Plateau in weight loss

xxxemaxxx

Hi all,

I have been on MFP since Nov 2011 and i have only lost a small amount of weight. i'm at 1200 per day and generally stick to this yet im seeing no difference on the scale.

I don't have a lot of weight to lose, but i'd like to get down to 112. I'm 5'5 and currently at 121.

Should i be eating more? I do a lot of exercise and i try to eat those extra calories but sometimes i'm not hungry enough, or i worry i'll be eating too much.

Any advise on this would be great :-)

Lukazetta

I suggest look up your BMR and your TDEE

For example:
If your TDEE is around 2500, calories under that will lose more body fat.
If your BMR is around 1800, calories under that will lose more lean muscle.

You just have to find that perfect balance by finding your sweet spot between your TDEE and BMR where you don't lose too much lean muscle but still lose weight.

Good luck!

gsager

You just aren't eating enough....bump your calories up. If you exercise eat those calories back, if you don't exercise, start. I'm 5'2" and started on MFP like 200 days ago at 134lbs , now I weigh 114lbs. You have to eat to lose. On days that I work out I eat around 2000 calories and still lose weight. There is no reason to starve yourself you are just losing muscle and slowing your metabolism.

xxxemaxxx

Thank you for your advise.

My TDEE is 2083 and my BMR is 1344.

so how would i work out how many calories i should eat between those readings?
I need to lose body fat as my body fat is approx 27-28%.

Thanks again:happy:

Lukazetta

TDEE: 2083
BMR: 1344

I would not go much under 1344 and I think 1200 is a bit low, it may lead to too much lean muscle loss.

As you already know, what most people do to lose body fat is cut carbs. And it makes sense because carbs are pretty much useless when it comes to losing fat (you do need them to feel energized throughout the day).
So other than cut carbs (to a safe amount so you don't feel sluggish), and assuming you're exercising or you're somewhat active during the day, you also need good macros in your diet so your body can fully recover.

If you need to boost your metabolism a bit, you may want to eat smaller portions throughout the day...maybe switch to 4 meals a day. The way our body reacts when we start going into a starvation mode (lack of calories/carbs) is by storing more fat because it panics. If your body isn't starving/your diet is consistent thourghout the day, you actually shed more weight. I also think it's beneficial to eat as many slow digestive carbs as possible so you don't feel hungry random parts of the day.

Hope this helps, good luck and feel free to PM me if you have any questions!