We have often heard of it, and we have underestimated it. What is meant, in fact, by plateau , or by “weight stall”? And what are the causes? The vast majority of people who go on a diet experience a stall or slowdown phase of weight loss, stalling and regaining a few pounds. In both cases, whether the balance suddenly stops falling or weight loss begins to slow down and we regain a little something, it is a plateau. Why does this happen?
First of all , the plateau is an almost natural phenomenon if we consider how our metabolism works. In fact, when we go on a diet, our metabolism tends to adapt to the new caloric regime, generally low-calorie, that we are doing. It usually takes a month, sometimes two. And what does it do? After allowing us to lose weight in one or two months, the metabolism slows down to oppose the weight loss we are imposing on it. This is one of the main reasons why those who want to go on a diet should aim to eat better, not less , and simply move more. If food resources are scarce, the metabolism slows down.

If it is the first time ever that we have been on a diet, the plateau can also occur after a longer time, for example after three or even six months.
What to do in this case to avoid the plateau?
First of all, we must be convinced that the plateau is a common and very normal thing, and that weight loss is not linear as a process, but is more of an obstacle course.
The ideal would be to prevent the plateau or its upstream effects, by first choosing a diet that is balanced, balanced and above all non-restrictive. Those who want to lose weight should start with a normocaloric diet, with a deficit of about 10 percent of their normal caloric needs, to which to associate moderate but frequent physical activity, not less than 3 times a week: for example choose a diet 1500/1600 calories to start and strive for a more active life. The weight loss will be slower, but with a good training plan it will be more precise in the loss of fat mass, and the metabolism will not be destroyed
After a few months, at least 2 or 3 months, if we want to intensify weight loss, we can reduce calories to 1300/1400, perhaps diversifying physical activity up to total weight loss. In this way, losing weight will be smoother and less risky to health. To maintain the weight lost, it will be enough to return to a normal diet by adding 50 to 100 calories per week to our daily calorie total. That is, go up to 1400, 1500, 1600, 1700, 1800 calories and so on. This is in my opinion the ideal plan to avoid the plateau or limit it.
But if we have already tried many diets and the weight does not drop anymore, what can we do?
I always recommend one and one thing only. To increase metabolism by eating more. That is to start increasing calories little by little as in the example above, especially if we come out of crash diets or have been on a diet for too long. A break is essential to return to health, even if this will mean losing weight in a longer time. But it is always better to have results than to have none at all. Once we have reached our ideal daily requirement for our body weight, we must maintain that requirement for at least 2-3 months. After this term it will be possible to return to the example above: light deficit for the first months and 15% deficit in the following months with adequate physical activity.
There is a second cause of the plateau: expert Jackie Connhe defines it as “plateau attitude”, and defines it as a kind of diet-non-diet, in which we start any diet already unmotivated from the start, we do not follow any method, we hope for a miracle and we commit zero. This category includes people who always feel on a diet but never really are; people who abandon a diet after a day or two because they are not convinced; people who do not know and do not want to discern between a flash and drastic regimen (lose weight in 3 days, lose weight in 5 days, etc.) and a sustainable regimen but with slow weight loss and between true and false weight loss. These people simply have to change their minds and attitudes or they will never achieve lasting results.