This Daily Routine Smashed My Fitness Plateau

I’d argue that few things are as frustrating as a fitness plateau, especially one that lasts a whole year. My fitness journey started in 2017, and over about 2.5 years, I lost 15 pounds through regular exercise. By the end of 2019, I was pretty healthy. I had more energy in my mid-thirties than I did in all my twenties.

But I still had about 10 lbs to go to achieve my goal weight. I didn’t need to lose them; I just really wanted to shave off those last few “vanity pounds.” But the scale continued to slow until it came to a complete stop altogether.

By the spring of 2020, I had been at the same weight for over a year. I realized if I were ever going to reach my fitness goals, I’d have to shake things up a bit.

After researching different strategies for busting through a fitness plateau, I put together a new daily routine. Within six months, that last 10 lbs came right off, and I’ve been maintaining my goal weight with the same schedule ever since.

Keep in mind that everyone’s fitness journey is different, and what works for one person may not be realistic for another. However, I also find that reading about other people’s processes can be helpful. By sharing my daily routine, you may find some good ideas and glean a few takeaways that will help you craft your own plateau-busting routine.

7 a.m. — 8 a.m. Wake Up and Get Ready for Work

Years ago, I preached that waking up extra early to work out was the best way to get fit. After all, if billionaires say they do it, why shouldn’t I?

I used to wake up between 5–5:30 a.m.on weekdays to work out, but it ended up causing more harm than good.

Why? Because I was sacrificing sleep to work out. But adequate sleep is the foundation for everything else you do, which I learned the hard way.

Sleep deprivation leads to weight gain because it throws your body’s hormones out of whack. Your metabolism slows, and your body starts pumping out more ghrelin, the hormone that spurs hunger.

These days, I tune into my natural circadian rhythm. I wake up naturally without an alarm between 6:30 and 7 a.m.

The other fundamental change I made regarding sleep is that I get up at the same time every day, regardless of if it’s a weekend or a weekday.

This healthy a.m. habit not only calibrates your sleeping patterns for better quality sleep but also improves digestion, boosts immunity, and increases productivity.

I don’t have time to exercise before work anymore, but my mood and energy levels are much more stable, making it easier to exercise later in the day.

8 a.m — 11 a.m. Work

I am fortunate enough to work from home, and my commute consists of grabbing a cup of (decaf) coffee and marching up the stairs to my office. It is a desk job, though, so staying active throughout the morning proved challenging for a while.

My Apple Watch dings me once an hour to remind me to get off my duff and stretch my legs, but that alone wasn’t providing enough of a calorie burn throughout the day.

I started extending those walking breaks to include short bursts of exercise. Sometimes I did a few situps or a set of squats. (Lately, I’ve been doing pushups.)

More recently, I invested in a Cubii JR, which is an under-desk elliptical. Pedaling at a moderate pace, I burn roughly 240 total calories per hour with the Cubii. When I stay seated, I only burn around 70 total calories. That means I’m tripling my calorie burn for every hour I spend pedaling!

I pedal for 30–40 minute intervals while I work, so I end up burning 300–400 extra calories a day just from cycling at my desk.

11 a.m. Break My Fast

I have been following an intermittent fasting schedule for the past year now, and this change catalyzed my breakthrough.

There are many different intermittent fasting methods, but I follow a 16:8 fasting protocol which means I fast for 16 hours and take all my meals within the remaining 8-hour window.

I chose this popular protocol because research indicates that, combined with strength training, the 16:8 method can help decrease fat while still facilitating muscle gains. It also leaves a large enough eating window that I can comfortably fit three meals into my day.

My fasting window begins at 7 pm each evening, making my first meal 11 a.m. the following day.

It’s important to understand that I.F. does not give you carte blanche to eat whatever you want within your eating window. Eat more calories than you are burning, and you will still gain weight.

Instead, I.F. works by affecting your hormones; it reduces your insulin levels and dials up the norepinephrine, which translates to increased metabolism.

I break my fast with a protein-dense meal, usually a cup of plain greek yogurt with a ¼ cup of blueberries, ¼ cup of raspberries, and three tablespoons of chia seeds. Sometimes, I throw some chopped walnuts or a few monk fruit drops for a bit more flavor.

This first meal consists of 400–500 calories.

12–12:40 p.m. Walk

I go for a 3–4 km walk every day on my lunch break.

People tend to roll their eyes when I tell them that, but walking was critical to breaking through my plateau. The reason it’s so effective is that it’s easy, low-impact, and low-intensity.

Walking every day is probably one of the easiest habits you can develop; you don’t have to get changed into gym clothes or mentally prepare yourself for it.

You just get outdoors and enjoy!

And all those calories burned from walking add up. I usually burn around 150 active calories per walk and average six days a week. That works out to 3600 calories in 4 weeks. That means I’m burning over a pound’s worth of calories per month just from that easy 30–40 minute daily walk!

12:40–2 p.m. Work

I’m not ready for lunch yet, so I get back to work after my walk.

2 p.m. — 2:30 p.m. Lunch

I have a late lunch because I have such a late breakfast, and I like to keep my meals at least 3 hours apart. But I also find it works better this way because then I’m not starving by dinner time.

I eat the same few meals for lunch every week. It is either a chicken or pork sandwich or scrambled eggs on wholegrain toast. I always have a side of fruit which is usually a kiwi or an apple.

I treat myself to a No Sugar Keto Bar or a home-baked good of my own creation for dessert. My favorites right now are keto peanut butter cookies and almond flour apple muffins.

(Side note: I do not subscribe to the keto diet, but I take a page from their book every so often to cut back on sugar and refined carbs. I don’t advocate the keto diet, though — that’s a whole other article!)

Lunch is my biggest meal and typically works out to around 700–800 calories.

2:30–5 p.m. Work

I do another few hours of work and try to get in a couple more under desk cycling sessions while I work.

5 p.m. — 5:45 p.m. Work Out

I exercise in the late afternoons after I finish my workday.

I was reluctant to move my workouts to the afternoons for the longest time because I thought I would have less energy or willpower to do them. But it was just the opposite; I seldom miss my p.m. training session, whereas I slept through my early a.m. workouts every other day.

I admit it helps that I work from home. My commute is replaced by jumping into workout clothes and rolling out an exercise mat. Exercising at home makes it easy for me to stay committed.

The most significant change to my exercise routine, other than the time, was what kind of workouts I did. I used to work out 3–4 days a week and do an even split between cardio and HIIT resistance.

To break through my plateau, I had to step it up to 5–6 days a week and focus primarily on strength training.

That’s because, at this stage, fitness became about more than my calorie burn; it was also about losing fat and gaining muscle to improve my body composition.

The workout app I attribute to helping me bust out of my plateau was the Jillian Michaels app. Her 90-day program, Body Revolution, helped me blast away that last 10 lbs, and I have been working my way through her other programs ever since.

Stepping up my workouts in frequency, difficulty, and duration were all key to finally dropping those last ten pounds and getting the muscle definition that eluded me for so long.

If I find myself grunting for dear life and intermittently gasping, “This is crazy!” during my workout, then I know it’s challenging enough. Otherwise, it’s time to dial it up again.

6:30 p.m. Dinner

This meal is typically around 600–700 calories and the most varied part of my daily diet. It typically consists of chicken or pork with a whack of stir-fried veggies (red peppers, mushrooms, shallots, and sometimes zucchini) and a potato side dish.

Yes, I eat potatoes.

Dinner is my most carb-laden meal of the day, though I still typically consume less than 200 grams of carbs per day. Believe it or not, research shows that eating most of your carbs at dinner may facilitate more weight loss than spacing your carbs throughout the day by stabilizing your hunger hormones and improving satiety.

Another bonus to including a few carbs at dinner is that they stimulate tryptophan, an amino acid that boosts serotonin levels and helps you get a better night’s sleep.

That doesn’t mean you should eat twinkies for dinner. The key to doing carbs right is sticking to complex carbs high in fiber, like beans, potatoes, and whole grains.

7:00 p.m. Dessert and Begin Fast

Anytime I deny myself treats, I end up binging on something I shouldn’t before long. So I’ve learned not to deprive myself. Right after I finish dinner, I allow myself a portioned treat under 200 calories.

Chocolate is my favorite, so it’s usually a quarter cup of chocolate-covered almonds or a Merci square. Other times, a handful of dates is enough to sate my sweet tooth.

As soon as I finish the last bite, I begin my fast and won’t consume anything but water (and decaf “keto coffee” in the morning) for the next 16 hours.

7–10 p.m. Relax

With the day done, I relax, watch some T.V., or do a little reading or writing if the mood strikes.

I’ve also started doing short meditation sessions to help me relax and quiet my mind before bed.

10 p.m. — 6:30 a.m. Sleep

I’m in bed by 10 p.m. every night. It takes me some time to wind down, but I usually get to sleep within half an hour, so I get my full 8 hours.

To optimize my sleep, I keep it as dark and quiet in the room as possible. If my partner stays up reading on his iPad, I will use my Manta sleep mask to block out the light.

Key Takeaways

Ther are a few takeaways in my routine which were the keys to my success:

1. Sleep comes before all else

Trying to reach your fitness goals without proper sleep is like pushing a boulder up a slippery hill. It’s not impossible, but you won’t have a good time. Fitness goals aside, adequate sleep is essential to your overall health and longevity, so take your shuteye seriously!

2. Daily, low-impact physical activity counts

Walking and mini exercise breaks are incredibly underrated. The calories you burn from little activities throughout the day add up and could be the extra push you need to bust through your plateau.

3. Increase your calorie burn to create a calorie deficit

If your weight loss has stalled, it’s because you are no longer in a calorie deficit. The fix is to increase your physical activity to boost your TDEE or Total Daily Energy Expenditure.

In my experience, it is far more effective to increase physical activity than to cut back on how many calories you are consuming. After a certain point, reducing your calorie intake makes it difficult to get enough nutrients, not to mention it becomes more difficult to stave off hunger and feel satiated.

4. Be strategic about your diet, but don’t make it too strict

Honestly? I’m not crazy about salad. So I don’t eat a lot of it, and that’s okay. I get lots of nutrients through other fruits and veggies at every mealtime. Likewise, carbs are not evil and are an essential part of a well-rounded diet.

All you need to do is aim for various whole, minimally processed foods, make sure you’re getting lots of protein, and stay within your calorie budget.

4. Work out when it’s best for you

There may indeed be extra benefits to working out first thing in the morning. But it’s only great if you can make it fit into your life. As soon as I switched my workouts to 5 p.m., I started making progress again because I was getting enough sleep and missing fewer workouts.

5. Step up your workouts and focus on strength training

If you’re working out three days a week, bump it up to four. If you’re doing four days a week, bump it up to five. If you’re doing five days a week, make each session longer and harder.

Challenge yourself and change up your workouts. If you don’t dial up your workouts, your progress will stall.

Final Thoughts

For me, breaking through a fitness plateau didn’t come from making one significant change but from many small changes.

My routine may not be the traditional way to break through a plateau, but it worked for me because I stuck to a few fundamental principles. Hopefully, it gives you a few ideas for a custom daily routine that works best for your lifestyle, preferences, and goals!

Want more fitness-related goodness? Download my free Workout Builder to easily create your own customized workouts!

Originally published in In Fitness and In Health on Medium.