How to Overcome a Weight Loss Plateau
So you’ve been happily losing weight the last few weeks or months, when suddenly BAM, no more progress.
You’re in the dreaded weight loss plateau.
It sucks. It’s super frustrating. And you have no f*cking clue what to do about it.
Luckily for you, I made this blog post 😉
Quick note: for a minority of people, their weight loss plateau is due to some kind of hormonal disorder, medical issue, or due to taking medication that can affect hormones. If that sounds like you, talk to your doctor.
But for the vast majority of people, a weight loss plateau isn’t a hormonal problem. It’s a habit problem.
So before we talk about how to overcome a weight loss plateau, let’s make sure you’re actually in one. Ask yourself these 6 questions…
Question 1: Has your weight loss completely stopped?
If you’re still losing 0.5-1lb per week on average, you’re NOT in a plateau. You’re just experiencing a normal rate of weight loss. If you have a lot of weight to lose, the first few pounds can come off rapidly, but then things slow down. This is normal and you’re not in a weight loss plateau. Track your weight daily, enter the data in an app like Apple Health (or any app that will produce a graph like the one below) and look for an overall downward trend after 3 weeks, which will resemble this:
If you can see this, keep doing what you’re doing. If not, go on to the next question.
Question 2: Are your measurements the same?
If your measurements are down, you’re NOT in a plateau, whatever the scale is doing. Inch loss = fat loss, which will eventually manifest on the scale. The most common reason for the scale not moving while the measurements drop is that you’ve started strength training, which can do two things:
Make you build a little lean muscle, which will stop after 4-16ish weeks
Make you retain more water in muscle cells (to help with recovery from the training)
It could also be your time of the month that’s causing you to retain more water than usual.
You should check measurements every 2-4 weeks. If measurements are down - even by 1/4 of an inch - you’re not in a weight loss plateau.
Here are the measurements you should take:
Chest (women should measure under their sports bra)
Waist (smallest part of your middle)
Umbilicus (1/4 inch below the belly button)
Hip (around the widest part of your glutes)
Thighs (6 inches above the knee)
Arms (flexed, around the widest point)
So let’s say your measurements have not changed in 3 weeks. Now we know we need to do something.
But you still might not be in a plateau. Here’s why…
Question 3: Are you being at least 80% consistent?
In any 30-day period, you need to be at least 80% consistent.
That means you need to end 24 days out of 30 at a calorie deficit. Here’s a visual:
Let’s do some math.
24 days a month you manage to end the day at a deficit of around 500 calories.
Nice work 👊
24 x 500 = 12,000. This is your total deficit over those 24 days.
The other days you overeat by a thousand calories, ending the day at a surplus of 500 calories (your goal is a 500-calorie deficit, you overshoot by 1,000, and you end up with a 500-calorie surplus).
6 x 500 = 3,000. This is your total surplus over those 6 days.
Your net deficit for those 30 days is therefore 12,000 - 3,000 = 9,000.
Which means you can still lose 2ish pounds of fat in that period even with 6 “f*ckups”.
Sure, the scale might not budge, but that’ll be due to the extra water retention from those higher-calorie days - more salt and sugar than usual will cause this.
And in that 30-day period, you might have 12 workouts planned if you train 3x per week.
80% of 12 is 9.6. So as long as you do 9 full workouts and 1 where you had to stop halfway through, you’ll hit the 80% consistency.
It’s the same case with your daily steps. As long as you hit you daily step target (I recommend at least 7K per day for weight loss) on 24 days out of 30, you’re good.
If you haven’t been 80% consistent with everything… you’re not in a weight loss plateau. You just need to work on consistency.
If you have been 80% consistent, move on to the next question.
Question 4: Are you tracking your food accurately?
Ask yourself:
Are you tracking your food in an app like MyFitnessPal?
Are you weighing and measuring everything with a food scale, measuring cups, and measuring spoons?
Are you weighing and measuring everything before cooking (nutrition data on labels refers to the food in its uncooked state)?
Are you tracking random bites, licks, and tastes?
Are you doing all of the above on weekends too?
I’m assuming that you’ve already calculated how many calories you need for weight loss. If you haven’t, you should check out my weight loss calorie calculator.
If you answered “No” to any of these questions… you’re probably not in a weight loss plateau.
If you answered “Yes” to all of them, move on to the next question…
Question 5: Are you making enough effort in workouts?
While your workouts shouldn’t leave you lying on the ground in a puddle of sweat, you need to be making effort. Going through the motions just won’t cut it.
Your effort while you’re strength training (yes, strength training should be your main focus while losing weight) should be a 7-8 out of 10 intensity level. Which means you would not be able to talk to someone while you’re in the middle of lifting a weight because you’re focusing so much. And you should definitely feel out of breath and require 30 seconds or so to recover after a set.
If this doesn’t sound like you… you’re not in a weight loss plateau. You need to start working a little harder during your workouts.
Question 6: Are you ignoring exercise calories?
MyFitnessPal has an annoying habit of adding calories burned exercising to your total calorie intake for the day.
Don’t eat calories burned exercising.
My weight loss calorie calculator assumes you’re already working out 3-5x per week and getting 7K+ steps per day. In other words, those calories have already been taken into out. Don’t eat them.
Also, fitness trackers and devices are notoriously inaccurate when it comes to estimating how many calories you burned, with a tendency to overestimate.
Let’s recap. If you honestly answered “Yes” to all 6 questions we just went through:
Has your weight loss completely stopped?
Are your measurements the same?
Are you being at least 80% consistent?
Are you tracking your food accurately?
Are you making enough effort in workouts?
Are you ignoring exercise calories?
Then you’re probably in a weight loss plateau. Here are your options:
How to Overcome a Weight Loss Plateau Option 1: drop calories a little
Decrease your daily calorie intake by 200-300. Try it for a 2 weeks, and then retake measurements. If measurements are down, awesome. If they’re not, move on to the next option.
How to Overcome a Weight Loss Plateau Option 2: add more movement
If you’re only doing two strength workouts per week, add a third strength workout - even if you’re already doing a third cardio workout.
If you’re already strength training three times per week, add 15-20 minutes of cardio to the end of each session.
Aside from workouts, add 2K steps to your daily step count (you should already be getting at least 7K).
How to Overcome a Weight Loss Plateau Option 3: take a diet break
This is probably the best option for those who’ve been in “diet mode” for more than 6 months. You might have been in a calorie deficit for too long and your body and/or brain just needs a break.
Increase your daily intake by 100 calories every week until you hit your maintenance calorie intake, which is typically 400-500 more calories than you’re consuming right now. This is called “reverse dieting”.
Reverse dieting usually leads to a little water weight gain, which is normal. Keep an eye on measurements just in case you increase your intake by too many calories.
Once you’ve hit your maintenance calorie intake - stay there for 2-4 weeks. Enjoy it.
And then, when you’re ready, drop back into a calorie deficit.
Why this works is disputed.
Some claim being in a calorie deficit for too long can lead to “metabolic adaptation”, which means your body adapts to the lower calorie intake. What was once a deficit becomes closer to maintenance.
Others claim it works for hormonal reasons, kinda like restarting a slow computer.
And others claim it’s simply psychological.
I personally think it’s a combination of all three. But whatever the reason, this strategy works very well.