how to break a plateau?

What’s the million dollar answer to plateaus?

The most important step is identifying the plateau first. I think too many times we’re just simply not seeing the results that we’re expecting to see and call it a plateau where it’s really just a difference in progress speed. Remember at the end of the day whether you lost 0.1kg or 0.5kg it’s both considered progress and if there’s progress then there’s not much to do except to keep going.

Patience is truly key in a weight loss journey, the lack of patience is often what ends up making you fall apart and have to start over again.

So how do you identify a weight loss plateau?

I think an easier way to go about it is to identify what it’s NOT first. You’re not in a plateau if:

1) You’re losing weight slower than usual. Remember weight loss isn’t some linear journey. There are gonna be periods of time (especially the beginning of a journey) where it feels super fast and as time goes on it can start to feel a lot slower. Progress is progress regardless of speed. If you’re making any form of progress at all then you’re not in a plateau. That goes for progress beyond the scale as well. If the scale isn’t moving but you’re noticing obvious inch loss or feel you look smaller in the mirror that’s absolutely not a plateau. What do you do when it’s slower than usual? You keep going. Speed will vary throughout your journey.

2) You haven’t been consistent for a meaningful period of time. Being consistent for 2-3 days and expecting some kind of significant results is just being super unrealistic. Results in 2-3 days can occur but will also be super super minor. It’s like expecting to have a full bank account after 2-3 days of starting a new job. Unrealistic. Now if over the past 60 days you haven’t been consistent for at least 85-90% of the days (50/60), then you’re not in a plateau simply cos you haven’t put in the necessary work to achieve the results that you’re looking for. I mean it’s totally fine, it’s not a jab at your work ethic, there could be tons of reasons why you haven’t been consistent and that’s ok but you gotta be realistic and not be upset at the lack of results if say you’ve been on track for only 30 out of the past 60 days. Weight loss results requires a much higher consistency rate than that.

What to do when you’re lacking consistency?

Reflect back on why you’re not consistent. If it’s cos of life things, then acknowledge them and perhaps prioritize them first before getting back on track rather than trying to juggle both and struggling with both at the same time. If it’s cos your diet/routine is simply too hard to stick to for consistently for that long, it’s time to review and make some changes to your diet/routine. Remember the goal is to go as slow as possible for as long as possible as consistently as possible. Not the opposite. While I’m sure all of us would welcome quick results with open arms, unfortunately quick results often equals temporary results cos the actions it takes to achieve them aren’t sustainable which means the results aren’t sustainable too.

Now you could very much be super consistent for the past 60 days and really just seen no progress at all. No progress on the scale, no non-scale progresses, just truly stuck.

Now that’s a plateau.

No need to worry though is totally fine because you’re still in control and can make changes to break the plateau. Being consistent over a long period of time and being stuck likely means your diet is no longer putting you in a calorie deficit. It could be for a number of reasons, such as perhaps you’ve made so much progress so far that what was a deficit for you 5-10kg ago now is mere maintenance. It’s a normal scenario and nothing you can’t fix. To break the plateau it’s time to make changes to your diet and or workouts to put you back in a deficit. I’d recommend cutting roughly 100-200kcal from there and running with that for 2-3 weeks and see results, along with adding a bit more workout frequency if you’re still up for it. Not a necessity but could help.

While plateaus are a thing, and can occur during your journey, more often than not it’s really just us being impatient with the results. The thing with impatience is you end up making rash decisions that ultimately make it slower for you to reach your goals rather than make it faster. Say you’ve been consistent doing fine, but progress seems slower than usual so you decide to double the workouts you’re currently doing hoping to make progress faster. Now suddenly you’re unable to keep up with the extra workout, the extra fatigue makes it more difficult for you to battle hunger and cravings, and you start to mess up more and be less consistent in the long run all cos you wanted to go “a little faster”. If you had just accepted that the speed of weight loss can vary and as long as you’re making progress you don’t really have to change anything you may be been able to stick to the routine for longer which over the long term yielded you more sustainable results.

Sustainable weight loss is the true goal.

Seeing the number on the scale change but unable to stick to it is quite meaningless and frankly kinda a waste of time. The fastest way to your goals is to go as slow as possible, be and be as patient as possible.

On another note...

100g of kimchi is roughly 25-30kcal.

I know, super random fact tossed in here after all the plateau talk. I just wanted to add it in here cos it was a Q&A question a couple of days back and it reminded me the importance of understanding food in general. You know, while I’m super all-in with calorie counting and all I really don’t recommend it as a diet method cos I know there are many that don’t enjoy it and can really hamper their relationship with food, I still think taking some time and tracking your food and learning about portions can be so so beneficial to your journey no matter what diet method you’re on.

Kimchi is super super flavorful and super low in calories. Without looking into it I’m sure most of us (I did) assume that kimchi is super high in calories cos of how rich its looks and tastes are, but that couldn’t be further than the truth.

It’s kinda like shopping right? If you took the time to know the prices of the things you buy on a regular basis, over time you just end up naturally making better spending decisions and end up saving more money cos you have all the information at hand. You’d know when the discounts are, you’d know when it’s time to purchase something for a good deal etc. It’s the same with food. If you knew that a mini snicker bar is only 80kcal and you’re super super craving for something sweet, that wouldn’t be such a bad idea. Whereas if you didn’t know that you’d think a snicker bar is the most sinful food in the world when you’re on a diet and end up avoiding it for no good reason.

Learning more helps you make better decisions, and those better decisions in the long run reaps you sustainable results.

Hope you had a great hearts & chocolate & roses day!

Till the next one~

—Po.