Can't break through plateau at 14% body fat

[bob1776]

You'll wreck yourself on sub 2500 @ 5'10.

I'm trying to get in my head how I'd eat less. I'm 6'1 on a lean bulk at 190. I cut carbs and I'm a prick. Don't like it. That's my little challenge right there. I do the myfitness pal but train harder than my 20's. Balance isn't there but close.

I'm @ 2400 and making the gainz. Pretty sure it's not just because I'm a 1/2 inch shorter.

[bradandblake]

I've cut from 193 to 176 on an average of 2600 calories over the last two months. That should tell you how much you are undereating.

[herms3030]

This is yet another "I've hit a plateau" thread, but looking for any advice from the over 40 crowd who may have similar issues maybe due to metabolism. Sorry for the really long post, but thought I'd provide more specifics of my regimen which might identify problems to comment on. I have read the fat loss for noobs thread, along with an inordinate amount of other info on this great site and others.

Brief history: I'm 45 years old and 5'10". About 7 years back (my late 30s), I dropped from 210 to 165 pretty easily over the course of 6 months through a fairly unremarkable regimen of 5 days a week of 60-90 min cardio (with some light intervals), 20 min body weight strength work, and sticking pretty close to 1200-1400 calories (macros were probably 40/40/20 % based on calories with complex carbs and lean protein).

I'm now 165 lbs. (I put on what I think was a good deal of muscle through lifting over the last several years) and am at apx. 14% body fat based on an electrical impedance scale (I realize not that accurate but directionally correct). I believe that based on the 1200-1400 calories that allowed me to lose weight in my 30s, I have a lower than average metabolism.

I've now spent the last several years trying to break through the 14% plateau with no luck (I believe I'm in the same place based on the electrical impedance scale, tape measure of waist and visually). I've done HIIT, long cardio sessions either running or elliptical, heavy weight lifting (mixing up my routine every couple months), Insanity, cardio intervals combined with weight lifting, supplements, low-carb diets, cutting out caffeine and artificial sweeteners, and primarily have stuck to calorie intakes around the 1200-1500 range. I've periodically gained 5-10 pounds at times (over the holidays eating) and every time I get back in to the routine, I get back down to 14% after 1-2 months and plateau there.

Here is my current regimen:
- 3 days of 60 minute HIIT (Three types: (i) 30 seconds hard, 30 seconds recovery repeat for 20 minutes, then 40 minutes low-intensity cardio; (ii) 2 minute running 400s on a track, 2 minute recovery for 30 minutes, 30 minutes low intensity cardio); 5 minutes of tabata all out sprint for 20 seconds, rest for 40 seconds, 45 minutes low intensity cardio.
- 2 days of 60-90 minutes low intensity cardio
- 2-4 days 45 minutes heavy weight lifting
- Rest 1-2 days per week
- Diet: 1200-1500 calories - more so on days I do both cardio and lift. 6 days a week are low carb with 400 cals from complex carbs, some health fats and the rest lean protein. Some of my protein is from 2% greek yogurt and part-skim string cheese in case you see a problem with that, and 100-200 cals per day come from brown rice, ezekiel bread or wheat bread with the rest from broccoli/cauliflower/spinach/kale/etc.. I believe I'm very accurate in macro/calorie counting (although I'm open to the idea that maybe I'm off some, targeting 1200-1500 calories with this kind of physical activity, I still have to be in a deficit). 1 day per week is carb loading with 1800-2200 calories with a lot more complex carbs.
- Supplements: green tea extract, L-Carnitine, CLA, fish oil, B/C/D vitamins and a multi-vitamin, BCAAs/creatine around lifting workouts. How did I decide on these? You could spend a fortune on supplements and this is what I settled on to aid in fat loss and muscle gain/performance.
- A ton of water every day; 1 cup of coffee; no soda, juice, etc.

I'm not certain at this point whether:
- 1200-1400 cals is too much since my metabolism must have slowed down since my late 30s, although this seems pretty low already
- Calorie intake is way too little given the amount I'm working out and causing starvation effect
- I need to up the intensity even more of my HIIT sessions because I'm adapting
- I need more low intensity cardio and less lifting
- What got me here won't take me further and I need to make radical changes

Just don't know what the answer is. If it were a few month plateau, I probably wouldn't post, but it's been years since I've been able to get past it with the above regimen.

Thanks for any advice - appreciate it.

Agree generally with the other responses. You are doing too much cardio, not enough lifting and need to reboot your metabolism. The prolonged calorie restriction has likely slowed your metabolism, which is a big part of the problem. Do some research on reverse dieting and see how you can best increase calories without gaining too much weight. Also, cut out the cardio and focus on lifting more weights. Lastly, I didn't see an exact description of how you get to 1500 calories a day, but I would suggest you up protein to 1.5 g/lb of body weight, limit carbs and intake healthy fats.