2 1/2 mos higher cal, scale STILL WON'T MOVE :( Help Please

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  • gabriellejayde
    gabriellejayde Posts: 607 Member
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    I agree with Chris too. it's not the popular way to diet around here, but my diary is open if you want to get any food ideas. I get plenty of protein and fiber and i can't say I NEVER feel hungry, but I do eat a fair amount of food.
    I'm just about the same height and weight as you, but i'm older. 1800cals would probably be around my maintenance level. My aunt and mom are both quite thin (have been their whole lives) and probably eat around 1200 cals a day (i'm guessing, but they eat like birds).

    As someone else suggested, maybe try lowering your cals by 100 or 150 per day for a few weeks and see if that helps.
  • Madholm
    Madholm Posts: 167
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    At 5'5" the 1800+ calories seem like maint intake to me so I'm not at all suprissed if you aren't loosing. A daily allowance of 2000 would be maint for much taller people than you. I'm short at only 5'6" and aiming for 1200 calories per day knowing that I can go over a bit; especially when eating back some exercise calories.

    I wouldn't recommend going below 1200 because it's the generally accepted minimum number of calories required for the nutrients your body needs. If you want to stay closer to 2000 calories a day then you'll need to accept the fact that working out and not eating back the calories will be your primary deficit.
  • Doodlewhopper
    Doodlewhopper Posts: 1,018 Member
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    Bellamarie I missed the part of your original post in which you stated that you were working out and currently losing inches. I hope Im not coming across as condescending and apologize if I do; but sometimes we are guilty of assuming more than we should.

    Im not sure what your workout entails, and I hate to state the obvious, but you are aware that lifting weights will cause weight gain even though you are losing fat & inches? (And that is a good thing. More muscles burn more fat.)

    If youre losing inches it's all good as youre replacing fat with lean muscle and your fat to muscle ratio is improving. That's called progress!

    Also dont get burned out in the gym. 1 hour daily workouts 4 times weekly can do the job. Recovery days are as productive as the hump days. Find what works for you and with your lifestyle; and dont forget to reward yourself, this will be along journey and you need to enjoy life along the way.
  • lisamarie2181
    lisamarie2181 Posts: 560 Member
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    My maintenance is up around 2600-2800. I work out and strength train, so maybe my sedentary would be closer to around 2300 or so, by my BMR alone is in the 1800's. Like I said I do have a lot of muscle on my body already, and I have a high lean body mass, would would make my BMR higher. Most people my height and weight have a BF% in the 40's, and mine is closer to 30, so I think this has a lot of effect on why my calories needed are so high.

    I know I am not eating too many because I am not gaining or technically maintaining because I do have inch loss, even though the scale hasn't moved. I lost 2 1/2 inches on my waist alone in one week, so I definitely know it is working, but like I said, a lot of people start to see scale loss after a few weeks, and I am questioning because I feel like I need to adjust my cals, but I think it might be higher then lower.

    I am not doing this to lose weight as quickly as I can. Because of my medical condition I need to get my metabolism working properly and after everything I have read on this site and after doing research myself, I believe this is the healthiest way to lose weight. But I also know that I need to get the scale moving so I do need to play around with my numbers and see how it goes.

    I will say when I was eating around 2200 cals a day, I had the most inch loss then. So I think there is a lot of truth to the higher calorie approach and I am just not ready to give up on it because I have gotten a lot of benefits, but because the scale isn't moving, there is something that just isn't right.

    Again I appreciate everyone taking the time to give me advice, I love this community!! I am going to start messing around with my calories and see how it goes!! Fingers crossed :)
  • Hadiyeh
    Hadiyeh Posts: 7
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    Aside from playing with your calorie intake, also make sure you are getting enough water, keeping sodium low, and get at least 7 hrs. of sleep every night. I also found upping my protein helpful when I hit plateaus (on the advice of a dietician). Good luck!
  • lisamarie2181
    lisamarie2181 Posts: 560 Member
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    Aside from playing with your calorie intake, also make sure you are getting enough water, keeping sodium low, and get at least 7 hrs. of sleep every night. I also found upping my protein helpful when I hit plateaus (on the advice of a dietician). Good luck!

    I definitely need to work on the sleep, getting about 6 hours average now, so trying to work on that lol I drink about 170oz of water a day, so think I am good on that front.

    The protein I definitely think I need a bit more. I eat a good amount because I eat low carb, but still don't think I am hitting my macros well enough!

    Thanks for the advice, definitely have a few of these I need to work on :)

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