Should I just do another reset? ...and some other questions

grkathena82

Hi guys,

Long story short...I am stuck. I seem to be bouncing at the same number on the scale for about 2 months. I have a BodyMedia Fit and my TDEE on average days is around 2050, but sometimes higher on really active days going up to 2200 or so. My average TDEE for the past 6 weeks or so is 2200 according to the BodyMedia report. I've been eating around 1600-1700 calories a day (basically a 20% reduction), but honestly, it varies day to day based on my activity. I've been eating at a deficit and am still not seeing any changes. Do I need to do another reset? Or just take a break? It's been a while since I've taken a break...

I do cardio 3 days a week which consists of 2-3 days of HIIT on the treadmill, walking, or elliptical for about 20 minutes. I also just started lifting weights again using a split routine. I was originally doing kettle bells but had to stop because of shoulder pain. Intense cardio is also not an option for me because of pelvic girdle pain and issues with my IT bands in both legs. I'm hoping that I can cut back on cardio because of the pain and focus on weights to attain my goals.

Athena

grkathena82

Anyone??

rokal

Have you done a reset recently? From what you're saying about have an average TDEE of 2200 you should really be eating 1760 for a 20% cut and even that is considered an aggressive cut. I am currently resetting and when I do cut it'll be at 10 % to start. Maybe you should eat a bit more and work towards the 20% cut over a period of weeks, hope that helps!

GoGoGadgetMum

I don't have a bfm but I have a fitbit. My weight has started to move down while eating at TDEE & upping my activity level , cut never did anything scale wise but did shape wise. So my advice would be lessen the deficit or use TDEE for a while. I'm not the only one who this way works for. Good luck finding your sweet spot. But make sure you take measurements as we know that scale lies.

grkathena82

Thanks guys! The last time I did a reset was exactly a year ago for 12 weeks. I haven't lost any of it yet, but managed to lose some inches back in the winter. So I did something right there for a while! I really do eat according to my daily numbers as opposed to my average TDEE, so some days I do eat more. I will take your advice and make the deficit smaller. Eating at TDEE and increasing activity also sounds like a great idea and never really thought of doing it that way.

heybales

Well, you can't literally eat at TDEE and lose weight.

If you increase activity, then TDEE goes up, if you eat more now, you have no deficit.

That comment may have been referring to something else, like eating at Sedentary activity level and exercise creates deficit, not sure, because if weight has started to move down while eating at TDEE, then by definition, someone was NOT eating at TDEE, right.

Also, HIIT is like lifting, and as such should be pretty stressful on your body. Usually only recommended 20% of time is intervals weekly. If you start really lifting, then skip the HIIT, which is supposed to be lifting for those that only want to do cardio.

Too much stress is going to fight fat loss. Like too big a deficit or too much exercise.

grkathena82

Thanks heybales! You definitely make sense. So ditch the HIIT cardio, then? Should I do steady state cardio? Lifing is just so much easier on me because of his issue with my pelvis. I definitely pay the price after doing HIIT on the treadmill. I get so achey in the hip area and am left feeling very stiff for the remainder of the day.

I've decided to start eating more this week (at a 15% cut) and really focus more on the lifting to see what happens. This is definitely a process and involves a lot of trial and error. I've been at this whole EM2WL thing for a year now. I've gained 15 pounds total but feel much better overall. Luckily I have a lot of patience and am in no rush.

heybales

If you find the lifting easier as far as after effects and not hurting, then I'd suggest let the cardio support your lifting.

So steady state 30-60 min on day after lifting in the fat-burning HR zone - better called for much longer the Active Recovery HR zone, because it doesn't add a load to the muscles that require repair, gets blood flowing, and just benefits, not stress.
And day after lifting is the recovery day, to repair stronger, you want no added load to kill that repair.

So lifting doesn't burn as much during the workout, it burns more post workout as the food you eat is used for the repair, requiring fat to be burned more for energy needs.
But no need to replace the fat burned.

So in your TDEE estimates if not using the spreadsheet, count 60 min of lifting as 45 in your weekly total. So 180 min counts as 135 min. Add on cardio, and that total is your TDEE level. Walking counts as half-time though if that is the cardio.

OtiWanKenobi

Might I also add the body media fit is not a good gauge for other activities other than walking or running? When I used the BMF I would use a HRM for other activities like cycling or yoga HIIT. The BMF would tell my I'd burn like 300 cals in an hour whereas with the HRM I'd find out that my HR would be at 180 and was burning about 600 an hour.

So my guess would also be that you've been underestimating your TDEE. Just a thought to consider.

grkathena82

Thanks! I'll make these adjustments and see what happens (again!). The spreadsheet is definitely a huge help too. I just need to find my sweet spot to lose.

OtiWanKenobi...I've heard others say that these devices might not be accurate at estimating your TDEE, but i think mine is ok. I do gain if I eat above 2100 because I've done it before and gained 2 pounds. I think I was eating around 2200 (just started a desk job and was feeling stressed out, so didn't cut there for a while).

At any rate, I'm not so concerned with the number on the scale necessarily. I don't care if I stay 158 pounds. I would like to reduce my bodyfat. That's the goal. I'll weigh myself once a week but don't really trust the number on there because of water retention etc.