If the scale is stuck, we often think our weight loss progress has plateaued. Now that could very well be the case, but often we actually aren’t experiencing a true plateau.
Moreover, plateaus are actually normal and expected! Of course, this can be so frustrating when you’re following your plan to a T, but this is just all part of the process!
So, how do you know if you’re in a TRUE weight loss plateau then? Dr. Cederquist and Nicole RD reveal how to identify and navigate a weight loss plateau.
Nicole: So have you lost weight consistently each week to then all of a sudden feel like you're hitting a wall? I know it's frustrating, but weight loss plateaus are part of the whole process and journey, but they can be broken through and overcome.
Dr. Cederquist: Hello, I'm Dr. Caroline Cederquist and today Nicole and I are going to discuss the dreadful weight loss plateaus and how we can overcome them. Just about everyone experiences plateaus at some point, but it's important to understand what a true weight loss plateau is.
Nicole: Absolutely, Dr. Cederquist. Many people think they're in a weight loss plateau when actually they truly aren't sometimes. So let's first help you identify if you're truly experiencing a weight loss plateau. It's also important to realize weight loss plateaus are totally normal and even expected. So there are weeks where the scale may not budge, sometimes weeks where the scale might go up. That's oftentimes just natural weight fluctuations happening.
Dr. Cederquist: Correct! But if your weight has not budged at all for three to four weeks, we at bistroMD consider this a true weight plateau. If that happens, we recommend that you review the Wellness Checklist that you initially received at the beginning of your program and ensure you are checking all the boxes, like if you're sticking to the plan every day and consuming your three meals and two to three snacks daily, as well as getting an adequate lean protein every two to four hours.
Dr. Cederquist: Also look to see if you're drinking enough water, sticking to a baseball-sized portion of complex carbohydrates with your meals, and being physically active most days of the week.
Dr. Cederquist: It's also important to make sure you are not skipping any meals or snacks and tracking to ensure you're eating enough. It's important to check in with ourselves and make sure we are indeed on track. And if not, we adjust.
Nicole: Yeah, I want to add one thing to that, Dr. Cederquist, because myself and the other dietitians at bistroMD worked to create that Wellness Checklist. And it really is helpful and important because I would say in a clinical setting, when I was sitting down with a patient and they came to me describing, you know, “I'm feeling like I'm in a plateau” or “I'm not seeing any progress,” I would refer back to those kind of questions in the Wellness Checklist to ensure that that person has the fundamentals down for best success. And if not, we would be addressing those things right away.
Dr. Cederquist: Absolutely, 100 percent! Because sometimes it's like, “Wow, I stopped doing the snack.” Right, our lives get busy. It's very common. But if you are following everything to a T and you still are stuck, then we suggest something called a ‘Mini Metabolic Adjustment,’ which entails eating more for four days.
Nicole: Yes, I know eating more sounds counterintuitive, right? But it's an excellent opportunity to rev your metabolism through food. We oftentimes hit a plateau and we restrict our calories more and we try to increase our activity more maybe. We might lose a few bonus pounds, but when we restrict and undereat on our calories and our protein, we can actually slow our metabolism down more. So although it might be like this quick fix, we never really truly see longer-term progress to get past that plateau ultimately.
Dr. Cederquist: Absolutely, Nicole! The last thing we want to do is to continue cutting calories and slowing down your metabolism. Food is fuel for metabolism and specifically, we don't want people to under-eat on protein and the other important things they need.
Dr. Cederquist: So the sole purpose of a Mini Metabolic Adjustment is to rev your metabolism through food without necessarily gaining weight. Even if you might not lose that one week, although usually my patients would, you are essentially trying to trick your metabolism back into weight loss again.
Dr. Cederquist: So sometimes providing your body and metabolism a bit more food helps fuel the metabolism more. I typically suggest adding a healthy extra fat and complex carb serving for four days and that might look like eating an extra quarter cup of nuts and fruit serving each day.
Dr. Cederquist: After the four days, we then remove the extra fat and complex carb serving and then go back to our usual eating plan. Some people might add in an extra protein snack in their day for those four days and then remove it after the four days. Whatever you decide to add in, you will often start to see weight loss again after this brief boost of extra fuel and energy.
Nicole: Yes, that four-day adjustment is definitely a common effective strategy for some. Others may consider doing something differently like joining or switching to our keto flex program maybe for a couple weeks just to shake things up a little bit and then they go back to their initial program.
Nicole: Or others might consider changing their exercise routine. And this doesn't mean increasing your exercise, but mixing things up and trying some other activities, like someone may try to incorporate resistant training days or instead of going for walks, someone might swap it out for going for bike rides instead.
Dr. Cederquist: Good point, Nicole. In addition to diet and exercise, you should also ask yourself if you're managing any stress and getting adequate sleep each night. These are huge factors that many don't consider could significantly be impacting their progress. Hormonal balances and other medical issues are the other factors that can affect progress.
Nicole: Yeah, and I would say your comment about how a lot of people don't take into consideration sleep and stress as being huge factors impacting things is pretty common. I think all of us have some level of stress and we all experience sleep deprivation during some time.
Nicole: Even for myself being a mother of young kids, when someone would say to me, “Okay, well, I think it's because you're stressed or you're not getting enough rest,” I kind of would brush it off. Who isn't stressed nowadays? This is just normal. What parent isn't sleep deprived and you just got to push through type thing?
Nicole: But it really requires being intentional with doing something about those things. Being intentional with going to bed at a specific hour every single night. Or being intentional with implementing things in our day to really help manage those stressful days. And future sessions we’ll talk more about sleep and stress because they're really big factors that could be impacting progress for sure.
Nicole: Now it might be frustrating, but weight loss plateaus do break. Everyone's timeframe is different for this, however. So it's important to be patient and reflect on what you're gaining by truly taking care of yourself.
Nicole: Also, don't rely on the scale alone. You could be building lean muscle mass and still losing fat mass or maybe you're retaining water. Assess how you feel in your clothing or how you're feeling overall. So maybe you're noticing an increase in your energy throughout the day or maybe you're feeling like you're in a better mood because of your healthier habits.
Dr. Cederquist: Absolutely! We are firm believers that persistence and consistency will always pay off. Stick with it and don't get discouraged. You've got this and we are thrilled to support you along the way. Thank you for joining us and until next time, continue checking in with your wellness!