There are few things more frustrating than the dreaded weight loss plateau, right?

It's actually one of the most common reasons for causing the "Ugh!!... Why bother??!" mindset to creep in.

It makes sense.. because you're going from seeing results and feeling good about yourself to all of a sudden feeling like nothing is working.

It'd be like making a bunch of money and all the sudden you end up broke in what feels like a moment's notice.

I remember how I used to hit those plateaus right when I was about to break through another weight loss milestone.

Like I'd be sitting at 200 or 201 and I could feel the 190s within reach...

Then, days and weeks would go by and every day it was.. 200.8, 201.2, 200.6, 202, 201, etc... you get the point.

I wanted to smash my scale against the wall (it probably would've been a more effective strategy for me).

My solution was always to try harder.

I would get this determination to break through so I would cut calories and exercise more.

I remember going to my old high school and trying to sprint the fat off me.

You know what happened?

Nothing.

The only difference it made was that my mindset shifted from "try harder" to "why even bother."

Without fail, I'd go on an epic binge.

"It's not working so I might as well enjoy myself."

Then, I find myself feeling defeated and guilty.

And eventually, I'd dust myself off and start the process all over again.

It's challenging when there's so much misinformation out there that says to cut calories or exercise more when you hit a plateau, especially this day and age with social media.

I thought I was doing the right thing.

As I had to learn the hard way.. I was doing the exact opposite of the right thing.

Plateaus are nothing more than an adaptation to what you're currently doing.

Which means your body is "used to" the amount of food you're eating and the amount of exercise you're doing.

In order to elicit change, we need to send a new signal.

Now, if that signal is... we're going to eat less and exercise more.. you may get some temporary movement.

But then what? Your body is going to adapt again.

So now you hit yet another plateau on even fewer calories and even more exercise.

That game gets exhausting real quick.

Not to mention, plateaus can occur from being under too much stress.

Therefore, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to add more stress onto your system (eating too little is a stressor and exercising too much is also a stressor).

What if we sent the opposite signal?

What if we delivered the "safety" signal instead?

There are many ways to do that but some of my favorites include:

• Increasing calories to maintenance level for a day or two
   
• Adding a rest day or two
   
• Increasing calories to maintenance for 1-2 weeks
   
• A deload week from training
   
• Integrating stress-reducing activities such as breathing exercises or low impact activities such as walking or mobility work
   
• Addressing sleeping patterns and making shifts there
   

Reducing calories is usually one of the last things I do with my clients. 

Often, it's not necessary.

The reason is because we go through a phase of metabolism optimization where I get them eating enough calories overall so their bodies respond favorably when they want to lose fat (not just weight).

This means they get to make more sustainable progress on higher calories.

Therefore, when a plateau happens, we can use some of the tactics above and still have plenty of room to work with in case it does require a calorie reduction.

What's great about doing it this way, is that it's much easier to incorporate freedom and flexibility into the process.

We make sure that they still get to enjoy foods they love, social events, family events, church events, etc.

Many of my clients come to me with the belief that they need to be miserable in order to achieve their goals. 

And they quickly learn that being miserable is the exact reason why they couldn't sustain it in the past.

I also help them break through plateaus by manipulating macros.

Especially as we monitor the daily stressors in their lives and adjust accordingly to ensure proper stress management and recovery.

Certain foods and macro ratios will help more with reducing stress and recovery from training, depending on the workouts they're doing, so we want to make sure the plan is in alignment with their lifestyle.

None of this matters without consistency and feeling great through the process.

That's why I recommend food choices based on their goals and their personality assessment.

Having a plan based on the way they are wired allows them to feel more like themselves, experience less stress, and maintain a more stable mood.. all of which lead to being more consistent and getting better results.

These are the steps that I took when I finally realized that my approach for breaking through plateaus was problematic.

And these are the steps that I take for my 1:1 clients when I work with them in my coaching mentorship program.

If you've been struggling to break through plateaus and feel like nothing has worked, then my program can help.

The next step would be to simply reply to this email so I can make sure it's a good fit. I'll ask you a few questions and if you're the right fit for my program, I'll offer you an invite and I can get you enrolled within a day or two!

All the best,
Mike