What To Do If Calorie Deficit Stops Working

And just like that, you stopped losing weight like you used to. What to do if calorie deficit stops working then? That is what Mario Tomic decided to talk about recently.

Mario Tomic is an entrepreneur who helps other busy working professionals get fit and build a sustainable and healthy lifestyle.

Firstly, in simple terms, a calorie deficit is when you burn more calories than you are consuming. You can do that by eating less, doing more activities, or a combination of both. To understand better what is caloric deficit and how much is safe, click here.

Find out what Tomic had to say on what to do if calorie deficit stops working and what changes people should make to see results.

What To Do If Calorie Deficit Stops Working

So, what to do if calorie deficit stops working and you no longer see weight loss progress? Tomic says there are possibly 3 explanations for this fat loss plateau and explains how to tackle each:

1. Water Weight Changes

Most of your body is made of water and sometimes you retain or lose more water through the days. If you had a meal with more sodium one time, the next day there will be a difference in the scale. In the same way, if you had a meal with more carbohydrates, you are likely retaining more water in your body and the scale might accuse you of gaining weight or not losing anything at all. It takes time to lose that water and some people panickily assume they gained weight.

what to do if calorie deficit stops working

This type of plateau happens all of the sudden and it doesn’t mean you are gaining weight. Some people genetically retain more water, but it can also be water retention due to external factors such as stress, lack of sleep, travelling, and change in foods. Just give yourself enough time, maybe a couple of weeks, to see results normalise and don’t change drastically your diet or workout because of it.

2. Changes in Behaviour

This can affect energy input and energy output. On one side it can happen with people getting lazier after a few weeks of great results: lack of tracking the food, not training as intensely as before, snacking without accountability. That can put you out of the calorie deficit without your realisation.

The leaner you get, the process of losing weight gets harder, so if you lower your commitment level and expect the same results, you are going to be frustrated. This is when honesty, accountability and self-awareness come into play.

3. Metabolic Adaptation

Sadly, as you lose weight throughout the weeks, your metabolism will adapt to survive. That means your body gets into survival mode, it begins burning less calories for a certain activity trying to preserve itself – in other words, you need to work harder to see continuous results.

How do you know if you’re dealing with this plateau? Check your data and see if your weight loss has been getting slower with time. Even if you’re keeping the same macros and calories in, maybe you’re not losing weight as fast as before – that is the best way to discover this metabolic adaptation.

Another thing that can happen to people is a reduction in NEAT or non-exercise activity thermogenesis. That is the little activities that you do that burn calorie without you noticing such as fidgeting, tapping your foot on the floor as much, or you’re leaning into furniture more often.

The fact that you are hitting a plateau means you successfully lost weight through calorie deficit, but it also means what you did so far won’t get you to your ultimate goal unless you make some changes. How?

Increase the caloric deficit – cut the amount of calories you are ingesting by a few hundred
Add more activity – increase the steps you do daily or add an extra workout session in the week
A combination of both
Get a diet break for a couple of weeks to reach maintenance again and adjust your body to the new eating habit and then enter the caloric deficit again

exercise and diet form a successful combination for health

Those are the 3 plateaus you could encounter while in your dieting process. So what to do if calorie deficit stops working? Use the data to your advantage and choose your next move carefully. That is why it is important to keep a note of your weight averages, step count, waist size and food intake.

If you want to know more about what to do if calorie deficit stops working, click on the video below from Mario Tomic.