Wanna Know Why You’re Not Losing Weight?

Welcome to what experts call the “plateau”. It’s more common than you think. A weight loss plateau happens when you stop seeing downward progress on the scale. You’re still putting in the work, but all of a sudden it's not fully happening. No matter how common it is, it is still one of the most frustrating roadblocks that you can run into on your weight loss journey. Even the most diligent among us who exercise, follow a healthy, low-calorie diet, and watch the extra calories can still plateau.

What you may not know is just how many reasons are actually behind the weight loss plateau. It may be that your initial weigh-in was deceiving, it could be an issue with your diet, and it could also be the way your exercise routine is affecting your lean muscle mass. Believe it or not––there are many wrong ways to exercise. If you are ok with keeping your weight at an even keel, then continuing to focus on maintaining what you have achieved is all you need. But if you have hit a plateau and are hoping to continue on losing weight, follow these tips to push on and get the body of your dreams.

14 Tips for Finally Breaking Through Your Weight Loss Plateau

Here are some easy tips to help break through a weight loss plateau. Hitting a plateau can feel extremely frustrating, especially if you’ve been seeing consistent progress otherwise.Fortunately, there are a handful of tricks you can try for how to push past weight loss plateau. Try these helpful tips:

1. Focus on Macros

Often times, a weight loss plateau can be the result of an imbalance in macros, like you may be consuming too many carbs and not enough protein. You should start by tracking your macros over the course of a week. Then, change up the balance of your macros to see if it makes a difference in your weight loss plateau. There are a lot of foods that boost metabolism, like dark leafy greens combined with a lean protein like turkey. It will help you get below a certain weight once you find a good balance for your macros and use the fat-protein-efficient diet to your advantage.

2. Switch Up Your Exercise Routine

This technique can help you break through a weight loss plateau. As our bodies get used to the same workout routine day-in day-out the activity no longer requires the same energy expenditure as it once did. So you no longer burn the same amount of calories that you once did. Here are a few great ways to break through an overused exercise weight loss plateau:

• Bump up your workout intensity
• Switch up your routine
• Try a combination of different types of workouts, like a high-calorie burner HIIT workout

3. Adopt New Stress Management Techniques

Feeling stressed even reading this? That could be contributing to your weight loss plateau. Chronic stress can keep your body flooded with the stress-related hormone cortisol. Elevated levels of cortisol keep your body in a constant “fight or flight” state thus causing you to hold on to extra calories and keep more fat as protective padding around your internal organs––think midsection. Sound too familiar? Try adopting new stress management technique. Not only will you feel calmer but you’ll start to see a decrease in those lbs. So stop turning to that glass of wine (which can also up your lbs!) to unwind and try these stress management techniques instead:

• Yoga
• Meditation
• Exercise
• Reading
• Etc

4. Try Intermittent Fasting (IF)

More than just a fad, this technique can help you break through a weight loss plateau. Intermittent fasting is an eating schedule that promotes fasting during certain periods of the day, then having smaller meals with longer periods of not-eating in between. Some scientific studies have shown that IF can help promote weight loss when you hit a plateau. There are a few different IF schedules you can try, but mostly they follow this schedule:

• 16/8
• 16-hour fast w/8-hour eating window
• 5:2
• Eating normally 5 days a week, then restricting calories to 500 - 600 cals/day for 2 days/week
• Eat Stop Eat
• A 24-hour fast once or twice a week
• Alternate-day
• Fast every other day

But before attempting this method you should always consult your physician.

5. Ditch the Booze

Many times, a weight loss plateau can be the result of hidden calories. Yup, you already know where this is going. Cocktails, beer, and wine all have a lot of hidden carbs, calories and sugars. Which is why cutting out alcohol completely can be a speedy way to break through a weight loss plateau. There are plenty of non-alcoholic, low or no-calorie drink alternatives that can help you get through a 30-day cleanse like fruit spritzers, sparkling water, iced tea, and kombucha. The added bonus of this tip is that cutting out the booze can also help boost your hydration with added vitamins and electrolytes. Alcohol can be very dehdrating, and when trying to lose weight making sure you are well-hydrated will be the quickest way to overcoming weight loss resistance.

6. Increase Your Daily Fiber Intake

Not eating enough daily fiber can leave you feeling hungry more often. Which in turn will of course just make you eat more. Take a good honest look at your diet––are you getting enough fiber? You might be surprised just how much fiber you should aim for in a day:

• Women: 21 - 25 grams
• Men: 30 - 38 grams

So aim to get more per day, because fiber keeps you feeling fuller for longer because it takes longer for your body to process. It can also help deliver all-day energy.

7. Stick to Unsweetened Drinks

This technique can help you break through a weight loss plateau. If you feel like you’re diligently counting calories but not losing weight, then you may be overlooking the hidden calories in sweetened drinks, or heavy coffees. Sugary drinks can contribute to your weight loss plateau by spiking your blood sugar without offering any natural fiber for your body. Your body has a hard time processing these unnecessary calories and can end up storing it as fat, making a weight loss block. Don’t think that this is only limited to sodas, often times lattes and sweet frappachinos can also pack some serious calories and sugar. Here are some good alternatives to plain water and sugary drinks:

• Unsweetened tea
• Black coffee
• Water infused with fruit
• Sparkling water
• Kombucha

8. Get Your Zzz’s

Yes! Not getting enough sleep can seriously impact your ability to lose weight. With our hectic schedules, it has become more challenging than ever to get the daily recommended 7- 9 hours of sleep each night. Ever notice that you always feel hungrier after not getting a full night’s rest? Thats because when sleep-deprived, our bodies produce more of the hormones leptin and ghrelin, aka hunger hormones. Overproduction of these hormones can lead to feeling insatiably hungry. When you can’t get below a certain weight, you know sleep may be the cause because it also means your metabolism may slow and you can’t properly recover from a big workout. can also cause a weight loss plateau.

Good news: This is an easy fix! Just get in your Zzz’s and you can sleep your way to weight loss. Learn more about why this is one of the best overlooked secret.

9. Plan Your Meals with More Veggies

Feeling full plus getting the right nutrients is always key. But sometimes after we push past that initial weight loss we forget that this needs to be a constant, vigilant effort. Veggies are nutrient-dense, offer plentiful fiber, and are often low-calorie. This makes them the perfect diet plateau busters. Greens, broccoli, root vegetables––they’re all foods that boost metabolism. When you feel like you’ve hit a plateau, start filling your meals and snacks with more whole veggies. The added fiber will keep you feeling full for longer between meals, plus veggie-based snacks can help control your sodium intake. This is one of the many reasons they may help you reduce bloat and water weight retention.

10. Increase Your Protein Intake

Cue up the macros, people! If you’re focusing on developing lean muscle mass, you should aim to get 10-35% of your daily caloric intake from lean protein sources. The basic daily recommended protein intakes:

• .36 grams of protein per pound of body weight at minimum for muscle mass maintenance
• 1.2 grams of protein per pound of body weight for weight loss

Naturally, these may vary depending on your age, weight and fitness goals. But using more protein to break through your weightloss plateau could be the best way to actually beat it. Thats because most people don’t realize just how behind they are when it comes to their protein intake. But when you get more, your body becomes much more efficient during workouts and you can start dropping those lbs. Always trust a complete protein with the highest quality ingredients so you can feel good about taking it daily.

11. Take a Closer Look at Your Nutrition

You think you’re doing your best, but there’s always room for improvement. One of the easiest ways to do this is by writing down all the foods you eat in one day. Plus the rough amounts for 1week. Be as honest as possible with this exercise. Then review. Is it all you hoped for? Probably not. Many foods are disguised as “healthy”, even though they’re packed full of added sugars, artificial ingredients, and processed carbs. As you progress in your fitness journey, you may actually need to increase your caloric intake to support additional weight loss/muscle gain progress. You don’t want your body to go into “starvation mode”, where it starts retaining calories instead of burning them. So swapping out the packaged snacks for raw whole fruits and veggies, greens juices, and lean protein is the best way to overcome this.

12. Spread Out Your Protein Throughout the Day

It can be tough to resist the temptation to snack on unhealthy foods that are convenient especially when hunger strikes midday. Having excess food throughout the day is one thing that can be a leading culprit of weight loss plateau. One easy solution is spreading your protein throughout the day to keep you feeling full. Instead of just including it in your primary meals. Using the best protein powder for weight loss will help keep you feeling fuller and help promote sustainable energy throughout the day. Make it simple with a protein shake or simple snack with protein powder.

13. Stay Active

It’s not enough to only work out. If you find yourself stuck in a rut with diet and exercise, you must find other additional ways to stay active beyond your workout. Break through your weight loss plateau by burning extra calories every day. Remember that staying active doesn’t need to feel like a chore, find ways to make it easy and fun. Consider a few tips to keep your caloric burn up:

• Swap the elevator for the stairs
• Get your 10k steps in each day
• Use ankle weights around the house
• Walk or bike instead of drive

14. Understand the Difference Between Fat Loss & Weight Loss

There is a big difference between fat loss and weight loss. And when it comes to staying realistic with your goals, it is essential to understand this.In the beginning phase of your fitness journey, you’re likely to witness weight loss in the form of fat loss. But as you lose more fat, you will eventually start to see the number on the scale remain constant. Losing fat is the easy part, but you also start to gain more muscle mass which weighs more than fat and can lead to a plateu. So it may be time to start focusing instead on inches and your body fat %, rather than your weight loss on the scale.

Break Through Your Weight Loss Plateau with High-Quality Nutrition

Following this guide is guaranteed to help you overcome your weight loss plateau. Getting the amount of protein you need to make your weight loss journey continued is not easy for most people. That’s why turning to a high-quality protein supplement is essential to be successful. Transformation Protein powder was specially formulated with MCT oil, collagen, plant and egg white proteins to boast 30g of protein per serving. By giving your body all the ingredients it needs in one protein shake, you will reach your goals faster.