CSIRO research shows how to deal with plateaus in weight loss

Arpita Nandi lost more than 21kg through making a change. But since then she has experienced a struggle that’s more common than you might think.

Arpita Nandi was happy when she lost 21.6kg in 20 months.

However the 45-year-old accountant from Kalkallo in Victoria said she had since plateaued at 76kg.

Her lowest weight had only been slightly lower at 75.5kg.

“I’ve still got around 10kg to go to hit my goal weight,” Ms Nandi said.

“Initially my weight was going down very fast, but then it stagnated.”

She’s far from alone.

Arpita Nandi said she was still 10kg off her goal weight. Picture: Supplied

New research from the nation’s science agency has found the majority of successful weight loss journeys involve plateaus or times where you gain some back.

CSIRO Lead researcher, Dr Gilly Hendrie, said the study, published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, showed how weight loss often didn’t occur in a linear fashion.

The research focused on the weight loss patterns of more than 6500 people – mostly women – who took part in the CSIRO diet program for more than a year between 2014 and 2022.

They were weighed every three months to track how they went.

Only 4.3 per cent of participants lost weight consistently in every three month block during their year-long participation in the Total Wellbeing Diet.

“The study gives hope to anyone who has ever felt disheartened throughout their weight loss journey,” Dr Hendrie said.

Arpita Nandi lost 21.6kg in 20 months on the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet program. This was before she took part. Picture: Supplied

“The reality is weight loss isn’t linear. Periods of maintenance and small regains are normal – but with persistence, meaningful results can happen.”

Contrastingly about 53 per cent actually had fluctuations where they had at least one three-month period in which they gained some weight back.

This included 7.5 per cent who lost weight for six months, maintained their weight for three months and then gained some weight back for the last quarter.

However the most common pattern was six months of weight loss followed by six months of a plateau.

Arpita Nandi still had a successful weight loss journey despite plateauing. Picture: Supplied

But this result – which 14.6 per cent of participants experienced – was still deemed a success.

“This group had an average weight loss of 10.6kg after 12 months,” the study said.

The second most common pattern – which was experienced by 11 per cent – was losing weight in the first three months but then plateauing for the following nine months.

This group lost an average of 5kg over a year – which is still an achievement.

“These results provide a deeper understanding of the cycles of weight loss success and are critical to managing the expectations of those embarking on a weight loss journey,” the study said, noting it was the only known research of its kind to look at weight loss patterns over such a long period.

Originally published as CSIRO research shows how to deal with plateaus in weight loss