I’ve Stopped Losing Weight. What’s Going on?

This is referred to as a fat loss/weight loss plateau.

Are you falling into one of these 11 deadly traps?

1. Do you yo-yo diet a lot, as in be really ‘Good’ and then really ‘bad’?
2. Are you lifting weights/doing strength/resistance training?
3. What time of the day are you weighing?
4. How often are you weighing?
5. Are you stressed/on your period/taking medication/did you have a large unhealthy meal the night before a weigh-in?
6. Are you taking photos and measurements of your body?
7. Are you tracking your step count?
8. Are you tracking your calories or following a nutrition plan
9. If you’re following a nutrition plan- are you sticking to 100%
10. You have reduced your workout length, reduced your workout intensity, aren’t working out as much as before
11. You’ve cut out weight training

1. Yo Yo Dieting- Bad Good Eating- and Fad Diets

If you answered yes, then you’re in a calorie surplus, what I mean by that is the ‘bad’ periods are outweighing the ‘good’ periods— if you’re trying to eat ‘clean’, eat lots of salad/fast/cut carbs/go keto/cut out any food groups, cut out sugar, cut out fat, trying to be very strict, going really low calorie, fast—- then you need to stop all of these, stop trying to be perfect- you need to eat both healthy and unhealthy foods in moderation- too much of both will lead to fat gain, the magic happens in the middle when you marry unhealthy and healthy foods in moderation in your diet. You will be more likely to stick to it and more consistent. Another tip is to eat pretty much the same most days:

2. Your lifting weights/ doing strength or resistance training

Okay so a day or so after lifting your muscles swell with water which translates to a small temporary weight gain if your going to weigh yourself do it 2 days after lifting or just bear in mind when you weigh the scale can show a small increase due to this type of training

The temporary weight gain explained: When someone starts a new exercise program, they often experience muscle soreness. The more intense and “unfamiliar” the program, the more intense the muscle soreness. This temporary retention of fluid can result in a 3- to 4-pound weight gain within a few weeks of a new program.

True Weight Gain

True weight gain occurs when you eat more calories than you burn. One pound of fat is equal to about 3,500 calories, notes Harvard Health. So unless you sleepwalk and go on an overnight binge, it is unlikely that you can consume enough calories in one day to truly gain weight. If your weight has fluctuated, it is more often than not just a temporary response to something your body experienced.

3. Always weigh in the morning and having a poo

You’ll be at your lightest as you have slept and fasted for at least 5-10 hours (depending on how long you slept and when you stopped eating). You will always be heavier after a day of eating:

4. Weighing daily, you will definitely see scale fluctuations, don’t weigh too much

Once a week is fine:

5. If you are stressed/on your period/taking medication/had a large unhealthy meal the night before a weigh-in high in salt/fat/carbs or have increased your fiber or water intake the scale can show up to ten pounds increase! Yes, ten pounds.

6. Fat loss vs weight loss

The scale weighs fat, water, organs, bones, and muscle – no muscle does not weigh more than fat, they weigh the same. However, it is possible that you gained as much muscle as the fat you lost. E.g. you lost 2lbs fat and gained 2lbs of muscle so the scale is staying the same, or you lost 2lb fat and gained 3lbs muscle resulting in a 1lb scale increase. Take photos, take hip and waist measurements, use an app such as pic stitch to check your weekly photos. I promise you if you have been consistent there will be at least small changes in your photos. Photos hold you accountable, they show you when you haven’t put the work in and the prove to you when you have put the work in.

It’s easy to become demotivated when you can’t see changes, it’s easy to be delusional when you aren’t tracking progress and think there’s been progression when there hasn’t.

7. What often happens when we diet, is our body gets lazy and we sit around more and move less

The issue is we don’t even know its happening! Now step counters aren’t that accurate, however, it’s better to get a rough indication as opposed to no tracker at all.

You don’t need a fancy fit bit, you can use a free app on your phone, eBay even sells cheap Fitbit style watches which cost around £10 I believe, and they count steps and calories.

Steps are your NEAT.

So exercise is est and is only responsible for 5-10% of the calories we burn, whereas NEAT (steps- fidgeting, cleaning, walking to the loo, walking the dog, walking to and from the car or bus stop, walking to the shops, tidying your house, gardening) is responsible for around 15% or more of calories burnt. Keep track of your weekly steps and make sure they stay consistent. It’s almost easier than adding in more workouts.

8. You’re just winging it,  you don’t have a plan, you have no idea of how many calories are going

Now you have a few options: 1. Follow a structured weighed plan written for you, 2. Use an app such as my fitness pal, scan, and weigh everything- every bite, lick, and taste and see what your calories are for the week. Now I’m not saying you must follow a plan or track to lose weight however if you keep getting speeding tickets and never look at your speedometer, then it’s time to start looking.

9. Always Stick to the Plan

You’re swapping foods, adding an extra 2g-10g here and there. Your plan was written with the calories calculated to a tee and now you just swapping and adding left right and center.

This is the equivalent to having a money budget and just occasionally adding in a few extra items to your shopping cart. Your calorie budget was calculated with no wiggle room. Follow it down to the last gram if you want to succeed.

10. Your workouts equate to your calorie expenditure

If you start reducing the length/intensity/frequency you’re going to be burning fewer calories. Stay consistent!

11. Muscle mass causes a nice increase in metabolic rate

The more muscle we have the more calories we burn at rest! Prioritize strength training over cardio and you will reap the rewards In a more lean physique.

Are you completely lost with this all?

Don’t know where to start?

Or perhaps you need help building muscle, gaining weight or in another area of nutrition

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