Why Am I Not Losing?
An Indepth Look Into All Stages of Weight Loss
Ever find yourself frustrated because you’re being more intentional about your health, but the scale won’t seem to budge?
Ever find yourself stumped because you were finally losing the weight, but then you just all of a sudden plateaued?
Ever find yourself really hungry while trying to eat less and wondering why you can’t seem to fight the craving?
You are not alone and these can all be explained by taking a deeper dive into the four stages of weight loss management.
The maintenance stage is where we should absolutely spend a majority of our time. It is where we are eating the same amount of calories that we are burning throughout the day simply meaning we won’t lose weight, but we also will not gain. Eating up to maintenance calories can be intimidating for some who are always accustomed to eating less(or dieting!), but is imperative for our metabolism not to get adapted to a lower calorie intake. The more time we spend at maintenance, the more we get to enjoy food freedom, the more our metabolism adapts to a higher intake (making weight loss much easier in the long run), and the more our bodies get all the nutrients they were denied in a deficit phase. Those who finally get to maintenance realize it's the way to live and enjoy life to the fullest and they truly get to take advantage of a caloric deficit that yields POWERFUL results.
A caloric deficit is where you are eating less calories than the amount you are burning throughout the day. This seems to be where everyone wants to start their weight loss journey so that they can start seeing the pounds and inches go down, but unfortunately sometimes our bodies are not primed for this stage. If we have been undereating (meaning eating under our maintenance calories) for a while, then our metabolism adapts to that low intake as our baseline (causing a plateau). When this happens, the only way we could continue to lose weight would be to eat below our baseline (which is NOT sustainable and a miserable way to live!). Caloric deficits should be scheduled for a small amount of time with an end date, regardless of where your weight stands at that point (because we don’t want our metabolism to adapt too much and our bodies are needing more fuel!). Caloric deficits can be a great way to shed some pounds and tone, but only if your body is ready (otherwise your weight won’t budge much).
A reverse diet is the stage between a caloric deficit and maintenance. During this stage you are adding back in calories weekly to get you to your maintenance number. The goal of a reverse diet is to determine how many calories you can gain, while maintaining your results. During this stage some people will continue to lose, some will maintain, and some will gain a few. If they do gain, it is usually muscle weight because they are finally fueling their body properly for muscle growth. During a reverse diet it is so important to listen to your body (hunger cues!) and respond to those cues. Your body’s biofeedback and measurements will help to determine when you have met your maintenance calories.
The last stage is a caloric surplus. This is considered a bulk stage where you are eating more than you are burning in a day (over your maintenance calories). Many people focus on this stage when they have a goal of muscle growth. When this stage is coupled with weight lifting, muscle building is the outcome.
There is a time and place for all of these stages in our health journey and determining the right phase for you is so important for long term success. Executing all of these stages and listening most of all to your body will determine your outcomes.
Most important things to ask yourself when determining what phase you need to be in:
What has your daily caloric intake been and how does it compare to your maintenance calories?
If it's below, you need to eat up to your maintenance calories. If it's above and you have been eating there for a while, you might be primed for a caloric deficit.
Are you constantly hungry, feeling depleted, and spending a lot of time thinking about food? Probably time to reverse and eat more! Your body is signaling you that it needs fuel!
Are you wanting to continue building muscle, supplying your body with the nutrients it needs, and minimize the risk of your metabolism stabilizing at too low of an intake?
Stay at maintenance and enjoy the food freedom!
Need help deciphering how these stages can benefit you?? Stop feeling overwhelmed and let me help. I am more than happy to discuss your past health habits and your goals to determine what the next best step is for you.
