Have I hit a plateau or am I doing it wrong?

in2theblu

No I have 1380 calories.. I lose about 500 calories or 600 a day. Then I'll eat about 200-300 back. Not another 1380 haha. That would be crazy!
I'm 5'6, I have lost about 30lbs so far, I'd like to lose another 30.. I'm at 195lbs, my UGW would probably be 160lbs..

Honestly I don't feel hungry or left starved at 1380 cals. Although it did show if I was going for 1 pound a week I would be able to eat 1600. But when I started this app I was at about 1650 and I never ate anywhere near, 1450 was usually enough for me.

If I wasn't comfortable or felt weak or starved at 1380 I wouldn't do it. But it honestly isn't that difficult.

in2theblu

The closer you are to goal, the less you should aim to lose per week.

Where did u hear this? Never heard that one before. I checked that if I aimed for 1.5lb loss a week, all of a sudden I'm allowed 1650 calories lol
At 2lb loss a week I get 1380

BrendaLee

If you've been stalled for six weeks, it's probably time to change things up. If you were eating about 1400 before (and losing), and you're still eating roughly the same amount, your body may just be getting a little too comfy with that amount. Try upping your calories by a couple of hundred for a while. Your weight may go up a little as your body adjusts, but I've always found that gaining a couple of pounds is pretty effective at breaking a plateau.

cmeiron

The closer you are to goal, the less you should aim to lose per week.

Where did u hear this? Never heard that one before. I checked that if I aimed for 1.5lb loss a week, all of a sudden I'm allowed 1650 calories lol
At 2lb loss a week I get 1380

This is actually true. If you lose weight too quickly, especially as you start to reach your goal weight, you can run into problems. From that article I cited earlier:

It is important to not to have too large of a deficit to minimize the negative impact of weight loss, that may include risk of loss of LBM (which can be mitigated to a large degree with strength training and adequate protein), hormonal disruption, metabolic adaptation, lower gym performance, possible lack of sufficient nutrients, lack of adherence and generally being grumpy.

As you get close to your goal weight, you should start increasing your calories to something closer to maintenance. If you only have 5-10 lbs to lose, it's unrealistic to expect that to come off at a rate of 2 lbs/week. 0.5/week or less is realistic.

Here's a general guideline for minimizing the negative effects of overly fast weight loss while still losing at a reasonable rate:

More than 75 lbs: 2 lbs/week
40-75 lbs: 1.5 lbs/week
10-40 lbs: 1 lb/week
Less than 10 lbs: 0.5 lb/week

brian1383

By eating 1300 calories and Exercising off 500 calories..then thinking well I worked out today so I can eat another 300..

But see, you CAN. The 1380 that MFP has set for you already INCLUDES your calorie deficit in your daily calorie goal. If you told MFP that you want to lose a lb/week, then it INCLUDES a -500 calorie deficit in your daily target. If you told it you want to lose more or less/week, then the built-in deficit will be greater or smaller, accordingly.

So, if you burn 500 calories, then YES, you can eat those calories back (all of them) and still maintain your desired deficit that day. So, on a 500 calorie burn day, you want to eat 1880 calories total. On a no-exercise day, eat the 1380. (Though personally I think even just the 1380 seems pretty low. I'd be starving.)

Great explanation. You summed it up nicely.

I am having the same issue as the OP and think it may be (1) not changing my exercise routine and (2) leaving too many calories on the table each day.

in2theblu

That makes sense for sure!
Well I just started doing 1380 calories last week in hopes of surprising my body so i think I'll give it til the end of this week or mid next week.. If no change then ill go back to 1lb a week