TDEE Confusion

[eleos]

Hi all! So for starters I am F/31/5'0" and currently 140lbs. I have been at 140 for....months. I have lost about 80lbs over the course of 2 years, however as of recently the scale does not budge and I wonder if my TDEE and my defecit is possibly too low for my activity levels. I work at Amazon but am mostly in pack, so I'm on my feet 10 hours a day for 4 days of my week, though I don't move around a ton. Ill do bending. And will pull large wheeled metal cages around all day but I'm not consistently walking.

Weekends I'm much more sedentary but try to get in at least a 2-3 mile walk once or twice on my weekends. I believe my maintenance is around 1700, and my bmr is in the 1200 range. Would a 500 cal defecit be appropriate or do I do too much during my week and am undereating? Weekends I usually do a OMAD kind of deal, but I meal prep for my work week.

I'm sticking to under 100g of carbs a day, but other than that I'm not doing any special diets. Im a lot thinner than I used to be but I still have lower belly overhang and would love to have that shrink as much as possible Tyvm in advance for any help and suggestions

EDIT: forgot to add I do hit the gym about once per week qnd do cardio and some strength training, but that is it. I'm often much too tired on my work days to go to the gym [7:30-6:00 doesnt leave much time ]

 

[hcmcity]

@eleos I don't know a lot about your job but being on your feet 10 hours a day, walking 2-3 miles on weekends and hitting the gym doesn't sound like sedentary to me.

I would wonder if you lost substantial muscle mass and need to reverse diet.

1200 calories for you would sit in the malnourished spectrum IMO. Especially if you're OMAD.

I would recommend eating at maintenance or slightly higher and doing weight training.

Edit: I don't blame you for being tired. You absolutely need way more food.

 

[eleos]

@hcmcity Thing is I can only really hit the gym on my weekends and currently only once on those three days [unless I wanna re-wear gross sweaty workout clothes]. Would you think that doing simple barbell weights at home on work days could contribute adequately to that for days I cant get a good workout until I get more gym clothes and can go all three days of my weekends? I cut calories pretty heavily early on and worry I may have messed up my metabolism, but I'm not opposed to trying this. It just seems so weird that my body really wants that much.

Thank you for the thoughtful response btw!

 

[hcmcity]

@eleos Nah your metabolism isn't messed up. All of that is crap sold by weak marketing companies.

You can do what you can, there are plenty of body weight exercises you can do at home. A d if once a week at the gym is your limit, that's what you got. No one needs to be at the gym 4-5 days in the week.

By increasing your intake slowly you can find the sweet spot for maintenance that is true for you. Not some random only calculator. I would definitely look at increasing protein. Usually 1-1.6 grams per kg of body weight is recommended. A lot of folks aim for 120g. So long as its about 30-40% of your intake you will be good.

 

[eleos]

@hcmcity So doing the math that is about 63g to 94g if I am right for 140lbs.

 

[cookie3482]

@eleos It sounds like you have a very active lifestyle but your body has hit a bit of a plateau. I’m definitely not an expert but if carbs are the only macro you’re tracking I’d suggest also tracking protein for a couple of weeks to see if you’re getting enough. I absolutely hate tracking food intake but was really surprised when I found out I was normally only eating about half the recommended amount of protein for my body metrics and activity level.

 

[eleos]

@cookie3482 I am loosely tracking protein [just not focusing on it] and I think I am getting enough. 1-1.5g per kg equals 63-94g and Im getting between that with my current calories. Im using q carb manager app that gives me my macros. Thank you for the suggestion and ill see about increasing it too.

 

[cookie3482]

@eleos I wonder if after such a large drop in weight you’ve been recomping over the last few months as your body adjusts to a new normal. I’m sure it’s frustrating to not see scale progress after so much hard work but you’ve already had a ton of success! Best of luck with your continued efforts.

 

[eleos]

@cookie3482 What exactly is recomping? I have heard the term but am not 100% on what it means.

 

[cookie3482]

@eleos I’m sure there’s a more specific definition but it’s when you either shift from fat to muscle or the reverse without changing weight.