Give it more time, or reduce calories now?

dancephysics

I started losing weight in October, at 5'6" and 150 lbs. I was losing at a pretty good pace, average of .8 lbs a week (my settings were for .5 lbs per week) eating 1500 and eating half my exercise calories. For Christmas I got a FitBit Force. In January I started dancing and became more active in general, so my loss increased to slightly more than 1 lb per week. About two or three weeks ago I decided that, because I'm pretty close to my goal of 130 (current weight 135-136), I should slow that down and eat more. According to my FitBit, my TDEE is about 2100 (backed up by calculations based on my calorie intake and weight lost), so I set my new daily calorie goal to 1800 (TDEE-15%-ish). Before, my calorie intake was all over the place, but for the past few weeks I've been pretty good about being close to 1800.

However, since raising my calories, I haven't really lost anything. I weigh everyday, and I've been bouncing between 135 and 136 for three weeks. I would have expected to lose 1-1.5 lbs, but instead I've been in about the same .8 lb range.

First question: Is this enough time to determine that 1800 isn't working for me? Should I keep at 1800 for a while longer and practice patience, or is it time to try reducing my intake a bit?

Second (less important) question: Why hasn't my math worked out? I am not losing according to my calculations. Is it because I have some incorrect numbers somewhere? Or is it because the human body is complicated and does what it wants, despite math?

WBB55

So you went from eating 1500+1/2 exercise calories to a flat 1800 every day? And you feel your weight loss has stalled. Have you changed nothing else? Does your fitbit still have you burning a total of 2100 every day? What was your average daily intake before, would you say?

My guess, and this is just a guess, your math is off by just a little somewhere.

But if your math is right and your average daily was let's say 1600 or so before -- and you were losing, and now you're averaging 1800 and not gaining or losing? I'd say stick with it for another couple months.

Edit to add: if you're burning 2100 per day, you won't gain on 1800. I think the thing right now to do is be patient and not panic.

norcalskater

Sounds like 1800 calories is actually your maintenance. I think dropping it to 1700 or 1650-1600 and you will start losing weight again. Then once you hit your goal bring the calories back up to 1800 or 1750 and you should be able to maintain that weight. These calculators are there to give you an idea. The best way to know for sure is to track your calories and weight yourself in the morning. That's a good way to find out how many calories will work for you. But like I said I think 1800 is your maintenance and slightly dropping that number will lose weight.

cwolfman13

Your TDEE - 15% is going to give you very little room for error. Also, that's pretty close to 1/2 Lb per week loss goal (provided your TDEE estimate is correct) which is going to become increasingly difficult to see on a week to week basis. I'm currently trying to drop 10 Lbs @ a 1/2 Lb per week deficit and I pretty much have to track my losses on a month to month basis because 1/2 Lb per week is easily masked by water and waste in the system. Basically if I show around 1.5 Lbs loss per month as a general trend (not linear) I am happy. I anticipate that it will take me the better part of 9 months or so to actually lose 10 Lbs of fat and retain my LBM...probably longer given that I'm sure to have bad days and weeks here and there.

With very little margin for error, you need to really be being as precise as possible with intake..do you weigh and measure everything? Precision is extremely key at this point. I would also add that really focusing in on your nutrition and fitness rather than obsessing about the scale is also going to be key...those last Lbs are a *****...thus the reason I anticipate that it will basically take me 9-12 months just to lose my last 10 Lbs.

dancephysics

So you went from eating 1500+1/2 exercise calories to a flat 1800 every day? And you feel your weight loss has stalled. Have you changed nothing else? Does your fitbit still have you burning a total of 2100 every day? What was your average daily intake before, would you say?

Well, I don't burn 2100 every single day. On my really inactive days where I don't even leave the house (maybe 1-2 days a week) I burn around 1800, on my super active days where I go dancing (1-3 days a week) I burn 2300 or more. On an average day where I just go to work I burn around 2100. Right now my spread sheet says my average TDEE over the past month is 2150. All this data comes from my FitBit.

As for my intake before, I was really not consistent. Some days it would be 1400, some days 1900. It probably averages to about 1600.

Edit to add: if you're burning 2100 per day, you won't gain on 1800. I think the thing right now to do is be patient and not panic.

Thanks. I'm not too concerned about gaining, and I'm definitely not panicking. Just impatient.

Your TDEE - 15% is going to give you very little room for error. Also, that's pretty close to 1/2 Lb per week loss goal (provided your TDEE estimate is correct) which is going to become increasingly difficult to see on a week to week basis. I'm currently trying to drop 10 Lbs @ a 1/2 Lb per week deficit and I pretty much have to track my losses on a month to month basis because 1/2 Lb per week is easily masked by water and waste in the system. Basically if I show around 1.5 Lbs loss per month as a general trend (not linear) I am happy. I anticipate that it will take me the better part of 9 months or so to actually lose 10 Lbs of fat and retain my LBM...probably longer given that I'm sure to have bad days and weeks here and there.

With very little margin for error, you need to really be being as precise as possible with intake..do you weigh and measure everything? Precision is extremely key at this point. I would also add that really focusing in on your nutrition and fitness rather than obsessing about the scale is also going to be key...those last Lbs are a *****...thus the reason I anticipate that it will basically take me 9-12 months just to lose my last 10 Lbs.

Thanks for your thoughts. I weigh and measure most things. I'm sure I could be more accurate, but I just can't really be bothered to weigh out a pinch of sliced almonds, or a handful of spinach, haha. And I would not say that I'm obsessing about the scale. It's just one of the metrics I'm using to judge my progress.