Hitting a plateau? Let’s talk about what actually works

TrainWithMustafa

I see a lot of people hitting sticking points, you’re training hard, eating well, but the scale or mirror isn’t moving.

I’m curious how do you deal with plateaus in your fitness journey?
    •    Do you increase volume, change exercises, or tweak nutrition?
    •    Have you tried anything that actually broke through a plateau?

Let’s share strategies! I’d love to see what’s worked for others and also give tips from my experience as a coach working with online clients.

Drop your experiences below and let’s get a good discussion going!

AnnPT77

If weight loss tapered off gradually over a period of time then stopped, but my eating and activity routine has been reasonably consistent before and after the scale stall, I figure I've reached current maintenance calories, and need to change my habits - somewhat fewer calories, somewhat more activity, or both.

Bodies don't "get used to exercise and stop burning calories", among other common myths. Outfits like BODi like to encourage people thinking that so they can sell more exercise programs, diet plans or supplements. Something needed to change in activity, at constant calorie intake, to cause a sudden fat-loss stall.

If weight loss had been going along at a decent pace, and stopped suddenly, but my eating and activity habits have been quite consistent, I figure the reason is not that fat loss has stopped, but that something else is masking fat loss on the scale. The prime candidates would be water retention or extra waste in the digestive tract compared to usual.

Lots of things can cause water retention to increase, most of them temporary and not dangerous. If I fear a dangerous health condition might be behind the water retention, I see my doctor to rule that out or treat it. If there's nothing dangerous, then I'd wait it out. Eventually my healthy body will sort things out, and the scale will drop.

(Some people retain more water for longer because they're freaking out about the supposed plateau, probably, given the fancy things cortisol levels can sometimes accomplish).

If there's more waste than usual in my digestive tract . . . well, waiting it out, unless the situation is acute, in which case gentle OTC meds, as a first step.

I don't suspect there's a fat loss plateau unless there's been at least a month or more that I should've been losing weight according to my calorie estimates, but wasn't.

With long experience and attention to calorie intake and weight changes, my understanding of my calorie needs is pretty good at this point. When I was re-losing a few pounds that crept on over the first 4 years of maintenance, and intentionally losing quite slowly, there was about a 4-6 week period when even my weight trending app thought I was maintaining or even gaining. It would've looked even more dire for longer just from subjectively watching the scale go up and down, without that app. Eventually, as I expected, there was a sudden scale drop, and my weight loss rate averaged as expected over the longer term.

So, my strategy is to be analytic about why the scale may've stalled, and make rational changes based on that. Immediately panicking and tweaking exercise or eating isn't helpful.

I think people do a lot of things to try to break a plateau. When the plateau breaks - as it might well have done with no particular action taken at all except consistency and persistence - they credit the last thing they did with breaking the plateau. That's kind of how human brains work, see causation where coincidence is the real explanation.

Just my opinion, obviously.

tulips_and_tea

As always, @AnnPT77 provided a great response! In addition, I'd say first eliminate any negativity one may have with the notion of a "plateau". It's virtually impossible to lose weight at the same pace and speed. Accept that it is normal and that there a slower periods of loss, but changes may not be needed at all. Simple patience and consistency should continue to provide results.

dydn11402

there are those who say a diet break (bringing calories up to maintenance) for 1-2 weeks and then going back to the calorie deficit is a good strategy to break a plateau. im curious if anyone has had success doing this.

AnnPT77

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/48953957#Comment_48953957

FWIW, there's a very good discussion in this thread below about that sort of thing, including such research-based evidence as exists about it. Be sure to visit the links that are in the first post, for best insights.

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10604863/of-refeeds-and-diet-breaks

I haven't had the exact experience you ask about, but have had cases where a higher-intake day seemed to drop enough water retention to result in a noticeable scale drop. It wasn't always the next day, but usually within a couple of days if it was going to happen. I've seen others here tell similar stories.

As I'm sure is obvious from how I phrased that: I didn't intentionally eat more one day to try to cause that effect, I ate more one day because I wanted/decided to, and saw that effect. IMU, the theory is that it has something to do with hormonal resets, maybe primarily stress hormones. But I'm not a professional or expert.

dydn11402

yes, i have come across that concept where a higher eating day or even a big sodium laden meal triggers a woosh. from what i understand, its because eating at a deficit brings up cortisol levels, which can cause water retention. the big meal triggers the decrease in cortisol which signals to the body to let go of the water. personally whenever i do that, i gain a couple lbs and they dont leave without significant effort. i dont think ive ever had a woosh in my life.