Experiencing a weight loss plateau is something that almost everyone who has gone through a weight loss journey has experienced. While this can be a frustrating and disheartening experience, it is perfectly normal. It is important to recognize that just because you have hit a plateau, it doesn’t mean that all your hard work has gone to waste. In fact, seeing it as a speed bump that may get in the way from time to time, but can still be navigated is crucial to getting through it.

What is a weight loss plateau?

A weight loss plateau occurs when weight loss, or fat loss, has stalled after a period of progression. It is important to recognize if you have hit a plateau or not. If you weigh yourself daily, you need to be consistent with it. Your true weight will be first thing in the morning after you have gone to the bathroom. The numbers on the scale can vary throughout the day, with people often seeing variations of 3-5 pounds.

Therefore, it is essential to take a different approach and look at your weekly averages week after week to have a better snapshot of your progress. A healthy and sustained weight loss will be around 1-2 pounds per week. It’s a linear path that will have small up and down spikes over the time period, but should still move progressively downward. When you see that the weight isn’t gradually dropping like it has been over the last few weeks and months, this can be your sign that you’ve hit a true weight loss plateau.

The issues with the scale

While the scale gives you some data, it doesn’t show the entire picture. It won’t show the balance between lean muscle and body fat. You may have lost 5 pounds of body fat but gained 5 pounds of muscle, and the number on the scale would stay the same. However, that body compositional change would show great physical results. The body fat loss would help you appear leaner, and the lean muscle gain would enhance your overall appearance.

What to do when you hit a weight loss plateau?

Track your info

Taking a step back and looking at what’s been going on in your life is essential. Tracking your workouts, sleep, stress levels and understanding your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) and basic metabolic rate (BMR) will help give you an indicator where the problems may arise.

Lower your stress levels

If you’ve noticed that you’ve been overly stressed with work and life lately, this could be the culprit. When your body experiences stress, it elevates stress hormones such as cortisol. When cortisol is constantly elevated, it can slow weight loss to a crawl. Stress hormones are released in the body as a way to preserve itself. The body will hold on to body fat as it believes some sort of trauma is happening, and it needs all the backup fuel it can get. At this point, your body is not interested in burning body fat or building muscle; it’s interested in preserving things.

Adjust your calorie intake and exercise routine

If you’re working out every day and exhausting yourself, your body will go into self-preservation mode, raising stress hormones and making weight loss difficult. If you are involved in an adequate exercise program (3-4 days per week) and going for a reasonable amount of time, you may need to add in a little more physical activity if you’ve reached a weight loss plateau. This can be an extra 5-10 minutes or one or two 20-minute walks added on to your weekly amount.

If you’re not losing weight, you’ll want to reduce the amount of calories you’re eating by around 300 calories each day and see how this is going after a week or so. If there has been no change, you might need to drop another 200 calories. However, you don’t want to consume too few calories, as this can have a negative effect on your metabolism and lead to stalled weight loss.

In conclusion, experiencing a weight loss plateau is normal, and it happens to everyone. It is important to recognize that a plateau can be navigated and should be seen as a temporary speed bump rather than a roadblock. Adjusting your calorie intake and exercise routine and lowering your stress levels can help you overcome a weight loss plateau. Remember, a healthy and sustained weight loss will be around 1-2 pounds per week. It’s a linear path that will have small up and down spikes, but should still move progressively downward.