When does the "plateu" end-I'm trying EVERYTHING!

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  • Awkward30
    Awkward30 Posts: 1,927 Member
    How do I find out what my BMR really might be? What is TDEE?

    I have been traveling a lot these past couple of weeks, I just spent 4 days at my sister's house with no working out and ate about 1800-2000 calories da day probably with no working out, which is what I eat pretty much on the days I do work out, give or take. I have my MFP set to lose 1.5 lbs a week and just to get it up to give me 1300 calories a day I had to choose "active" on my profile even though without my scheduled workouts I'm not that active.

    I guess I'll just keep plugging..maybe another 150 calories to the mix.

    Some days I have a hard time eating all of my NET calories that I should on the days I work out (eating back my calories) and I've been known to look for a high calorie snack (cake or ice cream) every once in awhile just to fill the void.

    All of this advice sucks, nobody asked you to calculate your stats, they just randomly said to eat more or less?!

    fat2fitradio.com calculate your BMR. Put in your current weight as your goal weight, and tell me what the sedentary and lightly active calories are. You should not be losing 1.5 lb per week, .5-1 is more reasonable. You should not set yourself to active AND eat back exercise calories because you are then eating your exercise calories twice, which could easily put you at maintenance.

    Do you wear a HRM or do you use MFP estimates for calories burned? MFP estimates can be really high. If you don't have a HRM, I would advise finding the TDEE from fat2fitradio.com for lightly active and eating 500 below that on average (can go over on a heavy workout day or under on a light day depending on hunger levels). You can log exercise, but don't eat back those calories because you will be counting them twice then.
  • fiveohmike
    fiveohmike Posts: 1,297 Member
    http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

    Easily the best calculator for estimating the calories you need. I always set my activity level to "sedentary" so I get a bare minimum of what I need to eat (and I really want to make sure I exceed the minimum), and eat my exercise calories back.

    This one is gold....just remember to be honest with your activity level and do not underestimate. A lot of people underestimate activity level (especially on MFP when using theirs)because they are afraid of the calorie amounts they see.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    I would suggest working out what your maintenance should be (use the sites recommended already - but rememeber that the fat2fit site includes a deficit already so this is not the best one to use for maintenance) and eat to that level for about 4 weeks.

    Then after 4 weeks, deduct 500 calories from that and eat to that. (Or you can use the fat2fit one without deducting the 500 cals as a deficit is already baked in).
  • jenluvsushi
    jenluvsushi Posts: 933 Member
    Here is what works for me.....I up my protein, I eat 7 servings of mostly veggies with maybe one or two fruits (eat the rainbow), and I drink at least a gallon of water. I also make sure to up my healthy fat intake. Another thing I do is I take a diet break one day here and there and eat about twice my BMR. Being that you are so close to your goal, you might want to consider calorie cycling. Plateaus are normal......you will get through it.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    I would suggest working out what your maintenance should be (use the sites recommended already - but rememeber that the fat2fit site includes a deficit already so this is not the best one to use for maintenance) and eat to that level for about 4 weeks.

    Then after 4 weeks, deduct 500 calories from that and eat to that. (Or you can use the fat2fit one without deducting the 500 cals as a deficit is already baked in).

    In fat2fatradio.com, You can set your goal weight to maintenance. So it should tell you your maintenance calories.

    I have tried that before and the numbers come up a little odd.
  • meechi53
    meechi53 Posts: 195 Member
    OK well I've gone to some of these calculators and I'm eating too little according to all of them. They all show my BMR between 1400-1650 calories, and I bumped up from 1200 to 1300 so I'll start shooting for 1550-1600 after excersise calories. I did a body fat one on fat2fit, and I thought I had more body fat than I really do. I was thinking I was over 30% still, but according to that I am at 27% and I'll be shooting for 22%, which is only 15 more lbs according to that.

    I really didn't want to cut down on my Zumba because I LOVE it!
  • stubbysticks
    stubbysticks Posts: 1,275 Member
    Maybe you need to stop trying EVERYTHING & pick ONE thing. I typically have to stick with a new program for a minimum of 3 weeks to determine if it works or not. Sounds like you switch up the exercise frequently so how would you be able to tell if it's the activity or intake that's stalling you out? And I suspect your intake is too low as well.

    Apart from that, I've gone for MONTHS seeing little to no movement on the scale. At some point I had to convince myself that managing my intake & exercising was still benefitting my body even if the scale wasn't moving. I kept myself busy by setting (& smashing) fitness goals & eventually it did start moving again. When I look at pictures from before & after my most recent period of slow losses, there's only 7 lbs difference over like 6 months but I see a significant difference in my body.

    My advice: Don't make it all about the scale.

    ETA: By "one thing" I don't mean pick one exercise & do it all the time. But set a weekly exercise routine that stays the same for at least 3 weeks so your activity level is consistent across the whole time period. Then pick a net calorie target & do your best to meet it for the entire period & see where you're at.
  • meechi53
    meechi53 Posts: 195 Member
    Maybe you need to stop trying EVERYTHING & pick ONE thing. I typically have to stick with a new program for a minimum of 3 weeks to determine if it works or not. Sounds like you switch up the exercise frequently so how would you be able to tell if it's the activity or intake that's stalling you out? And I suspect your intake is too low as well.

    Apart from that, I've gone for MONTHS seeing little to no movement on the scale. At some point I had to convince myself that managing my intake & exercising was still benefitting my body even if the scale wasn't moving. I kept myself busy by setting (& smashing) fitness goals & eventually it did start moving again. When I look at pictures from before & after my most recent period of slow losses, there's only 7 lbs difference over like 6 months but I see a significant difference in my body.

    My advice: Don't make it all about the scale.

    ETA: By "one thing" I don't mean pick one exercise & do it all the time. But set a weekly exercise routine that stays the same for at least 3 weeks so your activity level is consistent across the whole time period. Then pick a net calorie target & do your best to meet it for the entire period & see where you're at.

    Well when I say I've tried everything, I mean less carbs/more carbs, upped calories, (possibly not enough) etc. I've been doing Zumba and Kickboxing religiously since mid January, Most weeks I do 3 zumba classes and 2 kickboxing classes per week, ( sometimes I do 3 and 1 and 2 and 2 if I travel) and I was at the 1200 that MFP advised and the first 20 lbs came off easy, then 2 lbs slowly (took a month) and I've been the same since mid-April, I have not lost anymore inches since mid April, either. No difference in how clothes fit. Just a bona-fide stall. I do see that maybe I'm not eating enough and I'm going to bump up from 1300-1350 to 1550-1600 and see how that works. According to the fat2fit body fat calculator I'm at less body fat than I thought, so I'm actually healthier than I thought which is a good thing.
  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member
    I did a body fat one on fat2fit,

    Just so you know, any body fat measurement that is not done in person (with calipers or a submersion test) is not accurate, and really not worth taking. Especially for women.
  • MissMaryMac33
    MissMaryMac33 Posts: 1,433 Member
    http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

    Easily the best calculator for estimating the calories you need. I always set my activity level to "sedentary" so I get a bare minimum of what I need to eat (and I really want to make sure I exceed the minimum), and eat my exercise calories back.

    Ditto on this one --- except I think its better to put in your actual activity level. You would definitely fall in the moderate category. I have a desk job, but I go the gym 4-5x week so I use modericate. I am only 5'4" and my daily net is almost 1800. After months of plateuaing on 1200-1300/x day and even eating back my exercise calls -- this is what got my body moving again. You need fuel.
  • AirCircleI
    AirCircleI Posts: 334 Member
    My plateau ended when I stopped worrying about the numbers on the scale and starting focusing on strength - less cardio and more weights, lifting as heavy as I could for 5-8 reps, and more body weight exercises, like setting challenges for push up and pull ups. I started to noticeably "tone" and then the scale started moving again.
  • Ammie76
    Ammie76 Posts: 1 Member
    Try increasing your calories on the days you're working out. Don't eat 350-400 of the calories that you have burned on those days. Only drink the protein shakes after your strengthening workouts, they could be increasing your weight if you're drinking them to much. I just hit a plateau myself and that is what I did. Good luck and keep up the good work.
  • EAH123
    EAH123 Posts: 40
    Honestly, it varies. I plateued for three months while I built muscle. Keep up what you are doing. I've found that when I added in a protein shake, mixed with water, daily it helped. It's frustrating, trust me and the scale that didn't move for three months, but you will get over the budge.
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