We’ve all been there before – you’re new workout routine or diet is going great and you are seeing fantastic results and then all of a sudden the scale stops moving. Fear starts to set in and the awful feelings of guilt and failure. Am I doing something wrong? Should I be working harder? Should I be cutting my calories? I shouldn’t have had that glass of wine last night!

STOP! 

There is no need to panic or start doubting yourself and your efforts. The truth is that plateaus are almost inevitable in any weight loss journey. Approach this journey as a marathon rather than a sprint. It will take time and there will be some bumps along the way but you will get there if you keep going. The most important thing when you hit a plateau is to re-evaluate what you are doing, make the necessary adjustments, and push through. Getting discouraged and giving up will only take you back to where you started.

 

5 Tips for Breaking Through Your Plateau

 

1. Determine if it is a True Plateau

A true plateau is when weight loss has stopped for 3 or more weeks. Before we get into ways to break out of your plateau, I want you to answer some simple questions to figure out if you really are at a standstill. 

• Have you increased your intake? Maybe there were a few more events, dinners out, or alcoholic beverages than normal which is contributing to the plateau.

• Are you losing in other areas? Even though the number on the scale may not be moving does not mean your body isn't changing. Check body measurements, body fat percentage, and how clothes are fitting to see if you are still progressing. 

• Are you weighing yourself too often? Seeing no change (or even a slight increase) from one day to the next doesn't mean you have hit a wall. Your weight in the morning is highly affected by what you ate and drank the day/night before. Stick to weekly weigh-ins to get a better overall picture of weight loss. 

• Has your progress just slowed? As your weight decreases, so will weight loss. The more you have to lose, the quicker it will come off (typically). As you get closer to your goal you may notice your weekly progress begin to slow. This is natural and completely expected. Healthy (key word!) weight loss is about 0.5-2lbs per week. Even a small loss is progress!

• Are you on your period? Ladies, during your time on the month you may find that your weight increases by a few pounds. Not to worry! This is mostly just a bit of extra water weight and you will drop back down after a few days. 

• Have you already reached your healthy weight? Your weight loss goal and your body's healthy weight may not be the same. Reevaluate your goals and make sure they are based on realistic and healthy numbers rather than what some weight chart told you, you should be (there are many out there that are WAY off). Your progress may have slowed because you are at a place where your body is healthy and comfortable. Now is a good time to change your focus from weight loss to strength and toning.  

 

2. Reevaluate Intake

Eating too much or too little can cause weight loss to pause. As your weight decreases, your caloric needs will decrease too. For every 10-15lb loss, you will likely have to also decrease your caloric intake. However, this may not be true if you are also increasing exercise. To test out if you need to eat a bit less, try cutting down your portion sizes for a week and see if things improve. 

On the other hand, under-eating can be just as harmful to your weight loss and fitness goals. When you eat too little your metabolism slows down and your body stores more fat. Getting the balance between too much and too little can be tricky. Having a personalized meal plan can help you eat the right amount without doing too much calorie counting yourself. 

If calories seem to be within a healthy range you can try switching up your macronutrient (carb, fat and protein) breakdown instead. Try increasing one nutrient group and decreasing another or move them around in your day. For example, you can move carb to earlier in the day when you are more active instead of in the evening when you are watching NetFlix. 

 

3. Start Measuring Portion Sizes

When you first start out on a new meal plan you want to make sure you are following the rules exactly as they are laid out. But as you get comfortable with your routine it is common to stop weighing and measuring your portion sizes as diligently. This is ok and in fact should be the goal of any program (who wants to measure and weight every food item forever?!), but sometimes we need a refresher to make sure portion sizes haven't started to creep back up. Pull out the kitchen scale and measuring cups for a few weeks to reset. 

 

4. Beware of Any "Extras"

Check-in to see if there are any little "extras" making their way back into your diet. Extras can be anything from creamy salad dressing, a few extra drinks during the week, salad topping like bacon or cheese, and added snacks throughout the day. The best way to do this is to record a food diary for a few weeks and highlight the extras that can easily be removed. 

5. Change Your Routine

Plateaus are not only about diet; you need to evaluate your exercise routine as well. Your body can get too comfortable when you follow the same routine all the time. After several weeks of the same workout program your muscles and cardiovascular system begin to adjust and no longer have to work as hard. Make sure to change up your routine every 4-5 weeks and continually challenge yourself. Some ways to increase exercise difficulty are by: 

• Increasing work load - use heavier weights
• Increase repetitions - go from 3 sets to 4, or from 10 reps to 15
• Increase intensity - increase speed and/or resistance on cardio machines, incorporate high-intensity exercises (jumps, burpees, skipping, etc.) into strength routine.

 

Other Things To Consider:

• Are you getting enough sleep?
• Are you stressed?
• Are you drinking enough water?
• Are you being honest with your food log?
• Are you planning and prepping meals ahead of time?
• Are you choosing quality foods (whole vs. processed)

 

If you've tried the tips above and still can't breakthrough your plateau, head on over to the Services tab and sign up for a personalized Fitness and/or Nutrition program to get you on the right track!