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So you are on a diet and you lost 10 lbs. But you have another 10 lbs to lose and the scale hasn't moved for the past month. You are doing everything that you did to lose those first 10 lbs. What holds you back from losing these last stubborn pounds? As with any diet and exercise we reach a point that our body reaches a plateau. No matter how hard we work out or how little we eat, we are not losing the weight. What is happening? You feel frustrated and you are ready to give up. But don't. That's when most diets fail. Our body has reached a point where it thinks that we are starving it. As we diet, we eat less and less food than our body needs trying to lose the extra weight. When we reach a certain weight though, our body goes into starvation mode and decides that it's not going to let any of that weight off; because it thinks we are starving it to death. The less we weigh the less calories we need to sustain our weight. For a 155 lbs woman who has already lost 10 lbs, at 145 lbs she only needs about 1500 to 1700 calories to sustain her weight. In order for her to lose the extra 10 lbs she will have to cut down 200-300 calories or work out an extra 10-15 minutes a day. But what happens when you lose an extra 5 lbs by cutting back on your calories and increasing your workout, and again you reach a plateau and the scale hasn't moved for a couple of months?

There is only one way to be able to sustain a healthy eating habit and still lose weight. A woman who is dieting should never eat less than 1200 calories a day, and no less than 1700 calories a day for a man. Any less than that and the metabolism will slow down. The less you eat the slower the metabolism becomes. The more often you diet, by going through yo-yo dieting, the slower the metabolism becomes. So how are we going to lose those last few pounds? The best way to rev up the metabolism and burn more calories is to do interval training, or circuit training. What does interval training mean? For example you are on the treadmill at a steady pace for 30 minutes. After you walked for 10 minutes, up the speed and the incline and run on it for 3-4 minutes. Repeat and do this routine for 30 minutes. Another example is aerobic or cardiovascular exercise. After exercising at a steady pace for 10 minutes, run on the spot for 5 minutes, or do jumping jacks for 5. This will work up your metabolism and will burn more calories. Another way of revving up your metabolism is by lifting weights. Do 3 minutes cardio with 1 minute weight lifting. You will feel much better, have more energy and your metabolism will be working overtime. Just increasing the time of your workout by 10 minutes you will be able to boost your metabolism and lose those last pounds.

Along with the above exercises, another way to rev up your metabolism is by eating smaller meals but more frequently during the day. Instead of 3 regular meals a day, have 5 small ones. Try not to go more than 3-4 hours between eating. The more often you eat, and the smaller meals you eat during the day, the more your metabolism will work in order to burn the calories.

All that combined with healthy food, like plenty of fruits and vegetables and yes, plenty of water, will help kick start your metabolism and lose those last stubborn pounds.

Learn more about this author, Mary Rose-Sellers.
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