it happens to the best of us... you're working out and eating well and losing weight consistently and then all of a sudden a week goes by with no loss... and another...and another with no losses and you're sitting there like wtf am i doing wrong??
well let's figure that out. plateaus are THE WORST and can feel like they're never ending but they'll end! you just gotta step back, re-evaluate, and be patient.
first things first... is this really a plateau?
if you haven't had a loss in a week or two...this may not be a plateau. sometimes you just don't get losses every week. it sucks but it happens. stay consistent and if you continue to stay at the same weight (or even slight gains) for like 3-4 weeks that's when you should take a look at the following things.
weight is effected by SO MANY things. so take a look at these things:
1. are you eating more salt than usual? salt will cause you to hold water which means it will look like you're not losing weight. so take a look at your salt intake!
2. did you start eating more carbs lately? carbs hold more water than any other macro so, once again, it will look like you aren't losing when really you could just be retaining water. don't cut your carbs though! give it a little more time and allow your body to adjust to the additional carbs.
3. how much are you sleeping? sleep is wayyy more important than people give it credit for during weight loss. make sure you are getting a full night's sleep and that helps the weight come off. your body NEEDS sleep for it to function properly...make sure you are giving it the rest it needs.
4. how stressed are you? stress physically effects your body in a lot of ways... one of those ways is holding onto weight and water retention. so 1) stressing out about your weight loss will 100% not help you lose weight and 2) if you have external life stressors (we all do!) take a step back and try to make adjustments so that stress does not effect you as much.
5. are you weighing yourself at a different time of day? keep your weigh in days/time of day consistent so you can see if your weight is ACTUALLY fluctuating. your weight will vary several pounds throughout a single day... so keep it consistent!
6. how is your fiber intake? real talk, if you're constipated you are holding onto extra weight! eat the right amount of fiber for a few days then see if you still have a plateau.
7. are you accurately tracking your intake? as people continue to lose weight, they can get lazier with tracking. it has happened to all of us. so take a few days to track your intake properly and see if maybe you're just eating more than your calorie deficit allows for.
8. drink more water! seriously. water is SO important for all around health and absolutely critical for weight loss. drink enough water!
9. ladies, is your period about to start? or are you on your period? that'll cause bloating and it'll look and feel like you aren't losing/you are gaining weight. (personally i do not weight myself the week before or on my period just to keep myself sane)
OKAY
so you've checked that all out...and you're STILL in a plateau... there are options, friend!
here's what you gotta do:
1. stay consistent! don't throw everything out the window because you haven't lost the weight you wanted to. take a deep breath, remember why you want to lose the weight, and keep pushing forward.
2. workout more/more intensely. maybe you're working out 3 days a week for 45 mins... add another workout day into your routine or add more time into your workout. 3 days at 60 mins or 4 days at 45 mins. OR if you are not able to spend more time at the gym... work out at a higher intensity. add hiit (high intensity interval training) into your routine. do your reps faster or run/walk at a faster pace. or maybe you need a total revamp of your workout routine! try out a whole new workout routine and that could break the plateau!
3. adjust your calorie intake. as you begin to weigh less, you need less calories to function properly. so make sure you are tracking properly and then reduce your intake by 10% and keep on tracking and staying consistent.
4. focus on protein! so maybe you're tracking your food and staying in a deficit and that works well for the first 40 lbs, but the last 10 are the hardest. so you may need to focus on what those calories are made up of more than before. so take a look at your protein intake and try to have protein make up 30-40% of you daily intake.
5. take a break! seriously. take a week off of training and calorie counting. i know, it seems counter-productive. but sometimes you need to take several days off so your body can totally recover and then be ready to take on more training. fun story, when i had my wisdom teeth removed i was not allowed to workout for a week nor could i eat normal foods for several days. and i was eating just as many, if not more, calories as i was while i was recovering and i actually lost weight and then came back to training and hit PRs on my running and lifting the next week.
here's what not to do:
1. freak out and cut calories dramatically.
2. weigh yourself every day/ several times a day
3. stress yourself out about it
4. give up
none of that will work y'all. promise. it may be a temporary fix... but it will not work long term.
there ya have it. if you do all of that... the weight will start coming off again. it's hard to overcome a plateau, but it can be done.
side note... over the past month and a half i have been stuck at a higher weight than i would like that i gained over a couple months while moving due to stress, eating out a lot, messed up workout schedule, and all sorts of fun stuff. and i followed these tips and this morning i broke that plateau! it was frustrating, but once i refocused... i took a few days off of lifting...started tracking accurately and being consistent... the weight came off! it works. it's an annoying and frustrating process but there are many ways to to make the progress come back again!
do you have questions or did i miss something that worked for you? let me know in the comments below or on my instagram or facebook!