1400-1500 net calories, and not losing lbs

josephka

Hi there - this is my first post! So be gentle! :-)

So over the past month, I've been averaging about 1400-1500 net calories a day. (That's really eating between 1800-2200, and working off the difference through exercise.)

So, one would assume, I'd be dropping some weight - but, I started the month at 307...and am now at 306. So, not great results, scale-wise.

Plateau? Possibly? Should I be eating some more?

For reference, I'm about 5'11".

And yes, I realize the scale isn't the be all, end all, but boy - I sure would like to see some movement!.

Thoughts?

awerewka

Same issue with me. I just upped my caloreis today to 1700.

GauchoMark

that is a really low amount of calories for someone that is 307. Your BMR is 2575/day. Your TDEE is at least 3090/day (using a 1.2 factor). Considering you have already lost 41 lbs, you probably are starting to get into a plateau since you have been netting 1000 calories below your bmr. I'd bump it up to maintenance for a week, then start back and net no less than about 2000 calories. Since you still have a lot to lose, netting below your bmr isn't all that bad, but this will happen from time to time.

cutedollface

Have you eliminated food groups such as sugar (per reading labels ~ no eating item if sugar is listed in the contents), starch, cow dairy? Focused more on vegetables than fruits? Up your water intake to a gallon+... Being a guy, that should give you a boost right off the bat. Good luck and keep going.

Homer3D

Can I ask what kind of exercise are you doing? You want to try to focus on something that will keep your heart rate up for a decent amount of time. For me it isn't so much the number of calories I burn off but how I burn them off.

For example:

I can walk for 1 hour and burn about 400 calories.
I can jog for 30 minutes and burn the same amount.

I tested this theory out. 1 week was just walking. Another week just jogging.

On the walking week I did not lose any weight
On the jogging week I lost 2 lbs.

Even though I was burning the same amount of calories a day, I got better results from jogging vs walking.

If the current exercise you are doing doesn't seem to shed the weight, try a different exercise.

Jingram2b

that is a really low amount of calories for someone that is 307. Your BMR is 2575/day. Your TDEE is at least 3090/day (using a 1.2 factor). Considering you have already lost 41 lbs, you probably are starting to get into a plateau since you have been netting 1000 calories below your bmr. I'd bump it up to maintenance for a week, then start back and net no less than about 2000 calories. Since you still have a lot to lose, netting below your bmr isn't all that bad, but this will happen from time to time.

^^^This.

And if you aren't already, lift weights.

rafik_hany

Hi there - this is my first post! So be gentle! :-)

So over the past month, I've been averaging about 1400-1500 net calories a day. (That's really eating between 1800-2200, and working off the difference through exercise.)

So, one would assume, I'd be dropping some weight - but, I started the month at 307...and am now at 306. So, not great results, scale-wise.

Plateau? Possibly? Should I be eating some more?

For reference, I'm about 5'11".

And yes, I realize the scale isn't the be all, end all, but boy - I sure would like to see some movement!.

Thoughts?

I would assume that there is inaccuracy of 10% in the calories consumed and I would assume that maybe your body does not burn as much as the tables states. Age and body metabolism is always big factor.

SPBROOKS68

swimming is great and easy on your body...but it works all the muscles

seansquared

that is a really low amount of calories for someone that is 307. Your BMR is 2575/day. Your TDEE is at least 3090/day (using a 1.2 factor). Considering you have already lost 41 lbs, you probably are starting to get into a plateau since you have been netting 1000 calories below your bmr. I'd bump it up to maintenance for a week, then start back and net no less than about 2000 calories. Since you still have a lot to lose, netting below your bmr isn't all that bad, but this will happen from time to time.

This.

I estimated roughly 40% bodyfat given your weight vs height vs optimal combo (5'11" and ~160lbs lbm) and using the Katch-McArdle method you should be eating more like 1800-2000 net. No less than 1800. Avg 1939.73 to be exact.

I also always recommend Paleo diets since most of us eat WAY too many carbs. Carbs aren't bad, just most people eat WAY too many and the key reasons for switching are (1) leveling out your insulin and (2) dropping excess water weight.

Paleo would be meat, fish, birds, vegetables, nuts & legumes, natural oils (olive/coconut), dairy and eggs, and then fruits sparingly. That's it. If you have to ask, don't eat it. You will still get plenty of carbs from an entire bag of spinach, trust me

Espressocycle

I disagree; you probably aren't burning as much as you think, so I would try eating less. I've never failed to break a plateau by eating less. Although do first make sure you are logging correctly - I'm always amazed at how small a portion really is when I actually count out the number of crackers or whatever.

WendyTerry420

I disagree; you probably aren't burning as much as you think, so I would try eating less. I've never failed to break a plateau by eating less. Although do first make sure you are logging correctly - I'm always amazed at how small a portion really is when I actually count out the number of crackers or whatever.

Seriously? The dude is almost 6 feet tall and weighs over 300 pounds.

To the OP: I'm with the rest of the posters. I would bump up your calories to eating closer to your BMR. Try it for two weeks and see if you don't keep dropping. Also, if you aren't doing strength training, start doing it, even if it's just push-ups to get started. (Or a push-up, against the wall instead of on the floor. That's how I started off since I couldn't even do one at first.) And definitely take your measurements with a tape measure. That way you will still see losses that occur other than scale weight.

getting smaller > losing weight

SWilkins75

Same issue with me. I just upped my caloreis today to 1700.

This!

insidemelookingout

I would also make sure that your activity settings are correct. I hadn't checked mine in a long time and they were off. I fixed them and dropped 2 lbs.

Good luck!

josephka

Just so i understand your suggestion - bump up my calories to 2575/day (or so). Given I exercise away about 500 (or so) daily, my net intake should be about 2000 a day? Makes sense to me - just want to make sure I'm following you. :-)

I was replying to GauchoMark's post - sorry, still getting the hang of it.

josephka

Sure - i do a mix of cardio (treadmill, elliptical, and stationary bike) and strength training. And I'm working out between 4-5 days a week.

Can I ask what kind of exercise are you doing? You want to try to focus on something that will keep your heart rate up for a decent amount of time. For me it isn't so much the number of calories I burn off but how I burn them off.

For example:

I can walk for 1 hour and burn about 400 calories.
I can jog for 30 minutes and burn the same amount.

I tested this theory out. 1 week was just walking. Another week just jogging.

On the walking week I did not lose any weight
On the jogging week I lost 2 lbs.

Even though I was burning the same amount of calories a day, I got better results from jogging vs walking.

If the current exercise you are doing doesn't seem to shed the weight, try a different exercise.

wavdawg4

Just so i understand your suggestion - bump up my calories to 2575/day (or so). Given I exercise away about 500 (or so) daily, my net intake should be about 2000 a day? Makes sense to me - just want to make sure I'm following you. :-)

I was replying to GauchoMark's post - sorry, still getting the hang of it.

If you moved your calories to 2575/day... and you burned 500calories from working out one day then you would get 3075 calories for that day. Some people eat back ALL their calories while some eat back half or so.. I tend to eat my exercise calories..

Zangpakto

Well I am about 135/140 pounds, 5'0" and eat 1490 and losing weight....

Paleo is great, I had been at a plateau for a month (Though eating crap, drinking lots and other stuff... Really just my fault...) Now that I changed and focusing on cleaning up as marathon for me end of month, I have already lost about 4 pounds almost since Monday....

Salt, Alcohol, Carbs etc play a MAJOR role, and eating high protein/fat meals keeps you full much longer... I mean an entire bag of chips which wont keep you full for long at all would almost be roughly the same as say almost 3-4kg of strawberries or broccoli etc..

Which one would keep you fuller? Simple, the healthier veggies

Salt and Carbs make you retain water as salt helps the process however Carbs are a MAJOR player, it is actually how I measure my carbo loading phase for marathons, essentially the body needs 3g of water in order to store 1g of carb so a total of 4g for 1g of carb....

Meaning 200g carb a day diet means 800g total weight a day needed just to store, of course 600g is water, but your body and scale wont tell the difference...

50g carbs however is only 200g total weight for day including storage, and being lower than normal means also using those extra stores so shedding the excess water weight and also the 1g of carb holding the water there. If that makes sense?

I generally can put on roughly 5 pounds in 2-3 days and I know I carbo loaded right... When race finishes, I am in general almost 2-3 pounds lighter immediately...

It's all a nice systematic way of losing, eat healthy fats and protein, limit processed grains etc and you will drop, even if have the odd bread once a week or drink here and there, it wont hamper your progress...

Best part? Will never feel hungry

My current Macros are for today....

Carbs / Day 75 g
Fat / Day 58 g
Protein / Day 168 g

I am losing constantly now again, I don't know, maybe give my idea some thought and see how it goes for a week or two...

TheRealParisLove

I discovered as I aged that the "calories in vs. calories burned only" formula didn't work any more. I had to really work on my macros to get a fat burning balance. Mostly, I needed way more protein and less carbs to see results.

As we age our bodies utilize the nutrition we consume differently then when we were younger. It is harder to absorb certain nutrients, specifically B vitamins and amino acids, both of which contribute to weight loss.