You are eating better, moving more, managing stress the best you can and by all accounts doing what you have been told to do to lose weight, yet your weight loss has come to a halt. To put it simply: you’ve hit a weight-loss plateau.
Most of us would like to think that weight-loss is a linear process in which lose a consistent amount of weight each week.
But in reality, weight-loss is often characterized by multiple ups and downs (and plateaus) throughout the course of the dieting period.
What counts as a weight-loss plateau?
Weight-loss plateaus while frustrating are a normal part of the weight loss journey. Before we talk about why weight-loss plateaus happen let’s be clear what a weight-loss plateau is and what it’s not.
A true weight-loss plateau is when someone’s body weight hasn’t changed for several weeks despite consistency in following the same diet and exercise routine which initially brought about changes in weight.
If you have noticed a drop in body weight from one week to the next, but then for one week you don’t experience any amount of weight-loss this does NOT qualify as a plateau. At least two or three weeks need to have passed without changes to your body weight to truly qualify as a weight-loss plateau.
In my practice working with women, I like to further expand on this definition of a plateau and confirm with my client if she has had any changes in body measurements, the way her clothes fit, or known body composition changes in addition to no further drops in scale weight.
This is important because oftentimes clients want to make significant, premature changes to their diet; and it’s often not necessary if other positive physical changes are occurring despite one’s scale weight not budging.
Why do weight-loss plateaus happen?
In the instance you have hit a plateau you might be wondering why is this happening? In the most simple terms, weight-loss plateaus occur because you have reached a point where your total energy expenditure (calories out) is now equal to your energy intake (calories in).
This happens due to a variety of metabolic adaptations that occur as a result of being in a calorie deficit.
Set point theory and weight weight-loss plateaus
Set point theory proposes that we all have a feedback control system designed to regulate our body weight to an inherent ‘set point’. This system is responsible for adjusting our energy intake or energy expenditure in proportion to the difference between our current body weight and our ‘set point weight'--essentially the weight we are biologically supposed to be at.
While the set-point theory is indeed only a theory, the metabolic adaptations that occur during a weight-loss phase do support this theory.
But we also know your own biology isn’t the only predictor of your weight. Decades ago only a small fraction of Americans were overweight or obese. Whereas today more than 70% of Americans are classified as overweight or obese. Clearly, there is more at play than our genetics or supposed set point.
Environmental and social factors also influence our body weight and overall physical health.
But I digress, for the purpose of today we are going to focus on the physiological and behavioral determinants of weight-loss, more specifically what causes weight-loss plateaus.
What metabolic adaptations contribute to weight-loss plateaus
Resting metabolic rate declines
One of the changes that occur when you lose weight is a reduction in your total energy expenditure. Your total energy expenditure is made-up of three components. Your resting metabolic rate (RMR) makes up the largest component of total energy expenditure (60-70%) and represents the energy you burn at rest to keep you body alive (e.g. heart beating, brain functioning, liver detoxifying, etc).
Studies have shown that RMR can decrease beyond what is predicted by losses in lean tissue and fat mass alone. Two long-term studies have shown that RMR of obese subjects decreased by 50 to 100 calories more than what would have been expected after subjects lost between 13 to 16% of their body weight.
However, the magnitude of this reduction in RMR tends to disappear with time and weight stabilization. In fact, one of these studies showed after just 4 weeks of weight stabilization, subjects' RMR decreased from an average of - 92 calories to - 38 calories (1)
That said, before you go blaming your weight-loss plateau on having a slower metabolic rate you need to understand that the reduction in RMR is only one component of your total energy expenditure.
Researchers suspect that a reduced RMR explains between 30-50 % of the reduction in your total calorie expenditure but you also need to factor in other variables.
The components of total energy expenditure: NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis); TEF (thermic effect of food); PA (physical activity); RMR (resting metabolic rate)
Level of activity declines
Another reason that total energy expenditure is reduced with weight-loss is due to a decrease in physical activity (PA) and non-exercise physical activity (NEAT) . As my blog post on increasing your metabolism explains, both PA and NEAT are the most variable components of daily energy expenditure. Most people expend between 15 to 30% of their TEE on physical activity and NEAT.
Why PA & NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis) decrease during weight-loss.
Less Body Mass = Fewer Calories Burned
When you lose weight you have less total mass to carry around. So during exercise, you will expend fewer calories at a lower weight than your previous higher weight. This contributes to reducing the energy gap or deficit which once spurred the initial weight-loss.
2. Muscle Adaptations = Fewer Calorie Burned
If you have been performing the same workout for several weeks or even months –eventually your muscles will adapt to the movement (i.e become less challenged by the movement) which will lead to a lower calorie burn during workouts.
3. Fewer Steps Taken or Regular Movement = Fewer Calorie Burned
If you have lost weight and have hit a plateau you may also notice that you generally move less. This could be that you are taking fewer steps per day, maybe not doing as many chores around the house, or even find yourself fidgeting less. This reduction in movement is known as non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT). And studies have shown that NEAT tends to spontaneously decrease when you lose weight.
This shouldn’t surprise you because when people eat less, they typically have less energy to expend on spontaneous movement. In fact, one study examining the effects of weight-loss on energy expenditure showed that participants' daily energy expenditure from NEAT was reduced by 150 calories per day after losing approximately 25 pounds. This reduction in NEAT was reflective of a 27% decrease from the participants' baseline levels!
Hunger & satiety hormone changes
Weight-loss is not only accompanied by a decrease in energy expenditure (calories burned) but your body also experiences metabolic adaptations that drive you to consume more calories which further reduces the energy deficit which initially prompted weight.
One of the most difficult aspects of losing weight is managing your hunger while in a calorie deficit. And your body certainly doesn’t make it any easier on you. As you lose weight hunger and satiety hormones shift to both increase feelings of hunger and decrease feelings of satiety.
Leptin: the satiety hormone
The hormone leptin which is responsible for producing feelings of fullness after a meal is directly impacted by changes in adiposity (aka levels of body fat).
People with greater percentages of body fat have higher circulating levels of leptin. Whereas those with less body fat have lower levels of circulating leptin. Consequently, if you lose weight your levels of leptin will decline which will contribute to reduced feelings of fullness or satiety after a meal.
Ghrelin: the hunger hormone
On the other hand, the hormone ghrelin works opposite of leptin. While increases in leptin make you feel full, increases in ghrelin make you feel hungry.
One study, demonstrated that after obese participants lost on average 17% of their body weight through a calorie-restricted diet, ghrelin levels increased by 25% from baseline levels!
Summary: By now we know why energy expenditure decreases with weight-loss and that appetite hormones often cause us to increase our energy intake with weight-loss.
Collectively, both of these factors contribute to narrowing the energy gap (i.e caloric deficit) and contributing to a weight-loss plateau and/or potentially regaining the weight you initially lost.
10 ways to overcome a weight-loss plateau
Right now you might be thinking, why even try to break through the weight-loss plateau when my body is literally doing everything it can to get back to my pre-dieting weight?
It’s logical to think this, however, you don’t need to be discouraged. Here's what you need to focus on to get over a weight-loss plateau or at the very least delay it from happening too soon in your weight-loss journey.
Focus on maintaining and/or increasing muscle mass
1. Implement a moderate caloric deficit
While it might be tempting to go on a 1000 calorie-diet or follow a juice cleanse to drop weight quickly, this puts you at risk for losing a greater amount of lean muscle mass in addition to fat mass. Because muscle mass is metabolically active, it’s important to preserve as much as possible to keep your RMR elevated.
At the beginning of weight-loss aim for a 10-20% calorie deficit below your maintenance calorie needs. That said, if you need 2000 calories to maintain you current weight - aim for reducing your calories by no more than 400 calories per day (2000 x 20% = 400 calorie deficit).
2. Eat an adequate amount of dietary protein
Dietary protein not only helps you preserve muscle mass during weight-loss but it helps fight off hunger. Because protein is the most satiating macronutrient it keeps you fuller longer which is essential when it comes to managing hunger and allowing you to remain in a caloric deficit to reach your goal weight.
Most people need between 0.7 gram to 1 gram per pound of body weight.
3. Add in strength training
If strength-training isn’t already a part of your weekly routine, I’d suggest you find a way to incorporate it. Strength training (i.e putting your muscles under increased tension) stresses your muscles to the point that the muscles increase in number in an attempt to adapt to the stress.
Regular strength training is the best way to at the very least to maintain, if not increase your muscle mass during weight-loss. And yes, it's quite possible to do both!
Increase your physical activity and/or NEAT
4. Increase your daily step count
Increasing your step count to overcome a weight-loss plateau is by far one of the most under-rated strategies. As you recall, both NEAT and physical activity are the most variable components of your metabolism; in other words, they are largely within your control!
And adding more steps to your typical routine is a great way to increase your energy deficit. Try increasing your step count by 1 to 2K per week from where it currently resides, and see if you can continue to increase it over time to eventually reach 10 thousand or more.
5. Change up your workout routine
If you have been doing relatively the same workout routine over the course of your weight-loss period but are now dealing with a plateau your body may have gotten used to your routine and has become more energy-efficient (i.e. you aren’t burning as many calories as you once did).
Consider changing the type of activity you are performing, the intensity, frequency, or the duration. For example, if you are doing slow-flow yoga a couple days a week and are doing cardio another couple days a week, can you swap your yoga for strength training sessions or trade in one long-run for 10 minutes of sprint interval?
Increase compliance with your diet
6. Check the accuracy of your nutrient intake through food logging/tracking
While you might think you are hitting or staying below your calorie goal everyday, even dietitians who are trained in understanding food nutrient composition underestimate their calorie intake. One study looked at the accuracy of self-reported food records of 10 dietitians versus 10 non-dietitians over a 7 day period. While non-dietitians underestimated their daily calorie intake by a whopping 429 calories per day, whereas dietitians underestimated their calories by 223 calories per day.
That said, even if you are tracking your food everyday you may need to re-evaluate the accuracy of your food logs. Weighing your food is always going to be more accurate than measuring it by volume. Also, consider how consistently you are logging your food intake and whether you are accounting for everything you ate on a certain day.
To get over your weight-loss plateau, you need to increase your energy deficit (i.e. widen the gap between calories consumed and calories burned). Eating high volume, low-calorie foods like fruits and vegetables is a stellar strategy.
Aim for eating at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables per day (1 serving is roughly 1 cup of raw fruits or vegetables or ½ cup cooked).
Focus on making most of your servings non-starchy varieties of vegetables which have approximately 1/3rd the calories of starchy vegetables. Also, limit your intake of dried fruit or fruit juice which tends to be high in calories and not very filling.
Other strategies to break through a weight-loss plateau
8. Stress less, and sleep more.
Being in a caloric deficit for an extended period of time can be stressful on your body. If that stress is being further compounded by poor sleep or being mentally stressed out by finances, relationships, career, etc - you are going to have an even tougher time losing weight. When you are chronically stressed your body responds by secreting the hormone cortisol. Elevated levels of cortisol are linked to increased food cravings, especially of high fat and/or sugar foods.
While stress is sometimes unavoidable, it’s important that we figure out how to cope with it the best we can. Getting a good night’s sleep by establishing a bedtime routine can make you more resilient to stress; also being in nature, walking, listening to music, mediating, socializing, or embracing a hobby that brings you joy can all reduce stress levels.
9. Recommit to your goals, and get support.
At the beginning of your weight-loss journey you may have felt a high level of motivation and perhaps experienced a ‘honeymoon’ phase with your new lifestyle habits. However, chances are if you’ve been cutting calories for any extended period of time your motivation may be waning and you are starting to cut-corners with your habits (skipping the gym, eating out more frequently, etc.)
If this sounds like you, reconnect with your ‘why’ for losing weight in the first place. Are you trying to get to a healthier weight to experience less joint pain, reduce your risk of diabetes, or perhaps you want to role-model healthy habits to your kids.
It’s important to be crystal clear why losing weight is important to you and how you can increase your chances of success. Finding an accountability partner can be helpful, or consider working with a Registered Dietitian who can assess your blindspots and create a strategy for long-term success.
10. Take a break and focus on maintenance.
If you have been dieting for several months now, you might be feeling burnt out. There is nothing wrong with taking a break and focusing on weight-maintenance for a while before returning to a fat-loss phase. You might also consider what's called a reverse diet which can be helpful in restoring a sluggish metabolism and improving your general mood.
Below are four signs that you've been in a caloric deficit too long or your diet is simply too restrictive and you need a more flexible approach.
I hope you found this post helpful next time you need to break through a weight-loss plateau. However, nothing beats having a personalized
plan to navigate the ups and downs of weight-management.
If you are finally fed up with trying to trouble-shoot your weight-loss problems alone, consider applying for my 1 on 1 coaching program or my group program Eat Fit for Fat Loss
