Hit plateau, thinking of increasing calories?

KJensen34

I have been dieting for a little over 7 weeks now and the first 4-5 weeks were going really well. The last two weeks or so I have hit a plateau though and after reading quite a bit I am now considering increasing my calories in order to lose more weight. I know I am not in 'starvation mode' and I don't think I could have caused 'metabolic distress' (or whatever other name it might be called) in the short 7 weeks of calorie restriction, but I don't think the answer to breaking the plateau is to cut more calories or workout more. The reason I am contemplating the increase is my estimated TDEE is between 3200 and 3800 (BMR between 2200 and 2500) but I have been eating about 1800 calories daily rather than the 2600 to 3000 recommended (20% less than TDEE). I am positive my calorie count is accurate (weighing all solids, measuring liquids, tracking everything that goes in my mouth, etc.).

If you take a look at the spreadsheet available via the below dropbox link, it shows all of what I believe to be the relevant information. (I was able to add the chart to this post but it doesn't have the workout info or exact numbers that the spreadsheet shows.)
https://www.dropbox.com/s/z94ych6937289kx/Weight Loss Tracker.xlsx?dl=0
-The days I was unable to prepare my own foods or track calories get a generic 4000 calories.
-The weekend of the large increase I had family in town and drank alcohol for first time on diet, so believe it was all water weight.
-I lift weights very intensely and my intervals are killer, so don't believe I am lacking in exercise.
-I did increase my calories to 1900 this past week but it did not help.
My macro breakdown is below and I hit it just about 80-90% of the time
35% - 166g Protein
40% - 84g Fat
25% - 119g Carbohydrates
40g Fiber

Just was hoping to get some general feedback on what the MFP community thinks about my eating below BMR, increasing my calories to lose more weight, or just continuing on with what I'm doing and stop complaining.

Thank you in advance for taking the time to read and comment.

meritage4

patience-weight loss is not linear keep everything the same for another week or so!

You are making progress It just takes time

4theking

I have often seen problems when people eat below BMR for any length of time. While weight loss isn't linear, you can do something to encourage it to be. Add one spike day a week in at 2x your BMR. I usually recommend Saturday but it can be any day. This larger intake of food will encourage a woosh of the water your empty fat cells are pulling in. It will also give you a small diet break and allow you to keep your sanity for a longer period of time while dieting. Given that your calories are already set low, this day of 2x BMR will not negatively effect your weight loss.

KJensen34

herrspoons wrote: »

Is that gross or net calorie consumption?

I don't eat-back calories from exercise so all the calorie counts are gross consumption

KJensen34

4theking wrote: »

I have often seen problems when people eat below BMR for any length of time. While weight loss isn't linear, you can do something to encourage it to be. Add one spike day a week in at 2x your BMR. I usually recommend Saturday but it can be any day. This larger intake of food will encourage a woosh of the water your empty fat cells are pulling in. It will also give you a small diet break and allow you to keep your sanity for a longer period of time while dieting. Given that your calories are already set low, this day of 2x BMR will not negatively effect your weight loss.

Do you think it is better for fat-weight loss to keep my calories where they are at and do the 'refeed or 2xBMR' day, or would it be better to slowly bring my daily calories up to not need the refeed day?

4theking

I like the advantage of having the refeed day once a week. The day after your refeed your strength will be at its highest allowing you to preserve muscle a bit better imo. I have worked with people that plateaued and they couldn't get the scale moving...we are talking months of hiting their heads against the wall. Once they introduced the spike day they lost. A few of them 60 and 70lbs after being stalled.

dseign

First weeks water loss=body is in shock
Next weeks: (appears) No loss or gain"whoosh effect" body hold fat cells to normalcy by adding fluid
Next weeks: size drop getting squishy fat
Next weeks: whoosh drop
Next weeks: more loss
Next weeks: gain drop or stable and the cycle continues. More cardio more loss. More weight training could cause stability or gain.

My hypothesis: If you give up too soon before you've leaned. Fat cells fill with fluid, you add more fat back, cells divide because they get too large and you gain more weight then you started with.

4theking

MrM27 wrote: »

It's just amazing the advice given on this site sometimes. The guy has lost over 20 lbs in less than 2 months, it's been a WHOLE 2 weeks since he has lost anything and we're talking about refeeds, for a guy that is still overweight? It just blows my mind sometimes. Let me guess, refeed, go out and eat a bunch of food right? Not a real refeed, an actual structured refeed, right?

And for the record the Whoosh that is being claimed to be going on due to the "refeed" is an indirect result of over eating, because why? Because Cortisol. And fat cells releasing water isn't fat loss, it's water loss.

When you properly do spike days, most all people never go a week without losing which is very beneficial for those that rely on the scale. Regardless of whether it is fat loss or water loss, the scale moving every week can be very motivating. I don't blindly give advice.

KJensen34

MrM27 wrote: »

It's just amazing the advice given on this site sometimes. The guy has lost over 20 lbs in less than 2 months, it's been a WHOLE 2 weeks since he has lost anything and we're talking about refeeds, for a guy that is still overweight? It just blows my mind sometimes. Let me guess, refeed, go out and eat a bunch of food right? Not a real refeed, an actual structured refeed, right?

And for the record the Whoosh that is being claimed to be going on due to the "refeed" is an indirect result of over eating, because why? Because Cortisol. And fat cells releasing water isn't fat loss, it's water loss.

MrM27, I am not going to blindy follow anyone's advice and my post specifically asks for general feedback, so please don't bash anyone's advice or opinion. I really appreciate @4theking for taking the time to suggest a refeed day which makes sense to me. I also appreciate you telling me to be more patient and stick it out, but you didn't provide any evidence (anecdotal or not) for why it is OK for me to continue to eat below BMR. Again, I really appreciate you taking the time to read and comment on my post but let's try to keep it constructive with research studies and what worked for other people.

esjones12

Just stay consistent at a healthy deficit and you will lose weight. Congrats on the weight you have already lost! But if you are looking for healthy long term success, you are not going to see a drop every week or even every 2-3 weeks on the scale. I mean sure it can happen....but life and things happen and most people don't see that. Just stick with it and keep measuring and logging everything! Also remember your body can range a few pounds in the SAME day! Look for long range progress!

Best of luck!

SergeantSausage

The solution to problems losing weight is never "eat more".

KJensen34 wrote: »

MrM27 wrote: »

It's just amazing the advice given on this site sometimes. The guy has lost over 20 lbs in less than 2 months, it's been a WHOLE 2 weeks since he has lost anything and we're talking about refeeds, for a guy that is still overweight? It just blows my mind sometimes. Let me guess, refeed, go out and eat a bunch of food right? Not a real refeed, an actual structured refeed, right?

And for the record the Whoosh that is being claimed to be going on due to the "refeed" is an indirect result of over eating, because why? Because Cortisol. And fat cells releasing water isn't fat loss, it's water loss.

MrM27, I am not going to blindy follow anyone's advice and my post specifically asks for general feedback, so please don't bash anyone's advice or opinion. I really appreciate @4theking for taking the time to suggest a refeed day which makes sense to me. I also appreciate you telling me to be more patient and stick it out, but you didn't provide any evidence (anecdotal or not) for why it is OK for me to continue to eat below BMR. Again, I really appreciate you taking the time to read and comment on my post but let's try to keep it constructive with research studies and what worked for other people.

If you aren't losing, you are not , BY DEFINITION, eating below BMR - no matter what you think is happening. Start there rather than grasp at useless BroScience straws.

jacksonpt

SergeantSausage wrote: »

The solution to problems losing weight is never "eat more".

Agreed. How does that even make sense???

KJensen34

[quote=If you aren't losing, you are not , BY DEFINITION, eating below BMR - no matter what you think is happening. Start there rather than grasp at useless BroScience straws.
[/quote]

Sergeant, please read the first post before commenting.

aprilyankee

I don't think you are quite at a plateau but I understand how frustrating lack of progress is for any length of time, especially since you are working so hard.

A few points to consider:
- Do some taped measurements, muscle increase won't reflect on the scale but it will in inches lost
- Muscle weighs more than fat so even a weight gain isn't the end of the world
- You don't want to lose too much too fast
- Sometimes the optimal weight that you have planned to achieve isn't the optimal weight for your body, and it fails to comply with your ideals
- Consider your net calories for the day, week and month

I do think you need to increase your calorie consumption. If you aren't in starvation mode yet, you are approaching it. A large loss is most always common in the beginning because your body takes time to adjust to the changes. Once is does, the loss will slow down. Your net calories should be around 1800-2000 daily. I think your few high calorie days may have actually saved you and kept you from hitting starvation mode. You can have high and low days as long as they balance over the month.

It takes time to get into starvation mode, it depends on the person, but at least a month. Which is why short term fasting works so well. I did 6 months of eating 1200 calories and burning 800 daily which left me at a net of 400. I lost 30 pounds, crashed my metabolism and gained double back.

Congrats on your progress and good luck!

ndj1979

4theking wrote: »

I have often seen problems when people eat below BMR for any length of time. While weight loss isn't linear, you can do something to encourage it to be. Add one spike day a week in at 2x your BMR. I usually recommend Saturday but it can be any day. This larger intake of food will encourage a woosh of the water your empty fat cells are pulling in. It will also give you a small diet break and allow you to keep your sanity for a longer period of time while dieting. Given that your calories are already set low, this day of 2x BMR will not negatively effect your weight loss.

yea, but at seven weeks?

usually reverse dieting or something similar is recommending for long term dieters that have been eating in a deficit for over a year..

or am I missing something?

ndj1979

OP - I do not think that you would benefit from a re-feed. You have been dieting for seven weeks and lost 20 pounds, which is great progress. Eventually, you are going to have these little blips where you lose nothing, and then start losing again.
-
Weight loss is not going to be linear. If you plotted out some of my cuts you will see that there are peeks and valleys, but the overall trend is down. You really just need patience.

I would highly suggest listening to MrM as I have known him for some time, and he as always given me solid advice....

Question - have you readjusted your calories down to reflect your 20 pound loss?

4theking

ndj1979 wrote: »

4theking wrote: »

I have often seen problems when people eat below BMR for any length of time. While weight loss isn't linear, you can do something to encourage it to be. Add one spike day a week in at 2x your BMR. I usually recommend Saturday but it can be any day. This larger intake of food will encourage a woosh of the water your empty fat cells are pulling in. It will also give you a small diet break and allow you to keep your sanity for a longer period of time while dieting. Given that your calories are already set low, this day of 2x BMR will not negatively effect your weight loss.

yea, but at seven weeks?

usually reverse dieting or something similar is recommending for long term dieters that have been eating in a deficit for over a year..

or am I missing something?

I am not suggesting he is having some kind of major metabolic downshift in seven weeks. If the original poster was worried enough about not losing over two weeks time to post about it, than I know he is one that is highly motivated by the scale moving often. This refeed will get it moving and keep him motivated.