Weight

[Liftnsquat]

Hi everyone I’m looking for a bit of advice.

Cut a long story short I’m 5”1 female 31 years old and weigh 152lbs. I exercise 4x per week doing the PHUL programme I have been doing this for around 14 weeks now ( with maybe 2-3 weeks when I couldn’t go to the gym ) anyway I can’t seem to shift my weight. The scale won’t budge. I’m eating anywhere between 1300 cals and 1400 cals a day. I track and weigh all my food. I eat just under 1g protein per lb of body weight. My macros are 140g protein 123g carbs and 39g Of fat. I also do some moderate cardio after my weight for around 15-20 mins. Is there something I’m doing wrong to be not losing weight? I can drop maybe 1-2lbs a week but my weight never goes Under 150lbs? I drink enough water I’d say maybe 1 litre -1.5 litres a day. I also would say that my clothes around my mid section seem a little more loose but really not that big a difference. My waist and hip measurements have stayed the same also. Where am I going wrong?

Tia x

[spradish]

One half to one pound per week averaged over the long term would be a good rate of loss at your stats. It's common to read that 1-2 pounds per week is a "good rate of loss" but that's an average that ignores sex and size (i.e., the smaller and more female you are, the fewer calories you're likely to burn at maintenance. A 500 calorie deficit can be 20% or less for a man and 25-30% for some women.)

The other issue is that women have a lot of shifts in hormones that cause shifts in water weight. It would be better to weigh yourself regularly and then compare your weight at the same point across menstrual cycles. In other words, compare Day 1 to Day 1, don't compare every Friday's weight. Do that across a cycle and if your weight hasn't trended downward, you'll need to drop calories.

[Maverick2015]

I agree with spradish and would recommend tape measure tracking as well. The one thing that confuses me is you say you drop 1-2 lbs a week without going under 150... does this mean you gain weight back or you just haven't reached that goal yet? How long have you been 152? What was your weight 14 weeks ago? If you have been stuck at the same week for a while then I would also say drop to 1200 calories and see what happens. I would think 1300-1400 would be good, and you seem to be tracking well. But sometimes if you just need to drop calories a little more to see results. You can always add back the 100 calories after you get over the hump if you need to.

I did have one more thought... A lot of people on a cut (especially low carb) do not defecate as much so I recommend adding some more fiber and/or miralax.

[Liftnsquat]

I agree with spradish and would recommend tape measure tracking as well. The one thing that confuses me is you say you drop 1-2 lbs a week without going under 150... does this mean you gain weight back or you just haven't reached that goal yet? How long have you been 152? What was your weight 14 weeks ago? If you have been stuck at the same week for a while then I would also say drop to 1200 calories and see what happens. I would think 1300-1400 would be good, and you seem to be tracking well. But sometimes if you just need to drop calories a little more to see results. You can always add back the 100 calories after you get over the hump if you need to.

I did have one more thought... A lot of people on a cut (especially low carb) do not defecate as much so I recommend adding some more fiber and/or miralax.

Okay thanks I will give that a go and drop to 1200. I do track and weigh all foods but I must be going wrong somewhere. Yes I have been 152 for a while now. I can be 152lbs and then by the end of the week be 150lbs and then the week after that be 151lbs and it just bounces between these weights and has done the last 14 weeks

[Maverick2015]

Okay thanks I will give that a go and drop to 1200. I do track and weigh all foods but I must be going wrong somewhere. Yes I have been 152 for a while now. I can be 152lbs and then by the end of the week be 150lbs and then the week after that be 151lbs and it just bounces between these weights and has done the last 14 weeks

No significant loss in 14 weeks would certainly warrant a drop in calories. Also try to get up and move more in general if you aren't already. Look up NEAT.

[xsquid99]

No significant loss in 14 weeks would certainly warrant a drop in calories. Also try to get up and move more in general if you aren't already. Look up NEAT.

^^^^ This. I can see weight holding for 3-4 weeks, but no loss in 14 weeks just indicates you're not in a calorie deficit.

Remember the vast majority of your daily calories are actually burned out of the gym during the rest of your day to day activities (which is why Maverick mentioned NEAT). So if you're relatively sedentary outside of the gym then you need to change that and/or drop calories further.

[NerdyLady]

What are you drinking? Could that be it? If you're only drinking water, disregard.

[Liftnsquat]

^^^^ This. I can see weight holding for 3-4 weeks, but no loss in 14 weeks just indicates you're not in a calorie deficit.

Remember the vast majority of your daily calories are actually burned out of the gym during the rest of your day to day activities (which is why Maverick mentioned NEAT). So if you're relatively sedentary outside of the gym then you need to change that and/or drop calories further.

I am quite sedentary out of the gym but I work 3x a week and In my job I am on my feet walking around for 7 and a half hours, I also do one nightshift a week too ( sometimes 2 nights) on top of my 3 shifts during the day and I fill shelves on those nights. I’m guessing it must be my calories maybe I need to drop another 100 calories? That would take me to 1200 cals while lifting and cardio :/

[Liftnsquat]

What are you drinking? Could that be it? If you're only drinking water, disregard.

Yes mainly water if I crave something fizzy I normally have a Coke Zero