If you've ever set out on a weight loss journey … you know it's not easy.
You start off hot.
You lose a few pounds a week, start feeling good, and gaining confidence.
Then … BOOM. You hit a wall.
The dreaded weight loss plateau.
You're working as hard as you can, but progress has still stopped.
This situation can be extremely frustrating.
So … what do you do?
Follow these tips below and you'll be sure to bust through any weight loss plateaus.
Step 1: Determine if you've ACTUALLY hit a plateau.
It might be surprising to hear that most people who think they've hit a plateau … haven't.
Often times, you may just need to be a little more patient. Weight loss results don't happen overnight, and everyone loses at a different pace.
This process takes time.
With the “instant gratification” society we live in today … doing this can be hard.
You always want results as fast as possible. Unfortunately, that's just not how successful weight loss works.
A good rule of thumb...
...if it's been less than 3 weeks with no progress, continue to follow your plan and trust the process.
If it's been longer than 3 weeks, move to step 2.
Step 2: Check Your Adherence and Consistency
This one requires some honesty from you.
Diets only work if you stick with them … and stick with them closely.
If you have not been AT LEAST 80% consistent with your plan, that could be the issue.
There's no way to know if your plan is working unless you've been sticking with it consistently.
If you've been at least 80% consistent and still feel stuck … let’s move onto step 3.
Step 3: Check Your Accuracy
This goes for nutrition and workouts ... because both of them should be tracked in one way, shape, or form.
If you are following a portion control plan, have you been portioning correctly?
If you're weighing out or measuring your food…
...have your measurements been done accurately?
If you're tracking macronutrients, has your tracking been 100% on point?
With exercise ...
Do you track how many steps you take? Or how many miles you’ve ran?
Are you logging your gym sessions ... keeping track of the weight you lift, and the reps you do?
Doing so allows you to see where you're making progress, or if something may need to change.
You can see here that tracking your nutrition, and your workouts is very important.
If you've been tracking both accurately … continue to step 4.
Step 4: Make A Change
You may need to eat a little bit more food, to help boost your metabolism.
You may need to cut out some food to push progress forward.
You may need to increase your activity level, or workout intensity ... pushing yourself just little bit more.
Even something as simple as increasing your daily step total can be a big help.
It doesn't need to be a drastic change ... a little tweak can go a long way.
Step 5: Take a Break From Dieting
If you've been dieting for months and months on end … it may be time for a break.
This doesn't mean throw everything out the window and go crazy.
It means you step back from restricting yourself ... and follow more of a “maintenance” style plan.
Not trying to lose weight or gain weight … just working on holding where you're at and giving your body a break.
Then after a few weeks or so, you can transition back into more of a diet phase.
Step 6: Supplement
Say you haven't been dieting for too long ... but you've checked these boxes showing that you've most likely hit a plateau.
There's supplemental tools that can give you an edge … and help you continue to make progress.
The biggest base you should make sure you've covered above all else, is your foundation.
Vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients ... all play a huge role in making sure you're in the best position to see results.
It's extremely hard to get everything we need from the food we eat ... because we typically don't eat enough fruits and veggies on a daily basis.
That's why supplementation can be a huge help when it comes to staying on track ... especially if you've hit a plateau.
Multivitamins and phytonutrient powders can give you everything your body needs to burn fat as efficiently as possible ... along with many other benefits.
These include:
- Properly breaking down your food to be used for energy ... instead of being stored as fat
- Improving the health of your gut, eliminating bloat and aiding in digestion
- Fighting inflammation
- Strengthening your immune system
- Improving mood, cognition, and providing natural energy
...and this list could go on. That's how important covering this base can be.
If you've hit a plateau on your journey and you're not taking care of your foundation ... that should be top priority for you. It will make a much bigger difference than you may think.
Metabolism boosting products can also help battle your plateau.
Their benefits include:
- Controlling stress levels ... which can lead to burning off some of that stubborn midsection fat
- Balancing hormones
- Helping use stored fat for energy
- Stabilizing blood sugar levels
- Increasing how many calories you burn throughout the day
- Fighting sweet and salty carvings
- Providing energy, focus and mood enhancement
These tools can be a huge help when it comes to keeping progress moving in the right direction.
In conclusion ...
Plateaus are part of the weight loss journey, but there's ways around them.
Remember ... it's important to be patient and make sure you've actually hit a plateau before taking the steps to battle it.
Once you know that's the case, these 6 simple steps can help you break through that plateau ... and make sure you continue to see the best results possible.
If you think you've hit a plateau and need some assistance getting through it ... make sure you stop into your nearest S2 location. Our Sports Nutrition Specialists will make sure you continue to push forward.
*This post was written by Andrew Lynn, who has a Bachelor's of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics. He is also a NASM Certified Personal Trainer and NASM Certified Fitness Nutrition Specialist.
