How to break Your Weight Loss Plateau in 5 Easy Steps

Reduce Calories

It’s the obvious answer and possibly the one you've been dreading, but reducing calories is a foolproof way of accelerating weight loss.

If you’re burning fewer calories each day because your metabolism is dropping, then lowering your intake further will ensure you keep a negative calorie balance or calorie deficit, which basically means you’re consuming fewer calories than you burn.

You can cut calories from anywhere, though most dieters tend to benefit from reducing carbs, then fats, while keeping protein intake constant. Protein helps preserve muscle mass, fats are needed for hormone production and while carbs do provide energy, they’re not as critical as the other two macronutrients.

You don’t need a huge calorie drop – a 50 to 100 calorie per day reduction should do the trick.

Increase Protein

This works in conjunction with decreasing carbs and fat.

Protein has a higher thermic effect of food than carbs and fat, meaning it takes your body longer to break it down, and therefore burns more calories in the digestion process. If you’re not already consuming one gram of protein per pound of body weight, then increase your intake to that now. If you are consuming this much, add another 10 to 20 grams per day, while still hitting that 50 to 100 calorie drop.

Take a Break

Having five to seven days away from your diet can help to reset your metabolism.

This isn't an excuse to go mad and binge, or eat whatever you want, but increase your calories to maintenance level. To work out your maintenance level, multiply your body weight in pounds by 15 and consume this many calories each day.

Add a Re-Feed Day

As with taking a break for a short while, this doesn't mean having a free for all day, or gorging at an all you can eat buffet. Increase your total calorie intake for the day by around 20 percent, with the extra calories coming mainly from carbohydrates. If possible, do this on a day when you train, as the extra energy this gives you can translate into improved performance in the gym.

The leaner you are, the more often you can re-feed. You shouldn't need re-feeds at all in the first two to three weeks of dieting, or if you’re above 20 percent body fat for a man or 30 percent for a woman.

If you’re between 12 and 20 percent as male, or 18 to 30 percent for a woman, have one re-feed per week and if you’re leaner than this, have two.

Add Extra Workouts

The phrase “train smarter, not longer” certainly holds some weight, but there’s a lot to be said for increasing your workout frequency.

Aim for a minimum of three tough sessions per week. You can also increase your daily calorie burn and metabolism by adding more NEPA (Non-Exercise Physical Activity) into your routine. This involves simple things such as walking to the shops instead of driving, or climbing stairs instead of taking the escalator.

Make weight training a priority too – it has a much bigger after-burn effect and more of an impact on your metabolism than cardio does. Hit your whole body three times per week, with a focus on compound lifts such as squats, deadlifts, clean and presses, chin-ups, rows and bench presses. Train heavy and train hard.