You are exercising, you are eating well, and you think you should have lost more weight by now…

Sound familiar?

Everyone goes through patches like this, and it means you have to be completely honest with yourself.

Try answering the following questions about your health/fitness routine.
• How long have you been doing the same exercise routine?
• What workouts are you doing?
• How intense are your workouts?
• How much are you really eating?
• Are you eating every 3-4 hours?
• What are you drinking?
• What do you eat for snacks?
• How often do you have treats?
• How big are your portions?
• Did you take your “before” pictures & measurements?

A few common scenarios:
1. You are not being honest about what you are eating. You eat healthy MOST of the time, but, you forgot to write down that brownie you had, your kids crust from their grilled cheese, the beer with a friend, the handful of M&Ms, etc. A lot of people forget that those little calories throughout the day can really add up!

2. You have been doing the same exercise routing for too long and your body has adjusted to it. After a while, your body begins to know exactly what to do next, it is never challenged, and you stop burning calories as effectively. You may be sweating, but, there is no “muscle confusion” and you aren’t burning as many calories as when you first started.

3. Your workouts do not burn fat. Muscle burns fat. Period. So, are you building muscle? Do your workouts include weight training or resistance training?

4. You do “so good” during the day with eating very little and you are usually really proud of that. Then, in the evening, you are ravenous, cravings are hitting you hard, and you want to eat the whole kitchen.

5. You eat healthy foods throughout the day, but, your portions are off. You have too much fruit, not enough protein, too much sugar, not enough water. Mastering your portion sizes can make a big difference!

6. You may not see the scale accurately reflecting your progress!

Okay, so what do I do?
1. Eat every 3-4 hours and make sure you are eating breakfast. Skipping meals can leave your blood sugars unstable and lead to overeating at later meals! If you find you are starving in the afternoons/evenings, it is a sign you need to be eating more earlier in the day!

2. Consider a meal replacement shake like Shakeology to help give you a big dose of nutrients, antioxidants, protein, fiber, pre/probiotics and more to help give you an easy snack or meal throughout the day so you aren’t skipping meals.

3. Start a weight training program using weights or resistance bands. Adding LEAN muscle to your body can boost your metabolism.

4. Mix up your workout routine. Try something new that will challenge you- On Demand is a great way to do that!

5. Monitor your portions. Start measuring foods, using smaller bowls, watching the sizes of the foods you are eating.

6. Only take your weight once a week, same time every week. Take your before measurements & pictures because you may see changes in your measurements & pictures (loss in inches, clear skin, etc) before you see the scale dropping!

Did you relate to any of the common scenarios? Visit me on Facebook and tell me what your hardest struggle is!

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