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Should I reset?

JLO2164
JLO2164 Posts: 5 Member
in Social Groups
I am 39 years old, 5 ft 5 and currently 166. I am down from 178 when I started my new 'lifestyle' at the beginning of July. I lost weight pretty steadily (from 178 to 170) for most of July, and at the beginning of August I stalled. I joined MFP at that point, and began eating the 1200 calories it told me to for most of August. I lost 4 more pounds when I began that new level, but stalled again quickly after that. For the last week or two I have been bouncing around my 166 mark. That is when I started reading these boards. I recently upped my calories to 1600 (my estimated 20% TDEE based on a sedantary, desk job activity level with no additional excercise beyond running after 2 yound kids all night.... But now I am wondering if I need to do a total reset. My body fat percentage is estmated around 38%. Thoughts and guidance on how to proceed much appreciated!

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  • 31prvrbs
    31prvrbs Posts: 687 Member
    You only really need to reset if you ate low cals for a long period of time. But it doesn't seem like you did? If you have a history of dieting/severe calorie restriction then the reset is recommended.

    If not, feel free to just hop to your TDEE -15% and start from there :wink:

    ~Kiki
  • JLO2164
    JLO2164 Posts: 5 Member
    Thanks so much for your help! I'll up my calories to TDEE minus 15%. I'm hoping this helps break my stall... and it might account for why WW has not worked for me in the past ( I always gave up after about 3 months when the stall would happen..) This makes a lot of sense to me, but it does look like it will be a long haul to find the 'sweet spot' calorie wise. I am prepared to be patient.. I also need to start lifting...
  • moss11
    moss11 Posts: 236 Member
    This is all very much a never ending journey. I am coming around to thinking that maybe a stall is all part of the bigger picture. The key thing is that you mention giving up when you stall. I think instead of giving up you need to accept that this journey will have downs as well as ups and we need to ride these out, continuing to look forward. My route is to play the long game, it keeps me sane and in control- well in better control than previously!

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