Weight Loss Resistant? 5 Unconventional Strategies to Overcome It

You've probably been there. You're doing everything correctly, yet you can't ditch that refuse-to-vacate excess weight, and it's driving you crazy. 

I coined the term "weight loss resistance" for folks who do everything correctly yet can't consistently lose a couple of pounds a week. 

Numerous obstacles underlie weight loss resistance, from sleep deprivation to chronic stress to hormonal imbalances. I'll deep dive into some of these in a future post.

For now, let's agree that intelligent, conventional approaches can work. Combining burst training with weight resistance, getting 7 - 9 hours of quality sleep every night, controlling stress, and eating a low-sugar impact diet create serious fast, lasting fat loss needle movers.

Yet sometimes you hit a metabolic wall and want to think outside the box to overcome weight loss resistance. You know what I'm talking about. You've got a hot date next week or an upcoming 2-week Honolulu vacation where you want to don your new two-piece. On those occasions, you want to pull out all the stops for fast, lasting fat loss.

That's when you want to employ these 5 unconventional strategies to break weight loss resistance and get the results you want.

1. Cycle your calories. Calories count, but hormones count more. That's why lower-calorie and low-fat diets eventually fail, as your metabolic machinery slows down to adjust for decreased caloric intake. Mixing up your dietary routine can keep your metabolism on its toes. You needn't become militant with numbers. Simply try a mid-afternoon low-sugar impact snack on some days while on others you stick to 3 solid meals and no snacking. Keep a journal and scrupulously document your results. If you need a little motivation to write it down, a Kaiser Permanente study found those who tracked everything they ate lost twice as much weight as those who didn't.
2. Address food intolerances. Food intolerances can create inflammation, insulin resistance, and weight loss resistance. Gluten, dairy, corn, eggs, peanuts, soy, sugar, and artificial sweeteners become big offenders for these and other problems. Take the challenge and employ principles in my first New York Times bestseller The Virgin Diet. Completely pull these 7 foods for just 3 weeks and see if that doesn't become your fat loss needle mover.
3. Try this modified version of intermittent fasting. One study in the journal Cell Metabolism allowed mice to either eat whenever they wanted or within an eight-hour window. Both groups ate the same amount of calories, yet the fasting mice weighed significantly less, had improved insulin sensitivity, lowered inflammation, and improved levels of leptin, your satiety hormone. You can get those same intermittent fasting benefits without hunger or deprivation. Eat a substantial, low-sugar impact breakfast and lunch that includes lean protein, healthy fats, lots of leafy and cruciferous vegetables, and slow-release high-fiber starches. Then skip dinner and resume eating the next morning's breakfast. You'll effortlessly create that 16-hour fat-burning fasting window.
4. Target sneaky sugars. Devouring pecan-glazed sweet potato casserole will give you a sugar surge, but you might not realize many other so-called healthy foods can be just as high-sugar impact. Frequent offenders include vinaigrette dressings, fruit-on-the-bottom yogurts, and sweetened almond milk. They might not seem like much on their own, but these sneaky sugars add up quickly. Addressing and eliminating them can become key to overcoming weight loss resistance.
5. Shake things up. Subbing two meals for protein shakes has helped numerous clients overcome plateaus. Studies confirm their results. One published in Diabetes/ Metabolism Research and Reviews found people with "metabolic syndrome achieved significant weight loss while preserving fat-free mass when treated with an energy-restricted, high-protein diet that included nutrient-dense meal replacements..." You can get those benefits with a protein shake. Simply blend 20 - 25 grams of quality protein powder with frozen raspberries, kale or other leafy greens, avocado, unsweetened coconut or almond milk, and freshly ground flax or chia seeds. To double your efforts, have another shake at lunch.

What strategy would you add to break weight loss resistance and finally attain fast, lasting fat loss? Share yours below...