Read all about Fat Loss Plateaus and Stalls

I receive a lot of emails with question from people who are frustrated because they are not seeing progress. They’ve stalled, they’ve tried everything. Have you?

Fat loss is not a consistent journey

It’s not linear, like a roller coaster. The body’s sole purpose is to survive. It could careless how much body fat you have or how much muscle you have. How sexy you look in that new dress of how handsome you feel in that new polo and slacks. The body will adapt over time to the dietary changes we make.

These are some tips and thoughts to take into account when your fat loss plateaus or stalls

If the drop in scale weight has slowed or completely stalled, here are some random thoughts and insights, in no particular order, to help you wrap your head around it and, more importantly, what to actually do about.

1. One, the scale number doesn’t tell the entire story. There is a reason we say stay off the scale and refer to the scale as a “random number generator”. There are numerous things which can impact the actual number you see unrelated to actual body composition or true progress (or lack thereof), such as muscle mass and water retention. For instance, for the females, water weight retention can vary up to 10 lbs. depending on what phase of the cycle they are in. Another example would be if you consumed an unusual amount of carbohydrates and/or increased the percentage of your calories coming from carbohydrate.

2. You have to look at progress pictures over a period of time, body circumference measurements, and how your clothes are fitting regardless of what the scale is telling you. If these indicators are improving, who really gives a hoot what the scale number says?

3. If you are going to weigh yourself, do it on the same day of the week, under the same conditions: First thing in the morning, after you’ve used the restroom, nude, and before you eat or drink anything. Even go so far to put your scale on the same tile in the bathroom each time. Control all the variables.  Weigh yourself mid-week because, let’s face it, if you are not on a regimented pre designed plan, peoples weekend eating is typically drastically different than weekday eating. Monday-Thursday? Spot on. Friday-Sunday? No holds barred. Weighing in on Sunday or Monday is going to yield a far different result and deflate you (although that was your choice).

4. Females. Again, the menstrual cycle has a huge impact. If its TOM, do not submit a biweekly check in and wait until “all is clear”. The “bloat” and water retention is going to skew things and not give a representative indication of what might be going on. If you are going to weigh yourself throughout your entire fat loss cycle, you are going to need to keep a rolling average from week to week and compare week 1 to week 1, 2 to 2, etc.

If you have taken all of what’s above into account, and you’ve truly determined you’ve reached a plateau, then you need to be honest, strategize and troubleshoot… and then make the adjustments.

Here’s what to look at:

1. You are not being compliant and are consuming more calories than what you need to stay in a deficit. Keeping a food/diet journal is an excellent way to make yourself accountable. This also allows you to look back over the last week or month and see where you need to make changes depending on progress. If you’ve only been 65% compliant conversation over. You made those choices. Or maybe you have been 100% compliant BUT you have all the little bites, licks and tastes(BLT’s) going on (that last chicken finger your kid didn’t eat, a handful of granola, couple Hershey kisses) in addition to your on planned meals. This can either stall your loss (no change either way in scale or aesthetics) OR can cause fat gain.

2. Related to the above, and also what I hinted at earlier, your weekend eating is drastically different. Let’s say a 150 lb. woman is eating 1650 calories (probably about right to be in a fat loss deficit) Monday-Thursday. She’s very proud and wants to reward herself for her diligent hard work. So Friday, she takes in 2200 calories. Saturday? Up to 2800. Sunday 3400. So, not only has she negated the deficit she was in, now she’s also in a surplus for the week and has likely gained…not just water weight either.

3. You are no no longer a NEAT person. Just kidding…kind of. NEAT is “non exercise activity thermogenesis”. It’s general human movement: Fidgeting, pacing, getting up and down, doing random stuff around the house, working an active job, parking further away from the entrance, etc.  NEAT is an area which I’ve become a bit obsessed with lately. I was a hard gainer muscle wise in my younger years and I used being non NEAT to the max: laying instead of sitting, sitting instead of standing, etc. NEAT is highly genetic. The calories burned through NEAT can vary up 2000 daily between two people! Think about that. That’s like running 20 miles. Beyond that, as you diet and get leaner, there is an adaptation where your body just doesn’t want you to move anymore than necessary as a survival mechanism.  So, while, one, it’s somewhat genetic, and, two, part of the deal as you get leaner, you need to at least be aware of it and manage it. Be cognizant and just try to get in a little more general movement. Set a timer on your phone on the hour to get up and at least walk down the hall or something.

4. Sleep and stress. Lack of sleep is, for many is the “X” factor. Poor sleep can cause a cascade of problems related to hunger and appetite hormones (leptin, gherlin, and cortisol to name a few). Poor sleep can leave you with obviously low energy, your workouts suffer, and you are ravenous.  Do what needs to to done to get into a nightly routine and just get in bed earlier. Set your thermostat to between 63-67 degrees. Totally dark room (even get rid of the annoying blue light coming from your Apple TV). Get rid of all technology in bed. Try white noise. Take an epsom salt bath or warm shower. These strategies are going to be different for everyone but give some a try.

5. You may just not be being patient enough. People want it and they want it now. All over life. Instant gratification. That’s not how it works when it comes to body transformation. Eliminating the guacamole from your normal barbacoa burrito for 3 days in a row isn’t going to yield jaw dropping results. “Well I ate a grilled chicken salad last night and got on the scale this morning and I didn’t lose any weight. This dieting stuff doesn’t work.” Yes, this mindset, among otherwise intelligent people, is not uncommon. You can be doing everything right and nothing happens. I’ve seen it before with clients. The first week only a pound. They stick with it and “woosh”, next two biweeklies great stuff-accelerated stuff-is happening. Meaningful changes often don’t happen in a week or two weeks. Remember the bodies sole purpose is survival so small changes you make in nutrition and activity may not reveal results overnight.

One last thing: The deficit changes

The amount of calories which was causing fat loss at 150 lbs. isn’t going to be the same when you reach 140 lbs. As there becomes less of you, the calories need to be adjusted and this is a common mistake I see people make. “I’m not eating anymore than I was, I’m eating the same things and now it’s not working!” You shouldn’t expect it to be. This is where having a good plan if action and coach or accountability partner comes into play.

And after all this being said, if you have in fact been doing everything right, totally on plan, not missing workouts, and there has been a prolonged stall, then it’s time to tweak. Maybe that’s a slight drop in calories. Maybe it’s re-distribution of those calories. Maybe it’s the addition of a little cardio. Maybe it’s a greater frequency of strength training. But don’t do ALL that at the same time. Pick one or two variables, tweak it, and see if things improve (they likely will).