Hey fitness nerds!

You are on a roll. 

You lost 3 kilograms in the past month. You are looking good in the mirror. You are building momentum. You are planning to diet for one more month. 

But a week goes by and you haven’t lost any weight…

Another week passes and still no weight loss. You actually gained a bit of weight. 

You don’t know what is going on. 

You increase cardio to 45 min a day from 30 minutes. And you start losing weight again. But much slower than before. 

You have reached a plateau. 

Read 🔽 below to see what to do in that case. 

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IN LESS THAN 10 MINUTES WE WILL COVER:

Weekly Insights:

• Dieting Plateau

• Article Explained Simple: Metabolic adaptation during a caloric deficit

• Tips of the Day

• High-Protein Frozen Yoghurt Bites Recipe

What to do when you reach a plateau when dieting?

Plateaus are the worst. 

You can’t do anything about it and they happen to almost everyone trying to lose weight. 

Why do you stop losing weight even though you have been losing weight before eating the same calories or sometimes even more?

Well, our body inherently does not want to be in a caloric deficit. 20,000 years ago food was scarce so our bodies had to fight for every calorie. Fast forward to after the Industrial Revolution and food is in abundance now. More than that, high-calorie processed food that is full of sugars, trans fats and salt. Food is made to light up our brains (more specifically dopamine centres) making us addicted to it. 

A great quote I read: “The 3 most addicting things in the world are heroin, regular job, and sugar.”

And it’s true. It is hard for us to stop eating sugary, fatty foods and our bodies are evolutionarily programmed to keep and store every single calorie. 

So what does that matter when we are dieting? 

Because when we are in a prolonged caloric deficit (1 month+) our bodies start to adapt. Our body does not want to lose body fat. It has worked hard to get it (not really - but yes, in the past).

So it slowly starts to get used to the new “calorie intake”

If you used to consume 2500 calories a day. And now, on a diet, you consume 2000 calories. After a month or two your body will get used to 2000 calories a day.

What does that mean?

It means that you stop losing weight and that becomes your maintenance calories.

Forever? No.

But if you want to continue to lose weight you either have to reduce your calorie intake or exercise more so you burn more calories.

Some people implement refeeding days (where they eat high calories ~3000 for one day to “confuse” the metabolism). I am not sure if that works but always worth a try.

The best practice for me is reducing calories further and implementing more cardio to maintain a steady 0.5 kg weight loss a week.

And then when I am done dieting I start reverse dieting and slowly increase my intake to my pre-diet levels 100 calories a week.

I hope this helps. Please message me on twitter if you have any questions or you want me to discuss a specific topic.

If I forgot anything or if you have any other questions DM me on Twitter and I will gladly answer. Twitter

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Article of the Week

3 Tips on how to gradually increase cardio during a diet

The first 1/3 of a diet is easy.

It gets progressively harder mentally and physically.

Almost everyone either has to decrease caloric intake (how much calories they eat) or increase caloric output (how much they burn through activities of daily living or more importantly exercise).

One of the tactics is to slowly increase cardio. This is how you do it correctly.

1. Start slowly
   
   If you're new to cardio or have been inactive, start with low-intensity activities like walking or light cycling.
   
   Start slow with cardio at the start of the diet. It is better to have a “reserve” to decrease your calories more in the middle of a diet in case you hit a plateau.
   
   Inevitably, the majority of people will have to incorporate cardio in the middle of a diet.
   
   Each week, try to increase the duration of your cardio sessions by about 5 to 10 minutes, depending on your current calorie deficit.
   

2. Track calories and progress
   
   Use a fitness tracker or app to monitor your progress.
   
   This can motivate you by showing improvements in your endurance, speed, or the number of calories burned.
   

3. Move more and add non exercise activity

   
   increase your overall daily activity level.
   
   Take stairs instead of elevators, park farther from store entrances, or do walking meetings. These small activities add up and increase your total calorie burn.

Keep in mind that high amounts of cardio will exhaust you in the deep ends of a diet.

This Week’s Recipe

Vote below to choose the diet for next week’s recipe

High-Protein Frozen Yoghurt Bites Recipe (makes 4 servings = 6 bites per serving)

Low-calorie snacks are amazing. They help with satiety + some people just like to snack.

These are super healthy:

They are high in protein because of the Greek yoghurt. It also contains probiotics and is low in fat. That makes it good for your gut health and low in calories.

This recipe was created in 2 minutes with the BusyBody App. Click the button for free access to the app.

Macros per serving

• Total Calories: 100 kcal

• Protein: 9 g

• Carbohydrates: 12 g

• Sugars: 9 g

• Fat: 1 g

The Ingredients

• 2 cups Greek yoghurt, low-fat (about 500g)

• 1/4 cup honey (60ml)

• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1/2 cup mixed berries (blueberries, strawberries, raspberries), chopped (about 75g)

• Optional: a sprinkle of granola or chopped nuts for topping

The Instructions

1. Mix the Yogurt:

   • In a medium bowl, combine the Greek yoghurt, honey, and vanilla extract. Stir until the honey is fully integrated and the mixture is smooth.

2. Prepare the Fruit:

   • Wash and finely chop the mixed berries. If using strawberries, make sure to remove the stems and chop them into small pieces similar in size to the other berries.

3. Assemble the Bites:

   • Line a mini muffin tin with mini muffin liners or use a silicone mini muffin pan for easy removal.

   • Spoon a tablespoon of the yoghurt mixture into each muffin cup.

   • Drop a few pieces of chopped berries into each cup, pressing them slightly into the yoghurt.

   • If using, sprinkle a little granola or chopped nuts on top for added texture.

4. Freeze:

   • Place the muffin tin in the freezer and freeze for at least 2 hours, or until the yogurt bites are firm.

5. Serve:

   • Once frozen, remove the yoghurt bites from the muffin tin. They can be stored in a sealed container in the freezer.

   • Let them sit at room temperature for a few minutes before serving for a slightly softer texture.

Enjoy your cold high protein snack. Perfect for the summer!

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