I'm eating only 1200cal/day and stalling - HELP!!!

mrhankey87

mrhankey87

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So, I'm 6ft and currently 170lbs. I've been cutting for almost two months and lost a decent amount of fat, 17lbs overall. During the first weeks, I was dropping 2lbs/week and was doing great, but then it inevitably slowed down and got to 1lb/week......last couple weeks it's been dead zero!

So, I started dropping cals week after week and when I was seeing progress slowing down, I was dropping more....but I think I exaggerated, cause I just calculated the overall cals and it's around 1200/day, which worries me!

My current diet (Total 1280cal)

MEAL 1:
60gr pasta - 220cal
1.5 scoop Whey or chicken/turkey - 180cal
Oximega - 9cal

MEAL 2:
1 Wasa crispbread - 37cal
some blueberries - 30cal
1.5 scoop Whey or chicken/turkey - 180cal
Oximega - 9cal

MEAL 3:
1/2 banana - 45cal
1.5 scoop Whey 180cal

MEAL 4:
Chicken/Turkey/Salmon/etc - 180cal
Nuts - 50cal

MEAL 5:
Cottage cheese - 160cal


What am I doing wrong? I train 5 days a week and a 6th day of 50min cardio (not fasted). I train hard and actually haven't lost strength at all, which makes me happy. Energy levels are mega low though.

Could it be the sunday cheat day? I usually eat like a double burger, some pasta and sushi throughout the day, but it's not THAT much I assure.

Is my metabolism THAT low? Any help would be appreciated, thank you :)
 
double s

double s

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So please clarify, have you hit a wall and not losing weight?
 
Woody

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1200 calories is nothing... Your body is probably in self-preservation mode. You need a refeed or two to reset your leptin levels
 
double s

double s

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For now I would add 150-200 cals a week until you start seeing weight loss again. Sounds weird but your metabolism sounds to have gone into starvation mode. By adding cals back it should kick start everything again. Doing any cardio?
 
mrhankey87

mrhankey87

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For now I would add 150-200 cals a week until you start seeing weight loss again. Sounds weird but your metabolism sounds to have gone into starvation mode. By adding cals back it should kick start everything again. Doing any cardio?
As I wrote in my post, yea I do 50mins one day/week, other 5 days are usual BB workouts and sunday is complete rest with cheat meals.
 
mrhankey87

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Sounds like upping 150/200cal is a good move, so I'll try doing that and see how it goes. Anyone else though?
 
lifted67

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Have a big old carby cheat meal, breadsticks in marinara and pasta, see if that kick starts your metabolism
 
lifted67

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like Woody says a refeed at about maintenance calories or slightly over would do you good!
 
Epolis13

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Agree with a refeed day. The objective is to always eat as much as possible while still losing. If you drastically cut cals or do a ton of cardio, you leave yourself with nowhere to go once you stall. I would see what a refeed does, and potentially work your way back up to maintenance and chill there for a while before you being cutting again. And when/if you do return to your cut, make small calorie changes. What weight are you trying to reach, by the way?
 
lifted67

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At 160 I'm pretty ripped and I'm only 5'8" any lower than 170 at 6'+ and we'll be able to play your ribs like a xylophone.
 
mrhankey87

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At 160 I'm pretty ripped and I'm only 5'8" any lower than 170 at 6'+ and we'll be able to play your ribs like a xylophone.
Unfortunately, I'm not that ripped genetically, plus I have very tiny joints. The worst thing is - while I'm actually already kinda cut in most of my body, lower ab/love handles are always there no matter what. I could be 8% upperbody and still have love handles, that's really annoying me to no end.

This is me one year ago (I started lifting exactly late May 2015), and this is me now:

IMG_8321.jpg
 
lifted67

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You look good dude, you may be overthinking it. Do the refeed and possibly a diet break (maintenance) and then continue with a slow cut. The last few pounds are always the toughest. Are you tracking macros?
 
mrhankey87

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You look good dude, you may be overthinking it. Do the refeed and possibly a diet break (maintenance) and then continue with a slow cut. The last few pounds are always the toughest. Are you tracking macros?
Thanks! Yep, always make sure I have 1g/lb pros each day, even at 1200cal/day I still managed to
 
lifted67

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Try to get carbs between 30-50 max each day.
 
Epolis13

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You made great physique changes. I think you probably need to add more muscle before you'll see the results you're looking for. Often, you need to go through several bulking and cutting cycles to really achieve the right look. But, truly, I commend you on the work you've done thus far. It's very clear that you've taken your time and have hit the weights and done this right, so kudos to you, srs.
 
Distilled Water

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You're not eating enough. I'm about 176 at 5'9 and I'm eating about 2400 a day with a refeed meal once a week high carb/low fat. Been dieting 15 weeks down from about 3400 cals. Carbs started at 370 and now down to 125/day peri workout. Add cals gradually and reduce cardio for about 2-3 weeks and it'll pick back up
 

ToughMech

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I do agree with everyone else about calories being too low. Even I don't really go that low being a female or if I do its only for a short period of time. What I also do is cycle my cardio every 2-4 weeks. Sometimes I do steady state, or HIIT or a combo 3-4 times per week and change up the cardio times as well whether its add some time or even subtract time to keep my body guessing. Its also a nice change of pace as well.
 
jonny21

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More calories needed. Try cycling your carbs. 5 days less than 30 grams/day, 2 days carb load 150-200 grams. That way you can fuel your resistance training workout. Keep the cardio low to mod intensity. At 6' 170lb, preserve muscle and burn fat, lower intensity cardio may burn less calories but a higher % will be fat. Keep the resistance training at a decent intensity.
 

speclk19

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This is what works for me when I "stall" while cutting (presently 5'11 170 lbs, 11% bf): I do a 36 hour re-feed where I start the day early with heavy, compound lifting (usually kettle bells with some quad work thrown in). I then consume as many carbs as I possibly can over the next 1.5 days while keeping fat content low and protein moderate. Lots of white rice, sweet potatoes, pasta etc. I always make sure to enjoy a pint of ice cream before bed just for a mental break (no high fructose corn syrup though, or trans fats in the ice cream). On the back end of the re-feed I consciously try to take in more whole grain carbs (sprouted sweet potato tortilla chips, rolled oat Kashi choc. chip cookies, triscuit crackers, etc).

My first workout after the carb day is usually a heavy back-day with deadlifts followed by 10 minutes of balls-to-the-wall interval sprints. Normally on this day I have incredible amounts of energy as a result of the re-feed. One caveat, do NOT weigh yourself in the day or two after the re-feed. You will be retaining so much water that the number on the scale will only serve to freak you out.

One other tip I've found helpful in general is to always be mindful of your insulin levels (I'm not talking about if you're diabetic). The only time you really want an insulin spike is in the period after your workouts. Otherwise, for consistent fat loss it's best to keep insulin levels suppressed. I accomplish this through a very low carb diet with intermittent fasting (I skip breakfast most days, with maybe only a tsp of MCT oil in my black coffee), drinking a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar before each meal (vinegar slows carb absorption/insulin response) and include some fiber into every meal (with lunch I eat a handful of raw almonds).

Again, I find the above very helpful with fat loss for myself. Play around with your diet, eating windows and re-feed days to see what ultimately makes the most difference for you.
 

exrugger

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I agree a re feed would be a good idea you may want to look into a cortisol control supplement. Cortisol is notorious for causing love handles and belly fat.
 

moleculargnz

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As stated numerous times, I'd go on an extended refeed where you increase your cals for a few weeks. As your body fat decreases and the diet continues your body makes hormonal changes that provide feedback about food intake and energy availability (body fat), and the lower these two things become the more resistant your body becomes to losing fat. In fact, your body makes hormonal changes in an attempt to promote food intake i.e. - increased hunger, decreased satiety, don't stay full as long, etc., ultimately making fat loss increasingly difficult. If you're really focused on losing body fat taking a break may be hard as you won't lose any fat but it will make a big difference in the long run, especially if your progress has stalled. You'll be recharging your metabolism, basically priming it to get back into fat burning mode. I'd also recommend getting a cortisol supplement like Invictus from Iron Legion. The highest density of cortisol receptors is in the abdominal area and that's where cortisol exerts most of its effects hence why body fat is generally stored here first and is usually the hardest to get rid of. Managing stress and taking a good cortisol supplement will help attenuate some of the negative effects cortisol has on fat loss
 
mrhankey87

mrhankey87

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Guys I appreciate, but since the thread post I actually solved it :) Just upped the cals and actually lost more weight super easily. It's now slowing down again but I feel recharged and definitely know what to do from now on, thanks anyways!

PS: I'm actually already taking two cortisol reducers, PES Erase Pro+ and Reduce XT.
 

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