Why weight plateaus

Sticking to a restrictive or low calorie diet plan every day can be challenging or, sometimes, unrealistic. Small, unconscious fluctuations in daily calories can cause early weight loss plateaus.

More research is necessary to determine why weight loss plateaus occur. Below, we cover some ways to break through them. Research shows that people tend to underestimate their energy or calorie intake significantly. Once people are fully aware of their eating and drinking patterns and understand where unnecessary calories are coming from, they can make changes.

These participants had:. Keeping a food diary or using a food tracker app can help people see exactly how many calories they are consuming.

Some trackers even show whether people are getting enough or too much of one particular macronutrient, such as carbohydrate or fat. Limiting or avoiding the intake of alcohol and sugary treats can help eliminate empty calories that do not provide nutritional value. Exercise helps people maintain weight and build muscle, which can improve metabolism.

How much exercise a person requires depends on many factors, including their weight and age. The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommend that adults do at least — minutes every week of moderate intensity exercise or 75— minutes of vigorous intensity activity. Many people need more than minutes of moderate exercise per week to maintain their body weight. People who engage in more than minutes of moderate physical activity every week and perform muscle strengthening activity of moderate intensity can experience additional benefits.

When a person starts dieting and exercising, their fitness level will improve. Over time, they may reach a certain level of fitness that allows them to progress to higher levels of activity. Introducing small, progressive changes in activity level can help people break through a weight loss plateau. In one study , researchers followed two groups of people with obesity. One group received advice on a healthful lifestyle and participated in a stress management program, and the second group only received the advice.

The participants in the stress management group experienced a more significant reduction in BMI than those in the control group. A study that featured in the International Journal of Obesity found that sleeping for the same number of hours — and an adequate number of hours — improved weight loss outcomes. People who slept for less than 6 hours a night had smaller changes in waist circumference compared with people who slept for 7—9 hours.

Researchers have shown that people in the United States eat only about half of the daily fiber recommendation. People who follow low carbohydrate diets are eating even less fiber.

A doctor can rule out conditions such as hypothyroidism or polycystic ovarian syndrome, which may make it more challenging to lose weight. People who do not get the recommended seven to nine hours of sleep per night may eat more calories during the day to cope with tiredness. Lack of sleep can also lead to increased stress and unhealthy food choices.

Try different techniques to help you sleep better and longer, such as limiting screen time before bed. For many people, stress triggers the desire to reach for high-calorie comfort foods like cookies, chips and chocolate. For instance, stress increases cortisol levels , which can stimulate your appetite.

Sugary, high-fat foods also seem to counteract the effects of stress, which may be why people often crave comfort foods when they feel tense. To help you manage stress and resist junk food, consider creating a list of relaxing activities you can do instead of eating, such as meditating or practicing deep breathing techniques. You may also find it helpful to talk to a therapist. Other factors, such as body measurements, increased energy and improved fitness levels also demonstrate success.

You may be building muscle but losing fat while keeping a stable weight. We understand that losing weight can be challenging and that everyone has different needs and goals. We will use the cell phone number provided above to respond to your question.

By submitting this form you consent to these types of communication. You have to agree on terms in order to proceed to the subscription. Thank you! You're now signed up to receive text messages from Synergy Wellness Center. Just one more step! We sent a text to to confirm your subscription. Back to blogs. Are You on a Weight Loss Plateau? What Is a Weight Loss Plateau? What Causes Plateauing Weight Loss?

You Shed Water Weight First When you begin a weight loss plan, your body releases its store of glycogen for energy. Your Metabolic Rate Decreases Your metabolism naturally slows down as you lose weight because your muscle mass decreases. Your metabolism may also adapt to a lower caloric intake and slow down to conserve energy. The ideal weight loss journey will be phased with periods of weight loss and weight maintenance until we reach our goal weight. In the first few weeks after making lifestyle changes, we tend to lose weight very quickly.

However, after a few weeks, we might notice the scales come to a complete standstill or the numbers even start to creep back up. We think we can keep losing weight at the same rate as we did when we first started.

In the graph on the right, we can see intermittent periods of weight loss and weight plateaus. Although this might not look ideal, the journey on the right is representative of a more sustainable way to lose weight.

Our set point is determined by our DNA and the environment around us. Slow, gradual weight gain over many years can trick our body into thinking its set point is higher than it should be, which causes our body to resettle at a new, higher weight. However, going below this range would be extremely challenging. Our body is programmed to function optimally within our set-point range and it will do everything to maintain it. Our own natural set point might not be what we want it to be, or even what society thinks it should be.

Some of us will naturally have a higher weight set point, and some of us will have a lower one. The weight maintenance phase, or weight loss plateau, is essential to allow our body time to adapt. If we ignore this maintenance phase, continuing to lose weight will be a monumental battle.

From an evolutionary point of view, this makes sense. For our ancestors, periods of weight loss generally indicated a risk of starvation due to lack of food availability. Therefore, our body would try its best to hold onto the energy stores that we already have. This is achieved by lowering our basal metabolic rate BMR.

BMR is a measurement of the amount of energy our body requires to stay functioning at rest. This is how much energy is needed to perform basic functions, like breathing, keeping our heart pumping, and our digestion. If we lose weight, our body will then become much better at rationing what it has to make it last longer. It will reduce our body temperature, thyroid activity, and fat oxidation or the amount of fat we burn , and help our muscles move more efficiently.

All of these adjustments mean that we burn less fuel overall, which can lead to a natural plateau. Higher levels of ghrelin also tell our body to conserve more of our fat stores. But, it takes time and patience. Just as we can reset our set point to be higher when we gain weight, this also works in reverse when we lose weight. But we need to work alongside our body to successfully achieve this.

Increasingly more research shows that if we lose weight slowly and gradually, our set point can adjust and our body will stop battling against us.

A plateau can last anywhere between eight to twelve weeks, but it also varies on an individual level. Most of the time significant life-changing weight loss happens over years, not in episodes, like in the diet shows on TV.

It can take many years for us to steadily gain weight, so likewise it will take time to lose it again. Check out our guide on overcoming a weight loss plateau for further information. Thank you so much for this article. I have referred back to it several times during my weight loss journey which began in March I have been overweight my entire adult life. I started doing exercise videos in my basement during the pandemic and intermittent fasting while focusing on protein and vegetables.

I lost ten pounds per month for the first three months and then stalled out. The advice listed here helped me realize my body was regulating to the changes I had made and I stayed the course. After being diagnosed with diabetes in March, I started a keto lifestyle. I weighed 2 weeks before my diagnosis, and when I was diagnosed. I have finally plateaued since mid-Sep, when I decided to start working out.

The plateau is frustrating, but I have no intention of going back to my old ways. Seeing this article helped me understand that this is likely a pause, as opposed to a weight I will just need to accept. Ever forward! This was the best explanation on plateaus. I lost 23 lbs in 5 weeks and than nothing. All the other articles said I must be cheating and eating more than I should which was BS. Our programme offers lots of support around weight-loss plateaus.

Thanks for the info. I have recently lost about 30 lbs and have plateued. I have a long way still yet to go to reach my goal weight. Im quite a bit overweight. My big question is, what should I do during a plateau? Or should I eat closer to my BMR for several weeks to allow my body time to adjust and then cut the calories again? Should I maintain the same level of exercise?

I was 84 kgs in January, stalled at 74 in June and just recently moved downwards again. Thanks for this and all the best!