Plateau - Need Advice

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vwileb
vwileb Posts: 1
in Health and Weight Loss
I began a New Year's resolution fitness program in January & have been eating really healthy & exercising nearly everyday since. I started at 160 pounds & now weigh 129 pounds. My body fat has dropped from 32% to 15% which I am very happy with. I haven't lost any weight for about 6 weeks now which is really frustrating. I would like to hit 125 pounds by Christmas. I log. All my food & exercise daily. I net around 1,350 calories a day & exercise 6-7 days per week. Typical exercise is 30-45 minutes of high intensity aerobics or running or a combo of the two. I've read some advice about switching up my calorie intake, but it makes me nervous to go much higher than my normal. Any advice to help me break through my plateau & reach my goal of 125? Thanks much!!

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  • MattDustin
    MattDustin Posts: 23 Member
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    Those last few pounds are stubborn... what is your macronutrient breakdown?

    Things like carb-cycling and even calorie cycling can be helpful. For example, 3 low carb days, followed by a high carb day, or a few days a week eating extra calories, and eating in a deficit the other days (as long as your net intake for the week is a deficit). Lots of ways to get around plateaus.

    If you post your macro breakdown, I can offer a few suggestions that might help! Typical grams of protein/carbs/fat you are aiming for, or percentages if you don't feel comfortable sharing specific numbers.
  • fivethreeone
    fivethreeone Posts: 8,196 Member
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    If you are a female at 15% body fat, you should not be trying to lose four more pounds. You are getting very close to an unsusatainably low body fat percentage, which can cause hormonal problems (most notably amenorrhea). I think you need to accept that the number on the scale doesn't matter, and that you are at the outskirts of what it is safe for you to lose. Congratulations. You do not have five pounds to lose.
  • supratt
    supratt Posts: 33
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    If you are not losing weight, you must not be at a caloric deficit, i.e. You are not eating fewer calories than your body is using. This is either because you are understating the amount you are eating or you are overestimating the amount you are burning through exercise.

    Also, have you recalculated your TDEE since your weight dropped from 160 to 129? If not, your calorie target may be too high (your net calorie figure seems on the low side but this would be inaccurate if you are deducting too many exercise calories). Might be best to go right back to basics and recalculate your maintenance level based on your current weight and then aim for 20% below that figure.

    Here is a very useful link: http://www.acaloriecounter.com/diet/how-many-calories-should-i-eat-per-day-to-lose-weight/
  • jackielou867
    jackielou867 Posts: 422 Member
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    You haven't put any stats, like your height, so I am guessing at 15% bf you are as thin as you need to be. I am similar weight, 5'7 but still at 23% body fat. I am lifting weights and intend to get to 20% bf, but I don't expect to lose any weight, muscle heavier than fat etc
    If you are petite, and you really have weight to lose, then take a break, eat more, just a little, it worked for me :-)

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