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Weight loss never runs straight
The zigzag graph
A typical graph shows some fat loss, a plateau, adjustments, a vacation, then maintenance, then fat loss again. A stretch of reverse dieting might add two pounds, and that sets up seven pounds of loss in the next fat loss phase. A plateau doesn't automatically mean something went wrong.
Holiday maintenance
Stephanie Crassweller spends the holiday stretch from October to the end of December in maintenance. Thanksgiving, Halloween, Christmas, parties, and speaking trips all land there, so she eats well, builds muscle, and lets her calories rise a little. Pecan pie with ice cream is part of the plan. The extra muscle shows up when the next fat loss phase begins.
Choosing a season
The best season for fat loss differs from person to person. One client, an accountant with two young kids, lost over 60 pounds by doing fat loss every year during tax season. Her work was so busy that she skipped parties and outings, her routine became very regular, and eating to a plan fit right in. Others find that same season too chaotic and wait for a different one. Knowing which season works is what keeps a loss in place over the long run.
Why do plateaus happen during fat loss?
As weight falls, the body burns fewer calories, partly because there is less of it to move and partly because energy expenditure drops by more than size alone predicts, a response called adaptive thermogenesis. In a 2016 study in Obesity led by Erin Fothergill and Kevin Hall at the National Institutes of Health, former contestants of The Biggest Loser still had resting metabolic rates well below predicted levels six years later. The average gap was about 500 calories a day.
Why might breaks from dieting help?
The MATADOR trial, led by Nuala Byrne at the University of Tasmania, compared two groups of men with obesity. One group dieted for 16 weeks straight, and the other alternated two weeks of dieting with two weeks at maintenance intake. The men who took breaks lost more fat and showed less drop in resting metabolic rate. They completed the same 16 weeks of dieting over 30 weeks in total.
Why does extra muscle matter in the next phase?
Muscle tissue burns more energy at rest than fat tissue does. Estimates from physiologist Marinos Elia put skeletal muscle at about 13 calories per kilogram per day and fat tissue at about 4.5. Muscle also takes up a large share of the glucose that enters the bloodstream after meals.
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