Hi! I could use some help!

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Hi! I could use some help!

This topic contains 9 replies, has 3 voices, and was last updated by  LByrd1983 7 years ago.

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  • I started 5 2 in May of last year and lost around 38 pounds. After I lost the 38 lbs I ran into a plateau. I responded to this by starting the 4 3 diet. I was able to shake up my plateau but only by two or three pounds and found myself stuck again for a month.

    A friend of mine suggested I try the 16/8 protocol. I did. I was able to lose two pounds before I plateaud again and have been stuck between 160 and 163 for the past three months.

    I tried taking a week off from diet and all exercise in order to help speed up my metabolism again, then got back to it but with less cardio and more lifting. I also decided to start 5 2 again. In the first week I lost 2 pounds, but I quickly gained it back. I have since started 4 3 again but all I have done is shift arounf the same 2 to 3 pounds and have lost 0 inches.

    I am at a loss. I used to do a LOT of cardio. i thought perhaps I had damaged my metabolism so now I only do 1 or 2 days of HIIT and lift heavy and do circuit training.

    I have a fitbit that keeps track of my calories and my TDEE seems to be around 2400 calories. I am 33 years old and 5 foot 6 btw. (And female.)

    If anyone has any ideas I am open to suggestions as I am really disheartened by this giant seemingly never ending plateau. (Four months and no loss)

    Hope this post finds everyone well! Thanks for reading! 🙂

    I should add, I am terrified that I have damaged my metabolism.

    What are you eating and drinking ? Sometimes it is WHAT you are eating and drinking that causes the slow down.

    As for drinks I drink water (lots of water) Propel and the occasional diet soda. Oh and a lot of coffee. I take a tbsp of powder creamer in my coffee.

    On feed days I eat normally. I don’t restrict carbs. I eat lean ground turkey, pork and chicken, but I use these in combination with wraps and brown rice to make somewhat healthier versions of my favorite foods (i love mexican and chinese food) My husband and I still eat out sometimes, but if I do I don’t spend the whole day getting out of hand, just one meal. I really like chocolate but I have recently decided to cut out sugar all together.

    On fast days I eat brown rice mixed with black beans or low carb low calorie wraps with mustard and turkey. I drink black coffee and allow myself up to two cups with powdered cream.

    @lbyrd1983. I’m loathe to offer advice as we are all sooooo different BUT when I was your age, and height, I would never have lost weight on 2400 cals per day.

    I believe that coffee whitener is loaded with carbs, so I would cut that out. Perhaps it’s time to look at the amount of carbs in your food and maybe keep to the same cals but try a different mix. It is really good that you exercise and are obviously fit and I think you are young enough to try a different diet ….. by that I mean you are not set in your ways. Cutting out sugar is a good move as some people on here will attest to.

    Give it a try. You have a lot of life in front of you.

    All best

    Hi L and welcome:

    First, the TDEE calculator at the top of the page puts your TDEE around 1990 cal. per day. If you have been eating to 2400, that will explain most, if not all, of your failure to lose weight. Electronic trackers are well known (proven) to be very inaccurate. I would never believe one, or base my eating on what they say.

    Second, you can take heart that there are no known ‘detrimental’ effects to ‘ruining your metabolism’ like illness or death. The only apparent result of a ruined metabolism in the dietary world is a lower TDEE. That means your body has become more efficient and does the same work as it has done for decades with less energy (fewer calories). Many would applaud a result that caused the same work to be done with less energy – the impact on the world would be very beneficial. In the weight loss context, however, it seems that becoming more efficient means the person cannot eat like they used to eat without gaining weight. Of course, when they were eating like they used to eat they were gaining weight, so it is unclear why they would want to go back to eating the way they were – at least if they wanted to maintain their weight loss.

    Anyway, the basic cause of a long plateau where you are neither gaining nor losing weight is consistently eating to your TDEE. That, of course, is the definition of TDEE – the amount of calories you need to eat to neither gain nor lose weight. So if you want to lose some more weight, and regardless of what your electronic tracker (or the calculator at the top of the page) says, you need to eat fewer calories than you have been eating.

    Here is an explanation of TDEE: https://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/tdee-for-the-curious-or-why-dont-i-lose-weight-faster/. And here are some thoughts on plateaus: https://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/on-plateaus/

    Good Luck!

    Thank you, both of you. You know, Simcoe, actually you are right. The number I gave was the average I came up with when I was still doing cardio 5 to 6 times a week and weights. My exercise routine changed so I should be eating less. I guess I thought I could keep the same TDEE since I started 4 3 and would be creating a larger defecit. I guess this is not the case?

    You know, part of my fear comes from the difference in the way I lpse weight in my 30s vs how easily it was to take weight off in my 20s. Now I think everything is some aging lady disorder. I guess that is silly. I need to relax.

    For goodness sake …. you are only in your 30’s . try something different.

    I am not saying I am old I am saying my body is different now and it is hard to cope with the changes. I don’t understand it like I used to. That is all I am saying. And yes, I am going to try something different.

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