20lbs down and I've hit a plateau - What now?

[Graevin]

Male - 5'10 - 27y/o - 25% bf - workout 5 days per week

Macros needed for cutting with a low carb 500 calorie deficit according to TDEEcalculator.net
Maintenance = 3375 calories per day

Cutting = 2875 calories per day
Protein = 288 grams per day
Fat = 128 grams per day
Carbs = 144 grams per day

That wasn't working so I experimented with this: 45/45/10
Cutting = 1800 calories per day
Protein = 203 grams per day
Fat = 90 grams per day
Carbs = 45 grams per day

According to everyone else I've spoken to, it's impossible not to lose weight on a calorie deficit. Well, that's bullshit. I've been eating a massive deficit and haven't lost anything in almost a month.

I started out at 266lbs and I've mainly been focusing on lifting weights and dieting. I've lost 20lbs of fat + water weight and I've gained a quite a bit of muscle over the past few months, but for the last three weeks I've been hovering between 246 and 249. It's killing me. I've recalculated my macros and I even went down over a 1000 calorie deficit, but still no more fat loss. No weight loss at all.

I'm not really sure what to do. I thought about abandoning cutting and fat loss for a few months and working on bulking before trying to cut fat again, but I don't really know. I just want to lose another 30lbs, preferably belly fat and I'm not sure how thanks to this plateau.

Any ideas?

 

[Resolve10]

Male - 5'10 - 27y/o - 25% bf - workout 5 days per week

Macros needed for cutting with a low carb 500 calorie deficit according to TDEEcalculator.net
Maintenance = 3375 calories per day

Cutting = 2875 calories per day
Protein = 288 grams per day
Fat = 128 grams per day
Carbs = 144 grams per day

That wasn't working so I experimented with this: 45/45/10
Cutting = 1800 calories per day
Protein = 203 grams per day
Fat = 90 grams per day
Carbs = 45 grams per day

According to everyone else I've spoken to, it's impossible not to lose weight on a calorie deficit. Well, that's bullshit. I've been eating a massive deficit and haven't lost anything in almost a month.

I started out at 266lbs and I've mainly been focusing on lifting weights and dieting. I've lost 20lbs of fat + water weight and I've gained a quite a bit of muscle over the past few months, but for the last three weeks I've been hovering between 246 and 249. It's killing me. I've recalculated my macros and I even went down over a 1000 calorie deficit, but still no more fat loss. No weight loss at all.

I'm not really sure what to do. I thought about abandoning cutting and fat loss for a few months and working on bulking before trying to cut fat again, but I don't really know. I just want to lose another 30lbs, preferably belly fat and I'm not sure how thanks to this plateau.

Any ideas?

Then you aren't in a deficit.

There could be ton of reasons why you aren't, but that is just how it is. Not trying to be rude. It could be tons of issues possibly from, but not limited to, decreases in NEAT due to such a large and quick drop in calories, a rise in cortisol due to the length of the cut and now the severity could be causing a rise in water retention (hence hiding any continued loss of actual tissue), you could be adding the calories wrong (either daily or frequently with those on such large deficits they'll have "refeed" or cheat days that are large enough to offset the work they've done during the week leading to a weekly maintenance, etc), or a whole host of other things.

Keep in mind weight loss isn't always perfectly linear and it isn't unheard of for it to stick around a certain weight for a few weeks.

Regardless, that leaves you with a couple options now. You could increase the calories back to maintenance/small surplus and take a small diet break then jump back into cutting after 4-6 weeks of that. Or you could try to bulk a bit again then back to cutting. It really depends on you, your goals, and your preferences.

If it was me (or someone I worked with)? I'd increase my carbohydrates and put myself at a small surplus (doesn't mean go back to whatever your theoretical maintenance or surplus is since apparently you haven't lost weight at your current intake anyways). I'd take a look at my activity levels and training and maybe figure out a way to use proxy to track some NEAT (increase or find a step count to keep) and hope that the increased carbohydrates would fuel a more advantageous training environment. Then after 4-6 weeks of monitoring weight I'd see what this current level of caloric intake is that has me at maintenance and drop down from that to continue cutting.

 

[HIT4ME]

As said above, you are not in a deficit. What do you do for work?

I put your numbers into TDEE Calculator and, sure, with a lot of activity you could have a 3200-3300/day TDEE - but a sedentary person at your weight is around 2600 calories a day.

To put this in perspective, you would have to be burning 600+ calories a day through exercise to hit those numbers. Every day. Which is the equivalent of running 5 miles a day, 7 days a week. Lifting weights probably burns 250-300 calories/hour.

Those calculators are misleading because most people see "Workout 3-4 times a week" and think, yeah, I lift 4x a week. Not many people can burn 600 calories/day 7x a week, IMO. At least not those of us with 30+ pounds to lose.

With that in mind, if you are eating 2,850 calories a day, I am surprised you are in a deficit at all. You are not starving yourself by any means, but my guess is you have been doing a lot of physical work and busting ass.

Tell us more about your physical activity, what you do for work, and lay out your diet in as much detail as possible and we can help more. But we are kind of shooting in the dark without that stuff.

Also, how many cheat meals do you have? Given that your deficit may not be what you think it is, it os conceivable that a single cheat meal could be ruining a weeks worth of work.

Most people shoot for a 500 calorie/day deficit and even if they stick to it, they go out for a cheat meal once/week and don't realize that restaurant meal has 3,000 calories which wipes out 6 days worth of deficits. I know it sounds brutal, and I am all for cheat meals, but the plan has to be appropriate.

 

[BennyMagoo79]

If you have plateud at 1800cal per day there is no where to go but up at this point: you need to reverse diet. Add 100cal every week until your weight starts to move back up - and make sure your weigh ins are same day & time every week.

 

[BennyMagoo79]

Add carbs first too, and also increase exercise volume as you feel like it. Keep your P where it is, and try to keep fat low. I reckon your metabolism has simply adapted to your extreme deficit.

 

[Datsun280z]

Psychologicaly it is hard to reverse diet and see a weight gain. I think though it’s what’s needed. It’s a marathon and your consistency to keeping to a diet even when you are shooting for a slight gain for a week or two is still with intention and you’re still dieting. It’s ok and you can do it.
Your initial weight loss is impressive. Don’t get stuck on what you have done and want to keep seeing those numbers. It’s a new stage and with intention you can keep at it

 

[HIT4ME]

Sorry, I have to disagree with the reverse dieting, metabolic slow down stuff. First, there is nothing special about 1800 calories. More importantly, I would challenge anyone to find a shred of evidence that shows your metabolism can adjust by more than 200 calories below what is explainable by the lighter load you are carrying by losing weight (it burns more calories to walk a mile weighing 260 than 245). The adjusting metabolism thing is a great way for bro's to sell diet books and get instagram attention - but your metabolism is pretty tightly regulated and is not adjustable like a thermostat. If your metabolism is slower, it is because you are doing less work (whether that is movement, or internal processes).

Not trying to bash anyone here or be a know-it-all- these theories are common on the internet to hear - but I would love for someone to show me any evidence that reverse dieting works or that the metabolism can adjust, adapt or enter starvation mode.

If these are his issues, I will eat my baseball cap and post up a video of me doing it for you all to watch.

I would be interested in seeing his food log and training regimen.

 

[Datsun280z]

@HIT4ME. Good points as well. Perhaps the reverse dieting is, for me, a way to break out of the grind of being on a strict diet. And mentally able to get back on the wagon with a renewed drive. I don’t know much and am learning as I go as well.

I do like the idea of looking at a food log. I know I can cheat myself into extra calories, like level vs heaping Tbs of peanut butter. Or an unmeasured drizzle of dressing. When dieting I like the food scale as it helps me with this

 

[HIT4ME]

@HIT4ME. Good points as well. Perhaps the reverse dieting is, for me, a way to break out of the grind of being on a strict diet. And mentally able to get back on the wagon with a renewed drive. I don’t know much and am learning as I go as well.

I do like the idea of looking at a food log. I know I can cheat myself into extra calories, like level vs heaping Tbs of peanut butter. Or an unmeasured drizzle of dressing. When dieting I like the food scale as it helps me with this

Yeah, I am not trying to put anyone on blast as everyone is trying to help. And a mental break is fine. And I am learning as well and could be wrong - which is why I offered to eat my hat.

I just think we need to make sure the basics are dead on before we start making an actual diagnosis.

 

[thebigt]

you say you have been focusing on weight lifting and diet....i highly suggest you throw in cardio, for my friends who ask me for advice i tell them to alternate fast walking and running, run till you are out of breath then walk then repeat...my friends who have followed this have been very happy with results...after awhile you will be surprised at how far you will be able to run--i am 61 and frequently run 7 miles.

 

[Datsun280z]

@thebigt I use to run track and cross country in high school. Broke my back and took a few decades off. Best advice, I just recently started a slow jog/ walk interval. Two months ago I was doing 30 seconds on 1 minute fast walking. Now I am jogging 5 minutes at a time with a 2 minute fast walk. It’s slow progress but remembering that the consistency is what matters and incremental improvement are the keys to long term success.

 

[thebigt]

@thebigt I use to run track and cross country in high school. Broke my back and took a few decades off. Best advice, I just recently started a slow jog/ walk interval. Two months ago I was doing 30 seconds on 1 minute fast walking. Now I am jogging 5 minutes at a time with a 2 minute fast walk. It’s slow progress but remembering that the consistency is what matters and incremental improvement are the keys to long term success.

outstanding!!!

yes, slow and easy so you can keep making improvement...the mistake many make is going rushing into things then making two steps back for every step forward, either that or just stopping altogether.

 

[bigdadybry]

Different things work for different people. I hit a plateau, I added more healthy fat, and that worked for me.

 

[LeanEngineer]

slow and easy so you can keep making improvement...the mistake many make is going rushing into things then making two steps back for every step forward, either that or just stopping altogether.

Agreed here! Slow and steady wins the race in this game.

 

[txoc]

Keeping in mind that you're very likely eating 10-20% more calories than you think just by nature of how calories have to be reported on packaging and how people add things like sauces, extra bites from the jar, misjudging portions etc:

IF you're actually in a calorie deficit and you keep pushing through the plateau, you'll likely find that you wake up one morning and suddenly you're down 2-3 lbs and things look noticeably flatter. Your body is probably holding on to some extra water that it dumped when you first started dieting. Dieting briefly jacks with hormone levels which can cause more water to be held. This is normal. You don't need to up your calories unless you're losing more than 2-3 lbs per week. Getting really high quality sleep for a few days can help trigger your body to dump the water.

A special case is if you've been limiting carbs. At 45g carbs there's a good chance you were in ketosis, so you dumped your glycogen stores. After a few weeks your body adapts and starts to pick some of its glycogen stores back up. This is where people feel like they plateau on weight loss (their performance tends to increase at this point though because they are "keto adapted" and have that glycogen to use). You're gaining some of the water back while the slow process of fat loss is happening, instead of just dumping water. If you keep at keto, you'll plateau again in a few months when your body becomes fully adapted and your glycogen stores go from around half that of a high carb diet to matching it.

tldr: Stay in a deficit, get 8-9 hours of high quality sleep. You're losing fat if you're in a deficit, probably just holding extra water right now.

 

[nostrum420]

Male - 5'10 - 27y/o - 25% bf - workout 5 days per week

Macros needed for cutting with a low carb 500 calorie deficit according to TDEEcalculator.net
Maintenance = 3375 calories per day

Cutting = 2875 calories per day
Protein = 288 grams per day
Fat = 128 grams per day
Carbs = 144 grams per day

That wasn't working so I experimented with this: 45/45/10
Cutting = 1800 calories per day
Protein = 203 grams per day
Fat = 90 grams per day
Carbs = 45 grams per day

According to everyone else I've spoken to, it's impossible not to lose weight on a calorie deficit. Well, that's bullshit. I've been eating a massive deficit and haven't lost anything in almost a month.

I started out at 266lbs and I've mainly been focusing on lifting weights and dieting. I've lost 20lbs of fat + water weight and I've gained a quite a bit of muscle over the past few months, but for the last three weeks I've been hovering between 246 and 249. It's killing me. I've recalculated my macros and I even went down over a 1000 calorie deficit, but still no more fat loss. No weight loss at all.

I'm not really sure what to do. I thought about abandoning cutting and fat loss for a few months and working on bulking before trying to cut fat again, but I don't really know. I just want to lose another 30lbs, preferably belly fat and I'm not sure how thanks to this plateau.

Any ideas?

I think you should copy and paste your post into this thread right here... IF you can complete a log, that is...

APEX URSA MAJOR - AnabolicMinds.com

anabolicminds.com

 

[Derek Wilson]

In my case, I will add carbs and healthy fat. You can take some expert's help.