3 Fixable Reasons for Your Weight Loss Plateau

"I've tried to lose weight but after a while it does not seem to be working". "I have lost weight but the last five pounds I would like to lose are just the hardest". I used to be on [insert favorite diet fad] and I lost a lot of weight but I have gained it back again".

Do any of these statements seem like I read your mind? Well, this is because many people looking to lose weight (or preferably fat) tend to hit plateaus and this often leads to discouragement, disillusionment, and some unfortunately give up, or turn to unsavory methods that often have very adverse health effects.

TL;DR. The reasons for plateauing are: Failing to get the caloric intake numbers right throughout the process; not realizing that the quality of food and exercise matters a lot through feedback effects; and failing to account for the body's adaptation to external stimuli.

So what is possibly going on and how can this be fixed so that you get the actual results you want? There are two broad principles relating to weight loss, one very simple and the other a bit complex. Both are scientific and hold almost immutably. The first, owing the First Law of Thermodynamics, relates to energy balance. It has been simplified by the general idea that weight loss is simply a matter of being in a caloric deficit (calories in being less than calories out). If you eat less than what you burn over any given time period, you would lose weight, as your body will be forced to make up the difference by tapping into existing stored energy (that makes up your current weight), and this energy used will show up as weight loss. The second has to do with understanding the complexity associated with how our bodies make use of energy. It is immutable because the body's internal primary objective is to keep you alive, as it best believes how. This information could be corrupted (as for example when healthy cells are mistaken for viruses and attacked by T cells) or at variance with our fat loss objectives (the body tends to responds to energy deprivation in predictable ways).

So without fully delving into these but just asking that you keep them somewhere at the back of your mind, let us now delve into the three plausible reasons for weight loss plateau and how to fix them.

The Numbers Game

First, many individuals meticulously compute or determine their maintenance calories and then do one of two wrong things either right away or down the road: They either scale back by a lot (well because they want to reach their goal soon enough), or they do not adjust their maintenance number over time as the weight comes off.

The problem with the first scenario is that unless the individual is really obese, such a drastic cut sends the wrong signal to the body. It may respond as desired initially, but soon after, it will start to cut back on its behind the scenes bodily functions, so as to expend less energy given the deprivation in energy from food and drink intake. This is sometimes referred to as the body going into starvation mode. It therefore appears as though the energy balance equation is not working, but it is. If the amount of food intake is equally matched by an overall reduction in energy expenditure (even if one has also increased other activities), then weight will stay the same. Why? Just keep in mind that one's basal metabolic rate (BMR) which is the amount of calories that the body burns to support most bodily functions in the absence of food and any activity is about 65% - 70% of total daily energy expenditure. So while BMR is on the calorie expenditure side of the energy balance equation, it is influenced by the amount of food intake, which is on the other side of the energy balance equation. This is why it is important not to go overboard when reducing food intake. The recommendation is 300-500 calories below daily maintenance, even if one feels like doing more, I would NOT recommend for most people reducing by 800 or more calories below what is needed for current weight maintenance.

Somewhat related to the first scenario is the second scenario where people forget that as the scale falls, the maintenance calories have to be recalculated. Here is what I mean. Suppose a client who is moderately active and weighs 190 pounds. Estimating her maintenance calories by the rule of thumb: 15 * 190 = 2850 calories. If she has decided to reduce daily calories by 500 and keeps her food intake to approximately 2350 calories every day (she also increases her exercise and non-exercise related activities), and suppose over the course of 2 weeks, she finds that she has lost 10 pounds. Her new maintenance calories are now 180 * 15 = 2700 calories, and so she has to reduce her food intake to 2200 calories to keep on progressing at about the same pace. Failing to do this may see a slower or stalling of her progress. There are possibly about two questions that may come up in your mind at this time. One might be, would the further calories reduction not lead to the first scenario (starvation mode)? The other might be, but why should weight loss stall, she is still in a caloric deficit (it is now about 350 calories even if it is not 500)? I will get to these questions later, but for now just get the general idea that maintenance calories need to be adjusted as weight loss happens so that caloric intake as well needs to be changed for continued weight loss progress.

Quality matters

Second, overall quality associated with both energy intake and expenditure is important and one reason weight loss falters is due to failing to take this into consideration in one's journey. Let me explain.

First on the food intake side of things. It is not just for healthy reasons that it is advocated that one choose healthy meals even while pursuing weight loss, but also because of the impact meals have on our hormones and on the psychological battles associated with weight loss. Interestingly these in turn affect both how bodily functions work and also how well we adhere to a plan that requires a caloric deficit. Macronutrient composition is therefore crucial, and next to that, are the actual food choices we make within this composition. Protein plays perhaps the most important role in this whole analysis because thankfully while crucial for muscle building (which I will be talking about shortly), it helps with keeping one feeling satiated relative to other macronutrients with the same number of calories. Protein consumption also requires greater energy use by the body, and proteins are needed for many bodily functions. However both fats and carbs are also very important so I would not be advocating necessarily reducing one in favor of the other. Fats are important for the brain, in metabolizing important fat soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K) and for hormones that regulate many bodily functions so they should not be avoided, however they are calorie dense and consumption should be closely monitored especially as they are already present in many animal sources of protein. Carbs are our bodies primary source of energy and brain function uses this primarily in the form of glucose (yes sugar is not terrible, but everything in moderation). Veggies, fruits and whole grains are good sources, and some of these are rich in fiber, which help in feelings of satiation as well as provide numerous other health benefits, in particular for bowel movements that could be useful in countering possible constipation from consuming a lot of protein.

Second, on the energy expenditure side of things, it is important to understand that while certain activities are encouraged, in the grand scheme of things focusing only on those will not move the needle when it comes to calorie expenditure. I am talking about walking, steady state cardio, and merely increasing one's steps. These are good and should be done, but where you should plan to get the most bang for buck on the movement side should be through strength training and very active cardio activities like HIIT, boxing, Rope jumping, and circuit style training. Strength training should also be intentional, challenging, focused on compound movements and and utilize the principle of progressive overload. This will not transform one into a bodybuilder or turn you into a meathead, but building muscle provides multiple benefits - muscle facilitates greater energy expenditure by increasing one's metabolism, adds structure to the body, helps in carrying out more efficiently activities of daily living, and at least in 2022 is aesthetically desirable.

If you have just been reducing food intake without paying attention to your macronutrients, or/ and have just been exercising without paying attention to what I have explained above, odds are you will have weight loss plateauing at some point, because of the feedback loop associated with poor quality of both food intake and forms of energy expenditure. You may have difficulty adhering to the calorie deficit required. You may find yourself burned out through cardio with the body seeing no need to build muscle but choosing to slow down the metabolism ( or in the extreme, going into starvation mode). You may experience the feelings of depression as your body shuts down or/ and fails to efficiently execute bodily functions that facilitate weight loss (increase metabolism) due to hormonal problems associated with poor intake of macronutrients. Higher stress levels, feelings of depression, and lethargy often lead to higher food and drink intake as a compensatory reaction.

Adaptation by the Body

Third, our bodies are designed to operate as very efficient machines. This means that the body tends to adapt to changes that are imposed on it externally in a way that leads to less energy use in performing the same tasks. This may explain why weight loss stalls when our activity patterns even though it has increased in intensity may not produce greater energy expenditure because the tasks are rote. Adding new activities, switching up workout routines, consuming different types of food, and even changing eating patterns (e.g. having caloric surplus carb re-feeds every few weeks) may help impose new demands on the body and lead to increased energy expenditure as the body begins to learn how to adapt to this new stimulus.

This adaptation is not entirely linear and is a function of many things including some of the things which we have already talked about, so it is a little complex. It may therefore be helpful to simply switch things up a bit when you see weight loss has stalled and this could include even allowing for a day or two of increasing food intake a little above maintenance levels and incorporating new and different exercises and exercise patterns, this is hypothesized to stimulate the metabolism, and keep it still operating at that level even with subsequently returning back to the caloric deficit intake schedule.

This brings us back to the two questions I alluded to earlier that one might have when it comes to reducing the caloric deficit goal as weight loss happens. So let's revisit the scenario I presented. Client lost 10 pounds but did not reduce food intake to account for the new maintenance calories associated with the new current weight. To the first question, so long as this computation is done gradually over time (e.g. after the scale has changed significantly say anything above 5 pounds) the body adapts and does not go into starvation mode much like it might do if the cuts in food intake are very large. To the second question, because the body seeks to get more efficient at utilizing energy when in a deficit, there is less energy being expended and would have previously been a caloric deficit of say 200, may actually be a surplus of 50 for example. This is especially true if the quality of training (if at all present), as discussed earlier, is also suboptimal.

Ok... In plain English

To summarize and put it all together, let's create a not-too-memory-friendly acronym NQA. Pay attention to the NUMBERS, Focus on QUALITY, and remember the body does ADAPT.

Numbers: Get the food intake calories right and be honest with it. Being in a caloric deficit is required for weight loss. Make adjustments over time to account for changes in your weight and don't go overboard. 300-500 is a good range to keep your deficit below maintenance calories at. Don't reduce by more than 800 calories from maintenance without medical consent.

Quality: Eat right, and get the macronutrient composition right. No dietary fads, but keep that protein relatively high. Increase activity through challenging strength training and intensive cardio sessions. Get a doctor's consent first but I would suggest protein as high as 30-35% of the daily calories. The remaining 65-70% should be allocated to carbs and fats in a ratio that could be altered but with the percent from carbs generally higher (e.g. 40/25%), but this should be flexible. Strength training should focus on full body compound exercises with progressive overload principles.

Adapt: Switch things up every couple weeks or every month. Think of creative ways to get the body out of homeostasis to expend more energy in response to newer impulses from both food intake and how you expend energy.

Finally, there are further considerations and these have in large part to do with congenital issues, health related conditions, or being a part of special populations including those who are pregnant, have histories associated with body dysmorphia, or are genetically predisposed to weight loss/gain. While most of the above discussion will still be applicable, they may need to consult with their physicians every step of the way and make modifications that fall outside of the suggested guidelines.

Abiye A

NASM-CPT, NASM-CNC

regalifts.com

IG: @regalifts