Help!! Stuck in Maintenance

Options
Wjps1
Wjps1 Posts: 2 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all, long story cut short, I've lost 120lb body weight since July 2014 and I still want to lose another 29lb. I'm 5'11 aged 49 and currently 228lb. I exercise 4/5 days a week weights and cardio but for the last 12 months I've not really not lost anything. I indulge a little over the weekends, but only really cake and cookies etc but Mon-Fri strict. Weight maybe 5/6lb heavier on a Monday morning but by Sat am it's back down-i know this is just water and food content. I'm averaging 1900 calories a day gross and don't add or delete any calories burned don't even make a note of them I just work out as hard as I can and mix it up. I'm getting frustrated because I still want to lose weight, I have put lean muscle on and top of chest is firm and some shape same with arms shoulders and legs, but still have a belly and i think i can still afford to lose 30lb and look good.
Do you think i'm in maintenance, but if I eat less i get real hungry tired etc and then risk binge eating. Should i massively increase calories to increase my BMR---All advise appreciated,,,thanks

Replies

  • meritage4
    meritage4 Posts: 1,441 Member
    Options
    Drop the cakes and cookies over the weekend. You put on 5 lbs every weeekend and take it off during the week. So no cakes and cookies for 1 month should lead to dropping 20 lbs.
  • thiosulfate
    thiosulfate Posts: 262 Member
    Options
    Cake and cookies are notoriously known for having high calories. If you really want to know how much you're eating, you should start counting calories better, specifically by using a food scale if you want to be extremely accurate (which since you're <30 lbs to your goal might be necessary).

    If you really think you're eating at a deficit, you will lose weight if you wait some time. If you don't lose weight, you're eating too much. After a few weeks, you should have your answer.
  • thiosulfate
    thiosulfate Posts: 262 Member
    Options
    Also,

    297ed6d1829fbe5bf22e8d97be46a847.jpg
  • Cchioles
    Cchioles Posts: 276 Member
    Options
    COngrats On The Weight Loss Thus Far!

    HEre Are Some Things To Consider..

    Where has your caloric intake been relative to your bodyweight?
    Are you consuming sufficient protein?
    How has your dietary adherence been?
    How have your body circumference measurements changed over time?
    Do you see anything different in the mirror? What kinds of comments have you received from family and friends?
    Are you training with intensity and effort or just going through the motions?
    Are you tracking your workouts and recording your sets, weights, and reps from week to week?
    How is your sleep quantity and quality? Stress levels?

    All of this will effect your progress but don't get hung up on weight too much either.. if your lifting, you most likely displacing fat with muscle which we all know weighs more so in that case there wont be much change in weight but rather in your appearance.. Take Pictures and measurement's, they will help you gauge your progress much better than a scale,.. and also its ok to eat cake and cookies as long as youre being mindful of theses decisions.. busting your calorie budget excessively all weekend will most likely set you back 2-3 days, So Id Limit it and instead of adding, try to fit the cookies into your macros/calories so that you can enjoy them knowing your still within your goals and under control.. let me know if you've got any other questions.. id gladly help!
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
    Options
    OP, do you use a food scale, and have you been logging this whole time?

    When you have a lot to lose, you can get away with eyeballing portions or not always logging because you can run a large deficit and have lots of wiggle room.

    Start using the food scale as often as possible, and log accurately and consistently every day. You may well be eating more than you think. If you think you would get hungry eating less, focus on getting enough protein and fat.

    If you want more specific advice, you would need to open your diary.
  • Wjps1
    Wjps1 Posts: 2 Member
    Options
    Thanks for the quick responses guys. I am very accurate with food during the week and even the weekend to some degree, but not so when the treats are eaten! Having treats within macros is a good idea. Cchioles I made a massive lifestyle change 2 years ago and all the things you've listed i relate to. Thanks again :)
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,459 Member
    Options
    Wjps1 wrote: »
    Thanks for the quick responses guys. I am very accurate with food during the week and even the weekend to some degree, but not so when the treats are eaten! Having treats within macros is a good idea. Cchioles I made a massive lifestyle change 2 years ago and all the things you've listed i relate to. Thanks again :)

    If you simply start by logging the treats (allllll the treats), you'll see where you're landing calorie-wise, and be able to make better-informed decisions. (It's possible that your RMR/BMR/NEAT is a little more or less than MFP estimates, but it's more likely that you're eating at maintenance.) IF you have to estimate the treats, do that, but don't use the lowest database entries.

    Don't be afraid to log those things. It's just data. Not knowing the number of calories doesn't make them not exist, it just makes your decision-making more difficult.
  • jahillegas_51
    jahillegas_51 Posts: 143 Member
    Options
    From my understanding, it appears that you do a massive caloric jump on the weekend relative to your weekly intake Mon-Fri. I would suggest against this, as you have already witnessed weight gain in the short term, it will only get worse with longer caloric surplus.

    If you would like to eat more, I suggest adding macros in slowly perhaps 2-5% carbs and/or fats. If you want to lose, I suggest a similar progression in the opposite direction. You can always make changes as things progress or stall.

    Take good notes on what happens with what you do and reverse engineer the process. Feel free to reach out to me if you have questions.
  • 120poundstogo
    120poundstogo Posts: 700 Member
    Options
    Wjps1 wrote: »
    Hi all, long story cut short, I've lost 120lb body weight since July 2014 and I still want to lose another 29lb. I'm 5'11 aged 49 and currently 228lb. I exercise 4/5 days a week weights and cardio but for the last 12 months I've not really not lost anything. I indulge a little over the weekends, but only really cake and cookies etc but Mon-Fri strict. Weight maybe 5/6lb heavier on a Monday morning but by Sat am it's back down-i know this is just water and food content. I'm averaging 1900 calories a day gross and don't add or delete any calories burned don't even make a note of them I just work out as hard as I can and mix it up. I'm getting frustrated because I still want to lose weight, I have put lean muscle on and top of chest is firm and some shape same with arms shoulders and legs, but still have a belly and i think i can still afford to lose 30lb and look good.
    Do you think i'm in maintenance, but if I eat less i get real hungry tired etc and then risk binge eating. Should i massively increase calories to increase my BMR---All advise appreciated,,,thanks
    This is what happened to me drop your cals down to 1.5 lb a day that'll bring your cals to 1370 cals a day. Your cals are too high! Once I did that I started to lose again AND do intermittent fasting eat no later than 7 pm see if that works!

Categories