Weight loss Plateau-- add or subtract calories

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Charmingjaye
Charmingjaye Posts: 7 Member
edited October 2015 in Health and Weight Loss
Hello All,

I recently hit a weight loss plateau, and was wondering if I should add more calories or take some away. I have maintained my weight since the beginning of Oct averaging 1484 daily calories for the last 22 days. I do cardio 4x per week (HIIT for 15-30 min) and compound lifts 2x per week.

I lost about 12 pound the first month and half but have now hit a wall. Just an FYI, I averaged 1342 calories for the month of Sept and did about 1-2 days or cardio and compound lifts 3x per week.

Just curious if i should increase my caloric intake or decrease?

**Also, I am not calculating in exercise to the above figures. I am 5'2 177 and have been dieting since mid August.
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Replies

  • juggernaut1974
    juggernaut1974 Posts: 6,212 Member
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    Decreasing back to the 1342 that was working for you seems a reasonable conclusion.

    Increasing calories never leads to greater/faster weight loss.
  • SingRunTing
    SingRunTing Posts: 2,604 Member
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    Why would eating more cause you to lose weight? That makes no sense.
  • Charmingjaye
    Charmingjaye Posts: 7 Member
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    I increased my cardio which is burning more calories.
  • nordlead2005
    nordlead2005 Posts: 1,303 Member
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    Check your logging. Are you weighing your food and measure your liquids?

    If you lost 12lb in 1 month on 1342 calories, that was 2.8lb/week (which is too fast for you, you shouldn't sustain more than a 1%/week loss) or a 1400 calorie/day deficit. Upping calories by 140 calories/day and losing 12lb does not eliminate a 1400 calorie deficit, it doesn't come anywhere close. Your exercise seems to be equivalent.

    My initial guess is going to be a combination of water weight fluctuation and improper logging.

    What you should do is eat your ~1500 calories + at least 50% of your exercise calories with proper weighing and logging and see how fast you lose (probably over 1lb/week), which will be more sustainable and healthy than losing at 2.8lb/week. If you want to speed up the weight loss, don't let calories go below 1200 and don't let the weight loss go over 1% body weight per week.
  • ammo7
    ammo7 Posts: 188 Member
    edited October 2015
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    It sounds like it's only been about 3 weeks since you haven't lost any weight. I would encourage you to remember that weight loss doesn't usually happen in a constant kind of way - it will be lots at once, none at all for a while, then your weight may drop again soon. This is especially true at certain times of your hormonal cycle.

    My advice:
    Have patience, and focus on sticking to your calorie goal that was working for you in September. Make sure you use a food scale to weigh any solid foods that you eat, so that you can be sure that you really are eating that number of calories (it's super easy to accidentally overlook a significant amount of calories when estimating portion sizes). You can always decide to increase your calories later, once you are accurately measuring and seeing results.
  • Charmingjaye
    Charmingjaye Posts: 7 Member
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    Thanks @nordlead2005, I actually started dieting in the middle of August but I didn't add that calculation so I wasn't really loosing 2.8 pound per week. I will edit my post to reflect that. Would you still suggest the 1500 calories per day and 50% exercise? Thanks.
  • Charmingjaye
    Charmingjaye Posts: 7 Member
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    @ammo7, thanks. I actually have a food scale and weigh everything. I am perfectly fine being patient, I just want to ensure I should not be doing something different.
  • ammo7
    ammo7 Posts: 188 Member
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    Charmingjaye wrote: »
    @ammo7, thanks. I actually have a food scale and weigh everything. I am perfectly fine being patient, I just want to ensure I should not be doing something different.

    Great :) And congratulations on the 12 lbs you've lost already
  • Amber_hanson27
    Amber_hanson27 Posts: 66 Member
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    I'm 5'3 and I'm at maintenance and my calories are at 1450. I do eat far more than that because my fitbit is linked so I will eat back my exercise cals. So I guess I'm wondering what did you set your activity level to in your settings? Because it almost sounds like you are eating at maintenance not in a plateau. Could be reading this wrong...
  • nordlead2005
    nordlead2005 Posts: 1,303 Member
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    I'll say it depends, as the previous weight loss was 1.8lb/week which would be right around 1% which is the most anyone should recommend.

    Female, 5'2" and 177lb your BMR is going to be in the 1400-1500 calories/day range (don't know your age so I'm ballparking it). 1500 +50% exercise calories will definitely cause you to lose weight, and most likely 1-1.5lb/week depending on how much/hard you exercise and your overall activity level.

    Also, like I said, you can eat less if you want, just make sure you get sufficient calories/nutrients and don't lose too fast.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    neither...just be patient.

    I went 7 weeks this summer and didn't lose a lb then wooooosh...2lbs gone.

    It happens that way.
  • Charmingjaye
    Charmingjaye Posts: 7 Member
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    Thanks everyone! @Amber_hanson27 -- I did not factor in my exercise so I am actually at a lower caloric deficit on days I workout.
  • ayanasioux
    ayanasioux Posts: 11 Member
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    Well unfortunately, issues like this tend to happen right before the binge. Your body is fighting to hold onto fat because it realized you're starving it and doing more things to make it lose energy/calories (exercise) best advice I ever had was to stop restricting and start properly fueling your body before it's too late. Eat at least 2000 calories a day and make sure 80% of your calories come from carbohydrates and the remainder comes from fat and protein. This works best for people and there's a lot of available research on it.

    Good luck
  • juggernaut1974
    juggernaut1974 Posts: 6,212 Member
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    ayanasioux wrote: »
    Well unfortunately, issues like this tend to happen right before the binge. Your body is fighting to hold onto fat because it realized you're starving it and doing more things to make it lose energy/calories (exercise) best advice I ever had was to stop restricting and start properly fueling your body before it's too late. Eat at least 2000 calories a day and make sure 80% of your calories come from carbohydrates and the remainder comes from fat and protein. This works best for people and there's a lot of available research on it.

    Good luck

    Um...No.

    Just...no.
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
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    ayanasioux wrote: »
    Well unfortunately, issues like this tend to happen right before the binge. Your body is fighting to hold onto fat because it realized you're starving it and doing more things to make it lose energy/calories (exercise) best advice I ever had was to stop restricting and start properly fueling your body before it's too late. Eat at least 2000 calories a day and make sure 80% of your calories come from carbohydrates and the remainder comes from fat and protein. This works best for people and there's a lot of available research on it.

    Good luck
    This is a lot of wrong for so few words.

  • MommyL2015
    MommyL2015 Posts: 1,411 Member
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    ayanasioux wrote: »
    Well unfortunately, issues like this tend to happen right before the binge. Your body is fighting to hold onto fat because it realized you're starving it and doing more things to make it lose energy/calories (exercise) best advice I ever had was to stop restricting and start properly fueling your body before it's too late. Eat at least 2000 calories a day and make sure 80% of your calories come from carbohydrates and the remainder comes from fat and protein. This works best for people and there's a lot of available research on it.

    Good luck

    I suggest you stop getting your nutrition and weight loss information from blogs.
  • DaddieCat
    DaddieCat Posts: 3,643 Member
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    ayanasioux wrote: »
    Well unfortunately, issues like this tend to happen right before the binge. Your body is fighting to hold onto fat because it realized you're starving it and doing more things to make it lose energy/calories (exercise) best advice I ever had was to stop restricting and start properly fueling your body before it's too late. Eat at least 2000 calories a day and make sure 80% of your calories come from carbohydrates and the remainder comes from fat and protein. This works best for people and there's a lot of available research on it.

    Good luck

    Can I see some legitimate research on this? You mention that it's available but I'm having difficulty finding it. I'd sure like to see it.
  • prettysoul1908
    prettysoul1908 Posts: 200 Member
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    ayanasioux wrote: »
    Well unfortunately, issues like this tend to happen right before the binge. Your body is fighting to hold onto fat because it realized you're starving it and doing more things to make it lose energy/calories (exercise) best advice I ever had was to stop restricting and start properly fueling your body before it's too late. Eat at least 2000 calories a day and make sure 80% of your calories come from carbohydrates and the remainder comes from fat and protein. This works best for people and there's a lot of available research on it.

    Good luck

    I'm sorry. This is bad advice.

    How do I know? Because I tried a version of this. I Thought If I fueled my body "properly" weight loss would take care of itself. Boy was I wrong.

    I had to lessen and monitor my caloric intake. I didn't start losing weight until I did that very thing. All the whole and nutritious foods (which I'm a huge proponent of) won't make you lose if you're eating too much.

    I'm not saying the OP is eating too much but the advice you gave will not lead to weight loss.
  • javifff
    javifff Posts: 3 Member
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    BecomingBane wrote: »
    ayanasioux wrote: »
    Well unfortunately, issues like this tend to happen right before the binge. Your body is fighting to hold onto fat because it realized you're starving it and doing more things to make it lose energy/calories (exercise) best advice I ever had was to stop restricting and start properly fueling your body before it's too late. Eat at least 2000 calories a day and make sure 80% of your calories come from carbohydrates and the remainder comes from fat and protein. This works best for people and there's a lot of available research on it.

    Good luck

    Can I see some legitimate research on this? You mention that it's available but I'm having difficulty finding it. I'd sure like to see it.

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24829732
  • juggernaut1974
    juggernaut1974 Posts: 6,212 Member
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    javifff wrote: »
    BecomingBane wrote: »
    ayanasioux wrote: »
    Well unfortunately, issues like this tend to happen right before the binge. Your body is fighting to hold onto fat because it realized you're starving it and doing more things to make it lose energy/calories (exercise) best advice I ever had was to stop restricting and start properly fueling your body before it's too late. Eat at least 2000 calories a day and make sure 80% of your calories come from carbohydrates and the remainder comes from fat and protein. This works best for people and there's a lot of available research on it.

    Good luck

    Can I see some legitimate research on this? You mention that it's available but I'm having difficulty finding it. I'd sure like to see it.

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24829732

    That study (on a "calorie shifting diet") has absolutely nothing to do with the hogwash (need to eat more to lose weight because starvation mode) posted above.

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