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Fixing weight loss plateaus

Authors
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    Name
    Parminder Singh
    Twitter

Fixing weight loss plateaus is about understanding and manipulating a few key concepts.

Calorie deficit

Weight loss comes from a calorie deficit. You burn more calories than you eat. That is the rule.

TDEE

TDEE is the total energy your body uses in a day. This includes breathing, digestion, walking, thinking, and working out. When you start exercising, your TDEE goes up because you are moving more and burning more energy. At the beginning, workouts feel hard and expensive energy-wise. You sweat more, your heart rate spikes, and you burn more calories doing basic things.

Adaptation

As you train more, your body adapts. You get stronger and more efficient. Picking up a 20 lb dumbbell now takes less energy than it did when you started. The same workout burns fewer calories over time. At the same time, as you lose weight, your body itself needs fewer calories just to exist. You may also move less during the day without realizing it. All of this slowly lowers your TDEE. If nothing changes (same workout, same diet), the calorie deficit disappears. This is exatly what a plateau is.

Fix

You have to recreate the deficit, which can be done by:

  • Doing more reps with the same weight
  • Lifting heavier weights
  • Walking more and increasing daily steps
  • Eating slightly less

If you need help with any of the above, please reach out.