About that roadmap?

lilteepot

I've crunched my numbers. I didn't realize when I started that I was eating below my bmr, but I knew it later when I read the roadmap 2. I started at 1800 cals, and lowered to 1700 cals when my loss slowed. My BMR is supposedly (according to fat to fit calculators) about 1950. As predicted in the roadmap (2), my loss slowed tremendously after I'd lost about 10% of my body weight... Metabolism has slowed down to try balance my lack of nutrition. I get that.

So I did what roadmap told me to do to try and remedy that. I ate above my tdee for a week. I gained a couple pounds (admittedly partially in water weight since I wasn't paying much attention to the quality of food.) I went back to eating just above my bmr. No loss. I dropped down to 1800 again. No loss. And frustrated that I wasn't losing, I dropped back down to 1700. Weeks later, I'm still stuck. I know I'm too low already, so I'm hesitant to drop lower. I want to do this healthily. I'm in that place of complete mind$%&@ when I feel like I'll never lose another pound, and if I try to remedy the situation, I'll gain and undo all my work, only to never lose another pound and get back down again... Call it irrational fear if you want, but it's still a legitimate fear, whether it's based in reality or not.

I need advice. Have you done the "overcome the stall by eating above your bmr" thing? How long do you/did you have to do that before going back to your deficit from tdee and seeing a loss? Did you gain weight while at it? If so, did it come back off quickly afterword? Do I need to eat above tdee to get things back in their rightful balance, or can I just start eating at above my bmr, and expect my body to bounce back after a while?

Educate me.

tigerlily8045

ok my first question is how long are you eating at these calories before you are changing? Changing weekly isn't going to do anything for you.

boatsie77

Are you exercising?

Sweetsugar0424

I second Tigerlily's question.

Without having an answer to that question, you should be eating at 20% below your TDEE, not below your BMR. Your BMR is what your body needs just to keep functioning without ever getting out of bed or moving in any way.

You need to give your body a chance to get used to this and not keep jumping around continuously.

Mokey41

There's a difference between your BMR and your TDEE. You eat over your BMR not your TDEE and you do it for a period of time not bouncing the calories up and down.

If you have a substantial amount to lose you may need to tweak things a bit because the calculators tend to be for "normal" people and don't take into account that a very large person has a large amount of fat making up their body mass. You don't need to feed the fat.

Also, are you eating back exercise? You may want to try not doing that. Are you weighing and measuring all your food for accuracy? Most of us are really horrible at just eye balling portions. Make sure your measurements are right and that you count everything that crosses your lips including cream in coffee, etc.

lkplibra

I am also very curious about this and wonder if anyone has the answer. The other thing you might consider if you dont get an adequate response is just sending Dan, the author of "in place of a road map" a message and see if he will help you. He does makes the statement in his link that he is willing to help and has never not had it work for anyone. Just a thought, but I am still hoping there is a general response posted.

lilteepot

I was at 1800 for a few months before I slowed down and dropped down to 1700. I was stalled out for about 5 weeks when I went up to above my tdee. I ate around 2500 cals a day for a week before dropping back down to about 2000 (just above my bmr) for two weeks with no loss before dropping down again, spending about 2 weeks at 1800, and have been at 1700 for 3 weeks. I know i'm not eating enough. I shouldn't be eating this low, but eating at or above bmr didn't do anything for me except add a couple pounds on that it took me over a month to lose in the first place....

I walk a couple times a week, anywhere from 2 to 4 miles per walk, and I do bodyweight exercises, but being weak and obese, the floor exercises are minimal. I can do as many as 8 plank holds (for about 10 seconds each). That's my limit with those. I might do 5-10 minutes of floor exercises 2-3 times a week.

lilteepot

There's a difference between your BMR and your TDEE. You eat over your BMR not your TDEE and you do it for a period of time not bouncing the calories up and down.

If you have a substantial amount to lose you may need to tweak things a bit because the calculators tend to be for "normal" people and don't take into account that a very large person has a large amount of fat making up their body mass. You don't need to feed the fat.

Also, are you eating back exercise? You may want to try not doing that. Are you weighing and measuring all your food for accuracy? Most of us are really horrible at just eye balling portions. Make sure your measurements are right and that you count everything that crosses your lips including cream in coffee, etc.

I know that I'm supposed to eat below TDEE, but not below BMR. I get that. But because I started out below BMR, I stalled. And when I tried to fix matters, I gained. I'm only asking how long to put up wtih a "gain" before I can expect my body to balance out and begin losing, at say, 2000 calories. (My TDEE is about 2300. My BMR is about 1950.)

I have another 80 lbs to lose.

Yes, I eat back about 80% of my exercise, but honestly, I'm not exercising regularly, especially over the last week or two.

lilteepot

And yes. I measure everything. log daily. It may not be perfect, but it's as close to perfect as I can get it without counting grains of rice.

Freedom125

I've only started reading about this, but I believe the "reset" is supposed to take 8 weeks or so - no?

auddii

From reading other threads, it seems that people say you need to stick with it 4-6 weeks before giving up and lowering again. It's difficult and frustrating, but increasing my calories is the best thing I ever did. I'm much happier now, and still steadily losing.

daj150

Here is some general information for you, since I cannot view your profile and don't know your body details.

1. In the MFP profile, input your stats. Make sure you are putting the appropriate lifestyle (I choose sedentary b/c I have a desk job). Then I would go with a 1 lb per week loss goal, or whatever MFP recommends.

2. Track your calories and always make sure you are close to, but under your daily calorie allowance.

3. If you are inputting your exercise calories, know that using MFP calorie numbers are usually overstated.

4. You should eat back your exercise calories.

5. DO NOT fluctuate your calorie goals. As you input your weight into MFP, it will automatically adjust your calories based on your weight. For example, when I had lost 20 lbs, it had automatically lowered my daily calorie goal to continue losing 1 lb per week.

If you follow these simple rules, you should be fine. If you go weeks where you don't lose weight, that is normal, that is your body getting used to things. Or, you may need to adjust the nutrients your body is getting (eat healthier or more nutrient-rich foods). Good luck!

lilteepot

From reading other threads, it seems that people say you need to stick with it 4-6 weeks before giving up and lowering again. It's difficult and frustrating, but increasing my calories is the best thing I ever did. I'm much happier now, and still steadily losing.

THIS is what I was asking... Thank you. I know that I need to eat more. I know that I'm not eating enough because I'm far below my BMR. But needed to know how long to eat at/above my TDEE before I can go back to a normal deficit and lose, rather than all this under-eating that I've been doing.

GauchoMark

I would not eat ABOVE your tdee for 4-6 weeks. Just eat your TDEE if you want to do that. Also, it isn't a free pass to eat junk. You need to be eating healthy, just more calories.

deksgrl

You should eat at TDEE for more than one week to reset your metabolism, like 4-6 weeks. Yes, you might gain a few pounds. But your body needs to readjust and that takes some time. Then take your 20% cut and stick with that number for a month before reevaluating and adjusting if necessary.

lilteepot

Also, it isn't a free pass to eat junk. You need to be eating healthy, just more calories.

Yep. I needed that kick in the pants too.

WhitneyT586

Bumping to hold this thread. I've had a very similar problem for a few months. Nothing I've tried has worked. But readying this, maybe I'm not sticking it out long enough. I need a patience pill....

lilteepot

I need a patience pill....

Me too. I'm thinking 4-6 weeks may do me in. But I suppose if it makes the weight come off again, and if it does it in a healthy way, I suppose it's 4-6 weeks well-spent.

Helloitsdan

OP send me a PM with the following info:

Age
Height
Weight
Body fat%
Occupation
Workout routine

Ill square everything up.

ladyraven68

There's a difference between your BMR and your TDEE. You eat over your BMR not your TDEE and you do it for a period of time not bouncing the calories up and down.

If you have a substantial amount to lose you may need to tweak things a bit because the calculators tend to be for "normal" people and don't take into account that a very large person has a large amount of fat making up their body mass. You don't need to feed the fat.

Also, are you eating back exercise? You may want to try not doing that. Are you weighing and measuring all your food for accuracy? Most of us are really horrible at just eye balling portions. Make sure your measurements are right and that you count everything that crosses your lips including cream in coffee, etc.

I know that I'm supposed to eat below TDEE, but not below BMR. I get that. But because I started out below BMR, I stalled. And when I tried to fix matters, I gained. I'm only asking how long to put up wtih a "gain" before I can expect my body to balance out and begin losing, at say, 2000 calories. (My TDEE is about 2300. My BMR is about 1950.)

I have another 80 lbs to lose.

Yes, I eat back about 80% of my exercise, but honestly, I'm not exercising regularly, especially over the last week or two.

If you are following the Roadmap method, you do NOT eat back your exercise calories.

amberlykay1014

Nevermind.. dumb question.

OP, I hope you get things straightened out! :flowerforyou: