Hi, guys. I am a 38F at 198lbs. I’ve been IF 16:8 since May 2020, with my starting weight being 259lbs. Since September last year, I seem to have stalled in my weight loss. I have tried making sure I’m taking in the proper amount of protein for my weight, I have increased my fiber after realizing I had fallen by the wayside and wasn’t ingesting enough, and I am still throwing back tons of water. I honestly had no concern for carbs the first two years (or exercise for that matter), only the amount of calories I ate per day. My typical day’s worth of calories is between 1400-1900, which is a vast improvement from my starting point, but I’m not sure if I need to adjust that further or if I need to find a way to add more activity somewhere. I work a job where I am constantly on my feet, which isn’t really the best thing in the world for my spine (I have degenerative disc disease at L3, L4, L5), and HIIT is absolutely out, so between that, my daughter (she’s 9), a lack of sleep from hip pain (just invested in a Sleep Number for that, praying it helps), and life in general, I have only been able to increase my activity level in small ways. That typically involves parking farthest from the door, climbing the stairs in my home several times a day, spreading out the physically demanding house chores, etc.
Is it my calorie/activity ratio that may be sabotaging me, or is my sleep quality the demon, or maybe even both? Thanks!
About how tall are you? There is free calorie calculators online to give you a close estimate as to how many calories you need for your activity level.
If you aren’t losing weight your calories are too high for your activity level. 1400-1900 seems pretty low though, unless you are on the shorter side. Have you tried swimming or water aerobics? If you can get access to a pool that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg it is awesome for you and easy on the spine. Low intensity steady cardio is the way to go.