What To Do During A Weight Loss Plateau

Have you recently lost a lot of weight and have plateaued

Watch this. Our first caller is Marie from Missouri. Hey, Marie. How can we help you

Hey, guys. It's finally nice to meet you guys. I've been listening to you guys for quite some time in late December

So it's kind of exciting to finally get to meet you guys. Cool

So my question is, after massive weight loss and maintaining weight for several months

When is it optimal to go into another cut to lose the last 20-ish pounds

I kind of want to give you guys a backstory. I'm 32, a four, five, four and a half female who lost approximately 95 pounds naturally

in about a year and four months. I struggled with weight all my life throughout my childhood

And as an adult, because of the lack of knowledge around nutrition and fitness. I lost weight in the past so I could join the military, but I gained it back once I got out

because it wasn't sustainable. I wasn't focused on the long-term approach. It was just a short-term goal being that I wanted to get in the military

and that meant getting down to a certain weight. I started my weight loss journey in March of 2020, once again

at my heaviest weight at 250 pounds. This time around, I focused on taking the long-term approach

by listening to you guys, Lane Norton and Jordan Siat. I also research studies on people who maintain weight loss

and methods they use to keep the weight off. One study I read during my weight loss journey was the National Weight Control Registry, and I later in my weight loss journey, I made it a goal to join

A lot long ago, I received application from them to join the registry and since applied

However, towards the beginning of my journey, I did start to take the wrong approach to my fitness weight loss journey by cutting my calories to like 1,200 and just walking

So I didn't know what my maintenance calories were exactly at 250 pounds

but I did later increase my intake and started strength training as I learned the error of my ways

I focused on learning the nutritional value of food in order to properly fuel my body

learn to listen to my body's hunger signals, digestion signals, and how to respond to certain foods

I track my caloric intake and my activity expenditure and wait daily on Excel spreadsheet in order to get an average

However, I only use the information as a tool to know that I am staying on track

I eventually hired a certified personal trainer after maintaining the weight loss of 80 pounds for a couple months at 2,500 calories

He helped me lose 15 pounds with his guidance. I was able to successfully reverse after my cut

When I ended my cut in July in 2020, 2021, I was the same weight I am now about 155 pounds in roughly 27% body fat

Maintenance calories were 2,300. Over the last seven months, I've been able to maintain my current weight, lose body fat now

I at 22 and my maintenance calories are 2600 I currently train four to five days a week and I want to get down to 15 body fat about 140 pounds Although weight isn really my concern It is really my body fat percentage My coach says we could do a cut in April because he wanted me to maintain for a while

which I agreed. And I'm wondering if I should wait a year before attempting another cut

And if so, what does y'all's take on it? Are you looking for a job or you want help

I feel like you're qualified enough to come over here and work with us, man. I think you're doing incredible

Yeah. You're on track. You're on, you're phenomenal 22% body, that 2,600 maintenance calories on a five, four and a half woman is incredible

Yeah. Now, you can cut based off the numbers. The only thing I would caution you on would be any of any mental or psychological

challenges you may have with this whole process. Because as far as calories are concerned, as far as what you're doing with your workouts

your body fat percentage, that's all good. The only thing, and I'm not saying this is you

Okay, so I'm just saying this is something you want to ask yourself, because you've gone through this process

you've got a spreadsheet, you're counting everything. If you feel like you're maybe on the side of a little bit too neurotic

or too stressed out about everything, then you might want to wait a little longer. But if that's not an issue, then everything else looks good

I would say go for the cut. Based off of what I'm reading and what you just shared

I think you're in an incredibly healthy place to do whatever the hell you want

I think you could maintain and be completely healthy, strong, and fit in a great place

if you want to get shredded and you want to get lean, I think you're in a very healthy place calorie-wise to cut calories

I guess the only thing I would just caution you as you do that

and it sounds like you've already done this, though, is to not dramatically cut the calories to like 1,200 or something ridiculous

You just barely got to cut down a little bit, create a little bit more movement, and maybe change up some programming or increase intensity or volume

And I think you're in a phenomenal place to do whatever the hell you want

Now, 15% is pretty lean for a woman. Why do you want to get down to 15%

I kind of want to see how far it could take my body, like, where my body is not fighting me

But I also want to try to compete in a bodybuilding show later on. And I want to be, like, you know, as lean as I can

But then when I dye it down to a show, it's not going to be, like, you know, a drastic cut

I love it. Let me ask you this, Marie, because you said you struggled with weight as a kid and stuff growing up

Do you work? Do you have any body images? issues or do you have any issues with, you know, fears of gaining the weight back or any body dysmorphia

At first, I did have fear of, like, gaining the weight back

I honestly thought when I was reversing that I was going to, like, try to cut my calories

and, like, stay low calorie. But I had to really work through my mindset of that, you know, I had the tools

I learned and, you know, that I could, I have, like, I can maintain it

Okay. You know what I mean? Yeah, I do. Yeah, because competing in bodybuilding, if you have any body dysmorphia, it's going to blow it way up

I don't care who you are. If you have any issues with that at all it going to make it much bigger So prepare yourself for that That the only thing That the only honest of God because everything else has done you so good Your metabolism looks good Everything looks good That would be the only thing to consider

But don't just think it's a small thing. If that's something, if you're

and you don't have to tell us on the show, but if you're honest with yourself, like, oh, you know what? That might not be good for me to stand on stage

and get judged by how I look and go through that whole process. And that might take me 10 steps back psychologically or mentally

Then I said, I would say don't do it. But if there's no issues there, and everything else looks good

I mean, I know we've only known each other for about three minutes, but I feel like from just listening to you tell your story

and the things that you've overcome, and I think you have the absolute right mindset

Even the idea of you kind of pushing your body to getting leaner than you've ever been

before you even decide to book a show, I think is smart. I think that you should do that

And I think you're at a great place calorie-wise. I think you understand the value of tracking

but also not becoming addicted to that. Yeah, you sound from what I'm hearing right now

as a perfect person to play with this and go for it

And I think it's a total fine goal. I love people that I think are in a good place to do this

You learn a lot about your body, taking it to an extreme level of leanness

And I think that there is tremendous value for the right person to do that

And you sound very qualified to do that. I'm going to play devil's advocate, all right, Marie

Is that okay? All right. Yeah, that's fine. Are you an ytical person

Do you, are you a numbers person and a follow, you know, systems and organized type of things type of person

Yeah, it's funny you say that. Yeah, I am. In the government and the military, I used to do budgets and stuff like that

So spreadsheets. Okay. Now, here's, I can tell. So now here's why, here's where I'm going to play devil's advocate

Sometimes you get people like you who the way that they handle their issues is they dive deep into

the numbers and the statistics and they just follow them. Now, there's nothing inherently wrong with that

but what it does do is it takes the other issues that you might not be addressing, and it buries them

and they can resurface. So I know I sound like, you know, I'm the turd in the punch bowl here

but what I'm trying to say basically is what I'm saying, I want you to consider very strongly

because I've seen this happen before where someone's in a great place

then they go do a show, and it sets them back really bad

So consider that, okay? So I can't answer this for you. this is something you have to be very honest with yourself

And if you have a tendency to, you know, either hide or escape into the numbers

and just be a numbers person like a robot, that eventually will not work

Eventually it will come out. So just consider that, okay? Now, as far as workouts are concerned, I mean, MAP's aesthetic would be wonderful for you

I would think. Do you follow any of our programs? Actually, I want to

Right now I actually do the same training program as my husband. And he's actually going to go into a show in April

Cool. So I've been following, even though my coach, because I use my coach for nutrition, really

even though he does suggest, you know, we do different workouts or whatever. But I do do the ones but I modified some things you know to my own body But yeah I did look into your guys programs because it was something me and him kind of wanted to do after a hit show

Oh, cool. Well, I'll send you maps aesthetic. I think that would be great for you. Oh, thank you so much, guys

I do really appreciate it. Yeah, no problem. Thanks for calling in. Thank you

Well, I mean, she's doing everything right. Yeah. The reason why I'm like, again, I was so cautious in being the downer on this whole thing

is because... I think it's a fair assessment. Yeah, because she's a couple things she said early on

which is I dealt with this growing up as a kid. You don't erase that because you follow a plan and you follow it right

And you don't necessarily erase that. And I've worked with people like this before where they hide and escape into the numbers

And that doesn't mean that, you know, what I'm saying isn't an issue

And so, and then they can come out and rear its ugly head sometimes. And it sometimes looks like I'm in and I'm all

on and I'm following the numbers and I'm off. I'm not doing anything at all. So that's why I want

to caution. And I'm always going to be cautionary with people who lose weight and then want to do a show. It's like, ooh, that's always tough for me. Especially if they've never done it before

Yeah. Yeah. Like having, like mentally preparing yourself for that going into it, I think is great

But yeah, her mentality just seems like it's on point. And to be able to get to a place where you

challenge your body, you know, I think it's a healthy thing to pursue. But again, that specific

sport, there's just a lot there that it's going to, you know, bring up and expose. But I mean

2,600 calories. Oh, man. She's doing great. No, she's, I mean, I think you're right

I think that sometimes we're the best at selling ourselves. Totally. On, like, how good I am and how we're covered and I don't have any issues, right

So I definitely agree with that caution, right? But everything she did say, you know, so whether she's doing

She's doing the right stuff. Yeah. I mean, she's done, I mean, she even, I don't know if you heard her when she went on her little spiel

but she even talked about how she's, you know, she tracked just for using that as a thing to look

back at, but she's primarily been intuitively eating. It wasn't stuck there

Yeah, trying to listen to her body. And so she's done these cuts and bulks and cuts and bulks and reversed dieted, got her

up to a place, the 2600 calories. Oh, yeah. She's definitely following the playbook. Yeah. I mean, I think that I think she would be a fun client to take to this level and see

how she does. And, I mean, I like where she's not many girls that want to get on stage and compete that

I've ever met that are as small as she is, 5-4, and eating 2,600 calories

And that's, she's at the place I would always want to take my clients before I would

allow them to get on stage. You know, many of the ones that would hire me would be at the 1,500 calorie, 1,700 calorie mark

And then they have body fat to lose. And they're like, yeah, I want to get ready for a show. And I'm like, well, probably not a good idea for you

But yeah, I like where she's at. And I think it would be interesting to see how she does with the next year

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