What To Do When You’re Doing Everything Right.. But Progress Slows. There comes a point in every fat loss journey when the results seem to stop. You’re still showing up. You’re still eating well. You’re still moving your body. But the scale won’t budge. Your measurements haven’t changed. Your clothes fit the same.
So what gives?
First, know this: Your body is adapting.
When you’re in a fat loss phase, especially for a while, your metabolism gets more efficient. That means your body gets really good at doing more with less. This is normal, expected, and honestly, a sign that your body is working the way it should.
For example, if you’ve been consistently eating 1700 calories, your body will eventually adapt to that intake. It might slow down energy output in subtle ways—less movement throughout the day, changes in body temperature, fewer calories burned at rest. Essentially, your body learns to function on 1700 calories, which is great for survival but challenging for continued fat loss.
But it also means you can’t keep doing the exact same things forever and expect new results. This is where strategy matters.
Here’s what I want you to know if you’re in this phase:
1. Plateaus are part of the process.
They are a signal that your body has caught up with what you’re doing. When the stimulus is no longer new or challenging, the change slows down. This is exactly why I wrote my last post—change requires stimulus.
This is also when metabolic adaptation kicks in. Your body adjusts hormone levels, energy output, and even hunger cues to match your new size and intake. It’s not sabotage—it’s your body trying to maintain homeostasis. The key is learning how to work with that adaptation, not against it.
2. You may need to adjust your nutrition.
If you’ve been eating the same amount of food and tracking macros or calories, your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) may have decreased due to fat loss, making your current intake more like maintenance than a deficit. Sometimes, the next move is to slightly reduce calories. For others, it may be smarter to take a break, eat at maintenance, and then come back with a refreshed strategy and metabolism.
I’ve had clients turn things around in different ways. One client was stuck for weeks, and we actually increased her calories by 10%. That small increase allowed her body to exit a stressed, fight-or-flight state, giving her adrenals space to chill out—and the fat loss picked up again. Another client dropped just a few grams of fat but upped her protein, and that adjustment was the exact nudge her body needed to get moving again. And yes, sometimes it is a small drop in calories or a bit more cardio. The key is knowing which lever to pull.
3. You may need to train with more intention.
If you’re doing the same workouts, the same weights, the same rep ranges, your body doesn’t have much reason to keep adapting. Progressive overload, training phases, and structured programming help reignite progress.
The sweet spot for building muscle is generally around 3–4 sets of 8–12 reps. But that only works if the weight you’re using is actually challenging you in that range. Your 15s might be perfect for 3×10 shoulder presses—but if you’re doing RDLs, you’re going to need more than that. This is where a gym setup with heavier weights can be super helpful. But if that’s not an option, you can still create more stimulus by slowing down your tempo, taking less rest between sets, or adding pauses to your lifts.
4. Non-scale victories still count.
Progress isn’t just about the scale. Are you sleeping better? Are your lifts stronger? Are your cravings more manageable? Are you more consistent than you used to be? That’s growth. That matters. I’m a big proponent of progress pics for my clients every 4-6 weeks so we can see visible changes in body fat or muscle growth.
Also, patience matters here too. If you’re being consistent for about four weeks and still nothing is happening—no scale shift, no strength change, no improved energy—it might be time to dig deeper and make an intentional shift.
5. A shift in focus can be powerful.
Sometimes, what you need isn’t to keep pushing harder but to step back and ask: What phase is best for me right now? Is it time to focus on strength? Muscle building? Maintenance? You don’t have to live in a constant fat loss phase. And in fact, you shouldn’t.
If you feel stuck right now, you don’t need to throw out your entire plan. You might just need a strategic adjustment.
This is exactly what I help my clients with inside my coaching programs. Whether you’re in a true fat loss phase or need help figuring out what phase you’re in and how to best approach it, you don’t have to guess.
I’m here to guide you.
When you’re ready, come learn more about how we can work together:
KyraWilliamsFitness.com/signup
Your Coach,
Kyra