Not sure if stalled, need some feedback

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osualex
osualex Posts: 409 Member
Ok, so I'm not sure if this counts as a stall, but I've barely lost a pound since the beginning of January, so I'm wondering if I've gone wrong somewhere. I should say, since I started lifting at the end of January, I've lost an inch from my waist and hips - which I am VERY happy with, so if my weight doesn't move, it's not the end of the world. I'm still pretty overweight though, so I am wondering why the scale won't move.

1) What's your current intake of calories, on average? This is TOTAL CALORIES EATEN so this would include anything you eat for exercise calories. In other words, how much are you eating? Around 1500-1700, usually closer to 1500

2) What's your current average intake of protein, carbs, and fats, in grams? Carbs - varies a LOT, avg around 150, fat - 70, protein - 80-100.

3) Do you use a food scale and measure everything? Yes.

4) Do you track all of your intake, daily? (Everything?) Yes.

5) Do you take cheat days or days off? I've only had one day in recent memory where I went over TDEE, usually if I do "cheat", it's once a week and at TDEE.

6) How much weight have you lost so far? 1 pound since mid-January

7) What is your activity like, both exercise and non-exercise? (big difference between a construction worker and a desk job) and did you change that activity withing the last couple of months. If so, what changed. I'm a teacher, so I don't know what that falls under? I don't teach 8 hours straight though, and I am VERY sedentary when I am not teaching. I do Stronglifts 3x a week and I have been since January 24th. I occasionally do cardio - once or twice a week maybe.

8) How long have you eaten at your previous amount and what happened in that time frame? At this amount? For a while I guess? Over the Christmas holiday, I went to the States and did not track at all, and ate whatever I wanted. I "gained" 6 lbs in 3 weeks, and so far I've only been able to lose one.

9) What's your height, current weight and if you know it, bodyfat%?
5'4, 158, 31% bodyfat (as measured by the military bodyfat calc online)

10) If you're stalled, for how long and is it a complete stall (zero change in weight)?
I've been stalled for about a month, and I guess it's not a complete stall as I've lost one pound, but my body is still in the stage where I can lose more than one pound a month. I've lost inches which is great, but I am sure I'm not building enough muscle to keep my weight the same so I am not really sure why my weight won't shift?

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  • osualex
    osualex Posts: 409 Member
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    Edit to question 8 - I have been eating around this amount since October, lost on it then, went to maintenance (prob well over maintenance, who knows) from Dec 23-Jan 6, and now back on this amount.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    Tagged to make sure I look at tomorrow.
  • osualex
    osualex Posts: 409 Member
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    just bumping this back up again!
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    Thanks for bumping...I really wish they had a 'to follow up' flag or something.

    Anyway, in the last month you started a new lifting program about 3 weeks ago that will probably be masking weight loss due to water/glycogen retention in the muscle (can be up to about 4 lb). If you take that into account, plus the 1lb you lost, you are probably still on track for 1lb a week, more or less, Your intake looks fine - you had a couple of high days in the last couple of weeks that were a bit over 2.000 calories - there is nothing wrong with this at all, and they could in fact be beneficial, but too many may stall weight loss, so just keep an eye on them.

    I would give it a couple more weeks to let to water weight from the lifting stabilize and reassess then. Your target calories may even be a little low by 100 or 200, but the higher days are probably getting you to a slightly better number of about 1,600.

    Try to get your protein to at least 110g. Your fats look find (treat 55g as a minimum).
  • osualex
    osualex Posts: 409 Member
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    Thanks! I do usually try to balance my low/high days - there are some days I know I cannot stick to 15-1600 and other days where I can stop at 1400 easily. I usually only go high cal once a week, on weekends.

    I'll try to step my protein up - it has always been a challenge for me, even though I like meat it's hard for me to get enough without eating the same thing all the time or having protein shakes. I do know I need at least 100g a day, but it's soo hard! I'll try harder though - I know how important it is.

    Thanks for your feedback. I knew this was some sort of water weight since my clothes fit the same (better in fact) but I thought it was strange for me to be holding on to it for so long. I hope it goes away soon!