Cutting Calories, Exercising, Not losing weight
alysonbriggs22
Posts: 12
Hello,
It appears as though I have hit some kind of plateau. I have been cutting my calories (for about 4 weeks now) down to around 1520-1530/day. My protein is at 170 grams, my carbs are at 120-127, and my fat is generally at about 43. I am not losing any weight. In addition to this, I exercise twice per day 6 days per week. In the morning I strength train and in the afternoon I do cardio. I was just doing steady state but am switching to HIIT this week to see if that makes any difference. Last week I did a refeed day and dropped 3 pounds, but the weight just came right back up again a few days after that. Any help for pushing through this??
It appears as though I have hit some kind of plateau. I have been cutting my calories (for about 4 weeks now) down to around 1520-1530/day. My protein is at 170 grams, my carbs are at 120-127, and my fat is generally at about 43. I am not losing any weight. In addition to this, I exercise twice per day 6 days per week. In the morning I strength train and in the afternoon I do cardio. I was just doing steady state but am switching to HIIT this week to see if that makes any difference. Last week I did a refeed day and dropped 3 pounds, but the weight just came right back up again a few days after that. Any help for pushing through this??
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Replies
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Are you using a food scale? I went back about 4-5 days in your diary and the measurements of your foods are the same every day. How do you know you're eating 4 ounces of chicken or that your sweet potato is always 3.5 ounces? What is a medium banana? These show that you're probably eating more than you think.0
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You're eating too much. Drop your daily calorie goal to 1200.-3
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Are you using a food scale? I went back about 4-5 days in your diary and the measurements of your foods are the same every day. How do you know you're eating 4 ounces of chicken or that your sweet potato is always 3.5 ounces? What is a medium banana? These show that you're probably eating more than you think.
This^^0 -
I use a food scale every day and weigh everything meticulously0
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1200 might be a tad drastic, but I agree with the sentiment. You may have reached maintenance; cut the calories back again. You have some wiggle room there.0
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Stats?
Height, Weight, age...
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^^ don't listen to this!! noone needs to eat THAT little unless you're very petite and very sedentary!TimothyFish wrote: »You're eating too much. Drop your daily calorie goal to 1200.
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I'm 25 years old, 5'4", 128lbs. I'm training for a bikini competition.0
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Thank you, yes, I really don't plan on cutting that low. I just cut from about 1900 down to 1500. 1900 was my maintenance.RunRutheeRun wrote: »
^^ don't listen to this!! noone needs to eat THAT little unless you're very petite and very sedentary!TimothyFish wrote: »You're eating too much. Drop your daily calorie goal to 1200.
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It's NOT a plateau. A plateau is 6 weeks or more of no weight movement IF one is consistent with diet and exercise. I really wouldn't even call this a stall. Your body is still adjusting to how you're working out. Check back in another 2 weeks and reassess.alysonbriggs22 wrote: »Hello,
It appears as though I have hit some kind of plateau. I have been cutting my calories (for about 4 weeks now) down to around 1520-1530/day. My protein is at 170 grams, my carbs are at 120-127, and my fat is generally at about 43. I am not losing any weight. In addition to this, I exercise twice per day 6 days per week. In the morning I strength train and in the afternoon I do cardio. I was just doing steady state but am switching to HIIT this week to see if that makes any difference. Last week I did a refeed day and dropped 3 pounds, but the weight just came right back up again a few days after that. Any help for pushing through this??
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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How is it that your chicken always weighs in at 4 ounces? When I measure chicken it is never the same. Do you trim it each time to get to 4 ounces?0
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alysonbriggs22 wrote: »
Thank you, yes, I really don't plan on cutting that low. I just cut from about 1900 down to 1500. 1900 was my maintenance.RunRutheeRun wrote: »
^^ don't listen to this!! noone needs to eat THAT little unless you're very petite and very sedentary!TimothyFish wrote: »You're eating too much. Drop your daily calorie goal to 1200.
thats a good plan, just cut by a couple of 100 and you'll see all will be well. Do you do any exercise? even just walking really helps. Exercise uplifts us, gives us a sense of general well being and burns calories
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queenliz99 wrote: »How is it that your chicken always weighs in at 4 ounces? When I measure chicken it is never the same. Do you trim it each time to get to 4 ounces?
Yes, I portion it out and cook in bulk.0 -
alysonbriggs22 wrote: »queenliz99 wrote: »How is it that your chicken always weighs in at 4 ounces? When I measure chicken it is never the same. Do you trim it each time to get to 4 ounces?
Yes, I portion it out and cook in bulk.
Wow!! That is dedication 0 -
It's NOT a plateau. A plateau is 6 weeks or more of no weight movement IF one is consistent with diet and exercise. I really wouldn't even call this a stall. Your body is still adjusting to how you're working out. Check back in another 2 weeks and reassess.alysonbriggs22 wrote: »Hello,
It appears as though I have hit some kind of plateau. I have been cutting my calories (for about 4 weeks now) down to around 1520-1530/day. My protein is at 170 grams, my carbs are at 120-127, and my fat is generally at about 43. I am not losing any weight. In addition to this, I exercise twice per day 6 days per week. In the morning I strength train and in the afternoon I do cardio. I was just doing steady state but am switching to HIIT this week to see if that makes any difference. Last week I did a refeed day and dropped 3 pounds, but the weight just came right back up again a few days after that. Any help for pushing through this??
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
Thanks! Probably a needed reminder that I need to be patient lol
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I would take a weigh in daily and then take a rolling 7 day average of your body-weight and look at that trend to determine whether or not any changes are occurring. This will rule out fluctuations that occur day to day and it would allow you to see with a bit more accuracy whether or not anything is happening on the scale.
Has your weight done ANYTHING in the 4 weeks? Are you exactly the same weight?
Have you taken measurements over the course of the 4 weeks and have those changed?0 -
I would take a weigh in daily and then take a rolling 7 day average of your body-weight and look at that trend to determine whether or not any changes are occurring. This will rule out fluctuations that occur day to day and it would allow you to see with a bit more accuracy whether or not anything is happening on the scale.
Has your weight done ANYTHING in the 4 weeks? Are you exactly the same weight?
Have you taken measurements over the course of the 4 weeks and have those changed?
^^ This is a good idea.
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Thanks! I do weigh in everyday, but hadn't thought of averaging it! My weight steadily fluctuates between 128-129, and has done so for four weeks. One day (last week) it went down to 127, and that was two days after I did a re-feed and upped my carbs to 160, lowered my protein to 150, and just kept my fat at 43 like it always is. A few days later I was back up to 129 though. Sometimes I'll even hit 130 again. It just gets frustrating.I would take a weigh in daily and then take a rolling 7 day average of your body-weight and look at that trend to determine whether or not any changes are occurring. This will rule out fluctuations that occur day to day and it would allow you to see with a bit more accuracy whether or not anything is happening on the scale.
Has your weight done ANYTHING in the 4 weeks? Are you exactly the same weight?
Have you taken measurements over the course of the 4 weeks and have those changed?
Measurements-wise, I have lost an inch in my hips, but gained half an inch in each of my arms.
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alysonbriggs22 wrote: »
Thanks! I do weigh in everyday, but hadn't thought of averaging it! My weight steadily fluctuates between 128-129, and has done so for four weeks. One day (last week) it went down to 127, and that was two days after I did a re-feed and upped my carbs to 160, lowered my protein to 150, and just kept my fat at 43 like it always is. A few days later I was back up to 129 though. Sometimes I'll even hit 130 again. It just gets frustrating.I would take a weigh in daily and then take a rolling 7 day average of your body-weight and look at that trend to determine whether or not any changes are occurring. This will rule out fluctuations that occur day to day and it would allow you to see with a bit more accuracy whether or not anything is happening on the scale.
Has your weight done ANYTHING in the 4 weeks? Are you exactly the same weight?
Have you taken measurements over the course of the 4 weeks and have those changed?
Measurements-wise, I have lost an inch in my hips, but gained half an inch in each of my arms.
How is your appetite and overall energy levels? How food focused are you currently?
What was your training program like just before you started this cut, when you were on 1900 calories? I'm interested to hear about the differences in total training volume going from the maintenance phase to the deficit phase.
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To clarify, you are cutting body fat for competition? How long till the competition? It sounds like diet is spot on. May just need a week or two for your body to shake it out.
You said you were going to switch to HIIT as a change of pace. That sounds like a good change to shake things up.
Here are some articles I found on cutting for competition. Maybe they have some tidbits for you.
http://www.simplyshredded.com/layne-norton-the-most-effective-cutting-diet.html
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/topicoftheweek42.htm0 -
alysonbriggs22 wrote: »
Thanks! I do weigh in everyday, but hadn't thought of averaging it! My weight steadily fluctuates between 128-129, and has done so for four weeks. One day (last week) it went down to 127, and that was two days after I did a re-feed and upped my carbs to 160, lowered my protein to 150, and just kept my fat at 43 like it always is. A few days later I was back up to 129 though. Sometimes I'll even hit 130 again. It just gets frustrating.I would take a weigh in daily and then take a rolling 7 day average of your body-weight and look at that trend to determine whether or not any changes are occurring. This will rule out fluctuations that occur day to day and it would allow you to see with a bit more accuracy whether or not anything is happening on the scale.
Has your weight done ANYTHING in the 4 weeks? Are you exactly the same weight?
Have you taken measurements over the course of the 4 weeks and have those changed?
Measurements-wise, I have lost an inch in my hips, but gained half an inch in each of my arms.
How is your appetite and overall energy levels? How food focused are you currently?
What was your training program like just before you started this cut, when you were on 1900 calories? I'm interested to hear about the differences in total training volume going from the maintenance phase to the deficit phase.
Appetite-wise, well, I am ALWAYS excited to eat, but I would not say I fixate on food or anything. When I was doing steady state cardio 45 min./day my energy was EXTREMELY low, but I feel much better now that I've switched to HIIT.
Before cutting I wasn't really doing cardio and I was lifting 6 days per week. I still lift 6 days per week at the same intensity as before.0 -
To clarify, you are cutting body fat for competition? How long till the competition? It sounds like diet is spot on. May just need a week or two for your body to shake it out.
You said you were going to switch to HIIT as a change of pace. That sounds like a good change to shake things up.
Here are some articles I found on cutting for competition. Maybe they have some tidbits for you.
http://www.simplyshredded.com/layne-norton-the-most-effective-cutting-diet.html
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/topicoftheweek42.htm
Yes exactly; I am cutting for a bikini competition on March 28th, so I'm currently a little less than 12 weeks out. That Layne Norton article is a great one! I'll take a look at the bb.com one too! Thank you a lot!0 -
TimothyFish wrote: »You're eating too much. Drop your daily calorie goal to 1200.
Not very likely based on the reported exercise activity assuming the lack of any mention of eating back exercise calories is correct.
If you just started HIIT you are probably retaining water. What other measures of progress do you use? Pictures? Body measurements?
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rileysowner wrote: »TimothyFish wrote: »You're eating too much. Drop your daily calorie goal to 1200.
Not very likely based on the reported exercise activity assuming the lack of any mention of eating back exercise calories is correct.
If you just started HIIT you are probably retaining water. What other measures of progress do you use? Pictures? Body measurements?
Yeah, I don't eat back calories burned during exercise. I'm not very consistent with other measures. I have lost an inch around my hips, but I've gained .5 an inch in each of my arms. It's possible that this is muscle.0 -
I would give it another 1 to 2 weeks but I would also look at average weight as I mentioned earlier. If you still have daily weigh in data I would also go back the previous 4 weeks and calculate that out to see if your average weight is slowly trending downwards.
Given your size, you're not going to be able to create rapid fat loss so you're just not going to see the scale move at a fast pace. This makes looking at averages even more important because it may point to losses that you don't otherwise notice when looking at daily values.
Assuming you were actually maintaining on 1900, given that you've dropped to 1600 AND increased activity I'm going to guess that your average weight is slowly moving downwards.
If you don't see that trend show up in the next one to two weeks I would consider reducing calories a bit, probably by removing another 15-20g CHO. Rinse and repeat.0 -
alysonbriggs22 wrote: »It's possible that this is muscle.
No it's not.
your diary entries are almost all fairly generic.
"Brussels sprouts - Cooked, boiled, drained, without salt, 1 cup", how did you measure this if you're using a food scale? This is a veggie. It even comes with the gram listing. Use it.
"All Whites - Liquid Egg Whites, 0.33 cup(s)" same issue.
"Ground Turkey Raw (99% Fat Free) - All Brands, 2 oz " All brands? Are you sure? HOw do you know the macros match up?
" Raw - Almond, 1 Kernel, 10 kernel " wtf does that even mean? nuts are calorically dense. Weigh them.
" Fruits - Cherry Tomatoes Raw, 0.25 cup (8 oz) " Just use the actual weight info, not cups.\
" Bananas - Raw, 0.5 medium (7" to 7-7/8" long) " You have absolutely no idea if your banana is medium. And even if it is the weight differs for each. Weigh your banana.
" Fresh Picked - Green Beans, Raw, 1 cup (100 g) " cup.
" Della - Cooked Brown Basmati Rice- Organic, 0.5 cup cooked " Is this a prepackaged rice dish? Most of these things have info for their uncooked state. Either way, it's still cups.
" Chicken Breast Ni - Raw Boneless, Skinless, 4 oz " This is not the USDA/official entry.
" Small Sweet Potato - Sweet Potato - Microwaved, 3 oz(s) " Is this 3oz raw? Microwaved? Cooked but cold before reheating? Cooked and then reheated? Use specific entries.
So you very well could be eating more than you think. Coupled with water weight from exercising, you very well could be eating closer to maintenance than you realize. considering you think that at a deficit or maintenance you'd be gaining muscle mass, I feel you may want to start properly educating yourself on how this all works before entering into a contest.
And at basically 130lbs your protein is ridiculously high. I doubt you'd need to go above 150 at the very highest. I only eat about 1.25x my estimated lean body mass, or 95% of my total weight (I've tried 0.82x my total weight a few times now and the higher protein intake works better for me; still no need to eat above my total weight) I have 30lbs on you and I eat less protein while I am in the midst of my first cut. YOu might want to eat more carbs right now to help fuel your workouts and worry about lowering them closer to the competition itself to help with water weight loss.
I'm also just gonna say that your diet looks super boring. WHy are you eating the same things every day, and basically following a bro diet? Where did you formulate your cutting plan from and how out-dated is this source? I'm going to guess that you might be eating too much salt too, leading to more water retention, based solely on seeing hte salsa and wraps and packaged rice. These could all be pretty salty.
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The scale is not showing any loss of weight ?
your body and mine are burning body fat and replacing it by muscles.
Muscles are more in weight then fat.
Watch for all the other important changes as a reliable reference.
Strong advice NOT to decrease your kcal input.
otherwise the risk of health problems are becomin bigger and bigger and you end up as a guest in the Dr. Phil show.0 -
scorpionadvies wrote: »The scale is not showing any loss of weight ?
your body and mine are burning body fat and replacing it by muscles.
Muscles are more in weight then fat.
Watch for all the other important changes as a reliable reference.
Strong advice NOT to decrease your kcal input.
otherwise the risk of health problems are becomin bigger and bigger and you end up as a guest in the Dr. Phil show.
Very unlikely that a lean female on high amounts of activity is building any appreciable amount of muscle without excess calories.0 -
alysonbriggs22 wrote: »It's possible that this is muscle.
No it's not.
your diary entries are almost all fairly generic.
"Brussels sprouts - Cooked, boiled, drained, without salt, 1 cup", how did you measure this if you're using a food scale? This is a veggie. It even comes with the gram listing. Use it.
"All Whites - Liquid Egg Whites, 0.33 cup(s)" same issue.
"Ground Turkey Raw (99% Fat Free) - All Brands, 2 oz " All brands? Are you sure? HOw do you know the macros match up?
" Raw - Almond, 1 Kernel, 10 kernel " wtf does that even mean? nuts are calorically dense. Weigh them.
" Fruits - Cherry Tomatoes Raw, 0.25 cup (8 oz) " Just use the actual weight info, not cups.\
" Bananas - Raw, 0.5 medium (7" to 7-7/8" long) " You have absolutely no idea if your banana is medium. And even if it is the weight differs for each. Weigh your banana.
" Fresh Picked - Green Beans, Raw, 1 cup (100 g) " cup.
" Della - Cooked Brown Basmati Rice- Organic, 0.5 cup cooked " Is this a prepackaged rice dish? Most of these things have info for their uncooked state. Either way, it's still cups.
" Chicken Breast Ni - Raw Boneless, Skinless, 4 oz " This is not the USDA/official entry.
" Small Sweet Potato - Sweet Potato - Microwaved, 3 oz(s) " Is this 3oz raw? Microwaved? Cooked but cold before reheating? Cooked and then reheated? Use specific entries.
So you very well could be eating more than you think. Coupled with water weight from exercising, you very well could be eating closer to maintenance than you realize. considering you think that at a deficit or maintenance you'd be gaining muscle mass, I feel you may want to start properly educating yourself on how this all works before entering into a contest.
And at basically 130lbs your protein is ridiculously high. I doubt you'd need to go above 150 at the very highest. I only eat about 1.25x my estimated lean body mass, or 95% of my total weight (I've tried 0.82x my total weight a few times now and the higher protein intake works better for me; still no need to eat above my total weight) I have 30lbs on you and I eat less protein while I am in the midst of my first cut. YOu might want to eat more carbs right now to help fuel your workouts and worry about lowering them closer to the competition itself to help with water weight loss.
I'm also just gonna say that your diet looks super boring. WHy are you eating the same things every day, and basically following a bro diet? Where did you formulate your cutting plan from and how out-dated is this source? I'm going to guess that you might be eating too much salt too, leading to more water retention, based solely on seeing hte salsa and wraps and packaged rice. These could all be pretty salty.
^ Good post.0 -
alysonbriggs22 wrote: »It's possible that this is muscle.
No it's not.
your diary entries are almost all fairly generic.
"Brussels sprouts - Cooked, boiled, drained, without salt, 1 cup", how did you measure this if you're using a food scale? This is a veggie. It even comes with the gram listing. Use it.
"All Whites - Liquid Egg Whites, 0.33 cup(s)" same issue.
"Ground Turkey Raw (99% Fat Free) - All Brands, 2 oz " All brands? Are you sure? HOw do you know the macros match up?
" Raw - Almond, 1 Kernel, 10 kernel " wtf does that even mean? nuts are calorically dense. Weigh them.
" Fruits - Cherry Tomatoes Raw, 0.25 cup (8 oz) " Just use the actual weight info, not cups.\
" Bananas - Raw, 0.5 medium (7" to 7-7/8" long) " You have absolutely no idea if your banana is medium. And even if it is the weight differs for each. Weigh your banana.
" Fresh Picked - Green Beans, Raw, 1 cup (100 g) " cup.
" Della - Cooked Brown Basmati Rice- Organic, 0.5 cup cooked " Is this a prepackaged rice dish? Most of these things have info for their uncooked state. Either way, it's still cups.
" Chicken Breast Ni - Raw Boneless, Skinless, 4 oz " This is not the USDA/official entry.
" Small Sweet Potato - Sweet Potato - Microwaved, 3 oz(s) " Is this 3oz raw? Microwaved? Cooked but cold before reheating? Cooked and then reheated? Use specific entries.
So you very well could be eating more than you think. Coupled with water weight from exercising, you very well could be eating closer to maintenance than you realize. considering you think that at a deficit or maintenance you'd be gaining muscle mass, I feel you may want to start properly educating yourself on how this all works before entering into a contest.
And at basically 130lbs your protein is ridiculously high. I doubt you'd need to go above 150 at the very highest. I only eat about 1.25x my estimated lean body mass, or 95% of my total weight (I've tried 0.82x my total weight a few times now and the higher protein intake works better for me; still no need to eat above my total weight) I have 30lbs on you and I eat less protein while I am in the midst of my first cut. YOu might want to eat more carbs right now to help fuel your workouts and worry about lowering them closer to the competition itself to help with water weight loss.
I'm also just gonna say that your diet looks super boring. WHy are you eating the same things every day, and basically following a bro diet? Where did you formulate your cutting plan from and how out-dated is this source? I'm going to guess that you might be eating too much salt too, leading to more water retention, based solely on seeing hte salsa and wraps and packaged rice. These could all be pretty salty.
I appreciate that you're trying to help, but I kind of feel like you're attacking me lol. Anyway, in response:
Yeah, I use cups pretty exclusively for my veggies. I don't think that's a HUGE crime, especially since the frozen ones always give calories per cup, but if the consensus on here is to use the scale for them as well, maybe I'll give it a try. Egg whites same deal, because they're from a carton and that's how the calories are given on the carton: per cup. But thanks, I'll try grams. Additionally, I have been extremely careful about adding salt to my food, and my rice is not pre-packaged.
Furthermore, perhaps to you my diet is boring, but I love everything that I eat and I mean that quite sincerely. I founded my cutting regime off of principles given by Kim Oddo, who is generally regarded as being really knowledgeable in the sport of bodybuilding.
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