7 Tips to Conquer a Weight-Loss Plateau with My Fitness Pal

Let's see one thing about weight loss: it is not a destination but a journey. A trip through life. I know it sounds cliché, but it's 100% true. He needs to work every day of his life, and for work, I mean making decisions to continue his journey. There is one thing that I can almost guarantee will happen on this trip: your weight will stabilize.

After working with hundreds of people on their trips to a healthy weight, I can assure you that weight loss is very, very normal. Weight loss is a dynamic process. Your body needs time to catch up with what is happening and get used to the new body changes that weight loss creates. In essence, it is deciding whether you are in survival mode or in a healthy state. I think of a plateau as something really good because it means that your body has changed and is now adopting.

When warriors of weight loss reach a plateau, one of these things usually happens:

They assume that what they are doing does not work and, therefore, it is not worth it. Result: throw in the towel.

They become obsessed with the details of their new diet and weight loss plan. Result: neglect other important areas of life.

They think that something is wrong with them and that they are the only ones on the planet with this problem. Result: self-investment.

None of these results is very positive. I think these feelings are among the reasons why "diet" is so despicable. Nobody likes to feel that way for himself. Instead of going through one of the negative routes mentioned above, think of the bursting of the plateau as a solution to the problem. It is time to review your lifestyle changes one by one and determine what is working and what needs an adjustment. Many people believe that what worked for them once will always work again, but that is not the case.

MyFitnessPal is the perfect tool to help you solve problems, since it makes tracking your food and exercise so easy. Many times we think we are doing something positive (for example, eat more vegetables, eat less sugar, drink less high calorie drinks), but when we follow up, the truth comes out. Often there are several lifestyle areas that need to be re-evaluated and simply adjusted to get back on track and lose weight.

In my experience, people hesitate to track because they are ashamed of what they could learn. These feelings come from a diet mentality that says we should be A + eaters and never fight. However, I see tracking as simply data in our bodies. It is not supposed to be used to describe how good you are, but rather to give you a state of togetherness in your lifestyle to help you identify the necessary changes. Here are some ways you can use this useful tool to overcome a plateau and facilitate the tracking of your food and fitness:

1. Choose a realistic calorie goal.

This could be the error n. ° 1 I see what my clients do and what contributes to stabilization. When you set up your profile, choose the option to lose two pounds per week, most MFP will allow it. For some people, this rate of weight loss can set a lower calorie level than what a good diet would really be for a long period of time. Worse yet, when you are not feeding your body with enough energy, it is not comfortable to burn fat reserves and therefore avoid losing weight. I recommend starting with half a pound per week when setting up your profile. Slow weight loss, although not as exciting, is generally a more sustainable weight loss.

2. Calculate the nutritional data of your favorite recipes.

Do you regularly cook a handful of recipes from your favorite websites? If he said yes, it would be useful to have more accurate nutrition information for those foods. The fact that a recipe is considered "healthy" does not mean that it is the right caloric level for you. Analyzing your most used recipes will help you know exactly how many calories the recipe contains and if it fits into your diet plan to lose weight. Although this sounds very complicated, MFP makes it incredibly easy. All you have to do is paste the URL of your favorite recipe into the recipe importer, make a small adjustment and - voilà! - MFP gives you all the nutritional information.

3. Track your water.

I used to think that drinking water was too simple a behavior to notice. But, after my own experience in monitoring water intake, I learned that being well hydrated is crucial to feeling good and ensuring that your body functions in optimal conditions. It also helps ensure that your hunger is true hunger and not just thirst! (See my publication Benefits of Drinking Water: Better mood for more information.) It is always a good idea to do a water check to make sure you are drinking enough and preparing for weight loss success. You can easily track your water intake in your MFP food diary by clicking on the glass of water at the bottom.

4. Focus on fiber.

Increasing your fiber intake is a simple and effective strategy to improve your diet, and could promote weight loss. The fiber provides a factor of fullness to your food, helping you to eat less and to control your appetite, as well as to improve your health by preventing many diseases. The daily goal of fiber is 25 grams per day for women and 38 grams per day for men. Start to track your food and see where it is. Then, start choosing foods with higher fiber content, such as whole grains, nuts, fruits, vegetables and beans, to see if you can reach your daily goal.

HIGH-TECH ADVICE: To view your fiber intake, click Reports, then select fiber from the drop-down menu.

5. Write in the Notes section.

The MFP Notes sections allow you to reflect on your food and your fitness every day and identify the changes you can make to overcome your weight loss plateau. I encourage my clients to take notes about meals, meals and trainings that produce positive or negative feelings or experiences. Did a particular breakfast give you energy all morning? Take note of it. Did you feel slow one afternoon after a lunch? Write it in. Did you enjoy a new workout or exercise plan? Write it down so you do not forget about it. Your notes help you assess how your food choice in general is helping you achieve your goals. This is a crucial step that many people overlook, and it could be key to breaking their plateau.

6. Track your weight weekly. 

Weighing regularly can be a controversial recommendation, so I must emphasize that this is not for everyone. Keep in mind that people who track their weight tend to have a better connection with the way their lifestyle choices are affecting their body. However, many people think that they should track their weight on a daily basis, and worry about every change that occurs. Taking a weekly weight is a reflection of more balanced and precise change, since many factors affect daily weight fluctuations. Tracking your weight weekly on MFP is a great way to connect when you feel discouraged in a stalemate. It is very useful to go back and see how much progress you have already made and celebrate! Do you remember how I said at the beginning that this is a trip? This tool will help you remember that.

7. Track your fitness: cardiovascular and strength training.

When trying to lose weight, many people simply increase their volume of exercise and do not think so much about type and quality. While simply burning a lot of calories can be a good thing to lose weight, improving body composition (think of more lean muscles) through strength training is extremely important for long-term weight maintenance. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends strength training twice a week, working 8-10 large muscle groups doing 8-12 repetitions. (2) Track your training in MFP and see if you meet this recommendation. If not, start making time for strength training. It does not need to be complicated. This is my favorite bodyless exercise of the whole body that you can do almost anywhere.

While solving the problems in these areas, remember these important weight loss concepts: be patient with yourself and do not give up. Do not let that scale dictate your success. Remember how far you have come and how good it feels to take care of yourself.