Please help with plateau!

hilaryhill

Ive been on this plateau for about 5 weeks now and its about to drive me crazy!

I just surpassed 100 days on MFP. Within 65 days, I had lost 21 lbs, so pretty fast. I was eating about 2200 calories a day (I am also breastfeeding, btw), ate all or most of my exercise calories. It was almost TOO easy! LOL Ive also been doing the StrongLifts program so Ive been lifting heavy weights, too. I have gotten a lot of muscle tone. I also do Zumba 3x a week and burn like 700 calories doing it.

Well, now my weight loss has come to a screeching halt. It seems this fat now wants to stick on like glue! No, Im not losing inches, either, Ive been measuring. At the start of the plateau I was 178. I have remained steady between 175-178 during this time (I weigh myself every day... I record on here every new low weight I get). Today I weighed 178. Im so discouraged! Ive tried "cycling" my calories (low one day, high the next, etc) and that might bring me down a pound, but then when I stop I go back up. I still want to lose at least 20 more pounds. Should I drop my calories even more? Ive also tried a few splurge days to see if that helps, but no, it doesnt.

HELP! What can I try?

Kristendcampbell

You need to find your TDEE. Use the scooby TDEE calculator. You are doing 3 days lifting and 3 days.times of zumba as well. That is 6 days or 6 hours of activity. I am thinking your not losing since
1. your not eating enough
2. your not eating enough.

rhoda003

Or you are not resting enough. To much cardio (and I love Zumba...so I really don't like to say that ).
I started gaining like crazy when I was trying to do Zumba, walk, and Beachbody Insanity. The harder I tried the more I gained.

Now...I'm lifting and walking with some Yoga and Pilates to try and get back to where I started.

And like Kristen said...probably not eating enough....

twinmomtwice4

I'll chime in and agree that you're probably not eating enough.

Either increase your calories OR cut back on the amount of cardio you're doing.

hilaryhill

Really? Hmmm, ok.

I did find my TDEE, thats there I got my 2200 calorie intake from. Like I said, I am BFing so I added in 400 calories a day for that already. I am 28 yrs old and 176 lbs right now ad 5'9". When I was losing like mad I was eating all of my calories every day and still do (I dont log EVERYTHING, especially towards the end of the night when I can tally it in my head if my near my max or not).

I only do Zumba 3x a week for an hour. Right aftward I do my weight training for about 30 mins. You really think this is too much? Hmmm. I do eat most of the calories back, too.

Ive read that if you eat at maintenance for a week or two and then go back to a deficit you can jumpstart weight loss again. Anyone tried this or know if its true?

Kristendcampbell

The scooby calculator based on the 5-6 days/hours of excercise your height and weight is 2998 for your TDEE. Breast feeding or not your still eating too little. SO your body has come to a plateau. You need to eat more or cut back on the excercise if you want to eat less calories.

Kristendcampbell

If you werent eating below your tdee whil you were pregnant or just after then the concept of doing TDEE for 2 weeks then 6weeks on the 15% cut from TDEE makes sense. I have read that. However, if you were eating below TDEE for longer periods, then doing the reset is 8-12 weeks at TDEE.

I don't know what your workouts or eating was like during pregnancy, but regardless now your still eating lower than TDEE and you do walk and move during the day beyond excercise to that is the right number for you.

hilaryhill

Almost 3000? Sheesh. Ok so to figure out my TDEE, I set my activity level to 1-3x a week and got 2700. I thought you were supposed to get your TDEE-20% but not include exercise in that? Just eat your exercise calories?

Ok so 3000-20% would be 2400... Add about 200 or nursing (hes 9 mos and not nursing exclusively anymore) so I get 2600? Am I doing that right?

heybales

Well, that's 1-3 hrs a week of exercise stacked on top of a otherwise sedentary desk job for 40 hrs and sitting commute.

You sitting for your equal 40 hrs during the day, or very active with baby?

Your base level is higher, exercise just stacks on top. 3 hrs cardio and 1.5 hr lifting weekly. (I'd suggest get more bang from your lifting by doing it first. You can't lift as heavy with tired muscles, which means you don't get as much beneficial changes from it)

There is 1 style to TDEE deficit method, exercise included in the TDEE level which you did, since included, you don't eat those calories back.

Or you can do MFP method, but do the more reasonable 15% deficit instead of block of calories off your non-exercise TDEE. In that case you do eat back exercise calories, with same 15% deficit to them too.

If you have that steady of a routine, do the TDEE deficit method.

Since you are still carrying known baby fat, I'd suggest getting a Katch BMR for the foundation of your math, as there is no way you have the avg LBM to fat mass ratio the other BMR's are assuming. Check out my profile page.
Those BMR's will be inflated for you, if it's 200-400 calories inflated, your deficit level of eating is not actually a deficit, but probably maintenance.

But you did right adding on the BF calories after taking off the deficit. Math method is right, I'd confirm the start of it though with that BMR.
And while it may be 3 x weekly, it's also 4.5 hrs weekly, which is moderate level if you want the rough 5 levels. Is 3 x weekly 30 min walk the same as 3 x weekly 3 hr walks? For that matter, is 1 hr walking the same as 1 hr running as 1 hr lifting?

hilaryhill

Hmm ok I think I see what you are saying.

Im a SAHM and I have 3 kids... 4 yrs, 2 yrs, and 9 mos. So yes Im always on my feet! Im thinking of getting one of those Bodymedia Fit things soon so it can tell me how much Im actually burning.

On the Scooby calculator, if I add in the Moderate exercise option, it tells me my TDEE is 2477 and the -20% number is 1981. Add in about 200 for Bing and thats 2200. Thats what Ive been doing the past 5 weeks during my plateau.

heybales

But you were eating back exercise calories, so actually eating more than 2200, right?

There's a big difference between goal eating number and what you actually eat. Usually evidenced by review of food diary.

BMF will still be estimating, not actually measuring, what you are burning. But it or the FitBit are really good for the daily stuff.

Down to last 20 lbs, should be about 15% deficit too. The spreadsheet I referenced in my last post may suggest different depending on type/time of workouts.

Probably need to round up if using the rough levels, exercise was already at 4.5 hrs, almost top of the level. Probably round up to 2600 then take 15% deficit, then add 200 back on.

For BMR of 1593, and activity factor of 1.62 (based on 180 min high cardio, 90 min lifting, 40 hrs on feet moving weekly), I show TDEE of 2583.
Since you are doing lifting, and that means traditional heavy for you, sets and rests between them, not a bunch of bicep curls but good compound lifts working many muscles, you can take a good deficit for now, 18.6%.
So TDEG is 2102.
If you do an extra workout beyond what was included, log and eat it back. If it's included already, you don't.

Now, what changes all that is a better BMR estimate based on BF%. The above BMR is assumed 29% BF. If you are worse or better than best estimate BMR changes, TDEE changes, TDEG changes.

heybales

double-post, stupid browser, or impatient me.