How to break the second weight loss plateau
Hi..I am 5’2″ female. Have been on a diet n have been exercising for almost 6 months now. I lost 14 KGS during this time and now weigh 70 KGS. I eat around 1200-1300 calories and work out 6 days a week (3 days cardio and 3 days weight training) for45-60 mins. I had plateaued some time back, so I cut calories further and moved to intervals in my cardio sessions. I lost another 3 KGS after that but I have stagnated again..if I cut calories further I’ll go below 1200. I am already doing intervals in cardio. My weight training sessions are also intense. I have a trainer with whom I do squats, dead lifts, lunges/leg press, bench press etc. I have whey protein twice everyday. What more can I do to break the weight loss plateau… i’m stuck.. please help
Pragati,
Do not drop below 1200 calories! From the sounds of it, you might benefit from a carbohydrate refeed just once a week. You may even benefit from raising your calories up to baseline for a few weeks if you have been on a deficit for over 6 months. If you have been eating at a caloric deficit for such a long time your body’s hormone production might be a bit behind, keeping that weight on.
Another important factor not mentioned here is macronutrient ratios. You can make huge improvements in your body composition if you get these right. They are going to vary from person to person. If you can get your protein intake to be about 0.8g – 1.0 g/lb of lean body mass, that is a good starting point. Your fats and carbohydrates can be balanced.
As far as exercise goes, keep what you have got. Make sure your exercise is somewhat varied while you are working your full body on each of your weight training sessions.
Hope this helps!
Refeed: http://www.completehumanperformance.com/refeed-podcast/