Did you plateau too?

This topic contains 5 replies, has 3 voices, and was last updated by Julien Vincent 8 years, 12 months ago.

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Julien Vincent

8:14 am
30 Nov 15
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Hi there,

I set myself a BMI goal of 21.4 (just on the lean side of the healthy range) which for me is at 78 kg as where I wanted to stabilise, after starting the year at 24.9 BMI (or 90 kgs)

For the past few months I’ve got close to my goal but never quite there, even seeing my weight increase slightly in some weeks despite sticking to the regime diligently.

I had been excited about hitting a goal and then moving on to 6:1 but I’m now worried that I’ve reached my limit and less fasting will see my BMI stabilise somewhere higher.

But enough about me. For all of you who also experienced a plateau in weight loss and BMI drop, I’d appreciate hearing what those measurements were, especially BMI.

For the record I’m male, 34 and 191 cm tall.
I was: 90 kg, BMI of 24.9
I am now between 78.5 and 79.5 kg, BMI around 21.8

Cheerio

simcoeluv

6:41 pm
30 Nov 15
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Hi Julien:

Your TDEE is now very low compared to when you started, and eating the way you have eaten to get to this point will not yield the results you want. You have to recognize you need to eat even less than you are eating to lose the weight you want to lose. You also have to recognize that once you get to that weight, you will have to eat very little to maintain it – even less than you are eating now to maintain the weight you currently enjoy.

Good Luck!

Julien Vincent

8:32 pm
30 Nov 15
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Hi simcoeluv,

Thanks for the response but what you’re saying about my TDEE being very low compared to when I started doesn’t sound right. My TDEE when I started is 3005. It is now 2819. That’s a 6.2% decrease.

And as my weight has dropped this year, so has my fast day calorie intake, from 750 then to 705 now. As a result, I am eating 4228 calories per week less than my TDEE indicates is correct for my weight, compared to 4508 calories a week less at the start. Both a 21.4% proportional decrease on the TDEE for my weight. If anything I’m probably better at managing my fast days as I’ve become more used to the routine and know a better variety of meals and techniques for keeping me to budget on a fast day.

Let me put this another way. Over my first 16 weeks doing the fast diet I lost an average 600 grams per week. Over the most recent 16 weeks I lost 210 grams per week. That is a reduction of 65% in terms of weekly weight loss, while the proportional change in calories avoided compared to my TDEE has not changed, and my overall calories avoided per week is 6.2% (or 280 calories) lower.

This is the conundrum I am seeking advice on so if anyone has experience of their weight plateauing without changing the regime away from 5:2, I’d be keen to see some data points.

simcoeluv

8:58 pm
30 Nov 15
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Hi Julien:

You say you have hit a plateau that has lasted a few months. By definition, that means you are eating to your TDEE. Do you know how many calories on average you are eating each day? If you do, that is your TDEE. I assume you know that the calculator only gives an estimated TDEE, and that every person with identical TDEEs from the calculator will in fact have a different real TDEE from every other ‘identical’ person. Therefore your ‘numbers’, which seem to be based on the calculator’s output, are inaccurate.

If you are eating to your TDEE and want to lose more weight, you simply have to eat less. That is really all I was saying.

Good Luck!

milena

9:01 pm
30 Nov 15
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Hi Julien

don’t get caught up in the figures – Sim is correct that you just have to eat less the lighter you get.

Another thing is that it is not a straightforward downward spiral – I’m finding, after 10 months, that overeating doesn’t seem to put the weight on as easily, but only undereating gets it off.

I can’t give data points, but what I can say is keep at it – weigh and count EVERY calorie – Sim always give the advice that its all about eating less than you use. It’s as simple as that – if you aren’t losing at the rate you want, just eat less.

Sometimes its worth jigging things up – try a fast day with no food at all, or just liquids – I am of the opinion your body might just get used to less, so give it a kick!

Our bodies do seem to work well, perhaps you are at a good weight – your actually started at a healthy weight and now you are at an healthier weight and perhaps now your body is fighting you to maintain it??

Julien Vincent

11:07 pm
30 Nov 15
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Thanks for the responses

I suppose this is where it becomes as much an art as a science. The numbers have really helped me to track and plan my use of 5:2 for many months, and while I didn’t expect them to hold perfectly against the sorts of changes I’d expect all the time, I’m just struck at the departure in the last few months, especially as I’ve been more diligent if anything.

Yes, I was in decent condition when starting and am happy with where I’m at now. In fact this was more about getting good bloods and low visceral fat than anything else. But I honed in on a target weight/BMI goal that I though I’d meet then maintain with a reduced regime, and it’s frustrating to get close but not quite there when the numbers would suggest if I was starting 5:2 today I’d still expect to be losing over half a kilo per week.

Hey ho.