You looked in the mirror today and the thought ran through your head, “Man I really need to trim down around the edges.”

Maybe you’ve been hitting the gym extra hard lately, drinking juice and smoothies, or you’ve stayed consistent with your BURSTClub workouts but for some reason, you just aren’t seeing the results you want.

So what can you do?

You probably know a handful of things you could do to trim off the unwanted fat, but I’m talking about doing things that are healthy and can be maintained over a lifetime.

I’m not talking about killing yourself with hours of exercise a day or starting a fad diet because of the sheer desperation you feel to see the number change on the scale.

Instead, I thought I’d put together a list of a few things I do when I hit a “wall” in my weight or fitness level. Yes, even personal trainers and health enthusiasts hit these walls!

Nathan and I hit plateaus or walls here and there for various reasons. One is we are parents! Our kids are our first priority and oftentimes that means at the expense of things that we want to do. That simple fact alone means life can get a little “hairy” with 4 kids’ schedules, less-than-perfectly-planned-out-meals at times, and the daily juggling act of being a parent, spouse, business owner, daughter, friend, trainer, author, blogger, speaker, and more.

Secondly, we run multiple businesses and work with 1000s of people…which in some ways, is a lot like parenting. 😍

So instead of killing ourselves to trim off a few stubborn pounds, here are a few simple tips you can tackle today to see more success for your efforts.

I do need to make a disclaimer:

There are NO magic bullets when it comes to weight loss and burning fat. We tend to want to path of least resistance or the easy (easier) way out but we have to remember that it probably took us years to get our bodies in the shape they are in and it may take more than one night (or one month) to get it out of that slump.

Come on, you know as soon as you started your new workout routine you ran straight to the scale the next morning to see what you’d lost! I hate to tell you, it doesn’t work that way when you’re doing it the RIGHT way.

But remember, if you do it the right way, it stays off longer.

You don’t want the yo-yo weight loss plan where you lose the weight and gain it all back because you lost muscle and fat. Let’s just lose the fat and it will stay off! That takes a little longer but it’s worth it!!

10 Tips to Lose Weight & Pulverize the Plateau

1. Don’t eat after 7 or 8 pm

When you eat late at night you signal the body that you are about to do something.  But when you don’t do anything active but rather sit on the couch and watch a couple hours of TV or go straight to bed, your body stores the majority of the food you ate.   If you do need to eat something late at night, at least make sure it is protein and not carbohydrates!

2.  Eat a Lower Calorie Dinner

It’s easy after a long day to feel like you need to “reward” your hard work for the day by eating more for dinner. This is the worst meal of the day to go overboard on because of reason #1.  Your body will not have enough time or activity to burn up all the calories you intake and what is not burned will be stored as fat.

Try to keep your dinner around 500-600 calories.  This is entirely possible if you select more vegetables, lighter meats like fish or chicken, and avoid lots of sauces or added dressings.  Use salt and pepper, olive oil, or lemons for seasons or go really light on the sauce!

This is also possible if you have followed our 5 ALIVE Guide and eaten 4 smaller meals throughout the day. You won’t be as ravenous at dinnertime! 😃

3. Switch Your Meals Around

If you do protein shakes, like we do, it’s good when you hit a plateau to switch your meals around. For instance, do your protein shake for dinner and eat your larger meal at lunch or breakfast. It’s also good on occasion to do a protein shake for two meals a day to switch things up and give your body less to digest.

The less it has to work on breaking down your food the more it can focus on burning fat. BUT, you have to give it food every few hours to keep your metabolism burning.

Starving yourself will never work in the long run to lose weight and keep it off!

4. Go to Bed Around 10 pm

When you stay up late, several things happen in the body. But first and foremost, you get hungry!!   If you don’t stay up so late,  you won’t eat another meal or a heavy snack late at night and then go to sleep on it (which we saw from #1 turns into stored fat).

Staying up late also produces cortisol, a stress hormone, in your body. Cortisol will counteract all of your hard work and effort during the day to lose weight. It actually signals the body to hold on to fat, especially around the abdomen. Late nights also leave you feeling somewhat unmotivated because of exhaustion. Get 8 hours of sleep and start your bedtime at 10 pm if possible.

5. Refuse Stress

Similar to #4, stress causes cortisol release – sabotaging results and causing the body to hold on to fat.  Stress can also make you sick and cause you to not want to work out.  Another destructive cycle of stress is you will crave junk food….it’s called “stress eating.”  This happens because stress burns up vital nutrients like Vitamin C and B in your body, leaving you unprotected from stress and craving chocolate or fried or salty foods.

6.  Daily Detox Tea

Start each day with a hot glass of water with 2-3 drops doTERRA Lemon essential oil. Add in some stevia or raw honey and if you want, your favorite bag of tea. Do this before working out and before eating. The hot lemon oil water will get your bowels moving which is key for losing unwanted fat.

Being able to eliminate properly is a very overlooked and underestimated part of most weight loss plans. But studies show that the average American male has 5 pounds of undigested red meat in his colon. Whether you’re a meat eater or not, I’m sure after decades of living and eating there may be a thing or two that needs to be eliminated to help everything run a bit smoother, wouldn’t you say?

This Daily Detox Tea will also alkalize your body. Alkalizing your body reduces any inflammation in your body caused by stress or additional pounds. This creates an environment that is more readily able to “cooperate” and lose weight.

A stressed out, inflamed body just plain doesn’t work right.

Use this daily detox tea will get things “moving” in the right direction.

7.  Avoid Consuming Meat for Every Meal

I know, I know. This flies in the face of the full Keto-type diet. I’m not saying don’t ever eat meat. I’m saying eat it in moderation and consider not eating it at every meal. Meat is hard on the digestive system and it is proven that it takes longer to digest meat than a plant protein. Oftentimes the meat we eat can’t get fully digested before adding more on top of it. This adds up over time and will add to the pounds that you see on the scale. There are many ways to get the protein that you need daily that are less strenuous and cumbersome to the body. Eat beans, lentils, or vegetables that digest faster.

Another reason this is helpful is that as soon as the body is done digesting your food, it is now “awake” and will start burning fat. Meat takes much longer to digest and requires so many bodily processes to break down. It is harder to get into the fat-burning mode if meat is consumed all day.

If you just can’t live without meat, begin to use meat as your “side” instead of your main course and fill in the gaps with more salads and vegetables.

8. Add in 1-2 Extra Sprint Days a Week

When I hit a plateau, I sprint my way out of it…literally.  Rather than a jog or even a regular BURSTClub workout for the day, add in 2-3 Sprint Days for the week. Do these exercises “BURSTClub style” or make up your own. Mix it up even and make one of your days a longer sprint day, doing 8-10 quarter mile sprints. Or do 4 half mile “sprints.”

You can even pick a shorter distance and do more of them. Whatever you decide, go 90-100% on each burst sprint.  This will kick your body back into gear. Do this for 2 weeks then go back to your normal routine for a week. Then do it for 2 more weeks and see the difference!!

9. Eat 5 Times a Day

A great routine for your day could look like this:

• Start your day off with a protein shake.
• 2 hours later (or mid-morning) have a piece of fruit.
• For lunch have another protein shake or meal bar, a salad, or healthy sprouted sandwich or wrap.
• Mid-afternoon, grab a healthy snack: protein snack bar, hummus and veggies, celery and peanut butter, yogurt, boiled eggs, peanut butter, and crackers, etc.
• Finish off your day with a healthy dinner that stays within the guidelines of #2.

If you need more recipes and ideas, check out my nutrition guide called 5 ALIVE with 125 recipes for the 5 Meals a day.

10. Detox

When all else fails, there might be a time where you need to consider a detox. Simply because of how processed our food is and how many years we probably ate things we didn’t even know were bad for us, it’s good to do a detox from time to time.

If you’ve tried all 9 things and still aren’t seeing the results you want, look to incorporate a detox into your plan for a week or even a month.

We detox two times a year with great results. And clients that we work with see great results by flushing out their colons and making sure their liver is working properly! Check out our Shop for our favorite Cleanse! It’s easy and effective.

And one of our favorite oils to use for detoxing or trimming up is Slim and Sassy. Rub it on your stomach or put 5 drops in water before you eat daily.

These 10 Tips are things that you can incorporate into your daily life starting today.

What other tips do you have of how you’ve busted through your plateau?