Plateau of 4 Months - thoughts

missevil

Hi, I'm barely 5'1 (1,55m) and weight ~131lbs (59 Kg) which is the upper end of a normal BMI. I've started in April and lost around 40lbs (18kg) since then. All good. I created a deficit and continued eating normal stuff. Not too much junk food, sweets every now and then and every few weeks a big brunch buffet cheat day.
I have a desk job and my hobbies (singing, knitting, and video games) aren't that active either. As long as the weather is ok, I commute by bike (20-25 mins moderate speed) and if I can motivate myself, I try to fit in a few days of home workouts (cardio and body weight exercises). So, nothing crazy here. My BMR is ~1300, my TDEE between 1500 and 1800, depending on the amount of sport. Oh, and I have still a very high body fat percentage (~33%) There was almost no change during the entire time. I've lost a lot of centimetres in my entire silhouette, but all the big areas are still big and the proportions are still the same as before. (hip-to-waist or hip-to-hight is still in the risky/obese area)

I reached my normal weight (<60Kg) in October and since then, I'm stuck between 58 and 60. It's not moving. Which is a great thing for Christmas and all the cookies and chocolate, but pretty frustrating since then.

I set my goal to 1000, knowing that I tend to overeat. It's just too easy to overspend just with one nice cappuccino or something trivial like that. So most of the days, I easily hit the suggested 1200. If I'd set my target to 1200, I'd probably still overeat and end up with 1400 instead. So, it's a psychological trick.

I totally understand that those days with 2.7K are bad, but they are exceptions and I am between 1100 and 1500 on most of the days. I log every day (even the very bad ones) and use a scale to weigh my food.

However, my need went down so much, I really struggle to lose more weight. Plus the idea of me having to eat that little just to maintain makes me very unhappy, especially since I do feel hungry on some days.

Well, I read often the advice to up the calories, in order to have enough fuel and finally losing again. Especially, when people tell that they are hungry. I kinda understand the concept but I wonder if this can apply when you are in this very low calorie range already.

Any tips or ideas what I could try? I don't mind a slow loss. 2-4lbs per month is fine, as long as something happens and I'm not stuck any longer.

Seffell

I'm in a similar situation i.e. my TDEE is very low. So when I can afford (not always due to health issues) I try to burn as much as possible by just walking. At the moment I walk for 400cals extra a day (13k steps brisk walking - 300cal during the day and a 30min walk after dinner for 100cals) which puts my TDEE at 1900cal which is not bad and I can lose by eating around 1600 (I'm at normal weight too so I only have 8lbs more to lose).

When I can't walk this is where the problems start. For me too maintaining on just 1500cals is very hard and doesn't seem like a nice prospect. And I have no advice for you in this case. I just hope my health permits to walk.

Also I never aim for more than 2lbs a month. It just isn't possible for my organism at that weight.

So can you afford to spend some more time walking?

kommodevaran

missevil wrote: »

I set my goal to 1000, knowing that I tend to overeat. It's just too easy to overspend just with one nice cappuccino or something trivial like that. So most of the days, I easily hit the suggested 1200. If I'd set my target to 1200, I'd probably still overeat and end up with 1400 instead. So, it's a psychological trick.

But it doesn't work like that. you're only tricking yourself. You end up eating at maintenance because you tell yourself you have plenty of wiggle room. There is very little wiggle room. Nice cappuccinos aren't trivial. 1200 calories is also very little food. 1400 calories could be just what you need in order to be willing to stick faithfully to your allowance.

I totally understand that those days with 2.7K are bad, but they are exceptions and I am between 1100 and 1500 on most of the days. I log every day (even the very bad ones) and use a scale to weigh my food.

Log everything, every day - especially the bad days.

However, my need went down so much, I really struggle to lose more weight. Plus the idea of me having to eat that little just to maintain makes me very unhappy, especially since I do feel hungry on some days.

It's normal to be hungry several times every day.

ladyhusker39

If i were in your situation, I'd work on getting my TDEE up instead of cutting my food more. But it's not the only option, just the one I'd personally chose.

It's really tough at your stats, so being uber diligent on tracking is going to be important.

Good luck!

missevil

Thanks and you are right, @kommodevaran I probably live in an illusion with my "room to wiggle" I thought I'm clever here, but apparently, I'm not so much I'll try to go up and stick to it, rather than randomly overspending.

As for the TDEE... I know that this is the better solution. And I try to walk ofter a few ways if it's possible. I did that regularly between Christmas and New Year and it worked well, but it's often not really feasible. But yeah, I'll try to get more walks done. My steps are usually between 3-5K, which is super low. I try to compensate for it by taking the bike but my gut says that walking is more efficient for burning calories. It's really a question of time (I really don't want to walk home at 10 pm after a day of work and choir practice if I can be home in less than a third of the time with my bike) and timing (and priorities *coughs*)

Thanks very much for the input

fitoverfortymom

I've noticed for me that dieting in the winter is harder. It's hard to get that extra movement in to keep your NEAT up. Have you thought about taking a legit diet break for 2-3 weeks and eat at maintenance then start sticking to a deficit with no weird "wiggle room" goals? Every time I've tried to do things weirdly, it just back fires and leads me to over eat. When my daily goal is consistent, I feel more confident eating to (then stopping at) that goal.

I'm also at the upper end of a normal BMI and I'm working my way down to the middle, and it is slow, hard work.

RAinWA

You and I have very similar stats. I'm around 5'1" and usually maintain my weight at about 130 pounds - I feel comfortable at that weight and it's usually easy to maintain. I managed to add 20 pounds last year and am working now to get them off and it's not easy.

I've tried the "psychological trick" of setting lower calorie goals but, honestly, it just messed up my mind. There's always that "well, I can eat more" in the back of my brain and I'd end up eating way more than planned. I also tried setting my calories at maintenance and just seeing the deficit from that, but seeing all those calories left didn't work either. I'd eat them.

What I figured out does work is setting my goal to lose 1/2 pound a week and then honestly and accurately log everything. That gives me a 1200 base and I usually get another 200-300 via exercise (walking) so I end up eating 1400-1500 day. Instead of trying to trick myself, being honest with what I'm doing keeps me from doing the mental gymnastics of justifying extra calories.

Pre-logging what I'm eating is really helpful. With a relatively small calorie allowance to begin with, if I didn't pre-log I can easily overshoot my calories regularly.

It's going to be slow so just relax and keep going.

Seffell

By the way forgot to say that other that similar TDEE we also share the same 3 hobbies They don't burn many calories, do they?

kimny72

missevil wrote: »

Thanks and you are right, @kommodevaran I probably live in an illusion with my "room to wiggle" I thought I'm clever here, but apparently, I'm not so much I'll try to go up and stick to it, rather than randomly overspending.

As for the TDEE... I know that this is the better solution. And I try to walk ofter a few ways if it's possible. I did that regularly between Christmas and New Year and it worked well, but it's often not really feasible. But yeah, I'll try to get more walks done. My steps are usually between 3-5K, which is super low. I try to compensate for it by taking the bike but my gut says that walking is more efficient for burning calories. It's really a question of time (I really don't want to walk home at 10 pm after a day of work and choir practice if I can be home in less than a third of the time with my bike) and timing (and priorities *coughs*)

Thanks very much for the input

Not sure if this fits into your life, but I tend to march, step, or jog in place for 10 minutes at a time while watching tv. I pace around my apartment while talking on the phone. And the when the weather gets nicer, I take a 15 min walk in the morning before getting ready for work. Over time I added a couple of thousand steps to my day just with that.

Hang in there, and as others have said, give yourself a realistic calorie goal and try to log accurately and consistently. Hang in there and good luck!

missevil

gebeziseva wrote: »

By the way forgot to say that other that similar TDEE we also share the same 3 hobbies They don't burn many calories, do they?

That's so cool

Btw. I just wanted to inform you that a miracle has happened and since I wrote this entry, my weight dropped like 2 Kilos and I'm finally below the 58 No idea what has happened and if it's swinging back tomorrow, but it feels like your support gave a kick into the right direction and my motivation has been increased! So thanks again for your input. I upped the calories now to 1200 and log everything. There were a few little things like sugarfree soft drinks, which still have like 30 cals/bottle or a few grapes here and there that I never properly logged and no I'm back to fulltime diligent logging.

My only annoyance is my Garmin fitness band, which currently counts my burned calories like crazy and often 1,5 - 2 times the amount of what is realistic. I know that so I don't eat them all back, but it destroys my statistics. Well, if that is the only thing, I have to complain about, I'm a very happy lady