Hitting a plateau is a widespread occurrence, especially for women. You're cruising towards your weight loss goals and then suddenly, you hit a wall. You stop seeing progress on the scale or you may even slightly regress. Despite your most significant efforts, the scale is not budging, and frustration is setting in. This temporary wall does not mean you are failing or destined to struggle with your weight forever. It is simply an invitation to assess, refine, and adjust.

Thermodynamics (how your body transfers energy) is why weight loss or body recomposition can stall. The body is constantly trying to reach homeostasis; a state of balance. Physiologically, when you change your eating habits and adding exercise to your routine, you burn more calories than you consume which leads to subsequent fat loss. However, the longer you maintain that particular programming, the more your body adjusts to it, building endurance thus slowing down the transfer of energy in an effort to find balance again.

How do we solve this problem? Behavior and programming adjustment and modification.

The human body will constantly make adjustments within itself to maintain a sense of balance-therefore; it is imperative to "stay ahead of it" by adjusting workouts and nutrition when you hit a plateau.

It is also critical to assess various data and not just the scale. Measurements, lean mass, fat mass, and photos are vital when assessing progress. The scale number may not be moving, but your body composition (how you look and how muscle and fat sit on your body) may be shifting. Your lean mass may be going up while your fat mass goes down, resulting in not much initial change in the scale. This is all progress and reason why the scale should not be the only factor in assessment.

The matter is that there are several things to consider when assessing how to avoid or break a weight loss plateau.

Here are 7 to consider:

Reconsider short and long-term goals.

This is a great time to go back and look at the goals you started your program with and collaborate with your coach to determine if they need to be adjusted. Do this with short- and long-term goals using the SMART goal method, resulting in clearly defined benchmarks.

Check Yourself.

Take time to lean into some self-reflection and get brutally honest about whether or not you're following the plan with complete fidelity or if you're skimming off the top or adding in "extra" somewhere. These small things can add up quickly and throw off the body's response.

Re-assess the nutrition/workout plan and your individual needs.

What worked when you started may not necessarily have the same results now. Our bodies adjust over time, so the occasional "shake-up" in programming may be needed.

Pause for the Cause.

There is such a thing as a "break." This is different than stopping, quitting, or giving up in defeat. By taking a break from training (a week or so), your body can recover and then gently shake it back into action when you start again. It is a phase of maintaining and allowing the body (and mind) to rest. Using this time to apply some of the above strategies is a great way to pause and regroup.

Assess water intake.

How much water we consume (or how little) can throw off our progress. Consistency is critical when it comes to hydration. Increasing water, especially with meals, can impact caloric intake.

Find joy.

Yes, training, transformation, and working towards goals can be challenging, but it doesn't necessarily have to be miserable. Add enjoyment and increase support. Increase your support system and add joy to your program. Try a new workout or workout with a friend. Change up your nutrition. Find ways to keep the process from becoming stale and boring.

By identifying the cognitive, physical, and emotional components to be addressed and adjusted, you can ensure that plateaus are minimal and fixable. Please don't allow your body's acceptance of all the hard work to convince you it's not working. It’s actually further from the truth. If you’re feeling stuck and not sure how to proceed, reach out to professionals for guidance and direction. Work smarter, not harder, and continue to Warrior Forward.