weight loss

In the beginning of a weight-loss journey, pounds melt away like ice on a hot Summer's day. But as you get closer to your goal, it's not unusual to hit a plateau. Here's how to keep those pounds dropping and keep the weight off for good.

• Beef up your workouts: If you've been steadily working out and following the same routine, your body has probably grown accustomed to the routine. Rattle your body's chain a little and kick up the intensity of your workouts to further challenge your muscles. Work out longer or harder, increase the size weights you're lifting, do more reps of strength-training moves and vary the order, or try doing two workouts in one day.
• Go for fiber: Since your metabolism is already working pretty efficiently, eat fibrous foods that take longer to digest, so your body has to expend more energy to break them down. Fruits, veggies, whole grains, nuts, and legumes are where it's at, but focus on these foods with the highest amounts of fiber.
• Include these foods: Imbalances in your digestive tract have been linked to weight gain, so to restore the balance of bacteria in your gut, eat nonfat yogurt for the probiotics. Lack of calcium as well as vitamin D can also make it harder to lose weight, so be sure to eat dairy products and these calcium-rich fruits and veggies, as well as these foods high in vitamin D. Omega-3s are also vital for a healthy metabolism, so include fish, eggs, walnuts, chia seeds, and flaxseeds in your diet too.
• Get your z's: Not getting adequate sleep (at least six hours) can also decrease leptin, the hormone that makes you feel satiated, while it increases ghrelin, the hunger hormone. Research shows that feeling sluggish the following day causes you to eat an average of 549 extra calories without even realizing it. Lack of sleep also slows down your metabolism, making you burn 20 percent fewer calories a day.
• Cut out the cocktails: Boozy beverages not only offer your body empty calories, but since your body is working so hard to get rid of toxins, they also inhibit the production of glucose, which is needed for maintaining normal blood sugar levels and in turn slows down your metabolism. Not to mention, getting a little tipsy also clouds your judgment so you're more likely to say yes to another cosmo and a slice of cheesecake to go with it. Go for water or metabolism-boosting green tea instead.

Stop hating the scale and beating yourself up! Stave off potentially permanent weight gain with these expert tips from Shape Magazine!

Although you know a number is just a number, it's hard not to worry when you see the scale jump a pound or two overnight or‚ worse, during the same day. But take a deep breath: most weight fluctuations are normal.

Since most of us can't eat enough in a day or two to actually gain five or 10 pounds, if you notice a dramatic increase on the scale, chances are it's due to water, says Anita Petruzzelli, MD, doctor for BodyLogicMD.

"Eating, drinking, urinating, having a bowel movement, and exercise can all impact your body's water composition and therefore weight," she says. For example, high-carb and high-salt foods can cause water retention and a boost in poundage, while exercise can lead to temporary water and weight loss.

So don't get too excited‚ or freaked‚ if you weigh yourself after a meal or workout. "Weight gain due to water fluctuation should normalize in a day or two when you resume exercising and eating a healthy diet that's low in salt, refined carbs, and simple sugars," Petruzzelli says.

However, if those extra pounds keep showing up on the scale after you've returned to your regular routine for about a week, it may be time to make some adjustments to your lifestyle. Five is the magic number, according to Joseph Colella, MD, a bariatric surgeon at Magee Women's Hospital at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Most people can recover five pounds rather quickly with minor tweaks to their calorie intake and physical activity.

And if the scale shows a seven-pound jump for longer than a day or two, more aggressive measures may be called for, such as eliminating alcohol. "Alcohol stimulates your appetite and wrecks your self-control regarding the amount of food that you consume," Colella explains.

Learn the best way to weigh yourself after the break!

If Friday night means heading to the nearest pub for a beer and a burger, you probably don't want to know that your simple order of a burger and fries can run you over 1,400 calories. That's a day's worth of calories in one meal, not even counting the added calories of a beer or dessert. You don't have to give up on your burger entirely — just follow these calorie-saving tips.

Make it a veggie patty (100) instead of beef (306):
Calories saved: 206

If going veggie doesn't do it for you, eat half the beef patty instead of the whole (306):
Calories saved: 153

Skip the cheese:
Calories saved: about 100 per slice

Can't enjoy your burger without cheese? Add a slice of provolone (98) instead of cheddar (113):
Calories saved: 15

Side salad with dressing (140) instead of fries (395) with ketchup (20):
Calories saved: 275 calories

Only eat half the bun instead of the whole (160):
Calories saved: 80

Two tomato slices (7) and mustard (5) instead of ketchup (20) and mayo (90):
Calories saved: 98

Sweet and creamy ice cream pints fly off the shelves in the Summer months, and while Ben & Jerry's is a popular brand, you might like the more basic yet scrumptious Häagen-Dazs flavors. Below shows what 100 calories of raspberry sorbet looks like, but chances are one little scoop just won't be enough. Check out the chart below to see how many calories are in your favorite flavors of ice cream, gelato, sorbet, and frozen yogurt, so you can arm yourself before polishing off an entire pint.

Don't see your favorite flavor? Keep reading to find out the calorie amounts of other ice cream flavors as well as gelato, sorbet, and frozen yogurt.

Want to turn your body's fat-burning potential up a notch? Check out these five ways to wake up and up the calorie burn.

1. Exercise: That dawn workout doesn't just put a pep in your step; exercising in the morning also helps boost your metabolism, more than exercising at other times of the day. Studies have shown that people who exercised in the morning burn more calories than those who exercise at other times of the day, so lace up your sneaks and greet the sun for an added calorie burn.
2. Add intensity: Good news for the time-strapped: a recent study found that a simple intense 2.5-minute burst of exercise can lead to an increased afterburn all day — up to 200 calories worth, in fact. Need ideas on how to add intensity to your workouts? Here are five short exercises that will help you burn extra calories fast.

Three more ideas after the break!

You were happily losing weight eating right and exercising, but with five more pounds left to go, the scale stopped budging. Find out what can cause weight loss to hit a wall and what you can do about it.

1. I'm all about breakfast, lunch, and dinner: When counting and restricting your calorie intake, it makes sense to eat fewer times a day. The problem with this is it can make blood sugar levels rise and fall like a roller coaster, which slows down metabolism. Keep that metabolism going strong by eating throughout the day, every few hours. Keep those three meals, but sprinkle 150-calorie snacks in between.
2. I'll just have a salad: Just as eating too many calories can cause you to hit a weight-loss wall (or even gain weight), not eating enough calories can also prevent you from slimming down. If your body senses that it's not getting enough, your metabolism will slow down and hold onto fat. So be sure not to skip meals or go below 1,200 calories a day.
3. I eat 1,200 calories a day, I think: If you've figured out a set number of daily calories with a nutritionist, you're one step closer to dropping pounds. It's easy to underestimate calorie amounts, or forget about those handfuls of M&M's you innocently grab off your co-worker's desk, both of which can contribute to going over your daily calorie limit without you even realizing it. Keep yourself honest by writing everything down in a food journal. We're talking every single sip, lick, and nibble you take. If you have a hard time not cheating, share your food journal with a friend.
4. Oh, let's try that new restaurant: Eating out while trying to lose weight is possible, but it's much harder. Since you're not preparing the food yourself, you really have no idea how many calories you're consuming, plus you tend to eat more than you would in your own kitchen. So keep the meals eaten out to a minimum of once a week, and follow these tips to save calories when you do dine out.
5. I'm heading out for another run: Yes, running is a wonderful workout that burns calories and strengthens your muscles, but doing the same exact workout every single time you exercise is a surefire way to hit a weight-loss plateau. Your muscles need to constantly be challenged in order to keep your metabolism from slowing down. You can keep running, just beef up the intensity and mix it up with hills and sprinting intervals. Also include other forms of cardio such as biking and swimming to work other parts of your body. It's also important to include strength training three times a week since lean muscle burns more calories than fat.