Why am I not cutting fat?
amyloohoo67
Posts: 9 Member
I have been doing orange theory workouts for a year and drastically changed my diet to cut out all the junk. I started with twice weekly workouts supplemented with some yoga and walking and in the first 2 months lost about 7 pounds while building some noticeable muscle. I went from a size 10 pant to a size 8. Weight dropped from 169 to 162 and lost 1% body fat. Yay. Now it's 10 months later and I'm stuck at the same weight and body fat. Trainer told me I've plateaued and should increase the workouts so for 7 weeks now I've been doing 4 orange theory workouts (really challenging with the heaviest weights I've ever done and jogging now instead of walking) still supplementing with walking and yoga and I'm stuck at 162 pounds and 28% body fat. I'm eating 100 grams of protein a day and roughly 1400 calories. No bread, crackers, junk food or desserts. I'm eating oatmeal, egg whites, small amounts of fruit, green vegetables, brown rice, sweet potatoes, Greek yogurt. I let myself indulge in 3-4 glasses of wine per week. Please help me figure out why I'm not losing fat. I'm working out so hard and getting really frustrated.
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Forgot to mention I am a 52 year old woman0
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How tall are you?
How consistent and accurate is your logging? Do you log everything all the time? Use a food scale for all solids? Check that the database entries you're choosing have the correct calories?
Have you had a physical with blood work recently?9 -
I'm 5'9" and yes I've had a recent physical and my blood work was outstanding. I log most days, not all, but I eat the same every day and have been logging so long (a year) I pretty much know how much I'm eating. I might have a slice of pizza or a cookie occasionally but mostly I'm sticking to the clean eating.0
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Fat loss is caused by consistently being in a calorie deficit. You describe your calorie intake as "roughly," which implies that you're either not sure how many calories you're eating, and/or are estimating your calorie intake rather than weighing and logging your food.16
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Clean eating is great, but you can eat too many calories of "clean food".
There is such a thing as portion creep. It happens to me whenever I stop logging. I think I'm having the same amount all the time, but very slowly over weeks and months, what I see as a portion grows.
Commit to logging super accurately for at least 2 weeks. Log everything - beverages,condiments, cooking oils, cheat meals, nibbles, everything. Use a food scale for all solids as often as humanly possible - whole foods, single serve packages, produce, everything. Double check the calories in the entries you are using to the package or the usda published info. Lay down some super accurate data, and it will probably shine a light on what you need to focus on. That's what'worked for me and many others here
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When I say "roughly" 1400 calories I mean like 1300 one day and 1500 the next. I measure and log everything - altho I might estimate a sweet potato is one cup instead of weighing it to find out it's .75 cup. Do you really think that makes a big difference?0
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Kimny- thank you! I will give that a try.2
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You're 5'9" and 162, and at or around menopause. You're at a very healthy weight. What are you aiming for?6
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amyloohoo67 wrote: »When I say "roughly" 1400 calories I mean like 1300 one day and 1500 the next. I measure and log everything - altho I might estimate a sweet potato is one cup instead of weighing it to find out it's .75 cup. Do you really think that makes a big difference?
Weighing food can make a dramatic difference for some people. I would strongly advise using a food scale for all your food, not measuring cups/spoons.11 -
amyloohoo67 wrote: »When I say "roughly" 1400 calories I mean like 1300 one day and 1500 the next. I measure and log everything - altho I might estimate a sweet potato is one cup instead of weighing it to find out it's .75 cup. Do you really think that makes a big difference?
I only had 15ish lbs to lose, and I was spinning my wheels. Once I started logging like it was my job to do a science experiment on myself lol I found I was eating 200-300 cals more than I thought I was, which is the half-pound per week I was looking for. It also helped me feel more in control, which eliminated a lot of the stress and guilt I was building up around my body and my diet. Hopefully it clears it up for you, let us know!10 -
amyloohoo67 wrote: »I let myself indulge in 3-4 glasses of wine per week.
Have you calculated how many calories are in the alcohol you drink?
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I would try logging everything tight and hitting each macro tight for 2 weeks. If no results after 2 weeks, I would do it for 30 days and see results. After your 30 days, adjust your calorie goal. it sounds like you are eating at maintenance.1
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Just to add: there is more to calorie balance than just food intake. It is a consistent pattern that people lose weight for a certain amount of time and then plateau. Part of that is that, over time, we tend to bring our entire lives back into an energy balance. Whether it’s relaxation of eating habits (and “regression to the mean”), or small regular changes to NEAT, or something else—it’s a common pattern. I think sometimes too much high-intensity exercise can increase chronic physical stress levels as well. And, finally, there is the fact that we have the bodies that we have, and it may be that you have reached a threshold with your body that it’s just going to take more effort to effect more substantial changes than the usual plan. (I am moving further into speculation as I go).
While I’m sure the “trainer” would disagree, I highly doubt that “moar orange fitness” is the way to go. This is a case where a “diet break” or interval of “exercise deloading” might actually help. Not stopping workouts, but maybe go with some more traditional lifting and even include some LISS cardio for a few weeks in place of some (not all) of the higher-intensity circuits.7 -
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Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »You're 5'9" and 162, and at or around menopause. You're at a very healthy weight. What are you aiming for?
I would like to reduce my body fat so my muscles show a bit more. I'm happy with my size- just not with the fat on my arms, butt, thighs, and belly that cover up the muscles I have been working so hard for.. I think 6-8 pounds of fat loss would make a big difference5 -
Thank you so much everybody for all the help. I'm going to try measuring my food perfectly for a couple of weeks and we'll see how it goes. I'll report back! thank you so much for all the support. I couldn't figure out who to ask for help and then I stumbled upon this forum and I think I found the right place!9
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Personally, I think you're not eating enough calories for the amount of work you're putting in.0
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Personally, I think you're not eating enough calories for the amount of work you're putting in.
Until she's logging accurately, there's no way to tell that. And while under fueling extreme exercise can in some situations reduce NEAT, it will more often slow weight loss, not stop it for 10 months, and it's far more likely OP is eating more cals than she thinks.11 -
I disagree. Underfueling will ruin you metabolism and stall weight loss. Just my 2 cents.1
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I disagree. Underfueling will ruin you metabolism and stall weight loss. Just my 2 cents.
So rather than first start logging accurately and make sure her calories are in line, you think she should just eat more and keep her fingers crossed?
If the problem is that she is eating too little, that will be more obvious once she is logging better too.14 -
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amyloohoo67 wrote: »Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »You're 5'9" and 162, and at or around menopause. You're at a very healthy weight. What are you aiming for?
I would like to reduce my body fat so my muscles show a bit more. I'm happy with my size- just not with the fat on my arms, butt, thighs, and belly that cover up the muscles I have been working so hard for.. I think 6-8 pounds of fat loss would make a big difference
So you will want to be aiming to lose @ 0.5 lbs per week. I'd set mfp up for that, to see where your calories should be as you do this at least 2 week experiment, and remember the mfp goal expects you to eat extra when you exercise.
I wanted to second something that @Azdak said as well. There is no reason to work out so much, especially if you don't enjoy it. I suspect the trainers suggestion was more of a sales pitch than anything else.
Any weight loss at this point will be super slow, so it really is all about tweaking all the different variables to find the sweet spot.
I'll add that none of your posts mentioned struggling with hunger or fatigue, which is why my first instinct is that you are eating more than you think. 1400 at your height and activity level would typically be too low, but it would also over as long a time as 10 months be evident to you, your body would be asking for more calories. These are all my unprofessional but obsessed-amateur opinion BTW 10 -
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OK. I get it now. This isn't a real person. It's a spambot. Disregard all posts by this account1 -
undereating will not stop weightloss lol. if it did there would be no such thing as anorexia!
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Underfuelling will not stall weight loss! This is the old starvation mode m myth yet again.1
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