I've Stopped lossing weight

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BenS1
BenS1 Posts: 6
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi

I'm a 35 year old man (About 5 foot 9 inches tall) who started at 93.5Kg in January and I'm now down to 77.6Kg, but I'm not quite at my target of 75Kg.

When I started my diet in January MFP set me a daily goal of 1830 cals, which I stuck to and I was losing about 1Kg per week, however after losing 10Kg or so MFP recalculated my daily target down to 1670 cals and despite the lower calorie count my actual weight loss slowed down and has now pretty much stopped.

I stick to the calory targets rigidly and very very rarely go over, even by a single calorie. The only time I ever go over is if there is a special occasion, such as going out to celebrate someones birthday and having a few beers. This is very very rare though, maybe once every couple of months.

I also play squash 3 times a week (1 hour on Monday and Wednesday and a 90 minute game on a Friday). I also have 2 young children who give me plenty of exercise (No I don't track that in MFP).

So, given that a typical male has a target of 2500 calories a day, why have I stopped losing weight at just 1670 cals per day?

I track everything I eat, and drink (Except for Diet Coke as its pretty much zero calories, zero fat etc).

One thing to note is that whilst I stick rigidly to the calorie target I don't stick to the other nutritional targets, such as fat, sugar etc. In fact I often go over the Sugar target but as I'm at or below the calorie target I figured this didn't matter too much. Does it?

Any help appreciated.

Kind Regards
Ben

Replies

  • Beth720
    Beth720 Posts: 661 Member
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    JMHO here, but if you've stuck to your plan virtually 100%, your body has gotten accustomed to it. You need to shake things up. Have a splurge day here and there. Let your metabolism know it doesn't need to get into a pattern. Also look at what you're doing exercise-wise. Is it always the same thing? If so, shake that up. Change what you're doing. The body falls into ruts easily and you plateau.

    Shake it up!
  • knowwhentoshutup
    knowwhentoshutup Posts: 318 Member
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    I would reevaluate your BMR and your TDEE. Depending on those numbers, you could not be eating enough net calories, after exercise.
  • ErinI5787
    ErinI5787 Posts: 18
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    This sounds crazy but I did it and it worked. Have a day where you eat a lot. I mean 2000 or more calories. Make them all healthy but overload. It shocks your body and gives it a little push to get over that hump its gotten into. I did it by accident when I was in a plateau and I allowed myself to have a great birthday dinner. I have no idea how much I ate. But I know it was way too much. The day after was my rest day. And the day after that, I was down two lbs. Give it a shot :)
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    The calories in = calories out answer has to be that your total daily energy expenditure has fallen to 1670 cals per day.

    Shaking up your metabolism with some diet changes may increase it, or you can add exercise or different exercise. You could also take a week off dieting and eat 2500 - should not add much more than a kilo at worst.

    You've done really well so far, and your BMI is nearly down to 25. I had a similar plateau on a low carb diet.
  • BenS1
    BenS1 Posts: 6
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    Thanks all for your quick replies.

    "I would reevaluate your BMR and your TDEE. Depending on those numbers, you could not be eating enough net calories, after exercise."

    My BMR (As calculated by MFP) is 1700 calories per day.
    MFP recons I burn around 2120 calories per day from normal activity.

    On a day that I play squash I often end up with more than 1000 calories available at the end of the day, but if I'm not eating enough then surely that would cause me to lose weight, not maintain it?

    "Also look at what you're doing exercise-wise. Is it always the same thing? If so, shake that up. Change what you're doing"

    The reason I choose squash (Other than the fact that I enjoy it) is that it burns a lot of calories in a short amount of time. Nearly 1000 calories an hour... whereas other forms of exercise seem to burn calories much slower. I been to the gym many times to do a cardio workout and after an hours cardio I've found that I've barely burnt off the equivelent of a single chocolate bar! That's quite demotivating.

    That said, I have just bought some stuff so that I can try running and GPS track my route, speed etc to accurately calculate the number of calories I burn. So I'll give that a go thanks.

    I like the sound of eating more calories occasionally, although it does go a bit against the logic of trying to reprogram myself to get used to eating less. It feels a bit like telling an alcoholic to have a little drink occasionally. I'm not doubting that your advice might work though, so I'll give it a try.

    Thanks everyone for your advice.

    Ben
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    I been to the gym many times to do a cardio workout and after an hours cardio I've found that I've barely burnt off the equivelent of a single chocolate bar! That's quite demotivating.

    yes, exercise makes only modest contributions to calorie deficit - and none if you then "eat them back".
  • ladyace2078
    ladyace2078 Posts: 460 Member
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    Check out the group eat more to weigh less. Lots of great info...my guess is you aren't eating enough.
  • BenS1
    BenS1 Posts: 6
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    The calories in = calories out answer has to be that your total daily energy expenditure has fallen to 1670 cals per day.

    Shaking up your metabolism with some diet changes may increase it, or you can add exercise or different exercise. You could also take a week off dieting and eat 2500 - should not add much more than a kilo at worst.

    You've done really well so far, and your BMI is nearly down to 25. I had a similar plateau on a low carb diet.

    Thanks for your reply.

    Yes logically it does suggest that I'm only burning 1670 calories per day, however I work a 12 hour day, have an energetic 2 year old and 4 year old and I play a lot of high energy squash (In which I can burn up 1500 calories in a single 90 minute match) so I'd be surprised.

    I'm not noticably any less energetic or going to bed early.

    I have to say though that I am a bit suspicious about the calorie counts on some of the foods from certain shops.

    For example, Tescos sell a thin 10" Pizza that they claim is 460 calories yet a similar pizza from other supermarkets is more like 650-700 calories. In fact most supermarkets (Including Tescos) sell a similar smaller pizza (About 6-7") that is about 400 calories, so I can't see how the bigger one can be only a few more.

    Another example is the Sainsburys "Be Good To Yourself" curries are between 320 and 380 calories, whreas similar curries from Tescos and Weightwaters are noticably smaller and 400+ calories.

    Also Sainsburys Onion Bhaji's are apparently 59 calories, but they are fairly big and quite greasy, so I would have thought they would be more.

    Other examples are a Tescos Tandoori Chicken Sandwich that claims to be 285 calories, whereas other shops sell similar at about 400+ calories. And Tescos do an "All Day Breakfast" sandwich containing Sausage, Egg, Bacon and Tomato Ketchup at 320 calories, whereas no other supermarket can get close to that.

    I'm wondering if my body has subconciously identified the foods that are higher in calories than the label indicates.

    Do you trust the labels?

    I know I've seen on TV before where labs have randomly selected foods from shops and resaurants and often find that the true calorie count and fat content can be more than double what it says ont he label!
  • BenS1
    BenS1 Posts: 6
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    Out of itnerest, once I reach my target weight, does that mean I can start eating the 2120 calories a day that MFP calculates I'm burning per day and still maintain my target weight? Or better still the 2500 cals\day which is meant to be the typical for an average male?

    That'd be nice. :)

    Thanks
    Ben
  • knowwhentoshutup
    knowwhentoshutup Posts: 318 Member
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    Thanks all for your quick replies.

    My BMR (As calculated by MFP) is 1700 calories per day.
    MFP recons I burn around 2120 calories per day from normal activity.

    On a day that I play squash I often end up with more than 1000 calories available at the end of the day, but if I'm not eating enough then surely that would cause me to lose weight, not maintain it?

    MyFitnessPal does a pretty good job, but it is based on A LOT of assumptions. Unless you have your own heart rate monitor, everything as far as calories being burned is also just an estimate. There are COUNTLESS, posts here talking about 'Eating more, to lose' that provide much more information. You have lost quite a bit, since January, and the closer you get to your goal, the harder it becomes. You can't expect to continue at that rate. In addition, there is a lot of speculation and research on what happens when you eat less than your BMR for extended periods of time, and how it affects your metabolism - but you can search google for that.

    Regardless, I found this tool extremely helpful: http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/

    When I did it, including your information - it gave you a BMR of 1700. That means you could eat 1700 and DO NOTHING, and should maintain your weight. If you are as active as you say, that would INCREASE the amount you should be eating. Your body needs the 1700 just to function normally.

    If I were you, and I am not, I would re-evaluate and try upping your calories for 4-6 weeks, to see what happens. Again, there are a TON of posts here on MFP regarding eating to lose.

    After all - remember Food is Fuel.

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