An intermittent fasting plateau is when you stop losing weight despite consistently following your chosen intermittent fasting (IF) plan. Although plateaus are a common occurrence (1), they often frustrate many practitioners and cause the majority to quit, leading them to believe that intermittent fasting is ineffective.
Before you give up on your diet plan, allow us to help you better understand why an intermittent fasting weight loss plateau occurs and how to break a weight loss plateau, so you can resume achieving your body and fitness goals.
Several factors can cause an intermittent fasting plateau females or males.
Here are some of the leading causes why you aren’t losing any weight while fasting:
Researchers describe one of the main reasons for stalled weight loss as metabolic adaptation. This adaptation is our body’s biological response to regain the body mass we lose to survive (2).
The adaptation process involves your body adjusting to your new calorie intake and physical activity, making this the new normal. Your body’s natural adjustment to diet and exercise changes can slow down the rate of or eventually stop weight loss altogether.
When you start a new low-calorie diet or workout plan, you start to quickly lose weight as you are meeting less of your body’s energy needs, so it uses stored energy (primarily fat) to make up the shortfall.
However, your body doesn’t necessarily want to lose these energy stores, so it slowly adjusts to the new calorie intake or workout routine. This adjustment eventually slows down your metabolism, leading to you losing less weight than before (1).
Multiple studies on metabolic adaptation have demonstrated that it indeed leads to less weight loss and an increase in the time required to achieve weight loss goals (3, 4, 5).
One of the main reasons that many people see intermittent fasting as an easier ‘diet’ for weight loss is that it does not restrict what you eat.
As long as you stick to the main rule to not have any food during the fasting window – and only survive on plain water, or unsweetened coffee, or tea – you are free to have whatever you wish when the eating window opens.
This “freedom”, unfortunately, leads people to believe that there are no limits to whatever they choose to consume. Regardless of your weight loss diet, the amount of calories you consume is crucial. According to research, a calorie deficit is the most vital factor for weight loss, and diet experts recommend that everyone aim for a calorie deficit of 500 to 750 calories (6).
Intermittent fasting can help you reduce your calorie intake, but only if you pay attention to what you eat and how much you consume. Remember that eating in a caloric surplus might not only put you on a plateau, but it could also lead to weight gain.
When it comes to weight loss, progress is made by inches, not miles, so it’s much harder to track and a lot easier to give up. The BetterMe: Health Coaching app is your personal trainer, nutritionist, and support system all in one. Start using our app to stay on track and hold yourself accountable!
Overeating is not the only thing that can lead to a weight loss plateau or unwanted weight gain. As mentioned above, a calorie deficit is essential for weight loss; however, cutting too many calories from your daily intake can lead to a metabolic slowdown, which then can cause a plateau or, worse, lead to weight gain.
As mentioned in the metabolic adaptations section above, your body continually seeks ways to conserve energy. Because energy comes from the foods we consume, if you provide it with too little food while intermittent fasting, it ‘thinks’ that you are starving and thus adjusts your metabolic rate, slowing it down in a bid to survive what it believes is starvation.
Any weight loss plan will only work if you are dedicated and consistent in following it.
If you are constantly breaking your fast before the eating window opens, and that results in you eating more than you otherwise would, then you are more likely to experience an intermittent fasting plateau. To keep this from happening, adjust your IF plan to something easier for you to handle, find a plan that best suits your lifestyle, and you could also use an app to help you keep track of how many hours you’ve been fasting.
Read more: Meals For Intermittent Fasting: What To Eat And What To Avoid While On This Program
So, how do you get over the intermittent fasting plateaus?
Here are some tips on how to conquer the intermittent food challenges:
While IF does not have strict rules on what to eat during the eating window, it is always best to stick to mostly healthy, nutrition-dense foods. Such foods are not only rich in antioxidants, which are beneficial for your health, but they are also high in lean protein and fiber, which help with appetite regulation and perceived satiety (7, 8, 9).
The fuller you feel, the less likely you are to overeat.
When intermittent fasting, you must fill your diet with:
We understand that not everyone loves the idea of counting calories, which is probably why you chose to do IF in the first place. However, the unfortunate truth is that calorie intake can make or break any weight loss plan.
Suppose you want to overcome the hurdle of an intermittent fasting plateau 2 weeks in.
In that case, you may need to go back to the drawing board and not only find your appropriate calorie deficit but also track to ensure that you are neither over-nor undereating.
Remember, counting calories is not a forever thing. Once you’ve done it for a while, and if you pay attention to how much you eat, you can more easily estimate your calorie intake without having to log what you eat and drink daily.
Reducing your calorie intake helps create a calorie deficit, prompting your body to use some of its stored energy to make up the shortfall. Exercising also achieves the same effect by increasing the energy you expend, and combining exercise with a reduced-calorie diet makes creating a calorie deficit easier.
Most individuals use progressive overload to help increase their muscle mass and strength (10), but the challenge can also help your body burn more calories. Additionally, having more muscle results in a higher resting metabolic rate (RMR) (11, 12, 13), which leads to increased calorie burning throughout the day and night.
As previously mentioned, your body will adjust to whatever challenge you throw at it, which means that it can adapt to your current IF plan. If you’ve been following your current intermittent fasting plan for a while, it might be time to try something new, thus presenting your body with a new challenge.
If you’ve been following the 14:10 fasting plan, think about switching to the more popular 16:8 plan. This IF plan will adjust your fasting and eating windows by 2 hours, respectively. You could also choose to try the 5:2 diet or try alternate-day fasting; the options are endless.
Not necessarily. Research shows that the primary reason intermittent fasting is effective for inducing weight and fat loss is that it helps to reduce your calorie intake (14).
If this results in a moderate calorie deficit, the result should be gradual and sustainable weight loss. However, if you or a dietitian reduce your calorie intake too severely, metabolic adaptations can occur over time, resulting in a lower metabolic rate.
Any type of weight loss program can lead to a plateau.
Factors like the following can lead to a plateau, and it can happen to anyone:
The BetterMe: Health Coaching app will provide you with a host of fat-frying fitness routines that’ll scare the extra pounds away and turn your body into a masterpiece! Get your life moving in the right direction with BetterMe!
The most obvious sign of a weight loss plateau is when you notice that the rate of your weight loss is slowly declining or that it has stopped altogether.
According to the CDC, a healthy weight loss rate is losing 1-2 pounds a week (15).
If your progress drops below this, you are likely experiencing a plateau.
Read more: Fasting for Beginners: A Healthy Approach
You can do this by:
Choose 80% healthy foods and consume them in a calorie deficit that aligns with your goals.
Is a 3-day plateau diet the best choice to get over a weight loss plateau? Find out here.
It might. In a 2017 study published in the International Journal of Obesity, researchers found that obese men who engaged in intermittent dieting (2 weeks of dieting followed by 2 weeks off) lost more fat and weight than those who followed continuous dieting for 16 weeks. They theorized that doing this might have prevented these men’s bodies from adjusting to the diet, thus their metabolism did not slow down (16). From this, we can infer that occasional “cheat days” or off-periods may help prevent a plateau and even break one.Frequently Asked Questions
Will a cheat day break my plateau?
An intermittent fasting plateau, 1-month long to a few years, is a common and frustrating part of weight loss. If you suspect that you have hit a plateau, take a step back and assess both your eating and exercise habits. By adjusting one or both of these areas, you may get over this hurdle and go back to losing weight. Remember that weight loss is not a linear process. It’s okay to be frustrated, but do not give up.
This article is intended for general informational purposes only and does not serve to address individual circumstances. It is not a substitute for professional advice or help and should not be relied on for making any kind of decision-making. Any action taken as a direct or indirect result of the information in this article is entirely at your own risk and is your sole responsibility.
BetterMe, its content staff, and its medical advisors accept no responsibility for inaccuracies, errors, misstatements, inconsistencies, or omissions and specifically disclaim any liability, loss or risk, personal, professional or otherwise, which may be incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and/or application of any content.
You should always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or your specific situation. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking it because of BetterMe content. If you suspect or think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor.