English Arabic Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Traditional) Esperanto French German Hindi Latvian Luxembourgish Malayalam Maltese Norwegian Portuguese Russian Spanish Tajik

FEMALE MUSCLE

Tammy Strome C.KIN, RNCP, IFBB Pro

Tammy Strome is a Transformation Coach, Fitness Intuitive and IFBB Pro with 17 years in the industry as a Transformation specialist, Life Coach and Supplement Expert. She uses a combination of science, insight and intuition to help her clients sculpt their bodies and transform their lives.  For more info on Tammy please visit her website at www.tammystrome.com or follow her on social media at FB:  TammyStromeIFBBPro,  Instagram @tammystromeIFBBPro and Twitter: @tammystrome

Print Share this

5 Fat-Loss Plateau Breakers

You were out of the gates really strong. The fat was coming off, and then, very slowly, it came to a halt. What happens when you make changes to your nutrition and training but still can’t get that fat-burning engine going? Here are five plateau breakers that can get you stripping off the fat again.

Increase Your Water Intake
Water intake for fat loss can range from 10 to 18 glasses per day or more. Everyone’s needs are different, and many factors such as metabolic, dietary, exercise, and lifestyle factors can influence how much one may need. The bottom line is that you need to drink enough water to keep burning fat. It helps with energy, metabolic rate, and appetite control and will reduce water retention. These are just a few of the benefits. The key is to never become thirsty. By the time thirst hits, you’re already experiencing the effects of dehydration. Your metabolism is already dropping. Try increasing your water intake by four cups per day. You may still need more, but that may be just what you need to shift your body back into fat-burning mode.

Focus on Your Workouts
Are you really giving your workouts the attention they deserve? Going through the motions, checking your phone too often, and talking too much are examples where intensity and focus are compromised. Training successfully requires mindfulness and mind-muscle connection. That means being in the present moment with distractions left at the door. It means feeling the muscle work throughout the exercise. Visualize the body changing.

Refeed Your Body
The body is a great adaptor. Strict dieting will lower leptin levels and lead to reduced metabolic rate and reduced fat burning. Refeeding can help avoid this survival adaptation.
I like to base refeed frequency on percentage of body fat: once or twice per week if in single digits, every seven to 14 days up to 15 percent, and every 14 days above 15 percent. Increase your calories by 25 to 50 percent for 12 to 24 hours. The increase should be mainly low-fat carbohydrates. I suggest staying away from fructose/fruit; it’s not very effective in a refeed. Don’t increase training volume or intensity on a refeed day. It will work against you.

Ensure 7 To 9 Solid Hours Of Sleep Per Night
Sleep is a time when the body resets and heals. It’s essential for the good health of the body, and a lack of it will disrupt all of our systems. Lack of shuteye has a disruptive effect on growth hormone, cortisol, leptin, insulin, thyroid hormones, and cell response to insulin. Proper amounts and timing of all of these are essential for fat loss. If you’re training hard and eating lean, sleep seven to nine hours per night to keep the fat coming off.

Keep Stress To A Minimum
Stress levels are at an all-time high. We are go, go, go and never unplugged. Intense training and dieting are stressors, too. The body has its limits, and without rest and restoration, the batteries eventually run out of juice. This can lead to issues such as exhausted adrenals, disrupted cortisol secretion, reduced thyroid function, and impaired glucose tolerance. In a nutshell, stress can make you fat and keep you fat! Practice unplugged relaxation and restoration. Take a yoga class once a week. Even 10 minutes a day of quiet meditation can work wonders.

To keep up with the latest fitness industry news and product releases, subscribe to our free newsletter HERE!