By Aaron Boike, B.S Kinesiology, ACE Certified Personal Trainer

So you hit a plateau and despite your hardest efforts, the number on the scale won’t budge. It happens to everyone looking to hit a weight loss goal, but the reasons why can be varied, and figuring out how to bust through your plateau can be tricky. Here are the five interesting reasons for a weight loss plateau that we see frequently.

You’re Not Eating Enough – Okay..okay, this one always surprises people, but it is likely the most common one I run into for those who are dieting to lose weight. When we diet we go into a caloric deficit. The deficit is good, because it promotes the burning of stored fat for fuel. But what happens if we don’t get the nutrients we need? The body begins to slow the metabolism, and your rate of weight loss slows. When I say “you’re not eating enough,” I’m referring to enough of the good stuff. Just because your calorie tracker says you’re maxing out your calories for the day, does not mean your nutritional needs are met. Focus on eating a whole-food plant based diet, and make sure not to cut back the calories too far. Rule of thumb – eat a lot of the good stuff and your body will be happy. As far as calories, a caloric deficit of no more than 500 calories per day is recommended.

Your Gut is Unhealthy – This is a huge problem that the fitness community is just beginning to wake up to. The research is conclusive, if you have an unhealthy gut, you’re setting yourself up for a whole onslaught of chronic diseases, obesity included. The good news is that there is a lot you can do about it, and fairly quickly. Help to give your gut a boost by supplementing with a quality probiotic, and then work to build and maintain your gut microbiome (our bacterial friends that reside in our intestine) by feeding it with fiber rich foods, especially leafy greens and veggies.

You’re Not Sleeping Enough – In our busy day to day lives we often compromise sleep over our other commitments. For weight loss, few things could be more important to your success than getting a full nights sleep. When we sleep our body releases key hormones for satiety, helping us to feel more satiated throughout the day and overeat less. In addition, research shows that those who sleep a full night have a higher resting energy expenditure as well as burn more calories after meals than those who don’t.

You Don’t Strength Train – Strength training is well respected and researched as a key element of a sound weight loss program. Why? Strength training elicits a recovery state that raises your metabolism to help build and strengthen lean muscle. In addition, the muscle you add burns calories at rest, helping you burn fat all day long. Studies have also shown that those who don’t strength train lose up to 25% of their weight in muscle mass, rather than fat.

You’re Stressed – Stress is the enemy of weight loss. When we are stressed our body activates the sympathetic nervous system, aka the “fight or flight” response. This causes the body to release hormones like cortisol and epinephrine that decrease the body’s ability to burn fat for fuel. So, how do you reduce stress? One of the easiest ways is through basic meditation. Check out a guided meditation app such as Headspace (www.headspace.com) or look into a book that helps you learn how to practice meditation.