Not losing but struggling to meet calorie goal?

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fivefootfitness
fivefootfitness Posts: 60
in Health and Weight Loss
I started running this summer and have trimmed down a bit (yay! finally losing the petite-girl's-disproportionate-potbelly I've hated forever), and with some light lifting and toning I've definitely regained major leg muscle, so the scale is no help numbers wise, but I can tell my fat loss is sort of at a standstill now. granted, I haven't been able to run much the past two weeks because of my asthma, but I had a very active job that ended this past weekend so I know my burn was still high. Is it really possible that I've been eating too little? I've never quite believed the whole "too large of a deficit results in 'starvation mode'" thing, but I tried planning out a full, even indulgent but still healthy day of food today, and I struggle to even hit 1300 calories. (for the record i'm 18 and only 5', my calorie needs are around 2300, 1800 when i'm trying to lose). What are your thoughts? Does the muscle I've gained affect my bmr and make my burn too high? What should I do? I leave for college in three weeks and want to make this time count! Thank you all.

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  • Lyadeia
    Lyadeia Posts: 4,603 Member
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    Too large of a deficit may not cause "starvation mode" but it surely will slow things down for you. Your body will simply adapt to eating less making weight loss slower even if you are technically not starving.

    I had been eating around 1500 calories (1650 at the very most) for a very long time (over a year) and my weight loss came to dead stop. I calculated my TDEE and subtracted 15-20% from that number and found that I should have been eating between 1800-2000 calories. I bumped my calorie goal to this, and bingo, started losing again.

    Also, think of it this way. When you are eating more (yet still under maintenance) and you need to cut calories for whatever reason or goal you are trying to reach, it is much more doable than if you were to try to cut more calories from only 1300 or so without getting hunger pains from hell and possibly causing issues medically.

    Added muscle does in fact raise your BMR. Increasing your metabolism is best done by weight training as opposed to cardio anyway.

    If your TDEE is 2300 calories, and you are only eating 1300, you are severely undereating. That's a 56% deficit, and it is recommended that obese people never go over a 30% deficit. If you are leaner than that, your deficit needs to be smaller, not larger, to sustain weight loss and be healthy.
  • ladynocturne
    ladynocturne Posts: 865 Member
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    It's doubtful you gained muscle while eating at a deficit, it's nearly impossible.

    When you net less than your BMR, your brain cannot use fat stores to run, it will use your lean muscle mass, so actually you've probably managed to lose more than you had before you started to diet, depending on how long you've been under feeding.

    Since you're already at the low side of a healthy BMI (I found a previous post where you say you are 111lbs) I think maybe you shouldn't be focusing on losing anymore weight and instead start a lifting program in your spare time and learn to eat high calorie healthy foods.

    Avocado, Full fat dairy, olive oil, nuts/nut butters, protein smoothies ect.
  • Lyadeia
    Lyadeia Posts: 4,603 Member
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    (I found a previous post where you say you are 111lbs)

    Wow, didn't know that.

    In that case, if you are trying to still lose fat, I would use only a 10-15% calorie deficit overall which would bring your calorie goal to around 2000 daily and also start a decent weight/strength training program utilizing heavy weights in a progressive pattern. Or, alternatively, eat around your TDEE (slightly over on lifting days, slightly under on cardio or rest days) and go for a body recomp.

    Either way, that 56% deficit is getting you nowhere and will never help you reach your goals. That is, of course, unless your goals include "waste away."
  • MzManiak
    MzManiak Posts: 1,361 Member
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    I think you are overestimating your calorie burns. At 5' 111lbs, it's doubtful your TDEE is 2300- You would have to be heavily exercising 6-7 days per week
    But, you shouldn't really be in a deficit anyway. You are at a healthy weight. You should be eating maintenance calories. The tummy will disappear as you get your body fat % down, not necessarily your weight.
  • fivefootfitness
    fivefootfitness Posts: 60
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    Oh no, I gained the muscle back from early in the spring into the summer, when I was doing less cardio and actively trying to gain. I had let my old fencer's thighs waste away while I was neither working out nor eating well about a year ago. I gained back about twenty pounds since last fall, but I can tell that much of it is muscle as my thighs, calves, and butt are all larger and solid. running has really helped with my leg strength though and lifting has brought a noticeable amount of muscle to my arms as well. it's just lately that my eating has been under and I have a feeling that my job (9 weeks of working 6 high intensity children's musicals a week+ rehearsals+ walking around town most days after shows) had me burning a lot more than I realized.

    Yes, I am around 111 (probably more like 115 now), but even at my past wimpy/flabby 98 lbs I was still a while from being underweight (which is by no means a goal). i'm not looking to lose scale pounds, I just want to be rid of this baby fat I've never been able to nix. so, I should step up my lifting? I can keep running though, right? I enjoy it too much to quit now haha. If I do start really lifting, should I up my calorie goals? thanks for the help! also please keep in mind that it is when I'm feeling full I that struggle to meet calorie goals without just eating junk to easily fill the deficit, I'm not trying to restrict to low intake!
  • ladynocturne
    ladynocturne Posts: 865 Member
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    Oh no, I gained the muscle back from early in the spring into the summer, when I was working out less and actively trying to gain. I had let my old fencer's thighs waste away while I was neither working out nor eating well about a year ago. I gained back about twenty pounds since last fall, but I can tell that much of it is muscle as my thighs, calves, and butt are all larger and solid. running has really helped with my leg strength though and lifting has brought a noticeable amount of muscle to my arms as well. it's just lately that my eating has been under and I have a feeling that my job (9 weeks of working 6 high intensity children's musicals a week+ rehearsals+ walking around town most days after shows) had me burning a lot more than I realized.

    Yes, I am around 111 (probably more like 115 now), but even at my past wimpy/flabby 98 lbs I was still a while from being underweight (which is by no means a goal). i'm not looking to lose scale pounds, I just want to be rid of this baby fat I've never been able to nix. so, I should step up my lifting? I can keep running though, right? I enjoy it too much to quit now haha. If I do start really lifting, should I up my calorie goals? thanks for the help! also please keep in mind that it is when I'm feeling full I that struggle to meet calorie goals without just eating junk to easily fill the deficit, I'm not trying to restrict to low intake!

    Oh alright. That makes sense. Honestly I cannot tell you how much more my face and body shaped changed once I was older than 18, I think a lot of the things you think are "baby fat" will go away with more time, not necessarily losing weight.

    But yes, I do believe a lifting program and eating to gain more muscle is the best plan for you. Most people recommend a 10%+ TDEE for 6 weeks while gaining, then a 10% cut from TDEE for 6 weeks to lose the little bit of fat you gained with the muscle.

    You can keep running, but since you're having a hard time reaching your calorie goals, maybe it would be best to cut back a little? Just until you can get the hang of eating enough to cover your calories.

    There are a lot of healthy foods with tons of calories, but keep in mind that even things we consider "junk" food are perfectly fine in moderation. Don't get too hung up on eating healthy that it undermines your ability to fuel your body. =)

    Also there are a lot of protein smoothie recipes on here, I made a smoothie today and it was 450 healthy calories, and I was still hungry enough to eat a sandwich. Drink your calories if you have to, even adding juice/milk to every meal will help.
  • fivefootfitness
    fivefootfitness Posts: 60
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    Thank you for the advice!

    Also, it's a little silly but I own a polar HRM that I use to track my cardio improvement and calorie burn when I run. I decided to wear it around the house on a day where I didn't work out at all, and my waking hours were about a 1700 or 1800 calorie burn. I really is don't feel like 2300 that much of a stretch for me to have been burning while doing my shows, as I was basically working out for three or four hours a day between the cardio of the show and walking and my regular workouts on top my basic metabolic burn.
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
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    Thank you for the advice!

    Also, it's a little silly but I own a polar HRM that I use to track my cardio improvement and calorie burn when I run. I decided to wear it around the house on a day where I didn't work out at all, and my waking hours were about a 1700 or 1800 calorie burn. I really is don't feel like 2300 that much of a stretch for me to have been burning while doing my shows, as I was basically working out for three or four hours a day between the cardio of the show and walking and my regular workouts on top my basic metabolic burn.

    HRM's are not accurate for "just wearing around". You have to have a significantly raised HR for it to be close to accurate otherwise they give grossly exaggerated numbers so if you wore it all day and got 1700 then I doubt your TDEE is 2300.
  • ladynocturne
    ladynocturne Posts: 865 Member
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    From what I understand about HRM is that the proper use for them is only to wear when exercising, wearing one all day does not show how much you are actually burning while existing normally. So I wouldn't go off of that at all. Use the normal calculations for your height, weight, age and activity level.
  • Lyadeia
    Lyadeia Posts: 4,603 Member
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    Thank you for the advice!

    Also, it's a little silly but I own a polar HRM that I use to track my cardio improvement and calorie burn when I run. I decided to wear it around the house on a day where I didn't work out at all, and my waking hours were about a 1700 or 1800 calorie burn. I really is don't feel like 2300 that much of a stretch for me to have been burning while doing my shows, as I was basically working out for three or four hours a day between the cardio of the show and walking and my regular workouts on top my basic metabolic burn.

    HRMs don't give you TDEE. Outside of decent cardio, they don't help much at all. If you want something to wear all day that calculates calorie estimates, look into Fitbit or Bodybugg.

    Even with Fitbit, I take it off during cardio and add cardio calories burned from my HRM to the Fitbit's total. My TDEE is typically around 2100-2300. I am 5'5" tall, 135 pounds, and I do 4 weight training and 2 cardio sessions per week, all less than an hour each.
  • ladynocturne
    ladynocturne Posts: 865 Member
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    TDEE for 5' 111lbs Heavy exercise (ex: exercising 6-7 days/week) (due to active job + running/exercising)

    2293 calories a day to maintain your current weight.
  • fivefootfitness
    fivefootfitness Posts: 60
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    Yes, thank you, that's roughly what I found when I calculated earlier. 1800 was just minus the 500 for at least a pound of weightloss per week

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