Why am I not cutting fat?

amyloohoo67

I have been doing orange theory workouts for a year and drastically changed my diet to cut out all the junk. I started with twice weekly workouts supplemented with some yoga and walking and in the first 2 months lost about 7 pounds while building some noticeable muscle. I went from a size 10 pant to a size 8. Weight dropped from 169 to 162 and lost 1% body fat. Yay. Now it's 10 months later and I'm stuck at the same weight and body fat. Trainer told me I've plateaued and should increase the workouts so for 7 weeks now I've been doing 4 orange theory workouts (really challenging with the heaviest weights I've ever done and jogging now instead of walking) still supplementing with walking and yoga and I'm stuck at 162 pounds and 28% body fat. I'm eating 100 grams of protein a day and roughly 1400 calories. No bread, crackers, junk food or desserts. I'm eating oatmeal, egg whites, small amounts of fruit, green vegetables, brown rice, sweet potatoes, Greek yogurt. I let myself indulge in 3-4 glasses of wine per week. Please help me figure out why I'm not losing fat. I'm working out so hard and getting really frustrated.

amyloohoo67

Forgot to mention I am a 52 year old woman

kimny72

How tall are you?

How consistent and accurate is your logging? Do you log everything all the time? Use a food scale for all solids? Check that the database entries you're choosing have the correct calories?

Have you had a physical with blood work recently?

amyloohoo67

I'm 5'9" and yes I've had a recent physical and my blood work was outstanding. I log most days, not all, but I eat the same every day and have been logging so long (a year) I pretty much know how much I'm eating. I might have a slice of pizza or a cookie occasionally but mostly I'm sticking to the clean eating.

apullum

Fat loss is caused by consistently being in a calorie deficit. You describe your calorie intake as "roughly," which implies that you're either not sure how many calories you're eating, and/or are estimating your calorie intake rather than weighing and logging your food.

kimny72

Clean eating is great, but you can eat too many calories of "clean food".

There is such a thing as portion creep. It happens to me whenever I stop logging. I think I'm having the same amount all the time, but very slowly over weeks and months, what I see as a portion grows.

Commit to logging super accurately for at least 2 weeks. Log everything - beverages,condiments, cooking oils, cheat meals, nibbles, everything. Use a food scale for all solids as often as humanly possible - whole foods, single serve packages, produce, everything. Double check the calories in the entries you are using to the package or the usda published info. Lay down some super accurate data, and it will probably shine a light on what you need to focus on. That's what'worked for me and many others here

amyloohoo67

When I say "roughly" 1400 calories I mean like 1300 one day and 1500 the next. I measure and log everything - altho I might estimate a sweet potato is one cup instead of weighing it to find out it's .75 cup. Do you really think that makes a big difference?

amyloohoo67

Kimny- thank you! I will give that a try.

Sabine_Stroehm

You're 5'9" and 162, and at or around menopause. You're at a very healthy weight. What are you aiming for?

apullum

amyloohoo67 wrote: »

When I say "roughly" 1400 calories I mean like 1300 one day and 1500 the next. I measure and log everything - altho I might estimate a sweet potato is one cup instead of weighing it to find out it's .75 cup. Do you really think that makes a big difference?

Weighing food can make a dramatic difference for some people. I would strongly advise using a food scale for all your food, not measuring cups/spoons.

kimny72

amyloohoo67 wrote: »

When I say "roughly" 1400 calories I mean like 1300 one day and 1500 the next. I measure and log everything - altho I might estimate a sweet potato is one cup instead of weighing it to find out it's .75 cup. Do you really think that makes a big difference?

I only had 15ish lbs to lose, and I was spinning my wheels. Once I started logging like it was my job to do a science experiment on myself lol I found I was eating 200-300 cals more than I thought I was, which is the half-pound per week I was looking for. It also helped me feel more in control, which eliminated a lot of the stress and guilt I was building up around my body and my diet. Hopefully it clears it up for you, let us know!

Machka9

amyloohoo67 wrote: »

I let myself indulge in 3-4 glasses of wine per week.

Have you calculated how many calories are in the alcohol you drink?

allaboutthecake

I would try logging everything tight and hitting each macro tight for 2 weeks. If no results after 2 weeks, I would do it for 30 days and see results. After your 30 days, adjust your calorie goal. it sounds like you are eating at maintenance.

Azdak

Just to add: there is more to calorie balance than just food intake. It is a consistent pattern that people lose weight for a certain amount of time and then plateau. Part of that is that, over time, we tend to bring our entire lives back into an energy balance. Whether it’s relaxation of eating habits (and “regression to the mean”), or small regular changes to NEAT, or something else—it’s a common pattern. I think sometimes too much high-intensity exercise can increase chronic physical stress levels as well. And, finally, there is the fact that we have the bodies that we have, and it may be that you have reached a threshold with your body that it’s just going to take more effort to effect more substantial changes than the usual plan. (I am moving further into speculation as I go).

While I’m sure the “trainer” would disagree, I highly doubt that “moar orange fitness” is the way to go. This is a case where a “diet break” or interval of “exercise deloading” might actually help. Not stopping workouts, but maybe go with some more traditional lifting and even include some LISS cardio for a few weeks in place of some (not all) of the higher-intensity circuits.

callsitlikeiseeit

amyloohoo67

Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »

You're 5'9" and 162, and at or around menopause. You're at a very healthy weight. What are you aiming for?

I would like to reduce my body fat so my muscles show a bit more. I'm happy with my size- just not with the fat on my arms, butt, thighs, and belly that cover up the muscles I have been working so hard for.. I think 6-8 pounds of fat loss would make a big difference

amyloohoo67

Thank you so much everybody for all the help. I'm going to try measuring my food perfectly for a couple of weeks and we'll see how it goes. I'll report back! thank you so much for all the support. I couldn't figure out who to ask for help and then I stumbled upon this forum and I think I found the right place!

chicbuc

Personally, I think you're not eating enough calories for the amount of work you're putting in.

kimny72

chicbuc wrote: »

Personally, I think you're not eating enough calories for the amount of work you're putting in.

Until she's logging accurately, there's no way to tell that. And while under fueling extreme exercise can in some situations reduce NEAT, it will more often slow weight loss, not stop it for 10 months, and it's far more likely OP is eating more cals than she thinks.

chicbuc

I disagree. Underfueling will ruin you metabolism and stall weight loss. Just my 2 cents.

kimny72

chicbuc wrote: »

I disagree. Underfueling will ruin you metabolism and stall weight loss. Just my 2 cents.

So rather than first start logging accurately and make sure her calories are in line, you think she should just eat more and keep her fingers crossed?

If the problem is that she is eating too little, that will be more obvious once she is logging better too.