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Hitting a plateau? Sometimes the last ten pounds or so are the hardest to knock off the body, but with some simple tweaks it’s totally possible to jumpstart the body back into high gear. One thing to keep in mind is that when you’re that close to your body goals it might not actually be that you want to lose the last ten pounds, but that you want to continue to lower your body fat percentage while also increasing your lean muscle for definition. Since muscle weighs more than fat, sometimes the scale seems to stall at a certain weight even though you are continuing to look better and better.

If it’s really important to you to see the numbers on the scale change, one of the best things that you can do to create accountability to yourself is to set a date that you want to have lost the weight by. Without a specific deadline to reach it can be easier to slack off or put less effort into the goal. If it’s a real goal you might as well treat it like one, otherwise you’re better off just relaxing into your current body weight and not driving yourself crazy over it. If there is a reason why you want to lose the weight that can be an extra motivation, like if you’re planning a vacation and want to be ready for the beach.

Try not to focus too much on what the scale is saying if you are building muscle in addition to losing fat, and instead try to focus on how your clothes are fitting or just how your body looks. Patience is key but you should be seeing results if you are working hard in the gym and eating clean.

If you’re having a hard time figuring out why your body isn’t changing you might consider hiring a trainer who can pinpoint what you’re doing wrong. A lot of people overestimate the amount of calories that they’re burning at the gym and eat too much food in general, so keep that in mind. You probably don’t need to be eating more to compensate for your workouts that you would if you weren’t working out, (save for some extra protein boosts), so don’t think that your gym habits give you free reign to binge on burgers and beer.

In fact cutting out booze for a while can be a good way to jumpstart your weight loss efforts if you haven’t done it already. It doesn’t have to be a permanent move, but you might be surprised at how much weight you can drop quickly by cutting out alcohol if you are a regular drinker. If you haven’t already cut out processed sugar and empty carbs now is the time to do that as well. Pare down to eat as cleanly as possible when you’re in the home stretch and you will be sure to see the results. Keep up your lean protein intake and even increase it if you’re feeling too hungry.

 

3 thoughts on “How to Lose Those Last Ten Pounds”
  1. Seriously cutting out alcohol will make you drop weight so fast you won’t even know what hit you. I just read that a drink is equivalent to like an entire potato which is a really weird way to think about it. Would you eat 15 potatoes over the weekend in addition to your normal diet> hell no

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