Breaking through Plateau: When Weight Loss Stalls

So many of us have been there; you’re doing all the things, sticking to your workout routine and nutrition plan when your weight loss seems to come to a screeching halt. It is discouraging and frustrating to say the least. The one thing you do not want to do is give up, tempting as it may be at times. Having been there many times, I have pulled together some of what I’ve learned over the years related to this to help shed some insight and provide some strategies to help you bust through that plateau. Today I am going to cover:

1. What a weight loss plateau is.
2. Biological factors of plateau.
3. Psychological factors.
4. Nutritional strategies to break plateau.

Over my 30-years of weightlifting, dieting, and finding my balance in health and nutrition, I’ve hit plateau many times. It is one of the most frustrating things I’ve experienced in my weight loss journey. I have also experienced how demoralizing it can be. There have been times it led me into a spiral of self-sabotage, resulting in gaining some of my weight back after losing hope and throwing my hands up. Fortunately, I am not one to give up easily and tend not to stay down too long; so I always found my way back on track.

Weight loss plateaus have also been behind my having tried so many different workout programs, diets, and supplements. In all the decades I’ve been doing this, I have learned that plateaus are inevitable. The good news is they don’t last forever, and they can be navigated and eventually broken. So, let’s get into it.

1. What is a weight loss plateau?
   
   A weight loss plateau is when you stop losing weight after a period of weight loss, resulting from a concerted effort to lose weight. So, let’s say you have been on some sort of diet and exercise program for some time. You were consistently losing weight each week and/or seeing decreases on your measurements, then it seems to suddenly stop and you remain at the same weight and measurements, despite continuing to adhere to your program. Weight loss plateaus can last for weeks, months, even years.
   
2. Biological factors of weight loss plateau.
   
   So, let’s start to dig into what the heck causes us to hit these plateaus, so we can then bust through them, yeah? There are actually a few different biological factors behind weight loss plateau:
   
   • Adaptive thermogenesis, which is essentially where your body responds to you losing weight by slowing the metabolism down. It does this to conserve energy and basically serves as a survival mechanism. When we start to lose weight, especially if we are doing so somewhat quickly, the body responds by resisting. So, unfair isn’t it?
     
     I’ve discussed this a bit in some of my recent podcast episodes and blog posts on body types and weight loss, as well as how to overcome adaptive thermogenesis. I won’t repeat all that here, and invite you to check out the previous episodes or posts for more on that. In a nutshell, you need to sort of trick the body through this and you can do that with varying your daily caloric or carbohydrate intake.
     
   • Hormonal changes, which primarily involve the satiety and hunger hormones, leptin and ghrelin, respectively. Weight loss can affect these hormones’ levels, triggering the body to slow down weight loss. In addition to things like carb cycling or caloric cycling to trick the body, you can also counter these hormonal changes but eating a nutrient dense diet. This helps you maintain a caloric deficit, while also continuing to ensure the body is obtaining all the nutrients it needs to function well. This mitigates the impact of these hormone changes.
     
     Sleep quality is often another factor that results in hormonal changes. Make sure you are also prioritizing good sleep. Check out my podcast episodes on sleep for more information (#35 How Sleep Affects Weight Loss and #45 How to Establish a Sleep Routine), or blog posts by the same titles.
     
   • Muscle loss, depending on how you are approaching weight loss, you could be losing muscle along with fat. This can happen if you are eating in too large of a deficit, not getting enough protein, and/or, doing too much high-intensity cardio, for too long. Muscle helps to boost the metabolism; so not only do you want to maintain muscle mass, you also want to focus on increasing it. You can accomplish this by including weightlifting or strength training to your workout routine and eating enough protein.
     
   • Stress and cortisol. In a nutshell, chronic stress can lead to plateau or even weight gain. Chronic stress results in the body producing higher levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, and also the fat storage hormone. So, if you are in a constant state of stress, your body is working to create a protective layer of fat in response to higher cortisol levels.
     
     It is therefore crucial to manage your stress as part of your overall wellness routine. One thing I have learned about this is that you first also have to be aware of it as when we are in a heightened state of stress for too long, we eventually become oblivious to it. This is where we think we are “fine” when we really aren’t; it’s just that we have gotten used to being stressed and continuing that way. So, awareness is really a key first thing here.
     
3. Psychological factors.
   
   Ok, this little category is a post of its own, and one I will be going into more deeply next week, so for today, I am just going to list some of the many psychological factors of weight loss plateau. Come back next week for a deeper dive on these (subscribe, so you don’t miss it).
   
   • Expectations vs. reality
   • Stress (and cortisol)
   • Unconscious habits
   • Self-sabotage and fear of success (underlying limiting beliefs and/or trauma)
   • Body image and self-esteem
   • Adherence to routines
     
4. Nutritional strategies to break plateau.
   
   Again, this is a whole post in itself. I have also touched on some of this in previous podcast episodes and blog posts and I am going to do a deep dive on these in a future post. For today, I’m listing some of the various strategies to try, so you can get yourself unstuck and start moving those metrics again.
   
   • Carb cycling.
   • Macro adjustments.
   • Intermittent fasting.
   • Nutrient timing.
   • Eat more fiber.
   • Drink more water.
   • Change your snacks or snacking habits.
   • Consider supplements.

So those are some of the insights as to what may be causing your plateau, as well as the strategies to give a try. As I mentioned, I will be doing a deeper dive in the next couple of posts on this topic. In the meantime, I really hope this has given you some insight as to what may be causing your plateau and some things you can look at to bust out of it. Subscribe to the blog and my podcast, for more.

Also, a couple updates on what I’ve got for y’all right now. I’m thrilled to announce some new programs called Phoenix Rising. Whether you are seeking access to a nutrition plan and workouts and other do-on-your own formats, or you’re looking for some group coaching and training, or perhaps wanting access to private, 1:1 coaching, I’ve got you! Click here to book a FREE transformation session with me, and I will help you with a plan to help you reach your goals.

Thank you so much for stopping by!