| Have you ever experienced this scenario before? | | | | and go find some other forms of relief other than |
| "I have successfully lost 15 of the 25 pounds that I | | | | reaching out for more (typically unhealthy) food. Go |
| want to lose, but now I am stuck at the same | | | | take a walk, listen to music or play with your dog |
| weight even though I am faithfully controlling my | | | | instead! |
| food intake and doing my exercises. What happened? | | | | 3. Start off on the right foot: You got to eat |
| Is the diet not working anymore?" | | | | something for breakfast every day. Not only will you |
| Yes, many women over 40 start off their weight | | | | start the day with your stomach feeling satisfied, |
| loss programs full of excitement and determination, | | | | eating breakfast actually kick starts your metabolism |
| and indeed you do see the pounds dropping off over | | | | so that you'll burn more calories throughout the day. |
| the first few weeks. | | | | 4. Eat more often: Instead of eating 3 big regular |
| That's great, of course. | | | | meals each day, opt to have 5 smaller meals. After |
| However, the next thing you know is that your | | | | you eat, your body releases the hormone insulin, |
| progress has come to a dead stop... | | | | which causes your body to store fat. The larger the |
| ...and you have just hit the dreaded weight loss | | | | meal, the more insulin your body releases. But smaller, |
| "plateau." | | | | more frequent meals keep insulin levels lower and |
| But don't despair -- you are _not_ the only one | | | | more stable. The less insulin you have in your blood, |
| experiencing this. | | | | the more fat you burn, and the less you store. |
| Hitting a plateau is a common experience for most | | | | 5. Try water first: If you're feeling "hungry," try |
| women over 40 on a weight loss program. | | | | drinking a glass of water first before you go grab |
| And it can be one of the most de-motivating things | | | | something to much on. Sometimes we confuse thirst |
| to happen. | | | | for hunger, and end up eating more food |
| Thankfully, overcoming it is easy... IF you know the | | | | unnecessarily. If the water doesn't make that hunger |
| simple steps you can take. | | | | pang go away, you can always grab something to |
| Today, I'm going to show you some very simple and | | | | eat later. And the bonus is that the water would |
| specific steps you can take to overcome your | | | | have helped you to feel fuller, so you don't have to |
| plateaus: | | | | eat as much! |
| 1. Be careful of the little things: It's easy to lapse into | | | | 6. Avoid snacks at night: After you've had your |
| complacency over time, so I suggest that you keep | | | | dinner, do not snack or eat supper. And never ever |
| a food diary. Writing down what you eat each day | | | | eat just before you go to bed. Take it from Oprah -- |
| can help you to spot those times when you might be | | | | she says that one of her secrets to her successful |
| taking in more food than you realize. A little snack | | | | weight loss is that she does not eat anything after |
| here and there can (and will) add up to a lot of extra | | | | 7:30pm... not even a grape. |
| calories. | | | | 7. Try a weekly one-day "cleanse": Choose 1 day in |
| 2. It may not be the food: Sometimes, it's not the | | | | the week to cleanse your system by taking only |
| food per se that is the cause of the plateau. For | | | | vegetable juices. And please use fresh vegetable |
| example, work or family stress may be the culprit | | | | juices if you can, and avoid the canned stuff that are |
| instead. Stress can cause you to want to go dig into | | | | chock-full of sodium or added sugars! |
| that tub of chocolate ice cream. If you are feeling | | | | Apply these 7 simple steps and you too will be able |
| stressed, it's important to acknowledge it right now, | | | | to overcome those plateaus easily. |