Motivating Mum Chantelle Vella has lost over an amazing 10kgs with Lose Baby Weight and talks about exercise. You can see Chantelle’s progress here.
Can hardly believe we are half way through the last month of the year already. Looking back I would have to say that this has been one of the most challenging, but also most rewarding years of my life. Fitting in food prep and time for exercise around an active 10month old, as well as trying to keep on track at all the Christmas parties is my current challenge, but a battle I think I am mostly winning (1.7kg to go to meet my 58kg aim for the end of December).
What I really want to talk about is the one thing that I think I have found most challenging throughout my journey so far. We have all heard of, or experienced the evil “weight loss plateau” however what I continue to experience and drives me absolutely up the wall, is what I like to call “the exercise plateau”. Basically this phenomena is when the exercises you regularly do don’t seem to be giving you further results. I find this usually coincides with when you actually begin to enjoy the exercise too, which is fairly annoying.
This has happened to me so many times throughout my journey and frustrates me to no end, as I feel like I am working and working and nothing is happening. Much like a weight loss plateau, I have found the only way to get the results happening again is to change up my routine. For example I had come to enjoy a combination of boxing, walking, pump classes and exercise DVDs, but after a few months I was fitter and that combination no longer worked really well. I then started jogging and HIIT training but am now finding my results have slowed again. So I am currently doing a combination of core exercises with jogging and the Lose Baby Weight DVD and I am starting to see progress.
I guess like anything, your body doesn’t really like repetitiveness and for me in particular, my body doesn’t respond well to the same type of meals and workout routines over and over. What I have learnt from this is that following plans like the 28 Day Challenge, which has been designed by health and fitness experts, is a great way to take the work out of trying to change up your routine yourself.
These experts understand that people’s bodies need variety and design the program to include a mix of everything so you don’t get bored. While I was doing the challenge, I basically just followed along without having to plan anything myself. I plan to sign up to the January challenge for this exact reason, it allows me to be a little lazy (having my meals and workouts all planned out).
If you find yourself in an exercise plateau, it doesn’t mean you have to stop doing the workouts you enjoy, but changing it up every now and then might give you that little extra push you need to fire up your results again. My weight loss journey definitely hasn’t been a sprint, more of a marathon but I think changing up my routine has definitely helped my continue in the right direction.
Chantelle Vella
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