One of the best ways to build a habit is to do it for 30 days straight. In July we had the 30 day Water Challenge. August we will be focusing on getting moving with the 30 Get Moving Challenge. Last August I was a hard plateau on my weightloss, so I decided to make …
Last week you may have seen the fun Summer Bucket List Bingo Printable that I created. While I was creating it I realized I wanted to make one for me also that I could keep track of my fitness goals/bucket list this summer. I filled in my goals and things I wanted to do this …
What keeps you motivated? How do you add a new habit to your life? Have you tried doing a 30 day challenge?
Hundreds of 30 day challenges exist, from fitness to photography. This says something about human beings doesn’t it? We love challenges! We love trying something new! We need repetition to build good habits!
My first 30 day challenge for myself was to do 30 straight days of exercise. I missed one day but allowed myself to have one day to make it up by doing two exercise sessions. I think that is part of making it through a challenge to not become discouraged when you miss a day. Just keep going.
By the end of the challenge I was finding myself wanting to get out and exercising. Which I have never had this urge in my life. Somehow my body had learned through the 30 days that exercise was good.
I created a little sheet to mark off each day on my challenge. I made it fun and pretty. And I have it available for you to print off too. I wrote down what my challenge was (exercise) and wrote down my reward: Bundle Monster Nail Art Stamping Plates
Each day I crossed off a mark and watched as I got closer and closer to my goal. It was fun and exciting to see my progress!
Drinking 8 glasses of water every day for 30 days.
I have found that behind exercise and food, water is one of the biggest things that makes a difference in my weight loss. So for my next challenge I’m going to try and drink the recommended 64 ounces of water every day for 30 days.
One of the best things you can do when you are doing a 30 day challenge is to find support! Find someone to keep you accountable!
I’m now asking you to join me in a 30 day challenge of your own. Your challenge doesn’t have to be water or even fitness related. You could pick any of the challenges above or just make one that is your own.
If you are interested in joining in on this challenge then comment and tell me about the challenge you are going to do. If I have a few people interested we can talk about how to keep each other accountable and how to keep in touch (twitter, email, facebook, etc).
And to help you with your challenge here is your FREE printable 30 Day Challenge chart!
As you go about your workout and diet program, one issue that may arise at one point or another that definitely throws a big kink into your plans is the fitness plateau. You were seeing great weight loss up until this point, but all of a sudden, that progress has come to a halt.
Frustrated, you think about just throwing in the towel altogether, chalking it up to the fact that you just weren’t meant to get down to your dream weight.
But, before you’re too quick to do this, there are a few other possibilities that you should keep in mind for ways that you can perhaps get past this plateau and back on the road to success.
Let’s take a quick look at what these methods are so that you can be sure to give it a full effort.
Start A New Workout
The very first way that you can work to beat a fitness plateau is simply by trying out a new workout program. Remember, after so long on any given workout program, your body will have adapted and will no longer see a reason to change.
When it can comfortably handle whatever it is that you’re trying to throw at it, you aren’t going to be moving any closer to your goal body weight.
Instead, shake it up. Try some new exercises, join a new workout class, or start a brand new weight lifting program altogether. Just do something different and you will be amazed at what this does to your end result.
Re-Calculate Your Calorie Intake
Second, the next important step that you must take if you have hit a weight loss plateau is to take a very good and honest evaluation of your calorie intake.
Are you eating a few more calories than you should? Do you nibble on some chips while you prepare supper but then forget to add those to your total daily calorie intake?
If you aren’t totalling your calorie intake correctly and are actually eating 200-400 more than you think each day, this will certainly hinder your fat loss progress.
Remember, success at weight loss does come down to burning off more calories than you consume so if you’re misjudging how many calories you’re consuming, this will set you up for a plateau.
Take a good honest assessment and see if you are making a few errors you should be accounting for.
Consider A Diet Break
If after that assessment you come to find that you are actually eating a very low calorie intake but weight loss has still stalled, then it’s time to consider a diet break. Sometimes what you need is to give your body a break from the rigors of the diet altogether, allowing it to recharge its metabolism so that it’s running top-speed again.
Since the metabolism does tend to slow down after so long on any diet program, sometimes a diet break can be just the thing to get fat loss moving again.
If you can’t remember the last time you had a few days off your diet, now’s the time to take them. Take 3-5 days off and eat whatever you want, still aiming to be healthy.
Then get right back on your diet and more often than not, you’ll find weight loss picks back up again.
So there you have the top tips to remember about beating a weight loss plateau. If you can be sure to try these out before you choose to throw in the towel, you’ll find that you get right back on track to striving to reach that goal weight again.
[box style=”rounded” border=”full”]Aishwarya is a passionate blogger and is associated with Offshore Ally- A Company offering virtual assistant services. She has been recognised as an active VA for real estate clients.[/box]
You must be logged in to post a comment.