Struggling to maintain (still losing).....

caffcyc

First post here. Looking for a little help.

Current stats: 5'9", 143lbs (90 lost), 33.5" waist (12.5" lost)

Back story:

Started a year ago (closer to 13 months now) at 233lbs. For a good 4 months I ate 1200 calories/day and rode my bike a few hundred miles a month. I then slowly started increasing my intake, 1400, 1500, 1600, etc. During the winter months I rode indoors, but not as much.

This past March I hit where I wanted to be. I settled in on 2200 calories a day, plus about 100 calories per hour when I am on the bike (which I am now riding 100-180 miles per week). On ride days I also eat more during the day, totaling 2800-3200, usually.

This worked well and I maintained my weight for about 2.5 months.

Macros were always between 33/33/33 and 30F/40C/30P. On ride days, the additional calories are mostly fats and carbs (dried fruits, larabars, crappy granola bars, etc).

All of a sudden, the past 3 weeks I dropped another 2-3lbs and have started feeling hungry a lot more, even a bit more tired, but not when I am active, usually when I am just hanging around. I am stronger than I ever have been while pedaling.

Today I decided to try some more carbs, and had a pear in place of 2 eggs, seemed to give me a little boost that I needed around 7pm.

Should I increase calories a bit? Change macros? Any other advice?

I track my weight every day, same time, same place, etc. Here are the past 90 days.



What I ate (or will eat) today (macros are set at 25F/45C/30P)



Thanks!

psychod787

Take it from me. Weight will sometimes dip when you start eating more. It will return in my case it did.

sijomial

Yes eat more - you have the rest of your life to experiment with different foods, quantities of foods, exercise, sports and yes different body weight.

This jumped out at me as a fellow long distance cyclist "plus about 100 calories per hour when I am on the bike (which I am now riding 100-180 miles per week)."

Why such a tiny number? Even at my all day pace I'm burning 500/hour.
You could simply start your calorie adjustment experiment by not massively underestimating your exercise calorie burns.

caffcyc

100 calories/hour is about all that I can eat while riding without feeling like I am eating too much (or feeling sick). Most of my rides are 3-4 hours. So on a ride day I will eat my normal 2200, plus 3-400 while riding, plus an additional 5-600 during the day. My best estimates put me at burning about 400 calories/hour on my normal rides.

I will up everything by 200 cal/day for a few weeks and see what happens. Thanks.

nowine4me

Have the pear AND the eggs. And drink plenty of water

caffcyc

nowine4me wrote: »

Have the pear AND the eggs. And drink plenty of water

I drink a lot of water. 100oz bottle a day, sometimes more. When I ride I have another 50oz with me that I will usually drink about 30-40 of.

Lately I have been making myself stop drinking around 9pm so I don't have to wake up and hit the bathroom, otherwise I would drink more.

fb47

If you're still losing weight, it's because you're still eating at a deficit, you need to eat more.

caffcyc

fb47 wrote: »

If you're still losing weight, it's because you're still eating at a deficit, you need to eat more.

I must be burning more than I was, because I held my weight for nearly 3 months, and then suddenly dropped 3lbs, didn't change anything.

iowalinda

caffcyc wrote: »

fb47 wrote: »

If you're still losing weight, it's because you're still eating at a deficit, you need to eat more.

I must be burning more than I was, because I held my weight for nearly 3 months, and then suddenly dropped 3lbs, didn't change anything.

Figuring out maintenance is tricky, at least it has been for me. Maybe if each day, activity wise, was exactly the same, it wouldn't be an issue, but I am still trying to find the right "spot" for me. I am cautious because I have no interest in gaining back those hard fought loses. I'm watching this thread hoping to gain some valuable insight and tips

fb47

caffcyc wrote: »

fb47 wrote: »

If you're still losing weight, it's because you're still eating at a deficit, you need to eat more.

I must be burning more than I was, because I held my weight for nearly 3 months, and then suddenly dropped 3lbs, didn't change anything.

It could be your NEAT that has changed. But you can afford to eat more and see if that balances things out after a few weeks.

caffcyc

Interesting, never heard of NEAT before.

Shooting for 2400 calories for the next week (plus ride calories, though I probably wont get much time on the bike this week with rain and work).

What sort of macro split do you shoot for while maintaining? Does it matter more or less than while losing?

fb47

caffcyc wrote: »

Interesting, never heard of NEAT before.

Shooting for 2400 calories for the next week (plus ride calories, though I probably wont get much time on the bike this week with rain and work).

What sort of macro split do you shoot for while maintaining? Does it matter more or less than while losing?

I always keep my protein high 0.8g per pound of bodyweight, 30% fats, the rest goes towards carbs.

mywayroche

Try nuts

caffcyc

fb47 wrote: »

I always keep my protein high 0.8g per pound of bodyweight, 30% fats, the rest goes towards carbs.

That's quite a bit less than I have been eating. I am closer to 1.3g/lb

caffcyc

mywayroche wrote: »

Try nuts

I don't really like nuts that much, though I do eat them sometimes.

cwolfman13

I'm a bit hard pressed to believe your calorie target of 2200 is maintenance. I'm between 5'9" and 5'10" and I maintain on around 2800-3000 calories per day. I lose about 1.5 Lbs per week on 2200 calories. I'm not super crazy active either...8-10K steps most days, about 50 miles per week on the bike, and 3 days of lifting.

caffcyc

cwolfman13 wrote: »

I'm a bit hard pressed to believe your calorie target of 2200 is maintenance. I'm between 5'9" and 5'10" and I maintain on around 2800-3000 calories per day. I lose about 1.5 Lbs per week on 2200 calories. I'm not super crazy active either...8-10K steps most days, about 50 miles per week on the bike, and 3 days of lifting.

2200 was maintaining me, its not a logging error or anything, I am meticulous with my food. I weigh and log EVERYTHING.

How much do you weigh? I don't lift, and don't do much moving around at work.

CarvedTones

cwolfman13 wrote: »

I'm a bit hard pressed to believe your calorie target of 2200 is maintenance. I'm between 5'9" and 5'10" and I maintain on around 2800-3000 calories per day. I lose about 1.5 Lbs per week on 2200 calories. I'm not super crazy active either...8-10K steps most days, about 50 miles per week on the bike, and 3 days of lifting.

I am 5'8", 59 and maintain at about 1800 + exercise. Right now I have it set to 1700 + exercise and take varying amounts of exercise calories to herd the scale numbers up and down. I often walk 8 miles at 4 mph or paddle a SUP pretty hard and nearly constant for 2-3 hours but rarely go over 2500 even on a 3 hour paddling day. Currently maintaining between 155 and 160.

fb47

caffcyc wrote: »

fb47 wrote: »

I always keep my protein high 0.8g per pound of bodyweight, 30% fats, the rest goes towards carbs.

That's quite a bit less than I have been eating. I am closer to 1.3g/lb

Since you're trying to maintain your weight, eating at 0.8g/lb is more than enough. It's up to you, if you enjoy eating that high in protein, there's nothing wrong with that.

By the way, I am also 5'9, I lift 3 times a week and do no cardio, my maintenance is at around 2800 and currently cutting at 2400. I am surprised that your maintenance is that low....you're more active than me. Maybe that's why you're losing weight.

caffcyc

CarvedTones wrote: »

I am 5'8", 59 and maintain at about 1800 + exercise. Right now I have it set to 1700 + exercise and take varying amounts of exercise calories to herd the scale numbers up and down. I often walk 8 miles at 4 mph or paddle a SUP pretty hard and nearly constant for 2-3 hours but rarely go over 2500 even on a 3 hour paddling day. Currently maintaining between 155 and 160.

I think that someones maintenance number can be way off when compared to someone else. It depends on how efficient your body is and how much you do during the day. One of my friends that I bike with logs what he eats. Hes about my age and height, 20lbs or so heavier than me (mostly muscle). He has an active job and hits the gym for a light work out daily and eats 3500+ cal/day to maintain.

caffcyc

fb47 wrote: »

Since you're trying to maintain your weight, eating at 0.8g/lb is more than enough. It's up to you, if you enjoy eating that high in protein, there's nothing wrong with that.

By the way, I am also 5'9, I lift 3 times a week and do no cardio, my maintenance is at around 2800, I am surprised that your maintenance is that low....you're more active than me. Maybe that's why you're losing weight.

I've just been winging it and got into a routine. I pretty much eat the same stuff everyday. I swap out chicken for beef or fish 1 or 2 times a week, stuff like that. There just seems to be a lot of protein in what I enjoy eating. Every morning starts with Kodiak cakes, I will never give them up. The kodiak cakes and yogurt that I have twice a day are things I really look forward to. Those alone are around 90 grams of protein.

2-3 servings of meat (lunch and dinner) add in a bunch more. Eggs usually balance out my 30/40/30 macro split pretty well, but again, there's no real reason I picked those numbers. Getting advice about dieting and eating is pretty much drawing straws, anything you search for there are 20 reasons for it, 20 against it, and 2,000 opinions on what else you should do.

I've talked to nutritionists too, and I get the same type of results, one says this, the next the complete opposite. So I kind of gave up on that.

My main concern right now is the sudden change in weight, without me really doing anything, and being just a little tired when I am not active. Sitting at my computer right now i just feel a bit blah, but I know that I could hop on my bike for a few hours and feel great the whole time if I wanted to. Does that make any sense?

caffcyc

Increased carbs a bit, and decreased protein. Bumped up calories too. I will try this for the next week or two.

psychod787

caffcyc wrote: »

Increased carbs a bit, and decreased protein. Bumped up calories too. I will try this for the next week or two.

I eat 1.3grams pro as well. Remember, protein has a slightly higher tef. Same with fiber. I am a protein, veggies, and fruit kinda guy myself. So that could be some of your issue. Best of luck my man!

mk2fit

If you are concerned about an unexpected weight loss, and all else is the same, maybe you should call your doctor...just in case.

caffcyc

mk2fit wrote: »

If you are concerned about an unexpected weight loss, and all else is the same, maybe you should call your doctor...just in case.

I am no where near that concerned.

sijomial

caffcyc wrote: »

fb47 wrote: »

If you're still losing weight, it's because you're still eating at a deficit, you need to eat more.

I must be burning more than I was, because I held my weight for nearly 3 months, and then suddenly dropped 3lbs, didn't change anything.

I had the same experience when I first hit maintenance but for me it was 2 months maintaining and started to lose weight steadily for no apparent reason. Best guess as mentioned already was that my NEAT was a little suppressed by a period of dieting.

For comparison I'm 5'9, 168lbs, cycle about 500 miles a month, lift x3 a week and since retirement from a desk job my activity level has shot up. Probably eating around 3000 cals a day.

sijomial

caffcyc wrote: »

100 calories/hour is about all that I can eat while riding without feeling like I am eating too much (or feeling sick). Most of my rides are 3-4 hours. So on a ride day I will eat my normal 2200, plus 3-400 while riding, plus an additional 5-600 during the day. My best estimates put me at burning about 400 calories/hour on my normal rides.

I will up everything by 200 cal/day for a few weeks and see what happens. Thanks.

Ah - I misunderstood.
If I just fuel my long rides from sports drinks and/or carb gels I get a queasy stomach.
Eating soreen malt loaf or cereal bars hourly usefully bumps my calories up and keeps my stomach feeling good. I aim for about 320cals an hour on long distance rides or events.

WilmaValley

Very good feedback, helpful for me too!

caffcyc

Almost been a week, it seems like my weight has leveled out in the 142-143 range, but too soon to really tell.

I am up to 3200ish on ride days (still feeling great), but struggling to eat more than 2200 on off days. Pretty much eat every 2 hours and never feel hungry as it is. I have already switched to more calorie dense food (just went up to 5% yogurt from 4%, which I changed from non-fat a while back).

I tried adding olive oil or coconut oil to some of my cooking, but the greasiness doesn't really agree with me.

Usually around 10AM I have a piece of fruit, which I changed to fruit and kale smoothie to try and cheat in an extra 100 calories, but started getting the spike/crash feeling around 11, so I am going back to just eating the fruit.

TavistockToad

caffcyc wrote: »

Almost been a week, it seems like my weight has leveled out in the 142-143 range, but too soon to really tell.

I am up to 3200ish on ride days (still feeling great), but struggling to eat more than 2200 on off days. Pretty much eat every 2 hours and never feel hungry as it is. I have already switched to more calorie dense food (just went up to 5% yogurt from 4%, which I changed from non-fat a while back).

I tried adding olive oil or coconut oil to some of my cooking, but the greasiness doesn't really agree with me.

Usually around 10AM I have a piece of fruit, which I changed to fruit and kale smoothie to try and cheat in an extra 100 calories, but started getting the spike/crash feeling around 11, so I am going back to just eating the fruit.

peanut butter is my usual answer to needing more calories.

bunnyluv19

You could also add some chocolate chips and/ or granola to your yogurt snacks