I'm obese but active - cut calories or bump calories?

Info - I'm 4'11, 155lbs...I want to lose another 20 lb...I'm currently trying to keep my calories under 1350 net, but i'm not seeing any real change on the scale.

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As someone who has clinical experience, and personal experience in diet, I encourage you to lower calories, focus on WHERE those calories come from, increase whole foods that are organic, low in sodium and low on the glycemic scale, high in whole grain and especially non chemically treated protein sources. You described your life as sedentary minus your workouts, try to incorporate walking, stairs, and even chair exercises while in front of computer or tv... Park the car further from locations and appointments, and walk. Most importantly, take supplements without fillers and drink lots of water

Thanks for all the replies! Wow, first time posting and it's heartening to see how many people are willing to offer advice.

Just a side note on the comments about logging everything. Other than those days where it's obvious I didn't log anything, so the days with only around 500 calories, that IS all I've eaten. I have a very weird work schedule, of 2 12hr day shifts followed by 2 12 hour night shifts, followed by 4 days off. I won't really eat after midnight, because it upsets my stomach. So I will work 6pm-6am, I will have dinner at 7pm, maybe a snack around 11, then I won't eat the rest of my work shift, go home, sleep till 230 pm, Have a meal around 330, another meal around 730, snack around 11. That is how those days are so few calories. On the change-over between days to nights, I'm up for 24 hours straight, so unfortunately I eat more to stay awake and alert. And lord help me if I'm eating out somewhere. Still not quite able to make the healthiest choices. Or at least, what i think sounds healthy is a calorie bomb, ugh.

My plateau actually started when I started working this crazy schedule of 4on/4off. This schedule is beginning to mess with my system, so I think when I'll be able to get back to regular shifts and eating healthy options at regular times I'll notice a difference.

Thanks again!!

Info - I'm 4'11, 155lbs...I want to lose another 20 lb...I'm currently trying to keep my calories under 1350 net, but i'm not seeing any real change on the scale.

Here's the thing. At that height and weight, you are most likely at approximately 50% body fat. This puts your BMR at 1100ish and your non-exercise TDEE at 1300ish.

The exercise you describe is going to burn very few calories.

Putting it all together, the reason you are seeing minimal progress at 1350 calories is that you are eating too much for your activity level. If you want to lose weight, then either burn a lot more at current intake, or eat less.

I'd suggest lifting weights and bumping up calories. weight lifting will help you lose inches which you'll SEE in the mirror rather than on the scale.

While I agree that lifting is always a good idea, 4'11" and 150# is significantly overweight and focusing on lifting and completely ignoring the scale isn't a good idea.

I'd suggest lifting weights and bumping up calories. weight lifting will help you lose inches which you'll SEE in the mirror rather than on the scale.

While I agree that lifting is always a good idea, 4'11" and 150# is significantly overweight and focusing on lifting and completely ignoring the scale isn't a good idea.

No one is saying to "ignore" the scale. Adding weight lifting to what she is already doing could help *move* the scale much faster than focusing on counting calories alone. (This was my personal experience, so there is no reason why it wouldn't work for someone else.)

I'd suggest lifting weights and bumping up calories. weight lifting will help you lose inches which you'll SEE in the mirror rather than on the scale.

While I agree that lifting is always a good idea, 4'11" and 150# is significantly overweight and focusing on lifting and completely ignoring the scale isn't a good idea.

No one is saying to "ignore" the scale. Adding weight lifting to what she is already doing could help *move* the scale much faster than focusing on counting calories alone. (This was my personal experience, so there is no reason why it wouldn't work for someone else.)

And also ^THIS. If you can convert some of the weight to lean muscle, it will actually help you burn more calories even when you're being sedentary. Muscle is "greedier" with energy consumption...your body might have to cut into those fat stores to keep 'em fueled. :laugh:

A pound of muscle, which a dieting woman wouldn't gain, only burns around 6 calories a day. It's a myth that its significantly more metabolically active, though a pervasive one.

And the post above about "this is how it worked for me so there is no reason why it wouldn't work for someone else"... one anecdote is not very predictive. Or maybe you were joking.

Info - I'm 4'11, 155lbs...I want to lose another 20 lb...I'm currently trying to keep my calories under 1350 net, but i'm not seeing any real change on the scale.

Here's the thing. At that height and weight, you are most likely at approximately 50% body fat. This puts your BMR at 1100ish and your non-exercise TDEE at 1300ish.

The exercise you describe is going to burn very few calories.

Putting it all together, the reason you are seeing minimal progress at 1350 calories is that you are eating too much for your activity level. If you want to lose weight, then either burn a lot more at current intake, or eat less.

Except that this is incorrect. I plugged in her numbers to fat2fit bmr calculator, using the 50% body fat which is probably too high, and got this. Your BMR estimate was close, but her sedentary TDEE is higher than 1350.

I'd suggest lifting weights and bumping up calories. weight lifting will help you lose inches which you'll SEE in the mirror rather than on the scale.

While I agree that lifting is always a good idea, 4'11" and 150# is significantly overweight and focusing on lifting and completely ignoring the scale isn't a good idea.

No one is saying to "ignore" the scale. Adding weight lifting to what she is already doing could help *move* the scale much faster than focusing on counting calories alone. (This was my personal experience, so there is no reason why it wouldn't work for someone else.)

And also ^THIS. If you can convert some of the weight to lean muscle, it will actually help you burn more calories even when you're being sedentary. Muscle is "greedier" with energy consumption...your body might have to cut into those fat stores to keep 'em fueled. :laugh:

A pound of muscle, which a dieting woman wouldn't gain, only burns around 6 calories a day. It's a myth that its significantly more metabolically active, though a pervasive one.

And the post above about "this is how it worked for me so there is no reason why it wouldn't work for someone else"... one anecdote is not very predictive. Or maybe you were joking.

Why would I be joking? Please explain to me why it wouldn't work. I'm not the only one. I simply shared my own experience since I am very close to the OP's height. I'm really not sure why you feel the need to argue with me on this.

I'm really not arguing with you on this. I'm thrilled someone her height with good results weighed in. It's just not scientifically possible you added so much muscle you burn more now. And it's illogical to think anything that worked for you should automatically work for everyone, or even everyone their height, even IF you knew what helped your weight loss, which is nearly impossible to pinpoint.