Beating my head into a wall... what is going on!

bingfit221
bingfit221 Posts: 105 Member
edited November 10 in Health and Weight Loss
I started my fitness journey at 190lbs 2 years ago. I shed 40 lbs in 4 months. I then started weight training and gained about 20 lbs. 5 months ago I decided I was too big and lost 7 lbs.

Now, I am 164 in the mornings and 166 at night. Completely normal yes. BUT I have been back at it for 2 weeks trying to get down to a leaner 155. (I am 5 foot 9 and at 148lbs my BF was 16-17%)

My body fat now varies between 19 &20%.

I have been perfect with my food (though you can only see 2 days because my old account locked me out). I use my heart rate monitor for my cardio workouts so my calories burned should be pretty close. I am in the gym 6 days a week.

Monday: chest back shoulders bi tris and medium intensity steady state
Tuesday: steady state and legs
Wednesday: HIIT & core
Thursday: rest
Friday: chest back shoulders bis tris steady state
Saturday: Legs & HIIT
Sunday: hardcore as fast as possible 5-7000m row & core
Total workout time per week: 10 hours

I am eating 1400-1700 calories and my calculated (Harris Benedict) BMRto maintain is 2300. I measure everything that's goes in my mouth yet literally my scale has not budged by even .2 of a lb in over 2 weeks. My macros are 40 carb 35 protein 25 fat.

My water intake daily is one gallon. I feel like I am beating a dead horse.

Thoughts? Comments? Suggestions?

Yes, calories in and calories out. Yet as I said I measure everything and it's literally impossible I am not creating a defecit. I finished a marathon in November and took off a month and ate 2000cals a day without gaining.

My body normally sheds weight rather quickly. 5 lbs a week is nothing new for me (not the healthiest per say).
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Replies

  • dizustyross
    dizustyross Posts: 23 Member
    You seem like you got it down pat pretty so theres only about three i might be able to suggest here. 1) you can try intermittent fasting, its helped many people break through plateuas. 2) maybe try a diet break of eating 1-200 calories above maintenance for a while maybe a week if youve been very strict for quite a while, helps balance out hormones again ti normal levels. 3) going low carb is good for pushing through plateuas as well, they really suck for the first 1-2 weeks for most people but they work and really burn those last tricky pounds. Thats just what i would suggest anyway, cheers
  • bingfit221
    bingfit221 Posts: 105 Member
    I refeed once every 14 days. Maybe I will try what you suggested about maintenance.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    I'm guessing first that your HMR isn't accurate. 850 calories yesterday seems like a lot, I'd have to run for 2 hours to get that number. What kind of HRM is it? Also, it's not accurate for strength training, so I wouldn't even log that.

    Also you don't seem to be weighing your food, so you could be eating more than you think. And you seem to confuse BMR and TDEE, I'm assuming your TDEE is 2300, not your BMR.

    Either way, not a huge cause for concern IMO, it can just take a while for your body to start shedding weight.
  • bingfit221
    bingfit221 Posts: 105 Member
    edited January 2015
    Yes it is not accurate for strength training so no, that doesn't include my calculated HR calories from strength training. I did HIIT for 50 minutes of 1 minute at a 10.00 on treadmill (gets HR to 190) then recovery to 130bpm and again. 15x. HR is polar RC3.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    bingfit221 wrote: »
    Yes it is not accurate for strength training so no, that doesn't include my calculated HR calories from strength training. I did HIIT for 50 minutes of 1 minute at a 10.00 on treadmill (gets HR to 190) then recovery to 130bpm and again. 15x. HR is polar RC3.

    Damn you're fit!

    Back to OP..if you have recently changed up your exercise programme it will be water weight for muscle repair ..just wait it out

    And however you are measuring body fat ..if it's a scale it's total bollocks, if it's calipers it's variable dependent on where you are pinching ...go by visible musculature if you're cutting
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
    edited January 2015
    You work out more than I do, and we are about the same weight, and I eat more than you do. I've actually never netted below 1800 calories, and I gross at least 1900 or more. You've also only been at this for 2 weeks? Assuming your entire routine is new, you're probably retaining water. But eating too little could easily affect your intensity at the gym and in daily life, meaning you could actually be burning less than you estimate due to not fueling yourself enough. Which would make your deficit smaller than you had originally set it at.

    And BTW, you're doing HIIT wrong if you can keep it up for 50 minutes and follow it up with other exercise. HIIT should be no longer than 20 minutes or so, and it should leave you feeling absolutely spent. You're just doing interval training.

    ETA as already noted, you aren't weighing your food. So it is very much possible you aren't creating a deficit when you average out your weekly intake. Protein powder at 32.7g? Maybe your scoop takes out 38g instead. Maybe your 16 asparagus spears were actually the equivalent of 24 spears when comparing how mcuh they would weigh. Etc.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,427 MFP Moderator
    edited January 2015
    How did you figure out your body fat %. I don't know very many females at 190 and 17% BF. If those numbers are true, that means between your most fit at 190 (155 lbs of lbm) and your current 164 (132lbs of lbm), that you have lost 26 lbs of lean body mass.

    Also, how long have you been plateaued?
  • bingfit221
    bingfit221 Posts: 105 Member
    edited January 2015
    I will again restate for the 8th time, I weight, count, and measure everything that goes into my mouth. @ana3067‌

    This routine is not new. I just had to take time off after a marathon! I have been in fitness for 2 years.

    3rd, HIIT is considered intervals levels in which your max hr is over 90% of my max. My max HR is 192. My intervals my HR is over 186 which would be well beyond 90%. I have been an athlete my whole life.

    @psulemon‌ I am not 190 right now. I am 162. I am very muscular. I can leg press 500 and bench press my body weight. I am 162 19.5% via calipers. My most fit is now, not 190. That's where I started. Sorry typo. At 148 I was 16-17%.
  • FatFreeFrolicking
    FatFreeFrolicking Posts: 4,252 Member
    edited January 2015
    bingfit221 wrote: »
    I will again restate for the 8th time, I weight, count, and measure everything that goes into my mouth. @ana3067‌

    This routine is not new. I just had to take time off after a marathon! I have been in fitness for 2 years.

    3rd, HIIT is considered intervals levels in which your max hr is over 90% of my max. My max HR is 192. My intervals my HR is over 186 which would be well beyond 90%. I have been an athlete my whole life.

    @psulemon‌ I am not 190 right now. I am 162. I am very muscular. I can leg press 500 and bench press my body weight. I am 162 19.5% via calipers. My most fit is now, not 190. That's where I started.

    He's asking how you determined you were 17% body fat at 190 pounds. If you determined that through calipers, they are not very accurate.
  • Try eliminating a food per week to see if you have any changes. I cut out cow milk and substituted with goat milk. The scale went down. I cut sodium down. The scale went down. Same with cheeses. Goat and sheep only. I eliminated processed foods with preservatives. I bought a book called "The Plan" that helped me find trigger foods that were blocking my weight loss. Now that I know the foods that stop me from losing I'm doing much better.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,427 MFP Moderator
    bingfit221 wrote: »
    I will again restate for the 8th time, I weight, count, and measure everything that goes into my mouth. @ana3067‌

    This routine is not new. I just had to take time off after a marathon! I have been in fitness for 2 years.

    3rd, HIIT is considered intervals levels in which your max hr is over 90% of my max. My max HR is 192. My intervals my HR is over 186 which would be well beyond 90%. I have been an athlete my whole life.

    @psulemon‌ I am not 190 right now. I am 162. I am very muscular. I can leg press 500 and bench press my body weight. I am 162 19.5% via calipers. My most fit is now, not 190. That's where I started.

    He's asking how you determined you were 17% body fat at 190 pounds. If you determined that through calipers, they are not very accurate.


    This..


    Also, do you have any medical issues? Have you had a blood panel recently to check hormone levels?
  • bingfit221
    bingfit221 Posts: 105 Member
    edited January 2015
    bingfit221 wrote: »
    I will again restate for the 8th time, I weight, count, and measure everything that goes into my mouth. @ana3067‌

    This routine is not new. I just had to take time off after a marathon! I have been in fitness for 2 years.

    3rd, HIIT is considered intervals levels in which your max hr is over 90% of my max. My max HR is 192. My intervals my HR is over 186 which would be well beyond 90%. I have been an athlete my whole life.

    @psulemon‌ I am not 190 right now. I am 162. I am very muscular. I can leg press 500 and bench press my body weight. I am 162 19.5% via calipers. My most fit is now, not 190. That's where I started.

    He's asking how you determined you were 17% body fat at 190 pounds. If you determined that through calipers, they are not very accurate.

    Oh *kitten*. I had a typo in OP. Sorry. I am 19% now. At 148 I was 16-17%.



  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,427 MFP Moderator
    edited January 2015
    bingfit221 wrote: »
    bingfit221 wrote: »
    I will again restate for the 8th time, I weight, count, and measure everything that goes into my mouth. @ana3067‌

    This routine is not new. I just had to take time off after a marathon! I have been in fitness for 2 years.

    3rd, HIIT is considered intervals levels in which your max hr is over 90% of my max. My max HR is 192. My intervals my HR is over 186 which would be well beyond 90%. I have been an athlete my whole life.

    @psulemon‌ I am not 190 right now. I am 162. I am very muscular. I can leg press 500 and bench press my body weight. I am 162 19.5% via calipers. My most fit is now, not 190. That's where I started.

    He's asking how you determined you were 17% body fat at 190 pounds. If you determined that through calipers, they are not very accurate.

    Oh *kitten*. I had a typo in OP. Sorry. I am 19% now. Sorry.

    It seems everyone is here to pick apart everything I state. I am looking for constructive criticism.

    This is your quote
    bingfit221 wrote: »
    (Now, I am 164 in the mornings and 166 at night. Completely normal yes. BUT I have been back at it for 2 weeks trying to get down to a leaner 155. (I am 5 foot 9 and at 190lbs my BF was 16-17%)

    Not trying to criticize, trying to understand the math... I read the OP multiple times.. i would suggest you do too. I get you are 164 now.
  • bingfit221
    bingfit221 Posts: 105 Member
    Yes @psulemon‌ I apologize major typo. Was 148 at 16-17% BF
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,427 MFP Moderator
    bingfit221 wrote: »
    Yes @psulemon‌ I apologize major typo. Was 148 at 16-17% BF

    OK.. would you like me to correct your OP or do you want to yell at me again, lol.. jk
  • bingfit221
    bingfit221 Posts: 105 Member
    psulemon wrote: »
    bingfit221 wrote: »
    Yes @psulemon‌ I apologize major typo. Was 148 at 16-17% BF

    OK.. would you like me to correct your OP or do you want to yell at me again, lol.. jk

    Lol sorry. I am an idiot. Ugh.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,427 MFP Moderator
    bingfit221 wrote: »
    psulemon wrote: »
    bingfit221 wrote: »
    Yes @psulemon‌ I apologize major typo. Was 148 at 16-17% BF

    OK.. would you like me to correct your OP or do you want to yell at me again, lol.. jk

    Lol sorry. I am an idiot. Ugh.

    No worries, I updated your original post. BTW, can you look at my last question I had about the bloodwork?
  • bingfit221
    bingfit221 Posts: 105 Member
    psulemon wrote: »
    bingfit221 wrote: »
    psulemon wrote: »
    bingfit221 wrote: »
    Yes @psulemon‌ I apologize major typo. Was 148 at 16-17% BF

    OK.. would you like me to correct your OP or do you want to yell at me again, lol.. jk

    Lol sorry. I am an idiot. Ugh.

    No worries, I updated your original post. BTW, can you look at my last question I had about the bloodwork?

    Haven't had blood work done. $800 bucks argh. I guess it could have something to do with my leptin levels etc..

  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,427 MFP Moderator
    bingfit221 wrote: »
    psulemon wrote: »
    bingfit221 wrote: »
    psulemon wrote: »
    bingfit221 wrote: »
    Yes @psulemon‌ I apologize major typo. Was 148 at 16-17% BF

    OK.. would you like me to correct your OP or do you want to yell at me again, lol.. jk

    Lol sorry. I am an idiot. Ugh.

    No worries, I updated your original post. BTW, can you look at my last question I had about the bloodwork?

    Haven't had blood work done. $800 bucks argh. I guess it could have something to do with my leptin levels etc..

    I understand. You could try to lower carbs and increase fats if that helps. But I do like the idea of eating at maintenance or slightly above to see if that helps. I am always a big fan of diet breaks a few times a year. I do it 2x a year myself..
  • bingfit221
    bingfit221 Posts: 105 Member
    edited January 2015
    psulemon wrote: »
    bingfit221 wrote: »
    psulemon wrote: »
    bingfit221 wrote: »
    psulemon wrote: »
    bingfit221 wrote: »
    Yes @psulemon‌ I apologize major typo. Was 148 at 16-17% BF

    OK.. would you like me to correct your OP or do you want to yell at me again, lol.. jk

    Lol sorry. I am an idiot. Ugh.

    No worries, I updated your original post. BTW, can you look at my last question I had about the bloodwork?

    Haven't had blood work done. $800 bucks argh. I guess it could have something to do with my leptin levels etc..

    I understand. You could try to lower carbs and increase fats if that helps. But I do like the idea of eating at maintenance or slightly above to see if that helps. I am always a big fan of diet breaks a few times a year. I do it 2x a year myself..

    Guess it wouldn't hurt to try!!! Haha.

    Thanks for correcting my OP :-)

    What would you suggest for adjusting macros for carb and fat? Did you see my post how I am 40 carb 35 protein and 25 fat?
  • DawnieB1977
    DawnieB1977 Posts: 4,248 Member
    You weigh 164 at 5'9 so you don't have much to lose, so it will be slow. I'd weigh yourself in another couple of weeks and see. When I lose weight (as I've had to do after all my children) I find weight loss is really slow in the beginning and then all of a sudden several pounds seem to come off at once.

    Have you taken measurements? You may have lost a couple of cm off your waist for example that won't necessarily show on the scale yet.
  • rosejyoti55
    rosejyoti55 Posts: 12 Member
    Check your thyroid and metabolic age - you don't have to track them, but a slow thyroid or metabolism can make a huge (negative) impact.
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
    Based on your diary, you do not appear to be weighing food. Looking at yesterday for instance:

    Broccoli - Broccoli, Steamed, 1 cup
    Country Crock Butter - - Light, 1 Tbsp (14 g) (unless you specifically weighed out 14g).
    Heritage Farm - Chicken Breasts, 6.4 oz -- is this raw or cooked weight? This entry does not specify, so you could be eating more than you think if the entry doesn't align with the state you weighed it in.
    Kroger Boil-in-bag - Brown Rice, 1 Cup, prepared
    Kjb - Asparagus, 12 Medium Spear
    Country Crock Butter - - Light, 2 Tbsp (14 g)
    Boboli - Pizza Sauce, 1/2 Pouch (71g/1/4Cup)
    Kroger - 94% Fat Free Popcorn (Popped), 7.5 cups popped

    You said you haven't been losing. So unless you are actually weighing all of these entries (if so, why not use entries that actually allow you to use weighted serving sizes? Or create your own food entries that allow you to do so) and are just retaining water from starting your routine after a long break/changing your routine, then you are simply eating more than you realize.

    As for HIIT, regardless of your max heart rate HIIT should still be under 30 minutes a session. Most people who actually do HIIT will agree with this, and have agreed with this in other posts in which OPs post about doing HIIT like 4-5x a week or doing it for an hour or following it up with more cardio etc.
  • mumblemagic
    mumblemagic Posts: 1,090 Member
    +1 for weighing instead of using measuring cups - they are only supposed to be used for liquids and are inaccurate at doing that!

    That said, if you've weighed accurately and measured exercise accurately the most likely logical conclusion is that the TDEE calculator was off.

    There are a number of equations that calculate TDEE but they are all based on aggregated data of a number of people, ie they are usually a good indication but individual results may vary. The only way to precisely know your personal TDEE is to measure it.

    Decrease your calorie limit a tad and see what happens. Rinse and repeat, and if you're still not losing in a couple of months go to the doctor and fork out the money for blood tests.
  • bingfit221
    bingfit221 Posts: 105 Member
    psulemon wrote: »
    bingfit221 wrote: »
    psulemon wrote: »
    bingfit221 wrote: »
    psulemon wrote: »
    bingfit221 wrote: »
    Yes @psulemon‌ I apologize major typo. Was 148 at 16-17% BF

    OK.. would you like me to correct your OP or do you want to yell at me again, lol.. jk

    Lol sorry. I am an idiot. Ugh.

    No worries, I updated your original post. BTW, can you look at my last question I had about the bloodwork?

    Haven't had blood work done. $800 bucks argh. I guess it could have something to do with my leptin levels etc..

    I understand. You could try to lower carbs and increase fats if that helps. But I do like the idea of eating at maintenance or slightly above to see if that helps. I am always a big fan of diet breaks a few times a year. I do it 2x a year myself..
    ana3067 wrote: »
    Based on your diary, you do not appear to be weighing food. Looking at yesterday for instance:

    Broccoli - Broccoli, Steamed, 1 cup
    Country Crock Butter - - Light, 1 Tbsp (14 g) (unless you specifically weighed out 14g).
    Heritage Farm - Chicken Breasts, 6.4 oz -- is this raw or cooked weight? This entry does not specify, so you could be eating more than you think if the entry doesn't align with the state you weighed it in.
    Kroger Boil-in-bag - Brown Rice, 1 Cup, prepared
    Kjb - Asparagus, 12 Medium Spear
    Country Crock Butter - - Light, 2 Tbsp (14 g)
    Boboli - Pizza Sauce, 1/2 Pouch (71g/1/4Cup)
    Kroger - 94% Fat Free Popcorn (Popped), 7.5 cups popped

    You said you haven't been losing. So unless you are actually weighing all of these entries (if so, why not use entries that actually allow you to use weighted serving sizes? Or create your own food entries that allow you to do so) and are just retaining water from starting your routine after a long break/changing your routine, then you are simply eating more than you realize.

    As for HIIT, regardless of your max heart rate HIIT should still be under 30 minutes a session. Most people who actually do HIIT will agree with this, and have agreed with this in other posts in which OPs post about doing HIIT like 4-5x a week or doing it for an hour or following it up with more cardio etc.


    Everything with weight, yes. Broccoli no. BUT if my broccoli is off, 35 calories isn't going to be a substantial difference. Asparagus is counted and again, if it is off will not be a substantial. When in doubt, I over estimate. Butter is weight. Breasts are weighed before because they actually lose weight (again another overestimate). Better to overestimate then to under estimate. Rice weighs 7 oz per cup (I weigh this).

    Although I upped my calories yesterday, and saw a lb difference this morning DOWN which is the right direction.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    I agree about the HIIT comment. Heck I can't even last 30 minutes some days because I go all out, which is what you're supposed to do anyway. And legs the same day? Never in my dreams, lol!
  • bingfit221
    bingfit221 Posts: 105 Member
    edited January 2015
    Francl27 wrote: »
    I agree about the HIIT comment. Heck I can't even last 30 minutes some days because I go all out, which is what you're supposed to do anyway. And legs the same day? Never in my dreams, lol!

    Well whatever it was, it entailed running on a treadmill 15x at 1 min each at a 10-10.5mph with a heart rate of 186. Haha. It was death but it's mind overmatter. Yes, my legs were tired but screw it. Push through. Drink some preworkout, get that caffeine, and let's get it. :-)


    What Is High Intensity Interval Training?
    The concept of High Intensity Interval Training is fairly simple. To do HIIT, you warm-up, and then you do an intense burst of cardio, followed by a full recovery period.

    For example, a HIIT workout on a bicycle might involve getting on a bicycle, warming up for 5 minutes, and then performing 6 to 8 30-second efforts as hard as you can possibly go, followed by a very easy 90 seconds of pedaling between each 30-second effort. Once you’ve completed each of the hard efforts, you’re done!

    - See more at: http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/exercise/how-to-do-high-intensity-interval-training?page=all#sthash.oWlVfcfr.dpuf

    I guess everyone has different definitions.

  • DawnieB1977
    DawnieB1977 Posts: 4,248 Member
    I suppose it depends what exercise you're doing for HIIT. If I do it on the treadmill, I'd be ok to do something after. If I did half hour on the rower I'd probably collapse after! It also depends how long your recovery period is, and how long the intense bit is. I was doing 2 mins running, 1 min recovery and repeat the other day. Only 4 times, but that was hard.

    I usually do some HIIT in my PT sessions, but not as long as 30 mins as it would take up too much of the session. We do some tabata stuff too.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,427 MFP Moderator
    bingfit221 wrote: »
    psulemon wrote: »
    bingfit221 wrote: »
    psulemon wrote: »
    bingfit221 wrote: »
    psulemon wrote: »
    bingfit221 wrote: »
    Yes @psulemon‌ I apologize major typo. Was 148 at 16-17% BF

    OK.. would you like me to correct your OP or do you want to yell at me again, lol.. jk

    Lol sorry. I am an idiot. Ugh.

    No worries, I updated your original post. BTW, can you look at my last question I had about the bloodwork?

    Haven't had blood work done. $800 bucks argh. I guess it could have something to do with my leptin levels etc..

    I understand. You could try to lower carbs and increase fats if that helps. But I do like the idea of eating at maintenance or slightly above to see if that helps. I am always a big fan of diet breaks a few times a year. I do it 2x a year myself..

    Guess it wouldn't hurt to try!!! Haha.

    Thanks for correcting my OP :-)

    What would you suggest for adjusting macros for carb and fat? Did you see my post how I am 40 carb 35 protein and 25 fat?

    I would slowly drop carbs 5% every 2 weeks until you hit, 25% carbs, 35% protein and 40% fat.. essentially, just switching them.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,427 MFP Moderator
    ana3067 wrote: »

    As for HIIT, regardless of your max heart rate HIIT should still be under 30 minutes a session. Most people who actually do HIIT will agree with this, and have agreed with this in other posts in which OPs post about doing HIIT like 4-5x a week or doing it for an hour or following it up with more cardio etc.

    What would be the issue if the OP does HIIT for 60 minutes? Pending she is recovering from her workouts, I do see it as an issue.

This discussion has been closed.