To increase or decrease Calories to start loosing again

what is your weekly goal deficit set at?

also all your statistical numbers would be helpful.

I.E. height, body fat % if you have it. Type of work, exercise routine, extra activities (not logged), any medical conditions...etc. anything that's even remotely relevant is important when you have a question like this.

Just a note, if you are doing Px90 or any other kind of exercise, you should be logging and EATING those calories. MFP will put you at 1210, but that means that when you burn 500 calories, you should be eating 1710 for the day.

SHB is right in asking for the other specs as it will help be more specific. I just really wanted to point out, MFP in no way encourages eating 1210 cals and burning 500 of them on exercise.

If you're working out a lot- then decreasing your calories may put you into starvation mode. The metabolism gets confused- so by changing it up throughout the week- it may kick start it into motion again. If you have three days eating normally, or just very very slightly below 'normal' calories and then four days of eating slighlty above normal calories. Do this on a day on day off basis and see if that works?

Although that's just my opinion, I don't really know all that much about nutrition!

what is your weekly goal deficit set at?

also all your statistical numbers would be helpful.

I.E. height, body fat % if you have it. Type of work, exercise routine, extra activities (not logged), any medical conditions...etc. anything that's even remotely relevant is important when you have a question like this.

Right now the deficit is set to 480 just because I have been messing with the numbers but before I had it at 500.
Height 5'3
Body fat do not have it
I work in an office environment desk job
I try to log all of my extra activities like walking the dog, bike riding with my kids etc. no medical conditions

Not sure if 1 lb a week is gonna work for someone only looking to lose 20 lbs. Since we don't know your Body Fat % it's hard to tell, but that's a lot for someone who is just about into the healthy range already. It's something to be aware of. Is that 500 calories, net calories? I.E. are you eating exercise calories back?

what is your weekly goal deficit set at?

also all your statistical numbers would be helpful.

I.E. height, body fat % if you have it. Type of work, exercise routine, extra activities (not logged), any medical conditions...etc. anything that's even remotely relevant is important when you have a question like this.

Right now the deficit is set to 480 just because I have been messing with the numbers but before I had it at 500.
Height 5'3
Body fat do not have it
I work in an office environment desk job
I try to log all of my extra activities like walking the dog, bike riding with my kids etc. no medical conditions

Not sure if 1 lb a week is gonna work for someone only looking to lose 20 lbs. Since we don't know your Body Fat % it's hard to tell, but that's a lot for someone who is just about into the healthy range already. It's something to be aware of. Is that 500 calories, net calories? I.E. are you eating exercise calories back?

What do you mean 1lb a week is not going to work I am so confused right now :sad: I got a new scale and supposedly tells me my body fat and it said 33% not sure how accurate that is. The deficit is what I see when setting up my calories under goal settings that is the number I gave you.

I was eating some of my exercise calories back

I mean, when you don't have a lot of weight to lose, you can't expect to lose large amounts per week, your body won't support it. at more extreme levels you'll see plateaus, fatigue, immune system weakness, skin/hair/nail/teeth issues...etc. but my point is, when you only have a relatively small amount of weight to lose, your expectations should be lower with regards to weekly weight loss.

No those scales are rarely accurate, they depend on hydration levels for electrical conductivity, and unless you're measuring your hydration levels before you step on every time, they will never be all that accurate.

Bump...I really want to see the answer to this.

And @cutmd - I literally just added the same quote you have in your sig to my vision board!

sorry cutmd, I didn't see it.

I can tell you this though, I wouldn't stop the weight training. That happens all the time to people. When you begin a new, strenuous exercise type, and are working muscles in a different way then they are used to, often you gain some weight because of it. I'd be very surprised if it was more than 1 to 3 lbs of actual muscle mass though, more likely it's that previously dormant muscle fiber was activated by the new activity and when that fiber is activated, it requires more glycogen and water around it (dormant muscle fiber is partially dessicated because of lack of use), which will account for much of the new weight. Also be aware, at your weight and height and body fat % I would put your maintenance calories at somewhere around 1800, I would say having a deficit of 300 would be just about right for you, where as 500 might be a bit to much. Just be cautious to be very accurate in your food measuring, that can be a big problem when you're talking about small deficits. these are rough guesses mind you, to be more accurate we'd need to do more in-depth analysis and some trial and error (alas, weight loss is kind of a "soft science" in that respect).

cutmd i personally would stick with the strength training and stick to the current weight as if you drop the weight you will lose the muscle you already built up, just stick to the weight you are at at the moment but dont increase it at all just maintain at that weight

as for calories i would suggest arround 1200-1300kcal

keep the macros at a 60/20/20 (protein/carbs/fat) ratio and you should see the fat drop off quicker

also it would help if you posted up your normal daily diet

cutmd i personally would stick with the strength training and stick to the current weight as if you drop the weight you will lose the muscle you already built up, just stick to the weight you are at at the moment but dont increase it at all just maintain at that weight

as for calories i would suggest arround 1200-1300kcal

keep the macros at a 60/20/20 (protein/carbs/fat) ratio and you should see the fat drop off quicker

also it would help if you posted up your normal daily diet

I wouldn't mind losing a little leg muscle since my jeans are a little snug at the moment. :ohwell:

Are you saying 1200-1300 and not eating exercise cals? I know a girl on another thread that is doing well is averaging 1000 net, I am thinking of going that way

I am currently set for 40/40/30, 60/20/20 would be super hard but maybe I'll try it starting next week

My journal is open to public, though I fell off of it the last few days due to moving and frustration. My usual menu is something like:

breakfast: eggs and turkey sausage for breakfast (or no breakfast if I am doing leangains)
yogurt or fruit snack
lunch: kale salad with chicken or tuna and mustard dressing or sauteed veggies and meat (ground beef or chicken)
dinner (my biggest struggle since I have it with hubby): chicken thighs or steak with coconut rice and veggies or a meal out somewhere. I am gluten allergic so I never have that but will occasionally give in to sugar cravings
snack: most often air popped popcorn with coconut oil or some cheese

Probably not so popular but I do throw in intermittent fasting ala eat-stop-eat from time to time with success. The fact that this works so well for me makes me think my calorie counts are off or I need a lower amount than I'm alotting myself. I really hoped I was someone that needed to eat more...
I will usually do strength training MWF and HIIT 2x/week.

sorry cutmd, I didn't see it.

I can tell you this though, I wouldn't stop the weight training. That happens all the time to people. When you begin a new, strenuous exercise type, and are working muscles in a different way then they are used to, often you gain some weight because of it. I'd be very surprised if it was more than 1 to 3 lbs of actual muscle mass though, more likely it's that previously dormant muscle fiber was activated by the new activity and when that fiber is activated, it requires more glycogen and water around it (dormant muscle fiber is partially dessicated because of lack of use), which will account for much of the new weight. Also be aware, at your weight and height and body fat % I would put your maintenance calories at somewhere around 1800, I would say having a deficit of 300 would be just about right for you, where as 500 might be a bit to much. Just be cautious to be very accurate in your food measuring, that can be a big problem when you're talking about small deficits. these are rough guesses mind you, to be more accurate we'd need to do more in-depth analysis and some trial and error (alas, weight loss is kind of a "soft science" in that respect).

Sorry to hijack this thread slightly but I'm in a similar situation (reached my goal, starting maintaining and lifting heavy, and put weight back on) and this is a question I have about my own calorie consumption. Do you mean cutmd's net cals should be 1800 for maintenance, even after exercise? Or she should just eat 1800 total calories a day? This is something I'm wondering about for myself and have been trying to find clarification on. I've been eating an average of 1550 net calories a day for the last two months (since I started maintaining), but most calorie calculators online put me at 1700+, which seems like a lot. So I just feel confused if that should be my net calorie goal, or just calories consumed per day regardless of exercise. I hope that makes sense heh.
Thanks in advance!!

sorry cutmd, I didn't see it.

I can tell you this though, I wouldn't stop the weight training. That happens all the time to people. When you begin a new, strenuous exercise type, and are working muscles in a different way then they are used to, often you gain some weight because of it. I'd be very surprised if it was more than 1 to 3 lbs of actual muscle mass though, more likely it's that previously dormant muscle fiber was activated by the new activity and when that fiber is activated, it requires more glycogen and water around it (dormant muscle fiber is partially dessicated because of lack of use), which will account for much of the new weight. Also be aware, at your weight and height and body fat % I would put your maintenance calories at somewhere around 1800, I would say having a deficit of 300 would be just about right for you, where as 500 might be a bit to much. Just be cautious to be very accurate in your food measuring, that can be a big problem when you're talking about small deficits. these are rough guesses mind you, to be more accurate we'd need to do more in-depth analysis and some trial and error (alas, weight loss is kind of a "soft science" in that respect).

Sorry to hijack this thread slightly but I'm in a similar situation (reached my goal, starting maintaining and lifting heavy, and put weight back on) and this is a question I have about my own calorie consumption. Do you mean cutmd's net cals should be 1800 for maintenance, even after exercise? Or she should just eat 1800 total calories a day? This is something I'm wondering about for myself and have been trying to find clarification on. I've been eating an average of 1550 net calories a day for the last two months (since I started maintaining), but most calorie calculators online put me at 1700+, which seems like a lot. So I just feel confused if that should be my net calorie goal, or just calories consumed per day regardless of exercise. I hope that makes sense heh.
Thanks in advance!!

If you're at maintenance, then eat maintenance plus exercise, but first be sure that is your true maintenance. If you eat maintenance plus exercise without any changes in workout for a while, and you maintain, then that's your true maintenance, if you lose or gain, then that's not your true maintenance and you'll need to tweak. Also you could go to a metabolic testing lab and have an indirect calorimetry test done, that will tell you your true maintenance as well. but that's a little expensive.

I forgot to say thanks again, SHBoss, sorry about that. Since nothing else is working I'm going to try a week or 2 at 1350 and be super careful with my measurements

that's fine, but just food for thought. here are some reasons why you could be not losing (just generic reasons, I'm not targeting you).

1. you're at maintenance

2. you're at the exact point where your deficit is to large for you, it's big enough that you're body is sending out the signals to hold onto fat and burn lean tissue, and slow down your metabolic rate (starvation mode) and when that happens, for a while, eating slightly more than that will actually stall you out because a) your body is panicking and b) you're actual maintenance calories are lower than they would normally be

3. A metabolically related disorder or illness is causing your body to burn less than it normally would.

4. you're overestimating or underestimating either your calories in or calories out. I.E. you've incorrectly reported your activity level, or your exercise calories, or you food calories or more likely a bit of all 3.

these are all things to take into account as possibilities. The only way what you're thinking of doing would work, is if you're in the first 1.