Weight loss dramatically slowing down?

wolveslovemee
wolveslovemee Posts: 156 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey everyone

I just wanted to ask for some advice if anyone had any for me.

I have been working out and changing my eating habits for about 4-5 months now and been doing extremely well thus far.
I originally started at about 165 pounds (I am 5'5" and female), and am now between 144 and 146 pounds roughly.

I work out about 5-6 days a week, with about 3-4 days a week strength training (for about 30 mins, depending). Cardio I try and do 6 days a week if I can, and always have a rest day.

My weight loss has been steady but slow, however, this month it seems to be really really slowing down. I mean like...I havent seen ANY changes physically. I take photos every month (not just scale monitoring) and measurements and they have been pretty much dead the same.

Im not sure how much of a calorie deficit I need to have to continue dropping as my goal is to be around 19-20% body fat. Before I had it at 1000, then slowly went down to 750 calorie deficit.

Should I make this deficit higher or lower? I keep reading that the less you weigh, the less you need to consume, and Ive also noticed I burn less calories doing the things I used to do (workouts, etc).

I am currently using a BodyMedia Armband to track my deficit and calories a day so I have a fairly accurate estimate of my deficit. What do you all suggest for someone that needs to drop those last pesky 15 pounds (deficit wise)?

Replies

  • iRebel
    iRebel Posts: 378 Member
    Just want to bump this, don't have much to add! :)
  • onyxgirl17
    onyxgirl17 Posts: 1,722 Member
    If you only have 15 pounds to lose a 750 calories deficit is probably too much. I would do a 250-500 calorie deficit. You might be holding extra water also? For a few weeks I kept the same weight and then a few pounds dropped off a few months back....
  • wolveslovemee
    wolveslovemee Posts: 156 Member
    Haha thanks iRebel! <3

    Ah ok so you suggest a 500 calorie deficit. Is there any reason why this would be more beneficial than say a 750 or even going more to 900 or something?
  • waldo56
    waldo56 Posts: 1,861 Member
    Haha thanks iRebel! <3

    Ah ok so you suggest a 500 calorie deficit. Is there any reason why this would be more beneficial than say a 750 or even going more to 900 or something?

    The smaller deficit is less prone to stalling at lower BF%'s and is less likely to consume your muscles instead of fat, which tends to happen at lower BF%'s.

    The rate you can lose fat is a function of how much fat you have. When you have a lot, you can lose fast. When you don't have that much fat, you have to take it much slower.

    If you were losing great then all of a sudden just stop losing without any other potential factors (major changes to eating or exercise habits for example), and aren't too far from your goal weight, chances are your deficit is too big.

    A good way to do it is to bump up your calories 250 every time you hit a stall. If you're stalling at a 750 cal deficit, increase to a 500 calorie deficit and keep going until you stall again, then increase it to 250 cals.
  • wolveslovemee
    wolveslovemee Posts: 156 Member
    Aha ok.
    So is 500 fair or should I do 300 or so?

    That seems awfully slow :( but its worth it I guess if I eventually get to goal body fat %.
  • onyxgirl17
    onyxgirl17 Posts: 1,722 Member
    Aha ok.
    So is 500 fair or should I do 300 or so?

    That seems awfully slow :( but its worth it I guess if I eventually get to goal body fat %.

    I feel the same as you about it honestly. I wish I could speed up weight loss and retain lean muscle mass. My deficit is currently at 400 calories a day and I've lost about 3-4 pounds a month at this rate. It seems painstakingly slow but I want to have a lower body fat % as well. Right now I envision myself getting to goal weight somewhere middle of next year. I always tell myself "it's not a race!" plus the last 4-5 months have flown by that I lost the first 20 pounds....
  • rosarenee1
    rosarenee1 Posts: 271 Member
    I'm pretty much experiencing the same. I may have to reevaluate tdee stuff and the numbers posters provided.
  • wolveslovemee
    wolveslovemee Posts: 156 Member
    Same, it seems like weight loss gets a little weird when you get to a point where youve lost the majority of the weight.

    So it seems common consensus that if youre in my predicament, you will need to have a deficit of 200-500. I still dont get it! But I will do it and see what happens!
  • camjammy
    camjammy Posts: 2
    Not to be completely slow, but just to be clear... When you guys are talking about deficit you are referring to how many calories your burning from workouts? I lost the majority of my weight I wanted to lose a few years ago but since then I have been completely struggling with the last 10-15lbs so this makes a lot of sense to me, If i'm understanding it correctly.
  • wolveslovemee
    wolveslovemee Posts: 156 Member
    What I mean by deficit, my delicate princess Alyx, :) is the total amount of calories taken in verus taken out. For example, in an ENTIRE day, I burn lets say 2300, and I eat about 1800.

    So 2300 burned (all day, with excersize)
    MINUS 1800
    =500 calorie DEFICIT

    So from what Ive read, when you have about 15-10 pounds to lose, you need to have a deficit that is small (like 200-400 or 500).
    When you have a LOT of weight to lose, you can have a LARGE deficit (like 700-1000). As you lose more weight, you want to make your deficit smaller. Not larger. This is what the majority of people have told me.

    So when you want a smaller deficit, you need to eat more, so you make your deficit of the day "smaller".

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