Looking for advice on weight loss

[Stahlmann]

Half a year ago, I decided that I had to do something about my excess weight. I made a pretty radical change to my diet and at the same time started to integrate regular exercise into my everyday life. As a result, I have lost 50 pounds in 5 months, which makes me very happy. I only eat around 1000-1500 kilocalories a day and do 4 hours of exercise a week.

 

My problem is that I've suddenly hit a wall. I haven't changed my diet since I started and I've been doing more and more exercise, but I've suddenly stopped losing weight even though I still have a substantial amount of body fat that I want to get rid of. I still want to lose around 30-40 more pounds before I'm at the weight I want to be.

 

I have done a bit of research myself and have come across issues such as 'starvation mode', where the body slows down its metabolism to sustain itself on fewer nutrients. However, I don't feel hungry or have any other signs that I have this problem. I also think it's unlikely because I've been on this diet for 5 months and haven't had any problems. I can pretty safely cross out other possible reasons such as underestimating calorie intake, losing muscle tissue, etc.

 

Are there any people here who know what to do to get past this point?

 

- Do I just carry on as long as I don't notice any other alarm signals from my body?

- Do I need a 1-2 week diet break to let my body reset, even if it means putting some weight back on?

- Have I reached the point where I am gaining as much muscle as I am losing body fat?

[Spotty]

Comfortable sharing your weight and BMI?

How recently did the weight loss stop? 

How active is your life outside of working out? Are you fairly active and moving around throughout the day or are you at a desk for most of the day?

 

I would probably keep on your diet and exercise routine for a few more weeks and see if there's any more progress. If you're still not seeing progress you may need to increase your activity.

[Stahlmann]

3 minutes ago, Spotty said:

Comfortable sharing your weight and BMI?

How recently did the weight loss stop? 

How active is your life outside of working out? Are you fairly active and moving around throughout the day or are you at a desk for most of the day?

 

I would probably keep on your diet and exercise routine for a few more weeks and see if there's any more progress. If you're still not seeing progress you may need to increase your activity.

My current BMI is 28.6. I don't feel comfortable sharing my exact weight, height or age.

 

The weight loss stopped 2 weeks ago. But before that, I could see the weight going down practically every day, or at least from one week to the next. I think I'm doing something wrong because this is the first time I've gone 2 weeks without making any progress on the scale. Or am I just being unreasonable in the context of 2 weeks?

 

I work in an office, so most of my days are spent sitting and walking around, and in the evenings, after my daily exercise routine, I'm usually watching TV or playing video games.

 

It still seems pretty strange to me, as most calorie calculators say I need to eat 2500-3000 kcal to maintain my weight, but I'm somehow maintaining my weight on 1000-1500 kcal. How is this even possible?

[Caroline]

Start bulking.

 

And calories alone mean pretty much nothing, you could be eating 1500 kcal of the worst possible Big Food Co. ultraprocessed frozen wagieslop and seed oils, or 1500 kcal of protein rich fish, meat, legumes and vegetables, there is a difference.

 

I'm tall and slim, but take into consideration I live in a country that's a Don't Starve Together server, I wanted some more arms and core muscle definition so I started lifting and doing abs with extra weight, legs were already taken care of, ballet and bicycles are great to have ripped legs.

 

Some will recommend doing "day" workouts (leg day, core day, arms day, etc.) but I recommend working out several things per day, for example if you do chest and arms go ahead and do some abs and weighted squats as well, if you run why not do triceps as well? and so on, try different combinations, you'll probably do less reps but it'll feel better and you can repeat part of that routine overmorrow. Doesn't matters if you can only do 5 reps, or 10, just do that until you can do more, then increase the weight.

Don't ego lift, you'll just end up with sore arms.

[wONKEyeYEs]

12 hours ago, Stahlmann said:

I only eat around 1000-1500 kilocalories a day

 

56 minutes ago, Caroline said:

And calories alone mean pretty much nothing, you could be eating 1500 kcal of the worst possible Big Food Co. ultraprocessed frozen wagieslop and seed oils, or 1500 kcal of protein rich fish, meat, legumes and vegetables, there is a difference.

I'm wondering if this is the case. You need to cut out all processed sugars, processed foods, and watch your carbs too. Don't drink fruit juices either.

 

Cleveland Clinic

https://health.clevelandclinic.org/how-many-carbs-to-eat-to-lose-weight

[Stahlmann]

8 hours ago, Caroline said:

And calories alone mean pretty much nothing, you could be eating 1500 kcal of the worst possible Big Food Co. ultraprocessed frozen wagieslop and seed oils, or 1500 kcal of protein rich fish, meat, legumes and vegetables, there is a difference.

7 hours ago, wONKEyeYEs said:

I'm wondering if this is the case. You need to cut out all processed sugars, processed foods, and watch your carbs too. Don't drink fruit juices either.

 

Cleveland Clinic

https://health.clevelandclinic.org/how-many-carbs-to-eat-to-lose-weight

I'm only eating fresh home cooked meals, also already focusing on protein. No fast food, no soda, only tap water and black coffee to drink, no ready-made frozen meals, etc.

 

8 hours ago, Caroline said:

I'm tall and slim, but take into consideration I live in a country that's a Don't Starve Together server, I wanted some more arms and core muscle definition so I started lifting and doing abs with extra weight, legs were already taken care of, ballet and bicycles are great to have ripped legs.

 

Some will recommend doing "day" workouts (leg day, core day, arms day, etc.) but I recommend working out several things per day, for example if you do chest and arms go ahead and do some abs and weighted squats as well, if you run why not do triceps as well? and so on, try different combinations, you'll probably do less reps but it'll feel better and you can repeat part of that routine overmorrow. Doesn't matters if you can only do 5 reps, or 10, just do that until you can do more, then increase the weight.

Don't ego lift, you'll just end up with sore arms.

I'm already working on building muscle and endurance. My main goal is still to lose fat. Once I've reached my weight target, I plan to start eating more calories again and concentrate on bulking up.

 

Basically, I've got all the healthy eating and exercise stuff down, in fact I've been doing it for almost half a year now so it's part of my everyday life, but suddenly I've hit a wall where I can't lose any more weight, even though I still have a lot of body fat. That's my core problem.

[Spotty]

What does your workout routine involve? What activities/workouts are you doing?

 

Have you increased the intensity of your workout since you started or has it more or less remained the same? If your exercise routine hasn't changed from when you started you might need to start working more high intensity exercise and cardio in to your workout. 

 

I would still stick to you current plan for another 2 weeks and see if you continue to make progress. You're still a little way off your target weight but it might be better on continuing to build the good habits of eating healthy and exercising in a way that is sustainable in the long term that you'll actually stick to rather than trying to rush to the weight loss goal with heavy amounts of exercise and crash diets that aren't sustainable in the long run. As long as you stay active and eat healthy you'll eventually lose the weight. 

[Stahlmann]

21 minutes ago, Spotty said:

What does your workout routine involve? What activities/workouts are you doing?

 

Have you increased the intensity of your workout since you started or has it more or less remained the same? If your exercise routine hasn't changed from when you started you might need to start working more high intensity exercise and cardio in to your workout. 

I alternate cardio 3 times a week with strength training 3 times a week and 1 day off.

For cardio, I'm currently at 65 minutes of moderate intensity cycling per session (~21km/h or 13mph), and I'm increasing this by 5 minutes every 2 weeks to build up more endurance over time. My current strength training is a 20 minute full body workout using body weight training techniques.

 

4 minutes ago, Spotty said:

I would still stick to you current plan for another 2 weeks and see if you continue to make progress. You're still a little way off your target weight but it might be better on continuing to build the good habits of eating healthy and exercising in a way that is sustainable in the long term that you'll actually stick to rather than trying to rush to the weight loss goal with heavy amounts of exercise and crash diets that aren't sustainable in the long run. As long as you stay active and eat healthy you'll eventually lose the weight. 

Sounds reasonable. My current diet would only need minor adjustments to be sustainable if I reach my weight goal. It's not like I'm just drinking ananas juice and using magic milkshakes to replace eating actual food. Since I also plan on sticking with my exercise routine for the long term, I'm not too afraid of the yo-yo effect. I know that if I were to go back to my old lifestyle, I'd probably gain back most of the weight I lost.

[LAwLz]

On 3/11/2024 at 1:12 PM, Stahlmann said:

A year ago, I decided that I had to do something about my excess weight. I made a pretty radical change to my diet and at the same time started to integrate regular exercise into my everyday life. As a result, I have lost 50 pounds in 5 months, which makes me very happy. I only eat around 1000-1500 kilocalories a day and do 4 hours of exercise a week.

That sounds great! Losing weight is really hard and if you have been at it for 5 months then you are doing a fantastic job.

Although 1000 calories, if accurate, seems too low to me. It's important not to starve yourself too much. Not really because of the "starvation mode" (more on that later) but because you will feel really bad and it may have other health complications.

 

 

On 3/11/2024 at 1:12 PM, Stahlmann said:

My problem is that I've suddenly hit a wall. I haven't changed my diet since I started and I've been doing more and more exercise, but I've suddenly stopped losing weight even though I still have a substantial amount of body fat that I want to get rid of. I still want to lose around 30-40 more pounds before I'm at the weight I want to be.

"Starvation mode" is a real thing, but it is not really what people typically assume or describe it as.

At the end of the day, calories in and calories out is all that matters. If you consume fewer calories than you expend then you will lose weight. Anything else would be breaking the laws of thermodynamics.

 

"Starvation mode" is not the reason why people typically stop losing weight or recommend against doing extreme diets. The reason why those diets can result in you not losing weight is because the temptation to eat a lot of food becomes too great and you feel like shit. When your body doesn't get enough energy it will respond by making you feel bad in an attempt to make you eat more. A lot of people who say they stop losing weight are simply eating more because the cravings become too big. They don't actually enter the "starvation mode" we often hear about.

Starvation mode is a real thing that has been observed, but it only occurs in extreme situations. One study I found was about soldiers during world war 2 which expended over 3000 calories a day, ate around 1800 calories a day, and they didn't enter "starvation mode" until they were at around 5% body fat. 

 

In your case there are a few likely scenarios for why you haven't lost weight which are unrelated to starvation mode.

It might be that you have been eating more even though you don't think you have. There have been studies where cameras were placed around peoples' houses and what was observed was that people ate a lot more than they though, and then simply didn't remember it.

Another explanation could be that your exercises have prompted your body to start building muscles. 

 

Depending on how overweight you are, it might be a good idea to start taking measurements instead of strictly looking at the scale. The scale only tells you weight, but measurements will also give you an idea of progress in terms of fat vs muscle mass.

It might just be that you are, as you suggested, that you are gaining weight in terms of muscles and losing weight in terms of fat. It's really hard for us to tell, and it might even be hard for you to tell if you are just using a scale to track progress.

 

 

 

19 hours ago, Caroline said:

Start bulking.

This is probably awful advice that could potentially be dangerous.

 

19 hours ago, Caroline said:

And calories alone mean pretty much nothing, you could be eating 1500 kcal of the worst possible Big Food Co. ultraprocessed frozen wagieslop and seed oils, or 1500 kcal of protein rich fish, meat, legumes and vegetables, there is a difference.

Calories mean everything when it comes to losing weight.

If you eat fewer calories than you use then you will lose weight, regardless of whether those calories come from Big Macs or vegetables and chicken.

 

It's not recommended to eat Big Macs and other fast food stuff for various reasons, but the idea that their calories are "worse" for the purpose of losing weight is not true.

You should avoid them because they are very calorie-dense and thus won't make you feel that full compared to the equivalent amount of calories from "better foods". It will also be hard to fit the other things that are important to eat to feel good while not exceeding your calorie budget, but that's it. It's not because 1500 calories of fast food will make you more overweight than 1500 calories of vegetables. They will provide your body with just as much energy as each other, and fat is energy.

 

 

It sounds to me like you are blindly recommending your diet and workout routine to OP without even considering if they are in the same situation as you. Diet and training need to be tailored to the specific person based on their goals. If you want to bulk up and gain weight in muscles then your diet will look very different from someone who wants to lose a bunch of weight in terms of fat. 

[Stahlmann]

58 minutes ago, LAwLz said:

That sounds great! Losing weight is really hard and if you have been at it for 5 months then you are doing a fantastic job.

Although 1000 calories, if accurate, seems too low to me. It's important not to starve yourself too much. Not really because of the "starvation mode" (more on that later) but because you will feel really bad and it may have other health complications.

So far, I haven't had any negative effects like feeling hungry, lack of energy, etc. I'm generally happier with myself than before, probably because of the amount of weight I've lost and the muscle I've already built up. Not to mention the compliments I get from colleagues and family, which no doubt helps to keep me motivated.

 

58 minutes ago, LAwLz said:

"Starvation mode" is a real thing, but it is not really what people typically assume or describe it as.

At the end of the day, calories in and calories out is all that matters. If you consume fewer calories than you expend then you will lose weight. Anything else would be breaking the laws of thermodynamics.

 

"Starvation mode" is not the reason why people typically stop losing weight or recommend against doing extreme diets. The reason why those diets can result in you not losing weight is because the temptation to eat a lot of food becomes too great and you feel like shit. When your body doesn't get enough energy it will respond by making you feel bad in an attempt to make you eat more. A lot of people who say they stop losing weight are simply eating more because the cravings become too big. They don't actually enter the "starvation mode" we often hear about.

Starvation mode is a real thing that has been observed, but it only occurs in extreme situations. One study I found was about soldiers during world war 2 which expended over 3000 calories a day, ate around 1800 calories a day, and they didn't enter "starvation mode" until they were at around 5% body fat. 

Interesting, so I can basically rule that out since I still have more than enough body fat. I figured it probably wasn't happening because I don't have any of the typical symptoms.

 

58 minutes ago, LAwLz said:

In your case there are a few likely scenarios for why you haven't lost weight which are unrelated to starvation mode.

It might be that you have been eating more even though you don't think you have. There have been studies where cameras were placed around peoples' houses and what was observed was that people ate a lot more than they though, and then simply didn't remember it.

I try not to buy snacks in the first place, so I'm pretty sure this isn't a problem since I don't have much food at home other than my cooking ingredients. And if I do have a snack in the evening, I will still roughly count the calories to try to stay within 1500 kcal for the day.

 

58 minutes ago, LAwLz said:

Another explanation could be that your exercises have prompted your body to start building muscles. 

That's probably what's happening because I'm seeing significant muscle growth in the mirror. I just didn't think I'd be at a point where it would be at a similar rate as fat loss.

 

58 minutes ago, LAwLz said:

Depending on how overweight you are, it might be a good idea to start taking measurements instead of strictly looking at the scale. The scale only tells you weight, but measurements will also give you an idea of progress in terms of fat vs muscle mass.

Makes sense. It seems I'm at a weight now where I can't see my progress by just looking at the number on the scale. So, I'll basically continue as usual, but take more measurements besides just body weight and see where it goes in the coming weeks.

[Spindel]

On 3/11/2024 at 1:12 PM, Stahlmann said:

*snip*...I only eat around 1000-1500 kilocalories a day and do 4 hours of exercise a week...*snip*

 

By only eating 1000-1500 kcal a day you forced your body into starvation mode and it will do everything in power to lower your metabolism including eating your muscles before it eats your fat. Also this is not sustainable and you it most probably will just lead to yoyo dieting for you (and hopefully you have not made a permanent mess of your metabolism allready). 

 

Before I do a long rant (that will make other people in this thread angry) lets make one thing clear if weight loss is the goal it follows the 80/20 rule. 80 % of weight loss is diet and 20 % is exercise. 

 

Firstly this is a marathon and not a sprint. The advice I will give will be over a long time and will for most people not lead to dramatic changes. 

 

In general a semi sedentary (you do some physical activity every day like some short walks, but not directly exercise) means (for a non messed up metabolism because of earlier crash dieting) that most people need around 30 kcal/kg body weight (a bit less for women). So in your calorie intake aim for this according to your goal weight (again unless you messed up your metabolism because of CD). Let's say your goal weight is 80 kg that gives 80x30=2 400 kcal a day in daily energy intake (I'll run with this number from now on for simplicity).

 

Unlike other people both in this thread or on the internet in general will say I'm going to say the following:

It doesn't matter how you get these calories (from a weight loss perspective) it only matters that you do not consume more than this. If you count calories and overshoot let's say 200 kcal one day then make sure that you undershoot with the same amount the next day.   

But a general advice is to eat less sugary things (and this includes fruit) because you reach your kcal intake goal much faster with food with a lot of sugar and this means you will go and feel hungry a lot more, which takes a mental toll on most people. Also a 100 % refined sugar diet might fill your kcal goal but will be lacking in other nutrients that are good for you. 

So while I in one sentence say sugar is OK I also recommend to not eat to much of it just so you feel fuller for longer and to get other nutrients (that are good for your general well being). Eat varied food with lots of veggies a fair amount of protein, some fat but also some amount of carbs in the form of starches and sugars. 

 

When it comes to exercise, as I said before, it has less impact on weight loss (even if it does have some impact). But even with that limited impact I still would highly recommend exercise since it has other positive effects for your general health and well being (well not early on for most because people initially feel really run down when they start). 

In the case of exercise for most people that start their journey they look at it in the wrong way, that they think they need to hit the gym x amounts of time a week or run x amount of kilometers a week. Every physical activity that increases your heart rate is exercise. Just start taking many short walks/bike rides everyday is exercise. Complement this with a 45-60 minute longer walk (at a brisk pace) every other day and it will do good for you. Of course if you start running 5-10 km 2-3 times a week is even better (but might be hard until you shed some weight). Hitting the gym lifting weights will help you but do less for weight loss compared to sticking to cardiovascular exercise. 

 

 

So that's my take and I suspect some people will argue against what I've said. 

[Stahlmann]

44 minutes ago, Spindel said:

By only eating 1000-1500 kcal a day you forced your body into starvation mode and it will do everything in power to lower your metabolism including eating your muscles before it eats your fat. Also this is not sustainable and you it most probably will just lead to yoyo dieting for you (and hopefully you have not made a permanent mess of your metabolism allready).

 

Before I do a long rant (that will make other people in this thread angry) lets make one thing clear if weight loss is the goal it follows the 80/20 rule. 80 % of weight loss is diet and 20 % is exercise. 

 

Firstly this is a marathon and not a sprint. The advice I will give will be over a long time and will for most people not lead to dramatic changes. 

 

In general a semi sedentary (you do some physical activity every day like some short walks, but not directly exercise) means (for a non messed up metabolism because of earlier crash dieting) that most people need around 30 kcal/kg body weight (a bit less for women). So in your calorie intake aim for this according to your goal weight (again unless you messed up your metabolism because of CD). Let's say your goal weight is 80 kg that gives 80x30=2 400 kcal a day in daily energy intake (I'll run with this number from now on for simplicity).

 

Unlike other people both in this thread or on the internet in general will say I'm going to say the following:

It doesn't matter how you get these calories (from a weight loss perspective) it only matters that you do not consume more than this. If you count calories and overshoot let's say 200 kcal one day then make sure that you undershoot with the same amount the next day.   

But a general advice is to eat less sugary things (and this includes fruit) because you reach your kcal intake goal much faster with food with a lot of sugar and this means you will go and feel hungry a lot more, which takes a mental toll on most people. Also a 100 % refined sugar diet might fill your kcal goal but will be lacking in other nutrients that are good for you. 

So while I in one sentence say sugar is OK I also recommend to not eat to much of it just so you feel fuller for longer and to get other nutrients (that are good for your general well being). Eat varied food with lots of veggies a fair amount of protein, some fat but also some amount of carbs in the form of starches and sugars. 

 

When it comes to exercise, as I said before, it has less impact on weight loss (even if it does have some impact). But even with that limited impact I still would highly recommend exercise since it has other positive effects for your general health and well being (well not early on for most because people initially feel really run down when they start). 

In the case of exercise for most people that start their journey they look at it in the wrong way, that they think they need to hit the gym x amounts of time a week or run x amount of kilometers a week. Every physical activity that increases your heart rate is exercise. Just start taking many short walks/bike rides everyday is exercise. Complement this with a 45-60 minute longer walk (at a brisk pace) every other day and it will do good for you. Of course if you start running 5-10 km 2-3 times a week is even better (but might be hard until you shed some weight). Hitting the gym lifting weights will help you but do less for weight loss compared to sticking to cardiovascular exercise. 

 

 

So that's my take and I suspect some people will argue against what I've said. 

Pretty interesting that such an important piece of information has not been mentioned even once in the last 5 months of research I have done on this topic. But so far, I haven't noticed any health issues that could definitively point to a metabolism-related problem, other than the sudden stop in weight loss.

 

I'm going to stick with my plan for at least the next two weeks, and if the situation doesn't change, I'll probably see a doctor to see what to do next.

 

But in your example, you'd basically say if 80 kg is the target, then eat 2400 kcal each day and eventually in the long-term that's what where I should end up?

[Spindel]

10 minutes ago, Stahlmann said:

Pretty interesting that such an important piece of information has not been mentioned even once in the last 5 months of research I have done on this topic. But so far, I haven't noticed any health issues that could definitively point to a metabolism-related problem, other than the sudden stop in weight loss.

 

I'm going to stick with my plan for at least the next two weeks, and if the situation doesn't change, I'll probably see a doctor to see what to do next.

 

But in your example, you'd basically say if 80 kg is the target, then eat 2400 kcal each day and eventually in the long-term that's what where I should end up?

The thing is that the metabolism mess up doesn’t  mean you get health issues per se in the short run. It means you will never be able to keep they weight off by eating ”normal” portion sizes. Other side effects might be that you feel colder at temperatures other people don’t feel cold etc. You basically lowered your base metabolism by a lot.

 

And eating 1000-1500 kcal a day isn’t sustainable for a life time (for most people). 
 

What I said in my previous post won’t give dramatic effects over 6 months. But it will give an (gradual) effect over 5 years (speed of change of course depending on where you start). But since it relies on a ”normal” portion size it will also be much easier to stick to.

[wanderingfool2]

A few things to remember:

 

Bodyweight will fluctuate overtime (for myself dependent on conditions like temperature etc).  While 50 pounds in 5 months is great, just remember as you lose more weight it might be harder to detect you are losing weight even.  Not sure how often you weigh yourself, but at a point I weigh myself weekly just to keep track of progress but don't fret if it's not dropping.

 

At least for myself as well when I've gone towards losing weight, it's the excessive fat that I burn off first so there is a great "progress" but then as my muscle build up even though I'm losing fat I'm actually gaining muscle at a rate equal to or sometimes quicker than losing the fat.  This can make it tricky to gauge actual progress as it might feel like what you are doing isn't working even though it still might be.

 

I say the last bit because I know if I started exercising and eating right at the moment I would probably drop about 10 pounds before gaining back the 10 pounds in the end [as muscle].  I'm at the "ideal" weight that I like at the moment, but I do know that over the last few years I've been converting muscle to fat despite weighing the same [i.e. I'm less healthy now being at the same weight, but physically I barely show it].

 

I'm just a random person on the internet, so I wouldn't trust what I'm necessarily saying, but I would say if you have lost weight before and you feel that you are consuming less amounts to the point where you should be losing weight then just keep what you are doing going.  If things don't change in a month or two (like test your strength/endurance now, and test it in a month or two), if you haven't gained strength/endurance and roughly the same weight then slowly cut down on the amounts you eat (maintain a healthy diet though) and try doing it gradually to not shock your system.

[Stahlmann]

37 minutes ago, Spindel said:

The thing is that the metabolism mess up doesn’t  mean you get health issues per se in the short run. It means you will never be able to keep they weight off by eating ”normal” portion sizes. Other side effects might be that you feel colder at temperatures other people don’t feel cold etc. You basically lowered your base metabolism by a lot.

 

And eating 1000-1500 kcal a day isn’t sustainable for a life time (for most people). 
 

What I said in my previous post won’t give dramatic effects over 6 months. But it will give an (gradual) effect over 5 years (speed of change of course depending on where you start). But since it relies on a ”normal” portion size it will also be much easier to stick to.

I can stick to my diet without too mental much effort and at the same time I am more fit than ever before. Shouldn't my body naturally tend to have a normal metabolism and give me clear signals when something is wrong or I'm severely malnutritioned, such as hunger? Until now, I've interpreted my lack of hunger as meaning that my body has enough fat reserves that it can still break down, making it less dependent on food.

[ToboRobot]

Good job on the great work so far.

Question your assumption of your ability to estimate calories, even if you are weighing everything up.  It gets hard to calculate home cooked foods, things like including fats/oils is often forgotten or poorly guesstimated.  Not saying this to accuse you of lying, but to point out a potential reason for why you think your are starving, but not losing weight.  Generally it's just energy in and energy out.

I found intermittent fasting to be very helpful to establish good eating schedule habits.  Workout fasted and don't eat before be.

I also hit a wall on weight loss until I realized my body doesn't like gluten, and the last bit of fat started to melt off when I found a diet that my body actually liked.

Ultimately, if you are starving yourself but aren't losing weight, I'd go see a doctor, because something may be wrong.

You can use a bike computer and heart rate monitor to make sure you are working at the optimal zone to burn energy.  Make sure you are working out as hard as you should be or can.  Coasting down hills doesn't count kind thing.

 

[WildDagwood]

Are your meals/eating habits typically spread out or do you have a standard "eat from X to X" (e.g. 8am to 6pm) and then stop until the next day?

 

My understanding is if you spread out your eating too much (or snack in the evening) your body is less likely to get to a point of needing to burn fat for energy. Other than that, there might be some things you ingest that your body doesn't jive with, or maybe something going on with your sleep.

 

Doesn't hurt to consult your doctor though.

[Stahlmann]

1 hour ago, WildDagwood said:

Are your meals/eating habits typically spread out or do you have a standard "eat from X to X" (e.g. 8am to 6pm) and then stop until the next day?

 

My understanding is if you spread out your eating too much (or snack in the evening) your body is less likely to get to a point of needing to burn fat for energy. Other than that, there might be some things you ingest that your body doesn't jive with, or maybe something going on with your sleep.

 

Doesn't hurt to consult your doctor though.

I eat a small meal during lunch break and then regular dinner around 7-8 pm, no breakfast. Maybe sleep could also be an issue, since I've had very irregular (and tbh not enough) sleep lately.

[Stahlmann]

If anyone is still interested, here is a little update:

 

As some of you suggested, it seems that after seeing the initial results, I was over-motivated and pushing my body too hard without enough rest and nutrition to go along with it.

 

I've decided to reduce the calorie deficit a bit, which means I'm eating more, but I'm still in a deficit. I also started taking body measurements and regular photos to keep track of my progress. And in general, most of the advice you guys and gals gave me was correct. I have lost another 12 pounds since posting the thread, while at the same time visibly gaining a lot more muscle, and there is a continuous downward trend in my body measurements, showing a loss of body fat.

 

I have also cut back from training 6 times a week with 1 off day to a 3 day routine, but with harder workouts. That means cardio on day 1, weight training on day 2, and just rest on day 3, then cardio again, and so on. Not only does this give my body more time to recover, but it also fits better into my daily routine.

So no, I didn't permanently damage my metabolism by crash dieting. Still, I overdid it, cut back a bit, and everything is fine.

[Lurking]

On 3/12/2024 at 8:02 AM, Stahlmann said:

 

That's probably what's happening because I'm seeing significant muscle growth in the mirror. I just didn't think I'd be at a point where it would be at a similar rate as fat loss.

Health should be the goal, not a BMI number. If your excess weight is muscles and denser bones, that is a good thing. 

 

You can do a dexa scan to get actual body composition. Obviously you see how your body looks and how energetic you feel.

 

Counting calories and macros and micronutrients is fine... But keep in mind the calorie demand is estimated and different for different people and actual activity. In cold you need more energy as well.

 

And the food doesn't have the standard calories. Like meat from one cow's leg will be different than another cow's ribs. Or your body may only absorb part of certain foods. The way they calculate calories is by ESTIMATING the content of the macros. That really is inaccurate for real food. Just varying water content will make one meat have fewer calories per gram than other. Not every apple is the same. So your calculated deficit can be a few hundred calories off. Ironically highly processed food like a Mars bar has very accurate and repeatable nutrient information on the package. An apple's (which size, sweet/sour?) calorie number will be highly inaccurate. 

 

Calories do matter. Look at pictures of actually starving people. But hormones also matter. Quality and food composition matters. And if your body is in a nutrient deficit (minerals, vitamins, protein, essential fats), it will make you eat more. 

 

Enough healthy sleep also is important. 

 

Sounds like you already do well with quality of food and exercising. Also sounds like you did some successful tweaking. Just make sure you don't shift to fewer muscles just to hit that BMI number. BMI isn't the be all, especially not for athletes etc.

[Zodiark1593]

On 3/11/2024 at 5:12 AM, Stahlmann said:

Half a year ago, I decided that I had to do something about my excess weight. I made a pretty radical change to my diet and at the same time started to integrate regular exercise into my everyday life. As a result, I have lost 50 pounds in 5 months, which makes me very happy. I only eat around 1000-1500 kilocalories a day and do 4 hours of exercise a week.

 

My problem is that I've suddenly hit a wall. I haven't changed my diet since I started and I've been doing more and more exercise, but I've suddenly stopped losing weight even though I still have a substantial amount of body fat that I want to get rid of. I still want to lose around 30-40 more pounds before I'm at the weight I want to be.

 

I have done a bit of research myself and have come across issues such as 'starvation mode', where the body slows down its metabolism to sustain itself on fewer nutrients. However, I don't feel hungry or have any other signs that I have this problem. I also think it's unlikely because I've been on this diet for 5 months and haven't had any problems. I can pretty safely cross out other possible reasons such as underestimating calorie intake, losing muscle tissue, etc.

 

Are there any people here who know what to do to get past this point?

 

- Do I just carry on as long as I don't notice any other alarm signals from my body?

- Do I need a 1-2 week diet break to let my body reset, even if it means putting some weight back on?

- Have I reached the point where I am gaining as much muscle as I am losing body fat?

Depending on workout, I can’t imagine that “starvation mode” would be much more than a rounding error. Though my workout regimen is probably a bit harder. I don’t have a scale, but likely I started at close to 300 lbs. 
 

I work out for at least 2 hours every day after work (Day 53) consisting of 6-7 mile walks with steep hills mixed in (according to my phone, I get in about 90-100 flights). As my stamina has drastically improved, I also started including some running during lunch break, bringing me up another 2.4 miles (and as of last week, I can run those 2.4 miles straight without slowing). Adding in another mile or so during work, and hitting 10 miles/day isn’t uncommon. Occasional weight training and HIIT are also on the menu. 

 

Combined with a diet targeting 1000-1300 (Kilo)calories/day, it’s pretty aggressive, and I’m seeing pretty rapid changes both in body fat (I can actually see muscles in my forearms and neck, and I’ve already dropped a size in my shirts) and stamina. 
 

It’s definitely some learning though. Keeping myself motivated, whilst consistently hitting, and exceeding, my standards, day in and day out; and going entirely solo in my venture throughout, can be difficult. Though keeping that up is part of my goal.