I feel like I'm my diet is making me plateau
jklauck
Posts: 8 Member
I weigh 161 and I'm 5'4
Some websites tell me I need 1800 calories a day to lose a pound a week and some tell me I need 1200 calories a day to lose weight. I eat 1400 calories a day.
I workout 4 times a week with weigh lifting. I try to keep my protein around 70-100 grams, carbs 100-130 grams, fat (very healthy fats) 47-60 grams a day.
I'm also a vegetarian with occasional seafood consumption. Help? These last 20lbs are hard to lose. And I fluctuate in the low 160s a lot.
Some websites tell me I need 1800 calories a day to lose a pound a week and some tell me I need 1200 calories a day to lose weight. I eat 1400 calories a day.
I workout 4 times a week with weigh lifting. I try to keep my protein around 70-100 grams, carbs 100-130 grams, fat (very healthy fats) 47-60 grams a day.
I'm also a vegetarian with occasional seafood consumption. Help? These last 20lbs are hard to lose. And I fluctuate in the low 160s a lot.
0
Replies
-
Search the forum for "flow chart".
0 -
-
I'm very similar in stats to you.
5'4", 154 lbs currently (started around 180)
Been at this for the past 5-6 months "seriously" and lost the 26 pounds (used MFP before but wasn't very focused).
I also eat roughly 1300-1700 calories, it really depends on my exercise for the day. I tend to eat back part of my exercise calories.
Every few weeks I may have a stall, but it only last several days or up to a week; then I tighten up my logging, increase water, watch my sodium, and I have a loss.
The best advice I've read for stalls: re-check your logging & weighing of all foods. If you're not losing, you are not eating less than you're burning.
So either eat less (weigh your foods & log diligently); or increase your burn to make-up for the overage calories.
You definitely can do this!0 -
Have either if you recalculated your calories?
As you lose weight you need fewer calories. MFP asks you if you would like to recalculate, but doesn't automatically do so.
If you were 180, ate the calories assigned and lost down to 160 then stalled. It could be as simple as needing to re-enter your goal and weight so the calorie deficit is suitable for a person at 160.
Your previous calorie goal could well be maintenance for someone weighing 160.
Tight logging and diligent weighing should always be followed.
Lessening salt and carbs will give you a water drop on the scale, not an actual fat drop.
Cheers, h.0 -
Struggling to lose my last kilos too..
I discovered that I actually eat MORE now than I did in the very beginning, so it's not really a mystery why my weight loss has slowed down to about 1 kg per month. Turns out I wasn't logging accurately. Some days not at all.0 -
Thank you so much, everyone!0
-
Your body is probably in starvation mode and keeping everything it can. Fool your metabolism by taking a break for a week or two on a maintenance diet, then try again. Google "periodic diet breaks" for the latest research on how this helps.0
-
This content has been removed.
-
Oh god0
-
AliceA2013 wrote: »Your body is probably in starvation mode and keeping everything it can. Fool your metabolism by taking a break for a week or two on a maintenance diet, then try again. Google "periodic diet breaks" for the latest research on how this helps.
Please ignore this advice. h0 -
No such thing as a plateau. You are just eating at a maintenance level...0
-
I weigh 161 and I'm 5'4
Some websites tell me I need 1800 calories a day to lose a pound a week and some tell me I need 1200 calories a day to lose weight. I eat 1400 calories a day.
I workout 4 times a week with weigh lifting. I try to keep my protein around 70-100 grams, carbs 100-130 grams, fat (very healthy fats) 47-60 grams a day.
I'm also a vegetarian with occasional seafood consumption. Help? These last 20lbs are hard to lose. And I fluctuate in the low 160s a lot.
How are you monitoring your food intake?
Food scale (not cups and spoons)
Accurate selection from calorie databases with cross-checking
No use of other's homemade / recipe entries on MFP
How are you monitoring your energy burn from workouts - are you eating them back?
I think you probably have logging issues
0 -
CoffeeNCardio wrote: »
Love this, thank you0 -
AliceA2013 wrote: »Your body is probably in starvation mode and keeping everything it can. Fool your metabolism by taking a break for a week or two on a maintenance diet, then try again. Google "periodic diet breaks" for the latest research on how this helps.
LOL!
0 -
I weigh 161 and I'm 5'4
Some websites tell me I need 1800 calories a day to lose a pound a week and some tell me I need 1200 calories a day to lose weight. I eat 1400 calories a day.
I workout 4 times a week with weigh lifting. I try to keep my protein around 70-100 grams, carbs 100-130 grams, fat (very healthy fats) 47-60 grams a day.
I'm also a vegetarian with occasional seafood consumption. Help? These last 20lbs are hard to lose. And I fluctuate in the low 160s a lot.
How are you monitoring your food intake?
Food scale (not cups and spoons)
Accurate selection from calorie databases with cross-checking
No use of other's homemade / recipe entries on MFP
How are you monitoring your energy burn from workouts - are you eating them back?
I think you probably have logging issues
I think I might be having logging issues. I don't use a good scale and kind of eye everything out. I'm pretty new to MFP. I never knew of a such thing as eating your calories back. So I don't do that. I also don't really know how much I burn during a workout.
0 -
AliceA2013 wrote: »Your body is probably in starvation mode and keeping everything it can. Fool your metabolism by taking a break for a week or two on a maintenance diet, then try again. Google "periodic diet breaks" for the latest research on how this helps.
I'm definitely never starving lol. I eat when I'm hungry which is every 2-3 hrs. I have a strenuous job that requires a lot of energy so starvation mode dieting wouldn't last me one day! I also have periodic diet breaks. It's called cheat meals once a week! Other than that, I'm not sure if that's really what would help me.. Thank you though.
0 -
I weigh 161 and I'm 5'4
Some websites tell me I need 1800 calories a day to lose a pound a week and some tell me I need 1200 calories a day to lose weight. I eat 1400 calories a day.
I workout 4 times a week with weigh lifting. I try to keep my protein around 70-100 grams, carbs 100-130 grams, fat (very healthy fats) 47-60 grams a day.
I'm also a vegetarian with occasional seafood consumption. Help? These last 20lbs are hard to lose. And I fluctuate in the low 160s a lot.
The difference in the calculations is that sites like MFP do not include exercise - you are supposed to log that separately and eat those exercise calories back. (As the burns are considered to be inflated, only eat 50% of them back.)
Websites that give you more calories are factoring in exercise already.
0 -
Accuracy and consistency are the two magic pills to weight loss. Log your food, accurately and honestly, while eating at a deficit and you will lose weight. 1400-1600 should be a good range for you - possibly a little higher if your activity level is high.0
-
Do you log these "cheat meals"? How big are they? You could be undoing some of the work from the rest of the week by eating a ton for your cheat meal. I used to have cheat meals (or even days) and found out I was nearly wiping out my deficit for the week!I'm definitely never starving lol. I eat when I'm hungry which is every 2-3 hrs. I have a strenuous job that requires a lot of energy so starvation mode dieting wouldn't last me one day! I also have periodic diet breaks. It's called cheat meals once a week! Other than that, I'm not sure if that's really what would help me.. Thank you though.0 -
Do you log these "cheat meals"? How big are they? You could be undoing some of the work from the rest of the week by eating a ton for your cheat meal. I used to have cheat meals (or even days) and found out I was nearly wiping out my deficit for the week!I'm definitely never starving lol. I eat when I'm hungry which is every 2-3 hrs. I have a strenuous job that requires a lot of energy so starvation mode dieting wouldn't last me one day! I also have periodic diet breaks. It's called cheat meals once a week! Other than that, I'm not sure if that's really what would help me.. Thank you though.
I do log them ! It's usually once a week, occasionally twice a week if a special occasion comes up. I even log alcohol when I consume it.kshama2001 wrote: »I weigh 161 and I'm 5'4
Some websites tell me I need 1800 calories a day to lose a pound a week and some tell me I need 1200 calories a day to lose weight. I eat 1400 calories a day.
I workout 4 times a week with weigh lifting. I try to keep my protein around 70-100 grams, carbs 100-130 grams, fat (very healthy fats) 47-60 grams a day.
I'm also a vegetarian with occasional seafood consumption. Help? These last 20lbs are hard to lose. And I fluctuate in the low 160s a lot.
The difference in the calculations is that sites like MFP do not include exercise - you are supposed to log that separately and eat those exercise calories back. (As the burns are considered to be inflated, only eat 50% of them back.)
Websites that give you more calories are factoring in exercise already.
Thank you, I had no idea ! That makes sense. Yeah I never eat them back. The only fitness that's logged in here is my steps I walk for the day and when I run. When I log weight lifting it seemed to not log how much I burned. I'm not sure why it does that. Then again I've only had MFP for a week now.0 -
Log your lifting in the cardio section. The weight section is just for record keeping. Sets, reps, weight used etc.
Cheers, h.
PS it is generally thought MFP overestimates your exercise burn so eat back 50-75%.0 -
AliceA2013 wrote: »Your body is probably in starvation mode and keeping everything it can. Fool your metabolism by taking a break for a week or two on a maintenance diet, then try again. Google "periodic diet breaks" for the latest research on how this helps.
I am fully in agreement with the helpful mpf chart quoted above. But different approaches help different people and the flexible dieting approach has apparently helped many.
- http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-full-diet-break.html/
- look up this introductory article (and attached comments below) which gives some of the science behind the physiological and psychological benefits of dietary breaks in successful weight loss
- reasoned, polite, articulate comments are welcome0 -
Cherimoose wrote: »Search the forum for "flow chart".
I wish there was a button for this and the scale videos.
0 -
if you haven't already - maybe try some weight training or switch up your exercise routine - building more muscle may help0
-
AliceA2013 wrote: »I am fully in agreement with the helpful mpf chart quoted above. But different approaches help different people and the flexible dieting approach has apparently helped many.
- http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-full-diet-break.html/
- look up this introductory article (and attached comments below) which gives some of the science behind the physiological and psychological benefits of dietary breaks in successful weight loss
- reasoned, polite, articulate comments are welcome
Bodyrecomposition.com is an excellent site for nutritional information - one of the best you'll find on the internet. Lyle McDonald is very knowledgeable and his advice is evidence-based. Since you found the article you linked to above, you may also want to read this article on his site: http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/another-look-at-metabolic-damage.html/
Here's an excerpt from it that's relevant to the "starvation mode" issue:...But irrespective of that, let’s address what seems like a fairly simple question: Can the drop in metabolic rate, due to the drop in bodyweight and the adaptive component EVER be sufficient to completely eliminate true fat loss?
And the answer, at least based on the last 80 years of studies into the topic (in humans, NOT animal models) says no...
...Because in no study that i have ever seen or ever been aware of has the drop in metabolic rate (whether due to the drop in weight or adaptive component) EVER exceeded the actual deficit whether in men or women. Fine, yes, it may offset things, it may slow fat loss (i.e. if you set up a 30% caloric deficit and metabolic rate drops by 20%, your deficit is only 10% so fat loss is a lot slower than expected or predicted) but it has never been sufficient to either stop fat loss completely (or, even to address the even stupider claim being made about this, to cause actual fat gain).
But even when the drop in metabolic rate is massive, sufficient to drastically slow fat loss, even when it occurs it’s only when that person’s body has more or less reached the limits of leanness in the first place. So for ‘hundreds of women who are self-reporting this in emails’ to a certain coach to exist, well; just let me call that what it is: bull****...
...Because the science doesn’t support it in any way shape or form. No study in humans in 50 years has ever shown the claimed phenomenon. I mean not ever. Not a single study showing truly stopped fat loss in the face of a controlled deficit much less fat regain. And with plenty of other mechanisms (like water retention) to explain the “apparent” lack of fat loss that make more logical sense (Occam’s razor for the win).
OP, I'm sure if you tighten up your logging (using a food scale as suggested above), you'll most likely find that you'll be back on track. It isn't "starvation mode" derailing your weight loss, because it doesn't exist.0 -
Do you log these "cheat meals"? How big are they? You could be undoing some of the work from the rest of the week by eating a ton for your cheat meal. I used to have cheat meals (or even days) and found out I was nearly wiping out my deficit for the week!I'm definitely never starving lol. I eat when I'm hungry which is every 2-3 hrs. I have a strenuous job that requires a lot of energy so starvation mode dieting wouldn't last me one day! I also have periodic diet breaks. It's called cheat meals once a week! Other than that, I'm not sure if that's really what would help me.. Thank you though.
I do log them ! It's usually once a week, occasionally twice a week if a special occasion comes up. I even log alcohol when I consume it.kshama2001 wrote: »I weigh 161 and I'm 5'4
Some websites tell me I need 1800 calories a day to lose a pound a week and some tell me I need 1200 calories a day to lose weight. I eat 1400 calories a day.
I workout 4 times a week with weigh lifting. I try to keep my protein around 70-100 grams, carbs 100-130 grams, fat (very healthy fats) 47-60 grams a day.
I'm also a vegetarian with occasional seafood consumption. Help? These last 20lbs are hard to lose. And I fluctuate in the low 160s a lot.
The difference in the calculations is that sites like MFP do not include exercise - you are supposed to log that separately and eat those exercise calories back. (As the burns are considered to be inflated, only eat 50% of them back.)
Websites that give you more calories are factoring in exercise already.
Thank you, I had no idea ! That makes sense. Yeah I never eat them back. The only fitness that's logged in here is my steps I walk for the day and when I run. When I log weight lifting it seemed to not log how much I burned. I'm not sure why it does that. Then again I've only had MFP for a week now.
What were you expecting to happen in one week?
0 -
From AnvilHead: "It isn't "starvation mode" derailing your weight loss, because it doesn't exist."
OK, AnvilHead, I agree I was using ambiguous shorthand language (starvation mode) for reduced metabolism following reduced calorie intake - my point was about the alternative of managing it with flexible dieting. I am glad in any case to find support for the bodyrecomposition.com site - I was impressed by it.
0 -
Choose a calorie goal and stick to it for a few weeks. Measure and log everything. The fact that you said 'I even log alcohol when I consume it' is sort of a red flag that makes me think you think there are things you don't need to log! You have to log everything to really know what you are eating. If you are eyeballing and estimating, you won't really know how much you are eating. I started at exactly your height and weight. I was probably eating at maintenance or just above. The difference between losing and maintaining/gaining is just a few hundred calories - something that you can easily be off with if you're guesstimating. With diligent and honest logging, I've continuously lost since June 2015 and am now at 130. Good luck x0
-
-
Thank you everyone. I bought a good scale to assist in a more accurate food logging system ! Will post updates.0
http://youtu.be/vjKPIcI51lUCategories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 393.4K Introduce Yourself
- 43.8K Getting Started
- 260.2K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.9K Food and Nutrition
- 47.4K Recipes
- 232.5K Fitness and Exercise
- 426 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 153K Motivation and Support
- 8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.7K MyFitnessPal Information
- 24 News and Announcements
- 1.1K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.6K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions