Not Losing, Need Help

skinnylion

Hi guys.

I have been dieting for two years and have lost 85 pounds. Now that I am 20 pounds from my goal (which is 145 for 5'5" female, upper end of healthy) I am not losing weight, have not had my period for a few months, and I've been doing healthy exercise biking to classes (~3hrs/wk) while eating a 2,000 calorie diet. I have not done a metabolism reset.

I don't get it. I have considered the fact that I may have PCOS, am I eating too many carbs to lose? I plan to see a doctor sometime soon but I'm getting very frustrated. Please if you have any advice, fill me in!

HeidiHoMom

Are you eating a 15% cut from maintenance?

gjriddle

I've looked through your diary, and it does look like you're eating a pretty high amount of carbs for a calorie goal of only around 1600. What are your macros set at?

I personally shoot for 1750 cals/day, 35% carbs, 35% protein and 30% fat. This has been working really well for me, but I'm also doing a heavy lifting regiment instead of cardio.

Looking over your exercise diary it looks like you stick primarily to cardio, is that correct? Cardio is great for your heart, but not stellar for significant weight loss, especially when you hit a plateau like this. Cardio burns whatever it can, which is typically going to be the immediately available energy stores, like the carbs you're eating.. and then it moves onto the next easiest form of fuel: muscle. Not fat! So the more cardio you do, the less fat you ultimately lose which can result in a stalled weight loss.

My personal recommendation would follow the EM2WL guidelines-- I would say change your macros to maybe 40c/30p/30f and start strength training instead of only cardio. Doing some heavy lifting will help build muscle, which will in turn burn more fat all the time and help continue your weight loss journey.

Have you read all the stickies at the front end? I would say look back over those, review your settings and see if introducing some changes could be of benefit.

Good luck!! Keep us posted!

skinnylion

Thanks for the suggestions! For the past few months I have been at 55% carbs. I will try reducing them and maybe go back to doing P90x videos a few times a week. I'm also going to try to stop eating breads and refined carbohydrates because I think that really has an effect on me too.

My cut was a little under 15% because I was shooting to lose 1/2lb per week.

I feel bad for doing the "wrong" thing over the past few months. Maybe if I get a little bit more strict everything will fall back into place. Just needed a motivation boost, and I think I've found it.

Thank you again!

holleysings

Is it possible that your goal is too low for you? I'm 5'5" and my goal is 170lbs because I'm so muscular, which will put me at 22% body fat if I don't put on any more muscle. Are you happy with your body now other than the number on the scale?

skinnylion

That's an intriguing idea, but no, I don't think it's too low. Ideally I would like to be 145, or even 150-155, but right now I have belly fat that still makes me feel self-conscious. The last time I calculated by BF% using my measurements, it came out to be about 33%. I don't think I'm muscular enough for 170 to be a healthy maintenance.