Losing those last 5 pounds or 2 to 3 kilograms might be the last thing that separates you from being totally satisfied with your body weight and being a total failure, I'm not exaggerating here. 5 pounds is not a big number, but for most people who are on the weight loss path, these pounds take much of a symbolic meaning, especially if you have been faithful and discipline to your weight loss practices and made draining sacrifices.
Therefore, here are five strategies that can help you to get rid of those 5 pounds for good.
1. Reevaluate Your Calorie Intake
According to Susan Moores, R.D., and spokesperson for The American Dietetic Association, with each pound (or 0.45 kg) you lose, you should subtract your calorie intake needs by roughly 8 calories. Hence, the more body weight you lose, the less calorie intake you need, unless you're training intensity is high or on the rise.
8 calories doesn't look that much, however it does add up. If you have lost 30 pounds (around 13.5 kg), then you should lessen your calorie intake by more than 240 calories to keep losing the weight. When the body is lighter, it usually needs less calorie burn to move around and carry on the weight; hence the lighter you weigh, the less your calorie intake needs are.
2. Keep a Diet Journal
You may be surprised of some of your eating habits once you start taking full notice of them. Using a diet journal on a regular basis will allow you to keep track of your daily calorie intake, have a clear sense of your eating habit and develop a more objective look at your current situation and why those last 5 pounds are stubborn to leave.
Most people are unconscious most of the time; this is one of the famous statements in the hypnosis world. And by keeping a diet journal you can grant a halt to your bad eating trances and increase your chance to lose those last 5 pounds any time soon. Keep a keen eye on fatty and high-sugar calorie intake since it could be the reason why you are not progressing toward your weight loss goals.
3. Change Your Training Approach
One way you can make sure to lose more weight is to change your training approach and make your workout session more intense. After a certain amount of exercise, the human body adapts to the workload and thus burn off less calories than it used to. Therefore, you need to keep your body always on the lookout by changing your training approach and methods whenever you hit a plateau. Some fitness gurus call this muscle confusion.
For example, if you have been lifting weight as your main exercise, try to add in some running sessions or interval training workouts. This training variety will not only help you lose weight, it will also make your training more enjoyable and less boring. Variety is the spice of life.
4. Alter Your Body Clock
The human body has its own clock that regulates all the necessary processes for its proper functioning. Processes such as appetite, sleeping time, metabolism and energy levels are all preprogrammed to run on specific timings. And by altering your body's clock, your metabolic rate increases to cope up with the new timings, hence you lose more weight. Therefore, if you usually have your diner at 8:30 pm each night, try to change it and instead dine at 7:30 pm or earlier. You might also change your sleeping and workout schedules to produce similar results.
5. Keep Motivated
Getting off track is another reason that could explain those last 5 pounds. At the beginning of the weight loss path, most people can be very enthusiastic and motivated to lose weight. However, as time progresses, the motivation start to fade away and the incentive to lose weight are no longer strong as it used to be.
As a result you need to reevaluate your motivation strategies and may even need to start from scratch. You could also change the way you look at weight loss so instead of tracking your weight loss by the scale, track your inches and other body measurements. And just don't give permission to those last five pounds to wreck the tough job you have done and progression you have made.
