy to push to the ole’ backburner. So let’s put the finishing touches on our example, shall we?

Now we’ve got a goal that is S.M.A.R.T.–it’s Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant (or Realistic), and Time-bound. With your new and improved S.M.A.R.T. goal in hand, you are now ready to create a solid action plan that will take you all the way to the finish line!

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Happy New Year and welcome back to The Diet Oracle! I hope you had a blessed holiday season wherever you call home. We had a wonderful Christmas and even managed to get out NYE, so I’d call that a roaring success! With four boys between the ages of 2 and 10, life continues to be full to overflowing and the years just seem to be whipping by at an astonishing rate. I don’t know about you, but I can hardly believe we’ve just jumped into 2020!

For a lot of folks, a new year means new resolutions. We all need a fresh start now and then and it’s hard to beat January 1, no? So what’s on your list? Do you have any big goals for the new year? The new DECADE? Yikes. That makes it sound serious, now doesn’t it?

While the new year can seem like the perfect time to shake things up and make some worthwhile changes, just remember that everyday is an opportunity for a fresh start. Heck, if you’re trying to lose weight, each MEAL is a chance to make better choices! Though embracing the hope and enthusiasm a new year brings can give you a powerful kickstart, know that everyday offers you the chance to make changes and get closer to reaching your goals. If your goal is worth it, don’t give up! When you fall and take a header off that horse (and trust me, at some point you will), don’t wait for a new year to grab those reins and get back in the saddle. Don’t even wait until next month or next week! Seize the day and chase down your goals. You can do it!

Whatever your goals may be for 2020, I wish you a year of success and look forward to sharing with you some solid strategies and practical tips to help you along the way! As always, thanks for reading and happy New Year!

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