3 Month long plateau.
Maria_Cutie
Posts: 136 Member
So, Hi there, Im Maria and I am 19 years old.
Im 5'6"
200 Pounds (fluctuating between 200-203 every other week)
and I've been this way for over 2 months now.
I started out at 225 and when I started to lose weight I was just on the MRC diet (Its a diet center that is low calorie, low carb, high protein and it uses ketosis to help you lose weight) you also had to buy their nutrition drinks. WHICH WERE SO EXPENSIVE.
so after dropping about 20 pounds with them I had to leave, I got a gym membership and I started working out and counting calories. With my activity level (working out 3-4 days a week) several online calculators told me to maintain my weight at about 2600 calories. so I removed 500 from that for my deficit.
so that put me at around 2100 calories, and I would eat back most of my exercise calories for the day.
Yet, after switching off the MRC diet, I've seen no results and it's getting very frustrating. I know physically I have gotten /stronger/ I can lift more weight than when I first started and I have also built up my endurance (try only being able to run for 30 seconds and then kicking that up to 2 minutes)
I figured "maybe im losing body fat, and gaining muscle?" so when I got my BF% checked out at my gym again, I had only lost 1% of fat.
I know I havent been eaitng 100% clean and healthy foods, Im a broke college student and I do what I can. even if Its nasty food I still count within my goal.
Another thing, I havent been drinking "pure water" as much as I should, orange juice and lite lemonade has been my primary source of liquids. could that have something to do with it?
Please I need honest advice please! I just want to drop down to my goal weight
Im 5'6"
200 Pounds (fluctuating between 200-203 every other week)
and I've been this way for over 2 months now.
I started out at 225 and when I started to lose weight I was just on the MRC diet (Its a diet center that is low calorie, low carb, high protein and it uses ketosis to help you lose weight) you also had to buy their nutrition drinks. WHICH WERE SO EXPENSIVE.
so after dropping about 20 pounds with them I had to leave, I got a gym membership and I started working out and counting calories. With my activity level (working out 3-4 days a week) several online calculators told me to maintain my weight at about 2600 calories. so I removed 500 from that for my deficit.
so that put me at around 2100 calories, and I would eat back most of my exercise calories for the day.
Yet, after switching off the MRC diet, I've seen no results and it's getting very frustrating. I know physically I have gotten /stronger/ I can lift more weight than when I first started and I have also built up my endurance (try only being able to run for 30 seconds and then kicking that up to 2 minutes)
I figured "maybe im losing body fat, and gaining muscle?" so when I got my BF% checked out at my gym again, I had only lost 1% of fat.
I know I havent been eaitng 100% clean and healthy foods, Im a broke college student and I do what I can. even if Its nasty food I still count within my goal.
Another thing, I havent been drinking "pure water" as much as I should, orange juice and lite lemonade has been my primary source of liquids. could that have something to do with it?
Please I need honest advice please! I just want to drop down to my goal weight
0
Replies
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A lot of calorie calculators grossly overestimate your TDEE, I've found. I workout every day for an hour or two (burn between 300 and 500 calories) but I have to use the 'light activity' setting to actually get close to my TDEE (I determined it with a fitbit) because I don't move that much otherwise. So it really depends on what you do the rest of the day, too.
So, you're probably eating too much. Make sure you weigh and log everything you eat or drink also, it's very easy to underestimate portions.0 -
dont eat back you exercise calories dont even plug them into mfp0
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A lot of calorie calculators grossly overestimate your TDEE, I've found. I workout every day for an hour or two (burn between 300 and 500 calories) but I have to use the 'light activity' setting to actually get close to my TDEE (I determined it with a fitbit) because I don't move that much otherwise. So it really depends on what you do the rest of the day, too.
So, you're probably eating too much. Make sure you weigh and log everything you eat or drink also, it's very easy to underestimate portions.
I used the calculator from the ACE website (Trainers swear by it) and a few trainers at my gym said that MFP underestimates calories a lot. So Im getting a lot of confusion here!
Im afraid if I eat under, Ill go into starvation mode (if I dont log, Im usually always under my goal) But If I eat too much, Ill maintain or gain, which Im terrified of. I am just so confusedddd.0 -
dont eat back you exercise calories dont even plug them into mfp
It depends on what you use. If you use TDEE-20%, you can't eat your exercise calories back, so either log it as 1 calorie, or don't. But if you've been eating at TDEE-20% and eating your calories back, that's your problem.
If you use the MFP method though, just enter your info and eat your exercise calories back.
ETA: the TDEE calculators include exercise in your activity, MFP doesn't, that's why.0 -
Wouldn't that put my net too low and send me into starvation mode?0
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The TDEE calculators include exercise in your activity already. So by adding your exercise calories, you're pretty much eating your deficit away.
MFP doesn't, that's why if you use MFP goals you're supposed to eat your exercise calories back.0 -
The TDEE calculators include exercise in your activity already. So by adding your exercise calories, you're pretty much eating your deficit away.
MFP doesn't, that's why if you use MFP goals you're supposed to eat your exercise calories back.
MFP has me eating at 1700 calories at the moment. I assumed that was too low. Maybe I should just go back to using MFP strictly, even though Ive had several people tell me it was incorrect with a lot of information.0 -
Either one should work - if you use MFP, log the exercise and eat back the cals. If you go with TDEE, log the exercise as .1 (which will enter it as 0), and just eat at, or close to, goal.
How long has it been since you quit the diet you were doing before? And have you also taken measurements, noticed clothes fitting any looser?
The fact that you are getting stronger and your endurance has increased is good, so you are making progress there!0 -
I can't see your diary, but you may be under estimating how many calories you are actually eating. Are you logging everything including drinks, condiments, butter, a bite of a cookie or brownie here and there? Do you weigh your food so that when you log a 4 oz hamburger, you know that is acutally how much you are eating? These small amounts of calories add up very quickly and you could be eating 300-500 more calories (or more) per day that you are not logging. I used to just eyeball my serving sizes and when I actually started weighing how much cerael I was eating I was shocked to find out I was acutally eating 3-4 servings instead of the 1 serving I was logging.0
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You are eating too much. There is not starvation mode (not in the way you are thinking). Do not eat back your exercise calories. It really is that easy.
In fact, dont even log your exercise on MFP if you are going to be tempted to eat them back. Do the 1700 for two weeks and if you dont lose, come back.
You have been eating at maintenance for three months. That is why you dont lose.0 -
The TDEE calculators include exercise in your activity already. So by adding your exercise calories, you're pretty much eating your deficit away.
MFP doesn't, that's why if you use MFP goals you're supposed to eat your exercise calories back.
MFP has me eating at 1700 calories at the moment. I assumed that was too low. Maybe I should just go back to using MFP strictly, even though Ive had several people tell me it was incorrect with a lot of information.
Well you can do 1700 plus exercise calories, or TDEE-20%, but IMO 2600 is too high a TDEE for you, unless you burn 1000 calories in your workouts or something. Either way you should probably eat an average of 1900 daily, I'd think.0 -
Either one should work - if you use MFP, log the exercise and eat back the cals. If you go with TDEE, log the exercise as .1 (which will enter it as 0), and just eat at, or close to, goal.
How long has it been since you quit the diet you were doing before? And have you also taken measurements, noticed clothes fitting any looser?
The fact that you are getting stronger and your endurance has increased is good, so you are making progress there!
It's been abour 3 months since I quit that diet haha. the center has my measurements and I have noticed clothes fitting looser. Pants I bought that were tight on me are now sagging off my butt.0 -
I can't see your diary, but you may be under estimating how many calories you are actually eating. Are you logging everything including drinks, condiments, butter, a bite of a cookie or brownie here and there? Do you weigh your food so that when you log a 4 oz hamburger, you know that is acutally how much you are eating? These small amounts of calories add up very quickly and you could be eating 300-500 more calories (or more) per day that you are not logging. I used to just eyeball my serving sizes and when I actually started weighing how much cerael I was eating I was shocked to find out I was acutally eating 3-4 servings instead of the 1 serving I was logging.
we do have a scale, and I weigh my meat when I can. If I'm out with friends and I eat something on the go, I try to log that as well. Usually I forget small amounts of sauces though. My diet should be available to the public? I'll go fix that, but for the past few weeks I've been logging by hand because I havent had internet.0 -
As far as quality of food goes, does it /really/ make that huge of a difference? I can't afford large quantities of veggies and fruits every week (broke college kid) I try my hardest to make healthier decisions, but I cant help it if something like processed frozen chicken tenders end up in my diet (my mom buys most of the food)The TDEE calculators include exercise in your activity already. So by adding your exercise calories, you're pretty much eating your deficit away.
MFP doesn't, that's why if you use MFP goals you're supposed to eat your exercise calories back.
MFP has me eating at 1700 calories at the moment. I assumed that was too low. Maybe I should just go back to using MFP strictly, even though Ive had several people tell me it was incorrect with a lot of information.
Well you can do 1700 plus exercise calories, or TDEE-20%, but IMO 2600 is too high a TDEE for you, unless you burn 1000 calories in your workouts or something. Either way you should probably eat an average of 1900 daily, I'd think.0 -
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As far as quality of food goes, does it /really/ make that huge of a difference? I can't afford large quantities of veggies and fruits every week (broke college kid) I try my hardest to make healthier decisions, but I cant help it if something like processed frozen chicken tenders end up in my diet (my mom buys most of the food)The TDEE calculators include exercise in your activity already. So by adding your exercise calories, you're pretty much eating your deficit away.
MFP doesn't, that's why if you use MFP goals you're supposed to eat your exercise calories back.
MFP has me eating at 1700 calories at the moment. I assumed that was too low. Maybe I should just go back to using MFP strictly, even though Ive had several people tell me it was incorrect with a lot of information.
Well you can do 1700 plus exercise calories, or TDEE-20%, but IMO 2600 is too high a TDEE for you, unless you burn 1000 calories in your workouts or something. Either way you should probably eat an average of 1900 daily, I'd think.
Well good nutrition is for health really. The main issue with eating a lot of processed food is that often they have a lot of calories and you can still be hungry after reaching your goal. I'd argue though that fresh chicken is probably cheaper than chicken tenders. I eat a lot of frozen veggies personally too, cheaper than fresh a lot of the time.0 -
Deep breath. Remember its a journey and not a destination. I am stuck also in weight but i see changes in measurements.0
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As far as quality of food goes, does it /really/ make that huge of a difference? I can't afford large quantities of veggies and fruits every week (broke college kid) I try my hardest to make healthier decisions, but I cant help it if something like processed frozen chicken tenders end up in my diet (my mom buys most of the food)The TDEE calculators include exercise in your activity already. So by adding your exercise calories, you're pretty much eating your deficit away.
MFP doesn't, that's why if you use MFP goals you're supposed to eat your exercise calories back.
MFP has me eating at 1700 calories at the moment. I assumed that was too low. Maybe I should just go back to using MFP strictly, even though Ive had several people tell me it was incorrect with a lot of information.
Well you can do 1700 plus exercise calories, or TDEE-20%, but IMO 2600 is too high a TDEE for you, unless you burn 1000 calories in your workouts or something. Either way you should probably eat an average of 1900 daily, I'd think.
Well good nutrition is for health really. The main issue with eating a lot of processed food is that often they have a lot of calories and you can still be hungry after reaching your goal. I'd argue though that fresh chicken is probably cheaper than chicken tenders. I eat a lot of frozen veggies personally too, cheaper than fresh a lot of the time.
Thank you so much, you've been a great help. Hopefully I'll start losing again in a week. Im just going to try very hard to count more accurately0 -
Well this journey hit a wall, lol. Just kiddingDeep breath. Remember its a journey and not a destination. I am stuck also in weight but i see changes in measurements.
thank you though, kind words help ^^ I'll get there eventually! Just gotta try! 0 -
If you're eating 2100 plus exercise, you're eating too much. Your TDEE with exercise you stated as 2600, which sounds accurate, if not a bit low. So eat 2100 calories, don't eat back exercise calories, and lose an average of a pound a week. Simple.0
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I think the starvation mode warning on mfp might be misleading. Might be just something to cover their *kitten* if someone were to get an eating disorder or someone using the app that already has one. I don't know. But I do know that I get that warning sometimes and it is just bull****. I am no where close to going into starvation mode. I quite like the suggestion of not even logging burn calories. I will try that if I get to feeling stuck.0
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Maria -
I'm also doing MRC and started only a few pounds away from your initial weight. I don't stick with the plan every day because it doesn't always fit my day, however I do kick off the day with the MRC breakfast. The breakfast foods are relatively inexpensive, eggs and bread. I might also do the MRC lunch, tuna with some veggies. My suggestion would be to build a day using MFP and look at the protein, carb, and fat grams and try to duplicate it with different foods. Don't forget to add in the protein drinks. I've purchased protein drinks from GNC, Whole Foods, and Wal-Mart that meet the same protein grams. Since you're on a budget strive to meet the protein requirements according to what your food budget is that week.
Watch for liquid calories that can be grabbed on the go. It's easy to go over your calorie needs if you're drinking them.
Remember to lose 1 pound of weight per week you need a calorie deficit of 3500 calories per week. My goal even doing MRC is 1 pound per week because that is 52 pounds for the year. The people at MRC wanted my goal to be higher and most weeks it is but if I lost 1 pound I happy with that small success. It's slow but easy to do by just exercising and counting my calories. I use a pedometer and try to get in at least 6000 steps per day.
Just remember it's one meal at a time and if you mess up on one meal just get it back under control on the next meal.
Good Luck.0 -
Unless you've been consistent 100% at least 6 weeks or more with diet and exercise, it's not a plateau. You're more stalled than plateaued it sounds.So, Hi there, Im Maria and I am 19 years old.
Im 5'6"
200 Pounds (fluctuating between 200-203 every other week)
and I've been this way for over 2 months now.
I started out at 225 and when I started to lose weight I was just on the MRC diet (Its a diet center that is low calorie, low carb, high protein and it uses ketosis to help you lose weight) you also had to buy their nutrition drinks. WHICH WERE SO EXPENSIVE.
so after dropping about 20 pounds with them I had to leave, I got a gym membership and I started working out and counting calories. With my activity level (working out 3-4 days a week) several online calculators told me to maintain my weight at about 2600 calories. so I removed 500 from that for my deficit.
so that put me at around 2100 calories, and I would eat back most of my exercise calories for the day.
Yet, after switching off the MRC diet, I've seen no results and it's getting very frustrating. I know physically I have gotten /stronger/ I can lift more weight than when I first started and I have also built up my endurance (try only being able to run for 30 seconds and then kicking that up to 2 minutes)
I figured "maybe im losing body fat, and gaining muscle?" so when I got my BF% checked out at my gym again, I had only lost 1% of fat.
I know I havent been eaitng 100% clean and healthy foods, Im a broke college student and I do what I can. even if Its nasty food I still count within my goal.
Another thing, I havent been drinking "pure water" as much as I should, orange juice and lite lemonade has been my primary source of liquids. could that have something to do with it?
Please I need honest advice please! I just want to drop down to my goal weight
As Tigersword stated, it sounds like you're eating too much. Scale back a little and see what happens.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition0 -
Are you saying you eat 2100 calories a day? if so that is waaaaayyy too much! that is the amount of calories a grown active man should eat a day.
To lose weight it is recommended to have only 1200 calories a day. I have lost 40lbs so far I started at 200lbs and have around 1000 to 1200 calories a day and Work out 8 times a week doing 1hour sessions. Lower your calorie in-take
My diet for breakfast is either one of these:
- Lipo-Fyre Protein shake
- 4 egg whites mixed with vegetables
- Spinach mixed with one boiled egg
-Rolled Oats mixed with water or Almond milk
LUNCH:
-Salad (onion, tomato, cucumber, spinach, lettuce) No Cheese and a light balsamic dressing
-Chicken or beef with vegetables / salad
DINNER:
- Steak, Chicken Or Fish with either Vegetables or Salad (the same salad as I would have for lunch)
Healthy SNACKS:
1-2 serves of fruit a day
- 10 almonds mixed with some pumpkin and kennel seeds
- small can of Tuna
- vegetables
Try and Drink 3 liters of Water a day!
Also your servings of meat (beef, Chicken, fish) should be the size of the palm of your Hand
Make sure you stay away from
- Bread
- cheese
- Potato
- fast foods
- processed foods
Basically just eat Fresh foods and plenty of water
Hopefully this will help you!
And yes Orange juice and any other kinds of juices are FULL of sugar yes its mostly natural sugar but its still Sugar!
Too see the results you need to eat healthy its 80% Diet and 20% Exercise!
Good Luck! 0 -
so that put me at around 2100 calories, and I would eat back most of my exercise calories for the day.
You are double counting your activity. Since you are including your workouts in the activity setting to get 2100, you don't eat back your exercise calories. Or, if you do MFP, you eat the 1700 and then eat back exercise calories, which would probably take you to around 2100 calories. On days you don't exercise, you eat the 1700. 1700 calories is not starvation; you don't have to worry about starvation mode.0 -
First post = epic fail
No...just no.
You can lose weight eating more than 1200 calories a day and you certainly don't need to exercise 8 hours a week.
*Sorry, meant to quote B1NK0 -
Are you saying you eat 2100 calories a day? if so that is waaaaayyy too much! that is the amount of calories a grown active man should eat a day.
To lose weight it is recommended to have only 1200 calories a day. I have lost 40lbs so far I started at 200lbs and have around 1000 to 1200 calories a day and Work out 8 times a week doing 1hour sessions. Lower your calorie in-take
Um, please shut up. My maintanence calories are 2200 and I'm a 5'1 22 year old woman, not some active dude.
This whole myth that woman are delicate creatures and can only lose weight by eating like exercise bulimics needs to stop. By only eating 1200 calories and working 8 hours a week, you're damaging your body. Will you lose weight? Probably, if you don't either binge or start fainting from exhaustion, but you'd also lose weight by cutting of your leg.0 -
so after dropping about 20 pounds with them I had to leave, I got a gym membership and I started working out and counting calories. With my activity level (working out 3-4 days a week) several online calculators told me to maintain my weight at about 2600 calories. so I removed 500 from that for my deficit.
so that put me at around 2100 calories, and I would eat back most of my exercise calories for the day
I ran your numbers into here:
http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
I put in "1-3 hours of exercise/week" and it came back with TDEE of 2392, with a weight loss goal of 1794 calories. I used 1-3 hours because even at 4 days, you're on the cusp, you're just starting a workout program so you aren't able to produce max effort consistently yet, your body hasn't yet fully adjusted to using more energy for exercise recovery, and it's generally better to start out a little more conservative. You could just round it to 1800 to make it a round number.
You can always adjust it based on results and how you feel. Lost 12 lbs in the first month and feel hungry? Okay, you can up it. Lost 12 lbs in the first month and you feel great? Keep trucking. Lost 6 lbs in the first month? Probably where you ought to be, and if you feel okay maybe even lower it. Better than the alternative of losing a month to no progress whatsoever and feeling frustrated about the whole process.
The other important factor is that is how much you eat per day, period. You don't eat back exercise calories using this method.
I'd recommend using this method over MFP's because figuring out your exact exercise calories can be wonky for a beginner (the machines aren't accurate), and there's a mental trap of wanting to log every little activity as exercise to justify eating more. So set your goal calories and protein/carbs/fats according to the scooby site into MFP, and when you log exercise just make sure it's 0 (or 1 if 0 is unavailable) calories.
Once you have a month or so worth of data you'll be able to adjust it accordingly. Also, make sure you recalculate every 5 lbs or so.
It's completely normal that you don't see a change in body composition yet.I know physically I have gotten /stronger/ I can lift more weight than when I first started and I have also built up my endurance (try only being able to run for 30 seconds and then kicking that up to 2 minutes)
I figured "maybe im losing body fat, and gaining muscle?" so when I got my BF% checked out at my gym again, I had only lost 1% of fat.
Early strength gains come from increased muscle activation by learning how to do the motions, It takes time for your body to actually undergo hypertrophy (repairing and growing muscle fibers), just like it takes time for your body to breakdown bodyfat cells. This is a major reason why strength gains slow down after a few months -- your body fully learned how to activate your existing muscle fibers, so your strength gains now come almost solely from muscular hypertrophy. And as your muscles grow from exercise, they grow at a slower and slower rate.0 -
Settle down.Um, please shut up. My maintanence calories are 2200 and I'm a 5'1 22 year old woman, not some active dude.
This whole myth that woman are delicate creatures and can only lose weight by eating like exercise bulimics needs to stop. By only eating 1200 calories and working 8 hours a week, you're damaging your body. Will you lose weight? Probably, if you don't either binge or start fainting from exhaustion, but you'd also lose weight by cutting of your leg.
TDEE is highly dependant on body composition (the Mifflin-St. Jeor model uses an assumption and gets less accurate as you increase bodyfat percentage); it's highly unlikely that a person just beginning a workout program has a high percentage of lean body mass and eating 2100 calories as a weight loss goal for a woman fitting that profile is a lot.0 -
To lose weight it is recommended to have only 1200 calories a day.
Dear poster of the above statement: nononononononono you are wrong, it's not recommended at all.
also OP,
if you use MFP calories you eat your exercise calories, but if you use TDEE, you don't.
the following might be a nice read and it also gives you a run down about starvation mode (or not as the case is)
http://www.aworkoutroutine.com/starvation-mode0
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