Dear Kayla,
I have been intermittent fasting, generally 36-hour alternate-day fasting, since May 2025. I consistently lost 10 pounds a month till mid-September, when we had a very stressful situation in our family, which continues to be dealt with. Since mid-September, I have only lost 2 pounds, with the scale going up and down by those 2 pounds weekly. I’ve done 36, 48, and 72-hour fasts and one week-long fast since May. I’ve been so motivated and pleased with my 42-pound weight loss. I had mathed out when I’d be at my goal weight, and the plateau has dashed that plan. I feel like my brain is all over the place, trying to figure out what to do to get this going. I know cortisol has possibly been the main culprit, or have I done too much in this short time? What would you recommend to help keep this going? I’d appreciate any input. I have not done OMAD, so I am wondering if that would help things- eating a bit more frequently? I’m still overweight according to the calculator you attached. Thank you!
Signed,
Bridget
Dear Bridget,
First of all, congratulations on your weight loss success so far! Timelines on the weight loss journey are a tricky thing. Plateaus usually come along at the most inconvenient times. But you’ve done an awesome job with your plateau. You haven’t let it throw you off track. You have held the line, and you did it while in the midst of a very stressful life situation. That’s a major victory, and I hope you recognize it. Savor this moment and give yourself a well-deserved pat on the back, if you haven’t already.
Now, let’s do some troubleshooting so that you can break this plateau and get to your goal weight.
Ten pounds a month is fast. That would indicate a daily deficit of about 1,166 calories. This is a steep deficit. It’s possible that it was too steep, depending on your situation.
I don’t know your weight and height, so I’ll use a made-up woman named Clara to make my point.
Let’s assume Clara is a sedentary woman who weighs 180 pounds. She’s 5’6” and is 35 years old.
Clara needs to eat about 1,752 calories to stay at 180 pounds. If she tried to lose 10 pounds a month, she would have to limit herself to 586 calories a day. The consensus is that 1,200 calories is the absolute minimum that the average woman should be consuming. If Clara eats less than this, it can lead to all sorts of bad outcomes: nutrient deficiencies, depression, extreme irritability, brain fog, etc, etc.
On the other hand, let’s change our assumptions. Let’s say Clara weighs 350 pounds. She’d need to eat 2,759 calories a day to maintain. If she wanted to lose 10 pounds a month, she could eat 1,593 calories a day and drop 10 pounds a month for a while. But as she got lighter, her caloric needs would decrease. Thus, her weight loss would slow down. By the time she hits 250, she’d need to decrease the deficit, or she’d drop below 1200 calories a day. At that point, she could safely drop about 2 pounds a week (8 pounds a month) in order to stay above that 1200-calorie minimum. Once she hits 200 pounds, she’ll need to adjust her expectations again. If she consumed 1,443 calories a day, she’d lose a pound a week. 1,443 is doable, but it means you have to mind your Ps and Qs.
The point is, as you lose weight, you must eat less in order to keep losing. And to do this safely and sustainably as your weight decreases, it means slower weight loss.
Again, I don’t know your exact details, so here’s what I would do.
First, I would sit down and take a good look at my numbers. Where did I start? Where am I now? Was it a consistent 10 pounds each month? Was it fairly consistently down week in, week out? Or was it a little more uneven? Did the weight loss start to taper, and if so, when? Is that when the extended fasts came into play? (More on that later.) Sometimes your memory can tell you one thing, and the numbers tell a different story. I’ve learned time and time again to trust what the numbers are telling me above my own recollections, which are sometimes hazy.
If the loss was extremely consistent and then stopped suddenly:
This indicates a major change in routine and (more importantly) food intake. Take a moment to reflect on your daily routines back when the weight loss was happening steadily. How have things changed? Tiny things, like skipping out on your usual walk, grabbing food to go instead of sitting down to eat it, or watching TV while eating, can all lead to eating at your maintenance calories instead of a deficit, without it even seeming like that’s what you’re doing. In that case, just go back to doing what you were doing (assuming you were not below that 1,200 calorie mark we were talking about earlier!)
If the loss was more of a gradual taper…
When you were 42 pounds heavier, you needed more calories each day. Now that you’re lighter, you need fewer calories. If you’re still eating the same amount as you were earlier on, your deficit decreased. Which means the weight loss slows. And with the added stress, it’s very possible that you’re eating a bit faster or a bit more than you realize, and therefore consuming more calories in all, leading to either a very small deficit, or perhaps just eating at maintenance level.
To break the plateau, focus on paying attention to how full you’re feeling at your meals. Stop when full. Try to eat slowly. If that doesn’t get the scale moving, it means you need to decrease your intake. Not by much. You just want to be in enough of a deficit to get the scale moving again.
A Word About Extended Fasting
I’d be remiss if we didn’t discuss the extended fasting, as it may be affecting the data and your conclusions. A week-long fast can lead to a big loss of water weight, which quickly comes right back. For reference, I’ve done two five-day fasts in maintenance. Here were my experiences:
- The first one was in 2018. I “lost” 10.2 pounds. 2.5 weeks later, I had “regained” it all. (Full story here.)
- The second one was in 2020. I “lost” 13 pounds. 1 week later, I had “regained” it all. (Full story here.)
I don’t consider these true losses or regains, hence the quotes. I think two things are at play here. First of all, if we assume an 1,800 calorie daily burn for me, then that means after 5 days, I’d have lost only about 2.57 pounds of real weight (fat).
Here’s the math:
- 1,800 calories x 5 days = 9,000 calorie deficit
- 9,000 calorie deficit / 3,500 calories per pound of fat = 2.57 pounds of fat lost
The second factor is what I call “rebound hunger.” After I’ve fasted for 5 days, my appetite increases by a lot. I think it’s my body’s way to try to “get back to normal.” I follow its cues, and when it’s all said and done, I end up back where I started. (This is precisely why I did these types of fasts in maintenance, and never in weight loss mode. I did these extended fasts because of the possible cancer prevention benefits I had read about.)
My Recommendation
*Note: Caloric needs vary based on weight, height, current activity levels, and individual metabolism. The calculations above are based on calorie burn calculators on the internet.
If I were in your shoes, I’d aim for a pound a week of loss from here on out, until you reach a normal BMI. I’d write down a reasonable plan on a post-it note, based on my self-knowledge, and then keep a laser-sharp focus on consistency with that plan. Whether you do OMAD, ADF, or regular IF is, of course, up to you. Choose the thing you think you can be consistent with and that you’ll enjoy. Do not pick the one that you think will give you the fastest results. You want permanent weight loss.
Consistency on a plan is important because then you can look at the data and see whether the plan is working or needs to be tweaked. When you’re changing things up all the time, it’s hard to know what’s working and what’s not.
I hope that helps!
Sincerely,
Kayla
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