I have hit a plateau and NEED HELP!!!
blwalton70
Posts: 71 Member
Hello there fellow friends! I will try to sum up for you all shortly what has been going on the last 4 weeks. I have had pretty steady weight loss over the last 5 months. I hit my goal of 150 pounds after 28 pounds of weight loss the first week of October (2.4 pounds lost that week) Since then, I have had NO WEIGHT LOSS. I haven't gained, thank the Lord, but my loss had halted totally. Take a look at my food diaries..... I eat healthy grains, fruits and veggies almost everyday and I work out 5-6 times a week at an hour minimum. I am just wondering if I am eating too few calories and my body is holding onto weight or if I am not pushing hard enough? I am really confused. I just recently purchased Insanity and plan on starting that monday, but I am not totally sure what it is I should be doing as far as diet.... ANY IMPUT is appreciated and feel free to tell me like it is. Also what is everyone's thoughts on net calories vs. food calories. THANKS SO MUCH!
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Replies
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Your BMR lowers as you lose body weight.
Instead of using MFP's 1200 calorie value as your base, try calculating your BMR using the Mifflin St. Jeor formula or Katch McArdle formula. Calculate your TDEE from your BMR. Then input your custom TDEE - your deficit into MFP.0 -
Hello there fellow friends! I will try to sum up for you all shortly what has been going on the last 4 weeks. I have had pretty steady weight loss over the last 5 months. I hit my goal of 150 pounds after 28 pounds of weight loss the first week of October (2.4 pounds lost that week) Since then, I have had NO WEIGHT LOSS. I haven't gained, thank the Lord, but my loss had halted totally. Take a look at my food diaries..... I eat healthy grains, fruits and veggies almost everyday and I work out 5-6 times a week at an hour minimum. I am just wondering if I am eating too few calories and my body is holding onto weight or if I am not pushing hard enough? I am really confused. I just recently purchased Insanity and plan on starting that monday, but I am not totally sure what it is I should be doing as far as diet.... ANY IMPUT is appreciated and feel free to tell me like it is. Also what is everyone's thoughts on net calories vs. food calories. THANKS SO MUCH!
You can be losing fat weight and gaining LBM weight (not muscle, just other stuff).
Hence the need to have measurements, about 8 different spots to compare.
If those haven't moved in 3 weeks along with weight, then you are currently eating at TDEE or maintenance level right now.
If this was sudden, did you start exercising more, drop calories more?
Have you read Insanity's info as to how much you should eat?
Do it and you'll likely see results. Stay at your same low level and you won't get nearly the results from the effort you are putting into it, if much of anything.
And yes, you are eating way too little for that level of exercise. Might as well not even waste time doing it since you can't get the full benefit from it.
Once your exercise takes some of those calories off the top of what you eat just to burn for energy, and your basic metabolism (BMR) takes the rest, what exactly is left for the body to work with to actually improve things?
You might benefit getting a handle on what you should be eating for a healthy loss, and getting real benefit from those workouts.
Use this, and read the stickies on the group.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/717858-spreadsheet-bmr-tdee-and-deficit-calcs-macros-hrm0 -
I am sorry you are not seeing any more results with your weight loss. I did not see the scale more in over 13 days. I actually gained 0.3lbs...but when I did my measurements I lost inches...LOTS of inches. Remember muscle weights more then fat to. I would maybe check your MFP goal settings and alter them to be more strict? I would also suggest to eat as close to your calories as possible. Especially if you are doing intence cardio....your muscles need this. Good for you for losing nearly 30lbs...that is amazing. Happy weight loss journey:)0
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I peeped your diary. You're making good food choices, just don't eat back exercise calories. MFP tells you you burned way more than you're actually burning.0
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Your BMR lowers as you lose body weight.
Instead of using MFP's 1200 calorie value as your base, try calculating your BMR using the Mifflin St. Jeor formula or Katch McArdle formula. Calculate your TDEE from your BMR. Then input your custom TDEE - your deficit into MFP.
What is TDEE???0 -
I peeped your diary. You're making good food choices, just don't eat back exercise calories. MFP tells you you burned way more than you're actually burning.
would you suggest that I not use any of my work out cals? I was wondering about that..... people are frecking out that I am eat =ing too few cals now though.... SO CONFUSING!0 -
I am sorry you are not seeing any more results with your weight loss. I did not see the scale more in over 13 days. I actually gained 0.3lbs...but when I did my measurements I lost inches...LOTS of inches. Remember muscle weights more then fat to. I would maybe check your MFP goal settings and alter them to be more strict? I would also suggest to eat as close to your calories as possible. Especially if you are doing intence cardio....your muscles need this. Good for you for losing nearly 30lbs...that is amazing. Happy weight loss journey:)
I haven't been measuring myself, but I guess it's something I should start doing... I have been lifting and running more, so perhaps I am building muscle! Thanks for the encouraging words!0 -
Hello there fellow friends! I will try to sum up for you all shortly what has been going on the last 4 weeks. I have had pretty steady weight loss over the last 5 months. I hit my goal of 150 pounds after 28 pounds of weight loss the first week of October (2.4 pounds lost that week) Since then, I have had NO WEIGHT LOSS. I haven't gained, thank the Lord, but my loss had halted totally. Take a look at my food diaries..... I eat healthy grains, fruits and veggies almost everyday and I work out 5-6 times a week at an hour minimum. I am just wondering if I am eating too few calories and my body is holding onto weight or if I am not pushing hard enough? I am really confused. I just recently purchased Insanity and plan on starting that monday, but I am not totally sure what it is I should be doing as far as diet.... ANY IMPUT is appreciated and feel free to tell me like it is. Also what is everyone's thoughts on net calories vs. food calories. THANKS SO MUCH!
You can be losing fat weight and gaining LBM weight (not muscle, just other stuff).
Hence the need to have measurements, about 8 different spots to compare.
If those haven't moved in 3 weeks along with weight, then you are currently eating at TDEE or maintenance level right now.
If this was sudden, did you start exercising more, drop calories more?
Have you read Insanity's info as to how much you should eat?
Do it and you'll likely see results. Stay at your same low level and you won't get nearly the results from the effort you are putting into it, if much of anything.
And yes, you are eating way too little for that level of exercise. Might as well not even waste time doing it since you can't get the full benefit from it.
Once your exercise takes some of those calories off the top of what you eat just to burn for energy, and your basic metabolism (BMR) takes the rest, what exactly is left for the body to work with to actually improve things?
You might benefit getting a handle on what you should be eating for a healthy loss, and getting real benefit from those workouts.
Use this, and read the stickies on the group.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/717858-spreadsheet-bmr-tdee-and-deficit-calcs-macros-hrm
WOW! You know your stuff! It's hard because what I have been doing the last 5 months has been working and to see the results stop makes me frustrated. I did take a look at some other calculaters and it said I should be eating more.... I will give it a try. Plus, with the Insanity workouts, they say you should eat more to give your body the "fuel" it needs. THanks for taking the time to write me back and help me figure things out. I was the weight in high school and was this weight most of my life, it's no suprise to me that this last 15 pounds is gonna be hell to get off!0 -
hi ... i am also sailing in the same boat ... my weight has reached a plateau too .. for almost 6 months.... since i was consuming 800-900 calories for 1 year and past 2 months i have increased it too1300 calories and now i am going to increase my calories to 2300 gradually...
y dont u join the EM2WL group on mfp .. it is helping me out.... since this being my first week for resetting my metabolism cannot say much about tht change but will wait to see the result0 -
I am sorry you are not seeing any more results with your weight loss. I did not see the scale more in over 13 days. I actually gained 0.3lbs...but when I did my measurements I lost inches...LOTS of inches. Remember muscle weights more then fat to. I would maybe check your MFP goal settings and alter them to be more strict? I would also suggest to eat as close to your calories as possible. Especially if you are doing intense cardio....your muscles need this. Good for you for losing nearly 30lbs...that is amazing. Happy weight loss journey:)
I don't know why people say this. Muscle does NOT weigh more than fat. 1 pound = 1 pound. However, muscle does take up more room than fat which is why you could be losing inches and not weight. But, you're absolutely not going to be gaining even a pound of muscle in that short amount of time. Muscle takes a long time to build unless you are lifting heavy and eating quite a bit more.
You may want to invest in a heart rate monitor because MFP greatly overestimates the number of calories burned. I second the idea of not eating your exercise calories back or not eating all of them unless you have a really big burn. Try this for a few weeks and see what happens.0 -
Hi BLWalton70, you definately hit a plateau. Sometimes to break a plateau you need to change up your exercise and decrease your calories for a week and then switch it up. Often times if you are eating the same foods and doing the same type of exercise and level of exercise your body get's used to it and will not lose anymore. You said you just got Insanity if that work out is different from what your used to then that will be perfect. Are you working with a coach from Beachbody?0
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Hello there fellow friends! I will try to sum up for you all shortly what has been going on the last 4 weeks. I have had pretty steady weight loss over the last 5 months. I hit my goal of 150 pounds after 28 pounds of weight loss the first week of October (2.4 pounds lost that week) Since then, I have had NO WEIGHT LOSS. I haven't gained, thank the Lord, but my loss had halted totally. Take a look at my food diaries..... I eat healthy grains, fruits and veggies almost everyday and I work out 5-6 times a week at an hour minimum. I am just wondering if I am eating too few calories and my body is holding onto weight or if I am not pushing hard enough? I am really confused. I just recently purchased Insanity and plan on starting that monday, but I am not totally sure what it is I should be doing as far as diet.... ANY IMPUT is appreciated and feel free to tell me like it is. Also what is everyone's thoughts on net calories vs. food calories. THANKS SO MUCH!0
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this was happening to me for 6 weeks (I weight the same as you) and then in the ladt 2 days I dropped 1.5kg.
I dont know if i was tracking in accurately. My deficits some days were very high (like 1000cal or more) but there were also several days in a row where I ate too much because it was making me depressed.
All I can say is for the most part I stuck with it for the 6 weeks (aside from 1 bad week)
In the last 3 days I had a 500 cal deficit so MAYBE its because i upps my cals slightly - but even though there was a week at maintenance there was no change following that.
All I can say in my experience is make she you are logging accurately, and be patient.
I was stuck floating between 77.1kg - 78.5kg for 6 weeks.
then
Friday - 77.3kg
Saturday - 66.8kg
today - 65.6kg
go figure0 -
If you have been at a calorie deficit for a while you may need to take a diet break to get your hormones in whack. Dieting and exercising are hard on the body and can throw them off.
Assuming that you are eating at what should be a calorie deficit for your size/age etc, I would suggest looking at this article:
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-full-diet-break.html0 -
bump0
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Hi BWalton70 check out this article I found on Breaking a Plateau: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/weight-loss-plateau/MY011520
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I am sorry you are not seeing any more results with your weight loss. I did not see the scale more in over 13 days. I actually gained 0.3lbs...but when I did my measurements I lost inches...LOTS of inches. Remember muscle weights more then fat to. I would maybe check your MFP goal settings and alter them to be more strict? I would also suggest to eat as close to your calories as possible. Especially if you are doing intence cardio....your muscles need this. Good for you for losing nearly 30lbs...that is amazing. Happy weight loss journey:)
I haven't been measuring myself, but I guess it's something I should start doing... I have been lifting and running more, so perhaps I am building muscle! Thanks for the encouraging words!
On a deficit you will not be building muscle with the exception of a pound or two of what is known as 'newbie gains'. What will happen is that you will be retaining more water in the muscles as they repair themselves. Now, that is not to say what you are doing is not beneficial - it is. You will be getting stronger, both physically and cardiovascularly (I don't think that's an actual word btw) from the lifting and running. Plus you will experience neuromuscular adaptation which is basically 'waking up' your muscles.0 -
Your BMR lowers as you lose body weight.
Instead of using MFP's 1200 calorie value as your base, try calculating your BMR using the Mifflin St. Jeor formula or Katch McArdle formula. Calculate your TDEE from your BMR. Then input your custom TDEE - your deficit into MFP.
What is TDEE???
Total Daily Energy Expenditure - its basically what you burn in a day (aka maintenance).0 -
Being that you presently weigh 152 and have a goal of 135, a deficit between 10-15% below actual TDEE would be more ideal. As fat mass decreases, you need to decrease your deficit. Aside from the endocrine alterations people above have mentioned that result naturally from calorie restriction, gradually reducing the deficit is needed for a few reasons.
First, the psychological adaptations can be quite stressful. If you consider two deficits, one about 15% below maintenance and the other being 35% below, which would likely cause more paranoia when thinking of returning back to maintenance? Obviously, the 35% cut since it would lead to a larger difference between present and adjusted maintenance calories. Thus, you want to gradually decrease the deficit the closer you get to your goal so the psychological effect of dieting is minimized.
Secondly, the amount of fat oxidation that takes place depends on how much fat mass you have. The more fat mass one has, the larger the deficit they can assume. In contrast, as fat mass decreases, a smaller deficit is needed because any extra work will be unnecessary and will lead to excessive loss in lean body mass as well as accelerating decline in RMR and leptin as well as potential increase in cortisol.
A side note on cortisol - excessive calorie restriction and exercise can lead to a stress too great for your body to adapt to. Once you set parameters to extremes - such as too much exercise and not enough calories - cortisol levels skyrocket. One of the effects of elevated cortisol is water retention - a lot of it. This can mask actual evidence of fat loss. To remedy this, you simply reduce the deficit by: upping calories, reducing exercise or both.0 -
Being that you presently weigh 152 and have a goal of 135, a deficit between 10-15% below actual TDEE would be more ideal. As fat mass decreases, you need to decrease your deficit. Aside from the endocrine alterations people above have mentioned that result naturally from calorie restriction, gradually reducing the deficit is needed for a few reasons.
First, the psychological adaptations can be quite stressful. If you consider two deficits, one about 15% below maintenance and the other being 35% below, which would likely cause more paranoia when thinking of returning back to maintenance? Obviously, the 35% cut since it would lead to a larger difference between present and adjusted maintenance calories. Thus, you want to gradually decrease the deficit the closer you get to your goal so the psychological effect of dieting is minimized.
Secondly, the amount of fat oxidation that takes place depends on how much fat mass you have. The more fat mass one has, the larger the deficit they can assume. In contrast, as fat mass decreases, a smaller deficit is needed because any extra work will be unnecessary and will lead to excessive loss in lean body mass as well as accelerating decline in RMR and leptin as well as potential increase in cortisol.
A side note on cortisol - excessive calorie restriction and exercise can lead to a stress too great for your body to adapt to. Once you set parameters to extremes - such as too much exercise and not enough calories - cortisol levels skyrocket. One of the effects of elevated cortisol is water retention - a lot of it. This can mask actual evidence of fat loss. To remedy this, you simply reduce the deficit by: upping calories, reducing exercise or both.
I am not sure what my body fat % is.... I should probably look into that. I just want to clear this up, so you are saying I should up my calories? I have no problem doing that. Would you say a 100-200 cal deficit at the end of each day is appropriate? Hate to bother you, just wondering what you think I should do. I have had several people tell me I am eating too much of my work out calories back. THis is all so confusing! Sounds like I need to change up my diet and work out routine.0 -
Hi BWalton70 check out this article I found on Breaking a Plateau: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/weight-loss-plateau/MY01152
THank you!
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Hi BWalton70 check out this article I found on Breaking a Plateau: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/weight-loss-plateau/MY01152
Thanks! For the info!0 -
If you have been at a calorie deficit for a while you may need to take a diet break to get your hormones in whack. Dieting and exercising are hard on the body and can throw them off.
Assuming that you are eating at what should be a calorie deficit for your size/age etc, I would suggest looking at this article:
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-full-diet-break.html
Thanks Sara, I have not been able to lose and weight since 10/11/12. I will check it out . I hope it helps. :happy:0 -
I'd say try calorie cycling and mix-up your fitness routine. I just broke a plateau using those methods, took me about a week and a half...
You are doing awesome BTW, good times!0 -
Hello there fellow friends! I will try to sum up for you all shortly what has been going on the last 4 weeks. I have had pretty steady weight loss over the last 5 months. I hit my goal of 150 pounds after 28 pounds of weight loss the first week of October (2.4 pounds lost that week) Since then, I have had NO WEIGHT LOSS. I haven't gained, thank the Lord, but my loss had halted totally. Take a look at my food diaries..... I eat healthy grains, fruits and veggies almost everyday and I work out 5-6 times a week at an hour minimum. I am just wondering if I am eating too few calories and my body is holding onto weight or if I am not pushing hard enough? I am really confused. I just recently purchased Insanity and plan on starting that monday, but I am not totally sure what it is I should be doing as far as diet.... ANY IMPUT is appreciated and feel free to tell me like it is. Also what is everyone's thoughts on net calories vs. food calories. THANKS SO MUCH!
There is no mystery to weight loss, everyone thinks something is wrong, their metabolism is broken, they have low thyroid, they have menopause or whatever issue, they are as unique as a snowflake, whatever. I thought a lot of these things once too but once the doctor helped resolve the health issues for me I learned there is still no magic pill. Most people eat more than they need to and are not at good at estimating calories as they think they are. Most people have a lower BMR than they think they do. The only way to know for sure is to go to a lab and have it tested. It doesn't seem fair to have to eat less and feel a little hunger. It's hard to face the truth of it, very hard. It's not fun. It's drudgery at times. But if you learn to enjoy your smaller amounts of food (necessary to lose weight, since the reason we got fat in the first place was eating too much whether we knew it or not), and rejoice in your victories it can be done.
All I can do is share what worked for me. I achieved my goal at age 50 after beating my head against the wall for 15 years. Yeah anyone can do it, but I can tell you that you are up against a lot when you are older and I believe females have some unique issue to face with hormones and such. The sooner you can get a handle on it the better. DO NOT GIVE UP. As I got older and the weight piled on (and I didn't feel I was eating too much!) everyone kept telling me to give up, this is what happens when you get older. I'm small, and I didn't realize how small I was until I lost the weight. Everyone said I had big bones. I looked hefty because I worked out. Once I lost the weight I realized how small I really was and that small people don't need to eat as much as big people. HINT: If you are short you are probably small.
Your body loses weight in chunks, not linear. I have found that you can do everything right and your weight loss seems to plateau but if you are patient and keep exercising and eating at a deficit (however slight) you will lose it, it will suddenly "whoosh". There are so many variables for the scale; water retention, digestion, hormones, allergies, sodium, carbs, water intake, DOMS, inflammation, the list goes on. People mistakenly think they lose or gain weight when they eat more or less because of these fluctuations.
Losing weight requires tremendous patience. You will not lose it when you want it or where you want it. The body does its thing. Some apparent plateaus can last a month or so. You cannot make it happen faster. You must focus on two things; calories and exercise. Nothing else matters. Scales and metrics don't matter. The day in and day out grind of exercise and calories are all that matters. It is not very exciting until things fall into place. You get your victories and you ride one victory to the next.
The scale is a trend tool. The scale is good but put it away and only check once a week and only use it as a trend tool. It will fluctuate, it does not matter. Take front side and back progress pictures at least once a month. You will see differences that the metrics won't tell you and it's that little bit of NSV that will keep you going until the next victory.
To say eat more is wrong.
To say eat less is wrong.
To find the exact calories needed for YOU to be in a healthy sustainable calorie deficit is the right answer. Wait, if you need to adjust by 100 do it, wait, adjust, wait, adjust, wait. The tortoise wins this race.
All that matters is calories. A healthy balanced diet within a calorie budget for a deficit that is right for YOU is all that matters for weight loss. Don't make it complicated.
Also people play mental accounting games with calories just like with finances. Make steps to make sure you are making accurate measurements. Packaged foods can have MORE than they say but not less (they get in trouble if less so they would rather error with MORE).
If you typically intake sodium at a certain rate your body adjusts, but if you make a sudden change then you will see a spike.
Exercise is for making your lean body mass pretty (especially lifting weights) for when the fat is gone. Losing fat with no muscle is ugly and cardio alone will not make you pretty. You cannot out exercise too many calories.
It really is about calories. I tell people this all the time and they say "Well if calories are all that matter why do you eat so clean???!!" Well, because it makes me feel better, sleep better, and perform better at my sports.
Too many changes at once can be hard on some people. I've always eaten healthy so it easy for me to simply eat less. Eating at a calorie deficit is hard on people; even a small deficit puts your body in a state of flux with hormones and such. Everyone is different. Some people can handle a deeper calorie deficit than others, this is not right or wrong, it just is. Stress in your life affects your hunger hormones; lack of sleep, fatigue, job stress, family stress, financial stress, etc. Add in emotional eating issues and it gets even more complicated. Most people can only handle so much change/stress at once, they try to do too much and fail. Sometimes it might be a better strategy to eat at maintenance and make some small changes first, it really depends on how much stress you are taking in at the moment.
The good thing is you don't have to worry about the starvation mode myth if you are fat. Only skinny people have to worry about starvation mode. It does not mean you have the capability to eat at a large calorie deficit if you have emotional eating disorders or other issues going on, but at least you don't have to be afraid of it anymore.
The Theory of Fat Availability:
•There is a set amount of fat that can be released from a fat cell.
•The more fat you have, the more fat can be used as a fuel when dieting.
•The less fat you have, the less fat can be used as a fuel when dieting.
•Towards the end of a transformation, when body fat is extremely low you
may not have enough fat to handle a large caloric deficit anymore.
At the extreme low end, when your body fat cannot ‘keep up’ with the energy deficit
you've imposed on your body, the energy MUST come from SOMEWHERE. This is
when you are at risk of losing lean body mass during dieting (commonly referred to
as ‘starvation mode’). This happens at extremely low levels of body fat, under 6% in
men and 12% in women [Friedl K.E. J Appl Phsiol, 1994].
-Brad Pilon and John Barban (from The Reverse Taper Diet in The Adonis Index and Venus Index manuals)0 -
I am sorry you are not seeing any more results with your weight loss. I did not see the scale more in over 13 days. I actually gained 0.3lbs...but when I did my measurements I lost inches...LOTS of inches. Remember muscle weights more then fat to. I would maybe check your MFP goal settings and alter them to be more strict? I would also suggest to eat as close to your calories as possible. Especially if you are doing intense cardio....your muscles need this. Good for you for losing nearly 30lbs...that is amazing. Happy weight loss journey:)
I don't know why people say this. Muscle does NOT weigh more than fat. 1 pound = 1 pound. However, muscle does take up more room than fat which is why you could be losing inches and not weight. But, you're absolutely not going to be gaining even a pound of muscle in that short amount of time. Muscle takes a long time to build unless you are lifting heavy and eating quite a bit more.
You may want to invest in a heart rate monitor because MFP greatly overestimates the number of calories burned. I second the idea of not eating your exercise calories back or not eating all of them unless you have a really big burn. Try this for a few weeks and see what happens.
You are quite right about muscle not weighing more than fat. a pound of fat and a pound of muscle is still a pound.
But how dose muscle take up more room than fat?
Fat is has more volume and muscle is alot more dense
surly its the other way around?0 -
bump for later reading0
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oh no!
try upping your intake for a few weeks and don't eat back your calories, switch up your workouts and drink water. You'd be surprised what that would do, that did it for me and my plateau. Change up your diet more often, and your work outs. Don't do the same thing every day.0 -
I was looking through your diary what I noticed is that you typically eat most if not all your exercise calories back and have went over your goals on several days. Your calorie goal is quite low ~1200 to begin with. I would suggest finding your BMR, your TDEE, and taking a 15% cut from your TDEE and do not eat your exercise calories back. There is a great thread on here "in place of a road map" I suggest you find it and follow it and it will help you break out of your plateau.0
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Hello there fellow friends! I will try to sum up for you all shortly what has been going on the last 4 weeks. I have had pretty steady weight loss over the last 5 months. I hit my goal of 150 pounds after 28 pounds of weight loss the first week of October (2.4 pounds lost that week) Since then, I have had NO WEIGHT LOSS. I haven't gained, thank the Lord, but my loss had halted totally. Take a look at my food diaries..... I eat healthy grains, fruits and veggies almost everyday and I work out 5-6 times a week at an hour minimum. I am just wondering if I am eating too few calories and my body is holding onto weight or if I am not pushing hard enough? I am really confused. I just recently purchased Insanity and plan on starting that monday, but I am not totally sure what it is I should be doing as far as diet.... ANY IMPUT is appreciated and feel free to tell me like it is. Also what is everyone's thoughts on net calories vs. food calories. THANKS SO MUCH!
There is no mystery to weight loss, everyone thinks something is wrong, their metabolism is broken, they have low thyroid, they have menopause or whatever issue, they are as unique as a snowflake, whatever. I thought a lot of these things once too but once the doctor helped resolve the health issues for me I learned there is still no magic pill. Most people eat more than they need to and are not at good at estimating calories as they think they are. Most people have a lower BMR than they think they do. The only way to know for sure is to go to a lab and have it tested. It doesn't seem fair to have to eat less and feel a little hunger. It's hard to face the truth of it, very hard. It's not fun. It's drudgery at times. But if you learn to enjoy your smaller amounts of food (necessary to lose weight, since the reason we got fat in the first place was eating too much whether we knew it or not), and rejoice in your victories it can be done.
All I can do is share what worked for me. I achieved my goal at age 50 after beating my head against the wall for 15 years. Yeah anyone can do it, but I can tell you that you are up against a lot when you are older and I believe females have some unique issue to face with hormones and such. The sooner you can get a handle on it the better. DO NOT GIVE UP. As I got older and the weight piled on (and I didn't feel I was eating too much!) everyone kept telling me to give up, this is what happens when you get older. I'm small, and I didn't realize how small I was until I lost the weight. Everyone said I had big bones. I looked hefty because I worked out. Once I lost the weight I realized how small I really was and that small people don't need to eat as much as big people. HINT: If you are short you are probably small.
Your body loses weight in chunks, not linear. I have found that you can do everything right and your weight loss seems to plateau but if you are patient and keep exercising and eating at a deficit (however slight) you will lose it, it will suddenly "whoosh". There are so many variables for the scale; water retention, digestion, hormones, allergies, sodium, carbs, water intake, DOMS, inflammation, the list goes on. People mistakenly think they lose or gain weight when they eat more or less because of these fluctuations.
Losing weight requires tremendous patience. You will not lose it when you want it or where you want it. The body does its thing. Some apparent plateaus can last a month or so. You cannot make it happen faster. You must focus on two things; calories and exercise. Nothing else matters. Scales and metrics don't matter. The day in and day out grind of exercise and calories are all that matters. It is not very exciting until things fall into place. You get your victories and you ride one victory to the next.
The scale is a trend tool. The scale is good but put it away and only check once a week and only use it as a trend tool. It will fluctuate, it does not matter. Take front side and back progress pictures at least once a month. You will see differences that the metrics won't tell you and it's that little bit of NSV that will keep you going until the next victory.
To say eat more is wrong.
To say eat less is wrong.
To find the exact calories needed for YOU to be in a healthy sustainable calorie deficit is the right answer. Wait, if you need to adjust by 100 do it, wait, adjust, wait, adjust, wait. The tortoise wins this race.
All that matters is calories. A healthy balanced diet within a calorie budget for a deficit that is right for YOU is all that matters for weight loss. Don't make it complicated.
Also people play mental accounting games with calories just like with finances. Make steps to make sure you are making accurate measurements. Packaged foods can have MORE than they say but not less (they get in trouble if less so they would rather error with MORE).
If you typically intake sodium at a certain rate your body adjusts, but if you make a sudden change then you will see a spike.
Exercise is for making your lean body mass pretty (especially lifting weights) for when the fat is gone. Losing fat with no muscle is ugly and cardio alone will not make you pretty. You cannot out exercise too many calories.
It really is about calories. I tell people this all the time and they say "Well if calories are all that matter why do you eat so clean???!!" Well, because it makes me feel better, sleep better, and perform better at my sports.
Too many changes at once can be hard on some people. I've always eaten healthy so it easy for me to simply eat less. Eating at a calorie deficit is hard on people; even a small deficit puts your body in a state of flux with hormones and such. Everyone is different. Some people can handle a deeper calorie deficit than others, this is not right or wrong, it just is. Stress in your life affects your hunger hormones; lack of sleep, fatigue, job stress, family stress, financial stress, etc. Add in emotional eating issues and it gets even more complicated. Most people can only handle so much change/stress at once, they try to do too much and fail. Sometimes it might be a better strategy to eat at maintenance and make some small changes first, it really depends on how much stress you are taking in at the moment.
The good thing is you don't have to worry about the starvation mode myth if you are fat. Only skinny people have to worry about starvation mode. It does not mean you have the capability to eat at a large calorie deficit if you have emotional eating disorders or other issues going on, but at least you don't have to be afraid of it anymore.
The Theory of Fat Availability:
•There is a set amount of fat that can be released from a fat cell.
•The more fat you have, the more fat can be used as a fuel when dieting.
•The less fat you have, the less fat can be used as a fuel when dieting.
•Towards the end of a transformation, when body fat is extremely low you
may not have enough fat to handle a large caloric deficit anymore.
At the extreme low end, when your body fat cannot ‘keep up’ with the energy deficit
you've imposed on your body, the energy MUST come from SOMEWHERE. This is
when you are at risk of losing lean body mass during dieting (commonly referred to
as ‘starvation mode’). This happens at extremely low levels of body fat, under 6% in
men and 12% in women [Friedl K.E. J Appl Phsiol, 1994].
-Brad Pilon and John Barban (from The Reverse Taper Diet in The Adonis Index and Venus Index manuals)
Thank you so much for this post! The scale have not moved in a couple of weeks and I know I shouldn't be discouraged. I know I am doing something good for myself by eating clean and exercising 6 days a week and a stupid number shouldn't throw me off!
I think I will take a chill pill:)0
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