Hit a plateau need help. I can't safely lower calorie intake any further

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  • MelissaBrown1622
    MelissaBrown1622 Posts: 16 Member
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    rosebette wrote: »
    You're pretty small and at a normal BMI for your height, so your weight loss will slow at this point. I'm a bit taller, 5'1.5" and stalled around 120. It's tough for petite women who are within normal BMI to keep losing because their calorie requirements are so low that it's hard to eat at a deficit. I eat between 1200-1400 every day, not a ton, and that's maintenance. I'm doing a "recomp" at this point, which is eating around maintenance and upping my activity level. The purpose is to change my body shape to be more muscular. This might be what you want to do if you don't want to cut calories any further.


    Thank you!. It's nice to hear you struggled at that level too. I feel like I'm not alone. It's harder when we are so petite. My husband is on this journey with me. He's 6 ft and I watched him drop 20 lbs way faster than my measly 7 pounds and I think all he did was sneeze lol
  • MelissaBrown1622
    MelissaBrown1622 Posts: 16 Member
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    aeviescas wrote: »
    1200 calories intake + burning 500 per day seems...excessive? Maybe eat a little more on some days, like others have suggested.

    I know at first it seems excessive but remember I am 4'11'. I'm small people lol. Maintenance calories are not that much higher than 1200 anyway :(


  • cbrook29
    cbrook29 Posts: 57 Member
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    I think weight is only one metric. I'm not challenging your fitness goal. Just remember that fat %, strength levels , energy level (how you feel), and how you look are all important and of course weight. No one metric is perfect you need to look at them holistically. If you hit a plateau then add weight training. Muscle allows you to burn more calories. My weight has remained at 160 lbs but my body fat went from 15% to 8% (approximate) I gained muscle and lost fat but the scale says I was "Stuck" but I wasn't!!!
  • aylajane
    aylajane Posts: 979 Member
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    MelissaBrown1622 wrote: »
    I weigh everything on a food scale or use measuring cups. Everything! I never eyeball. My eyes are way to big for that lol. I have been using my under armour chest strap heart rate monitor to determine calories. I do eat back some calories never more than a third and not every day.

    You really should weigh everything pretty much. Measuring cups are horribly inaccurate for most people - all tablespoons are actually not the same size, much less what people think fills them (level or rounded, packed or loose, etc). Weigh in grams and be sure! Esp calorie dense foods - it adds up!
  • MelissaBrown1622
    MelissaBrown1622 Posts: 16 Member
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    Thank you I have started this week adding some weight training and on the advise of a friend I have taken body measurements and she suggested I not step on the scale for a few weeks and just keep logging and working out and paying attention to my body. It's nice to hear that come from another person as well. I think it's easy to want to see that quantifiable gage on how hard we are working I want to see a number that says your doing this right....but maybe I take a break for a teeny bit on watching that scale.
  • MelissaBrown1622
    MelissaBrown1622 Posts: 16 Member
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    You really should weigh everything pretty much. Measuring cups are horribly inaccurate for most people - all tablespoons are actually not the same size, much less what people think fills them (level or rounded, packed or loose, etc). Weigh in grams and be sure! Esp calorie dense foods - it adds up!
    [/quote]

    Yes Thank you! I heard this for the first time tonight by two separate people. I never really thought about it in detail like that. I will be doing that from now on!. I think that's especially important for petite women.
  • Faithful_Chosen
    Faithful_Chosen Posts: 401 Member
    edited July 2015
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    MelissaBrown1622 wrote: »

    You really should weigh everything pretty much. Measuring cups are horribly inaccurate for most people - all tablespoons are actually not the same size, much less what people think fills them (level or rounded, packed or loose, etc). Weigh in grams and be sure! Esp calorie dense foods - it adds up!

    Yes Thank you! I heard this for the first time tonight by two separate people. I never really thought about it in detail like that. I will be doing that from now on!. I think that's especially important for petite women.

    I'm 5'6 and any weighing inconsistencies add on hugely. When you only have 1200 calories, one badly measured cup of pasta, cereal, beans, etc. can make a huge difference. Spoons as well, or 'pieces'. Weigh and log everything!
  • rosebette
    rosebette Posts: 1,659 Member
    edited July 2015
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    I would say 1200 calories might be maintenance for someone my age, but at your age, even with your height, maintenance would be higher. I'm going through the same thing with my husband and son. They are both big and have 50+ lbs. to lose. On average, they can drop between 1 and 3 lbs. a week and still load their plates with food while I'm stuck.
  • MelissaBrown1622
    MelissaBrown1622 Posts: 16 Member
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    So frustrating to watch them eat and eat and still lose right?? While we work out tail off for each and every pound. Just have to stick with it and be patient.
  • allyphoe
    allyphoe Posts: 618 Member
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    Are you eating back all of your exercise calories? The odds of you increasing your total energy usage by 42% through exercise is pretty unlikely, unless you're working out every waking hour.
  • I_Will_End_You
    I_Will_End_You Posts: 4,397 Member
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    MelissaBrown1622 wrote: »
    Thank you I have started this week adding some weight training and on the advise of a friend I have taken body measurements and she suggested I not step on the scale for a few weeks and just keep logging and working out and paying attention to my body. It's nice to hear that come from another person as well. I think it's easy to want to see that quantifiable gage on how hard we are working I want to see a number that says your doing this right....but maybe I take a break for a teeny bit on watching that scale.


    That's good advice. At the beginning of a strength training regimen, it's common to retain a few lbs of water weight for a couple of weeks.
  • MelissaBrown1622
    MelissaBrown1622 Posts: 16 Member
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    No I'm eating back a max of a third of those calories and not everyday.
  • jonnyg2000
    jonnyg2000 Posts: 1 Member
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    Try raising calories a little . this will help because yor body has gotten use to your current calorie intake.
  • amy8400
    amy8400 Posts: 478 Member
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    I weigh everything on the food scale so one day for the fun of it, I weighed my protein powder. One level scoop was actually not 100g as stated on the package but 110g. If I hadn't leveled it off, it probably would have been easily 120g. That's why measuring cups should only be used for liquids. Especially in your case where you are very close to your ideal weight and really petite--logging accuracy is important.
  • MelissaBrown1622
    MelissaBrown1622 Posts: 16 Member
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    Thanks so much everybody. I have listened to the advice from all of you and have changed things up quite a bit. I measure everything!! I finally dipped below the 115 to 112ish. I am now stepping away from the scale and relying on my measurements and body composition now since I really only have a small way to go. A bit of fat to lose still but I need to build muscle so I don't think at this point the scale is the best tool for me to measure success in its own.

    I really thank all of you I was starting to feel hopeless and now I'm back to excited for progress again!!

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