Hitting the Wall

[Erik]

Most people when on a weight-loss program hit a lull, or stop losing weight at some point. What can they do to prevent this or what can they do to get out of it?

[Blondell]

Taking a break and going to maintenance is an option. For me personally, I'd add in refeed/cheat days.

[Inatic]

Taking a break and going to maintenance is an option. For me personally, I'd add in refeed/cheat days.

i wish i knew about that early on.

[Erik]

Taking a break and going to maintenance is an option. For me personally, I'd add in refeed/cheat days.

Elaborate?

[Cass]

Taking a break and going to maintenance is an option. For me personally, I'd add in refeed/cheat days.
But what if you are not lean enough, to do refeeds?

[Amy]

I would first go back over my food journal/log to make sure I *really* followed my plan. So many times people reflect on their day thinking they did pretty well. It is easy to forget the bites of other peoples foods (kids especially). Those little bites can take your calories up, possibly to a maintenance level which would keep you from losing weight.

Then if I had already incorporated a cheat meal, I would look over it to make sure I am not going overboard.

[Blondell]

Elaborate?

After dieting for a while, your body hits a point where it may not want to let fat go anymore. Taking a full diet break allows your body to 'reset', and once you start dieting again, you'll continue to drop bodyfat.

Refeeds are simply increasing your carb intake for a set amount of time while keeping your fat intake relatively low.

This is from the 'leptin' sticky:

The Refeed


As mentioned, there are numerous factors that determine leptin expression, but an exhaustive presentation is beyond the scope of this part of the article, and will be covered in the succedding months. Instead, we just take a brief look at refeeding.

The primary determinate of leptin expression is glucose metabolism (41). This gives us a really good idea of the macronutrient profile of our refeed. Fat, fructose, protein, and alcohol do not have the same effect on leptin expression that glucose does.

Assuming we have not created drastically low leptin levels, our refeed will be between 20 and 50% ABOVE maintenence, for 12-48 hours -- the higher the calories, the shorter the refeed -- there are arguments in support of both. If they are drastically low, 5-7 days of 20% above is recommended. In general, the lower you are below your natural bodyfat setpoint, and the longer or more drastic your diet, the more frequent the refeed.

Because we are eating above maintence, we are most likely accepting some fat gain (though, if leptin levels are really low, the opposite could very well occur due to increases in metabolic rate as leptin is increased), so we want to get the most bang for our buck. Thus, our primary macronutrient will be carbohydrates that enter the blood as glucose -- this means glucose, glucose polymers such as maltodextrin, and starches. Insulin also potentiates glucose stimulated leptin production (13, 41), thus high GI carbs are most ideal. Protein should be 1g/lb, and a bit of fat and fructose in foods you enjoy is acceptable, but the rest is non-fructose carbohydrates.

Cheat days do much of the same, however, having a cheat day isn't a good idea if you have issues sticking to moderate amounts of things. In this case, stick top refeeding.

[Blondell]

But what if you are not lean enough, to do refeeds?

There are full diet breaks. Also, it makes sense to FIRST make sure that you are doing all necessary w/ your diet and training. Be sure that you are not overeating. This is many times the case w/o you knowing. Track what you are eating if you aren't already.

[Steve]

Most people when on a weight-loss program hit a lull, or stop losing weight at some point. What can they do to prevent this or what can they do to get out of it?

Assuming we are talking about the average person, tell them to start being truthful with regards to their caloric intake.

A true plateau is a rarity IMO relative to most cases where people simply aren't sticking to the plan with enough consistency. And sometimes the person isn't to blame for this lack of consistency.... rather blame should be placed on said plan.

Not saying plateaus don't happen.... they certainly do. But the factors causing the plateau should dictate what corrective action to take to move past the 'lull.'

[Noel Clark]

Assuming we are talking about the average person, tell them to start being truthful with regards to their caloric intake.
A true plateau is a rarity IMO relative to most cases where people simply aren't sticking to the plan with enough consistency. And sometimes the person isn't to blame for this lack of consistency.... rather blame should be placed on said plan.

Not saying plateaus don't happen.... they certainly do. But the factors causing the plateau should dictate what corrective action to take to move past the 'lull.'

:nod:

[Audrey]

Assuming the person is not tracling their calories yet, I would advise them to start doing that first. Most people - and this is reflected in most studies - notoriously over-estimate their caloric intake - sometimes by as much as 50%. This can make a big difference in whether you are maintaining or losing the weight.

You do NOT have to track your calories all your life, but IMO, unless you learn first what a 'normal' meal portion represents or what a balanced meal is, this will be your first step.

Once you actually know how much you are eating, it will be much easier to make adjustments if necessary (like decreasing calories by another 10% or so). Some people on the light side (light females) as well as people having a sedentary job may need to decrease their calories quite a bit to continue seeing weight loss (10 cals/lb, sometimes even a bit lower).

As mentioned above, if that person has been dieting for quite some time (and honestly kept up with their plan), going to maintenance for 2 weeks would be a good option.