Goal: lose 2-4 pounds. Not happening!

[ashleyisgood]

I have been a long time lurker, but this is my first post. I am 20 years old, 5'3 and roughly 118 pounds. I am trying to get a little more "cut" - my handheld bodyfat monitor (used only for trend, I am aware how inaccurate they are!) reads a pretty constant 17.8-18.6% bf. (I take the reading in the mornings before eating and drinking after using the restroom). Using this ridiculously low estimate, I estimate that I need to lose about 2-3 pounds to get to an ideal body fat.
Currently and for the past 5 or 6 months, I have been eating 1600 calories a day (with a few 1800 calorie weeks here and there). My macros average 55 g fat, 225-250 g carbs, and 90 g protein. I work out 5, maybe 6 days a week, upper body one day and lower body the next. I rarely do cardio, and when I do, it's 15 minutes of 1-min intervals on the treadmill (walk 1 min, run 1).
I will admit that my calorie counting is probably off by a little, but I make good choices and if I am under-counting my chicken or sweet potato, oh well..
So my problem is I have been maintaining this lifestyle for awhile and have not seen any loss in fat. I take progress pictures sporadically (which I will try to attach...) but see no difference.
Oh, don't fret, I *do* lift heavy
Thanks for any help!
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[kimm4]

I have been eating 1600 calories a day (with a few 1800 calorie weeks here and there). My macros average 55 g fat, 225-250 g carbs, and 90 g protein.

Your calories range from 1600 up to 1855. What is your exact weekly average? Making good choices doesn't mean anything if you're not counting and going by estimates.

You don't have much to lose and honestly, if you're staying closer to 1800 calories your deficit isn't aggressive enough and you would need to start slightly cutting back.

Good luck.

[natasor]

I have been a long time lurker, but this is my first post. I am 20 years old, 5'3 and roughly 118 pounds. I am trying to get a little more "cut" - my handheld bodyfat monitor (used only for trend, I am aware how inaccurate they are!) reads a pretty constant 17.8-18.6% bf. (I take the reading in the mornings before eating and drinking after using the restroom). Using this ridiculously low estimate, I estimate that I need to lose about 2-3 pounds to get to an ideal body fat.
Currently and for the past 5 or 6 months, I have been eating 1600 calories a day (with a few 1800 calorie weeks here and there). My macros average 55 g fat, 225-250 g carbs, and 90 g protein. I work out 5, maybe 6 days a week, upper body one day and lower body the next. I rarely do cardio, and when I do, it's 15 minutes of 1-min intervals on the treadmill (walk 1 min, run 1).
I will admit that my calorie counting is probably off by a little, but I make good choices and if I am under-counting my chicken or sweet potato, oh well..
So my problem is I have been maintaining this lifestyle for awhile and have not seen any loss in fat. I take progress pictures sporadically (which I will try to attach...) but see no difference.
Oh, don't fret, I *do* lift heavy
Thanks for any help!
Attachment 4420401
Attachment 4420411

Oh, my. If I had your problems I 'd considered myself very lucky. I'm 5'5 and 120lb. I don't eat even 1000 cal a day. Train 3X a week. I had to cut, cut and cut. My intake lately was on Sund 973 cal (cheat day), on Mon - 568 cal, on Tues -472, on Wedn - 500, on Thurs -746. Guess what was my weight in the morning? 120 lb
How it possibly can be?
I need help. I know my age plays some role in it - slow metabolism. but I am very active even on not training days, I have to walk, and run, and clime and scrape walls, and carry heavy stuff 4 hrs a day. With my life style and training level I have to consume at least 2000cal a day. Oh, never. I feel overstuffed, bloated and very unhappy when I eat even 940 cal a day. I maintained through the winter on 700-1000 cal a day. For summer I wanted to loose just 2 lb from my thyghs. That's all I wanted. I cut for last 2 months, making lower and lower every week, seing no results. That's odd. I started feeling very week and loose my power in the gym. Do anybody has any advice? I strategically place my post on the femail page. For guys it will be nonsence; and they gonna offend me. Only women can understand my conserns, b/c we naturally eat less then men and use less meat and carbs for our maintenance.
BTW. those bodyfat monitors, based on the electrical current going thru your body do very bad estamates. My BF, for example, reads 23%. I used simple caliper to pinch test, and the BF is 11-13%, which is very close to truth. I physically can compress my belly and feel almost all organs and puls around the belly buton. This is indication of very low BF.

[ashleyisgood]

Your calories range from 1600 up to 1855. What is your exact weekly average? Making good choices doesn't mean anything if you're not counting and going by estimates.

You don't have much to lose and honestly, if you're staying closer to 1800 calories your deficit isn't aggressive enough and you would need to start slightly cutting back.

Good luck.

I think you have helped me realize where my problem is. I should have said I eat 1600 NET calories. So on days I lift, I eat closer to 1800. (This is mostly protein shake and preworkout snack). Now I realize I should not "eat back" those calories I burn lifting. Thank you.

[ashleyisgood]

Oh, my. If I had your problems I 'd considered myself very lucky. I'm 5'5 and 120lb. I don't eat even 1000 cal a day. Train 3X a week. I had to cut, cut and cut. My intake lately was on Sund 973 cal (cheat day), on Mon - 568 cal, on Tues -472, on Wedn - 500, on Thurs -746. Guess what was my weight in the morning? 120 lb
How it possibly can be?
I need help. I know my age plays some role in it - slow metabolism. but I am very active even on not training days, I have to walk, and run, and clime and scrape walls, and carry heavy stuff 4 hrs a day. With my life style and training level I have to consume at least 2000cal a day. Oh, never. I feel overstuffed, bloated and very unhappy when I eat even 940 cal a day. I maintained through the winter on 700-1000 cal a day. For summer I wanted to loose just 2 lb from my thyghs. That's all I wanted. I cut for last 2 months, making lower and lower every week, seing no results. That's odd. I started feeling very week and loose my power in the gym. Do anybody has any advice? I strategically place my post on the femail page. For guys it will be nonsence; and they gonna offend me. Only women can understand my conserns, b/c we naturally eat less then men and use less meat and carbs for our maintenance.
BTW. those bodyfat monitors, based on the electrical current going thru your body do very bad estamates. My BF, for example, reads 23%. I used simple caliper to pinch test, and the BF is 11-13%, which is very close to truth. I physically can compress my belly and feel almost all organs and puls around the belly buton. This is indication of very low BF.

Hi there! I am new to these forums, but I think most would agree that you are not eating enough! I can see from your picture that you have a nice starting point, but you aren't going to see much improvement by starving yourself!
You acknowledge that you have to eat 2000 calories a day for your lifestyle,but you eat only a fourth of that! You are feeling weak in the gym because your body does not have enough fuel. Yes, I can understand that eating 1500 calories a day may seem impossible to you, for you claim you feel overstuffed on 950 calories, but you will get used to it and start to feel better.
Hope this helps, good luck in your goals.

[JenMc14]

Oh, my. If I had your problems I 'd considered myself very lucky. I'm 5'5 and 120lb. I don't eat even 1000 cal a day. Train 3X a week. I had to cut, cut and cut. My intake lately was on Sund 973 cal (cheat day), on Mon - 568 cal, on Tues -472, on Wedn - 500, on Thurs -746. Guess what was my weight in the morning? 120 lb
How it possibly can be?
I need help. I know my age plays some role in it - slow metabolism. but I am very active even on not training days, I have to walk, and run, and clime and scrape walls, and carry heavy stuff 4 hrs a day. With my life style and training level I have to consume at least 2000cal a day. Oh, never. I feel overstuffed, bloated and very unhappy when I eat even 940 cal a day. I maintained through the winter on 700-1000 cal a day. For summer I wanted to loose just 2 lb from my thyghs. That's all I wanted. I cut for last 2 months, making lower and lower every week, seing no results. That's odd. I started feeling very week and loose my power in the gym. Do anybody has any advice? I strategically place my post on the femail page. For guys it will be nonsence; and they gonna offend me. Only women can understand my conserns, b/c we naturally eat less then men and use less meat and carbs for our maintenance.
BTW. those bodyfat monitors, based on the electrical current going thru your body do very bad estamates. My BF, for example, reads 23%. I used simple caliper to pinch test, and the BF is 11-13%, which is very close to truth. I physically can compress my belly and feel almost all organs and puls around the belly buton. This is indication of very low BF.

You are not eating enough to support our lifestyle. This can be detreimental to your metabolism in the long run. You need to slowly add in calories. Contrary to conventional "wisdom" you must eat to lose. Read the sticky on calories and macros to find out what you should be doing. If you are really 11-13% bf, you have no fat left to lose, really.

[alexandrahanna]

Natasor - google "starvation response"


Ashley - Maybe you have already seen it, but there is a really in depth thread for calculating calorie and macronutrient needs on the Nutrition and Supplement board, but I will calculate yours out quickly here. I am assuming you haven't seen it because your macros don't match up with the suggestions from that thread, not trying to come off as condescending

BMR = 370 + (21.6 x Lean body mass in kg)
Using a rough estimate of 20% BF, you would have 42.8 kg of LBM.
370 + (21.6 x 42.8) = 1294.48
That is the amount of calories your body would need to maintain if you were in a coma.

BMR x Activity Level = Total Energy Expenditure
Using a multiplyer of 1.5 for moderately active (guessing since I don't know what your day job is),
1294.48 x 1.5 = 1941.72 Total Energy Expenditure
Based on your goal of losing weight, subtract 10-20% of calories to find goal calories. I will use 20% as an example.
1941 x .8 = 1552 calories per day
Not a huge difference from your net of 1600, but the calories needed for daily activity are included in this step, so you don't need to compensate by eat them back after a workout.

Next are macros, which is the main change I would make if I were you.
I will use average body fat formula since you're not positive on yours.
1-1.25 g total body weight = 118 g protein to 147.5 g protein
.5 g - 1 g total body weight = 59 g fat to 118 g fat
I will take median from protein and low end from fat - 133 g protein, 60 g fat - 532 calories from protein, 540 from fat
532 + 540 = 1072
That leaves 480 calories for carbs, which is 120 g carbs.

So switch your 55 g fat, 225-250 g carbs, and 90 g protein to 60 g fat, 120 g carbs, and 133 g protein and give it a few weeks. I would also recommend not eating your workout cals back. Good luck!

[kdiamond55]

I would agree with what was said and try 1600 to lose a couple pounds (though you look GREAT). There are occasions when I overindulge (holidays and vacations) where I come back and become strict to lose the fluff before it catches up to me...and I'll stick around 1400 for a couple weeks or so. That usually does it.

[catskills]

I agree with what was said above, and would just like to add one thing. At your level of goal the calorie counting has to be exact. When using estimates it is much easier to plateau. Following the calculations above should get you off the plateau, as long as you are diligent in your calorie counting. Give it at least six weeks and then see where you are.

[ashleyisgood]

Natasor - google "starvation response"


Ashley - Maybe you have already seen it, but there is a really in depth thread for calculating calorie and macronutrient needs on the Nutrition and Supplement board, but I will calculate yours out quickly here. I am assuming you haven't seen it because your macros don't match up with the suggestions from that thread, not trying to come off as condescending

BMR = 370 + (21.6 x Lean body mass in kg)
Using a rough estimate of 20% BF, you would have 42.8 kg of LBM.
370 + (21.6 x 42.8) = 1294.48
That is the amount of calories your body would need to maintain if you were in a coma.

BMR x Activity Level = Total Energy Expenditure
Using a multiplyer of 1.5 for moderately active (guessing since I don't know what your day job is),
1294.48 x 1.5 = 1941.72 Total Energy Expenditure
Based on your goal of losing weight, subtract 10-20% of calories to find goal calories. I will use 20% as an example.
1941 x .8 = 1552 calories per day
Not a huge difference from your net of 1600, but the calories needed for daily activity are included in this step, so you don't need to compensate by eat them back after a workout.

Next are macros, which is the main change I would make if I were you.
I will use average body fat formula since you're not positive on yours.
1-1.25 g total body weight = 118 g protein to 147.5 g protein
.5 g - 1 g total body weight = 59 g fat to 118 g fat
I will take median from protein and low end from fat - 133 g protein, 60 g fat - 532 calories from protein, 540 from fat
532 + 540 = 1072
That leaves 480 calories for carbs, which is 120 g carbs.

So switch your 55 g fat, 225-250 g carbs, and 90 g protein to 60 g fat, 120 g carbs, and 133 g protein and give it a few weeks. I would also recommend not eating your workout cals back. Good luck!

Thank you so much! I don't remember how I calculated my macros, but I like your way much better! I will give this a go. I appreciate your help.

[ashleyisgood]

I agree with what was said above, and would just like to add one thing. At your level of goal the calorie counting has to be exact. When using estimates it is much easier to plateau. Following the calculations above should get you off the plateau, as long as you are diligent in your calorie counting. Give it at least six weeks and then see where you are.

I will do my best to be exact! Thanks :-)

[freebirdmac]

Oh, my. If I had your problems I 'd considered myself very lucky. I'm 5'5 and 120lb. I don't eat even 1000 cal a day. Train 3X a week. I had to cut, cut and cut. My intake lately was on Sund 973 cal (cheat day), on Mon - 568 cal, on Tues -472, on Wedn - 500, on Thurs -746. Guess what was my weight in the morning? 120 lb
How it possibly can be?
I need help. I know my age plays some role in it - slow metabolism. but I am very active even on not training days, I have to walk, and run, and clime and scrape walls, and carry heavy stuff 4 hrs a day. With my life style and training level I have to consume at least 2000cal a day. Oh, never. I feel overstuffed, bloated and very unhappy when I eat even 940 cal a day. I maintained through the winter on 700-1000 cal a day. For summer I wanted to loose just 2 lb from my thyghs. That's all I wanted. I cut for last 2 months, making lower and lower every week, seing no results. That's odd. I started feeling very week and loose my power in the gym. Do anybody has any advice? I strategically place my post on the femail page. For guys it will be nonsence; and they gonna offend me. Only women can understand my conserns, b/c we naturally eat less then men and use less meat and carbs for our maintenance.
BTW. those bodyfat monitors, based on the electrical current going thru your body do very bad estamates. My BF, for example, reads 23%. I used simple caliper to pinch test, and the BF is 11-13%, which is very close to truth. I physically can compress my belly and feel almost all organs and puls around the belly buton. This is indication of very low BF.

You have screwed your metabolism by eating so little for so long. You do have an artificially slow metabolism because of your very low intake. You also saw no results leaning out because you lack sufficient muscle mass. You get smaller but look the same. Honestly, your post has many red flags for ED behavior.

The way out of this is to get your calories up where they belong. Yes you will bloat (it's temporary) and you may gain a couple of pounds of fat (you need it anyway), and stay at maintenance or above for at least 6 months. You can raise your calories slowly, by 100 a week, until you get to 1800. You should start feeling better with more food, have more energy, and see your lifts improve.

I'd also get a thyroid panel and make sure everything is fine there.

The biggest improvement in how you look is going to come from gaining muscle, not fat loss. That takes food. Ideally 250 over maintenance. But start for 1800 first.

[nacersusaf]

You have screwed your metabolism by eating so little for so long. You do have an artificially slow metabolism because of your very low intake. You also saw no results leaning out because you lack sufficient muscle mass. You get smaller but look the same. Honestly, your post has many red flags for ED behavior.

The way out of this is to get your calories up where they belong. Yes you will bloat (it's temporary) and you may gain a couple of pounds of fat (you need it anyway), and stay at maintenance or above for at least 6 months. You can raise your calories slowly, by 100 a week, until you get to 1800. You should start feeling better with more food, have more energy, and see your lifts improve.

I'd also get a thyroid panel and make sure everything is fine there.

The biggest improvement in how you look is going to come from gaining muscle, not fat loss. That takes food. Ideally 250 over maintenance. But start for 1800 first.

I've seen the same posts from her time and time again -- sorry, but I think you're wasting your time trying to help someone who refuses it repeatedly.

[freebirdmac]

I've seen the same posts from her time and time again -- sorry, but I think you're wasting your time trying to help someone who refuses it repeatedly.

Yeah I know. But a lurker may get something out of it.

[catskills]

Yeah I know. But a lurker may get something out of it.

This is true. I am new to this forum and everytime I read something freebirdmac writes I learn something 8)

[DomesticGoddess]

This is true. I am new to this forum and everytime I read something freebirdmac writes I learn something 8)

+1 me too

[JulianFedrer]

I cannot believe my wife lost 3 Kgs in three months time Thanks!