So I was at 258lbs and decided to do something about it…I started intermittent fasting using 18:6 and working out twice a day. I am down to about 216 but am shooting for 175-185lbs for my goal. As of right now, it’s been two weeks that I’ve been fluctuating between 215-219 and I cannot seem to get past this hump.
I have been working out harder and harder, running about 2.5 miles around noon in my fasting window (9pm-3pm), eating one apple at 3pm, then either lifting weights (MWF) or cycling (TT), then eating a small dinner like a piece of chicken with salad (very low-cal dressing) around 6:30pm. The only thing I eat after dinner is either a 15 cal sugar free popsicle or a glass of wine. I really can’t cut many more calories and don’t want to cut out dinner because that is when I spend time with my wife and daughter.
Do I just need to cut out my 3pm apple and the popsicle after dinner to get past this plateau? I’m starting to get pretty discouraged so any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks all!
If you’ve upped your workouts you most likely have put on a bit of muscle, hence the weight loss plateau. Aside from that, plateaus will occasionally happen - it’s all part of the game. Just keep at it, be patient, you’re on the right track.
Your body thinks it’s starving because it is. Eat more protein and healthy fat.
Put the scale away and keep doing your fitness routine, and ffs eat more healthy food.
Get the scale out once per month, check yourself. Put the scale away until next month
You have options. You can keep going and “try harder” on your exercise and eating fronts. That can lead to frustration and motivation loss, and may or may not work. 40 pounds down is a major change to your body and a lot of us hit plateaus around this point.
If you do keep on with what you’re doing waiting for a breakthrough, I would put a firm timeline / weight loss goal on it. “I’ll go 3 more weeks and have to be down <n> pounds.” For peace of mind, also have a plan for some other things you might do.
Here are some things people do and sometimes have success with…
Take a week off. Eat what you like. Stay away from exercise. Then go back to a your normal IF and exercise routine. It sounds counterproductive and it sucks undoing some of what you’ve worked so hard to gain. Theory is that your body has started to resist further weight loss and is starting to hoard fat and this will undo that setting. I’ve done this one and it took an extra week to get back on track and then the weight loss went back to a nice steady trend.
Go back to normal exercise and up your calorie intake by 20 or 30% for a couple weeks. Similar to #1, the theory is that your body is starting to resist further body fat consumption and is fighting to hoard what it has. Giving it a message of, “don’t worry, there are enough calories around” can sometimes have the effect of helping.
Eat two distinct meals in your eating window with no snacking of any sort in between. Give yourself 45 minutes or so to eat in each window. I don’t know why this is supposed to work, I just know some people swear by this.
Go to a different regimen. 20:4 or OMAD. I will tell you I’m on ADF (36:12) because of plateaus on my previous journey. The thing about ADF is that it’s a 50% calorie deficit if you eat to your TDEE on eating days. You will lose weight. It can also be a detour you take for a couple weeks before going back.
Some people will do a 48 hour or 72 hour fast with a recovery day or two after to try and kickstart things.
I’ve dealt with what you’re dealing with. My flair doesn’t show it, but I’ve lost a lot of weight with an IF regimen. I gained it back for reasons and I’m back at it again.
IF and weight loss are challenging enough. My view is that you want to get your body working with you and not against you. Any time your body decides it isn’t going to take energy from fat reserves, you’re done until you can get past that. Metabolisms are stubborn. If your body decides you’re not getting any more fat reserves, you usually aren’t going to change its mind by restricting calories further and increasing exercise. I think you want to find something to change up and see what happens.
In my opinion, you are eating too little calories. You need to properly fuel your body to maintain your metabolism. Your body is smart, if you provide it with less energy (calories), it compensates by reducing your metabolic rate to burn fewer calories than it normally would. Your body does so as it thinks it won’t be getting any more energy, so it compensates. I feel this is why you are plateauing as your body isn’t burning calories as fast as it did before.
Given that you workout pretty extensively, you need to provide your body with more fuel. I do not know your age and height but I’m certain 800-1000 is far too less for you. The apple and the popsicle are not a problem at all. They almost don’t matter to be honest.
Calculate your maintenance calories (can be done online easily) and try to eat 500-600 calories lesser than that. Since you workout that should be enough. And a piece of chicken won’t cut it as your only source of protein. You need to consume more protein.
Perhaps start measuring parts of your body to determine if you’re gaining any muscle or not. Have you calculated your daily protein requirements? That may affect your plateau as well, and will certainly affect your progress in the gym.
This is precisely why it is important to take measurements. I have had weeks when number on the scale was stalled but my waist got smaller and my muscles grew. Also you could try lifting more frequently try different splits and add HIIT now that you have gotten stronger
I don’t know your life or situation, but are you taking care of yourself? Like truly a little worried for you.
At your size and activity level a 100 calorie apple and 15 calorie popsicle are like a drop in the bucket to the thousands of calories your body should be burning a day. Let alone it sounds like you’re eating maybe a couple hundred calories at dinner. What are you doing on the weekends? What’s the rush with the super aggressive cutting and working out? This is pretty unhealthy territory.