At the most basic level, not reaching your weight loss goal can occur when calorie intake is equal to or higher than calorie use. Try strategies such as mindful eating, keeping a food diary, eating more protein, and doing strength exercises.
Muscle is denser than fat.
While one pound of fat weighs the same as one pound of muscle, muscle occupies about 18 percent less space. In addition, muscle burns calories while fat stores them. So, if your weight isn't decreasing but your clothes are starting to fit more loosely, you may be building muscle.
1. Your Metabolism Will Slow Down to Store Fat. The more you work out or manage your calorie intake to lose weight, the more your metabolism wants to compensate by slowing down to maintain your current weight, this is called metabolic compensation. It kicks in to preserve and store fat for future energy.
If you're consuming too few calories your body essentially goes into starvation mode and receives the message that it needs to protect itself. This means holding onto weight for protection's sake. The body perceives reduced calorie intake as a stressor.
This is known as weight loss resistance, which urges your body to hang on to extra weight — no matter what diet or exercise measures you take. We know this situation is extremely frustrating, and while there is good reason for it, there are also effective solutions.
However, if you're finding it difficult to lose weight, a medical condition could be the cause. Polycystic ovary syndrome, hypothyroidism, insulin resistance, hormonal changes and mental health conditions can all cause weight gain or make it more difficult to lose excess weight.
You're eating too much during your eating window.
“If you end up consuming the same number of calories (or more) during your eating windows as before you started intermittent fasting, then you won't lose weight.”
You can't lose weight on 1200 calories a day because you're no longer in a calorie deficit. Your body has adapted to what it's been doing and plateaued. If you start your diet with a 500 calorie deficit per day, your body adapts to this in various way so that over time your energy requirements are reduced.
Consider Your Diet
If you have increased your walking and are still not seeing weight loss, it might be a good time to look at what you are eating. You may need to make a few swaps. There are many strategies for this, but the key is maintaining good nutrition.
YOU'RE NOT EATING ENOUGH DURING YOUR WINDOW
You'll be so hungry, you may start eating and not stop. As well, the body stores food to protect itself. Your body will sense the need to stock up on reserves and may store those extra pounds as fat instead of lean muscle.
You've Gained Muscle Mass
If you're exercising regularly and doing a mix of cardio and strength training, it's very likely your body composition (ratio of muscle to fat) is changing for the better. If you're gaining muscle while losing fat, the scale may not show any weight change.
Because our metabolism is a function of many factors, some of which we cannot change (our genetics), there's not actually a “reset” button we can push – but we can try to manipulate our metabolism (whether we want to speed it up or slow it down through our diet and exercise habits.
The causes range from thyroid malfunction to hormone imbalance, sleep deprivation to food intolerances or digestive imbalance, and more. Because there are many potential sources of the problem, there isn't a one-size-fits-all treatment that works for all weight loss resistant individuals.
Longer periods without food, such as 24, 36, 48 and 72-hour fasting periods, are not necessarily better for you and may be dangerous. Going too long without eating might actually encourage your body to start storing more fat in response to starvation.
Avoid intermittent fasting if you have higher caloric needs.
Individuals who are underweight, struggling with weight gain, under 18 years of age, pregnant or breastfeeding should not attempt an intermittent fasting diet, as they need sufficient calories on a daily basis for proper development.
Intermittent fasting decreases metabolism less than continuous calorie restriction. When you lose weight, your metabolic rate goes down. Part of this is because losing weight causes muscle loss, and muscle tissue burns calories around the clock.
Once your BMR changes, your calorie requirement changes. So, while eating 1,800 calories per day, for example, might result in weight loss for a few weeks, that same amount could be too much once your BMR decreases. Continuing to eat the same would then result in a plateau.