Breaking Through Plateaus: Strategies for Sustained Fat Loss

At some point in every person fat loss or muscle building journey you will come across a plateau.

Your progress will slow down. If you were losing 1,2,3 lbs a week then after a while it'll turn into 1 lb or 1/2 a lb a week before stopping altogether.

If you've dieted in the past you know this very well and this is often why people end up quitting altogether.

"Its not working!!" they proclaim.

Why does this happen? How can you avoid it? and perhaps most importantly, how can you get out of it and back on towards progress?

Today, we will answer those questions.

Lets start with why this happens

Why Has My Progress Stopped?

There are only two reason your progress has stalled or stopped in regards to fat loss.

1. You stopped adhering to your plan. This is actually probably the most common. You are in a caloric deficit for a few weeks, see great progress and then all of a sudden you aren't as discipline and regimented. You begin eating more along the lines of how you were (the reason you gained weight) and now weight has stalled or started creeping back on. At this point its time to get back to your plan get in a caloric deficit. Examine why you stopped doing what you were doing. Was it unsustainable? too strict? too restricted of certain foods? the answer to this question becomes your work going forward.

2. Your body has adapted to what you are doing. Your body craves certainty. When you drop calories to lose fat, your body wants to get used to that as fast as possible. To do so it will eventually slow down the rate of fat loss so that it can conserve energy needed for other vital bodily functions (breathing, digestions, metabolic processes, pushing blood throughout the body, etc.)

How to Avoid it.
When this happens you can do one of two things.

-Take a diet break. 
-Cut calories further.

Taking a diet break means giving your body a rest from the constant calorie constraints. Even bumping calories back up will allow you to function a little better for a while. In fact, those extra 300-500 hundred calories will be beneficial for when you do decide to cut calories again. I would aim to give yourself a diet break every 3-6 weeks depending on how your progress is going. You may want to let biofeedback signals (sleep, hunger, mood, energy, food cravings) inform you as well. Often when one or more of those signals are irregular then it is time to change things up a bit.  You can usually get away with bumping them up for a few days or as up to a couple of weeks to keep the body from adapting completely. Keep in mind bumping them up too much and you will begin to regain weight. I realize its an imperfect system, so take notes and do your best.

When you bump calories back up for a bit you begin to raise your setpoint and when you bump them back down it'll have more impact. For example, if you've been eating 1900 calories for several weeks, months or even years you will have plateaued. Bumping calories to 2200 and your body will think "ahhhhh, its nice to have a little extra fuel." Once it begins to try and adapt to 2200 you will then bump them back down to 18 or 1900 and your body will begin to lose weight again. This is the most sustainable way.

Another way to think about it is to think of your metabolism as a thermostat. It always wants to adapt to the temperature in the room and will act accordingly. It's always trying to find that comfort zone.

You can also jump directly into cutting more calories and skip all the diet breaks. I caution you with this because more often than not it comes with a major regain in weight down the road. Like the example of above, your body will get used to 1900 calories a day. Instead of bumping them up you could immediately keep bumping them down to 1700, 1600, 1500 and so on. The constant state of restriction will inevitably impact hunger, energy and food cravings. Done long term and it will affect sleep, mood, libido as possible thyroid and other metabolic functions. This will have the quickest fat loss but as you can see has some steep consequences when done for several weeks, months and even years. 

This route will also come with loss in muscle mass as well. Even if you are lifting weights, if you are in a constant caloric deficit your body will have no choice but to burn muscle along with fat because of the lack of resources available. Its like a sinking ship, you have to throw everything off the ship in order to keep it afloat even if it means first aid kit, rafts, food and other things you need. Your body doesn't care, it'll burn whatever it needs to function.

This comes with major long term issues and unlike the diet breaks which creates a flexible metabolism, this one creates a rigid, unsafe, untrusting metabolism. 

I'd caution against the constant restrictive state unless training to cut weight for an event, a summer shred, wedding, anniversary, etc. Even then, use caution and realize its not a long term solution. 

Whatever option you choose, you must always prioritize lean proteins, veggies, health fats.
 
Keep your bodyweight in protein per day, drink half your bodyweight in ounces of water, move your body 8-10k steps a day, lift weights at least 3x a week.

Do these with the occasional diet break and then slight calorie cut and you'll keep the fat loss train rolling!