Pauses in the process are frustrating – especially when you’re doing everything right. These 7 strategies will help you break through a weight loss plateau and continue to get results.

What happens when you’re doing it all right and you simply seem to stop losing fat? You’ve been working out, eating more vegetables, drinking more water and even trying some HIIT workouts and STILL, something seems to have stopped working. You’ve hit a weight loss plateau.

Here’s why…and what to do about it.

Why do Weight Loss Plateaus Happen?

If you are experiencing a weight loss plateau, there’s a good chance that your body has simply adjusted – metabolically – to your current routine and body composition.

When you first start working out and eating better, you might notice that the weight comes off pretty quickly. This is, in part, because all of the sudden you are consuming fewer calories than you are burning them. Some of the weight that you lose is fat, some is water and some might be muscle.

As time goes on, you might notice that even though you are still losing weight and your clothes are fitting better, the number on the scale is not falling as rapidly as it was. If you’re reading this article I’m guessing that the number on the scale might have stopped changing at all. You might be experiencing a weight loss plateau.

When you lose weight – either by exercising or adjusting your diet or a combination of the two – there literally becomes less of you. Smaller bodies require less energy to maintain. Your metabolism slows to adjust. This is especially true if some of the weight that you are losing is muscle.

What worked at the start was a great approach to get you moving. But the same approach, no matter how fantastic, won’t continue to get the same results. If you don’t adjust your nutrition, exercise and lifestyle accordingly, chances are that the diet that was once at a caloric deficit is no longer at that same deficit.

7 Strategies to Get Over a Weight Loss Plateau

There’s more than one way to break through a weight loss plateau. These 7 strategies touch on 7 different, possible limiting factors that are keeping your from seeing progress.

Nutrition Strategy: Eliminate Almost All Processed Foods

As a coach, I’d never tell you exactly what, and what not, to eat. I proudly preach that there are no “bad foods”. There are foods that support your goals, and foods that don’t. But no food is inherently bad.

That said, if you’ve hit a weight loss plateau it might be time to pay attention to the quality of your food, not just the quantity.

A calorie is not a always just a calorie.

The thing is…you can lose weight eating crappy food. Up to a certain point, as long as you are sticking to a caloric deficit that ensures that there are more calories going out than there are coming in, your body will have to find that energy somewhere and the weight will come off.

But here’s the problem: (most) processed foods don’t add value to your health, your body or your energy levels.

Most processed foods contain a myriad of added sugar, sodium, fats and preservatives. These kinds of ingredients not only make it difficult to sense true satiation, they don’t provide the nutrients your body needs to thrive.

For example:

Your body knows exactly what to do with oats and a piece of fruit. It’s a simple, age-old processes of breaking down whole, unaltered foods into simpler forms that your body can use for energy, or to build muscle, or to maintain hormone production.

Your body does not, on the other hand, know what to do with a Pop Tart when it hits your digestive system. Those processed ingredients don’t break down the same way, and they’re certainly not used as efficiently. Which means that they are, inevitably, stored.

If you’re trying to get over a weight loss plateau, eliminate almost all processed foods and replace them with nutrient-rich, whole, as close to the real thing as possible foods.

The exception here is certain supplements, like whey protein powder. Protein powder plays a crucial role in building muscle – key for building up your metabolism! But again, look for a protein powder that is as minimally processed and high quality as possible. I use this one from 1st Phorm because I know that they use high-quality sources and process the protein powder at low-temperatures so the least amount of denaturization occurs.

Behavior Strategy: Eat Distraction Free

Have you ever eaten lunch in the car and realized that you a) didn’t really taste it, b) aren’t satisfied at all and c) probably almost got in an accident? We’re so used to eating while doing other things that we don’t notice we do it anymore. But distracted eating can affect your progress in a lot of ways, namely in that you miss important hunger/fullness cues.

If you’re struggling to overcome a weight loss plateau, try eating your meals – all of them – completely distraction free. You’ll find that you enjoy it more, which increases satisfaction and decreases later cravings for snacks. You might even find that you don’t need to finish the entire sandwich and bag of baked Lays just because it’s there. That’s calories and enjoyment saved for later.

Exercise Strategy: Add More Resistance Training to Your Workouts

Remember when I mentioned weight loss, and muscle mass, and metabolism? I’ll give you a quick recap: when you lose weight – especially if you’re doing a ton of cardio – part of the mass that you lose is muscle. While yes, the scale will go down, losing muscle isn’t actually a good thing. For one, muscle is what gives your body shape. But more importantly, muscle is metabolically active.

The more muscle you have, the higher your metabolic rate even as you continue to lose fat. This is an absolutely crucial point. Your goal is not to lose weight regardless of where it comes from. Your goal is to lose fat.

Resistance training, aka strength training aka lifting weights, builds muscle. Turns out, it’s an even better fat loss workout than cardio.

Consider adding in a few days of strength training to your current routine. If you already strength train, it might be time to increase the challenge!

p.s. if you’re nervous about lifting weights or increasing the challenge without guidance, fill out my free coaching form. You’ll answer a few questions and I’ll get in touch about creating a tailored, personalized plan that is just right for you.

Recovery Strategy: Ensure 7-9 Hours of Sleep

The decisions you make while you are awake are important. But what happens while you’re unconscious? That’s truly magical.

Sleep is the ultimate recovery strategy. While you sleep, your body has the time to regulate metabolism, hormone production, immune system health and more. When you don’t get enough sleep, your body suffers:

• less able to cope with stress and anxiety
• your performance at the gym and in life suffers
• you’re more susceptible to illness and disease
• less able to notice and live by your natural hunger cues

Find a way to ensure you get 7-9 hours of sleep. Create a nightly sleep ritual that triggers your body to wind down. Incorporate sleep supplements or meditation before bed. Consider getting an app that helps you track your sleep, sleep quality and the actions that might be affecting them.

Life Skills Strategy: Plan Your Meals for the Week

It’s possible, even probable, that you plan out at least some of your meals at this point. It’s a skill that most coaches teach their clients at the very start of their nutrition journey. But if you are trying to break through a weight loss plateau, it might be worth dialing the details in even further.

Making as many decisions in advance as possible will only help you to envision success and believe in your ability to get there.

Here are the steps I take to plan out my meals for the week:

1. Use your planner to identify obstacles in your schedule (long work days, late or early appointments, etc.). Consider those days “meal prep needed”.
2. Pick out a couple of go-to meals that you can make in big batches. Soups, stews, veggie casseroles, grilled chicken…Schedule those meals on days that you know you can make them. And plan on making double or even triple batches.
3. Hit the grocery store for supplies. Don’t forget to stock up on healthy basics for breakfast, lunch and snacks: eggs, Greek yogurt, oats, fruit, fresh and frozen vegetables, etc.
4. Do a bit of work-ahead meal prep when you have the time and energy. This will save you headaches, stress and calories later!

Mindset Strategy: Identify Choices That are Just a Little Bit Better

Sometimes, especially to break through a weight loss plateau, you have to pay attention to the details that seem really picky.

For example…

If you already choose Greek yogurt, make sure that you are grabbing the plain one (no flavor, no added fruit). You can always add your own fresh fruit at home.

Do you eat protein at every meal? Awesome! Now make sure that you are making lean protein choices, and avoiding processed options (like deli meat and sausage).

These details might feel nit-picky. And to an extent, they are. But if you’re not making the process that you really want to make, these are the kinds of decisions that start to matter.

Environment Strategy: Portion Out Your Supplements for the Week

Hitting your daily calorie and macro-nutrient goal is key. But if weight loss has stalled for you, it might be time to pay more attention to your micro-nutrient intake.

Think about supplements as “gap fillers”. Even the healthiest and most focused eaters aren’t perfect every day. A supplement might be just what you need to fill in any nutrient gaps holding your body back from truly thriving.

Everyone is different, but these are the supplements I take daily (and recommend to my clients):

• protein powder (post-workout specifically)
• a high-quality multi-vitamin/mineral
• omega 3s
• greens

These are supplements that are safe for the majority of people (please check with your doctor before adding any supplements to your diet), and they have so many benefits for the working body!

And to get it right, your best strategy is to pre-portion everything you will need.

Will you feel like a 90 year old version of yourself? Yes. Should you do it anyways? If you are trying to break through a weight loss plateau, then also yes.

You can use plastic bags, small containers, or pill portioners from the grocery store to make this process as simple as possible!