How to Break a Weight-Loss Plateau?

As you get closer to your target weight, it is very likely to reach a weight-loss plateau. Even though steady and slow weight loss is the best for long-term success, there’s nothing more disappointing than not seeing any change on the scale. It’s normal for weight loss to slow down and even stall. If you understand what causes a weight-loss plateau, you can decide how to respond to it and avoid giving up on your new healthy lifestyle. So if you feel you’re in a weight loss plateau, try these tricks to get back on track.

1.Try eating different foods: Sometimes people get into a cycle, eating the same things over and over again, which may lead to overeating because of boredom. Always add variety to your diet by including different seasonings and veggies in your meals and also try new recipes. Changing things up might be just what you need to start losing again.

2.Accelerate your fitness routine: Change your fitness program and try a new one based on interval training, during which you do bursts of intensive activity with periods of slower recovery. Try twenty minutes of interval swimming, walking, or bike riding every other day which will rev your metabolism and burn more calories and fat and you’ll develop more muscle mass, which will further boost your metabolism and that could help you finally break through that weight loss plateau.

3.Cut more calories: Cut your daily calories by 200 but make sure that this doesn’t put you below 1,200 calories. Fewer than 1,200 calories a day will make you feel in constant hunger, which will increase your risk of overeating.

4.Write down what you eat: Keep track on everything you eat in a journal, so you are aware of what you’re consuming each day. Maybe you don’t know what you are really eating.

5.Check your habits: Look back at your activity and food records. Make sure you haven’t loosened the rules, letting yourself get by with less exercise or larger portions. One study showed that off-and-on loosening the rules is contributed to plateaus.

6.Appreciate the weight you’ve lost: If you can’t further increase your physical activity or decrease the calories you eat, you may want to recheck your weight-loss goal. Maybe the number you’re aiming for is unrealistic for you and you have already reached your healthy weight and your desire to lose weight may be a matter of cosmetics rather than a matter of health. In this case, focus on how much healthier you are, how your clothes fit and how much better you feel.

If you can’t get past a weight-loss plateau, don’t let a weight-loss plateau lead to an avalanche talk with your dietitian about other tactics to try. Whatsoever, don’t give up and go back to your old lifestyle. That will cause you to regain the weight you’ve already lost. Celebrate your success and continue your efforts to maintain your weight loss.

Christelle Bedrossian
Dietitian-Nutritionist
Beirut, Lebanon