What to do differently?

F

FiteClubFan

New member
I would like anyone's opinion, but especially Steve's!

Okay, I am a 5'7 26 year old female.
I have recently lost about 20 lbs over the course of a year by running and eating healthy (I ran two marathons last year). I then gained about 10 lbs back from winter weight, but have managed to lose THAT and am back at my marathon weight which is 141 lbs or so.

I would like to lose an extra ten lbs for the summer (who doesn't, haha?), but seem to be stuck. For the past 32 days I have been between 141 and 143 with no change or loss. For the month before, I dropped weight pretty consistently. And then it just stopped.

My diet is ususally between between 1500 and 1600 calories, though once every 7 to 10 days I eat 2000 calories. My diet is not completely clean, but I do not drink alcohol, any artificial sweeteners--to include any diet soda--, I only eat sugar one to two times a week (when I have a granola bar or something).

I try to eat healthy fats every day--usually I have 2-3 tbsp of coconut oil with whatever meal I can fit it in, or I have some nuts, or avocado. And I DO take fish oil EVERY day.

I measure EVERYTHING and count EVERYTHING... Breakfast is ALWAYS protien pancakes (oatmeal, protien powder, egg whites)
And then lunch is my healthy fat and usually an apple and string cheese or egg whites.
(However, I am single and don't cook and so I tend to eat one meal out every one or two days for dinner (depending on finances). That meal is either one of the following:
McDonalds--Their Southwest Chicken salad--listed at 420 calories.
Panera--Fuji Apple Chicken Salad-- listed at 520 calories (plus whole grain baquette, which I weigh before I eat, and it is usually 250 to 300 calories).

That is about it--I am super picky and do not eat at places that do not list their calorie count... and am usually wary of the calorie count that IS listed.

Sorry this is getting long... My workouts are also pretty consistent. I lift heavy 2-3 times a week depending on how sore I stay. Always full body and I include lunges, deadlifts, and squats on every other workout. I am simply trying to not lose my ass with those!
And I do cardio 5-6 days a week which is a 3-5 mile run at a 10 mph pace (preferably outside) 4 or so days, and then HIIT for 20 minutes in the form of sprints on 1-2 workouts.

So, my question is where to go from here? I do not want to drop my calories if I do not have to, because I already am insanely hungry most of the time. I am considering actually bumping up my calories to average 1800, but wanted general opinion first! Thanks for reading-- sorry for the e-novel!
 
It's really hard to give a definitive answer in cases like this. If I had to guess though, I'd say lower calories is the way to go. You're currently at approx. 12 calories per pound of body weight (after you factor in your high day).

That's usually where I start someone when it comes to fat loss. If that's not working, we drop from there.

I'd probably shoot for 10-11ish calories per pound.

With regards to the hunger, how many grams of protein are you getting per day?
 
Thank you so much for the quick reply--I so appreciate the response!

I average about 100 to 120 grams of protein a day. Sometimes I have an extra protein shake, depending. I definitely could stand to up that amount, and would just need to pay closer attention to the macros.

I see your point on 12 x body-weight and will drop to 11 and see how that goes. I also realized in typing all of this that if I am so hungry all the time I really could stand to add some fibrous veggies to my diet--I am seeing that I do not eat nearly enough of them.

Thank you again-- I will continue to keep track and will keep updating!
 
You're a smart chica.

That was going to be my next suggestion to you. If you're starving, fill up on nutrient dense, low calories fibrous veggies.

A giant salad always does the trick for me and I always have fresh veggies stuffed to the brim in my vegetable shelf in my fridge.
 
Hi -

I am a long time lurker, rare poster with a question for Steve: I am surprised that you have advised her to lower her calories even more. Of course I am not arguing with you, just only curious why . . .

I am F, 30 (just turned, argh!), 5'6. FiteClubFan - like you I lost about
20lbs a few years back from a post-college/new relationship high of about 155through running and doing strength training. By last summer about 10 lbs had crept back on (I was still running, even increased my mileage, but was no longer lifting weights, etc). I initially decreased my mileage and added the strength training back and my bodyfat started to drop followed by my weight. I then added interval workouts and increased my mileage. I now run btw 15 to 25 mpw and usually do 2 strength workouts per week. I took the 10lbs back off, slowly albeit, but also have decreased my bodyfat significantly. I am now at 135 and wouldn't mind losing a little bit more but am also pretty pleased with how things are currently.

I'm not sure why I'm sharing all of this other than to say while I do not count calories, the few times I've plugged them into the Daily Plate or whatever, I seem to range from 1800 to 2300. It seems as though FiteClubFan and I are currently doing similar amounts of activity and while I realize that everyone is not the same, again, I'm surprised that Steve would recommend that you drop your calories further given your current activity level.

***Not trying to start anything, especially considering I'm no expert, just trying to understand. also, sorry for the length of this post.
 
14 calories per pound with all the activity you do is about maintenance most likely. If you wanted to lose, you'd have to drop cals too. Or you have a freaky friendly metabolism.

I've worked with a lot of women... actually regardless of sex... 12 calories per pound is where I start a weight loss diet more often than not. From there I respond accordingly based on feedback and results.

14-16 calories per pound is a known reference range in the literature for maintenance of moderately active people. In my experience, women tend to trend a bit lower than that, most likely due to the fact they carry less muscle than men.

That noted, 13-15 calories per pound is generally maintenance for women who are active.

Of course these are massive ballparks. For people who are more muscular, genetically inclined to burn more calories, or very active.... these numbers are going to undershoot actual maintenance.

For people who are fat, genetically inclined to burn fewer calories or aren't very active, these numbers are going to overshoot actual maintenance.

So I'm not sure what's so surprising here?

Maybe you thought I'd tell her she should increase calories. If she had told me she's been dieting for a long time without break... I might have. Sometimes a break can do the body good and allow for some 'resetting' of various metabolic/hormonal pathways that tend to help metabolism.

Does that explain where I'm coming from better?
 
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