How Winners Get Back to Losing:  

There are few things more frustrating than a plateau in progress, especially for guys on a weight-loss program.

 

You’re putting in the sweat and eating right, but you may not be seeing results on the scale. Of course you know you’re still getting healthier, and you’ll start to lose again—at some indeterminate time.

 

All that’s definitely true (especially the healthier part), but it doesn’t cut it for most guys: We like to keep score, and we like to see progress. When we’re not, we want to change something.

 

If you’re hitting a plateau in your program, don’t quit. Instead, try these non-scale measurements and quick tweaks from Craig Ballantyne, our Belly Off! fitness expert, and Dr. Gerard J. Musante, a clinical psychologist and weight loss expert from Durham, NC.

 

1. Make like a tailor. You may not be getting lighter, but you may be getting thinner—or, in the case of certain areas, bigger in a good way. Grab a tape measure and “measure your chest, your upper arms, around your belly button, and at your waist,” Ballantyne says. Keep track of the measurements over time, and note the difference.

 

2. Make like Ansel Adams. “You’re looking in the mirror everyday: It’s like watching a kid grow. You don’t notice they’re growing day to day, but if you don’t see them for 3 weeks, you see it,” Ballantyne says. You can choose to post photos on a profile like Belly Off!, or keep them private, but keeping a record is an easy way to see that you are, in fact, making progress. Another option: Musante suggests picking a piece of clothing that’s too tight. “Even if you’re not losing pounds, you may notice that the pants are a little looser this week, and that your body’s changing.”

 

3. Count. If you’re on a calorie-restricted plan, keep track of how many you actually consume in a day instead of just “following the plan.” If you’re on a set meals-per-day plan, like Belly Off!, Ballantyne suggests creating a compliance chart to keep extra calories from creeping in. “Write down exactly what you’re supposed to do—six meals per day, your workouts—and check them off as you do them,” he says. “You need to be at a 90 percent compliance rate to make changes, and you may find you’re not eating as well as you think you are.”

 

4. Less salt, more pepper. While you’re keeping a calorie or meal count, Musante suggests noting your sodium intake—if you’re eating a large amount of processed foods or adding salt to fresh dishes, you’re damaging your heart and, possibly, short-term weight loss with retained water. “Don’t get too crazy about the sodium, because water will seek its own level,” he says. “But get it back where it’s supposed to be.”

 

5. Test your fitness progress. The Belly Off! weekend workouts help measure how fit you’ve become, but checking your progress against old times can’t hurt, Ballantyne says. Go back and try a routine you struggled with at first—the Bodyweight 100—to see how much easier it is and how much faster you complete it.

 

6. Tweak your workout intensity, but only a little. Avoid the double workout trap, says Musante. “You’ll actually gain some weight from that,” he says. “And when people start overdoing it, injuries happen,” which will really derail progress. If you’re doing the Belly Off! circuits, Ballantyne suggests adding a little resistance—dumbbells or something heavy—where you can, and a few extra repetitions where you can’t.

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