Stalled

[Powischr]

Hi

So for the last few months my weight has stalled despite eating at a deficit:\

I'm 5ft 4, 53.6kg, BF- Unknown, I workout 5-6 Xs a week for an hour, doing 15 mins HIIT 3-4xs and then 45 mins of lifting either upper or lower body,

I'd say I'm looking skinny fat at the moment and I'm desperate to get rid of this fat!! Obviously I know weight isn't the best measure to go by but the scales have not shifted at all for months now!!

I eat 1400 calories- is this too much?? I've been told conflicting things, too little or too high and I'm just confused as to what is going wrong here. I'm very good with my food prepping, weighing out the food correctly and tracking it in MFP accordingly,

Any adivice would be great thanks

I am really working hard on getting my nutrition right, so need to learn all I can about good nutrition

[Solvai]

How long have you been eating 1400 cals daily? And how long has it been since you last saw a drop in weight?

Your metabolism will slow as you lose weight, so if you've been eating the same amount of calories for a long time, that may no longer be sufficient to put you in a deficit. That being said, 1400 cals sounds pretty darn low to me, and I wouldn't suggest going lower. You might want to consider taking a diet break to get your metabolism back up to speed, and focus more on lifting heavy to put on some more muscle, as this will also increase your metabolism.

Lastly, IMO the best way to stop looking "skinny-fat" is to put on muscle

[IamJesterGirl]

You're doing quite a lot of physical activity and 1400 is fairly low, so I wouldn't be inclined to immediately suggest dropping calories.
How long have you been stalled? If less than 3 weeks, you're jumping the gun with worrying about this.
What is your calorie tracking like? How accurate are you? Do you weigh and track literally everything? When you put it into MFP, do you check the food data in there against the food data on the package you're consuming?

[Powischr]

How long have you been eating 1400 cals daily? And how long has it been since you last saw a drop in weight?

Your metabolism will slow as you lose weight, so if you've been eating the same amount of calories for a long time, that may no longer be sufficient to put you in a deficit. That being said, 1400 cals sounds pretty darn low to me, and I wouldn't suggest going lower. You might want to consider taking a diet break to get your metabolism back up to speed, and focus more on lifting heavy to put on some more muscle, as this will also increase your metabolism.

Lastly, IMO the best way to stop looking "skinny-fat" is to put on muscle

I've been stalled for a good two months now, and have been eating 1400 for that amount of time. Thank you for the advice, if I am to up my calories for a week or so will I gain weight? Or will I maintain? I'm very nervous to do this 😂 But if I'm not getting anywhere right now guess I'll need to change up what I'm doing :\

[Powischr]

You're doing quite a lot of physical activity and 1400 is fairly low, so I wouldn't be inclined to immediately suggest dropping calories.
How long have you been stalled? If less than 3 weeks, you're jumping the gun with worrying about this.
What is your calorie tracking like? How accurate are you? Do you weigh and track literally everything? When you put it into MFP, do you check the food data in there against the food data on the package you're consuming?

I've been stalled for a good two months now, the scales just haven't budged despite my efforts I want to get down to 51kg. My calorie tracking is good, I food prep and always check packaging and weigh out foods, yeah I check what is on MFP before putting it in because there are a lot of mistakes on the app,

I'm really frustrated right now to say the least 😞

[Junsuiakai]

1400 is quite low but also if you don't want to increase your calories then just don't train so many days. I know it is difficult because I train 5-6 days a week normally in a deficit and lose 0.5kg consistently each week, but I don't do any cardio and I eat roughly anywhere from 1900-2400 calories, for example Monday I might eat 1900 calories with low carbs because on Sunday I ate roughly 2600 *cheat day*. On Tuesday I might eat 2200 calories with high carbs and on Wednesday I might eat 2000 calories with low carbs, then Thursday and Friday I might eat at maintenance. You have to keep your body guessing what the hell are they going to do next and prepare your body for any situation. It is exactly like exercise, if you do the same reps, sets, exercises day in and day out, your body will adapt and you will no longer benefit optimally from said exercises. Same goes with your diet. So, my advice to you is to change things up and stop eating at 1400 calories every single day, try and up it to 1800 for a few days and only go to gym 3x a week with less cardio if you have the willpower. I know I don't! Also take a weekly average, helps tremendously! Good luck!

[ggEmanz]

sounds like you need a cheat meal, a good one, hmu and ill give you a long one.

[IamJesterGirl]

I can understand your frustration. What's your TDEE? Have you considered a diet break?

[FatAndFurious]

I think the more weight you lose the harder it becomes to consistently lose weight. You might need a change up in your routine. This happened to me when I hit 16 stone (107 KG) even with a huge calorie deficit I made no progress almost week after week. I initially changed my daily meal, which is what I consumed for the last 5 months. I needed to change my food monthly to continue to lose 3-5 lbs a week (1-2 KG). I changed from porridge to vegetables to weeks with lots of fish, there was no longer a constant in the food with the exception of the hot beverage; Green Tea. My point is keep your body guessing.

I just want to note that, my daily calorie intake is pretty low and I almost never exceed over 1000.

[Junsuiakai]

I think the more weight you lose the harder it becomes to consistently lose weight. You might need a change up in your routine. This happened to me when I hit 16 stone (107 KG) even with a huge calorie deficit I made no progress almost week after week. I initially changed my daily meal, which is what I consumed for the last 5 months. I needed to change my food monthly to continue to lose 3-5 lbs a week (1-2 KG). I changed from porridge to vegetables to weeks with lots of fish, there was no longer a constant in the food with the exception of the hot beverage; Green Tea. My point is keep your body guessing.

I just want to note that, my daily calorie intake is pretty low and I almost never exceed over 1000.

Amen

[Powischr]

I think the more weight you lose the harder it becomes to consistently lose weight. You might need a change up in your routine. This happened to me when I hit 16 stone (107 KG) even with a huge calorie deficit I made no progress almost week after week. I initially changed my daily meal, which is what I consumed for the last 5 months. I needed to change my food monthly to continue to lose 3-5 lbs a week (1-2 KG). I changed from porridge to vegetables to weeks with lots of fish, there was no longer a constant in the food with the exception of the hot beverage; Green Tea. My point is keep your body guessing.

I just want to note that, my daily calorie intake is pretty low and I almost never exceed over 1000.

Aw okay, thanks for the reply, I guess a change up will be good makes sense! But you never eat over 1000 calories a day???😕 Why am I being told my intake is too low then?? I'm very confused

[IamJesterGirl]

1000 calories a day is way too low, don't be tempted to do that.
You not only need food to sustain your body, you also need it to sustain what sounds like a lot of physical activity. You may want to consider a diet break where you eat at maintenance for a bit and then start to slowly go into a deficit again to reignite the weightloss.

[Powischr]

I can understand your frustration. What's your TDEE? Have you considered a diet break?

From IIFYM website my TDEE is 1900, yeah feel I should take a diet break for a week and see if this helps me get back on track

[Powischr]

1400 is quite low but also if you don't want to increase your calories then just don't train so many days. I know it is difficult because I train 5-6 days a week normally in a deficit and lose 0.5kg consistently each week, but I don't do any cardio and I eat roughly anywhere from 1900-2400 calories, for example Monday I might eat 1900 calories with low carbs because on Sunday I ate roughly 2600 *cheat day*. On Tuesday I might eat 2200 calories with high carbs and on Wednesday I might eat 2000 calories with low carbs, then Thursday and Friday I might eat at maintenance. You have to keep your body guessing what the hell are they going to do next and prepare your body for any situation. It is exactly like exercise, if you do the same reps, sets, exercises day in and day out, your body will adapt and you will no longer benefit optimally from said exercises. Same goes with your diet. So, my advice to you is to change things up and stop eating at 1400 calories every single day, try and up it to 1800 for a few days and only go to gym 3x a week with less cardio if you have the willpower. I know I don't! Also take a weekly average, helps tremendously! Good luck!

Thank you very much for your reply I'll change things up and see how I get on yeah will be hard but I am determined to get out of this plateau 😩😩

[Powischr]

1000 calories a day is way too low, don't be tempted to do that.
You not only need food to sustain your body, you also need it to sustain what sounds like a lot of physical activity. You may want to consider a diet break where you eat at maintenance for a bit and then start to slowly go into a deficit again to reignite the weightloss.

Thank you for your reply yeah having a diet break seems to the common solution here I will take on your adivice and try it

[Maverick2015]

Looks like a bunch of bad advice to me. I would double check the numbers you are getting in MFP. Do you move throughout the day (outside of exercise). What is your lifting program? Has your scale changed at all?

[rleatfitness]

Hi

So for the last few months my weight has stalled despite eating at a deficit:\

I'm 5ft 4, 53.6kg, BF- Unknown, I workout 5-6 Xs a week for an hour, doing 15 mins HIIT 3-4xs and then 45 mins of lifting either upper or lower body,

I'd say I'm looking skinny fat at the moment and I'm desperate to get rid of this fat!! Obviously I know weight isn't the best measure to go by but the scales have not shifted at all for months now!!

I eat 1400 calories- is this too much?? I've been told conflicting things, too little or too high and I'm just confused as to what is going wrong here. I'm very good with my food prepping, weighing out the food correctly and tracking it in MFP accordingly,

Any adivice would be great thanks

I am really working hard on getting my nutrition right, so need to learn all I can about good nutrition

Ditch the scales and take measurements much better way to track progress

[Powischr]

Looks like a bunch of bad advice to me. I would double check the numbers you are getting in MFP. Do you move throughout the day (outside of exercise). What is your lifting program? Has your scale changed at all?

Hi yeah I also work at a coffee shop part time but apart from that I'm in and out of the library/lectures I lift about 5-6 times a week for about 45mins to an hour doing either strength or reps, usually strength tho and this makes me sweat! And no the scales haven't changed at all

I'll take extra care with calorie counting, anything else you'd recommend doing?

[FatAndFurious]

But you never eat over 1000 calories a day??? Why am I being told my intake is too low then?? I'm very confused

Well I'm not encouraging you to do the same I was just adding a note that, no matter how low or controlled you eat this can still affect you at some stage for a brief amount of time. Personally, I only eat this low because I have strong willpower built over time and I can resist any urge in front of me. I would advise you to follow a different intake of calories - eating low and losing weight fast only leaves you with stretch marks and loose skin eventually. In my perspective it's entirely dependant on the person but know your limits. Do whatever works for you.

[Powischr]

Well I'm not encouraging you to do the same I was just adding a note that, no matter how low or controlled you eat this can still affect you at some stage for a brief amount of time. Personally, I only eat this low because I have strong willpower built over time and I can resist any urge in front of me. I would advise you to follow a different intake of calories - eating low and losing weight fast only leaves you with stretch marks and loose skin eventually. In my perspective it's entirely dependant on the person but know your limits. Do whatever works for you.

I admire your willpower here!! Curious, what's your training like on 1000 Cals? X

[FatAndFurious]

I admire your willpower here!! Curious, what's your training like on 1000 Cals? X

Thanks. I don't go to the gym or anything like that just yet. It consists of something like 20-30KM (12-18 miles) on the bicycle, depending on the day a few hours using the resistant bands. Oh yes, and running up and down the stairs occasionally lol. I'm focused mainly around cardio at the moment.

[MrM27]

Wow there's so much bad advice in 1 thread.

OP, you're 123 lbs, which means you are already at a very healthy weight. So either you have body image issues or you lack muscle which means you need to reevaluate your goal. Increasing calories to lose weight is not how it works.

Next time anyone giving advice should really look at the information that has been provided.

[Powischr]

Wow there's so much bad advice in 1 thread.

OP, you're 123 lbs, which means you are already at a very healthy weight. So either you have body image issues or you lack muscle which means you need to reevaluate your goal. Increasing calories to lose weight is not how it works.

Next time anyone giving advice should really look at the information that has been provided.

Thank you for your reply, I'll take on your advice and go back to the drawing board and evaluate what I actually want to achieve! I do need more muscle tbh, keep lifting and be patient I guess!

[MrM27]

I think the more weight you lose the harder it becomes to consistently lose weight. You might need a change up in your routine. This happened to me when I hit 16 stone (107 KG) even with a huge calorie deficit I made no progress almost week after week. I initially changed my daily meal, which is what I consumed for the last 5 months. I needed to change my food monthly to continue to lose 3-5 lbs a week (1-2 KG). I changed from porridge to vegetables to weeks with lots of fish, there was no longer a constant in the food with the exception of the hot beverage; Green Tea. My point is keep your body guessing.

I just want to note that, my daily calorie intake is pretty low and I almost never exceed over 1000.

Without the fact that you never exceed 1000 calories, I don't think you should be giving out advice because what you are doing is not good.

And you aren't going to keep your body guessing. Your body is a lot smarter than you're giving it credit for. As you are actually dying it compensates to try and keep you alive so don't think changing a few things up to lose weight is somehow going to confuse it.

[spradish]

Wow there's so much bad advice in 1 thread.

OP, you're 123 lbs, which means you are already at a very healthy weight. So either you have body image issues or you lack muscle which means you need to reevaluate your goal. Increasing calories to lose weight is not how it works.

Next time anyone giving advice should really look at the information that has been provided.

I got 118 lbs but, regardless, completely agree. My suggestion would be to work on adding muscle. Continuing to diet is only going to make you look like a smaller version of skinny fat.

[Maverick2015]

Wow there's so much bad advice in 1 thread.

OP, you're 123 lbs, which means you are already at a very healthy weight. So either you have body image issues or you lack muscle which means you need to reevaluate your goal. Increasing calories to lose weight is not how it works.

Next time anyone giving advice should really look at the information that has been provided.

I know, I can't believe the advice here. It should be re-titled "the bro-science thread". I don't remember there being pictures on the OP's profile before, but maybe I missed it. You do not need to lose weight. You said you were skinny fat, and I know women around your height and weight that have a bit of a pooch, so that was what I was picturing. All of these women lack the muscle to have the body they want. I now see the OP's picture and it is clear that she does not need to lose any weight and needs more muscle if she wants her abs to be flat.

So my advice is to get on a better lifting routine and start slowly adding some calories to get back to maintenance at least. You are not going to gain anything by eating at a deficit. Muscle growth (and abs are muscles) don't happen in a deficit. Really you should do a very lean bulk, but I know that concept is difficult when you don't want to gain any fat at all.

So the one good thing about the terrible advice on how to lose weight I am seeing in this thread is that if you followed it, you might gain some weight and get more muscle.

[MrM27]

I got 118 lbs but, regardless, completely agree. My suggestion would be to work on adding muscle. Continuing to diet is only going to make you look like a smaller version of skinny fat.

You're right. I typed in 56.3 by mistake. 118 makes me offer my advice even quicker.

[FatAndFurious]

Without the fact that you never exceed 1000 calories, I don't think you should be giving out advice because what you are doing is not good.

And you aren't going to keep your body guessing. Your body is a lot smarter than you're giving it credit for. As you are actually dying it compensates to try and keep you alive so don't think changing a few things up to lose weight is somehow going to confuse it.

I'm talking from my own experience not from what I've read on stickies or articles on the Internet. Now, I'm not claiming that you are wrong or right i'm just saying its your opinion. OP just stated that he / she was stalling, I gave input based on some of my previous encounters with similar situations. I did not base my response on whether the person in question was at an ideal weight, I just provided an answer based on the question presented. I'll try to improve my answer next time I reply to another person on this section, sorry for causing you any inconvenience.

By the way, I've lost a little over 84lbs.

[MrM27]

I'm talking from my own experience not from what I've read on stickies or articles on the Internet. Now, I'm not claiming that you are wrong or right i'm just saying its your opinion. OP just stated that he / she was stalling, I gave input based on some of my previous encounters with similar situations. I did not base my response on whether the person in question was at an ideal weight, I just provided an answer based on the question presented. I'll try to improve my answer next time I reply to another person on this section, sorry for causing you any inconvenience.

By the way, I've lost a little over 84lbs.

You should always respond with taking into considerations the factors that go into each situation. Throwing generalized advice can be detrimental to others. Mentioning that you eat 1000 calories means you believe it's okay when in fact it's not, so there really is no need to mention it. In doing so you encourage others to under eat.

That's good that you lost 84 pounds, however, by doing it while eating only 1000 calories isn't something I'd be too proud of.

[Powischr]

You should always respond with taking into considerations the factors that go into each situation. Throwing generalized advice can be detrimental to others. Mentioning that you eat 1000 calories means you believe it's okay when in fact it's not, so there really is no need to mention it. In doing so you encourage others to under eat.

That's good that you lost 84 pounds, however, by doing it while eating only 1000 calories isn't something I'd be too proud of.

I agree 1000 Cals is worrying low.. I've come from a background of restricting my calories like this, even worse, to 500 and it's led to me being underweight and ill. And i will never do it again. I hope this person is okay,