A weight loss plateau is solely caused by one’s average daily calorie burn coming into balance with their food intake - regardless of how it happens.
The main reason the body comes to plateaus during dieting or exercise (besides consciously or unconsciously not following the plan) is that you become more fit when weight is lost. Your body uses fewer calories to perform the same work, which forces you to have to perform more work or eat less in order to continue to progress. This is because you are simply moving more efficiently and you carry less weight throughout the day. Another reason people hit a plateau is they have unknowingly reduced total daily activities, despite the fact that they exercise regularly. Remember, we burn the vast majority of calories while performing daily activities, not during a one-hour workout. Also, a person may, through change in employment or other lifestyle alterations, simply start to move less throughout the day. Therefore, exercise does not offset the decrease in daily calorie burn. And finally this: during very low calorie diets or at any time following significant weight loss, one often binges as the body attempts to recover lost pounds. And it only takes one “binge” to wipe out a week’s worth of accurate dieting.
Most people can’t believe this because they worked hard to consume the proper amounts for seven or 10 straight days, so the one binge is either underestimated, forgotten, or they never grasped the fact that every calorie counts. Therefore any time weight or body fat is stable for at least one week, you need to eat less, move more or a combination of the two regardless of what you read or hear from others. The easiest way to accomplish this is to increase your daily activities such as standing, pacing or walking instead of sitting - ANYTIME this is possible.
A plateau is caused by an adaptation to your food intake, daily activity and exercise routine. Therefore, you must make the proper adjustments in order to resume progress. When using the dotFIT program, be sure to update your weight or body fat when the system prompts you for a Progress Check – you will get feedback about how to adjust your program.