REASSESS YOUR
CALORIC NEEDS
“In order to overcome a weight loss plateau, you’ll likely need to adjust your calorie intake,” registered dietitian Leah Kaufman tells us. "As you lose weight, your body requires fewer calories for maintenance. If you’re taking in as many calories on day 60 of your diet as you did on day 1, you won’t be able to lose weight. Although you may have been losing weight previously on your current intake, you may need to eat less to achieve a larger caloric deficit. A great way to predict exactly how many calories you need is by taking a metabolic test, which reveals your resting metabolic rate. Your resting metabolic rate is the number of calories your body burns at rest. From this number we can determine how many calories you should consume to burn off pounds, she explains. Many dietitian offices and high-end gyms offer this service.
If you don’t want to shell out the cash for the test, try axing just 100-200 calories a day from your diet and see how the scale reacts. Why not more? Though it may seem counterintuitive, not eating enough can have the opposite effect on your waistline than you’re hoping for. "When people diet they tend to restrict calories, but if you go below 1,200 calories, you can slow down your metabolism, preventing weight loss, warns registered dietitian Ilyse Schapiro. For more of Schapiro’s must-know slim down secrets
EAT MORE
FIBER
Have you heard? One of the best ways to fight fat is with fiber. “Emerging research shows that focusing on high-fiber foods can help you shed pounds after other diets have caused a plateau, likely because the nutrient is so filling,” says Dr. Sean M. Wells, the owner of Naples Personal Training. “Shoot for at least 30 grams a day from fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.” Still not convinced you should add more of filling fiber to your plate? Consider this: One study found that for every gram of fiber we consume, we eliminate seven calories from our diets later in the day. That means if you hit the suggested 30-gram mark, you could cancel out 210 calories a day, enough to result in a 16+ pound weight loss over the course of a year. Swapping cookies for berries and white rice for barley suddenly seems way more appealing, doesn’t it? We thought it might.
CHANGE HOW
YOU CAFFEINATE
As the self-proclaimed biggest lover of coffee in the world, I can’t believe I am saying this, but your coffee habit may be halting your weight loss progress. A research team in Washington found that sipping more than five cups of java a day can lead to increased belly fat storage. (Ouch!) On the flip side, a different study found that subjects who combined 5 cups of green tea with 3 hours of exercise per week, lost 2 more pounds than their non-tea-drinking counterparts. What makes green tea so waist friendly? It contains fat-blasting compounds called catechins, that chisel away at belly fat by revving the metabolism then speeding up the liver’s fat burning capacity. Making the switch from coffee to green tea may be just what your body needs to get back on track toward weight loss success—why not give it a go? You’ve got nothing to lose…but weight!