What to do next?

[gordon_b]

I’ve been trying to lose these past 15 pounds for MONTHS. Currently 5’2”, 145lbs 25y/o. I eat 1600 cals a day, lift weights 4x a week. I lost almost 40lb from 2020-2022, and I’ve been bouncing between 139-145 all of last year and this year. Talk about a plateau…

I eat in a calorie deficit almost every day, when I go over it’s only by 200 calories max if I feel like I’m hungry. I weigh my food using a food scale, so I know it it accurate.

I am doing a workout routine for 7 weeks now. Lifting 4x a week, 10k steps a day, cardio (peloton) 4x a week, and abs everyday. eating 1600 cals or less. If I don’t lose any weight these next 7 weeks, what do I even do next?? I’m just getting so frustrated.

Side note: I am going to request for my doctors to run some hormone tests as well to make sure there’s nothing going on.

 

[revcharlesg]

@gordon_b I have similar stats with you, at 5’ 1.5” tall and 140lbs. If you’re lifting that much, you might be slowly recomping like I have been doing. I track my lean body mass by doing BodPod tests every 8 weeks. I have been gaining muscle and losing fat at a similar rate, without much change on the scale. I also wanted to say, when I recently hit a plateau and only gained 0.45 lbs of muscle and lost 0.6 lbs of fat after 8 weeks, I decided to increase my daily calories from about 1600 on average to 1700 so I could lift heavier and get better muscle gains. So far that’s worked great for me. So maybe more calories would help you get a better recomposition result.

 

[hungry_hungry_hippo]

@gordon_b I just wanna say congrats on losing 40lb. That is amazing progress!!

I didn’t see this mentioned in your post but have you tried reverse dieting before?

 

[gordon_b]

@hungry_hungry_hippo So kinda yes and no? I have done resets for 6 weeks a few times recently eating at or above maintenance and low impact exercises while I was moving. Tried to get my body to not get used to being in a deficit

 

[hungry_hungry_hippo]

@gordon_b Ah gotcha, not sure if your reset is the same but reverse dieting would be slowly increasing your calories gradually (like maybe 50-100) for a few weeks (like maybe 4-8 depending on how it goes). It sounds to me like you just ate at or above maintenance without any gradual increases?

Some folks gain a little but level out quickly, and some dont gain at all but either way I’ve read a lot of anecdotal successes about reverse dieting getting people out of a plateau after being at a deficit for a while. I do plan to try this on my next plateau a little more strategically.

Wondering if a gradual increase to a surplus + keeping your same routine could work for you, but do some more research!

 

[savien]

@gordon_b No advice from experience, just commiserating. I just replied to another post on this sub expressing very similar frustrations, so there must be something in the extremely specific 5’2”-5’4” altitude affecting women around 145 lbs who exercise consistently haha. I actually lost roughly 40 lbs since around Nov 2021 too, and have stalled at 145 lbs since Sept 2022.

Weight at the scale isn’t my top priority since I know I’m slowwwwly losing inches all around, but I do monitor it to check my progress. My frustration is that my fat loss has stalled at my waist, which tbh is the most important factor for me, both aesthetically and health wise. Regardless, though less of a priority, I’d like to lose another 10-15 lbs too… or at least look like I did!!!

I think my plan now is to recalibrate my calorie intake by ramping up to maintenance for a few weeks and see what a deficit looks like beyond the online calculators. I see a few others here have suggested that as well. I’ve been on a cut for the vast majority of the time since Nov 2021 and I know that can’t be great for my metabolism.

Please keep us posted on what you do.

 

[iheartec]

@savien I'm 5'4, also lost 40 lbs, and stuck at 150 for the last two months. So frustrating!

 

[savien]

@iheartec Maybe we should band together and whip up a peer reviewed study There’s gotta be something here!

 

[james6771]

@savien There's dozens of us!

 

[anderkampmusic]

@james6771 I never comment here but I had to because I'm also 5'1.5" and I am also bouncing around 145-149 for 7 months now. I feel like I've tried it all to break the plateau--between eating less, eating more, incorporating more steps, or heavier weights. There's also so much conflicting advice out there, I am totally stuck on what to do! I also got blood work done recently and the only "flag" was slightly decreased thyroid levels but my dr said it was not clinically significant. We definitely need to be studied!

 

[berend2nd]

@james6771 Add another to the mix! 5'4 literally only lost 4 lbs and then stuck at 145 for the past three months lol just picked up more consistent fitness with CG videos, so fingers crossed that even if the scale is slow to move, my body begins to improve its shape!

 

[gordon_b]

@savien Will do — I actually went and got my bloodwork done today and my doctor already went and ordered a thyroid hormone test! This is the first time that my thyroid levels has been tested so we will see if there are any issues there!

 

[dawn16]

@savien I have no advice just adding another anecdote!
This is me as well, 5’4” ~143-145 and scale has NOT budged since November 2022. I’m wondering if being in a deficit too long is a hindrance especially when we’ve reached a healthy weight.

My main goal is health and most of my fat is around my lower stomach too. I increased my own calories to 1850 (still in a deficit) because I’m really trying to get in a healthy range of fat around my stomach. I’m seeing more definition in my arms and legs but I feel like I’m seeing zero progress in my stomach. I might also go to maintenance because summer is coming and I want more noticeable muscle and progress. I’m thinking I’ll just increase my cardio bc ngl I’m scared of gaining fat again…I’m very annoyed by my lack of progress though and I’m willing to try anything at this point.

 

[savien]

@dawn16 I HEAR you on everything I took some time today to accept that the summer bikini look I was gunning for may have to keep waiting. But at least I won’t be a cranky hangry bitch on a miserable cut through it!!! For me, it’s less about looking IG-ready and more about getting a chance to show off my well earned muscles and body. I’ve been working on my fitness for years! I know my abs are popping and waist snatched but the problem is that they’re still a little more insulated than I’d like LOL

But anyway, there’s at least a handful of women with our stats who reached out to me today. I do hate it for us but it’s also quite validating to see there’s enough data points to find a trend where it may not be that our bodies are broken. It’s probably biology doing its thing. I wish there was more scientific literature about this, at least for the basis of me managing expectations lol.

I wish you luck on your journey /@soapboxer. Keep us posted too! Feel free to reach out via DM if you need to commiserate.

 

[loveforanimals]

@gordon_b The closer you get to a “healthy” weight, the harder it is to lose. Weight lifting is probably helping you recomp—how do your clothes fit? Cardio will improve your cardio fitness which is important, but as far as fat loss goes, cardio is only going to help if it increases your deficit (and it doesn’t sound like that’s what’s happening).

 

[dougt]

@gordon_b Do you know how much you're actually burning? How long / intense are your work out sessions?

I'm wondering if you may not be as big of a deficient as you think to notice weight loss. If your TDEE is 1900 for example then you'd be seeing half a pound of weight loss per week. Often times we don't notice that on that scale since menstruating humans tend to fluctuate weight quite a bit.

For the record, I'm not recommending you eat lower calories. I am recommending maybe you should track in other ways (body measurements, photos) & use a graph to track your weigh ins to find trends since daily we can vary so much. Then give it time. In 2 months if you're not down 3-4lbs re-evaluate.

 

[megalos]

@gordon_b Hey OP! Im 5’2’’, stayed at 140lbs for the past two years. I was lifting weights (with a trainer) and although I wasn’t really counting calories, I was watching my macros and trying to eat clean (no sugar, less carbs, a lot of veggies) during the entire time. I also walked a lot, hiked a lot and golfed a lot.

I thought I would drop some weight but no. I just built a lot of muscle and became really strong. (Which is a good thing!) But I was so tired of not fitting into a majority of my clothes (I used to be 110) so decided to cut from March.

What I added to my routine: 30 mins of cardio 5+ times a week + no food past 7pm + cleaner home-cooked food. I still dont count calories but what i eat is lean meat, oatmeal or sweet potato for carbs and fresh veggies/fruits. If I have to eat out I’ll eat, but will control my portions. I also changed the order of food I would put in my mouth - carbs always being the last.

Well for the past month I dropped 2.5kg, so I guess that was the solution for me!