Hey everyone! The weight loss on this keto cut has been going great so far! I'm down about 12lbs and I'm well on my way to hitting my goal of 173lbs!!
Over the past several days I've noticed a plateauing in my weight loss. I've already dropped my calories down a little bit, but it isn't making a difference. A common question that I see related to dieting is how to "bust" through these plateauing when they inevitably arise.
My approach is pretty simple:
- I wait 4-5 days for consistent weigh-ins that prove that I'm actually plateauing at a certain weight
- I drop some calories (usually between 200-300 calories)
- I wait 2-3 days to see how it turns out on the lower calorie regime
- If I don't break through the plateaeu, then I increase the frequency, intensity, and duration of my workout/cardio routine
Step 4 is really what I want to highlight in this post. When I find myself in a situation like the one outlined above (which has been happening for the past 6 days), then I begin to add to my training.
Making my training more intense will burn more calories and adding more and longer cardio days amplifies the amount of calories burned even further.
Some people drop their calories really low when they're trying to break a stalled weight level, but I prefer to drop a smaller amount of calories and then focus on working harder in the gym. I feel like it leads to better physiological adaptations and increased metabolism versus the negative effects that have been found in diets that are too low in calories.
So next time you find yourself at a plateau, try increasing your workload before you demolish your calorie limits!
As for what I do specifically to increase intensity, frequency, and duration:
- Longer cardio sessions - I'm doing ~15-minute sessions right now, I'm going to bump that to 20 or 25 minutes (depending on how I feel)
- More cardio sessions - I'm doing about 2-3 cardio sessions per week right now, I'm going to bump that up to 4-5/week
- More intense lifts - I prefer to do LISS cardio (which is something I'll talk about in another post) which means that I keep the intensity of my cardio relatively stable. I try to up the intensity on my weight lifting instead. To do this, I'll take shorter rest times between sets and I'll even add additional sets and lifts to each workout.
Day 26 Log:
Weigh-In:
| Start Weight (lbs) | Goal Weight (lbs) | Weight Lost (lbs) |
|---|---|---|
| 198 | 173 | 12 |
| Today's Weight (lbs) | Fat Mass (%) | Body Mass BMI |
|---|---|---|
| 186 | 20 | 19.9 |
Workout:
Back/Bi:
| Movement | Weight lbs | # Reps | # Sets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single-Arm Lat Pull Down | 70 | 12-15 | 4 |
| Low Row | 160 | 12-15 | 4 |
| Penalty Row | 185 | 8-10 | 4 |
| Hoist Cable Curl Machine | 70 | 12-15 | 4 |
| Reverse EZ Curl | 45 | 12-15 | 4 |
| Rear Delt Fly | 95 | 12-15 | 4 |
| Lat Pull Down | 140 | 8-12 | 4 |
| Alternating DB Curls | 40 | 8-12 | 4 |
Cardio: 20 Minutes on the Stairmaster
Here's the Question of The Day, don't forget to post your answers in the comments!
QOTD: What do you tend to do when you reach a plateau? Do you prefer to increase your workload or decrease your calories or do a mix of both?
Thanks for reading! Don't forget to leave your thoughts below and I look forward to seeing you in the comments!
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