Need some help with my diet plan and Have some basic questions

T

Tjeezy18

New member
Hello to everyone...

Basic information about me 20 years old, Male, 5 foot 8 .. Starting weight 260lbs,.. current weight 232.8lbs.. Goal 170-175 lbs

Well to get to the point I've been on a diet for sometime now about a few months and I've lost about 27 pounds so far :hurray: ..And sad to say I'm pretty sure I've hit a weight loss plateau seeing that I've been the same weight(232) for the past like 2 weeks give or take a few pounds. So since I've hit this plateau it has caused me to somewhat rethink my diet plan.

When I first started dieting I used this website to help me find a starting point.. .. So when i first used it i was eating about 1500 calories a day and working out 5-6 times a week. Like i said i now have hit a plateau which has caused me to rethink my diet plan.

I've spent about the last hour an a half find my BMR , TDEE.. My BMR form doing this formula(Men: BMR = 66 + ( 6.23 x weight in pounds ) + ( 12.7 x height in inches ) - ( 6.8 x age in year )) is about 2,309 cal. My TDEE from this formula (Mod. active = BMR X 1.55 (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk)) is about 3,579. from this information and my goal of losing about 2lbs per week which is cutting about 7,000 cal has given me that I should eat at least 2,000 cal. a day to reach this goal, I also plan on doing a Zig-Zag or(7 day calorie Cycle) style of eating calories so I have a lower risk of hitting another plateau. Since today is friday I plan on starting this on Monday along with my basic workout routine.

My basic workout routine.. Strength Training(hitting the weights) day 1 and then doing Fast paced Cardio the next day(Running, Elliptical Machine, biking) I switch between the two every other day so I can build muscle and help loss weight by doing the cardio.

So my basic question is.. will changing my diet plan by almost 500 cal more a day cause me to gain weight? Will I even lose weight with my new plan? Or should I just stick with my old plan? Also is my new diet plan "safe" ... Sorry if this seems like a lot but since I don't know any professionals that could answer my questions I have to look to you guys here on weight loss forums.

Thanks in advance!!
 
If you're eating less then you are using then logically you will be losing weight. Although a few things to take into consideration is that you can't really accurately find your metabolic rate accounting for activity. While your basic rate is fairly accurate, it's hard to calculate accurately (within 100 cals) how much you are burning through workouts.

Another thing is that if you are doing weight training then that might make it seem like your weight is static because a scale isn't going to tell your fitness level. If you work out your huge muscles like your quads, you will gain a significant amount of weight over time. Taking pictures infront of a mirror would be more accurate for you instead in this case.

Looking at your diet plan right now, it seems fine. Since you exercise a lot then you probably want to hit a ratio of 50:30:20 (carb,protein,fat). If you have a diet heavily saturated in any one of those then you could be slowing down your weight loss. Changing your exercise and diet will usually help overcome plateaus if you are having one.

I can't give expert advice, but I hope some of that helps in some way.
 
thanks for the advice i appreciate it.. I took an extra 400 cal. off my daily intake just to be on the safe side
 
I found the zig-zagging to be very helpful for me. I had a plateau and once I incorporated this (and circuit training) I broke through.

I have a link to a tool that can help you plan it:

There is a link/drop down that you can get zig zag guidelines. I used it to help give me an idea of where to start.

I just ordered (can't wait to get it!) my GoWear Fit. Google it or BodyBugg to see if it's something you would be interested in. For me, I track all my food and it was the final piece of my arsenal for me to be able to gauge my calorie expenditure.

Keep up the hard work - we all hit those plateaus and know how frustrating they can be. :banghead: But, perseverance is the key! You can do it! :D
 
Just noticed you have the same link for the caloric needs! Duh! It's a great resource....tweak it from there, but remember not to go below those minimum limits if you can.

:) Sorry about that....
 
1500 calories is not much for somebody your size. Not sure how you arrived at that to begin with. 2000 calories should be about right. That said, your 2-week plateau is not unusual, and nothing to be concerned about.

As far as too low a calorie intake making your plateau worse - where do you get that from, Prodigy88? If that's true, maybe we could cure world hunger by putting the starving people on a diet below their minimum calories, then they would hit a plateau and stay there.
 
Harold14370 said:
1500 calories is not much for somebody your size. Not sure how you arrived at that to begin with. 2000 calories should be about right. That said, your 2-week plateau is not unusual, and nothing to be concerned about.

As far as too low a calorie intake making your plateau worse - where do you get that from, Prodigy88? If that's true, maybe we could cure world hunger by putting the starving people on a diet below their minimum calories, then they would hit a plateau and stay there.
Click to expand...

By going too low, your body will go into starvation mode and actually slow down the metabolism even more. This will make the plateau worse and will result in weight gain once calories resume to "normal" levels. At least, that's what I've always heard.
 
Congratulations on doing your homework on getting your food program under control. I play it safe and keep my eating under the un-multiplied BMR just to ensure that the math works in favor of my weight loss.

No doubt that the multipliers are based on sound research and statistical analysis, I just go with the straight math. I would suggest you do the same.

Nice work
 
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