Diet & Fitness 

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Weight loss rut busters

What you’re experiencing is called the proverbial plateau. You start off with significant, steady gains for a while, and then all of a sudden, your progress comes to a halt. This often happens after you've been working out for a few months because your body becomes efficient at doing the same exercise and therefore uses less energy, or calories, during your workouts. As a result, you maintain your weight rather than losing weight.

One way to get rid of the weight-loss plateau is to change your workout. For instance, if you've been doing slow, steady jogs every day, try one or two interval training sessions a week. That's where you do a brief warm-up, then alternate periods of fast running with slow jogging or walking. A sample interval routine includes a five-minute warm-up at an easy pace, two minutes at a more intense pace, and one minute at an easy recovery pace. Repeat these 2-minute, 1-minute cycles 5-8 times and finish up with an easy cool-down and a stretch.

Try circuit training. This involves moving through your weight-training routine quickly, with only several seconds to rest between each exercise. A 20-minute circuit-training routine can burn more than 400 calories.

Look at your diet. Make sure your calorie intake hasn't crept up in the past few weeks (we know it's tempting to give yourself an edible reward for a workout well-done). Keep a food diary to help you identify your eating patterns. In fact, keep a diary of your workouts, too, at least for a couple of weeks. This will help you figure out the things you need to change in order to keep losing weight and improving your fitness level.

Muscle does weigh slightly more than fat. Muscle is a denser tissue and takes up less space than an equal weight of fat. That's why it's possible to lose inches but show no changes in weight on the scales. Having more muscle means you have a more desirable body composition, or fat-to-muscle ratio. Your weight may not change, but your body will look different, smaller, firmer and tighter. Though it may take you a few weeks to see measurable changes, you begin to put on muscle and burn calories from the moment you start exercising.

Why not chat to other iVillagers about getting into shape on the Walk It Off Challenge message board. Take a look at some of the LIVE discussions happening now on the board:

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