5 month plateau

nicolemarie045
nicolemarie045 Posts: 131 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello...well I am finally up for asking for advice. I have been stuck since February and no longer know what to do. I was eating at 1350 in February, and about 1.5 months ago I calculated my BMR at 1370 and TDEE at around 1900. I switched to eating 1685 per Fat2Fit sedentary guidelines, and will eat back exercise calories to net at least 1370 each day (or try to). I have yo-yoed between 135-140lbs ever since and at this point cannot get back to the 135. Am I eating too much? I have been trying the past few weeks to watch protein and sodium more, I realize some days it gets a little high. I exercise 6 days per week, doing a bootcamp style workout at night burning about 200-350 calories depending (I use polar FT4), so my workout is constantly rotating between body weight, kettlebells, running, plyos, etc.

Any advice would be welcomed..thank you :)

Replies

  • vypeters
    vypeters Posts: 475 Member
    So 5 months isn't a plateau, it's maintenance.

    At a guess you are either under-estimating calories in (very common) or over-estimating calories out (even more common, especially if you use the numbers in the MFP database). The first thing I'd suggest is looking very hard at this and making sure you're getting good numbers for both of the above. Then you can decide if you need to drop your calories some.
  • nicolemarie045
    nicolemarie045 Posts: 131 Member
    I use a food scale to measure all my foods and use my FT4 for workouts, which is the best I can think of. I know that some may be off, but I am pretty crazy about measuring/weighing everything that I eat.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    So how tall are you and what's your current weight ?

    Your diary shows frequent overshoots on carbs and sodium, and low on protein. Get your protein and fats and let carbs fill in the difference.
  • nicolemarie045
    nicolemarie045 Posts: 131 Member
    I am 5'7" and currently 139. I was at 135 until I upped my calories, to net BMR. My goal weight is 130. Thanks for the advice on watching the carbs, it tends to be my go-to food group.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    I am 5'7" and currently 139. I was at 135 until I upped my calories, to net BMR. My goal weight is 130. Thanks for the advice on watching the carbs, it tends to be my go-to food group.
    Have a read / listen at http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/630370-protein-gives-better-fat-loss-results-than-carbs concerning the advantages of protein over carbs.

    Your current BMI is 21 ?
  • phinphanbill26
    phinphanbill26 Posts: 574 Member
    A quick glance at your diary suggests you may want to reduce the sodium intake. The body retains water when sodium levels are high. See if this causes a shift in weight down.
  • mlewon
    mlewon Posts: 343 Member
    There is a point where your body becomes comfortable at a certain weight, and maybe this is yours. You're going to have to puch hard but I'm sure you can get past it :)
  • nicolemarie045
    nicolemarie045 Posts: 131 Member
    I am 5'7" and currently 139. I was at 135 until I upped my calories, to net BMR. My goal weight is 130. Thanks for the advice on watching the carbs, it tends to be my go-to food group.
    Have a read / listen at http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/630370-protein-gives-better-fat-loss-results-than-carbs concerning the advantages of protein over carbs.

    Your current BMI is 21 ?

    Yeah, i'm within healthy range for BMI, just not quite happy with my body at this point. I'll work on the carbs/sodium and hopefully get there!
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,992 Member
    I may be your exercise. If you're training intense 6 days a week, then you may not be recovering correctly. Also if you've done the same workout for over 2 months, your body is used to it now.
    I would suggest reducing bootcamp training to no more than 3 days a week max doing it every other day and in between days do a moderate/low cardio regimen.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • laceylou0702
    laceylou0702 Posts: 226 Member
    I would suggest adding more veggies / fruits & less pre-packaged or processed food to your diet.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,428 MFP Moderator
    I am 5'7" and currently 139. I was at 135 until I upped my calories, to net BMR. My goal weight is 130. Thanks for the advice on watching the carbs, it tends to be my go-to food group.
    Have a read / listen at http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/630370-protein-gives-better-fat-loss-results-than-carbs concerning the advantages of protein over carbs.

    Your current BMI is 21 ?

    Yeah, i'm within healthy range for BMI, just not quite happy with my body at this point. I'll work on the carbs/sodium and hopefully get there!

    It's not weight loss that will get you to your ideal body. Four lbs isn't going to make a difference. You need to reconsider body recomposition, where you concentrate on fat loss. Do you do weight training?
  • now_or_never12
    now_or_never12 Posts: 849 Member
    I agree with the sodium. If you are eating based on the numbers you calculated for your TDEE you wouldn't eat back exercise calories as most calculators for TDEE already include exercise.

    Maybe try switching up the activity you do? It can help as your body gets used to the exercise you do if you don't switch things up now and again. Try eating at maintenance for a few weeks than drop down again.

    Your body could like where it is and may not want to give up anymore weight.
  • RilantheFirebug
    RilantheFirebug Posts: 207 Member
    How honest are you with your food tracking? Is it possible you are underestimating? Do you own a food scale?
  • AimersBee
    AimersBee Posts: 775 Member
    How honest are you with your food tracking? Is it possible you are underestimating? Do you own a food scale?

    Her prior post..
    "I use a food scale to measure all my foods and use my FT4 for workouts, which is the best I can think of. I know that some may be off, but I am pretty crazy about measuring/weighing everything that I eat. "
  • i_miss_donuts
    i_miss_donuts Posts: 180 Member
    So frustrating! I totally understand and have posted a similar thread in past weeks.

    I have shifted around the same few lbs for 4 months now, so I am constantly changing things up to see what will work in terms of net calories, workouts, etc. Lately however, my highs have been lower and my lows have also been lower and overall I think I am on a downward trend. So what are the latest changes? For the past few weeks, I have been very focused on (1) getting a gram of protein per lb of lean body mass (to do this you need to calculate your BF - the military BF calculator seems pretty accurate) for me that means at least 102g protein per day - usually more as I am trying to add muscle and lose fat, (2) making sure most if not all of my carbs are from whole foods (fruits and veggies) which seems to not only help with my hunger but also means I am retaining less water and (3) trying to up my water intake which also helps with the water retention.

    I also agree that you may be overtraining. It sounds like a super-intense workout and maybe you could sub in one or two days of lower exertion exercise like walking or yoga? Finally, I cannot recall if you mentioned taking measurements? It is possible that your stubborn plateau may be body recomposition (losing fat while adding muscle) in disguise or overall weight loss masked by water weight from carbs and over-training. I know that although my measurements have not changed much and my overall loss is only 3 lbs in 4 months I have much more muscle definition, energy and stamina - which are all awesome NSVs.

    Hope you find the key that works for you! I think you look fab in your profile pic - but I also know that what other people think only goes so far!
  • nicolemarie045
    nicolemarie045 Posts: 131 Member
    So frustrating! I totally understand and have posted a similar thread in past weeks.

    I have shifted around the same few lbs for 4 months now, so I am constantly changing things up to see what will work in terms of net calories, workouts, etc. Lately however, my highs have been lower and my lows have also been lower and overall I think I am on a downward trend. So what are the latest changes? For the past few weeks, I have been very focused on (1) getting a gram of protein per lb of lean body mass (to do this you need to calculate your BF - the military BF calculator seems pretty accurate) for me that means at least 102g protein per day - usually more as I am trying to add muscle and lose fat, (2) making sure most if not all of my carbs are from whole foods (fruits and veggies) which seems to not only help with my hunger but also means I am retaining less water and (3) trying to up my water intake which also helps with the water retention.

    I also agree that you may be overtraining. It sounds like a super-intense workout and maybe you could sub in one or two days of lower exertion exercise like walking or yoga? Finally, I cannot recall if you mentioned taking measurements? It is possible that your stubborn plateau may be body recomposition (losing fat while adding muscle) in disguise or overall weight loss masked by water weight from carbs and over-training. I know that although my measurements have not changed much and my overall loss is only 3 lbs in 4 months I have much more muscle definition, energy and stamina - which are all awesome NSVs.

    Hope you find the key that works for you! I think you look fab in your profile pic - but I also know that what other people think only goes so far!

    Thanks a lot for the encouragement..its nice to know that other people have been there! All good advice, and I will start paying more attention to the protein/carbs and rethink some of the workouts I do. It helps to know others know how you feel!

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