Plateaus Suck: Three Ways to Push Past Them

I’ve been battling the same plateau for the past few years. Yes, years. Whenever I would attempt to lose weight I could shave off 10 pounds and then I would find myself stuck. I’d keep it off for awhile, get frustrated, gain it back then start the whole vicious cycle over again. Well, I’m happy to say I stepped on the scale this weekend out of curiosity – my goal is not a number, well sort of, it’s a TWO piece bikini – and I was ecstatic to see that I plowed right through that plateau.

Getting stuck happens to the best of us, but armed with the right tools we can all get things moving again. Here are three ways I pushed past my plateau:

CHANGE Something Up. For me it was food. I THOUGHT I was already eating really healthy but once I made a commitment to eat clean for 28 days I discovered that extra unnecessary calories and processed foods were keeping me from reaching my goals. Examine your diet or workout and switch some things up; and see what a difference it can make.

Watch Out for the WEEKENDS. “Well, I ate clean all week, so a keg of beer and a large pepperoni pizza is fine right?” Um, NO! It’s easy to undo all of the hard work you put in during the week if you splurge all weekend. Those calories add up quickly so enjoy a treat but don’t over do it.

Keep Your Eyes on the PRIZE. Literally. I keep my goal in front of my face. My clean eating book stays on my kitchen counter right next to my Runner’s World and Oxygen magazines. Staying focused and determined will help you when times are tough and you don’t seem to be making any progress.

While I haven’t reached my birthday goal yet, pushing past this plateau has given me an extra boost of motivation and confidence to battle the next one. I bet YOU can do it, too.

Winks & Smiles,

The Top 3 Things I Learned After Putting Myself on Blast

There are several things I learned after doing yesterday’s post and putting myself on blast. The biggest lesson is that it’s scary as hell to let people see your flaws, but if you push past fear and take a risk you just might be surprised at the reward. Or, if there’s no reward at least the world won’t end. We’re still here, right?

I did, however, end last night with three eye-opening revelations. They are:

I’ve got to DO THE DAMN thing now. Um, duh. Not that I wasn’t planning on making it happen anyway, ahem, but I REALLY have got to “go hard or go home” now. Accountability is just lovely, isn’t?

My peeps are AWESOME. OK, this isn’t eye-opening, I already knew it, but the INCREDIBLE support I received yesterday from all of you leaving comments here, on Facebook, Twitter and in real life is truly inspiring. You guys motivate me to be the best that I can be and I thank you for it.

And, finally …

My stomach is PALE and needs some sun. Did you see that picture? The poor thing never sees the light of day. Y’all make sure I get some self-tanner before I breakout that bikini.

Winks & Smiles,