Why does fat stop decreasing over time?

Author: Timko Ilya - master of the whole project and fitness trainer.
2014-11-16

Hello. I will not talk about those cases when a person does something wrong and therefore initially cannot lose weight. I will talk about those who are losing weight correctly and are actually getting rid of subcutaneous fat, but one day this process stops.

For example, you eat wisely (often and little), consume enough protein, do not forget about complex carbohydrates, and train frequently and intensely. And the weight, as expected, goes down. You start to see definition. You lost 5 kg in the first month. And this is almost all fat! Then another 3 kg. In the third month, another 1 kg. And then – that’s it! The amount of subcutaneous fat is still unsatisfactory, but your body no longer wants to part with it. What happened? After all, nothing changed in your workouts and diet. I will try to explain what the hitch is.

1. Physiological norm of fat amount

So, from the perspective of physiological processes in the body, the optimal percentage of fat from total body mass is:

• For women – 18%
• For men – 15%

But what do these percentages mean? For comparison, I will say that abs become visible at about 12% body fat. As you can see, this percentage is less than that at which our body feels most comfortable.

From a practical point of view, this means that the lower your body fat percentage goes below the physiological norm, the stronger the body attempts to preserve this fat. A large number of protective reactions are triggered to prevent you from burning such valuable fat reserves. After all, subcutaneous fat has a necessary role in our body. And when its amount falls below the physiological norm, the body starts to “sound the alarm.”

How to combat this?

By ordinary means – nothing can be done. You need to change your physiology. More precisely – change the hormonal system. Do you understand what I mean? The use of anabolic steroids and other hormonal drugs can alter your physiology. But do you want to pay a certain price in the form of side effects for these few percentages of fat?

2. Decrease in the body's energy expenditure

It’s logical that the less your body weighs, the fewer calories (all else being equal) you expend in a day. In other words, as you lose weight, your daily caloric expenditure decreases. I think that this is clear.

But there’s another nuance. The fact is that when the body enters a caloric deficit mode (which is precisely the mode you must "force" it into if you want to lose weight), a decrease in energy expenditure inevitably occurs. Thus, the decrease in energy expenditure has a dual nature.

How to combat this?

While we cannot change the first reason, we can partially influence the second. Eating relatively frequently (5-6 times a day) is intended to reduce the drop in energy expenditure. So eat more often. And your caloric intake should be just 15% less than your total energy expenditure.

3. The body's adaptation to loads

Unfortunately, in the case of weight loss, the body's adaptation only hinders the process. Your muscles, vascular system, and psyche gradually get used to frequent and intense workouts. These loads are no longer stressful for you. And with no stress – no changes.

But someone may say: But it's impossible to constantly increase loads! It's impossible to perpetually add more sets, repetitions, intensity, etc.! And that's true. But you’ve forgotten one nuance: if the body adapts strongly to one type of exercise, then it becomes less adapted to another type.

In other words, the body cannot be well adapted to all types of physical activity at once. Do you understand what I'm saying?

How to combat this?

You need to change not only the load but also the type of physical activity. For example, combine cardio workouts with strength training. Or vary the types of cardio: running, swimming, cycling, etc. Your body simply cannot become well adapted to running, swimming, and using machines all at the same time.

In general, the simplest way is to just alternate between strength and cardio workouts. You can alternate them per workout, by the week, or even by the month (one month for strength training, and one month for cardio).

Conclusion

There are many other minor reasons why fat has stopped being lost. But these three are the most basic and essential. And while I do not advise you to fight the first reason (unless you are a professional athlete), you can definitely take action on the second and third. For the overwhelming majority, this will be enough to achieve definition and even get abs.

So keep an eye on your diet and diversify your physical activity. All fitness models incorporate both cardio and strength exercises in their workouts. If you fixate on just one thing, you will quickly stagnate. Good luck!