Second prolonged plateau

hoimang
hoimang Posts: 7 Member
edited November 20 in Health and Weight Loss
So I've lost about 40 pounds in four months, from 275 down to 236, and I've lost about five inches from my waist. After a two week plateau about 15 pounds in, I've been steadily losing weight until the last ten days where I've been stuck. I hit the elliptical everyday for 30-40 minutes of pretty vigorous cardio (bpm > 130, average calories burned around 450 according to Apple Watch), and strength train three days a week doing a combo of upper and lower body weight work. I keep my net caloric intake around 1600 calories and usually don't eat them all back. I tend to go heavy on protein, and keep carbs well below the macro level suggested by MFP. If my BMR is 1967 calories, should I try upping my net intake? I'm about 25 pounds from my goal weight of 210. I wonder if I'm unintentionally slowing my metabolism by consuming too few calories.

Replies

  • MommaGem2017
    MommaGem2017 Posts: 405 Member
    First, 40 lbs in 4 months (with a 2 weeks plateau) is a great accomplishment - congratulations!

    From what I've read, only 10 days is not a true plateau. The closer to your goal, the slower the weight loss. Patience and perseverance will be your companions now.

    As for slowing your metabolism due to low calories, it doesn't work that way. Are you weighing and logging your food to ensure you are actually consuming to ensure that you are actually consuming the 1600 kcal?
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    Do you use a food scale, weigh and log everything that passes your lips, no cheating, skipping or forgetting?
  • cheryldumais
    cheryldumais Posts: 1,907 Member
    No 10 days is not a plateau but I understand your concern. I am not an expert but I will repeat what I have read here time and again. Increasing your activity drastically can cause your body to hold some water in order to do muscle repair. It's probably temporary. I'm assuming that you have adjusted your calories already for the weight loss? Less body weight means less calories to continue losing at the same rate. Keep going and congrats on a great loss!
  • hoimang
    hoimang Posts: 7 Member
    Yes, I weigh or measure everything, even hot sauces that have zero calories. I've read elsewhere that consuming too few calories can slow metabolism, but there's likely a lot of bad information out there. It's just frustrating when you stick to the plan pretty rigidly and don't lose or even gain a pound or two with no easily identifiable reason.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    It's perfectly normal to have a stretch of a week or two where the scale doesn't budge. There's a lot of other stuff in your body than just fat, and sometimes all the other stuff going on in there will mess with your weight. As @malibu927 said, if it extends to 3-4 weeks, look to tighten up your logging or drop your calories.

    Congrats on your success so far!
  • hoimang
    hoimang Posts: 7 Member
    Thanks for the feedback, everyone. I'll keep at it and resist the urge to play around with calories. Is it at all wise to just make sure I hit the 1600 net, or is staying under that fine?
  • DamieBird
    DamieBird Posts: 651 Member
    hoimang wrote: »
    Thanks for the feedback, everyone. I'll keep at it and resist the urge to play around with calories. Is it at all wise to just make sure I hit the 1600 net, or is staying under that fine?

    At your weight, you should be losing fine at 1600 net, as long as your logging is accurate for both calories in and calories out. It is absolutely not recommended for men to get below 1500, and that's for someone who is normal weight.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    edited August 2017
    hoimang wrote: »
    Yes, I weigh or measure everything, even hot sauces that have zero calories. I've read elsewhere that consuming too few calories can slow metabolism, but there's likely a lot of bad information out there. It's just frustrating when you stick to the plan pretty rigidly and don't lose or even gain a pound or two with no easily identifiable reason.

    Yes, there is an identifiable reason: You're human. Weight loss is not linear. That means you will not lose at the same rate every day or every week and you will have times of no loss followed by a sudden drop. This is all perfectly normal. The most important thing is to keep following your food and exercise plan, regardless of the scale. You will be rewarded for this. I lost weight every month for 2 1/2 years, despite stalls and everything else that happens along the way. I ate at 1700 cals most of the time.
  • hoimang
    hoimang Posts: 7 Member
    Well, I finally broke through after nearly a month. I changed my strength training routine from a long list of sets into three agonist-antagonist supersets, core work, and then working muscle groups that have no true opposites (lats, calves, forearms, trap shrugs). I've also switched up my cardio (elliptical) from a 40-minute resistance pyramid to 30 minutes of HIIT. I stuck to my calories and resisted the urge to experiment.

    Some colleagues who have been in a similar situation and are now competitive weightlifters and endurance types emphasized the importance of mixing up the exercise routine from time to time as your body acclimates after a while.

    Only 24 more pounds to go. Forward!
  • Silentpadna
    Silentpadna Posts: 1,306 Member
    edited August 2017
    Good luck going forward. Be careful to note only correlation here. No causation proven. Whooshes happen and it very well may have corresponded to your training routine change, but the training change did not suddenly start burning fat for you.

    In the meantime, at 236 pounds I would have a very hard time, based on your activity level, believing that 1600-1700 calories is enough. At an average height, assuming 40yo (I have no idea), you should be able to eat 2000 calories a day and still have an aggressive deficit (probably too aggressive when you are 24 pounds away). If you're 30, add another 100 or so. A little more if your taller. I'm 5'10", 54yo, starting weight was 240. I've consistently eaten an average of 2200 calories or thereabouts since February and now am at 192. With a fairly similar activity level.

    This is about the time that moderating your deficit will help you preserve more muscle mass. In my unqualified opinion of course.
  • hoimang
    hoimang Posts: 7 Member
    I'm nearly 43 and 5'10". I eat 1600 NET calories, so if I'm super active I might eat north of 2400 calories. Are you suggesting trying 2000 NET calories? MFP gave me 1600 based on my goal of wanting to be more aggressive and losing 2 pounds per week.

    I get your point about muscle mass. Despite getting plenty of protein I don't feel like I'm building muscle mass like I should given the amount of lifting I'm doing. Maybe bumping up my calories is the answer. Thanks for the input!
  • soon2beeskinny
    soon2beeskinny Posts: 28 Member
    Why oh why are you eating 1600 calories? MFP could not have suggested that for your current size
  • hoimang
    hoimang Posts: 7 Member
    It was suggested when I weighed 270. I guess I thought it would adjust automatically. Again, I'm talking net calories.
  • hoimang
    hoimang Posts: 7 Member
    Also, I set my activity level to Not Very Active because besides the exercise I'm pretty desk-bound.
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