Hitting a Plateau - How should I adjust my intake?
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aristarry
Posts: 10 Member
I joined MFP last year after I started taking my weight loss seriously. I've lost almost 40 lbs so far (198 to 160 at 5"5'), half of which was done with MFP's help. I look and feel WAY better than when I started. I love the app and use it religiously to log everything that passes my lips and every bit of exercise I do every day, but I've reached a weight plateau at 160 and have been lurking at it for a few months now. I'd ideally like to get my weight down to 135-140, but the last 20 lbs have been very elusive.
My current BF% is about 35.9%. I go to Zumba classes 1-2 times per week (up to 4 when I don't have night classes), walk everywhere whenever possible, and I've cut out all the main processed junk I used to eat. I build my meals around proteins like tuna, tofu, meats, and limit my carbs (but not obsessively) and sugars wherever possible.
My daily calorie goal according to the MFP app and the Fat2FitRadio.com BMR calculator is about 1380. I aim for that, and most days I'm within 100 calories under or over. When I go over (gross, not net) it's usually when I exercise and allow myself to make up some of the calories I burned off (which is sometimes quite a lot, with the weekly cardio from Zumba). A couple times a week I might be at 1100 or so however, and the app yells at me that I'm eating too little, even when I feel satisfied and full from eating well that day.
What am I doing wrong? Or more precisely, what should I be more militant about if I want to tackle those last 20 lbs? Should I focus more on not ever eating below my BMR? Should I aim for my BMR # in the "Net" column in the app after a workout day, instead of in the "Food" column? Cut out carbs or sugar completely? Structure my meals differently or aim for different kinds of foods? Some hierarchy of all of the above (if so, is there a chart somewhere)?
I've got the willpower for this last stretch for sure, but I'm at a loss because I don't know what I should truly be focusing on to get the results I want. Your collective advice would be highly appreciated.
My current BF% is about 35.9%. I go to Zumba classes 1-2 times per week (up to 4 when I don't have night classes), walk everywhere whenever possible, and I've cut out all the main processed junk I used to eat. I build my meals around proteins like tuna, tofu, meats, and limit my carbs (but not obsessively) and sugars wherever possible.
My daily calorie goal according to the MFP app and the Fat2FitRadio.com BMR calculator is about 1380. I aim for that, and most days I'm within 100 calories under or over. When I go over (gross, not net) it's usually when I exercise and allow myself to make up some of the calories I burned off (which is sometimes quite a lot, with the weekly cardio from Zumba). A couple times a week I might be at 1100 or so however, and the app yells at me that I'm eating too little, even when I feel satisfied and full from eating well that day.
What am I doing wrong? Or more precisely, what should I be more militant about if I want to tackle those last 20 lbs? Should I focus more on not ever eating below my BMR? Should I aim for my BMR # in the "Net" column in the app after a workout day, instead of in the "Food" column? Cut out carbs or sugar completely? Structure my meals differently or aim for different kinds of foods? Some hierarchy of all of the above (if so, is there a chart somewhere)?
I've got the willpower for this last stretch for sure, but I'm at a loss because I don't know what I should truly be focusing on to get the results I want. Your collective advice would be highly appreciated.
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Replies
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Congrats on your loss so far! I found this link posted by someone at MFP a while back (I can't find it again to give proper credit!) and I found it really helpful.
http://www.fitnesswithnatalie.blogspot.com/2011/05/most-dreaded-word-in-weight-loss.html
For me...increasing my calories by 200 a day and reducing my cardio helped kickstart my weight loss again. Which, I still find truly bizarre. I'm actually looking forward to upping my cardio again!
Good luck. Sadly, I don't think the same thing works for everyone...You just have to keep tweaking until you figure out what works for you. I'm in the same boat.
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Thanks. So far various forums I've read say to try increasing my calories, so I may give that a shot. I just find it very difficult to eat more meals when I'm simply not hungry. I suppose I need to retrain my body to expect more food. It feels so counterproductive!0
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It may seem strange but it could very well be that your body has gone into starvation mode. There is a very good article on this topic at http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/538381-in-place-of-a-road-map
Eating more could actually be what you need to do.0 -
A oouple of thoughts. How long have you been eating at a deficit and have you ever taken a break and gone to eating at maintenance for a week or 2 in that stretch? What other exercise are you getting beside Zumba? And how often? Any strength training? When I know these things, I amy be able to give you a more informed opinion.
PS: Also, if you loss goal is set on MFP, what is it set to per week?0 -
I started using MFP in October of 2011. It started me at about 1440, and went down to 1330 as I lost weight. I've been keeping to about the same rate/deficit ever since.A oouple of thoughts. How long have you been eating at a deficit and have you ever taken a break and gone to eating at maintenance for a week or 2 in that stretch? What other exercise are you getting beside Zumba? And how often? Any strength training? When I know these things, I amy be able to give you a more informed opinion.
PS: Also, if you loss goal is set on MFP, what is it set to per week?
I'm not sure what you mean by eating at maintenance. Is that basically eating at my TDEE? If so, no. Ever since I started counting calories I've always aimed for the BMR number MFP set for me.
Aside from Zumba I walk everywhere I can. Usually on days I have classes, I go out of my way to walk one or two stations farther than I need to be to get the train home. I'd say on average I get in about 15-30 minutes of brisk walking 2 times a week, at least 1-2 hours of walking once a week, and 60-90 minutes of Zumba 2 times a week.
No strength training, though I did start doing light lifting with D-dumbbells for a while. I just kept forgetting to keep up with it. I don't have the money to join a gym at the moment, so any weights would have to be at home.0 -
For me...increasing my calories by 200 a day and reducing my cardio helped kickstart my weight loss again. Which, I still find truly bizarre.
This seems strange, but true for me as well. Even funnier, was when I hit maintenance level and upped my calories from weight loss to maintain, I lost even more again. HOWEVER, when you up your calories and stay there, the weight may come back on. Increase calories a little, start losing, and then creep back down.
Congrats on your current loss. Even though you hit a weight plateau, I bet you were losing inches and gaining muscle.0 -
It may seem strange but it could very well be that your body has gone into starvation mode. There is a very good article on this topic at http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/538381-in-place-of-a-road-map
Eating more could actually be what you need to do.
Starvation Mode does not exist...it's a plateau or a stall.Your body is just used to what you are doing and you need to change it up. Increase or decrease you calorie intake, doing one one day and one the next may confuse your body into start losing again. Change your exercise routine. Increase or decrease that and even just change what you do completely may help. Just don't increase your calories because someone has scared you into thinking your body thinks it's starving to death and making you gain weight. Doctors put people on 500 calorie a day liquid diets and their bodies do not go into that made up ficticious word. Please read up on it and be sure to read both sides so that you can make up your own mind. There is a ton of information out there but the one I liked said that even doctors disagree on if this exists so it's going to be up to you to make up your own mind on the issue. Keep in mind the forum here is a believer in it and you won't get a well rounded amount of information from just reading that. Weight Watchers has a blog out there and a few others also. Please read both sides0 -
I started using MFP in October of 2011. It started me at about 1440, and went down to 1330 as I lost weight. I've been keeping to about the same rate/deficit ever since.A oouple of thoughts. How long have you been eating at a deficit and have you ever taken a break and gone to eating at maintenance for a week or 2 in that stretch? What other exercise are you getting beside Zumba? And how often? Any strength training? When I know these things, I amy be able to give you a more informed opinion.
PS: Also, if you loss goal is set on MFP, what is it set to per week?
I'm not sure what you mean by eating at maintenance. Is that basically eating at my TDEE? If so, no. Ever since I started counting calories I've always aimed for the BMR number MFP set for me.
Aside from Zumba I walk everywhere I can. Usually on days I have classes, I go out of my way to walk one or two stations farther than I need to be to get the train home. I'd say on average I get in about 15-30 minutes of brisk walking 2 times a week, at least 1-2 hours of walking once a week, and 60-90 minutes of Zumba 2 times a week.
No strength training, though I did start doing light lifting with D-dumbbells for a while. I just kept forgetting to keep up with it. I don't have the money to join a gym at the moment, so any weights would have to be at home.
Yes, maitenance is TDEE. When you've been at a deficti for awhile your body will make certain hormonal adaptations. Eating at TDEE for a week or 2 can give you a "reset" and get you unstuck when you go back to deficit eating. Also, what is you weekly loss goal? As you get closer to goal weight, you want to have a less agressive weekly goal.
Your exercise is all cardio. Moderate intensity (Zumba) and low intensity (walking). Some strength training will help burn fat. Be warned though, at first it may make the scale go up for a little bit. Take a set of baseline body measurements, hips, waist, thighs, calfs. Recheck these in 30 days and every 30 days thereafter. If you can't utilize a gym right now, google body weight exercises.
These things should get you unstuck. You've done a great job so far!0 -
Thanks!Yes, maitenance is TDEE. When you've been at a deficti for awhile your body will make certain hormonal adaptations. Eating at TDEE for a week or 2 can give you a "reset" and get you unstuck when you go back to deficit eating. Also, what is you weekly loss goal? As you get closer to goal weight, you want to have a less agressive weekly goal.
Your exercise is all cardio. Moderate intensity (Zumba) and low intensity (walking). Some strength training will help burn fat. Be warned though, at first it may make the scale go up for a little bit. Take a set of baseline body measurements, hips, waist, thighs, calfs. Recheck these in 30 days and every 30 days thereafter. If you can't utilize a gym right now, google body weight exercises.
These things should get you unstuck. You've done a great job so far!
My weekly loss goal has consistently been set at 1 lb per week since I started logging, but I haven't actually lost 1 lb per week. It's been more like 1 lb per 2-3 weeks, with an extra 1-2 lb loss spike once in a while. It's been slow, which is good for long term AFAIK, but I want to keep it going.
Any advice for "forcing" myself to eat at TDEE when I otherwise feel full/satisfied with much less? Especially when my TDEE is around 2300 - that seems like a LOT to me. Is the trick just finding calorie-rich, denser foods, or do I need to retrain my stomach/brain to want more food?
Do you think 10 minutes of D-dumbbells and 50-60 crunches every night would be a good start for the strength training? That's what I used to do before I fell off that wagon due to laziness/forgetfulness. I'm not worried about gaining a bit from muscle, because I track my measurements as well, and I'm happy to lose inches or tone up in place of lbs. Numbers are good progress markers, but for me it's more about what clothing I can successfully fit into without bulges/lumps, than what it really says on the scale at the end of the day. That's just a bonus.0 -
I'm aware it's a myth now (I read up since my OP). But I'm still questioning if I should change my actual diet, eat less in general, or eat closer to my TDEE. After reading a bit in other topics I do agree that eating less is not necessarily the best route (I get lightheaded/cranky/sleepy if I don't eat enough, for one), but it's still hard to figure out that magic number. I'm also curious how my metabolism has been affected since I started, but I don't really know how to check that. It's a lot to wrap my head around.Starvation Mode does not exist...it's a plateau or a stall.Your body is just used to what you are doing and you need to change it up. Increase or decrease you calorie intake, doing one one day and one the next may confuse your body into start losing again. Change your exercise routine. Increase or decrease that and even just change what you do completely may help. Just don't increase your calories because someone has scared you into thinking your body thinks it's starving to death and making you gain weight. Doctors put people on 500 calorie a day liquid diets and their bodies do not go into that made up ficticious word. Please read up on it and be sure to read both sides so that you can make up your own mind. There is a ton of information out there but the one I liked said that even doctors disagree on if this exists so it's going to be up to you to make up your own mind on the issue. Keep in mind the forum here is a believer in it and you won't get a well rounded amount of information from just reading that. Weight Watchers has a blog out there and a few others also. Please read both sides
Otherwise, what you advise seems to be similar to the JUDDD diet I've read about. Maybe not that extreme, but it seems like it may be a good thing to try rather than just simply eating more all the time. I'll definitely try upping my calories for a week or two though, and see if that helps a bit. Then I'll try the zigzag thing. That's actually closer to how I eat now, but I'll aim to consume much more on the maintenance days to meet my TDEE.0 -
Thanks!Yes, maitenance is TDEE. When you've been at a deficti for awhile your body will make certain hormonal adaptations. Eating at TDEE for a week or 2 can give you a "reset" and get you unstuck when you go back to deficit eating. Also, what is you weekly loss goal? As you get closer to goal weight, you want to have a less agressive weekly goal.
Your exercise is all cardio. Moderate intensity (Zumba) and low intensity (walking). Some strength training will help burn fat. Be warned though, at first it may make the scale go up for a little bit. Take a set of baseline body measurements, hips, waist, thighs, calfs. Recheck these in 30 days and every 30 days thereafter. If you can't utilize a gym right now, google body weight exercises.
These things should get you unstuck. You've done a great job so far!
My weekly loss goal has consistently been set at 1 lb per week since I started logging, but I haven't actually lost 1 lb per week. It's been more like 1 lb per 2-3 weeks, with an extra 1-2 lb loss spike once in a while. It's been slow, which is good for long term AFAIK, but I want to keep it going.
Any advice for "forcing" myself to eat at TDEE when I otherwise feel full/satisfied with much less? Especially when my TDEE is around 2300 - that seems like a LOT to me. Is the trick just finding calorie-rich, denser foods, or do I need to retrain my stomach/brain to want more food?
Do you think 10 minutes of D-dumbbells and 50-60 crunches every night would be a good start for the strength training? That's what I used to do before I fell off that wagon due to laziness/forgetfulness. I'm not worried about gaining a bit from muscle, because I track my measurements as well, and I'm happy to lose inches or tone up in place of lbs. Numbers are good progress markers, but for me it's more about what clothing I can successfully fit into without bulges/lumps, than what it really says on the scale at the end of the day. That's just a bonus.
Eating calorie dense foods is the easiest way to got to TDEE for a week or so. The dumbell work would be fine, 50 or 60 crunches is not really strength training. If you can do that many it's muscle endurance training. I'd add in some squats, lunges, pushups, pullups, to suggest a few. There are great resources on line for more. About 30 minutes 3 times per week. You will not gain a lot of muscle. That is a very hard thing to do if you are eating in a surplus and trying to do that! Also, as a woman, you don't have the benefit of testosterone to help. You'll just get stronger and leaner. And your clothes will fit better!0 -
I was on a pleateu not to long ago. I didn't change my eating or calories because I'm thoroughly convinced that its really good and clean and enough. I changed up my exercise routine though and started jogging. Good God the pounds melted off like it was the first week of dieting :laugh:
I did Zumba for a while and honestly, it's rather light cardio exercise, not to challenging for the body (although its super fun, no doubt). So now that you are coming within the 20 lbs range of your goal weight I think you need to step it up a bit. Make yourself really sweat and unable to talk or catch your breath.0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEDM9t-sjDE&feature=youtu.be
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