The lowest body fat level I've ever managed to hit was in my mid-20s.

I hit 9% body fat.

It didn't happen overnight.

 

The thing is...

I wound up losing the same 5 pounds several times before my body finally broke through a plateau.

Once I broke through this plateau...

I lost an additional 6-8 pounds quickly.

I'm 100% convinced now that this is part of the fat loss journey.

I used to view rebound weight gain as a failure.

Like perhaps I was doing something wrong.

I don't view it like this anymore, because I have tracked my weight for over 2 decades.

Every time I got in peak shape, there were periods where I had to lose the same 5-10 pounds a few times.

Then at some point...

The body cooperates and the fat says off.

Then you wind up losing 5-10 more where you typically hit another stubborn point.

The younger you are, the fewer roadblocks you will encounter.

When you pass your teens or early 20's getting lean is a tougher deal.

You are going to backtrack.

Your body is built for survival.

Your body doesn't care if you want to look your best in a swimsuit (our body is so lame).

On your weight loss journey, you should fully expect rebounds to happen.

The rebound isn't the problem.

Viewing the rebound as a negative is a problem, and...

Giving up and letting the rebound become a huge weight re-gain is the biggest problem.

People give up when they think they have failed.

They feel defeated.

Because of feeling bad about their failure, they will often gain even more weight than the rebound.

Here's the thing...

These weight rebounds happen to everyone.

On EVERY diet.

The way to conquer a rebound and hit a new lower weight is to attack the sticking point several times.

At some point, your body will give in.

You can do this with several dieting approaches.

I recommend hitting the sticking point often and with an aggressive approach.

If you do this properly you will break through this sticking point.

The punching through a wall analogy is a good one.

If you try to punch through a wall and are unsuccessful, you don't keep pushing the wall with your fist.

You rest for a bit.

Pull your fist back.

Then go for a hard strike again.

 

Once you hit a sticking point it is best to back off on the diet and then attack it hard again.

If you push for long periods it will wear you out.

The diet-rest-diet model seems to work out best when it comes to defeating a sticking point.

 

 

But as I mentioned earlier, occasionally people will experience a rebound...

They will lose 10 pounds.

Then they will get most of it back during the 2-week break.

This is just the way the fat loss process works.