Oh, No! The Dreaded Plateau! What to do if Weight Loss is S-L-O-W

First, before I get into the nuts and bolts of how to break a plateau or speed up weight loss, I want to mention that there are three groups of people who tend to get off to a really slow start when it comes to weight loss while following an intermittent fasting plan.  I have seen it time and time again in weight loss support groups:  someone complains that they aren't losing weight, or are even gaining weight, and upon further questioning, common patterns can be detected.  If you fit into one of these groups, you are going to need more patience than others:

1. If you are coming off of a very low calorie plan, such as the hCG diet or another VLCD (very low calorie diet), then it is likely that your metabolism has slowed down due to the extreme plan you were following.  You are going to need time for your metabolism to rev back up.  The good news is that many people have had success with an intermittent fasting plan after giving it enough time.
2. If you are transitioning from a LCHF/Keto lifestyle, you will probably see weight regain on the scale at first if/when reintroducing carbs.  This is because your body retains water when processing carbohydrates.  This explains the fast "loss" on the scale when you start a low carb eating plan (quick water loss) and it also explains the big "gain" on the scale when you reintroduce carbs (water retention.)  It's normal, and it doesn't mean that you can't ever eat carbs again.  Side note:  I actually believe most of us are healthier when we include high quality carbs in our diets;  as an example, our gut microbiomes are more diverse and healthy when we eat a variety of foods, and many scientists believe that over-restriction of carbs (particularly restriction of foods containing high fiber and resistant starch) may lead to imbalance, or dysbiosis, in our gut flora.  Click here for an interesting read about gut bacteria and the importance of feeding your microbial community--doesn't that sound exciting?  Here's one other interesting read for a newcomer to the science of gut bacteria and health/weight loss.  Really fascinating stuff, and highly recommended!
3. If you have been overweight, or obese, for a long time, your body has most likely developed insulin resistance.  That means that your body is going to have more circulating insulin, even when you are fasting properly.  Because of that, it will take longer for your body to tap into your fat stores.  The result?  There may be a long period of time where you don't seem to lose any weight at all.  It takes time for your body to lower insulin levels and tap into your body fat for fuel, and some people only have success when they lower carbs for awhile.  This may seem to contradict what I mentioned in point #2, above, where I discussed the importance of including carbs in our diets to feed our gut bacteria.  Keep in mind that there are many factors at play, and the goal is to first get your body into fat burning mode (lowering certain carbohydrates temporarily to lower circulating insulin levels), and then consider what foods can enhance your overall health (reintroducing carbs, specifically high quality carbs with plenty of fiber and resistant starch). 

Now that I have gotten that out of the way, let's discuss plateaus and what we can do to speed up our weight loss!

Anyone who has ever attempted to lose weight has faced it:  a period of time where the scale stops moving.  The dreaded plateau has arrived!  It is one of the most-discussed topics in any weight loss group that I have ever been a part of.  Eventually, weight loss seems to come to a halt, even for many intermittent fasters.  Does that mean the plan has stopped working for you, and that you are doomed to be stuck forever?  No! 

First, make sure you really are at a plateau.

If you have read Delay, Don't Deny, you recall that my suggestion is to either stop weighing completely or weigh daily, and take a weekly average once per week.  Because weight can fluctuate a great deal from day to day, only compare your weekly averages to gauge your progress.  There are many weight tracking apps that do this for you.  Day-to-day weight fluctuations are not important; all we should care about is the overall trend.   Weight loss is not linear, and usually looks more like a zig-zag.  You may feel like you are not making progress because of the day-to-day fluctuations, but the overall trend is slowly moving downward.  If you are making progress, even slow progress, you are not actually at a plateau. 

What can we do when our weight loss seems to have stopped, or if it is much slower than we would like?

So--you have been tracking your weekly average for some time now, and you have confirmed that you aren't losing weight at all, or it is much slower than you would like.  If you are losing at a rate of approximately a pound per week average (or more), then STOP WORRYING!  That is a great pace, and you don't need to tweak anything.  But if your loss is much slower than that, there are most definitely some strategies you can use in order to get your body moving in the right direction again. 

But first, let's talk about calories for a minute. When I encourage you to eat to satiety without counting calories and to learn to listen to your appetite signals, and I tell you that trying to calculate calories day after day is not an effective strategy (because all foods are not treated the same in the body, and you also can't control what your body does with the calories you consume), that may give you the impression that the volume of food you eat doesn't matter. That's actually not true.

Yes. Even though counting calories is an ineffective strategy overall, the volume of food you eat does matter. You absolutely can overeat, especially in the beginning. Let me explain.

Fasting properly during the day provides a metabolic advantage because you are able to tap into your body's fat stores. Once your body adjusts to burning fat during the fast, your body doesn't perceive that you're in an energy deficit because it has plenty of fuel. Over time, your hormones--insulin, leptin, ghrelin, and others--begin to work together as they should. You find that your appetite gets into balance with your body's energy needs, just as nature intended. You get full and satisfied and stop eating after an appropriate amount of food. This doesn't happen overnight.

Before your satiety cues get back into focus, you may tend to overeat in your window. This can lead to initial weight gain rather than weight loss, because you are taking in more food than your body needs.

Even though fasting gives us a metabolic advantage, it's not magical. You CAN eat so much that you gain weight. Volume of food does matter.

Until you reach the state where your satiety cues are normalized, you may need coping strategies to prevent overeating. After you eat a plate of food, consider walking away from all food until your brain can recognize that you are full. Give yourself 20-30 minutes. Set a timer if you have to. Don't eat anything else during that period. When 20-30 minutes have passed, ask yourself if you're truly hungry before you eat again. Never eat just because your "window is still open."  Don't eat more just because you want to make sure you ate "enough" to get you through the next fasting period.  If you are satisfied, that means you should stop eating. 

Intermittent fasting is magical in many ways (hormonal magic, if you will), but it's not so magical that you can eat a larger volume of food than your body requires day after day. Work on eating a satisfying amount of food, and then stop. Pay attention to how your body feels. Stop when you're pleasantly full and never eat more just because it's in your window. In time, you should reach the point where appetite signals are working together and it will get easier. 

Now--for some plateau-busting and/or weight-loss boosting tips. 

While I would argue that intermittent fasting is really more about health than weight loss, and once our bodies are healthy we are more likely to lose the weight we want to lose, I understand that most of us start this lifestyle because we want to lose the excess fat from our bodies.  It's certainly why I began intermittent fasting.  If we are working so hard to fast every day, we want to be rewarded with measurable weight loss.  I get it. 

The good news is that you absolutely can make some tweaks that get the fat loss started up again. 

Pick and choose from the suggestions below--there are many ways to make this work for you.

First, check your fast.  Are you REALLY fasting clean? 

Go back to the basics:  only black and unflavored coffee, plain boring teas, plain water, and unflavored sparkling waters.  Have you been using just a bit of coconut oil or cream in your coffee?  Are you drinking flavored waters?  Are you adding ANYTHING to your plain coffee, tea, or water? Are you chewing gum, using breath mints, or breath strips?  Perhaps it's making more of a difference than you thought.  (YES, IT IS!  I promise!) I can't overemphasize the importance of a clean fast. 

(Side note: WHY do we long for mouth entertainment so badly during the fast?  Fasting is supposed to be boring for your taste buds, not a magical flavor adventure.)

Next, consider your food quality. 

Yes, I have often said "Delay, Don't Deny," but there is no doubt that all foods are not treated the same in your body.  Highly processed foods are not your best friend if you are having difficulty losing weight.  (This includes highly processed carbs, highly processed protein sources, and highly processed fats.)  The last thing I want you to do is get stuck in diet mentality, where there are lists of "good" foods and "bad" foods, but consider adding more high quality foods and limiting overly processed foods.  I include processed foods to some degree daily, but high quality foods are the basis of my diet--and I am also not trying to lose any more weight.  If you read Delay, Don't Deny, you may recall that I eliminated highly processed foods for a period of time in order to get to my goal weight more quickly.  I don't want to live that way forever, because I want the freedom to enjoy a variety of foods with no guilt (and bread is delicious), but it seemed to make a difference in the speed of my weight loss.  One of my favorite books on the subject is The Science of Skinny.  I don't agree with her recommendations to eat frequently throughout the day, but I think her food recommendations are spot-on.  Food quality matters more to your body than some arbitrary  number of "calories".  When you eat a healthy and balanced diet made up of mostly high quality foods, there are many benefits for your body.  One is that your gut bacteria are happier and your overall levels of inflammation go down, which can lead to easier weight loss.  This is the same article I linked to above (click here), so you can tell I really want you to read it. 

Consider tightening up (or switching up) your fasting regimen.

There are many ways to live an intermittent fasting lifestyle.  After much experimentation, I prefer a daily eating window approach, but that doesn't mean it's the best approach for you.  You may need to try some different strategies to get the scale moving.

If you use the daily eating window approach but weight loss is slow, consider tightening it up.  I couldn't lose weight with anything longer than a 5 hour window, and even a 5 hour window is too long for many people.  Shorten your eating window for awhile and see if that helps.  My suggestion would be to use a one-to-two hour window on weekdays and give yourself a longer window (up to 5-6 hours) on weekends.  As I have said before, specifically in this blog post--it can be helpful to mix things up, rather than get into a consistent daily routine that encourages your body to adapt.

Another idea is to incorporate the up/down day approach, which is fantastic for many people who may find that the daily eating window approach doesn't get the scale moving.  I would suggest that you start with 5:2 or 4:3 to bust through your plateau.  That means that 2 or 3 days per week, have a down day:  on a down day, you can either eat 500 calories in one meal or have a full fast for 36-42 hours.  (A 500 calorie down day is the ONE time that I am ever going to recommend counting calories.)  On the day after any down day, make sure that you have an up day:  you want at least 2 meals in an eating window of at least 6-8 hours. One thing that is essential:  it's important to make sure you aren't over-restricting on the up days, in order to keep your metabolic rate from dropping.  Fast, and then feast!  On the days that are not down days (the two or three 500-calorie or full fast days) or up days (the two or three days following your down days), you are free to have any eating window length that you choose.  

Don't be frightened to experiment with the up/down day approach! After adjusting to the longer fasts and longer eating days, many IFers realize they absolutely love this approach.  

What if you are doing everything right, and the scale is STILL not moving?

For some people, particularly the three groups I mentioned at the beginning of this blog post, your body is going to be more resistant to weight loss.  You may need one thing, more than any other:

TIME.

Yes, you need to give it time. 

If you are in an intermittent fasting support group, you may see others dropping weight like crazy, while you sit there, week after week, seeing ZERO progress.  It may feel like your body is broken, and beyond repair. 

Your body didn't put on the excess weight overnight, and the hormonal changes that need to occur behind the scenes also aren't going to happen overnight.  Keep on fasting consistently, keep the fasting time clean, and eat quality foods.  Let your body heal.  Pay attention to how various foods make you feel, and select foods that make you feel good.  Focus on the other positive benefits you can detect, and trust the process. 

There really are people who live an intermittent fasting lifestyle for MONTHS before seeing scale movement.  Trust that once your body is ready, you should begin to see progress. 

I highly encourage you to take body measurements if you are someone who is struggling to lose weight.  Even though you may not see weight loss on the scale, you may see your measurements decreasing.  That means that fat loss IS occurring.  Many things can mask fat loss on the scale, and even though it looks like you aren't losing weight, you are, indeed, losing fat. 

Never forget:  over time, even slow progress adds up.  A pound here, a pound there--eventually, you should lose the excess fat at the speed that is right for YOUR body.