Break Through Your Weight Loss Plateau
Pat yourself on the back: You’ve lost weight! Or, at least you had lost weight, but for the past few days or even weeks, the scale hasn’t been budging. You don’t feel like you’re doing anything different with your diet. You’re keeping carbs low, eating the appropriate amount of protein, and you’re moderating all of it with a consistent exercise program.
For most people attempting to lose weight, there comes a time when they reach that inevitable plateau where their motivation is soaring but they’ve stopped seeing results. If you’re nodding right now, don’t worry. What you’re experiencing is totally normal. Plateaus, whether they relate to weight, to your job, or your closest relationship, are a call to charge things up again, refine your strategies and keep moving forward.
So rather than give up and maintain your current weight, or worse yet, drown yours sorrows in a half dozen donuts, there are numerous actions you can take to reignite your program.
Here are our top 5 picks for breaking through your weight plateau:
Consider Intermittent Fasting
Although Conventional Wisdom tells us that fasting forces the metabolism into slow motion causing your body to cling onto fat stores, recent scientific studies have suggested otherwise. According to an article in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, alternate day fasting may result in an improvement in insulin sensitivity and glucose uptake, as well as decreases in fat mass. While science is still unearthing the precise mechanisms for why and how this occurs, the previously-held idea that you have to eat six meals a day or more in order to keep your metabolism stoked to lose weight simply isn’t true.
Lucky for you, intermittent fasting (IF) can be done in a number of ways. From daily fasting, by only eating during a 5-hour time period, or setting aside one to three days a week to fast, the combinations are virtually endless. The important thing is to know is what kind of intermittent fasting technique will work best for you and your lifestyle, and this can only be determined by a little experimentation. As long as IF is done correctly, it can kick your body off of its weight plateau in just a matter of days. And keep in mind that IF is not about starving yourself. It’s about eating in a manner that mimics the natural irregularity of Grok’s eating patterns.
Write it Down
A slice of bread here, a handful of tortilla chips there – it all adds up. When we start to lose weight, we might be inclined to loosen the reins on what we can eat. Even though occasional indulgences should be enjoyed guilt-free, when you’re still trying to lose weight, those seemingly benign snacks still count.
So for one week, write down everything that you eat. Everything. From the sugar packet you dropped into your coffee to the two bites of of Cherry Garcia you snuck from cousin Sal’s dessert bowl at your niece’s sweet 16, write it down. A food diary is an honest look into what you’re actually eating, not what you think you are eating.
Need more convincing that you might not be being honest with yourself? According to the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, those who kept a food diary in a 20-week study dropped double the weight of the dieters who did not chronicle their food choices. Keeping a food diary makes you accountable for what you eat because it forces you to consider your actions before you take them. This is an effective safeguard against mindless snacking or emotional eating.
If you’re looking for an online food journal, check out the one at FitDay.com. It’s free and super easy to use.
Side Note: The Primal Eating Plan is meant to be intuitive and easy. One of the great things about Primal eating is that you don’t have to count calories and track every bite of food you consume. This is why we only recommend the food diary as a temporary method to uncover any dietary indiscretions. Once you’ve honed in on and refined your behaviors we say ditch the journal and get on with eating Primal in a natural way that requires little to no effort.
Switch Up Your Workouts
They say variety is the spice of life, and this holds true when it comes to your workouts. Without change you might find yourself dreading the monotony of regular gym sessions and simply lose motivation. Additionally, your body can become used to to the same caloric burn and muscle exertion as it becomes more efficient at completing regular movements. Give your brain and brawn the wake up call they need by shaking up your usual routine with some new additions.
Try increasing the speed as you exercise and do short bursts of intense exercises (such as sprinting) for one to two minutes followed by small rest periods. These short bursts of anaerobic activity will stimulate your body to release human growth hormone, which helps to burn fat while maintaining muscle mass.
If that doesn’t do the trick, try getting super Primal by ditching the gym, shoes, and structure for some free form activity. If this doesn’t keep things interesting we’re not sure what will.
Keep in mind that 80% of your body composition is a result of your diet. The remaining 20% is determined by how you effectively manage your sleeping patterns and stress levels, how you exercise and other lifestyle factors. Increasing your workout intensity is but one way to tweak an otherwise optimized weight loss plan.
Reduce Carbs
Try reducing your carb intake to 50-100 grams per day to reduce insulin production and fire up your fat metabolism. Make sure that you’re eating enough protein for your weight (we suggest using the .7-1 gram per pound of lean body weight formula), eating the right vegetables and snacking on high-fat foods to keep you feeling satisfied.
Keep on Keeping on
Remember that losing 10 lbs when you are starting at 300 isn’t nearly as difficult as losing 10 when you are approaching your ideal weight (say, going from 170 to 160 for a male). Don’t let this come to you as discouragement. Just recognize that changes might not come as quickly as they once had and resolve to stay the course.
Also, know that The Primal Blueprint lifestyle is about long term goals. Though you can lose weight quickly on the PB, keep your head straight and remember that the emphasis should always be on a healthy, Primal lifestyle – not a get-fit-quick routine. You can do it, but it may take time.
Final Tips
If you haven’t done it already (or even if you have!), consider taking the 30-Day Primal Health Challenge. It may sound daunting, but employing the “act as if” tips will be sure to get you through those tough moments when a piece of dry toast looks better than a killer omelet (does this really ever happen?).
If you’ve tried all of these strategies and you’re still stuck, don’t hesitate to hit us up with a comment. Our experienced Primal community will likely be able to help.
Further Reading:
The Primal Blueprint: The Ultimate Way to Break any Weight Loss Plateau
A Primal Blueprint Sample Menu
Subscribe to Mark’s Daily Apple feeds
Posted By: Worker Bee
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A buddy of mine has been hitting this plateu bit for about a month now. We discovered that he may be overdoing the nuts and berries and mini carrots a bit. He is cutting back on those and I think the plateau is going to be a thing of the past. When in doubt.. cut some carbs!
The SoG
I think Son of Groke brought up a good point – it helps to talk it over with someone else… how and what you are eating, your exercise regimen, your sleep patterns, etc… they can take a more objective (and new) look at it and might be able to more easily find ways to pass the plateau.
Thanks Mark- another great post. Since I’m at the beginning of my weight loss I haven’t hit the plateau – YET. But it’s probably inevitable, and I’m bookmarking this to remind me to look at all my factors and tweak!
And I agree with SoG- I was eating too many nuts and berries at first (because I think they’re a great combo of ‘transition food’) but they were hindering my weight loss.
is it possible to still be losing fat when youre not losing weight? i mean, ive hit a plateau before and its taken me months to lose another 5 lbs but my clothes were loose fitting and people thought i was still losing weight but i stayed that weight for a long time.
also, cutting carbs.. does that mean veggies too? i eat all my meals with a salad and i think thats where im getting all my carbs from…
i do more weight exercise than i do cardio, i usually just walk my dog and once in a while do interval training but i usually just lift weights or do yoga.. should i do more cardio do you think?
any help is appreciated.. ive learned so much here! and as summer is approaching, it would be nice to feel confident in a bathing suit for once in a very long time! lol
thanks!
Well, I have been in a bit of a plateau for a while now. Here are my efforts at the various strategies mentioned in this post.
I do fast intermittently. Mainly by skipping breakfast 2-3 times a week. Sometimes if a tennis game goes on till late into the evening, I may skip dinner that day. However, of late, I have allowed myself a small, home-made, cappuccino on fasting days. I wonder how bad that little bit of milk is.
As for exercise. I have become extremely committed to doing the Crossfit Workout of the Day. I generally do crossfit atleast 3 days a week (I manage 4 workouts a week quite often though). The other days I do tabata sprints, play tennis, or just walk alot. The crossfit workouts are pretty varied, but I wonder if I can do more in terms of shaking things up more. I also record my performance, and keep track of the progress. By and large my numbers have shown a steady improvement, from which I take great encouragement.
I have maintained a food diary in the past, for 2-3 months at a stretch. I don’t do it any more. However, my most recent efforts with regard to food discipline have been to eat fewer nuts, and to cut carbs even further.
My only carb sources for the last several months have been fruits and vegetables. My latest salvo has been to abolish the ‘apple a day’ (quite literally, no pun intended!). This followed Mark’s advice in a guest post on another blog which he shared here last week.
As for nuts, I have begun to restrict my consumption my taking out a set portion (atmost 200 calories worth of nuts) in a day, and not consume more than that amount. Though to be honest, I tend to stray slightly above that on most days.
These last two have been my latest efforts at breaking the plateau. Previous experiments which have not worked have been to reduce my meat consumption, reduce alcohol consumption, reduce dark chocolate consumption, and nearly eliminate cheese consumption.
I now consume at most 8 oz of meat per meal; restrict alcohol to 2 days a week, and that too only two drinks (usually 2 glasses of wine) on those days; restrict myself to dark chocolate with very little sugar, usually only the stuff which is 85%+ cocoa content; and to eat small amounts of cheese irregularly (less than once a week). I reasoned that these measures should cut a good chunk of my calorie consumption. I kept to these practices for a while, but since they showed no appreciable difference, I must admit my diligence has waned somewhat of late: lately I have been consuming a bit more alcohol and cheese than I would like.
So that has been my experience. I still have a pinch worth of stubborn flab around my belly. I am getting reconciled to the fact that it may never go away. Any suggestions on how to up the ante and make a more determined effort are most welcome!
Thanks,
Apurva
Really? You can’t figure it out??
Maybe try NO alcohol, NO cheese, NO chocolate. I mean come on! You’re dieting to drop bodyfat, if you get stuck, all “sensible indulgences” are temporarily GONE. You can have those things again when you reach your goal weight. I hate to bust ba**s but it sounds like you need more DISCIPLINE. Going from fat to “normal” is easy. From normal to ripped is HARD. …No matter what diet your on.
What works best for me?
Sprints. (Bike, elliptical, or running.)
Fast until about 2:00 P.M. two days a week.
Throw in some very low calorie days.
No carbs after 7:00 P.M. (Even fruits and vegetables.)
And my least favorite, but the most effective…cut out all alcohol.
1) Can’t “plateauing” weight wise still mean you’re overall fitness is improving because you could be trading fat for muscle?
2) I don’t think there’s enough paper to truly document everything I eat…
Excellent post which has come just in time, I don’t consider myself in a “plateau” so to speak as it’s only been a week but to date since 18th October 2008 I’ve lost 35lbs (I have 100 to lose). I was losing consistently about 2lbs a week and two weeks ago I started really getting serious about exercise doing at least 30mins a day of low level aerobic, HIIT, yoga and weights. I’ve been a lot more hungry since doing this which is frustrating, should I be eating more or is there a way to avoid the hunger? I’m really loving the exercise and know it will help with giving me a better looking body as I get smaller and it is also helping with my general anxiety. Should I just continue to exercise and eat a little extra if I need to and it will work itself out or should I not eat any extra? Everyday my carbs are around 40gms which comes from salad/veggies and the smallest amount of veggies, no high carb foods ever and approx 1500-1800cals per day. I’m 5’6” and weigh 200lbs. Any suggestions appreciated
If you were REALLY sedentary before, and now suddenly you’re moving your body a lot the cardio could actually be building some muscle. You certainly won’t “bulk up” doing cardio, but if you were a couch potato you probably had very little muscle mass to start and you’re growing SOME muscle in response to the cardio. I would guess after a week or two that will max out and stop and you’ll drop pounds again. You probably ARE dropping fat right now, you just can’t tell on the scale because of the muscle you added simultaneously. …I’m no expert, just my 2 cents.
Does fasting between meals really count as fasting? If I didn’t “force” myself to eat lunch I would only eat dinner every day (I don’t really even get hungry OR thirsty until around 7 PM).
I meant smallest amount of berries not veggies LOL
Good reminder to mix it up some. I’ve been at my current weight/body composition for quite a while now, but I have some unwanted pounds I’d like to shed. It will take some focus.
It’s not so much the weight I care about as body composition. This brings up the old question: What’s a good way to estimate body composition (lean/fat)?
anna, Eric – Yes, of course. In fact that is a nuance to the weight loss plateau that I neglected to mention. Your may be building muscle faster than you are losing fat.
Thanks for the tips, SuperMike. It is great to hear what someone is doing that has seen great results.
(Check out SuperMike, everyone: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/primal-testimonials/)
Apurva – Thanks for the update. I’d say you should pay particular attention to the last tip: Keep on keeping on. Stubborn belly fat can take a long time to lose. Keep doing what you are doing. Over the long haul I’m sure you’ll see the results you are looking for.
Eric – If you are trying to lose fat then I’d suggest you listen to your body and NOT eat when you don’t feel like it. Don’t force feed. It may be your bodies way of telling you that you don’t need it.
WT- Great question. I’m going to reserve my answer for a future blog post, so you’re going to have to wait! Cheers!
Mark
Re Eric
for what I know, there’s no need to stuff oneself with a meal if not hungry – metabolism will not slow as long as you keep adequate intake of calories.
Technically, the answer to “Does fasting between meals really count as fasting?” is : all fasting is between meals (except for the last fast in one’s life, that is).
I understand the IF concept but it doesn’t sit well with me. I believe in doing the things that are healthy habits, the things you will continue to do after you’ve lost the weight.
Tweaking your intake food and workout routine is one thing, but IF? Nah.
On the other hand, fasting to cleanse the body or for spiritual purposes is totally different. Just my 2 cents.
Thanks for your answer, Mark. Your words are reassuring. That being said, this lifestyle makes me feel so great that I have no hesitation to keep on going. It feeds itself, really. My previous comment was made primarily as an invitation for suggestions for further optimizations/improvements in my lifestyle.
Apurva
I gotta say that I am a huge fan of IF. I started doing it “instinctively” about a month or so ago, in the midst of an over-intense workout regimen. I would just wake up and decide that I wasn’t going to eat or workout that day, and suddenly it felt like this burden had been lifted off my shoulders and I could truly relax.
My favorite part of the day long fast has to be late in the evening, when the craving for dinner has passed and you sort of reach what I refer to as an elevated state of consciousness. Your mind seems sharper, colors seem brighter, etc. Any doubts you had before about whether or not fasting was a smart move are thrown out the window when this happens.
On a related note, it is almost a universal experience that I will have a dream about food during a late afternoon nap during a fast. The last one I remember well I dreamed about a Taco Bell burrito! I wonder if some of the Paleolithic era cave art we see depicting the hunt might have been inspired by these sorts of dreams.
@Rick: mmmm…..Mammoth…..drool….
Currently using a lot of flax seed meal and oolong to reduce weight – 7 pounds in 2 weeks.
I’m the friend Son Of Grok was talking about. I’ve been on this plateau about 5 or 6 weeks. This post couldn’t have come at a better time and it simply reinforced most of the advice SoG has been giving me. I think this plateau will end soon as I’ve already noticed in my belt size in just the past week.
Mark – do you ever buy into the theory that a plateau might mean you’re not eating enough? I’ve been talking to a few people about whether this notion is really fact or a myth. What’s your opinion?
Wonderful Post Mark!
I esp. love the write it down, that’s something that is a huge help to me to keep track of and keeps me on track!
One thing that i try to encourage people asking me advice to lose weight, i also suggest to NOT eat past 6:00 p.m.
Doing this you’ll be hungry upon waking up. For me, eating breakfast gets me going.
Thanks for the great post Mark. I love the reminder to write it down. As a formerly obese person (morbidly so if you trust the BMI) I have always seen great results when using Fitday, but then I get cocky and think I don’t need it. Guess what happens…
Very happy to read this and all the comments. I, too, am probably eating too many nuts, and maybe too much fruit and berries. I try to have a day where I do eight 100m sprints, but I’m going to try throwing in Tabatas on the exercise bike to make my week look like this: weights, bike, weights, bike, rest, sprint, rest. Shuffle as needed to keep it interesting, I guess.
There’s a light at the end of the tunnel. After my 6 week plateau and today being weigh day, I was happy to see that after my adjustments I finally had a 7 pound weight loss. Phew!
Great article…as plateaus happen to anyone who never seeks to change up their routine (hence I can’t stand the Zone or any other eating plan that strict). As they say…if it ain’t working, mix it up…whether workouts…eating less/more…cycling carbs…etc. The body likes variety…it hates routine.
A good analogy could be like driving a car…if one person is stuck on cruise control on the highway…and another is stop and go (with enough speed) city driving…which burns more gas (or energy)?
My best routine breaker is going for a trail run and just doing whatever pace I feel like…sprint the hills…walk a bit….lots of ups and down…no flat pavement or treadmills for me.
Mike OD
Opps…just saw I need my new contact info.
I continue to watch my diet very strictly and somehow I managed to gain 15 lbs. which I cannot lose. It appears I am holding alot of water which I cannot get rid of. There was a period of time where I just gained 1.2 lbs per day until it stopped at 15 lbs. Now my weight is holding but I cannot break that plateau.
I am drinking two litres of greens and 2 litres of water per day. I eat two meals per day. I load up on alot of veggies. Should I just be patient or is it time to see a doctor for a possible thryoid condition???
Nothing is working please help me.
Reiterating the question a few others have asked above, when limiting carbs for breaking a plateau, does that include veggies? I keep wondering, if I still feel hungry at the end of the day, what’s the best snack I should opt for – a bowl of broccoli, lean protein, fatty protein, tablespoon of coconut oil?
1. Increase the frequency of exercise
2. Increase the intensity of exercise
3. Increase the amount of time you exercise
4. Change the type of exercise you are currently doing.
F – Frequency
I – Intensity
T – Time
T – Type
5. Nutrition – Take another look at the type of food you are eating and the amount.
Well after months of “effortless weightloss” I AM STUCK. I rocketed down at 1-2 pounds a week from 200 to 162. For the past 3 weeks I’ve been stuck at the exact same 162 and 14% bodyfat. Says the weekly weigh-in on my scale and pictures I take, since the mirror can lie but the computer screen doesn’t
It’s great to no longer be fat, but I sure didn’t set “slightly better than average” as my goal. I want to be LEAN. Single digit bodyfat. There’s no reason I can’t achieve that.
I haven’t broken this plateau, so I can’t tell you for sure what works, but I have an idea. First off, I think it’s just a whole lot harder to go from normal —> ripped, than it is to go from fat slob —> normal.
Secondly, I’ve tried I.F. but never for a full day. Just skipping the first 2 meals of the day. BUT… what I think is happening is I just make up for it with dinner and then another meal after dinner. I’m probably eating way more than I realize in those 2 meals. Probably a full day’s worth of calories. Doh! I have not incorporated HIIT yet.
So this week I will try sprints on the beach one day, and a full day of fasting on another day. I think I have to do a full day, because if I do partial day, I just over-eat in the afternoon and wind up nowhere. I’ll post back here and let you guys know if these 2 things help!
I assume you are male. At 14% BF as a woman that would start getting into the unhealthy range. Getting ripped (single digit BF)is HARD. There are no health advantages. The only reason to do it is for the challenge and/or esthetics. First re-evaluate wether or not it is worth it. If it is (I understand I have similar goals) then the only way is through diet.
No amount of exercise is going to help. It is way easier to consume 1000 less calories than it is to burn 1000
calories through exercise.
Also, IF is going to do you harm if your in a healthy range and still trying to drop BF. You will end up catabolizing muscle to feed your brain. It takes 3 days for you brain to switch to ketone bodies for fuel. It takes another 3 weeks for your muscles to switch to stored fat for the majority of energy needs.
You will have to get into the LBM x 1-1.25g in protien you will not get ripped either. Ask a bodybuilder.
If you are doing aerobics you will not get ripped but you will catabolize your hard earned muscle. Ask a bodybuilder.
Lift weights 1 time per week for to failure keeping the total work out to less than 20 min and that will be the only amount of exercise your body will be able to handle on a calorie deficient diet.
“You will have to get into the LBM x 1-1.25g in protien you will not get ripped either. Ask a bodybuilder.”
What? (post got srcabmled)
You will have to get into the LBM x 1-1.25g in protien or you will not get ripped either. Ask a bodybuilder.
I am unsure of what is happening here…
ohhhhhh! I was using greater than less than symbols and the post deleted every thing in between.
Last time… promise.
You will have to get into eating less than 50g of carbs per day for several weeks or you will not get ripped. Ask a bodybuilder.
You will have to eat greater than your LBM x 1-1.25g in protien or you will not get ripped either. Ask a bodybuilder.
… and please work post.
“Also, IF is going to do you harm if your in a healthy range and still trying to drop BF. You will end up catabolizing muscle to feed your brain. It takes 3 days for you brain to switch to ketone bodies for fuel. It takes another 3 weeks for your muscles to switch to stored fat for the majority of energy needs.”
Sounds nice, but I don’t agree with this at all. Primal man had times of feast and times of famine. The whole REASON humans and other animals store bodyfat in the first place is for times of famine so we can LIVE off our bodyfat without food and not die! In modern society there is no time of famine. If it’s all FEAST 24/7, of course you’ll get fat. I think a day of fasting makes perfect sense. This “OH don’t do THAT or you’ll catablolize muscle!” is conventional wisdom rubbish. I refuse to believe our precious metabolisms are THAT delicate. I think the body WANTS to burn fat in a time of famine, not hoard it and burn muscle. A day of fasting will do far more good than harm, burn far more fat than muscle.
…..and I don’t need to ask a body-builder anything, I’m asking Mark. Mark has the medium build muscle mass and “elite level” low body fat I aspire to. It sounds like he achieved that at least partly through the use of IF. And in the “success stories” part of the site I can find 4 or 5 other guys with similar builds.
The REAL threat to muscle mass is cardio. When I surfed hard for a month I lost 4 pounds of muscle. Look at marathon runners and tour de france cyclist. Excessive cardio is kryptonite to muscle mass.
Why do I want single digit bodyfat? Are you kidding?! I’m shallow. I want to be HOT. The same reason everybody wants it. At least I admit it. I’m a single man. Single women are THROWING themselves at me now -Vs- 7 months ago at 26% bodyfat. …turns out they’re shallow too.
I don’t feel bad about that at all. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to LOOK good. That’s the image conscious world we live in. ….why would you want to? Jeeeez! You crack me up.
“Sounds nice, but I don’t agree with this at all. Primal man had times of feast…”
Exactly. Primal man was not fat and did not have unlimited fat reserves like we do now for the reason you mentioned, however, 1 day is not famine. The body will resist using precious fat stores and will use a more metabolically expensive tissue (muscle) until it is perceived to be in a real famine.
“I think the body WANTS to burn fat in a time of famine, not hoard it and burn muscle”
Agreed but again one day is not a famine. I am not saying IF is bad or useless. I am saying to get down to single digit BF IF is counter productive.
“A day of fasting will do far more good than harm, burn far more fat than muscle”
Agreed. Only if your body is primed to burn fat ie. less than 50g carbs per day for several weeks. The brain uses approx 100 g of Carbs (glucose) a day. It takes several days for the brain to start using ketone bodies as fuel. The brain cannot use free fatty acids for fuel period. This is CW but like “smoking is bad m’kay” CW. To get 100g of glucose for the brain, the best way is to break down amino acids in the liver. The amino acids come from “stored protein” aka muscle tissue. Do a google search on ketosis. Very, very interesting stuff.
“..and I don’t need to ask a body-builder anything, I’m asking Mark.”
I only mention this because bodybuilders do what you are trying to do 1-3 times a year. Also I don’t think Mark was 26% BF at the time of developing PB if ever.
“he REAL threat to muscle mass is cardio. When I surfed hard…”
By aerobics I mean “low to mid intensity steady state activity” like marathon running, marathon cycling, and shivering in the ocean for 4 hours a day. So again agreed.
“Why do I want single digit bodyfat? Are you kidding?! I’m….”
Agreed! Again! Haha I see a trend. Anyway, my goals are also single digit BF (again). I am 34 just divorced and was at 26% BF only 4 weeks ago. I am down to 22% since applying the PB to my lifestyle. I also want to be Hot! I am doing a 4 week stint at ketosis levels starting this week to see how fast I can drop the fat.
I don’t mean to offend or come off as a know it all. I just thought I would add my 2 cents since we seem to be in the same boat striving for hottness!
I hope Mark reads our little Necroposts and chimes in to see if I am off base here.
Good luck! I wish you all the best and look forward to seeing if you have any other views!
I broke through the plateau! After 3 weeks in a row with the scale reading 14.4% bodyfat, this week it dropped to 13.6%. You may argue that BIA bodyfat scales aren’t accurate. I would agree with you, IF you just jump on them whenever you want, you’ll get wildly different readings. But if you get on them under the same conditions with the same hydration levels they are extremely accurate. I hop on mine once a week on Wednesdays, same sleep schedule, same time of day after breakfast and the gym, but before lunch. And the readings are very consistent. So much so that I read a consistent 14.4% for 3 weeks straight. Even if I’m not 14%, and I’m actually 17% or 11% the RELATIVE accuracy is valid. And that’s what I care about, is it going UP or DOWN?
It was NUTS. I realized I was eating over a POUND of nuts every week. While I’m sure Grok came across nut bearing trees in his travels, he had to pick them (possibly climbing the tree) and then he had to crack open the shells one at a time. That is an entirely different proposition from the 1 pound shelled, salted, roasted goodness available at Trader Joes. It’s a lot easier to over-do it that way.
I also started sprints on Friday. But only 2 for my first go at it. Two 800 foot dashes. That’s not much. It probably helped. But I think it was ditching the nuts mainly. I’m pretty sure I ate MORE food overall. But it was more fruits/veggies/meat, less nuts. I don’t do cheese, because it’s not primal.
I have not had to incorporate IF yet. But we’ll see, I’m still a ways out from 9% bodyfat. I kinda’ want to save that one for when I REALLY need it. …like being stuck at 10% bodyfat. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!” So this week, I’m going to do exactly what I did last week. Primal, no nuts, no cheese.
Oh, for all the cardio-holics, I did ZERO cardio this week. None. Na-da. Don’t cardio off the fat, DIET it off.