A weight loss plateau is something that we’re all afraid of. Dieting hard during a cutting cycle and working towards your goals and yet… weight loss just does not occur. It feels like no matter what you’re doing, you just can’t figure out how to break through that damn weight loss plateau. But luckily, you’re now reading this, and you’re well on your way to finding a way to break through that ceiling.
- I know what most of you may be thinking right now. You are probably feeling like you’re already doing everything right. You follow the right workout plans, eat well, and hit the gym often. What else can you do to keep on pushing the cutting cycle and break through this weight loss plateau?
Well, be aware that there is no magic that is going to help you break through a weight loss plateau. Nevertheless, understanding the human body and metabolism, weight loss relationship with foods, and how it all happens – it definitely can help you through your goals. You must understand that a cutting cycle is an art that you need to master as long as you want real results. You may be aware that it comes to the ratio of energy in and energy out. But there are many other things to consider too. Let’s check it all.
What is a weight loss plateau?
During a cutting phase, hitting a weight loss plateau means that you’ve hit something that feels like a “wall” or a “ceiling” in your weight loss results. This usually means that your efforts have not brought any results for at least 2 weeks. Even though you’re actually working hard. It is quite obvious that no effort will bring no results!
It is important to understand that you can consider you’ve hit a weight loss plateau no sooner than 2 weeks without results despite great efforts. That’s because our natural weight can fluctuate across days and even weeks. That’s because of various factors such as water retention, bowel movements, and so on. But when you purposely try to lose weight with a correct diet and workout plan, but your cutting results have stopped or slowed a lot, then that’s what we would call you’ve hit a weight loss plateau.
Yet, it is also important to understand that during a cutting cycle, hitting a weight loss plateau is completely normal. In fact, it’s so common that a lot of experienced bodybuilders actually expect it to occur. So, regardless of what’s your calorie intake or how often you’re working out (generally, how much effort you’re putting in), it is completely natural to hit this ceiling.
Remember that the further you’re into a cutting cycle, the higher the chance you are hitting a weight loss plateau. So, it means that the leaner you get, and the closer you get to your goals, the more likely you are to hit the weight loss plateau. It usually occurs once you hit a low body fat percentage. This is where it can get pretty tricky without getting some help into your routine.
How To Break Through The Weight Loss Plateau?
Determining how to break through a weight loss plateau starts with checking your current measures and recording your calories accurately. You may think that something can go unnoticed, however, that little difference in calories could be greatly affecting your weight loss efforts, causing you to hit a cutting plateau. If you’re new to bodybuilding and cutting cycles, it could be pretty easy to count your intake incorrectly. Or maybe you are cheating a little bit too often, thinking that this won’t be a huge mistake. Well, they both may have huge impacts. It is only after fixing those errors you can start losing weight again.
So, you’ve calculated your calorie again and you’re sure about the result. Then what you should do is one (or both) of the following:
- Eat less
- Get more active (more moves)
Sometimes, you may struggle to reduce the calorie intake even more, so you should avoid the first option. Go for the second option. Moreover, eating less sometimes can be dangerous, because it may lead to nutrition deficiency. Only go for the first option as long as you can do it. Also, do both, whenever you can do it.
Mixing these two will max out the potential to break through a weight loss plateau. Alternatively, you could max out just the exercise (calorie expenditure) to continue seeing results. Generally, by working out more you’re setting your body up for success, rather than starving yourself during even lower calorie intake, which is not good for your body and muscles, especially if you risk nutrient deficiency. Yet, exercising more is still a bad idea as long as you’re already pushing your body to extremes. In such cases, most people tend to have allowances to use the first option and eat less.
Weight Loss Plateau Bodybuilding
When you’re trying to break through the weight loss plateau, you should aim for 1-2 hours of HIIT cardio per week or 4-5 hours of slow cardio per week with 4-5 hours of weight lifting per week. Strength training is crucial to maximize fat burning (calorie expenditure) and keep lean muscle. Cardio is going to further maximize fat burning to break through the weight loss plateau.
When you’re planning to break through a weight loss plateau, you may start pushing your body to crazy measures. It could be exercise, calorie restriction, or even both. Yes, the human body can resist a lot but do NOT go to extremes. Whether it comes to workouts or low calorie diets. Doing either of these (or especially both), you risk damaging your body. It’s hormonal balance, organs, and so on. You’ll likely start to struggle with hunger and cravings, bad moods, low energy, poor sleep, and so on.
You need to balance both the diet and workout plans. On the other hand, be completely honest with yourself. A lot of people are saying they are hitting a weight loss plateau, when they are barely exercising and/or are barely dieting. You should pay close attention to how much and what you’re eating. Also, pay attention to how you’re training.
What Affects Weight Loss?
Water retention or bowel movements
Water retention and bowel movements could play an important role when it comes to weight loss. Often, it is easy to go for 2 weeks (sometimes even 3 weeks) without losing much (or any) weight before you suddenly melt off pounds seemingly overnight. Bodybuilders even have a term for it, the “whoosh effect” as you lose weight through frequent urination. This means that your body gets rid of the water retention.
Moreover, this “flush” effect frequently occurs after a “cheat” meal or a break in your diet. That’s because an increase in calories (especially carbs) will level out cortisol levels, and this reduces water retention.
Your bowel movements also can make a huge difference making you believe that you’ve hit a weight loss plateau. This could make you think that you maintain (or even gain) weight. But when the bowel movements “move”, it all comes to normal. That’s why you should wait 2 to 3 weeks before reducing your calorie intake. You may just increase the exercise time.
I recommend weighing yourself each day in the morning, without eating or drinking anything (of course, without clothes). Then average your results every 2 weeks. Your weight could fluctuate across days or even weeks. So, short term spikes in carbs, water, or sodium could make you feel as if you’re not losing fat. Your diet or exercise routine may require changes if you are not losing weight across the 2 week average.
- PS: Do not forget that you should reduce the calorie intake as you reduce your weight. Losing weight means you need fewer calories for maintenance. Adjust calories when necessary.
Natural metabolic adaptations
In case you have issues breaking through a weight loss plateau that is not related to water retention or bowel movements, then it could be a weight loss plateau due to natural metabolic adaptations. It can occur during cutting cycles. It is important to eat less if this occurs, however, you shouldn’t go into a ridiculously low calorie diet. You must think gradually, not drastically. That’s because drastic changes can damage your muscles, organs, and mind.
You may try to cut your daily calorie intake by 100 calories every 2 weeks by reducing the carb intake only (do not reduce protein and don’t reduce fat if it’s at minimum). In most cases, that would be enough to kick start the process of losing fat.
Stop cutting calories when you’ve reached about 90% of your basal metabolic rate (BMR). It may slightly vary from one person to another.
Breaking A Weight Loss Plateau Conclusion
Keep in mind that you’re not the only one struggling how to break through a weight loss plateau. A cutting plateau is something natural, do not be afraid of it. There are various ways to fix it. A few changes in your diet and exercise regime are going to help you stay on track with your weight loss goals. Here are a few tips:
- Ensure that you’re really into a weight loss plateau by weighing yourself daily and averaging the weight across 2 weeks.
- Ensure that you’re accurately measuring and recording your calories (what you’re eating). Be sure you have a healthy, varied, and balanced diet.
- Increase the amount of exercise you have to about 5 hours of weight lifting and about 2 hours of HIIT cardio or 5 hours of cardio per week.
- If it starts to feel like you’ve hit a cutting plateau – cut your calorie intake by 100 calories a day every 2 weeks, reducing only carbs.
- Do not cut calories if you’ve reached about 90% of your BMR.
- If you still do not manage to break the weight loss plateau despite following all the aforementioned tips, bring back your calories to maintenance (having a clean and healthy diet, while continuing to work out) for at least 4-6 weeks. This will allow your body to normalize. Then start your cutting cycle again.
Sure Way To Break A Weight Loss Plateau
Sometimes, you may feel like breaking through a weight loss plateau is like climbing a mountain. It may be really challenging and we understand that. This is the reason why HGH.to is here to help you. We do not push the use of anabolic steroids or HGH, but we’re just here to tell you that they are a sure way to help break a weight loss plateau.
We have a lot of weight loss products, HGH, and anabolic steroids, all of which can significantly help you with your cutting goals. They are going to help cut through fat, maintain lean muscle, and provide energy, stamina, endurance, and a huge boost in strength. We’re also ready to help with low prices, fast delivery, anonymity, individualized cycle advice (to ensure you get the best and fastest results without side effects), and many more!
