Weight-Loss Plateaus: 7 ways to break through

Hit a weight loss plateau?

When you first start to lose weight, you're on a roll - nothing can stop you. Week after week, kilo after kilo drops off, and the more you lose, the more motivated you are. You're in weight-loss heaven! "Whoever said this was hard?" you say to yourself, "It's as easy as [eating] pie!"

But then one day when you step on the scale, anticipating your next kilo-kicking record, something is badly wrong. The numbers haven't budged! And it's not because your scale is broken. No, the inevitable has happened - you've hit a weight-loss plateau.

The plateau stage in a weight-loss journey can be hard yakka - but you shouldn't give up. CalorieKing.com.au dietitian Boris Kazakov has these seven simple tips to get your weight moving downwards again.

Read more :

• 1. Stop calorie amnesia!
• 2. Boost your metabolism
• 3. Protein packs a punch
• 4. Stop the mind games
• 5. How's your exercise routine?
• 6. Hydrate your body
• 7. Measure up

1. Stop calorie amnesia!

Record everything you eat and drink

Hitting a weight loss plateau is a good time to take a close look at the way you've been eating lately. Maybe you just need to get back to basics:

• Start using a food diary every day. Be honest in your diary and record everything that you eat and drink. Don't leave out that small handful of Maltesers or that piece of cheese you picked at while making dinner - every morsel counts.

• Are you getting too many calories? Consuming too many calories can make you gain weight or hit a plateau. Your food diary can help you spot overindulgences, such as those two 'innocent' lattes each day that could be adding over 350 calories to your daily intake.

• Are you getting enough calories? While overeating is not good for weight loss, neither is eating too little. Eating too few calories every day can trigger your body to start storing everything you do eat. It's a natural defence mechanism designed to stop you starving in times of low food availability. Boris recommends that you make sure you're eating at least 1200 calories per day if you're female, or 1500 calories per day for males.

• Are you consuming a lot of salt? High sodium levels can cause you to retain fluids and feel bloated. As well as feeling uncomfortable, fluid retention can also show up on the scales. Use your food diary to identify foods you eat regularly that are high in salt, and avoid adding extra salt to your food.

• Measure and weigh. If you've been sizing up portions by eye, it's time to start measuring and weighing your foods accurately. It's easy to underestimate how much you're really consuming.