Weight loss is always marked by a long, difficult road of calorie counting, exercising, and resisting temptation. But as you near your goal, the scale stops moving. You’ve hit the dreaded “last 10 pounds” zone, where you’ll need to change your habits slightly to reach the finish line. 

How to Take Off Those Last 10 Pounds of Fat

When you’re in the midst of a dieting plateau, don’t stop now. You can power through it by upping your exercise routine, watching what you eat, and trying out the following strategies.

1. Switch From Three Small Meals a Day to Four

Suppose you lost weight on a 1500 diet, but you can’t seem to lose more fat. You may think the answer is to eat less. However, if you’re a 5’7” female, 136 pounds, and want to reach 126, a 1500-calorie diet is more than sufficient. Anything lower could make you feel sick and lethargic.

Instead of cutting calories, try revving up your metabolism by eating more often, but keep your calorie cap. At the same time, try to limit carbs at night. Carbs are a perfect fuel source, but that’s the problem. If you eat too much, they’ll keep you up at night and disrupt your sleep.

2. Consider Coolsculpting to Target Stores of Fat 

CoolSculpting is a brand name for a fat-freezing method of weight loss. For example, Vitalyc's CoolSculpting services in Dallas use cryolipolysis to freeze stubborn fat in certain parts of your body. While you can’t spot-reduce fat when you exercise, you can target it with CoolSculpting.

Unlike liposuction, Coolsculpting isn’t an invasive procedure. It uses cool paddles to destroy 20% to 25% of the fat cells in the target area. You won’t notice weight loss right away, but within a few weeks, your immune system will clean out the dead fat cells and reveal a trimmer body.

3. Drink More Water and Eat Protein Before Exercise

At the beginning of your workout routine, you may have noticed that water actually makes you “gain weight.” Also known as “water weight,” your body will sometimes hold on to water when it’s in a state of distress. Eventually, your body learns to let go of excess water as it starts to adjust.

Both water and protein-rich foods are better at filling your stomach before you exercise. Since carbs trigger insulin release, you may inhibit your body’s ability to burn fat during exercise. However, nuts, oatmeal, and chia seeds provide the fuel you need to target stubborn fat. 

4. Incorporate High Intensity Interval Training

If you’re able to run or jog for 45 minutes without stopping, you’ve successfully trained your endurance. That’s something to be proud of, but endurance training isn’t optimal for targeting fat. On the other hand, high intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts most definitely can.

To incorporate HIIT into your cardio session, add 60-90 second intervals of higher-speed jogging or running every 5 minutes. If you work out on a treadmill, stepper, or elliptical machine, increase the resistance or incline during the intervals to burn more calories in less time.

5. Start Lifting Weights if you Aren’t Already

Strength or resistance training is the only true way to increase your metabolism. Since muscle burns more calories than fat, even at rest, your body becomes a fat-burning furnace. On average, strength and resistance training can increase your metabolic rate by 15%.

If you’re a cis woman and you’re worried about getting bigger, don’t be. Most women don’t produce enough testosterone to develop huge muscles, and if they do, they typically train for years. Regardless of how you want to look, lifting weights can bring you closer to your goals.

6. Keep Track of Your Diet Progression in a Journal

If you’ve been dieting for a while, you may not be using your weight loss journal as often as you used to. But if you’re not paying attention, extra calories can sneak back in. Always remember that you need to change your lifestyle, not sporadically diet, to experience long-lasting change.

With that in mind, take out your weight loss journal and start tracking calories again. Maybe there’s something you’re missing, or maybe you’re following your diet to a “T.” Either way, you’ll know if the problem is your diet, your exercise routine, water intake, or your metabolism.