Help required please

ftrobbie

Genuinely interested in getting some advice, my diary is open. I have lost 26kgs(57lbs) over the last 5 months predominantly measuring all foodstuffs going into my mouth and eating back exercise calories, classic CICO. I moved from doing nothing to doing t25 and now a mix of strong lifts 5x5 and C25k. I have been doing SL5x5/C25k for four weeks. I am still dialed in on a 730 calorie deficit, net calories 1700 as I have 13 kgs(29lbs) to lose to get to the top of the normal bmi range. However I am really tired most of the time and perceive myself to be hungry, both of these are recent experiences last 10 days.

I do not know whether this is;
a reaction to 5 months of eating at a deficit;
whether strength training is taking its toll;
whether my nutrient intake is just poor, I have been able to eat chocolate inside my macros;
or something else.

I do not tend to be able to sleep longer than 6 hours however I have always tended to sleep for 6-7 hours a night, so it is not really abnormal but slightly shorter than normal. Stats 6ft2" 101kgs(222lbs) age 49 Male.

Many thanks for looking

ftrobbie

No one has any view?

editorgrrl

Set your goal to the slowest rate. (In pounds, it's .5 lb. per week.) Then read the Sexypants post: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-Sexypants

mayfrayy

eat/drink more protein, less carbs. when i lower my carbs i stay feel full longer.

Confuzzled4ever

Have you taken any breaks?? I know occasionally I need a week of "eat at maintenance and skip exercise" to give myself a break. Of course that doesn't really mean no exercise, it means I don't lift heavy and I skip the super intense cardio/ workouts.

You could be eating too little. Especially while lifting. When I'm doing strong lifts routine i'm hungry. Moreso then when I'm more focused on cardio.

As for diet.. increase your protein.. not sure where it's at now.. but a high protein low carb diet usually helps me trememdoulsy. Es while lifting.

I think a week at maintenance might do you some good. (or month if you need longer?)

RodaRose

What time of day to you work out?
Late in the day workouts can interfere with sleep for some people.
Check your medications with your pharmacist -- some of them interfere with sleep.
If you want to tinker with your diet, add more greens, asparagus, . . .

You probably need some rest days.

jemhh

I would second the suggestion for a break. A one week break where you eat at maintenance can do you a world of good. Two articles about diet breaks.

http://strengthunbound.com/when-to-take-a-diet-break/

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-full-diet-break.html

I did my first break after 4+ months of losing weight and then I just did another one last week. My plan is to do it every 6-8 weeks from here on out. In general, I don't get super hungry or have cravings so my biggest sign that I need a break is when I can't stop thinking about food.

ftrobbie

Thanks for the input

Carbs is the thing that normally gets sacrificed, I tend to ensure that protein is looked after and I struggle keeping fat under control, so carbs normally suffer. But I aim for 40:30:30 split C:F:P. I exercise first thing in the morning, I am too tired after work, so that is not interfering with sleep.

I like the idea of experimenting with a break, which will allow a level of rebalancing and refeeding. I will also check out the links, I have read the sexypants guide and the other FAQs frequently and have tried to follow those. I recognise that weightloss has been fast which I assume was due to my bmr being higher than mfp suggested. I did start at 1100 deficit a day and was intending to lower it again by the end of July when I got to 99kgs down to 500cal deficit.

Will see how it goes

deksgrl

You clearly need a smaller calorie deficit.