Wondering how to break a weight loss plateau? Examining your diet, mixing up your exercise routine, and prioritizing sleep can help.
You’ve been on the healthy weight loss train for a while, successfully chugging along toward your end goal. But an initially predictable game of subtracting one to two pounds a week has now slowed to crawl — or a complete stop. What gives?
You’ve reached what’s known as a weight loss plateau.
Annoying as it may be, it’s a normal and very common aspect of weight loss. So what can you do to get past it?
Our top tips include upping your protein intake, drinking more water, switching up your exercise routine, and prioritizing sleep.
Learn why weight loss plateaus happen, and get guidance for breaking through them to get back on track to achieving your goals.
Let’s start with some background info. We’ll get to the tips soon, but understanding weight loss plateaus can help you feel better about them and learn how to move past them.
A weight loss plateau is when weight loss progress stalls — and goes flat — despite continued efforts for several weeks.
When you start losing weight, you’ll typically experience rapid weight loss in the first few weeks. This comes from the combination of reducing your calorie intake and doing more physical activity.
However, over time, it’s not uncommon for your body to adapt to these changes by slowing down your metabolism and conserving energy. This makes it harder to continue losing weight at the same pace. Sigh.
Besides that, other factors can contribute to a weight loss plateau:
Hormone fluctuations
Muscle building (muscle weighs more than fat)
Water retention
Breaking through a weight loss plateau often requires reassessing food choices, modifying exercise routines, and potentially seeking professional guidance to target other lifestyle adjustments for excess weight and obesity.
There’s no set amount of time a weight loss plateau will last — it could be weeks or even months.
Our bodies are all different, and it’ll depend on what steps you take to shake up your weight loss routine — and when you take these steps.
The key is to not get disheartened here. Plateaus don’t have to be forever — there are things you can do to get things moving again.
Before we get into how to break through a weight loss plateau, let’s talk about why weight loss plateaus in the first place. Once you know what’s causing it, you can take steps to fix it.
Though multiple factors could be at play, a couple of main theories are thought to contribute to weight loss plateaus.
So, why does weight loss plateau? Your body could think it’s starving, or you may not be burning as many calories as you did at a higher body weight.
Your body may enter “starvation mode.” Prolonged calorie restriction can prompt the body to conserve energy and hinder further weight loss efforts until it’s fed more.
When calorie intake is severely restricted for an extended period, your body might adapt by slowing down its metabolic rate — how fast it burns energy.
This response is a survival mechanism honed through evolution, designed to preserve energy during times of food scarcity. Great for your cavewoman ancestors — not so great for your weight loss efforts.
Factors like genetics, age, protein intake and initial body composition (your height and weight before attempting to lose weight) can influence if, when, and how your body transitions into starvation mode.
As your weight goes down and your body composition changes, your body needs fewer calories to stay alive and function.
This means the same reduced-calorie diet you were following at the beginning of your weight loss journey now matches your new body size and isn’t enough to keep contributing to weight loss.
To lose more, you have to reduce your daily caloric intake even more while still getting adequate protein. This can sound scary, but don’t worry — we’ve got some simple diet swaps you can make below.
Of course, these aren’t the only two factors that can lead to a weight loss plateau.
Other factors like intermittently “falling off the wagon” (of your nutrition and exercise routine, that is) can also play a part. No shame here — we’re all human. But it is worth noting if you’re trying to find the cause of your weight loss plateau.
Let’s get into the nuts and bolts. Here’s how to break a weight loss plateau and continue losing weight after stalling.
Nutrition is arguably the most critical aspect of weight loss, let alone overall health and wellness. So if you’re wondering how to get over a weight loss plateau, consider it a good time to examine (and potentially adjust) your diet.
Reevaluating your dietary habits means assessing not only the amount of food you’ve been eating but also the quality and nutrient composition of your meals, snacks, and beverages.
You might start by keeping a food journal of your eating habits or tracking what you eat in a weight loss app. Some people find it helpful to get a bird’s-eye view of things like portion sizes and macronutrient ratios (what percentage of your dietary intake is from carbs, fat, and protein) in addition to their overall calorie intake.
You might find that you’ve been eating more calories than you need without realizing it.
Additionally, the time of day you eat meals and snacks could be affecting your metabolism and ability to lose weight. Top tip: Try eating meals earlier in the day and avoid eating close to bedtime.
Eating more protein can help preserve muscle mass and support a healthy metabolism. Your body burns roughly twice as many calories digesting protein than it does carbs and fat.
Try eating more:
Lean meats like chicken and turkey
Eggs
Soy products like tofu and tempeh
Lentils and beans
Plus, protein can help reduce your appetite and cravings, making it easier to stick to nutritious foods and healthy portion sizes.
Reducing processed foods and refined sugars can help cut out hidden sources of calories.
Incorporating more fiber-rich fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, legumes, and whole grains can enhance satiety (a feeling of fullness) and support digestive health.
Eating fewer carbohydrates or following a ketogenic diet with few carbs can be an effective way to lose weight.
However, low-carb diets aren’t for everyone, you do have to commit to them long-term and they can be hard to implement into your lifestyle — and that’s completely okay.
Alcohol could be stalling your weight loss efforts, even if you’re watching what you eat and exercising regularly.
Research suggests that drinking less can help prevent overeating and support weight loss, especially for those who struggle with impulse control.
Soda, juice, and other sugary drinks can hinder your weight loss goals because they’re high in calories and don’t really help you feel full or satisfied. But drinking more water could have the opposite effect.
Drinking about 17 ounces of water can boost your metabolic rate by up to 30 percent. This means you’ll burn more calories. Water can also reduce your appetite and make exercise feel easier, helping you stay on track and get back to losing weight.
Beyond upping your water intake, you might try drinking black coffee or unsweetened tea (both of which only contain roughly two calories a cup).
These natural sources of caffeine could provide the fat-burning boost your body needs to break through a weight loss plateau.
Like the system-shocking stimulation of a polar plunge, diversifying workouts and intensifying activity levels can shock your body out of complacency when you hit a plateau.
It’s easy to fall into a pattern of comfortable, repetitive activities that may have initially been helpful for weight loss. But if you keep doing the same things, your progress might slow to a stop.
At this point, it’s time to think about how you can move your body in new ways.
You could:
Try a new sport or form of cardio
Sign up for a new-to-you gym class
Join a friend on workouts they love doing (you might love them too!)
Start high-intensity interval training (HIIT) or strength training if you haven’t before
Strength training — whether through weight lifting, resistance bands, or bodyweight exercises — is particularly useful as it can help you build muscle. And muscle burns more calories than fat at rest, so your body will naturally burn more calories each day.
As well as switching up your routine to challenge your body, try increasing the amount of movement you do each day to continue weight loss.
Try slowly adding more exercise into your routine or doing more general movement like:
Taking the stairs
Standing
Doing physical chores
Achieving and maintaining weight loss goals for the long haul requires an exercise routine that goes above and beyond the minimum physical activity requirements for basic health. For example, this could mean 60 minutes of physical activity most days rather than a half-hour five days a week.
You might be surprised to see this one, right? Rest is vital for weight loss, not to mention overall health and well-being.
Give yourself rest days each week to make sure you can recover from your workouts and keep up your routine by avoiding injury. You can still do some gentle movement — like walking or stretching — on your rest days.
Your brain needs rest too! Take care of your mental health when losing weight. Show yourself plenty of love and compassion, make time for self-care, and reach out to friends, family, and mental health professionals for support if needed.
Can getting more shut-eye really help with weight loss? It might!
You can improve your sleep by:
Keeping the same wake-up and bedtimes each day
Avoiding screens before bed
Cutting down on caffeine
Keeping your bedroom cool, dark, and quiet
Research suggests that sleep deprivation can lead to elevated food cravings by messing with appetite-regulating hormones. Aiming for seven to nine hours of sleep a night may help you stick to a healthy diet.
High levels of stress can lead to unhealthy habits that promote weight gain and make it harder to get back on track. Stress can also result in high cortisol levels, which can cause your body to hold onto fat, especially around the belly area.
There are many ways to reign in your stress levels, including:
Deep-breathing exercises
Journaling
Taking nature walks at lunch
Practicing yoga
Implementing these stress-management practices might help you get out of a weight loss rut.
Knowing how to break weight loss plateaus can be very personal. We’ve got a few more tips to help you continue losing weight — and they all involve reaching out for support.
Many things in life are better with the support, company, and shared grumblings of friends — and weight loss is one of them.
Research shows that having a support system is associated with decreased weight and BMI (body mass index).
This could include:
Regular check-ins with a friend
Support with meal planning and prep duties
A buddy to sweat it out at the gym with
Someone to talk to when weight loss feels challenging
If you were flying solo pre-plateau, consider reaching out to friends, family, or weight loss communities for support and guidance in jump-starting your weight loss again.
While advice from friends and family can be helpful, there’s no one-size-fits-all prescription for weight loss. Everyone’s body responds in different ways to diet and exercise routines.
When you find yourself on a plateau and don’t know how to get off, it may be time to consult an expert.
Consider reaching out to a:
Healthcare provider
Registered dietitian
Certified personal trainer
They can give you advice tailored to your body. An expert might also be able to identify underlying habits getting in the way of your progress, such as:
Mindless eating
Overeating
These obstacles can be hard to pinpoint when you’re in the thick of it.
Plus, paying for personalized support in a specific area, like a weight loss program, comes with a layer of accountability and motivation that may make all the difference.
Weight loss medication can be useful for pushing past a plateau.
Medications work in different ways, but weight loss drugs generally help by:
Reducing your appetite
Helping you feel fuller
Minimizing cravings
Reducing food noise (constant obsessive thoughts about food)
Weight loss medications aren’t for everyone. And they’re prescribed alongside diet and exercise, so they’re not a shortcut. But they can be useful if something like food noise or a never-ending appetite is sabotaging weight loss.
You might still experience a plateau on semaglutide, tirzepatide, or another weight loss drug. But you can overcome tirzepatide or semaglutide plateaus with the same tips — take a look at your diet, mix up your exercise, and get your sleep and stress in check.
Your healthcare provider may increase your dose, recommend a different drug in some cases, or offer advice on what to do when you hit a plateau in weight loss.
Weight plateaus aren’t necessarily a cause for concern, and you can work to overcome them. But there are a few health and safety considerations to keep in mind when you’re faced with stalled weight loss:
Avoid crash diets. It might be tempting to try something like a celery juice diet for quick weight loss. But very restrictive diets lack the necessary nutrients to keep your energy levels up and maintain overall health. Generally speaking, they aren’t sustainable in the long run.
Make sure you’re getting enough nutrients. In the same vein, you might think going really low with your calorie intake will help. But this, too, can be dangerous, and it isn’t a long-term solution. Give your body the fuel it needs while focusing on weight loss.
Look after your mental health. Weight loss stalls can be frustrating, especially when you’re eating nutritious foods, moving your body, and still not seeing any progress. Make sure you’re looking after your mental health during this time — and always. Reach out for support if you need it.
Will a weight loss plateau go away on its own? It’s hard to say. But don’t be discouraged — there are plenty of things you can do to help move things along, whether it’s an Ozempic® plateau or a slow-down of a drug-free weight loss journey.
When you find yourself struggling with weight loss or asking, “Why am I stuck at the same weight?” despite diligent diet and exercise habits:
Remember, it’s normal. Plateaus are a common and expected aspect of any weight loss journey. This doesn’t discount the frustration that comes with them — but instead of focusing on how to get past a weight loss plateau, remember you’re not alone, and weight loss is a long game.
Take a multi-faceted approach. Weight loss is a complex thing involving numerous factors. When you’re at a standstill, consider it an opportunity to reflect on your goals and habits. This includes nutrition, exercise, sleep, stress, social support, and whether professional guidance or medication would be beneficial.
Be patient. Weight isn’t gained overnight — and it’s not going to come off quickly, either. At some point, weight loss will stall, and things may need to be reevaluated. Be kind to yourself and trust that consistency is key. You’ve got this.
If you’re looking for more support or are considering weight loss medication, we can help. Start by taking our free weight loss quiz.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. The information contained herein is not a substitute for and should never be relied upon for professional medical advice. Always talk to your doctor about the risks and benefits of any treatment. Learn more about our editorial standards here.
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