How To Break Through A Weight Loss Plateau

Today, I’m going to tell you exactly how to break through a weight loss plateau.

Does this describe you?

Let me guess, you’re here for at least one of these reasons:

• Your main goal is weight loss
• You’re frustrated at the lack of progress
• You feel like you’ve tried everything under the sun and are still “stuck”

Before we dive in, we need to discuss a few things:

Are you actually in a plateau?

First off, if you already know what a plateau is, you can skip this part, but if you’re new here…

First thing, welcome 🙂 now keep reading!

A plateau is not a term I like to throw around lightly. Why? Mainly because…

What really grinds my gears is when people are literally in a calorie deficit for 42 minutes and say “I haven’t seen any progress, this diet isn’t working!!” So this leads me to my next point, about 99% of the people who think they’re stuck at a weight loss plateau aren’t even close to a plateau at all.

How To Know If You’re Actually In A Weight Loss Plateau?

Make sure to read this sentence several times until it sticks.

If you haven’t been accurately tracking your calorie intake and stayed consistent for at least 3 weeks, then you are not in a plateau.

Reread it, I’m serious.

Okay, now, if that sentence doesn’t apply to you, keep reading.

The main reasons I emphasize the previous so much is because:

• The only reason you’re not losing weight is that you’re not in a calorie deficit
• You probably think you’re in a calorie deficit, but are actually not
• You’re in a calorie until the weekend rolls around or plans change

So again, if you’ve seen no progress but have been on point with your nutrition and training program, then you shall pass.

Why You’re Stuck

If you’ve made it this far, chances are at least one of these apply to you:

• You’ve been dieting for a significant period of time (3+ consecutive months)
• You’ve been dieting and have made significant progress (I’m talking if you compared your before/after pictures, you would definitely see changes)

The #1 reason why you’re stuck (I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again) is because you’re not in a calorie deficit.

Dieting for a significant period of time and/or making significant progress can result in a decreased metabolism. Not because of “starvation mode” or some other BS fitness guru advice you’ve heard. Let me explain…

Your body is extremely smart. Much smarter than you give it credit for. Whenever you decrease/increase calorie intake, your body adapts to the changes within a few weeks. In this case, when you decrease your calorie intake and create a deficit, your body adapts by trying to save energy. It will do things like decreasing your NEAT and overall alert and wakefulness. If you have no idea what NEAT means, click here to read my article on ‘The Best Exercises For Losing Weight.’ Your body does this to conserve energy which over time will reduce your calorie expenditure, thus, reducing your calorie deficit until it reaches zero (i.e. maintenance or plateau).

However, if you have been seeing tremendous progress and all of a sudden your progress is slowing down and eventually to a screeching halt, this is likely due to a decrease in your BMR (again, explained in the article link above). In summary, because you now weigh less, it takes less energy to keep your body functioning (think less body mass = less energy needed for cellular repair/maintenance, and less body mass = less energy to move your physical body through space).

What To Do About It (Next Steps)…

Now that you understand why you’re stuck, you still want to know, what should you do next? Well, luckily, I’ve got three options for you:

1. Keep On Truckin’

I think this one is pretty obvious. If you want to keep going, you’re going to have to create an even steeper calorie deficit from the one before. Because you’ve been stuck, your new maintenance is probably your old deficit number. Now that you already have made significant progress, I would suggest creating your calorie deficit from both diet and exercise. Start by cutting your intake by only 100-300 calories per day and increasing your cardio sessions in small increments (extra 10-15 minutes). This way, it’ll be more sustainable and enjoyable than just suddenly starving yourself or doing an extra 5 hours of cardio a day.

2. Keep On Truckin’ (With A Twist)

Honestly, the choice is entirely up to you. But if you want to keep going, I would suggest this option over the first one. Mainly because research has shown it’s more sustainable and yields better results in terms of higher adherence, more fat loss, and more muscle retention. For this option, you’ll apply the same principles I listed above by increasing your calorie deficit, but instead of following the calorie deficit for 7 days/week, you’ll choose one day out of the week and do what is called a ‘Refeed Day.’ For your Refeed Day, you’ll increase your calories for that day only up to your maintenance calorie target. For your extra calories added, you’ll want to get those extra calories primarily from carbs. By introducing a refeed, you’ll make the diet feel less like a ‘diet’, get to eat more food (let’s be honest, who doesn’t), and get an extra kick of energy the day after. Keep in mind that it is completely normal to gain weight the day after. Do not panic. This is due to the extra intake of carbs which will result in increased muscle glycogen and water retention (aka the temporary extra size will go straight to your muscles).

3. Stop Dieting Altogether

Although I completely understand telling yourself to stop is one of the hardest things in the world, sometimes, it’s the best thing to do. Chances are if you’ve been dieting for at least 3 months, you’re exhausted both physically mentally.

This quick infographic from my Instagram (@austincfitness) sums up some common symptoms of dieting for long periods of time. If a number of these apply to you, I would highly suggest you stop dieting for a couple of months. Spend those couple of months eating at maintenance to give yourself a mental break and a boost in energy to train and live life!

Final Thoughts

Lastly, I want to wrap things up by sending you off with some questions regarding your weight loss goals and what your current mindset is.

Before deciding to embark onto the next stage of your weight loss journey, one question I want you to honestly ask yourself is:

“Is it really worth it to keep dieting and lose those last ____ pounds?”

Because at this point, you’ve probably made some significant progress from your previous starting point. It might be worth asking:

“What other benefits would I get from losing an extra _____ pounds?”

“How much happier would I be if I lost those last _____ pounds?”

“Am I in the right mindset to go on another period of dieting?”

“Does my current lifestyle/circumstances facilitate dieting at this point?”

Really look inward and think deeply about these questions because you might just find that your current weight is the happy medium you’ve been wanting all this time.

However, if you want to keep grinding, I applaud your effort. And now, you know what to do 🙂

Hope this helps you crush your weight loss goals!

Talk soon,

-Aus

Coaching Opportunity

I am currently taking on new clients for online coaching.

A few benefits of this program include:

• Customized nutrition plan tailored to your individual needs and goals
• Customized training plan to help you build muscle, lose fat, and get fit
• Daily accountability and support to ensure that you never feel “alone” or “stuck” on your journey to bettering yourself.

The best part: you can do this from anywhere in the world.

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