Desk job girl, weight loss slowed. Advice please?

NataBee

Good morning guys!

This turned out more of an essay than originally thought, but here goes... By my own admittance I’m not entirely clued up on what’s best for me, so I’m looking for advice, opinions and weight loss suggestions please.

My life story for background info:
• 5ft6 - 193lbs - 24 y/o
• Wake up at 6am, get the train to work, desk job til 5.30, train to return home and arrive home at 7pm.
• I try to do a small amount of exercise in the evenings, roughly 10-20 mins usually either exercise bike, hula hoop, shake weight or fitness dvd.
• MFP suggests I eat 1200 cal/day and I’m not starving, moody or lethargic from this amount either.
• I control, plan and prepare what I want to eat the day before, so staying within 1200 is simple for me.
• I'm kinda forcing myself to drink more water as i don't seem to get thirsty, i have an app to remind me to drink.
• Weekends I try to do 30-60 mins exercise but lately I’ve been busy decorating - that’s still better than sitting on the sofa which is my old usual weekend.

I thought I was doing great, it’s a massive change to my usual slobbing lifestyle and I was so proud of myself. When I started my weight was 209lbs, I dropped 12lbs in 1 week and now have slowed to 1lb/week – I’m looking at 50lbs loss before I’m at a goal weight so it could take a long time at this rate. I understand that it is still a loss (which is good and I am pleased), and that it took years to gain this weight so it will take a long time to lose it… But I’m wondering if I can be doing something better, or if it was just this ‘water weight’ I’ve heard so much about and 1lb/week is what I should be looking at.

I spends hours every day reading advice on forums and can’t tell myth from truth as it’s all quite contradictory tbh, things like:
• I must eat no less or more than 1500 cals as my BMR is 1,660
• Stick to 1200 but never go over or under that either
• “345 plan” 300 for breakfast, 400 for lunch and 500 for dinner – as an even meal plan controls and distributes calories better.
• Don’t go over on any macro
• Always eat as much protein as possible
• It’s as simple as cal in < cal burnt
• It’s NOT as simple as cals in < cals burnt

I’m not here to cause arguments or be made to look stupid, I’m looking for honest advice. I’m determined to stick at this lifestyle change & anyone willing to add another daily logging friend is free to add me

I appreciate anything people can contribute, some of you guys are truly amazing and I aspire to have a thread in success stories myself one day :bigsmile:

Sepa

Well done on your loss already.

I would suggest you do up your cals to about 1500 a day,espcially if you are not eating back your exercise cals back. In your exercise routine try and incorporate weights. Lift heavy. Try and get active on your lunch break, even adding in a 30 minutte walk will help. If you have a car ditch it. Try and walk any journey you can for example if the walk is 1-2 miles walk instead of car or bus. Try and mix up the type of exercise you do, so dont always cycle on a tuesday. You need to keep your body guessing as to the intensity of your workouts.

Hope this helps

bdamaster60

Just going to say that this is a hell of a long read, but I like reading

Anyway onto what you were saying:

• I must eat no less or more than 1500 cals as my BMR is 1,660

Your Basil Metabolic Rate is how much your body can consume in total calories per day without gaining or losing weight (maintenance).
Stick with your BMR calculations as they are more accurate then MFP.
As you are seeing a slowdown in weight loss and your calories are decreasing your metabolism slows. It's only natural. What bodybuilders like myself do when we face this problem, we incorporate what we call a 'refeed day'.

Refeeds:
A day when you increase your entire caloric daily intake to your BMR calories by increasing the amount of carbs and keeping proteins/fats the same. What this does is stimulates metabolic activity to process higher amounts of calories, and prevents it from crashing.

I would drop your normal days to 1400 calories to begin with. Do this by dropping your carb intake, keep fats and protein the same to start.

Example:
1400 cal on Sunday - Friday
Come Saturday, spike the calories up to 1660.

The longer you diet the more essential refeeds become. Give it a try. It may seem like you are taking a step back on the refeed day. But think about it as taking one step back, in order to take 6 steps forward.

EDIT:
I forgot to mention fat loss is not linear, meaning you will not experience consistent fat loss all year round. Patience is key.

TavistockToad

1lb per week is good... you dont need to go looking for a higher rate of loss than that. keep going!

i agree with maybe trying to get a bit of exercise in your lunch break, and make sure you NET 1200 (so eat back any exercise calories).

patience (and a calorie deficit) is the key to weight loss!

UKChloeT

I'm very similar to you, I'm 5ft7 and have a 9 to 5 desk job.
The big loss at the beginning was probably water weight and is definitely not a sustainable weekly target loss!!
1lb a week is a great target and you are most likely to keep the weight off if you go slow & steady. To lose more than that a week you would need to up your exercise a bit, but to be honest if you're happy as you are then keep up the good work!!

ChristyRunStarr

patience (and a calorie deficit) is the key to weight loss!

I second this. I'm a desk job girl and I get in a work out in the morning before work (I work 7am-5pm) or if I don't, I'll go for a run after work with my boyfriend. There are things you can do at work in your down time or during a break-sometimes I'll go for my run during lunch or I'll do squats and jumping jacks to get something in.

make yourself go. Granted, it might be a bit tougher for you since you're taking a train to and from work but on the weekends, DO IT. Don't let yourself do anything else until you've worked out. Wake up, change and do your workout-you might have to wake up early but you'll feel better afterwards, trust me.

I agree-you need to be eating more. Have you checked out dan's post-I'm guessing you have since you said you read for hours on here but in case you haven't, here it is. Read it, it makes BMR and TDEE make more sense and breaks it down so you can really figure out what you should be eating. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

And remember, it'll take time

larnsperger

Since we can't see your food diary, I am assuming you are eating a good amount of protein, lots of green leafy veggies, a piece of fruit, maybe some nuts, or avocados. 1200 Calories is very doable and you can feel great but the food has to be decent. 1 lb. per week is great progress especially if you are seeing a loss every week. I would suggest weight lifting for 20-30 minutes or some kind of resistance work-out 2-3 times per week. Maybe you can walk at lunch? I know it is so hard when you are up and out of the house early and at work for long hours at a desk. I work on the 5th floor and take the steps frequently during the day to burn a few more calories. Hang in there and keep on keeping on. Slow and steady wins the race. If you lost it really fast it is much harder to keep off. You are aiming for a lifestyle change and that takes time. Wishing you continued success!

jlohcook

Desk job for me too, and similar time when get home. What I do to squeeze in some exercise:-
1. Exercise at desk - stand whenever I can, leg lifts when no one is watching, do some stretches when I feel sore sitting for too long
2. Lunch time walk - try to go out lunch most days, to walk, to get the vitamin D I need from the sun.
3. Exercise after dinner - plan at least 30 mins exercise 1 hour dinner, so I eat more in lunch, lighter for dinner so that I don't get appendicitis. I sleep better after that.

Now, I've incorporated 15 min sun salutation in the morning before going to work.

If you are already eating healthy, you need to up your exercise to lose weight. Find time in the day to do that, increase the intensity to burn more calories as well.

NataBee

Thanks for the replies!

I forgot to mention i ususally walk for my entire lunch hour (i'm IT support so if i don't get out of the office they all come down in their breakes to bother me on mine with problems hehe)

I cover 3rd & 4th floor of a building and often have to walk up and down steps to reach different users, i always offer to go to them to fit in a little leg stretch.

I did think my initial weight loss was too good to be true, but a girl can dream! At least i've gone down a dress size already, quite a good feeling.

pkw58

I too have a desk job and let me tell you, you are doing all the right things! The only thing you might try is seeing how much you can stand rather than sit on your train ride.

It took me 11 months to lose 45 pounds... The last 7 took as long as the first 38!

I am now working on more fitness goals.

BTW do you use a fitbit or nike fuel band to track your activity? It really motivates me .

jlohcook

Sounds lie you do a bit of exercise at work, so, perhaps you need to up your calories a little. 1200 is probably not sustainable in the long run since you are quite tall, and not all desk job as you mentioned, plus all the walks during lunch. You are probably needing 1400-1500. Recheck what's your TDEE, and take off 15-20% from there. Try increasing intensity in your exercise to shake things up a little more.