You started a GLP-1 medication, your appetite dropped, and weight loss came easily at first. Now the scale has stopped moving and you’re wondering whether you’re doing something wrong or if the medication has stopped working.

If this sounds familiar, you are not alone. And it does not mean you have failed or that the medication has failed you.

GLP-1 medications are highly effective at reducing appetite, but appetite suppression alone does not guarantee continued weight loss. When progress slows, it’s time to take a closer look at what else may be influencing results.

How GLP 1 Medications Work and Why Results Vary

GLP-1 medications affect hunger, digestion, and blood sugar regulation in ways that can strongly support weight loss, especially early on.

In clinical trials, many people lose about 10–15% of their starting body weight on GLP-1 medications, with average losses closer to 15–25% on newer GLP-1/GIP combination medications such as tirzepatide. Still, results vary widely. Some people lose more, some less, and many reach a point where progress slows earlier than expected. Genetics, metabolism, body composition, medical history, and lifestyle factors all influence how the body responds.

Weight loss on GLP-1 medications is rarely linear. The initial phase often moves quickly, followed by a slower period that is completely normal. This is also why comparing your progress to others, especially on social media, can be misleading.

What GLP-1 medications don’t do is automatically preserve muscle, ensure adequate nutrition, improve sleep, reduce stress, or undo years of chronic dieting or metabolic adaptation. They also don’t change food quality or eating patterns on their own.

When those pieces aren’t addressed, continued fat loss becomes more difficult, even with lower appetite and reduced food intake. This is where diet and lifestyle factors start to matter more.

Diet and Lifestyle Factors That Can Stall Weight Loss

When results slow, it is easy to assume the medication stopped working or that you are doing something wrong. IMore often, stalls are driven by small but important diet and lifestyle shifts that happen once appetite is suppressed. This is where I see the biggest opportunities for course correction.

Protein Intake Is Too Low

Low protein intake is one of the most common contributors to weight loss stalls on GLP-1 medications.

As portions shrink and meals become less consistent, protein intake often drops without people realizing it. Over time, this can lead to loss of lean muscle mass, which plays a key role in metabolic rate, strength, and blood sugar regulation.

When muscle mass declines, continued fat loss becomes more difficult, even if overall calorie intake remains low.

Protein intake is frequently overestimated, especially when meals are small or skipped. That’s why I often have clients track intake for a short period, including measuring or weighing some foods, so we can accurately assess whether protein needs are being met.

Preserving muscle mass is a core priority when using GLP-1 medications and a critical factor in maintaining long-term progress.

Total Intake Needs a Closer Look

After protein, the next area to assess is overall intake. This is where things can get confusing on a GLP 1 medication.

Some people are eating too little. Appetite is low, meals are skipped, portions are very small, and intake stays chronically low day after day. Over time, the body adapts by conserving energy. Daily energy expenditure drops, fatigue increases, and further weight loss becomes harder even when intake is very low.

Others are eating more than they realize, despite feeling less hungry than before. This often shows up through calorie dense foods in small portions, liquid calories, frequent grazing, or eating past fullness in social situations.

In both cases, the issue is not discipline. It is awareness. GLP 1 medications change hunger cues, but they do not automatically create consistent or balanced intake.

Stepping back to assess how much you are actually eating, without judgment, is often one of the most helpful steps.

Diet Quality Has Shifted

Another common issue has less to do with quantity and more to do with food choices.

When appetite is low, people tend to gravitate toward foods that feel easier to eat. That often means fewer vegetables and less fiber, with a greater reliance on refined carbohydrates or softer, lower-volume foods. Protein and vegetables can start to feel heavy or unappealing.

Diet quality still matters, even when calories are lower. Meals that are low in fiber and vegetables and higher in refined carbohydrates tend to be less satisfying and less supportive of blood sugar control and digestion. Energy can dip, and hunger cues may feel less predictable.

Smaller portions don’t automatically mean better nutrition. In many cases, people are eating less food overall but getting less nutritional support than before.

Lack of Resistance Training

With significant weight loss, including on GLP-1 medications, some muscle loss is expected. Research suggests that up to 30–40% of weight lost can come from lean mass, particularly when calories are low and resistance training isn’t part of the plan.

Even with adequate protein, muscle is more likely to be lost without strength training. Resistance exercise provides the signal that tells the body to preserve lean tissue during weight loss.

Many people assume that eating less and doing some cardio is enough. Cardio alone, however, does little to protect muscle, especially in the context of low calories. Over time, this combination can slow progress and negatively affect body composition.

The solution doesn’t need to be complicated. Regular resistance training, even a few days per week, helps preserve muscle and shifts weight loss toward fat rather than lean tissue. This becomes especially important when the scale stalls but body composition can still improve.

Sleep and Stress Matter More Than You Think

Sleep and stress are often overlooked, but they have a significant impact on weight loss outcomes.

Poor sleep and chronic stress raise cortisol, which can interfere with fat loss, blood sugar regulation, and muscle recovery. They also make it harder to eat well, move consistently, and stay motivated, especially when appetite is already blunted.

I often see people who are doing everything right on paper but are sleeping poorly or running on empty. Over time, the body prioritizes survival over fat loss.

GLP 1 medications do not override the body’s need for rest and recovery. When sleep and stress are consistently off, they can blunt the benefits of the medication.

Medical and Biological Factors to Consider

Certain medical conditions, such as thyroid dysfunction, can make weight loss more challenging, even on GLP 1 medications. Other medications, including some mental health medications and steroids, can also influence results and may affect expectations.

Individual metabolic differences matter as well. Genetics, insulin resistance, weight history, and long-term dieting all influence how the body responds. Some people simply respond more slowly.

Weight regulation is complex, and slower progress does not automatically signal a problem.

Reevaluating the Medication

In some cases, the issue is not diet or lifestyle, but how the medication itself is working for a particular person.

Not everyone responds the same way to every GLP 1 medication or dose. Some people experience strong appetite suppression but limited continued weight loss. Others lose weight early and then level off despite addressing nutrition, movement, and recovery. This variability is common.

Switching medications can sometimes lead to a different response. Medications that target additional hormonal pathways involved in appetite and metabolism, such as GLP-1 and GIP combinations, may affect weight loss differently. As research continues, additional treatment options are also in development.

Dose also matters, but not always in the way people expect. While higher doses help many people, others do better when the dose is adjusted downward. Very strong appetite suppression can sometimes lead to undereating, low energy, reduced motivation to move, or difficulty maintaining protein intake and strength training. In those situations, a modest adjustment can improve energy, consistency, and overall progress.

In select situations, additional medications may be used alongside a GLP 1 to address other drivers of weight regulation, such as appetite control, cravings, or reward pathways. These decisions are highly individualized and should be made carefully, with a clear understanding of risks, benefits, and goals.

Reevaluating the medication does not mean something failed. It means recognizing that obesity treatment is not one size fits all. Medication choice, dose, and combination need to fit the person, not the other way around.

Be Your Own Detective

When weight loss stalls on a GLP-1 medication, it’s time to step back and look for patterns rather than jumping to conclusions.

One of the most effective tools I use with clients is gathering better information. That might mean keeping a short-term log of meals, timing, portion sizes, sleep, movement, and stress. Not forever. Just long enough to get a clearer picture of what’s actually happening.

For some people, tracking calories and protein for a week can be especially revealing. Many are surprised to learn that intake is either far lower than expected or higher in certain areas. The goal isn’t perfection but rather awareness.

Body composition can also provide valuable context. If available, measuring body fat or lean mass can reveal progress that the scale alone doesn’t show. Preserving or building muscle while losing fat may result in little change on the scale, even when meaningful improvements are happening.

Start with the basics: protein intake, total intake, diet quality, resistance training, sleep, and stress.

If those areas are well supported and progress is still limited, that’s when it makes sense to explore medical factors or reconsider whether the medication approach needs adjusting.

This process isn’t about micromanagement. It’s about curiosity. A stall is information. When you approach it that way, it becomes much easier to decide what to change and what to leave alone.

Final Thoughts

If progress has slowed on a GLP-1 medication, it does not mean something went wrong. It means it may be time to look more closely at what your body needs now.

GLP-1 medications are powerful tools, but they work best when nutrition, movement, recovery, and expectations are aligned. Sometimes progress comes from small, targeted adjustments. Other times, it comes from stepping back rather than pushing harder.

If you’re taking a GLP-1 medication and need support, whether it’s breaking through a plateau or learning how to maximize your results, I’d be happy to help. Contact me to learn more about how we can work together.

You’ve been tracking your meals, hitting the gym four times a week, cut out alcohol, and already lost 17 pounds. But for the past 4 weeks the scale hasn’t budged. You’re doing everything “right,” but your progress has stalled and it’s incredibly frustrating. You still want to lose 10 more pounds, but with the scale not moving, you’re starting to feel defeated. Maybe even close to giving up.

Before you throw in the towel, I want you to know this: plateaus are a completely normal part of the weight loss process. They’re not a sign that your body is broken or that your effort isn’t working. In fact, a plateau often means your body is adapting. With the right strategy, you can get things moving again.

In this post, I’ll walk you through 8 smart, sustainable strategies that can help you move past a plateau.

Why Weight Loss Plateaus Happen

First, it can be helpful to understand why weight loss plateaus happen. When you lose weight, your body naturally burns fewer calories than it did at a higher weight. This happens in part because there’s less body mass to support, but it also involves a protective response called adaptive thermogenesis. Even modest weight loss can trigger this process, where your body slightly lowers its resting metabolic rate more than expected. It’s essentially trying to hold on to energy to protect you from what it perceives as a potential threat, like famine. The more weight you lose, the stronger this effect can become.

You may also be losing some muscle along with fat, which can further reduce your resting metabolism. Hormones like ghrelin (which increases hunger) and leptin (which signals fullness) can shift in ways that make it harder to feel satisfied, even if you’re eating well.

At the same time, your daily movement might unintentionally go down. Without realizing it, many people sit more or feel less energized as calories drop. All of this can contribute to a plateau, even if your eating and exercise habits haven’t changed.

The good news? Once you understand what’s happening, you can make a few simple adjustments that support your metabolism and help you get back on track.

8 Ways to Break a Weight Loss Plateau

These are the same science-backed strategies I use with my clients to help them move past plateaus without extreme dieting or all-or-nothing thinking.

1. Reassess Your Eating

When you hit a plateau, it’s time to put on your detective cap and start to dig. Have your portions gotten slightly larger? Are you skimping on protein or fiber without realizing it? Are you grazing a bit more?

Often, plateaus are caused by small shifts over time. Portion creep, less protein, weekend splurges, or a few more meals out can all add up. I find that some people relax their eating habits once they’ve lost a significant amount of weight. Try tracking your intake for a few days to spot patterns. You may want to weigh or measure certain foods again, especially calorie-dense ones like oils, nuts, and dressings. Some people need to tweak the types of foods they’re eating to improve satiety and blood sugar balance, while others may benefit from a small calorie adjustment.

This step isn’t about being restrictive. It’s about getting curious, making small tweaks, and realigning with the habits that worked when your progress first began.

Client Success Tip: One of my clients broke through her plateau simply by tracking her food again. She realized she had slowly started eating out more and she was picking on little bits of her kids food. Once she made a few small shifts, the scale started moving again.

2. Reevaluate Your Exercise Program

Your diet might be on track, but if the scale has stalled, your exercise routine may need a tweak. I see this all the time with clients. They’re moving regularly but not in a way that fully supports their metabolism or fat loss goals.

For some, that means adding strength training. Muscle plays a major role in your metabolism, helping you burn more calories at rest and improving insulin sensitivity. If you’re not currently strength training, or if you’ve been doing the same routine for months without increasing resistance, it may be time to level up. Aim for two to three challenging strength sessions per week that target major muscle groups.

Others may need to take a closer look at cardio. If you’re relying heavily on long, steady-state cardio sessions, your body may have adapted. Adding variety like walking intervals, short bursts of high-intensity movement (HIIT), or more daily movement outside of workouts can help increase energy burn and improve results.

Client Success Tip: One of my clients was strength training with heavy weights four times a week but doing very little cardio and averaging only 4000 steps a day. While I’m a huge fan of strength training, I felt we needed to try something different. She shifted to three days of lifting, increased her steps to 8,000 per day, and added two HIIT sessions each week. After a few weeks, she started losing inches again and had more energy throughout the day.

3. Boost Your Daily Movement

Formal workouts are important, but what you do the rest of the day also plays a big role in your metabolism. This is where something called NEAT comes in (short for non-exercise activity thermogenesis). It refers to all the calories you burn through everyday movement, like walking, standing, doing chores, or even fidgeting.

Interestingly, research shows that when some people start a structured exercise routine, they may unconsciously move less during the rest of the day. You might sit more, skip small daily tasks, or simply feel less motivated to be active outside of the gym, and that can cancel out the calorie burn from your workouts. That’s why total daily movement matters just as much as your time in the gym.

Try simple shifts like:

• Taking a short walk after meals
• Standing during phone calls or Zoom meetings
• Stretching or doing light chores during TV time
• Aiming for 7,000 to 10,000 steps a day

Client Success Tip: One of my clients realized that she was very inactive during the day, despite going to the gym three times a week. She started taking 10-minute walks after lunch and dinner, began using the stairs in her apartment building instead of the elevator, and made a habit of standing up to stretch or move around every hour while working. These small changes helped boost her daily movement, and within a few weeks, the scale started moving again.

4. Improve Your Sleep Quality

Sleep is one of the most overlooked factors in weight loss, yet it plays a major role in appetite, cravings, metabolism, and even where your body stores fat. If you’re not getting enough quality sleep, it could be contributing to your plateau.

Lack of sleep increases the hunger hormone ghrelin and decreases leptin, the hormone that signals fullness. It can also raise cortisol levels and worsen insulin resistance, making it easier to store fat and harder to feel satisfied. Even just one or two nights of poor sleep can make you feel hungrier, crave more carbs, and feel less motivated to move.

Start by aiming for 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night and create a wind-down routine that works for you. This might include limiting screen time an hour before bed, keeping your bedroom cool and dark, or incorporating calming activities like reading, stretching, or breathwork.

Client Success Tip: One of my clients noticed she was having strong carb cravings that made it harder to stay on track. She started tracking her sleep and realized she was averaging just 6.5 hours a night. After committing to a consistent bedtime and cutting out screens after 9 PM, her cravings eased up. Within a few weeks, she was able to break through her plateau.

5. Rethink the Scale

The scale is just one tool, and honestly, not always the best one. Especially during a plateau, it’s important to zoom out and look at the bigger picture.

Your weight can fluctuate daily based on water retention, sodium intake, hormones, muscle gain, and digestion. You might be making great progress with body composition, energy, or fitness, even if the number hasn’t changed.

Instead of letting the scale dictate your success, try tracking:

• How your clothes fit
• Your energy and sleep quality
• Measurements like waist and hip circumference
• Progress photos taken once or twice a month
• Body composition, if you have access to a reliable way to measure it (like a DEXA scan or smart scale)

Client Success Tip: One client was frustrated after weeks of no change on the scale. But when we reviewed her progress photos, it was clear her body had changed. Her clothes were looser, and she had dropped inches from her waist, all while gaining strength in the gym.

6. Manage Your Stress Levels

Chronic stress can quietly sabotage your weight loss efforts, even if your eating and exercise habits are on point. When you’re under chronic stress, your body produces more cortisol, a hormone that can increase appetite, promote fat storage (especially around the belly), and make it harder to lose weight.

Stress also impacts sleep, cravings, blood sugar balance, and motivation. All of which can contribute to a plateau. The tough part? Many of us are so used to being stressed that we don’t even recognize it anymore.

You don’t need to overhaul your life to reduce stress. Small daily practices can go a long way:

• Step outside for five minutes of fresh air
• Try guided breathing or short mindfulness exercises
• Journal for just a few minutes in the morning or before bed
• Move your body in a way that feels good

7. Shift More of Your Calories Earlier in the Day

Meal timing can have a powerful effect on your metabolism and hunger hormones. Many people find that shifting more of their calories to earlier in the day helps break through a plateau.

Research suggests that front-loading your intake (meaning larger breakfasts and lunches with lighter dinners) may support better insulin sensitivity, blood sugar control, and appetite regulation. When you eat more earlier in the day, your body has more time to use that energy rather than store it.

This doesn’t mean you need to skip dinner. It’s about looking at the big picture of your daily intake. Are most of your calories coming in late at night? Are dinners heavier than they need to be?

Client Success Tip: Several of my clients have seen success by making dinner lighter just two nights a week. They didn’t skip the meal. Instead, they had a protein smoothie, an omelet, or cottage cheese with fruit. It was a simple change, but enough to get the scale moving again. Bonus tip: If you’re curious about intermittent fasting, dinner may be the better meal to skip rather than lunch.

8. Look for Hidden Saboteurs

Sometimes a plateau isn’t just about what you’re eating or how you’re moving. There may be underlying factors making weight loss more difficult — even if your habits are solid.

A few things worth checking:

• Medical conditions: PCOS, hypothyroidism, insulin resistance, and perimenopause can all affect metabolism and fat storage.
• Medications: Certain medications for mood, blood pressure, or blood sugar can contribute to weight changes or slow progress.
• Chronic under-eating: This one surprises people, but consistently eating too little — especially without enough protein or strength training — can make weight loss harder. Over time, it may lead to muscle loss, hormonal shifts, and lower daily movement, all of which reduce calorie burn.

And here’s the key: some metabolic slowdown is a normal part of weight loss, even with a healthy, balanced approach. As your body gets smaller, it burns fewer calories and it may also adapt in subtle ways to conserve energy. But chronic low intake can amplify that effect and make further fat loss harder than it needs to be.

If you’ve been stuck despite consistency, it’s worth checking in with a provider or dietitian to make sure there aren’t any hidden roadblocks holding you back.

Final Thoughts

Plateaus are frustrating, but they are a normal part of the weight loss journey. They do not mean you have failed. They simply mean your body is adapting. With a few smart shifts, you can work with your metabolism instead of against it.

Sustainable weight loss is not about perfection. It is about consistency, curiosity, and patience. Your body responds to the patterns you create over time, not what happens in a single day or week.

So before you give up, take a breath and put on your detective hat. Look at the full picture. Progress is still happening, even if the scale is not showing it yet. Track non-scale victories like better sleep, fewer cravings, improved digestion, or more strength in your workouts. These are powerful signs that your body is moving in the right direction.

Ready for personalized support to move past your plateau?

Let’s figure out what’s keeping you stuck and create a sustainable plan that works with your body, not against it.
 Book a virtual session and take the next step in your weight loss journey.

]]> https://marthamckittricknutrition.com/8-ways-to-break-a-weight-loss-plateau/feed/ 2 https://marthamckittricknutrition.com/10-stealth-tips-lose-last-10-pounds-nutrition-experts/ https://marthamckittricknutrition.com/10-stealth-tips-lose-last-10-pounds-nutrition-experts/#respond Tue, 01 Aug 2017 00:00:00 +0000 https://2018marthamckittrick.pvccbh3-liquidwebsites.com/10-stealth-tips-lose-last-10-pounds-nutrition-experts/ So you’ve lost a chunk of weight and are so close to your goal weight. But those final 10 pounds won’t budge (and dragging your scale to different areas on the floor isn’t making a difference!) You’ve done the basics of cutting back calories and exercising more. What can you do NOW make the scale…]]>

So you’ve lost a chunk of weight and are so close to your goal weight. But those final 10 pounds won’t budge (and dragging your scale to different areas on the floor isn’t making a difference!) You’ve done the basics of cutting back calories and exercising more. What can you do NOW make the scale budge? Get the stealth tips from 10 nutrition experts, including yours truly.  I was interviewed by Mary Grace Taylor from Prevention Magazine for the article 10 Nutrition Experts On What You Really Need To Do To Lose Those Last 10 Pounds. And how excited was I last night to find this article appeared in Bicycling.com  (since I am an avid cyclist!) Read on to get my tips, as well as tips from my colleagues including Keri Gans, Isabel  Smith, Sara Haas and others.

Here are my tips (the article could only select one):

• Taper your calories as day goes by. We used to say that it’s the total number of calories you ate in a day that was most important when it came to weight control. However, recent research is suggesting the time of the day you eat them is important as well. This has to do with our bodies circadian rhythms. Calories eaten later in the day, especially carbs, are more likely to be stored as body fat and have other deleterious metabolic consequences in the body compared to carbs eaten earlier in the day
• Have a smoothie for dinner. Try trading your plate for a blended drink three nights a week, recommends registered dietitian Martha McKittrick. “Meal replacements can help with weight loss because they’re portion controlled. And, a homemade meal replacement is the cleanest kind,” she says. Worried you’ll go hungry? Even though many smoothies are lower in calories than the average dinner entrée, all the protein, fiber, and liquid makes them super filling. Aim for a smoothie with 3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt or a scoop of plant-based protein powder, 3/4 cup frozen berries, a handful of leafy greens, a tablespoon of chia or flaxseeds, and enough unsweetened almond milk to make the smoothie the consistency you want.
• Cut the booze. I’m all for incorporating alcohol into a weight loss plan if that’s what you enjoy (I know I do). But when the going gets tough, the tough get going. Cut it out for 2-4 weeks to help drop those last few pounds.

Read the full article here to get the other 9 tips: 10 Nutrition Experts On What You Really Need To Do To Lose Those Last 10 Pounds

Most people who are trying to lose weight hit a plateau sooner or later. The way you handle this plateau will determine whether or not you will be successful in losing weight. The majority of people get frustrated and eventually go back to old habits.  When a weight loss plateau occurs, it can mean 2 things – you need to change something or you just need to be patient and the plateau will break. In order to be a “successful loser”,  you’ll need a strategy on how to deal with plateaus and push past them. Here are my top 10 tips on how to break a weight loss plateau.

Here are some tips for breaking through a weight-loss plateau
1. If you’ve stopped keeping food records (or never started!), it’s time to start again.  Get out your notebook or app (my fav is www.myfitnesspal.com) and start recording. You’ll likely need to weigh and measure some foods. I know this can be ANNOYING – but it works.  It’s very likely that your portion sizes are getting larger or you are eating more during the day than you realize. Even an extra 50 calories a day can make you actually gain 5 pounds a year!

2. Keep in mind that as your weight drops, your body needs fewer calories to maintain your new low weight. You might need to take your calories down by 100 or so a day. However, don’t take your calories too low or you’ll slow your metabolism.

3. Try to change your diet around a little.
– If you’re used to eating three meals a day, try to eat 6 mini meals
– If you are on a low fat diet, try a lower carb diet for a few weeks
– If you are eating late at night, try to stop eating at 7-8 pm
– If you are enjoying a glass of wine or two a day, try to cut out all alcohol for a few weeks
– If you eat a light breakfast and a large dinner, try to reverse this
– I’m generally not opposed to eating carbs at night, but try to omit them 5 nights a week for a week or two
– Make sure you are eating adequate protein

4. Get more sleep. There has been a lot of studies done in the past few years that demonstrates the important role that sleep plays in weight management. Bottom line, if you don’t get enough sleep, your chances of becoming overweight skyrocket.

5. Eat less processed food. I’ve had many clients who cut out the energy bars, 100 calorie packs and frozen dinners are replaced them with real food … and then the weight started to drop. Read my previous post on All Calories Are Not Created Equal.  (pic credit)

6. Assuming you are exercising, make some changes just to mix things up. Sometimes your body needs a change. Try one or more of the following tips:
– Add in another day of exercise each week
– Make your cardio sessions 15-20 minutes longer than usual
– Increase the intensity of your cardio sessions
– Try a new form of cardio (i.e. spinning, kickboxing, etc.)
– Work out with an energetic friend or personal trainer for a month
– Set a new exercise goal such as running your first 5 K race
– Add in weight training if you are not already doing so (aim for 2 – 3 sessions a week)
– Try HIIT (high intensity interval training): increase the intensity of your cardiovascular or aerobic exercise by adding short bursts of higher-intensity movement, such as sprinting. These intervals should last 30 to 60 seconds and be followed by less intense exercise for two or three times the length of the burst. Start by adding one or two of these intervals to your routine, then increase the number as you improve your conditioning
– If you are already working out 5-7 days a week, consider cutting back to 4-5 days a week. I’ve had clients lose weight by exercising less

7. Move more during the day. Going to the gym 4 times a week isn’t enough if you sit on your butt at work 10 hours a day. I would highly recommend a movement tracker like a Nike Fuelband or Fitbit. The goal is 10,000 steps a day. Take the stairs more. Walk at least part-way to work if possible (no excuse on this one NYC peeps)

8. Focus on how much healthier you feel after losing weight rather than focusing on numbers on the scale. See how your clothes are fitting differently. I actually think that it is best for some people not to get on the scale at all as they tend to become obsessed with numbers.

9. Be patient. Plateaus will almost always break. The trick is staying motivated long enough for it to break!  Read my previous post on How My Client Lost 50+ Pounds. A major part of her success was being patient enough to wait out the plateaus.

10. And … very importantly, make sure your weight loss goal is realistic. You probably don’t want to hear this, but sometimes you can only get to a certain weight. This can be especially true if you have already lost a lot of weight. Your body may fight you in getting any lower. But in the majority of cases,  you can break the plateau!

Are any of you going through a plateau? Feel free to share your stories and what has worked for you in breaking plateaus.

I  get asked all the time “So why do plateaus occur? I have not increased my food intake or decreased my exercise”. It can help you to deal with these plateaus if you understand what is going on in your body.

Here are several possible explanations for plateaus:
A. Plateaus can occur after the first few weeks of a following a low carb diet. This is because your body initially lost a lot of water and now the body needs to “regulate” its fluid balance. Keep in mind that it is difficult to lose more than 1-2 pounds a week of fat. Rapid weight loss is usually mostly water. For example, If you lost 6 pounds the first two weeks of dieting, at least half of it was from water. Your body will hold back onto some water in the next few weeks. Therefore it is likely that you will not lose any more weight for 1-3 weeks. This is more like a mini plateau.

B. Secondly, the body does not always lose weight at an even pace. I have many clients who lose 2 pounds one week, no loss for 2 weeks and then lose two pounds again the following week. While this is not really a plateau, it can be very frustrating.

C. Third, it is possible that you have become less diligent with your diet and exercise routine. It is common to lose a little focus after the initial part of your weight loss plan. You may find yourself drinking an extra glass of wine or increasing your portions without realizing it. Perhaps you are not exercising quite as much as you did in the beginning. These small changes can slow or halt your weight loss.

D. The last explanation is that your body needs fewer calories as your weight decreases. You can’t expect that your body will lose weight at the same rate at a weight of 150 as when you weighed 170 pounds. This may mean that you will need to decrease your caloric intake, increase your exercise or just accept that your weight loss will slow down.

Now that you know why weight loss plateaus occur, stay tuned for my next post on tips to break these frustrating plateaus!