Officially reached a Plateau
Replies
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janejellyroll wrote: »MegaMooseEsq wrote: »collectingblues wrote: »collectingblues wrote: »
But by under eating, you can starve your muscle, which in turn will lower the amount of calories your body naturally burns. I’m eating at an extreme deficit and lifting heavier weights each week. There’s a thin line with cutting/starving the body and i think i might be teeteringMegaMooseEsq wrote: »I’m definitelyyyy in a caloric deficit. I’m supposed to be eating over 2000cals for maintenance, and I’m eating 1650. So another concern is maybe I’m not eating enough which can also cause weight gain
Nah. Your weight can fluctuate due to all sorts of things, but it is scientifically impossible to gain fat because of "not eating enough". Certainly weight loss can slow for any number of reasons (the chart above lists many of the usual culprits), but you can be confident that you won't gain fat by eating too little.
You think 1650 calories a day on a TDEE of 2000 is an "extreme" deficit?
That's not even 20 percent.
Can you lose muscle mass at a high deficit? Sure can. 17 percent isn't a high deficit. Can you develop hormonal adaptations that make water weight more likely to stay on? Yup. After prolonged situations at a high deficit. But you're not at a high deficit.
Is there a reason you're opposed to weighing and measuring, and tightening up your logging before jumping to the "I must be starving myself!" bogus claim?
Honestly, the tone of your post is extremely uncalled for. This is a community chat board for people seeking helpful advice. Not belittlement or ridicule. So....in words on your level of respect, be polite or get off my thread.
I'm neither belittling you nor ridiculing you. I am asking questions to get you to try to understand why you aren't losing. I don't sugar coat.
And you also don't get to dictate who chats on a thread or not.
I don’t think the point of their post was to belittle you - though you’ve had the bulk of advice saying the first and best place to start would be to begin stringently tracking your macros / calories.....you seem adverse to doing this, and with no reason as to why?
Everyone has their own back story. I used to eat less than 800-900 calories a day from an eating disorder. I used to hard core weigh every single thing i used in cooking and eating, but i noticed my eating disorder symptoms resurfacing. Like i said before, i weighed my foods for so long that i know correct estimations, and i DO still weigh some foods. On the foods that i don’t weigh, i make the estimations and then take a little away just to lower rates of inaccuracies.
If you're in recovery it certainly makes sense why meticulous calorie counting might not be a good strategy for you. That said, maybe your treatment team would be more helpful than a calorie counting website?
I am my own treatment team. I wasn’t using MFP for anything but to make sure i was hitting my macros correctly, not exactly calorie counting
I think the point is that (most) people here are using calorie counting to control their weight. It's the main tool we have. It may be triggering for some people with a history of EDs and that's understandable. But if you're gaining weight and you can't use the main tool that people here use to control their weight, I'm not sure what else we can suggest.
ED treatment teams have skills to help people manage their weight while minimizing or avoiding ED triggers. Those are skills that we don't have, we're just a collection of people online who have had success counting calories and want to help others who are also interested in counting calories (there are some exceptions and maybe one of those people will have some non-calorie counting advice for you).
It’s totally understandable that a lot of people use this app for purely calorie counting. But i do weightlifting and all of my fellow weightlifting friends use MFP for macro help...which is why i mentioned macro related stuff in my original post, hoping that only people with similar interests and understandings would respond. If people don’t use this as a tool for that, then you’re right...the advice won’t be as helpful. But MFP has been a big aide to me for my macro purposes
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I’ve added VT to my leg days and I’ve increased my maxes in all lifts. I’ve been feeling no difference in stamina or endurance, besides cardio still sucks lol.Have you recently (in the past few weeks) changed or increased your workout program or suddenly added extra volume or training days, in particular to your weight training? Also, how is your workout performance feeling? Are you at least maintaining your strength and stamina in the gym?
If you don't want to track 100% of your food because of your past, you need to cut a portion down or snack out, in particular a calorie dense one. Try removing a snack or something from your day and see if it helps keeping all other things in your diet the same (as much as you can). It will be trial and error and could take a while but it could help.
And if you feel like any of your past ED feelings start to resurface at any time, definitely reach out to your doctor.
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collectingblues wrote: »collectingblues wrote: »
But by under eating, you can starve your muscle, which in turn will lower the amount of calories your body naturally burns. I’m eating at an extreme deficit and lifting heavier weights each week. There’s a thin line with cutting/starving the body and i think i might be teeteringMegaMooseEsq wrote: »I’m definitelyyyy in a caloric deficit. I’m supposed to be eating over 2000cals for maintenance, and I’m eating 1650. So another concern is maybe I’m not eating enough which can also cause weight gain
Nah. Your weight can fluctuate due to all sorts of things, but it is scientifically impossible to gain fat because of "not eating enough". Certainly weight loss can slow for any number of reasons (the chart above lists many of the usual culprits), but you can be confident that you won't gain fat by eating too little.
You think 1650 calories a day on a TDEE of 2000 is an "extreme" deficit?
That's not even 20 percent.
Can you lose muscle mass at a high deficit? Sure can. 17 percent isn't a high deficit. Can you develop hormonal adaptations that make water weight more likely to stay on? Yup. After prolonged situations at a high deficit. But you're not at a high deficit.
Is there a reason you're opposed to weighing and measuring, and tightening up your logging before jumping to the "I must be starving myself!" bogus claim?
Honestly, the tone of your post is extremely uncalled for. This is a community chat board for people seeking helpful advice. Not belittlement or ridicule. So....in words on your level of respect, be polite or get off my thread.
I'm neither belittling you nor ridiculing you. I am asking questions to get you to try to understand why you aren't losing. I don't sugar coat.
And you also don't get to dictate who chats on a thread or not.
Try some self reflection. I thought your post was rude and condescending, and seems like OP did too. 'Not sugar coating' doesn't mean you have to treat OP like an idiot.
That being said, I do agree that it's unlikely to be related to eating too little. I would personally try weighing everything. If that is triggering for you, OP, you could also try cutting back on fatty foods. Fatty foods tend to be more calorie-dense, so by decreasing your portion sizes of those, you are likely to decrease your calorie intake by more than you would if you cut another macro. Hope that makes sense? Best of luck to you!10 -
I’m definitelyyyy in a caloric deficit. I’m supposed to be eating over 2000cals for maintenance, and I’m eating 1650. So another concern is maybe I’m not eating enough which can also cause weight gain
In the extremely short term, and only very technically speaking (because of terms), you can gain weight in a deficit. But you absolutely positively cannot gain fat while in a deficit. You can lose fat and gain water weight in the short term. If your profile pic is accurate, and you only have 10 pounds to lose, you are not gaining fat if you're eating 1650 with the activities you mention. You are either holding more water, or your estimated intake is not matching actual.
It doesn't matter if I'm an encyclopedia on portions, I won't know if I'm eating a certain number of calories unless I measure. If I don't measure, I am, by definition estimating. Estimation brings error. Period.
Find out what's true first. Then and only then will you know if you are in a plateau. Especially if you only have 10 pounds to lose.11 -
I’ve added VT to my leg days and I’ve increased my maxes in all lifts. I’ve been feeling no difference in stamina or endurance, besides cardio still sucks lol.Have you recently (in the past few weeks) changed or increased your workout program or suddenly added extra volume or training days, in particular to your weight training? Also, how is your workout performance feeling? Are you at least maintaining your strength and stamina in the gym?
If you don't want to track 100% of your food because of your past, you need to cut a portion down or snack out, in particular a calorie dense one. Try removing a snack or something from your day and see if it helps keeping all other things in your diet the same (as much as you can). It will be trial and error and could take a while but it could help.
And if you feel like any of your past ED feelings start to resurface at any time, definitely reach out to your doctor.
Sometimes adding more volume can increase water retention. Last year when I was cutting I changed workout programs and although the training was similar it was slightly more volume and my weight jumped up 2-3lbs and became my new normal weight.. and I didn't see a drop for at least a month..so what looked like a plateau was actually just me holding on to water weight.
Also if you are noticing not as much energy and workout performance, it could help to swap out some of the fats for carbs. I know you are low carb/keto but carbs can be a lifters best friend.. and better/more efficient workout performance can equal burning more cals and keeping up progressive overload with less burnout.2 -
I’ve added VT to my leg days and I’ve increased my maxes in all lifts. I’ve been feeling no difference in stamina or endurance, besides cardio still sucks lol.Have you recently (in the past few weeks) changed or increased your workout program or suddenly added extra volume or training days, in particular to your weight training? Also, how is your workout performance feeling? Are you at least maintaining your strength and stamina in the gym?
If you don't want to track 100% of your food because of your past, you need to cut a portion down or snack out, in particular a calorie dense one. Try removing a snack or something from your day and see if it helps keeping all other things in your diet the same (as much as you can). It will be trial and error and could take a while but it could help.
And if you feel like any of your past ED feelings start to resurface at any time, definitely reach out to your doctor.
Sometimes adding more volume can increase water retention. Last year when I was cutting I changed workout programs and although the training was similar it was slightly more volume and my weight jumped up 2-3lbs and became my new normal weight.. and I didn't see a drop for at least a month..so what looked like a plateau was actually just me holding on to water weight.
Also if you are noticing not as much energy and workout performance, it could help to swap out some of the fats for carbs. I know you are low carb/keto but carbs can be a lifters best friend.. and better/more efficient workout performance can equal burning more cals and keeping up progressive overload with less burnout.
I recently started using creatine, and I’ve heard mixed opinions and studies or how that affects weight loss/water retention. What’s your take on that?2 -
janejellyroll wrote: »MegaMooseEsq wrote: »collectingblues wrote: »collectingblues wrote: »
But by under eating, you can starve your muscle, which in turn will lower the amount of calories your body naturally burns. I’m eating at an extreme deficit and lifting heavier weights each week. There’s a thin line with cutting/starving the body and i think i might be teeteringMegaMooseEsq wrote: »I’m definitelyyyy in a caloric deficit. I’m supposed to be eating over 2000cals for maintenance, and I’m eating 1650. So another concern is maybe I’m not eating enough which can also cause weight gain
Nah. Your weight can fluctuate due to all sorts of things, but it is scientifically impossible to gain fat because of "not eating enough". Certainly weight loss can slow for any number of reasons (the chart above lists many of the usual culprits), but you can be confident that you won't gain fat by eating too little.
You think 1650 calories a day on a TDEE of 2000 is an "extreme" deficit?
That's not even 20 percent.
Can you lose muscle mass at a high deficit? Sure can. 17 percent isn't a high deficit. Can you develop hormonal adaptations that make water weight more likely to stay on? Yup. After prolonged situations at a high deficit. But you're not at a high deficit.
Is there a reason you're opposed to weighing and measuring, and tightening up your logging before jumping to the "I must be starving myself!" bogus claim?
Honestly, the tone of your post is extremely uncalled for. This is a community chat board for people seeking helpful advice. Not belittlement or ridicule. So....in words on your level of respect, be polite or get off my thread.
I'm neither belittling you nor ridiculing you. I am asking questions to get you to try to understand why you aren't losing. I don't sugar coat.
And you also don't get to dictate who chats on a thread or not.
I don’t think the point of their post was to belittle you - though you’ve had the bulk of advice saying the first and best place to start would be to begin stringently tracking your macros / calories.....you seem adverse to doing this, and with no reason as to why?
Everyone has their own back story. I used to eat less than 800-900 calories a day from an eating disorder. I used to hard core weigh every single thing i used in cooking and eating, but i noticed my eating disorder symptoms resurfacing. Like i said before, i weighed my foods for so long that i know correct estimations, and i DO still weigh some foods. On the foods that i don’t weigh, i make the estimations and then take a little away just to lower rates of inaccuracies.
If you're in recovery it certainly makes sense why meticulous calorie counting might not be a good strategy for you. That said, maybe your treatment team would be more helpful than a calorie counting website?
I am my own treatment team. I wasn’t using MFP for anything but to make sure i was hitting my macros correctly, not exactly calorie counting
I think the point is that (most) people here are using calorie counting to control their weight. It's the main tool we have. It may be triggering for some people with a history of EDs and that's understandable. But if you're gaining weight and you can't use the main tool that people here use to control their weight, I'm not sure what else we can suggest.
ED treatment teams have skills to help people manage their weight while minimizing or avoiding ED triggers. Those are skills that we don't have, we're just a collection of people online who have had success counting calories and want to help others who are also interested in counting calories (there are some exceptions and maybe one of those people will have some non-calorie counting advice for you).
It’s totally understandable that a lot of people use this app for purely calorie counting. But i do weightlifting and all of my fellow weightlifting friends use MFP for macro help...which is why i mentioned macro related stuff in my original post, hoping that only people with similar interests and understandings would respond. If people don’t use this as a tool for that, then you’re right...the advice won’t be as helpful. But MFP has been a big aide to me for my macro purposes
I absolutely understand that people use this website for a variety of purposes. But in the general area, a post about how to stop weight gain is going to get responses focused on what most of us have determined is the best tool for stopping weight gain -- accurate counting of calories. I know not everyone can use this tool, which is why looking to experts in the field that is prompting your inability to use this tool may be more useful to you than what most of us can provide. In any case, good luck!5 -
I’ve added VT to my leg days and I’ve increased my maxes in all lifts. I’ve been feeling no difference in stamina or endurance, besides cardio still sucks lol.Have you recently (in the past few weeks) changed or increased your workout program or suddenly added extra volume or training days, in particular to your weight training? Also, how is your workout performance feeling? Are you at least maintaining your strength and stamina in the gym?
If you don't want to track 100% of your food because of your past, you need to cut a portion down or snack out, in particular a calorie dense one. Try removing a snack or something from your day and see if it helps keeping all other things in your diet the same (as much as you can). It will be trial and error and could take a while but it could help.
And if you feel like any of your past ED feelings start to resurface at any time, definitely reach out to your doctor.
Sometimes adding more volume can increase water retention. Last year when I was cutting I changed workout programs and although the training was similar it was slightly more volume and my weight jumped up 2-3lbs and became my new normal weight.. and I didn't see a drop for at least a month..so what looked like a plateau was actually just me holding on to water weight.
Also if you are noticing not as much energy and workout performance, it could help to swap out some of the fats for carbs. I know you are low carb/keto but carbs can be a lifters best friend.. and better/more efficient workout performance can equal burning more cals and keeping up progressive overload with less burnout.
I recently started using creatine, and I’ve heard mixed opinions and studies or how that affects weight loss/water retention. What’s your take on that?
Oh that could definitely be it.. creatine can cause water retention for sure.2 -
I’ve added VT to my leg days and I’ve increased my maxes in all lifts. I’ve been feeling no difference in stamina or endurance, besides cardio still sucks lol.Have you recently (in the past few weeks) changed or increased your workout program or suddenly added extra volume or training days, in particular to your weight training? Also, how is your workout performance feeling? Are you at least maintaining your strength and stamina in the gym?
If you don't want to track 100% of your food because of your past, you need to cut a portion down or snack out, in particular a calorie dense one. Try removing a snack or something from your day and see if it helps keeping all other things in your diet the same (as much as you can). It will be trial and error and could take a while but it could help.
And if you feel like any of your past ED feelings start to resurface at any time, definitely reach out to your doctor.
Sometimes adding more volume can increase water retention. Last year when I was cutting I changed workout programs and although the training was similar it was slightly more volume and my weight jumped up 2-3lbs and became my new normal weight.. and I didn't see a drop for at least a month..so what looked like a plateau was actually just me holding on to water weight.
Also if you are noticing not as much energy and workout performance, it could help to swap out some of the fats for carbs. I know you are low carb/keto but carbs can be a lifters best friend.. and better/more efficient workout performance can equal burning more cals and keeping up progressive overload with less burnout.
I recently started using creatine, and I’ve heard mixed opinions and studies or how that affects weight loss/water retention. What’s your take on that?
I think this is your answer, OP.
I gained 4 lbs when I started using creatine.
I would give it a few weeks before you make more changes.3 -
I’ve added VT to my leg days and I’ve increased my maxes in all lifts. I’ve been feeling no difference in stamina or endurance, besides cardio still sucks lol.Have you recently (in the past few weeks) changed or increased your workout program or suddenly added extra volume or training days, in particular to your weight training? Also, how is your workout performance feeling? Are you at least maintaining your strength and stamina in the gym?
If you don't want to track 100% of your food because of your past, you need to cut a portion down or snack out, in particular a calorie dense one. Try removing a snack or something from your day and see if it helps keeping all other things in your diet the same (as much as you can). It will be trial and error and could take a while but it could help.
And if you feel like any of your past ED feelings start to resurface at any time, definitely reach out to your doctor.
Sometimes adding more volume can increase water retention. Last year when I was cutting I changed workout programs and although the training was similar it was slightly more volume and my weight jumped up 2-3lbs and became my new normal weight.. and I didn't see a drop for at least a month..so what looked like a plateau was actually just me holding on to water weight.
Also if you are noticing not as much energy and workout performance, it could help to swap out some of the fats for carbs. I know you are low carb/keto but carbs can be a lifters best friend.. and better/more efficient workout performance can equal burning more cals and keeping up progressive overload with less burnout.
I recently started using creatine, and I’ve heard mixed opinions and studies or how that affects weight loss/water retention. What’s your take on that?
It affected me, 5 pounds gained both times I took it, but I lose it after 4 days of discontinuing. I am a nonresponder so I won't be taking it any more.
https://examine.com/supplements/creatine/2 -
It’s been about 3 weeks of stalling.
I’m 22, female, 5’4, and 141lbs with a GW of 127-130. I’m athletic/petite build. Definitely bottom heavy lol
We can pinpoint where adjustments can be made but would need to know what your current macros are, how much cardio (calories) you're burning, how long you've been cutting etc...
If you're tracking but not weighing your food, just starting to do that will help immensely. For your height though, 2000 for maintenance is impressive. I'd be interested to know how much lean mass you're holding.0 -
I can absolutely understand why you wouldn't want to track and it's a good reason. But since you just added volume and creatine, you may need to give it a little more time to see how your body adjust. Secondly, you can try to modify meals and/or frequency to see if that helps; like have a smaller than normal breakfast, skip breakfast or look for some volume foods to replace what you currently eat. What I tend to do is use egg whites/egg beaters with 1 whole egg when I cut, but all whole eggs when I maintain.
Also, since you are at a lower weight, much like myself, things are going to be slower and need to be a bit more meticulous. For me, it have struggled to get abs after my first 50 lb lost because I struggle with urges and compliance. For me, tracking is becoming a battle after years of doing it. So while I still track short term, I am trying to pinpoint strategies to get even leaner (stuck at about 16%).4
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