Any tips for further progress?
TomWhalen88
Posts: 16 Member
Hey guys,
So I’ve been committed to my weight loss for just over 2 months now and I’ve lost about 10kg, 103kg to 93.
However the last 2 weeks my weight has been shuffling around 92.5kg-93.6kg. So I feel like I’ve possibly reached a plateau, I aim to workout ever 2nd day, where I do about a 30 minute cycle with a mix of strength and flexibility training. Equaling around 45mins to 1 hour of exercise.
I don’t eat lots, but I also don’t starve myself, say on average about 1600 calories, I also do my best to follow the 5:2 diet where on Monday and Friday I only eat around 600 calories. So it should be plenty to be in a deficit.
But I’m worried if I cut calories further than it may be doing me more harm than anything.
So just a bit lost, I never really ate a lot in a day before my weight loss so whether that has had an effect from starting at a low calorie intake already rather than cutting from my recommended 2500.
Just want to see what you guys reckon, im not the most knowledged person when it comes to this stuff. But happy to hear recommendations, about eating or if I should up my fitness more.
Cheers
So I’ve been committed to my weight loss for just over 2 months now and I’ve lost about 10kg, 103kg to 93.
However the last 2 weeks my weight has been shuffling around 92.5kg-93.6kg. So I feel like I’ve possibly reached a plateau, I aim to workout ever 2nd day, where I do about a 30 minute cycle with a mix of strength and flexibility training. Equaling around 45mins to 1 hour of exercise.
I don’t eat lots, but I also don’t starve myself, say on average about 1600 calories, I also do my best to follow the 5:2 diet where on Monday and Friday I only eat around 600 calories. So it should be plenty to be in a deficit.
But I’m worried if I cut calories further than it may be doing me more harm than anything.
So just a bit lost, I never really ate a lot in a day before my weight loss so whether that has had an effect from starting at a low calorie intake already rather than cutting from my recommended 2500.
Just want to see what you guys reckon, im not the most knowledged person when it comes to this stuff. But happy to hear recommendations, about eating or if I should up my fitness more.
Cheers
1
Replies
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5:2 is designed for you to eat at maintenance calories 5 days a week and only have a big deficit on the 2 days.
Are you saying you are averaging 1600cals over the entire week (11,200 cals/week) or are you saying you average 1600 five days a week and eat 600 twice a week (9,200 cals/week)?
Are you eating back exercise calories?
4 -
5:2 is designed for you to eat at maintenance calories 5 days a week and only have a big deficit on the 2 days.
Are you saying you are averaging 1600cals over the entire week (11,200 cals/week) or are you saying you average 1600 five days a week and eat 600 twice a week (9,200 cals/week)?
Are you eating back exercise calories?
I eat roughly 1600 calories a day, someones more sometimes less, I exercise a couple of hours before dinner so unless it’s one of my low cal says (200ish calorie dinner) I most likely do eat it back.
0 -
Your answer isn't very clear, you eat 1600 on average on non fasting days ? And then only 600 on fasting days?
As a 5ft5 woman weighing 74kg, I eat more than you (1800 on average) and I'm still losing weight. So I wouldn't recommend a man weighing 93kg to eat less than 1600 a day (let alone 600 calories 2 days a week).
Since you were losing weight very quickly before your two week stall, I'm guessing your body is 'fighting back' against a (too) aggressive deficit by retaining water.
You don't seem to be using MFP as intended, since your answer about eating back exercise calories is unclear. Have you entered your details in MFP and set up your goals? How many calories does MFP give you?2 -
TomWhalen88 wrote: »5:2 is designed for you to eat at maintenance calories 5 days a week and only have a big deficit on the 2 days.
Are you saying you are averaging 1600cals over the entire week (11,200 cals/week) or are you saying you average 1600 five days a week and eat 600 twice a week (9,200 cals/week)?
Are you eating back exercise calories?
I eat roughly 1600 calories a day, someones more sometimes less, I exercise a couple of hours before dinner so unless it’s one of my low cal says (200ish calorie dinner) I most likely do eat it back.
You didn't answer the question.
How can people help you without data?
Try to be precise and not vague - maybe make your diary public?4 -
Your answer isn't very clear, you eat 1600 on average on non fasting days ? And then only 600 on fasting days?
As a 5ft5 woman weighing 74kg, I eat more than you (1800 on average) and I'm still losing weight. So I wouldn't recommend a man weighing 93kg to eat less than 1600 a day (let alone 600 calories 2 days a week).
Since you were losing weight very quickly before your two week stall, I'm guessing your body is 'fighting back' against a (too) aggressive deficit by retaining water.
You don't seem to be using MFP as intended, since your answer about eating back exercise calories is unclear. Have you entered your details in MFP and set up your goals? How many calories does MFP give you?TomWhalen88 wrote: »5:2 is designed for you to eat at maintenance calories 5 days a week and only have a big deficit on the 2 days.
Are you saying you are averaging 1600cals over the entire week (11,200 cals/week) or are you saying you average 1600 five days a week and eat 600 twice a week (9,200 cals/week)?
Are you eating back exercise calories?
I eat roughly 1600 calories a day, someones more sometimes less, I exercise a couple of hours before dinner so unless it’s one of my low cal says (200ish calorie dinner) I most likely do eat it back.
You didn't answer the question.
How can people help you without data?
Try to be precise and not vague - maybe make your diary public?
Yea I’ve had people tell me I should be eating way more. But I eat my meals and then don’t have the urge to eat more. Someone has told me if you dont feel hungry then I shouldn’t worry about having to consume all the calories it recommends me on MFP.Whether that was true, I’m not sure.
I do keep my weight and goals up to date on the app.
That’s why I was a bit worried about having not consumed lots before starting my weight loss. I was 114kg in 2017.
Happy to give you any numbers etc you may need for a better idea.
I did say I eat my exercise calories back. Generally dinner on my non-fasting days is well over the amount of calories I burn during exercise 400-500.
But just to clarify, Monday and Friday’s I eat around 600 calories, he rest of the days. I have my 3 meals + whatever snacks if I do start becoming hungry and it usually equals around 1600 calories, but sometimes less or more.
Apologies if it’s not helpful for you guys. But I appreciate it.0 -
TomWhalen88 wrote: »Your answer isn't very clear, you eat 1600 on average on non fasting days ? And then only 600 on fasting days?
As a 5ft5 woman weighing 74kg, I eat more than you (1800 on average) and I'm still losing weight. So I wouldn't recommend a man weighing 93kg to eat less than 1600 a day (let alone 600 calories 2 days a week).
Since you were losing weight very quickly before your two week stall, I'm guessing your body is 'fighting back' against a (too) aggressive deficit by retaining water.
You don't seem to be using MFP as intended, since your answer about eating back exercise calories is unclear. Have you entered your details in MFP and set up your goals? How many calories does MFP give you?
I did say I eat my exercise calories back. Generally dinner on my non-fasting days is well over the amount of calories I burn during exercise 400-500.TomWhalen88 wrote: »5:2 is designed for you to eat at maintenance calories 5 days a week and only have a big deficit on the 2 days.
Are you saying you are averaging 1600cals over the entire week (11,200 cals/week) or are you saying you average 1600 five days a week and eat 600 twice a week (9,200 cals/week)?
Are you eating back exercise calories?
I eat roughly 1600 calories a day, someones more sometimes less, I exercise a couple of hours before dinner so unless it’s one of my low cal says (200ish calorie dinner) I most likely do eat it back.
You didn't answer the question.
How can people help you without data?
Try to be precise and not vague - maybe make your diary public?
That's not what 'eating back exercise calories' means.
It means:
- setting up MFP as intended (choosing an activity level, which doesn't include exercise; choosing a weight loss rate; etc. )
- eating the number of calories MFP recommends
- on top of that, logging intentional exercise separately and eating those calories (or a sensible estimate of the calories you burned) on top of the base calorie goal.
By the way, you can absolutely not be eating enough and not feel hungry.2 -
TomWhalen88 wrote: »Your answer isn't very clear, you eat 1600 on average on non fasting days ? And then only 600 on fasting days?
As a 5ft5 woman weighing 74kg, I eat more than you (1800 on average) and I'm still losing weight. So I wouldn't recommend a man weighing 93kg to eat less than 1600 a day (let alone 600 calories 2 days a week).
Since you were losing weight very quickly before your two week stall, I'm guessing your body is 'fighting back' against a (too) aggressive deficit by retaining water.
You don't seem to be using MFP as intended, since your answer about eating back exercise calories is unclear. Have you entered your details in MFP and set up your goals? How many calories does MFP give you?
I did say I eat my exercise calories back. Generally dinner on my non-fasting days is well over the amount of calories I burn during exercise 400-500.TomWhalen88 wrote: »5:2 is designed for you to eat at maintenance calories 5 days a week and only have a big deficit on the 2 days.
Are you saying you are averaging 1600cals over the entire week (11,200 cals/week) or are you saying you average 1600 five days a week and eat 600 twice a week (9,200 cals/week)?
Are you eating back exercise calories?
I eat roughly 1600 calories a day, someones more sometimes less, I exercise a couple of hours before dinner so unless it’s one of my low cal says (200ish calorie dinner) I most likely do eat it back.
You didn't answer the question.
How can people help you without data?
Try to be precise and not vague - maybe make your diary public?
That's not what 'eating back exercise calories' means.
It means:
- setting up MFP as intended (choosing an activity level, which doesn't include exercise; choosing a weight loss rate; etc. )
- eating the number of calories MFP recommends
- on top of that, logging intentional exercise separately and eating those calories (or a sensible estimate of the calories you burned) on top of the base calorie goal.
By the way, you can absolutely not be eating enough and not feel hungry.
Well again, I apologise, to me that’s what it sounds like which is fair to assume.
And I’m aware that you should be eating what it recommends, but in my situation, what it recommends would have me eating a lot more than what I have in the months even leading up to my weight loss probably.
Not exactly a simple case I guess, I’m not sure whether even if I start eating what it recommends now, if it will be helpful, or just that will even have me gain weight due to my body most likely being use to my ‘normal’ intake
My burned calories are logged through my Apple Watch which I use when doing my workouts. I don’t unfortunately always put that information into the MFP app. Which probably doesn’t help my case.
If one of you are keen to help I’m happy to message let you see my logs etc.
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Let's start with basics. You're 93kg. How tall are you? What do you have your rate of weight loss set to in the Guided Setup? and how many calories does MFP give you (before exercise)? How much more are you trying to lose?
Is your Apple Watch synched to MFP? Just wondering if you're double counting exercise on the days that you put it in yourself.
Also, if you go to the app via your phone and look at the Week View, what are your net average calories for the last week? What are your net average calories for the week before and the week before that?
Do you log absolutely everything you eat or drink? Do you weigh every solid and measure every liquid? Do you track oil used for cooking and seasonings? Do you check every entry that you select in the database against what the packaging actually says? Are you sure you're using realistic entries? There are an awful lot of entries in the database that aren't accurate, either because the product has changed or because the user was on another planet when they entered it.
It does sound like you're under-eating. Or rather, what you're logging shows that you're under-eating. Often when people aren't losing, it's because they're eating more than they think they are, either due to inaccurate logging or selecting inaccurate entries. This might be obvious to more experienced users if they were able to see your Diary (you can make it Public for a few days then change it back to Private).
Your initial success is great, but you may now need to be more accurate to lose any more.1 -
TomWhalen88 wrote: »Hey guys,
So I’ve been committed to my weight loss for just over 2 months now and I’ve lost about 10kg, 103kg to 93.
However the last 2 weeks my weight has been shuffling around 92.5kg-93.6kg. So I feel like I’ve possibly reached a plateau, I aim to workout ever 2nd day, where I do about a 30 minute cycle with a mix of strength and flexibility training. Equaling around 45mins to 1 hour of exercise.
I don’t eat lots, but I also don’t starve myself, say on average about 1600 calories, I also do my best to follow the 5:2 diet where on Monday and Friday I only eat around 600 calories. So it should be plenty to be in a deficit.
But I’m worried if I cut calories further than it may be doing me more harm than anything.
So just a bit lost, I never really ate a lot in a day before my weight loss so whether that has had an effect from starting at a low calorie intake already rather than cutting from my recommended 2500.
Just want to see what you guys reckon, im not the most knowledged person when it comes to this stuff. But happy to hear recommendations, about eating or if I should up my fitness more.
Cheers
600 cals for someone weighing 93 mate ur hurting ur metabolism. Sure u might lose 4 kgs every week but ur bringing down ur resting BMR. What are u gonna do when and if it actually gets affected and ur still on ur weight loss journey? Ur gonna have to bring it down further from 1600 to 1400 or less than. It’s best to follow MFP daily calorie goals. Not to mention u lose heaps of muscle losing weight fast (more chances of loose skin as well). I’m 6 feet eating 2000 calories daily. Sometimes deadset I feel full, but I make sure I eat 2000 calories and enough protein everyday no matter what for my muscle growth and BMR. Also really happy u lose heaps and I’m sure that motivates u which is great just make sure this is a life time change not a short term diet. Eating enough everyday with the correct activity set in MFP will help u burn more calories in the future with a better BMR especially if u put in muscle1 -
Strudders67 wrote: »Let's start with basics. You're 93kg. How tall are you? What do you have your rate of weight loss set to in the Guided Setup? and how many calories does MFP give you (before exercise)? How much more are you trying to lose?
Is your Apple Watch synched to MFP? Just wondering if you're double counting exercise on the days that you put it in yourself.
Also, if you go to the app via your phone and look at the Week View, what are your net average calories for the last week? What are your net average calories for the week before and the week before that?
Do you log absolutely everything you eat or drink? Do you weigh every solid and measure every liquid? Do you track oil used for cooking and seasonings? Do you check every entry that you select in the database against what the packaging actually says? Are you sure you're using realistic entries? There are an awful lot of entries in the database that aren't accurate, either because the product has changed or because the user was on another planet when they entered it.
It does sound like you're under-eating. Or rather, what you're logging shows that you're under-eating. Often when people aren't losing, it's because they're eating more than they think they are, either due to inaccurate logging or selecting inaccurate entries. This might be obvious to more experienced users if they were able to see your Diary (you can make it Public for a few days then change it back to Private).
Your initial success is great, but you may now need to be more accurate to lose any more.
I’m 183cm tall, I currently have it set to .5 kg a week, brought it down from .8kg not long ago. Before it said to eat 2500 calories now it’s around 2230. My end goal is 80kg.
My watch is linked but it only counts steps for MFP, anything else I have to log myself, but the Watch’s app does have all my workouts logged also. My last week’s total average net calories was 2309cal, week before that was 2386cal.
I log basically all my meals, and every item in it. I don’t do seasoning often because generally it doesn’t contain many calories, but if you recommend i should, then I will. I add the oil into the log too.
I do my best to make sure the data is fully correct, but am a bit lackluster at weighing my foods, I generally guess, my job involves weighing things in grams so it’s generally a close guess.
Ive made sure to keep cardio and strength training up and ensure protein is apart of most my meals. I feel like I have gained a bit more muscle during these times also, but have dropped 2 shirt sizes and 1 pant size since also.
I’ll see about making my diary public. Hope this helps, thanks man.0 -
With 13kg (~28.5lbs) to go, a rate of 0.5kg a week seems reasonable. That means MFP is working to a deficit of 500 cals off your maintenance number. Once you're down to 89kg, think about reducing further to 0.25kg a week (which will calculate as a 250 cal deficit off the maintenance figure for your new weight at that time).
You're told to eat 2230, but you're averaging 2300-2400, so your deficit isn't as high as you think, therefore you'd be losing weight slower. That may be offset by not tracking all your exercise, so perhaps you're actually fine. Regardless, you're seemingly eating considerably more than the 1600 that you thought / said you were, which is good.
That all looks like you should be losing at a rate between 0.25 and 0.5kg a week.
It's possible that two weeks just isn't long enough to say you're in a plateau. How often do you weigh yourself? Do you use a trending app? Eating more carbs one day or more salt one day would cause your body to hang on to more water, the temperature outside has an impact too. If that's the case when you weigh yourself, you may look at the scales on a down day one time and an 'up' day the next. Take a look at the thread on scale fluctuations in the Helpful Posts at the top of this forum - that's an interesting read.
Others may have a different opinion but, my suggestion is to carry on as you are for another 4 weeks, but track your weight daily. Then look at the general trend and see if it's going downwards. There are two apps that get mentioned regularly on here - Happy Scale for iphones and Libra for Android - that may be worth investigating, or you can track it yourself.
I also suggest you weigh / measure the calorie dense items, if nothing else (I mostly don't log seasonings either) and check that the entries you're using match what it says on any packaging.
After 6 weeks, you'll be able to see whether you're losing at your expected rate or not. If not, there are two possible reasons - you're eating more than you think or your exercise is being overstated and you're not burning as much as MFP is being told.
As I don't have an activity tracker, I can't comment on how they work in conjunction with whatever your Activity Level is set to / what the chances of anything being double counted are.2 -
Strudders67 wrote: »With 13kg (~28.5lbs) to go, a rate of 0.5kg a week seems reasonable. That means MFP is working to a deficit of 500 cals off your maintenance number. Once you're down to 89kg, think about reducing further to 0.25kg a week (which will calculate as a 250 cal deficit off the maintenance figure for your new weight at that time).
You're told to eat 2230, but you're averaging 2300-2400, so your deficit isn't as high as you think, therefore you'd be losing weight slower. That may be offset by not tracking all your exercise, so perhaps you're actually fine. Regardless, you're seemingly eating considerably more than the 1600 that you thought / said you were, which is good.
That all looks like you should be losing at a rate between 0.25 and 0.5kg a week.
It's possible that two weeks just isn't long enough to say you're in a plateau. How often do you weigh yourself? Do you use a trending app? Eating more carbs one day or more salt one day would cause your body to hang on to more water, the temperature outside has an impact too. If that's the case when you weigh yourself, you may look at the scales on a down day one time and an 'up' day the next. Take a look at the thread on scale fluctuations in the Helpful Posts at the top of this forum - that's an interesting read.
Others may have a different opinion but, my suggestion is to carry on as you are for another 4 weeks, but track your weight daily. Then look at the general trend and see if it's going downwards. There are two apps that get mentioned regularly on here - Happy Scale for iphones and Libra for Android - that may be worth investigating, or you can track it yourself.
I also suggest you weigh / measure the calorie dense items, if nothing else (I mostly don't log seasonings either) and check that the entries you're using match what it says on any packaging.
After 6 weeks, you'll be able to see whether you're losing at your expected rate or not. If not, there are two possible reasons - you're eating more than you think or your exercise is being overstated and you're not burning as much as MFP is being told.
As I don't have an activity tracker, I can't comment on how they work in conjunction with whatever your Activity Level is set to / what the chances of anything being double counted are.
Well my active energy average for the past few weeks has been about 900-1000cal, but perhaps I’ll just keep on doing what I am, cause it’s not like I’ve gained lots and I’ve always felt fine, never sluggish or anything. I generally do weight myself once every night, sometimes every few says, which is why I’ve noticed it fluctuate so much.
But I’ll take those other points in and work with em
Cheers
0
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