Ghost of Bisbee said:

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Have lost just over 11% of my body weight over the few months (about 2 pounds per week on average) and have been at the same weight for the last week. My body fat estimate is now 17.6% (I decided to take my neck and waist measurements this time, was previously just going off weight in the body fat calculators)

I'm at one of those weight loss plateaus clearly. How long do these last in your experience?

The nutrition plan I'm on adjusts my caloric intake in sync with my weight loss, and I am getting in at least either ~315 calories of cardio most days OR ~315 calories of cardio plus 150 calories of strength training 4-5 days of the week.

I am not overconsuming, and I don't think I'm underconsuming based on the app I'm using to help me track.

Tips/thoughts? One article I read said weight loss plateaus can last from 8-12 weeks as your body adjusts to a new setpoint.
Could also be because I've balanced more evenly towards resistance training from cardio, but only seeing minor changes in body comp since then (more for back/upper body/shoulders/triceps).

All tips/thoughts appreciated. Thank you

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As stated, a single week is way too short of a timeline to freak out about plateaus and lack of weightloss. A single reading can be affected by your sodium intake, water intake, the last time you defecated, carb intake.

Also, if you maintain a caloric deficit, you will not "plateau". Any article talking about set points and "starvation mode" with regard to why you aren't losing weight should not be taken seriously. Figure out your TDEE and eat less than that. It's very simple logically, but obviously a lot harder to actually put into practice. There's no need to overcomplicate it.

If you wear an Apple Watch it does a good job estimating your TDEE. I've been keeping a spreadsheet to track projected losses by comparing calories input vs what my watch projects as calories burned it's within 1lb.

I'm hoping it helps me avoid a plateau since you can't really argue with math.

Dr. Not Yet Dr. Ag said:

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Ghost of Bisbee said:

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Have lost just over 11% of my body weight over the few months (about 2 pounds per week on average) and have been at the same weight for the last week. My body fat estimate is now 17.6% (I decided to take my neck and waist measurements this time, was previously just going off weight in the body fat calculators)

I'm at one of those weight loss plateaus clearly. How long do these last in your experience?

The nutrition plan I'm on adjusts my caloric intake in sync with my weight loss, and I am getting in at least either ~315 calories of cardio most days OR ~315 calories of cardio plus 150 calories of strength training 4-5 days of the week.

I am not overconsuming, and I don't think I'm underconsuming based on the app I'm using to help me track.

Tips/thoughts? One article I read said weight loss plateaus can last from 8-12 weeks as your body adjusts to a new setpoint.
Could also be because I've balanced more evenly towards resistance training from cardio, but only seeing minor changes in body comp since then (more for back/upper body/shoulders/triceps).

All tips/thoughts appreciated. Thank you

---

As stated, a single week is way too short of a timeline to freak out about plateaus and lack of weightloss. A single reading can be affected by your sodium intake, water intake, the last time you defecated, carb intake.

Also, if you maintain a caloric deficit, you will not "plateau". Any article talking about set points and "starvation mode" with regard to why you aren't losing weight should not be taken seriously. Figure out your TDEE and eat less than that. It's very simple logically, but obviously a lot harder to actually put into practice. There's no need to overcomplicate it.

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A good real-world way to figure out your TDEE- I would suggest for the next two weeks that you track every single calorie you intake. At the same time, weigh yourself every 2-3 days for these two weeks. Keep your physical activity the same as it's been recently.

After two weeks is over, take the average of your caloric intake. Then take your weights you've tracked and see if you've maintained, gained or lost weight over the two weeks.

If you have maintained your weight, congrats! You've figured out your real-world TDEE. Now you know you need to subtract a small amount of calories from your average caloric intake to start seeing weight reduction again (I would suggest maybe 250 calories to cut per day). But if you've lost weight during the two weeks, then you know you're still on track, AND you now have your real-world TDEE value so you can make future adjustments.

If you want to be more accurate, then you can run the experiment for 3 weeks instead of 2.

Just an update here, 5.5 months since starting this process, down 50 pounds so very happy with the progress

I've adjusted to a less intense calorie deficit and am consuming on average 40% more protein per day than the last 4 months. Doing more upper body strength training now to build my muscle.

Had a physical the other day and my BMI is just shy of 25 but the doc says I'm at the low end of my ideal weight range for my height (6'1"). All I know is I want to continue to get leaner while building muscle.

I don't know my true BF% so plan to get a DEXA scan next month to get a read on that along with an estimate for RMR. I want to continue doing whatever will get me to <15% BF

Edit to add:

I started wearing a heart rate monitor on my forearm in the new year to get a more accurate on calorie burn during exercise.

Seems accurate for the most part on the bike and for strength training, but any walking/hiking/running activity and it VASTLY overestimates. Someone needs to invent a more accurate calorie burn estimator.

Ghost of Bisbee said:

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Just an update here, 5.5 months since starting this process, down 50 pounds so very happy with the progress

I've adjusted to a less intense calorie deficit and am consuming on average 40% more protein per day than the last 4 months. Doing more upper body strength training now to build my muscle.

Had a physical the other day and my BMI is just shy of 25 but the doc says I'm at the low end of my ideal weight range for my height (6'1"). All I know is I want to continue to get leaner while building muscle.

I don't know my true BF% so plan to get a DEXA scan next month to get a read on that along with an estimate for RMR. I want to continue doing whatever will get me to <15% BF

Edit to add:

I started wearing a heart rate monitor on my forearm in the new year to get a more accurate on calorie burn during exercise.

Seems accurate for the most part on the bike and for strength training, but any walking/hiking/running activity and it VASTLY overestimates. Someone needs to invent a more accurate calorie burn estimator.

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Dude, way to go!! That's some amazing progress- not just in your weight, but also in forming better habits. So now it'll be way more sustainable

Agree on the calorie counters- they're not where we want them to be with accuracy, but they're at least consistent. Although I find that instead of calories burned, I find that mostly sticking to steps walked per day is more reliable for me to track

I've only recently started tracking my macros. I've been using Noom to track food, but it only cares about raw calories. I've been reading about protein on this board and started upping my intake, but I'm finding it difficult to get to a 1g:1lb ratio, even with protein powder, shakes, and bars. That's just a TON of protein to eat.

I'm currently consuming on average 2,000-2,200 kcal a day with an average deficit around 2,400 kcal a day. All of my exercise right now consists of walking and using the elliptical with fairly high resistance. As I've increased my protein intake, I've experienced much more significant changes in my body fat % readings.

I'm 5'10" and 238.6 pounds as of today. Is it reasonable to use my goal weight as my protein target for now? That would be 185g or 0.77g per pound of weight. I think 185g is much easier to get to without going way over 2,000 kcal a day.

Yes I've always heard you go by your goal weight number, not your current weight. Protein is key in weight loss, so keep prioritizing it with your meals.

Ryan the Temp said:

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I'm 5'10" and 238.6 pounds as of today. Is it reasonable to use my goal weight as my protein target for now? That would be 185g or 0.77g per pound of weight. I think 185g is much easier to get to without going way over 2,000 kcal a day.

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Yes, I would. When I am aiming for weight loss I set my goal at .8g/lb of my weight. I do 1g/lb when trying to gain weight. So your .77g is about right on point and that ratio will increase as your weight loss increases.

For reference, I am at about 240 lbs right now and to get that much protein I have overnight oats with protein powder first thing, then lunch, a half lb of ground meat in the afternoon, dinner, a protein shake before bed, and a half gallon of milk every day. It takes a lot of work and planning to get that much protein in. 185 is more than reasonable.

I started making overnight oats with Kodiak Protein Oats, a scoop of pea protein powder, and almond milk. I add pepitas, flax, chia, cranberries, and dates for texture/flavor. That gets me 28.2g to start the day.

Ryan the Temp said:

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I started making overnight oats with Kodiak Protein Oats, a scoop of pea protein powder, and almond milk. I add pepitas, flax, chia, cranberries, and dates for texture/flavor. That gets me 28.2g to start the day.

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Agree with the others- the protein amount should be based more on ideal/lean body weight

There are so many protein snacks on the market now to make it easier- this is a great time to try some out and see what you like! I love the Quest protein chips, and I use them when I get Chipotle- I just forgo their chips and substitute the Quest chips. Boom, added 18 grams of protein to my Chipotle order with only 140 calories