Knocking on Onederland's Door

Hello out there!

I usually lurk on the forums and have done my best to be schooled/find solutions through other posts, but I have felt the need to post as I am requiring some feedback regarding my weight loss - I appear to have hit a plateau and am hovering on the threshold of Onederland! :frown:

I joined MFP on the 18th of April, and so far have managed to lose 10-11 lbs by the first week of June just by eating on a deficit of about 1750-1850 calories. I weigh every single thing that goes into my mouth using a digital scale, no guesswork here. When I started I set my goal to lose 1 lb. a week, and MFP gave me a goal of 1610 calories per day. I knew this was lower than my BMR, so I decided to consume around 1750-1850 a day instead.

On the 6th of June I saw 199.6 lbs on the scale! ONEDERLAND :heart: ! However, since then I have been yo-yoing between 199-202 lbs (it's a real killer just sitting at 200!). Lately I've been trying to watch my sodium, and since the start of this journey I have been drinking plenty of water (I usually down 2 litres a day). I have also had a couple of days since where I have eaten around 2000 calories, as I sometimes allow myself a treat on the weekend.

Here are my stats:

Age: 23 (turning 24 mid-July)
Sex: female
Height: 5' 5" (165 cm)
HW: 211
CW: 199.8 (as of this morning)
GW: 150-160

I'm admittedly pretty lazy and have a mostly sedentary lifestyle (save walking to and from work 10-15 minutes a day), sometimes a little more depending on what personal errands I have to run whilst in town. I've been planning to incorporate exercise into my routine, once I've hit my first target weight of 190 lbs or so. I decided to refrain from embarking on the fitness side of things at the very beginning of this journey as I knew I would gain a little at that point; I did not want to be disheartened by seeing my weight slowly creep back into the 200's, even if it was just water weight from exercise. I also wanted to make sure I had the nutrition aspect nailed down before attempting to adjust to another new routine - taking sustainable steps towards my goal. I've had a short-lived weight loss attempt earlier in the year where I plateaued at 205 for weeks whilst doing an hourly cardio routine on the treadmill, before Easter strolled around and the frustration and chocolate took over. :grumble:

In any case, I stumbled across IIFYM.com a few days ago and decided to check out the calculator (using 24 as my age). It tells me:

BMR: 1714
TDEE: 2368 (Harris-Benedit formula; read somewhere that this was the most accurate)
-25% 1776 (too close to BMR?)
-20%: 1894

Based on this, I am wondering if I am eating too close to my BMR, which is causing me to stall? Or should I just continue sticking it out and eventually I'll break through the plateau?

I've also read that an ideal macro ratio for weight loss should be 40/30/30 - which, I've been trying to hit for the past few days. Just wanted to clarify that these are the appropriate targets for me?

If anyone could give me feedback regarding what I might be doing wrong and where I should go from here then that would be truly appreciated. Thank you so much for your time! :flowerforyou:

Replies

  • ms_leanne
    ms_leanne Posts: 523 Member
    I find I can't do 40/30/30 and for most people its -20% or -15% (not sure if 25% is too detrimental).

    Firstly you have to make sure you are not eating back exercise cals on this if you have incorporated exercise into the basic method. As for the 40/30/30, I personally find I can't stick to this but I know people who are lifting etc more likely need 40% protein for muscle repair.

    Other than that, I wouldn't go too close to BMR. MFP would calc me less than my BMR without exercise.

    Don't know if this helps at all but I'm sure more people can provide more input.
  • Willoughby18
    Willoughby18 Posts: 13 Member
    Thanks for your thoughts, ms_leanne :smile:

    Unfortunately I'm not actively partaking in any kind of fitness routine at the moment, so it does not appear to be an issue of exercise calories. :frown:
  • Willoughby18
    Willoughby18 Posts: 13 Member
    Bump?