Conflicting Plateau Advice...Help Please!

jobell2355
jobell2355 Posts: 49 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi! I need some clarification on a plateau.

First some background. I am 47, 5' 4 158 lbs. and 26% body fat. I log everything I put in my mouth on mfp (weigh and measure too), I've cut out everything white to about 95%, eat mostly whole foods, very little processed, take vitamins and work out 6 days a week including T25 5 days, yoga 5 days wk, running and/or biking 2 to 3 days per week and paddleboarding as weather permits. My job however is pretty sedentary. I have lost 12 lbs. Since Jan 2nd but have been up and down the same 4 lbs. for the past 6 weeks.

After doing some research I thought I was eating too little so I did the TDEE BMR method, reduced cals by 500 for several weeks and saw no change. Then some were saying I was eating too much so I dropped back down to the mfp suggested 1300 (I think is too low for me) and still nothing.

Now I should say I have dropped 2 inches in my waist and 2 in my bust but the scale will not budge and I am so frustrated.

I just don't know what to believe. I am going to keep doing what I'm doing but just can't seem to figure out the correct caloric intake for me. Any solid advice is appreciated.

Replies

  • bren998
    bren998 Posts: 92 Member
    Hello,

    I am in the same boat as you; however, it has been a lot longer than six weeks for me since the scale has moved.:frown: I walk 4-5x a week plus strength training. I tried increasing & decreasing my calories still nothing. I know and can tell that I have lost a lot of inches from pictures and by the way my clothes fit. I am down a size in jeans:happy: I feel a lot better than I did two years ago, so I am just going to keep walking. Slow & steady wins the race, so stay with it.
  • jobell2355
    jobell2355 Posts: 49 Member
    Oh, I am definitely not giving up and I am feeling amazing. I know people say I shouldn't worry about the scale but I just do. I want to see those numbers come down. It is weird because I am 158 and wear a size 6/8 and I used to be a size 4 at 145 so I'm not looking to go overboard and weigh 120 like the charts say I am supposed to at 5 ft 4 LOL. Just trying to figure out should I eat according to the BMR/TDEE method or the MFP 1250 cal. suggestion.
  • mulecanter
    mulecanter Posts: 1,792 Member
    Assuming you are accurate in your measurements (sounds like you are) and that you are losing inches, sounds to me you are getting ripped! Awesome!! From what I've read, adding muscle comes with lots of fluid level changes so your plateau may be part of and internal "re-org" so to speak. I'd ensure you keep your net calories where MFP says they should be, keep working out and expect your plateau to end soon.

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