So you’ve hit a plateau..

What exactly is a plateau? And how do you know if you’re even in one?

First things first, a plateau could be one of many things:

1. You have absolutely no motivation to get your ass up and to the gym
2. You’ve gone off the wagon nutrition-wise and have yet to get back on
3. You simply aren’t making any “gains’

Before you get all down on yourself, it’s really important to remember that literally everyone (and I mean EVERYONE) hits plateaus when it comes to their fitness and health.

We’ve all been there, and we all know how hard it is to stay on track without straying a little. The important thing is that no matter how off-track you go, you can always always always get back on.

A few things to think about when you’ve found yourself stuck in a health or fitness plateau:

1. Your diet: You might not be giving your body exactly what it needs to make “gains”

 A solution: Try downloading a fitness tracker app, such as MyFitnessPal which helps track calorie count, workouts and more! Or, to go a step further, hire a trainer or a nutritionist to help keep you accountable and motivate you

Try: Meal prepping. Meal prepping helps tremendously when trying to hit a specific goal. If your food is already made and the week ahead is planned out you’re less likely to grab a candy bar

2. Your workout routine: Different workout regimes yield different results and especially different body types. If you’ve been doing the same workout routine for months on end with little to no results, your muscles are simply used to the workout! Switch it up a little bit

 For workout ideas: Check Instagram! There are fitness gurus all over social media who want to HELP people like you! Check mine out, @lets.get.donuts or just type what you’re looking for in the search bar and be met by infinite workout ideas

 OR TRY: A workout app, such as Skimble’s Workout Trainer they have thousands of different workouts for literally every fitness level, it’s impossible to get bored

3. Your alcohol consumption: If you’re in the gym 3-5 days a week working on your fitness and then find yourself drinking alcohol and eating greasy foods all weekend- you are making NEGATIVE GAINS. Alcohol more than hinders your body’s growth when it comes to fitness. To give you some perspective, a typical mixed drink such as a Margarita has about 180 calories, it doesn’t sound like much but have a few of those in a night and you’ve more than gone over your calorie count for the day

Try: Limiting yourself when you go out for drinks (i.e. a light beer has 103 calories per average), or just not drinking! Contrary to popular belief, you can still have fun out on the town minus the booze

4. YOUR MENTALITY: That’s right, folks. Mentality is EVERYTHING. If you get all up in your head about not making progress or not liking your body, it WILL show in your performance at the gym. To be a beast, all you need to do is think like a beast. And your body will follow.

Try: setting reminders in your phone to get up and workout, listen to motivational books (although cheesy as it sounds, Jen Sincero’s You Are a Badass is probably one of, if not the best motivational books I’ve ever read. If you like dry humor, and don’t like being preached at definitely give this book a try)

And finally

    5. Remember that you are not alone: So often people get all up in their own heads about looking perfect, especially with social media these days. Remember that even your favorite Insta-fit person has their off days, you’re entitled to a few (or a lot) as well