Hit a Threshold After 4 Weeks

rajasingh2

Hi All - I've been actively logging my food for 5+ weeks, and began working out (hiking, biking, runs) for about 10 weeks. For the first 4 weeks of logging, I easily lost 10 lbs in a pretty linear fashion (5' 11" Male, 284>274).

However, the last two weeks, I've been stuck at the same weight - pound up, pound down day-to-day - despite having only NET calories of less than 1,000 cals and getting plenty of sleep. I need to change something to break through this temporary threshold, and need some advice:

1- I haven't been paying too much attention to macros, and am probably too high on carbs and fat. I'm going to try to more protein and veggies.

2- I'm also training for a century, and have been adding 10miles on the bike each week (did 110 last week). Thus, I'm thinking that maybe training stress/inflammation is blocking weight loss. Any thoughts?

3- Last, I've thought about trying intermittent fasting, or not eating at night, but it's tough because we try to have family dinner each night.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Go_Deskercise

harper16

Why are you netting so little?

The minimum a sedentary male should be eating is 1500 calories a day, and you should be eating back your exercise calories.

Strudders67

rajasingh2 wrote: »

I've been stuck at the same weight - pound up, pound down day-to-day - despite having only NET calories of less than 1,000 cals and getting plenty of sleep. I need to change something to break through this temporary threshold, and need some advice:

Any advice would be appreciated.

Firstly, all of what's in the above post.

Secondly, eat more. As a male, the minimum amount you should be eating is 1500 cals NET. And as you're not short, it should be more than that.

However, if you think you're only eating 1000 cals but not losing weight, something isn't right.

Are you measuring every liquid that you drink or use in food preparation? Are you weighing every solid that you eat or use in food preparation? If not, start doing so.

Are you checking the database entries that you choose against the packaging? Are you sure the database entries that you're selecting are accurate?

How are you measuring your exercise burn? It's possible that you're over-estimating.

Lietchi

I'm wondering if it's not water retention from the increased exercise, combined with the stress on your body by eating so little (stress also causes water retention).

Geneveremfp

Lietchi wrote: »

I'm wondering if it's not water retention from the increased exercise, combined with the stress on your body by eating so little (stress also causes water retention).

This was exactly what I was wondering.

I would suggest upping your calories and being patient

rajasingh2

Wow - Thanks everyone for the !Immediate! feedback.

FYI, i'm eating 1,700-2,200 calories a day, so I'm not feeling hungry. The 'Net Calories' being low is a function of going on really long bike rides (and sometimes hikes) where I'm burning 2000-3000 calories. I've being doing those 3-4 times per week.

Exercise calories are coming from my Apple Watch. No, not yet weighing food, so I'm sure it's not as precise as it could be. i do try to be diligent, and have a decent sense of proportions.

Jthanmyfitnesspal

It SUCKS when the scale doesn't go down when you're dieting!

@Go_Deskercise posted all the best stuff. I like the happy/sad face graphs. That's what it's like!

It's very hard to tell on a day-by-day or even week by week basis. My deep wisdom is that, if you're consistent and stay in calorie deficit, it will come off!

Go_Deskercise

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10697068/how-i-stopped-kidding-myself/p1

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10634517/you-dont-use-a-food-scale/p1

KrissDotCom

rajasingh2 wrote: »

Wow - Thanks everyone for the !Immediate! feedback.

FYI, i'm eating 1,700-2,200 calories a day, so I'm not feeling hungry. The 'Net Calories' being low is a function of going on really long bike rides (and sometimes hikes) where I'm burning 2000-3000 calories. I've being doing those 3-4 times per week.

Exercise calories are coming from my Apple Watch. No, not yet weighing food, so I'm sure it's not as precise as it could be. i do try to be diligent, and have a decent sense of proportions.

Just cause youre eating 1700 to 2200 doesnt mean your body is getting to use them

Youre spending it all on your exercise and leaving nothing left for your BODY

Which needs a min 1500 NET

meharmahshahid

I lost 8 lb in a month, by eating 1200 calories daily. I'm a female, 5''5, and 140 lb, and even 120 is less for me. By all means, 1000 calories a day is deadly for you, and you must increase them to 1600, and if you hit a plateau after that, then by all means start decreasing your calories, like to 1550, and so on

lgfrie

First, listen to @KrissDotCom above. She speaks the truth of the matter.

OK, so losing a bunch of weight very quickly in the first 3-4 weeks of a diet and then completely flatlining is actually so common that one could almost call it the standard weight loss graph. I lost 8 pounds in the first 3 days of my diet (retained water draining off, obviously) and then another 12 pounds over the next 4 weeks, for a whopping 20 pound loss in the first 30 days. It seemed so easy, I knew I would lose 100 pounds in 5 months LOL And then bam, scale plateau. It was flat for a couple weeks and then started coming down again, but at a slow, logical pace that mapped well to my caloric deficit.

That pattern - exhilaratingly fast weight loss for a month -> flatline -> slow weight loss after that - is so, so common as to not even be worth raising an eyebrow over. Just keep plugging away.

And do listen to @KrissDotCom. 1500 NET is the minimum. Less than that, you're pushing yourself too hard. Nothing good will come of that.

sijomial

rajasingh2 wrote: »

Wow - Thanks everyone for the !Immediate! feedback.

FYI, i'm eating 1,700-2,200 calories a day, so I'm not feeling hungry. The 'Net Calories' being low is a function of going on really long bike rides (and sometimes hikes) where I'm burning 2000-3000 calories. I've being doing those 3-4 times per week.

Exercise calories are coming from my Apple Watch. No, not yet weighing food, so I'm sure it's not as precise as it could be. i do try to be diligent, and have a decent sense of proportions.

To address the cycling part as you have got some good advice about calorie goals already...

Suggest you switch to Strava to get better cycling estimates or at least a comparison to your Apple Watch.

How long are these "really long bike rides" and is your estimate purely an exercise estimate?
(For the roughest of contexts I'm a lot lighter than you but yesterday's 51 mile ride burned a pretty accurate net 1,713cals)

If you have ambitions to ride a Century you need to learn to fuel your exercise properly and the training volume and stress will demand your actual deficit is modest. You can't perform like an athlete if you don't eat like an athlete.

Intermittent fasting (assuming you mean time restricted eating) can also be in conflict with wanting to do a Century.

Four to five weeks is a very common timescale for people to hit a barrier due to their ambitions and calorie level being out of kilter. You can get through a month with pretty much any old approach but with a lot to lose you need to think long term sustainability to a sensible goal. Although it must be said if you aren't weighing your food and using poor exercise estimates your actual calorie balance as opposed to what you think it is could be vastly different and I hope it is.

(PS - Beware if you have synched your Apple Watch directly to MyFitnessPal they don't work properly without being linked via an intermediary app such as Pacer.)

Hanibanani2020

Start weighing your food so you get a better baseline for how much you’re actually eating then go from there