Interested in some advice/opinions :)

rjdunn87

Hi everyone,

So I'm interested in what some of you with experience have to say about my current kind-of plateau. My diary is open so feel free to take a look and yes, I am vegan and know I need to get more protein--I'm honestly working on it.

So my issue is that I feel like I've been basically stagnant for a few weeks now. I started at around 185 lbs and am currently 170, which is up from the 166 I was when I finished T25 Beta about a week or so ago. In that week, I started both T25 Gamma and ChaLean Extreme, so I'm assuming those four pounds are some water retention from all the extra weight lifting. I do seem to be sensitive to that, scalewise. So I'm not freaking out or anything, but I thought it couldn't hurt to get some extra opinions!

My calorie goal is set to 1500 and I usually try to eat back about half of my exercise cals, sometimes more or less depending on how I'm feeling. I generally burn between 500-600 on days when I do both T25 and CLX, 200-300 when I only do one or the other. I'm 5'4", if that helps at all. And I have been seeing the inches come off but quite slowly. I'm not unsatisfied with my progress, I just sometimes wonder if there's anything I could be doing better.

In general I'm very accurate with my logging. There are a few days here and there where I didn't log because of a dinner out or something like that, but I do have a food scale and weigh everything, and I use the recipe function on here religiously because I cook at home almost every night. Let me know if there's any information I've left out.

mzthang77

I would try the TDEE method. There is a group here Eat more to weigh less. You should read all the stickies. Its amazing! http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/3817-eat-more-to-weigh-less

deksgrl

And the 1500 calories, how did you determine that much to eat? Was that MFP recommended calories? If so, how many pounds per week did you say you want to lose?

I agree with the above post, the TDEE method can be better, your exercise is all factored in so you don't have to worry about how many exercise calories to eat.

kgeyser

Why are you doing two weight training programs simultaneously?

H_Factor

working out more is not the answer to speeding up weight loss. Its usually counter productive because you're not giving your muscles enough time to heal. Do only one program at a time.

Aim for a gallon of water per day.

caveninit

Why are you doing two weight training programs simultaneously?

^^this^^ On the same day??

rjdunn87

Why are you doing two weight training programs simultaneously?

I guess I don't really consider T25 a weight training program… i mean, Gamma obviously focuses more on strength but it's so different from ChaLean that I didn't really think it would be an issue, and I'm not having any problems doing them both. I mean, they're both so short that I guess I don't really feel like I'm overexercising, if that makes sense? Like, I'm still only exercising barely an hour a day, six days a week. One rest day.

rjdunn87

And the 1500 calories, how did you determine that much to eat? Was that MFP recommended calories? If so, how many pounds per week did you say you want to lose?

I agree with the above post, the TDEE method can be better, your exercise is all factored in so you don't have to worry about how many exercise calories to eat.

When I initially set up MFP, without really being knowledgable or doing research about anything, I said I wanted to lose 2 pounds a week and it gave me 1360 calories. At the time I didn't have a HRM so didn't log my exercise, and I found 1360 really, really challenging to stick to. I changed my goal to a pound a week and I believe it upped it to around 1650, so I went with that number for a few weeks and didn't lose any weight, so I thought why not try something in the middle and went with 1500, which has been working alright up until the last few weeks. Honestly, it's just been a bit of trial and error on my part.

deksgrl

And the 1500 calories, how did you determine that much to eat? Was that MFP recommended calories? If so, how many pounds per week did you say you want to lose?

I agree with the above post, the TDEE method can be better, your exercise is all factored in so you don't have to worry about how many exercise calories to eat.

When I initially set up MFP, without really being knowledgable or doing research about anything, I said I wanted to lose 2 pounds a week and it gave me 1360 calories. At the time I didn't have a HRM so didn't log my exercise, and I found 1360 really, really challenging to stick to. I changed my goal to a pound a week and I believe it upped it to around 1650, so I went with that number for a few weeks and didn't lose any weight, so I thought why not try something in the middle and went with 1500, which has been working alright up until the last few weeks. Honestly, it's just been a bit of trial and error on my part.

You should always give 4-6 weeks for your body to adapt when you make changes before changing it again. You don't know that 1650 wasn't going to work if you just stuck with that for 2 weeks. I'd recommend putting it back to the 1 pound per week loss and give it longer.

rjdunn87

And the 1500 calories, how did you determine that much to eat? Was that MFP recommended calories? If so, how many pounds per week did you say you want to lose?

I agree with the above post, the TDEE method can be better, your exercise is all factored in so you don't have to worry about how many exercise calories to eat.

When I initially set up MFP, without really being knowledgable or doing research about anything, I said I wanted to lose 2 pounds a week and it gave me 1360 calories. At the time I didn't have a HRM so didn't log my exercise, and I found 1360 really, really challenging to stick to. I changed my goal to a pound a week and I believe it upped it to around 1650, so I went with that number for a few weeks and didn't lose any weight, so I thought why not try something in the middle and went with 1500, which has been working alright up until the last few weeks. Honestly, it's just been a bit of trial and error on my part.

You should always give 4-6 weeks for your body to adapt when you make changes before changing it again. You don't know that 1650 wasn't going to work if you just stuck with that for 2 weeks. I'd recommend putting it back to the 1 pound per week loss and give it longer.

Thanks for the advice, I appreciate it. I'm looking into maybe trying out TDEE-20%, but just finding it all kind of confusing.

deksgrl

And the 1500 calories, how did you determine that much to eat? Was that MFP recommended calories? If so, how many pounds per week did you say you want to lose?

I agree with the above post, the TDEE method can be better, your exercise is all factored in so you don't have to worry about how many exercise calories to eat.

When I initially set up MFP, without really being knowledgable or doing research about anything, I said I wanted to lose 2 pounds a week and it gave me 1360 calories. At the time I didn't have a HRM so didn't log my exercise, and I found 1360 really, really challenging to stick to. I changed my goal to a pound a week and I believe it upped it to around 1650, so I went with that number for a few weeks and didn't lose any weight, so I thought why not try something in the middle and went with 1500, which has been working alright up until the last few weeks. Honestly, it's just been a bit of trial and error on my part.

You should always give 4-6 weeks for your body to adapt when you make changes before changing it again. You don't know that 1650 wasn't going to work if you just stuck with that for 2 weeks. I'd recommend putting it back to the 1 pound per week loss and give it longer.

Thanks for the advice, I appreciate it. I'm looking into maybe trying out TDEE-20%, but just finding it all kind of confusing.

A properly set MFP + exercise calories goal should be really close to a properly set TDEE - % goal. It should be nearly the same thing. The only difference is with MFP, you eat more when you exercise, but with TDEE - %, your exercise is all factored into the number so you eat the same every day no matter how you exercise.

Example (using round numbers for simplification):

TDEE = 2500
Less 20% = 500
You eat 2000

2000 (amount MFP says you need not including exercize)
-500 (the amount it deducts when you set it for losing 1 pound per week)
=1500 (your daily goal)
-500 (the amount you burned in exercise)
+500 (the amount more you eat for exercise)
=1500 NET but 2000 TOTAL calories

rjdunn87

And the 1500 calories, how did you determine that much to eat? Was that MFP recommended calories? If so, how many pounds per week did you say you want to lose?

I agree with the above post, the TDEE method can be better, your exercise is all factored in so you don't have to worry about how many exercise calories to eat.

When I initially set up MFP, without really being knowledgable or doing research about anything, I said I wanted to lose 2 pounds a week and it gave me 1360 calories. At the time I didn't have a HRM so didn't log my exercise, and I found 1360 really, really challenging to stick to. I changed my goal to a pound a week and I believe it upped it to around 1650, so I went with that number for a few weeks and didn't lose any weight, so I thought why not try something in the middle and went with 1500, which has been working alright up until the last few weeks. Honestly, it's just been a bit of trial and error on my part.

You should always give 4-6 weeks for your body to adapt when you make changes before changing it again. You don't know that 1650 wasn't going to work if you just stuck with that for 2 weeks. I'd recommend putting it back to the 1 pound per week loss and give it longer.

Thanks for the advice, I appreciate it. I'm looking into maybe trying out TDEE-20%, but just finding it all kind of confusing.

A properly set MFP + exercise calories goal should be really close to a properly set TDEE - % goal. It should be nearly the same thing. The only difference is with MFP, you eat more when you exercise, but with TDEE - %, your exercise is all factored into the number so you eat the same every day no matter how you exercise.

Example (using round numbers for simplification):

TDEE = 2500
Less 20% = 500
You eat 2000

2000 (amount MFP says you need not including exercize)
-500 (the amount it deducts when you set it for losing 1 pound per week)
=1500 (your daily goal)
-500 (the amount you burned in exercise)
+500 (the amount more you eat for exercise)
=1500 NET but 2000 TOTAL calories

Right. Okay, so I guess my question is about activity level… I'm using the Scooby TDEE calculator, and if I choose "moderate activity, 3-5 hours a week of exercise," I get 2422 as my TDEE and 1937 as my cut goal. If I choose light activity, I get 2148 as TDEE and 1719 as the calorie goal, which seems closer to what I've currently been eating.

This seems like such a stupid question because obviously I'm exercising at least 3 hours a week so I should be going by the moderate activity level, right? I think I'm just anxious about upping my calories to 1900, but I also know I need to change something. I just want to make sure I'm doing everything to the best of my ability.

deksgrl

And the 1500 calories, how did you determine that much to eat? Was that MFP recommended calories? If so, how many pounds per week did you say you want to lose?

I agree with the above post, the TDEE method can be better, your exercise is all factored in so you don't have to worry about how many exercise calories to eat.

When I initially set up MFP, without really being knowledgable or doing research about anything, I said I wanted to lose 2 pounds a week and it gave me 1360 calories. At the time I didn't have a HRM so didn't log my exercise, and I found 1360 really, really challenging to stick to. I changed my goal to a pound a week and I believe it upped it to around 1650, so I went with that number for a few weeks and didn't lose any weight, so I thought why not try something in the middle and went with 1500, which has been working alright up until the last few weeks. Honestly, it's just been a bit of trial and error on my part.

You should always give 4-6 weeks for your body to adapt when you make changes before changing it again. You don't know that 1650 wasn't going to work if you just stuck with that for 2 weeks. I'd recommend putting it back to the 1 pound per week loss and give it longer.

Thanks for the advice, I appreciate it. I'm looking into maybe trying out TDEE-20%, but just finding it all kind of confusing.

A properly set MFP + exercise calories goal should be really close to a properly set TDEE - % goal. It should be nearly the same thing. The only difference is with MFP, you eat more when you exercise, but with TDEE - %, your exercise is all factored into the number so you eat the same every day no matter how you exercise.

Example (using round numbers for simplification):

TDEE = 2500
Less 20% = 500
You eat 2000

2000 (amount MFP says you need not including exercize)
-500 (the amount it deducts when you set it for losing 1 pound per week)
=1500 (your daily goal)
-500 (the amount you burned in exercise)
+500 (the amount more you eat for exercise)
=1500 NET but 2000 TOTAL calories

Right. Okay, so I guess my question is about activity level… I'm using the Scooby TDEE calculator, and if I choose "moderate activity, 3-5 hours a week of exercise," I get 2422 as my TDEE and 1937 as my cut goal. If I choose light activity, I get 2148 as TDEE and 1719 as the calorie goal, which seems closer to what I've currently been eating.

This seems like such a stupid question because obviously I'm exercising at least 3 hours a week so I should be going by the moderate activity level, right? I think I'm just anxious about upping my calories to 1900, but I also know I need to change something. I just want to make sure I'm doing everything to the best of my ability.

You plan on continuing with the two different workout programs? You definitely should not choose lightly active. Even one of those programs is strenuous enough that you would not be lightly active.

rjdunn87

I do for now, yeah. I totally understand the dangers of overexercising, I hope I'm not coming off as completely naive as I do want to keep myself safe. I just don't feel like I'm doing too much so far.

rjdunn87

So if I were to change my MFP goal to 1900 as my calorie goal, would I then not log exercise at all since it's already factored in?

deksgrl

So if I were to change my MFP goal to 1900 as my calorie goal, would I then not log exercise at all since it's already factored in?

That's correct. What many people do is they log their exercise for motivational purposed but just put in "1" calorie so it doesn't change the net eating goal on the food log.

rjdunn87

So if I were to change my MFP goal to 1900 as my calorie goal, would I then not log exercise at all since it's already factored in?

That's correct. What many people do is they log their exercise for motivational purposed but just put in "1" calorie so it doesn't change the net eating goal on the food log.

Okay, great. Thank you for all your help.