Tips For Getting To Your Goal Weight

If you are pretty overweight you will initially find that losing weight is pretty easy.  All you really need to do is consume less calories, cut down on carbs and start exercising more.  However once the weeks and months go by you'll find that your weight loss starts to hit a plateaux.  It's during this time that you can become the most frustrated because you are nearing your goal weight – you are so near yet so far.

Don't worry, if this happens to you first of all it's normal and secondly there are still some things that you can try to help you out.  First of all, willpower is often what's keeping you from losing those last 10 or so pounds.  It's all too easy to get a bit lazy towards the end and you might be eating more and exercising less than you did at the start of the diet.  Motivation whilst losing weight is very difficult and you'll come with excuses about genetics and body fat.
   
The problem is that this attitude is not good with anything in life.  If you can't maintain willpower right through to the completion of a goal then this is really no good.  If you just stick it out and go that "last mile" you'll really get a confidence boost and this attitude and then be applied to other tasks in life.

The other possibility in giving up too easily and too soon can be a greater difficulty in keeping the weight off.  If your enthusiasm for weight loss starts to drop off early on you are much more likely to end up overweight again.  Sticking with it helps keep those hard earned results permanently.

There are physiological reasons as well why that last 20% can be tough.  Some people just reach a plateau which is perfectly natural.  However this doesn't mean you can't break through that plateau.  It's impossible to know unless you just keep going.

You may have slacked off of the length of exercises, or it may just require a longer period to get the same results.  If you like analogy, it's a bit like being able to get a dollop of yoghurt out of a full tub but when it's nearly all gone the task becomes much harder.

If you've been doing cardio 30 minutes a day, three days a week, you may need to extend it to four or five days. That's usually preferable to extending the length of the workout.  Just be careful that you don't injure yourself in the process of exercising, 45 minutes should be OK with little risk of injury.  Of course, it all depends on the individual.

You may need to increase the intensity, at least for a while. Getting the heart rate up from 65% to 75% of maximum is one possible way.  Just as above, you need to be careful and listen to your own body.  Overdoing exercise is not a good idea and you could make yourself ill if you don't know what you are doing.  Losing weight is great, but not at the risk of your overall health.

The funny thing about the muscles in our bodies is that they get used to certain exercises.  This is why you should try to change your regime every 4 to 6 weeks.  If you have been doing the same exercises over and over again you should think about buying a new DVD or workout book for some inspiration.  You might even want to look into going to a weight loss camp.  You might also want to come up with all the reasons you want to lose weight for in the first place.  This should remind you why you have chosen to lead a healthier life.  It's not just for you but also for your friends and family who need you in their lives.