For almost three straight weeks now, my scales have not budged – at all. I’ve been stuck at 160 pounds. It’s almost as if the scales are mocking me, given how excited I was to get back into the 150’s. 😛
While I’ve experienced a weight loss plateau before, I’ve never had one last this long while eating low carb. Ever. Not while “sticking to the plan.”
And I’m not alone. Many people in our 90 Day Low Carb Challenge Facebook Group are experiencing long stalls as well. This prompted me to do some research and see what I could do to break out of it…
And let me just say, YES it’s discouraging. Particularly if you weigh every day like I do, instead of weighing in weekly. I’m used to seeing the scales move at least a little every day, or every few days at the very least. It’s almost discouraging enough to make you want to throw in the towel and binge…
I said almost, because I know firsthand that WILL make the scales move. In the WRONG direction. Which is definitely not what I want! 😉 I would rather be stuck at 160 pounds, than put 10-20 pounds back on in a matter of weeks. So I’m staying focused on the positive (the weight I’ve lost so far) and not letting this weight loss plateau get the better of me.
Like I said, it prompted me to do some research, and here is what I found – and what I’m trying myself:
How to Break a Weight Loss Plateau on the Low Carb Diet
1. Drink Water. I’ve never been a big water drinker, but research says that water helps to break down fat more effectively. I’ve never had to do this in the past on the low carb diet, but I am currently toting around a bottled water and trying to drink as much as I can every day.
2. Eat More Fat. Last summer when the weather got hot, I found myself “eating lighter” simply because I didn’t crave heavy foods in the heat. It wasn’t intentional, but my diet turned out to be low carb AND low fat – which caused me to stall until I added more “good fats” back into my diet. There’s a science to the low carb diet, and without the proper “food combining” you can easily experience a stall.
3. Try a Mini-Binge. Another thing you can try is to increase your calorie and carb intake. Having a day, or just a meal, of higher carb / higher calorie eating, followed by returning to your consistent low carb eating can kick-start weight loss again. I stay away from things like pasta or bread or sugar when I do this, and opt for something healthy like: dried cranberries, a baked potato, carrots, etc.
4. Exercise. A quick cardio workout once or twice a day can work wonders to boost your metabolism. It can be as simple as 10-15 minutes of dancing in your kitchen, or hopping on the treadmill or Gazelle while you’re watching your favorite show.
5. Analyze your diet more closely. It may be that you have an intolerance to certain things in your diet, such as artificial sweeteners, or other things that cause a personal stall for you. Or you may not be correctly counting your net carbs. Try cutting out “products” and sticking to “real foods” and see if that helps. Also, track your meals & snacks in a good journal to make sure you’re eating enough AND sticking to around 20 net carbs per day.
6. Eat More! One of the things I’m dealing with right now is a lack of appetite. Not eating enough can shift your body into “fasting mode” which slows your metabolism and causes your body to store fat for energy. I’m having a hard time finishing a regular sized meal (which has *never* been a problem for me before, ha!) so I am switching to eating smaller meals/snacks and eating more frequently.
A weight loss plateau is usually caused by your body adapting to the changes you’ve made. Those changes may cause your metabolism to slow down or your appetite to decrease, for example. It’s a natural adjustment (your body is one smart machine!) so sometimes you just need to trick it or “shock it” back into motion.
I tried the mini-binge as I mentioned. That knocked me out of ketosis. Then I tried eating more fat, sticking to protein & fat strictly for a few days, which put me right back in. Ugh – back to the restless nights and nagging headaches! I regretted that little cycle, especially when the scales still didn’t move. 😛
I’m currently trying to work more water into my daily routine, and next I’m planning to try the cardio to increase my metabolism. If you try too many things at once, you may never know which one actually worked. I’m not so worried about that personally – as long as something works. LOL. Water and exercise are both things I need more of anyway, so whether they do the trick or not it will be a healthy improvement for me.
If you’re experiencing a low carb stall, or a long term weight loss plateau, hang in there! 😉 Stick to the plan, make improvements, and don’t let discouragement talk you into putting weight back ON after you’ve worked so hard to take it off…
Isobel says
Here’s my tip – get off the scales and get out the tape measure π My weight has been stuck for a while too, but today I tried on a pair of jeans I couldn’t even do up 2 weeks ago (2 inches of belly fat came between the two sides of the zipper lol). Today they zipped up without any effort at all. I don’t care what the scales say (especially when I’m working out), but I do care what size I am.
The other thing I’ve done recently is add back fruit in the form of a green smoothie every day. It just didn’t feel right to me to cut out fruit so much (berries are hard to find here, except strawberries in season – which they’re not right now). I’ve been putting 1 banana, 2 apples, a small cucumber and spinach into a smoothie for breakfast and my stomach has magically flattened π
Lynn Terry says
That’s great to hear! I don’t care for fruit in general – never have – but I have started eating berries in place of desserts since going low carb.
I’ve got something else going on. Definitely not losing inches. I’m feeling bloated and icky. So it’s either a mild stomach bug, or something to do with my current meds. Drinking lots of water and adding in some cardio and waiting it out! π
Marge Burkell says
Hmmm… I can relate. I made the “mistake” of buying a couple bottles of Coke Zero. 0 calories and 0 carbs (lots of empty nothing) BUT I am afraid the sweetener is just toxic enough to block weight loss… what do you think?
Lynn Terry says
Some people have said that’s the case for them, but I lost all of my pounds while still enjoying my Diet Coke, so it was never an issue for me personally. Obviously the more healthy “real foods” we eat… the better! π
Cathy says
I just discovered your blog, and I think I’ll be joining you on a low carb weight loss plan. I lost weight many years ago on the Atkins plan, and I need to buckle down and get some weight off again.
Anyway, the reason I’m posting is to share a thought about Diet Coke and sodas in general. I recently eliminated diet soda from my diet because I learned that the preservatives in them are carcinogenic. Sodium benzoate or any *benz* ingredient can be converted to the carcinogen benzine in our bodies. (I switched to iced tea with stevia.)
Maybe you can research and make this a future topic?
Lynn Terry says
Great idea, Cathy! Welcome – and do consider joining us both here and at the http://www.90daylowcarbchallenge.com π
Emily C. says
Thank you for this! I’m am 20.2 lbs down and have stalled out over the past 2 weeks. I will try water and exercise for now.
Lynn Terry says
Hi Emily π Water and Exercise are both helpful. Be sure to check these four points too, though: http://www.travelinglowcarb.com/5093/not-losing-weight-eating-low-carb/ π *cheers*
Scott R. says
I have been stuck for three weeks. I had lost 60 lbs. In six months. I’m not discouraged thanks to all your posts. Thank you for the help.
Lynn Terry says
That’s awesome, Scott! Congrats on the 60 pounds lost – wow. π I assume you’re tracking super close, eating 20 net carbs a day or less, and getting at least 70% of your daily calories in healthy fats? If not, those 3 things will break a stall pretty quick.
Also see: http://www.travelinglowcarb.com/6064/3-ingredients-rule/ This has been an AWESOME stall-breaker and/or kick start for dozens of us!!
Janet says
Thank You for your comments, I am at a stall right now and I believe I only eat around 20 carbs a day I do drink about 5to6 cups of coffee a day and I have my wonderful Atkins bars and M&M Atkins I have those at night , around 8 for desert, I have been eating salads out and ordering my thousand Island dressing on the side maybe it has more carbs than I thought I only use about a couple TBL spoons at most. Humm maybe it is just a normal stall and I should drink more water, I can’t exercise a lot because of bad knees, so maybe I’ll dance in the kitchen!! Thanks everyone.
Lynn Terry says
Hi Janet π
How are you tracking? If you aren’t yet, try using MyFitnessPal for two full weeks and track everything you eat to see your true carb count – and also to make sure you are getting at least 70% fat.
The Atkins bar/candy is known to stall weight loss, so that is the first thing I would test. Go two weeks without the Atkins sweets and see what happens.
Thousand Island dressing does have sugar in it and can be anywhere from 4-11 net carbs per 2 tbsp serving. If you are using your own, or know the brand they use, look up the label. Otherwise see if the restaurant publishes nutrition facts so you can check that.