Plateau Query

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avalanches1
avalanches1 Posts: 14 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi there :)

I'm a 5'11 guy who's now 166lbs down from 190. Essentially I'm 3lbs off my target weight and have now hit a second plateau (I hit one for a few weeks around 170lbs)

I'm on losing 1.5lbs a week at a net of 1460 calories a day and what i tend to do is build up a further deficit on top of this of 800-1200 calories a day (through the gym) and eat that back at the weekends so it leaves an added deficit of 1000 calories (on top of the deficit to lose 1.5 that MFP gives me) a week. This has now stalled and im very frustrated.

So 2 questions

1. Will increasing my calories from net 1460 to net 1710 (1lb a week) break this plateau?
2. When I achieve my weightloss goal. and start eating at the MFP maintenance level, will I gain weight seeing as eating at the 1.5lbs loss level has me maintaining?

Thanks :)

Replies

  • avalanches1
    avalanches1 Posts: 14 Member
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  • moondawg14
    moondawg14 Posts: 249 Member
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    You clearly need to change something, because what you're doing isn't working.

    It sounds like you're not fueling for your level of activity, and your metabolism is slowing down to compensate for the lack of fuel.

    Since you're already not eating very much, and working out plenty, removing more calories doesn't seem like the right thing to do.

    Add some more fuel to your diet and see what happens. (my guess is that you will lose that last few pounds.)
  • herblackwings39
    herblackwings39 Posts: 3,930 Member
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    At 5'11 and male I'd be shocked if your maintenance calories are under 1800-2000 at least. If I read your post right you currently have a deficit of 1750 calories. That's hefty. My suggestion: Set your loss goal to .5lb a week since you're within 3 lbs of your goal. Eat back at least a portion of your exercise calories. If you do up your calories all at once there may be an initial gain. I gained for two weeks when I went up to 2250, but after that it went back down. Honestly I don't think you're eating enough and that's why you've stopped losing or are "maintaining". Have you figured your BMR and TDEE? If your exercise is consistent you might be surprised at how much you can eat and still lose.
  • avalanches1
    avalanches1 Posts: 14 Member
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    Ok so what I'm going to try and do is eat a net a week of around 1600 a day as opposed to the 1300 previously. I'll probably eat about 2000 cals a day and burn roughly 900. Will this not see me gain weight though due to my body being used to 1300? My body fat % was 13% last time I checked if that makes a differece
  • jwdieter
    jwdieter Posts: 2,582 Member
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    Ok so what I'm going to try and do is eat a net a week of around 1600 a day as opposed to the 1300 previously. I'll probably eat about 2000 cals a day and burn roughly 900. Will this not see me gain weight though due to my body being used to 1300? My body fat % was 13% last time I checked if that makes a differece

    I'd feel awful at 1100 net/day. Hell, I start shaking if I miss meals under 1600. I'm lighter than you, and I work out 6 days/week for 20-120 minutes.

    Also, if you're really at 13%, maybe it's time to focus on weights rather than shrinking all around.
  • lcfairbairn74
    lcfairbairn74 Posts: 412 Member
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    At 5'11 and male I'd be shocked if your maintenance calories are under 1800-2000 at least. If I read your post right you currently have a deficit of 1750 calories. That's hefty. My suggestion: Set your loss goal to .5lb a week since you're within 3 lbs of your goal. Eat back at least a portion of your exercise calories. If you do up your calories all at once there may be an initial gain. I gained for two weeks when I went up to 2250, but after that it went back down. Honestly I don't think you're eating enough and that's why you've stopped losing or are "maintaining". Have you figured your BMR and TDEE? If your exercise is consistent you might be surprised at how much you can eat and still lose.

    I agree with the above. It sounds to me like you really aren't eating enough to fuel your body! I would up your calories by 100 a week but calculate your BMR and TDEE because you will find you need a lot more calories, I would imagine. You will initially go up probably but give it a few weeks for your body to adjust.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    With only a couple pounds left, you need to up your calories...personally I'd do maintenance and just hit the gym a little harder. I'm 5'10" and my maintenance is around 2700 calories. I have a desk job, strength training 3x weekly for 45 min - 1 hr, and do a lot of walking...a little Tabata here and there and jog a few miles per week and that's about it.

    I'd suggest upping your calories by about 100 per week until you get comfortable.
  • avalanches1
    avalanches1 Posts: 14 Member
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    BMR 1840
    TDEE - SEDENTARY (desk job) 2207

    So what does the fact I've been netting the past few months at about 1400 a day (overeating at weekends to compensate for deficits of 500-1000 on top of my MFP non exercise deficit) mean?
  • herblackwings39
    herblackwings39 Posts: 3,930 Member
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    BMR 1840
    TDEE - SEDENTARY (desk job) 2207

    So what does the fact I've been netting the past few months at about 1400 a day (overeating at weekends to compensate for deficits of 500-1000 on top of my MFP non exercise deficit) mean?

    I agree with the poster above. Your TDEE should include your normal exercise, not just your day job as well. That's how it's different from the MFP set up. If you go by the advice you got above you'll need to gradually increase to your TDEE number.
  • avalanches1
    avalanches1 Posts: 14 Member
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    What's the. Difference between doing a gradual (say 150 cal a week up to tdee) a more staggered (300 a week) or an all at once increase in terms of weight gain? I don't want all this hard work to be undone by getting this wrong...
  • avalanches1
    avalanches1 Posts: 14 Member
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