If you’re wondering why your fat loss has stalled, you’re not alone. Losing weight is hard. If weight loss were easy, I think it’s safe to assume almost everyone would be in shape.
According to the CDC, 42.7% Americans were obese in the year 2017. That was 5 years ago (I’m writing this in 2022), so I’d guess the number is higher today than it was then. That is a scary statistic, especially knowing that the rates are not slowing down.
The problem is that most people don’t know how to build successful lifestyle habits that they can stick too. Most people claim that they’re doing everything right and yet, they still can’t lose weight. Or, they try out a new crash diet, work out seven days a week, lose a bunch of weight, and before they know it have gained it all back.
Now they think they’re made to be overweight. It’s like their genetics tell them “Hey, you’re screwed so you mine as well never try to lose weight.” This could not be farther from the truth.
The Hardships of Fat Loss
The main part of fat loss is physiological. This means that you gain or lose fat depending on how many calories you eat vs how many calories you burn throughout the day. If you burn more than you eat, you’ll be in a calorie deficit and lose fat. If you burn less than you eat, you’ll be in a calorie surplus and gain fat.
So, if you’re not losing fat, you’re simply not in a calorie deficit.
That said, much of your fat loss journey is also psychological. This means dealing with cravings, social events, peer pressure, lack of motivation, and any type of feeling that will make you want to quit. These are the things that make you wonder why your fat loss has stalled.
So yeah, it’s freaking hard which is why most people fail. I’m not saying that to scare you. I’m saying this in order to prepare you for what’s to come because even though losing weight can be challenging, it’s simple and achievable.
A Quick Reminder on How Fat Loss (Not Weight Loss) Works:
I’m going to interchange the phrases “fat loss” and “weight loss” throughout this article. Just know that they’re different.
Weight loss refers to losing weight (water, bone, food in your stomach, muscle, fat, basically everything your body is made up of). Fat loss refers to only losing fat.
If you’re only focusing on your weight, you’ll consistently be wondering why your fat loss has stalled. The goal should be to build or maintain muscle while ONLY losing fat. Therefore, I’ll be referring to fat loss throughout this article.
Ok, back to how fat loss works.
I’m sure you’ve heard many different opinions over the years. Things like “carbs make you fat”, “fat makes you fat”, and “don’t eat protein because it’s bad for you”.
Like What. The. Fuck. Basically you’re told that everything makes you fat. It is a confusing cluster fuck of misinformation. No wonder why you may have such a hard time losing weight.
The Magic Pill: A Calorie Deficit
The reality is that all fad diets work because they put you in a calorie deficit. The problem is that most of these diets don’t have the goal of preserving muscle and losing fat – the key to staying lean. Their goal is for you to lose the most amount of weight possible in the shortest period of time because time is money and they want their dollars. This is why your fat loss stalls while following these diets.
The sooner you realize fat loss comes down to how much food you’re eating, the sooner you will be able to make progress, and the more enjoyable and sustainable that progress will be.
See? I told you it was simple. I’d rather you choose the slower but more sustainable route, than choose the quicker and unsustainable route.
Therefore, I don’t care how many carbs you eat, how much fat you eat, or what type of “diet” you follow. All of that is irrelevant for what I’m talking about in this article.
The Right Way to Lose Weight:
I’m going to keep this short because I already wrote a few articles on this topic.
The goal is to create a diet that works for you. The term “diet” simply means the food you eat. You shouldn’t have to go off what other people eat or what other people tell you that you can’t eat. If someone is trying to tell you that certain foods are off limits, then run away as fast as you can.
Here’s a simple rule to follow: If a diet has a name, it likely won’t be sustainable.
With that said, here’s a quick overview on what a sustainable healthy diet should consist of:
- At least 80% whole foods
- Protein at every meal
- 2-4 servings of both fruits and vegetables per day
- Water to stay hydrated
- A meal frequency and timing that works for you
- Some of your favorite foods thrown in
Notice how I didn’t mention no carbs, no sugar, or fasting for 20 hours a day? The simpler you keep it, the better. Remember, the sooner you realize that no foods are off limits or that no one food makes you fat, the better your relationship with food will be, the more likely you’ll be to make progress, and the less you’ll think about why your fat loss has stalled.
1. The Main Reason Why Your Fat Loss Has Stalled: You’re Eating More Than You Think
By now, this one should be obvious. But, it’s still worth mentioning because it happens all of the time.
Ask yourself, “How many calories am I eating everyday?”
If you hesitated to answer that question then you’re most likely eating more than you think.
Research shows that humans are terrible at estimating both portion sizes and how much we eat.
Do you know what 4 oz of chicken looks like on a plate? How much protein does it have? Or how many calories does it contain? What about 2 tablespoons of peanut butter? (I think you’d be surprised with this one)
Well, the best way to learn and be accurate is through tracking your calories on an app like MyFitnessPal.
Track Your Calories
Oh, you think tracking your calories is obsessive? Is tracking your expenses obsessive in order to make sure you have enough money in your bank account? Well, neither is tracking your calories for your health. (I think we can agree health is far more important than expenses)
Therefore, you should be tracking your calories for a short period of time for educational purposes (unless you suffer from disordered eating). This is going to help you build awareness around how many calories and protein you’re eating per day.
Another benefit of tracking is that it allows you to see how quickly calories add can add up:
- Think of the creamer you put in your coffee.
- The licks, tastes, and bites you eat throughout the day.
- The extra 2 tablespoons of peanut butter.
By the end of the days, weeks, and months, you could be eating hundreds and possibly thousands of calories more than you think which is a big reason why your fat loss has stalled. So, if you’re not losing weight make sure you’re tracking your food.
Measuring Your Food
Now, let’s say you’ve been tracking and you’re still aren’t losing weight. How are you measuring your foods? If you aren’t using a food scale, that’s a problem.
Just like those tastes, bites, and licks add up, so do the extra calories from using measuring cups or eyeballing your portions.
When you don’t use a food scale, you are measuring the food’s volume or the amount of space the food takes up.
For example, if you overfill a tablespoon with peanut butter, one, that’s not a tablespoon, and two, that could be an extra 100 calories that you did not account for.
Now, you may be saying “so what? It’s just 100 calories?”
Ok, you’re right.
But, how many times are you doing that per day with other foods? These extra calories add up over the weeks and months. Remember, total calories aren’t day by day but rather week to week, month to month, and year to year.
Conclusion: If your fat loss has stalled, track your food using an app and measure your food with a food scale. Both are important.
2. Your Fat Loss Has Stalled Because You’re Too Inconsistent
Just like we are terrible at estimating portion sizes, we are also terrible at estimating how consistent we are.
The goal is to be at least 80% consistent to see results. And thats at least 80%. I would recommend to shoot more towards 90%, but 80% works well.
Listen, this is your goal to lose weight. No one else can do it except you. You’ll have to make the necessary sacrifices for you to stay consistent. Whether that’s cutting out the morning lattes or skipping out on the tub of Ben and Jerry’s is up to you. If you’re not willing to do that than you can’t expect to lose weight.
Important Reminder: Weekends Still Count
Even if you eat on point during the week, the weekends where you don’t track and go overboard are probably killing your progress.
This is how it works: You’re in a deficit throughout the week but ruin it by overeating on the weekend. Remember, it’s the total calories over time that matter.
For example, if your weekly calorie deficit is 14,000 calories, that means you can eat 2,000 calories a day on average (14,000 cals / 7 days). If you eat a total of 10,000 calories Monday through Friday, and then eat 5,000 calories over the weekend, that would put you at 15,000 total calories for the week which would be a calorie surplus.
Or, maybe it’s the opposite where you’re eating too little during the week which causes you to binge on the weekends. In this case, eat more during the week so you’re not deprived by the time the weekend comes.
Therefore, it’s important to make sure to set your calories to a sustainable amount (Goal Bodyweight x 12) and make sure you plan for the weekends.
Having Trouble Staying Consistent? Try this:
Something I have learned from Jordan Syatt is setting up a consistency calendar. Take a calendar, mark down a check mark in the days you hit your calorie goals and an x for the days you don’t.
To be 80% consistent, you should have 26 check marks by the end of the month.
Also, try to make a point NOT to have two consecutive x’s in a row.
Which leads me into the next point…
3. Your Fat Loss Has Stalled Because You’re Impatient
How long has your fat loss stalled?
If you haven’t said at least a month (4 weeks) then you’re not being fucking patient enough. Sorry for the foul language but it’s true.
Listen, losing weight takes time. The problem is everyone wants to do things as quick as possible nowadays because we lack patience as a society. We are use to instant gratification.
The thing with fat loss is the quicker you do it, the more unsustainable it is. On the other hand, the slower you do it, the more likely you are going to be to actually keep the weight off.
A good range of weight loss is .5-2 lbs lost per week on AVERAGE.
This means weighing yourself every day and taking the average for the week. Doing this takes into account the fluctuations which will give you a more accurate weight reading.
So, if you haven’t lost weight in a few days, calm down. Instead focus on your comparing your average weights week to week and month to month.
Also, make sure you are taking measurements and progress photos. You’ll likely be simultaneously building muscle while losing fat if your strength training and eating sufficient protein. Muscle is more dense than fat, meaning muscle takes up less room, which gives you a leaner look.
If the scale of measurements hav not gone down in 3-4 weeks consistently, then your fat loss may have stalled then. Now would be a good time to lower your calories.
If you want more information on this subject I wrote a whole article on it that you can read here.
Conclusion: Be fucking patient. A good amount of progress is .5-2 pounds per week ON AVERAGE.
4. Your Fat Loss Has Stalled Because You Need to Adjust Your Calories
This should be your last resort if the previous three suggestions have failed.
The reason for this is your body may have adapted to the amount of food you’re eating. This is known as metabolic adaptation.
Metabolic adaptation is when your body adapts to losing weight by burning less calories over time because it doesn’t want to lose weight anymore. Your body wants to stay the same weight and will do whatever it can to do so.
That said, this isn’t a bad thing. It’s a survival mechanism based on our evolution as a species. If we continued to lose weight, we’d shrivel into a dried raison and starve to death.
Think about it like this… During a famine when food was scarce, you’d want your body to conserve energy so that you didn’t starve. Therefore, your body starts to burn less calories so that it doesn’t lose weight. This is what happens when you’re in a calorie deficit. Your body thinks there is a famine going on and adapts to the conditions.
Typically this happens the leaner you get and the longer you have been dieting for. This would be a legit fat loss plateue.
What To Do If You’ve Been Dieting and Your Fat Loss Has Stalled?
Ok, let’s say that you have been dieting for 3 months, you’ve been on point, and the amount that you are eating is not a calorie deficit anymore because your body has adapted.
Here’s an example:
- When you first started, your body was burning 2,500 calories a day.
- However, you’ve lost 20 pounds since then. You now carry around less weight and have decreased NEAT levels. As a result, you now burn 2,000 calories. So that 2,000 calorie deficit won’t work anymore.
Ok, now that you know why your body burns less calories, what do you do when this happens?
First, you can lower calories again by a 200-300 to create another deficit.
I will say that this is where a lot of people mess up. They lower their calories too low too quickly. This is why you should consider hiring a coach who can help you through this process.
Another option is to take a mini diet break by eating at maintenance (Bodyweight x 15) for a few weeks to allow your body, hormones, and metabolism to recover, while also giving you a mental break from dieting, build more muscle, and get strong as fuck.
Conclusion:
As you can see, you are not the “exception”. You can and will lose weight if you consistently follow the basics.
I know it seems too good to be true, but it really is that simple. There’s no need to over complicate it.
As long as you are in a calorie deficit at the end of the day, weeks, and months you will get results. And using these 4 things as a guide will help out a ton with that.
I hope you enjoyed this article and learned something from it. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out and I’d be more than happy to see if I can help. You can email me at bobhooverfitness@gmail.com
If you’re interested, you can apply for online coaching so we can chat and see if you’d be a good fit.
Thank you! Love you!
-Coach Bob
Ps. As a gift to you, I’ve created a guide consisting of 30 Free Fat Loss Workouts. You can download it here.