Overcome your weight loss plateau with our troubleshooting guide. Below you will find the range of factors a dietitian would explore in clinic if they were to consult a patient who struggles with weight loss.
🥑 How is your relationship with food?
Emotional eating or uncontrolled eating can lead to excess calories. Here is a list of good articles on mindful eating to check with to figure out what your relationship with food is:
If you suspect you have a developed an eating disorder, you should speak to your healthcare provider to rule this out. If you do have an eating disorder, then fasting is not recommended for you. This is because fasting can trigger disordered behaviours and impact your emotional wellbeing.
⚖️ How regularly do you weigh yourself?
If you are weighing daily or more than once per week, then shifts in weight are likely not a true reflection of changes to body fat. Try weighing less frequently (every 1-2 weeks is fine) to put your mind at ease and show a better trend of weight loss.
Keep in mind that weight loss isn’t linear, some weeks your weight may not change but eventually it can trend downwards again. Patience can help, as well as focusing on non-scale victories to maintain motivation.
📅 How long have you used Simple for?
If you have been using Simple for some time but still stuck at the same weight, it might be that you need to try a new protocol. If you are already following a longer fasting time such as 18:6 or even 20:4 then instead we can recommend that you try calorie tracking and review intake. It may be that you are unintentionally consuming excess calories.
You should also consider calories from fluids (try tracking fluids via the food tracker instead of the fluid tracker to get a better idea of the calories they contain).
🏋️ How often do you exercise?
Exercise can help with weight loss, so definitely check if you are meeting your daily requirements.
If not, then it might be a good idea to explore why (e.g. maybe you have an injury, disability or issues with motivation). Some reasons for why can be harder to overcome, but think about the positives — what can you do? Even arm exercises or stretches are great for your health and burning some extra calories.
Now try to come up with an action plan. But if you already are meeting your activity requirements, we would recommend you trying switching up the types of exercise (e.g. try brisk walk/jog over walking or try some high intensity interval training instead).
💧 Are you meeting your fluid needs?
If not, tweak your notifications or try habit hooking (drinking fluids with a well established habit such as having fluids before you brush your teeth).
🔎 Are you food tracking?
If not, try for a few days at least. This can reveal any unhelpful habits or any unintentional excess calories. Track calorie counting drinks via our food tracker too.
😴 Are you sleeping 7-9 hours per night?
Lack of sleep can influence our food choices, making us reach out for more carbohydrate rich foods that are quick to get a hold of, such as crisps, cakes, chocolate.
Because we can feel tired the next day, we might also be more likely to pick at food to keep our energy levels up. There is also evidence that a lack of sleep can increase our hunger hormone the next day. As you can see, a lack of sleep is the perfect storm for weight gain.
💊 Are you taking medications?
Some medications can influence our weight. Speak with your healthcare provider about whether this might be the cause. You should have already checked with your healthcare provider about your safety to start fasting.
🥚 Are you eating enough protein?
Lack of protein may lead to muscle loss. Muscles support our metabolism and how we lose weight. Try food tracking and aim for your protein requirements in the app. If you are already doing this, try going slightly over to see if this helps. Something like an extra 5-10g of protein per meal should be fine for most except those with kidney disease (if this sounds familiar, chat with your healthcare provider first)
🍔 Are there weekends or treat days undoing your hardwork?
Track on all days, including weekends, days off or treat days. You could be splurging too much on these days and undoing weight loss.
🕑 Time of fasting window?
If you are doing your eating windows later (skipping BF), then try the opposite if possible. Skipping dinner is typically seen as more effective for weight loss than skipping BF, although evidence exists for both.
🧘 How mindfully are you eating?
If you are eating quite mindlessly (quickly, with distractions) you may be missing natural fullness cues and overeating. Try eating more slowly and without distractions (such as at the table).
🍕 Snacks?
Snacking can be helpful for some people, but it may be hindering weight loss for others.
Try questioning your hunger when a snack attack hits. If this is not a true physical hunger, but instead an emotional hunger, try to do something that better serves your emotion. For example, listen to a funny podcast if you are sad or read a chapter of a book or magazine if you are bored.