Help - trying to lose final lbs.

[zeebee92]

Hi all, newbie here! I just wondered if anyone could offer some advice. I have recently lost 40lbs in about 5-6 months. I was an obese BMI and now my BMI is just slightly overweight. I appreciate BMI is not the best measure, but I used it to set my goal when I started so trying to hit that. My age is 29 and height 162cm.

I am new to this fitness world and loving it, I have been doing research a lot but guess would be nice to run what I am doing currently in this forum, for some advice/ guidance. 

I have been working out in the gym 3 times a week (back, arm, leg days) - I typically on these days will do 12 minutes cardio warm up, around 6-8 dumbbell/ kettlebell exercises, then use the resistance machines. I aim for around 12-15 reps and 3 sets for the machines and dumbbell. I use weights that challenge but allow me to get a decent form, but make sure to challenge myself.

On the days I am not in the gym I run 3 X 5k runs per week and a 20 minute ab workout (Couch25k is amazing for beginners). And then have one rest day a week. My step count is about 10-14k every day of the week. 

I don't feel my body thinks I am overdoing it exercise wise. 

My diet I have PCOS and I did initially do keto when I started out but have started eating more carbs to give me more energy for the gym (plus I am going for a lifestyle change now and keto was very tough for me). A typical day would be: bran flakes with milk, lunch bulgur wheat with some sought of protein/ salad, dinner protein and vegetables (i.e. chicken and vegetable stir fry). I don't really snack anymore.

I have 12lbs to lose to meet the goal I set out on, I have recently been experiencing a plateau with weight loss.... Perhaps muscle gain, though from my research unlikely this is the case. I have noticed in areas like arms, quads and abs some muscle gain though.

Just wondered if anyone could provide any advice on any improvements to what I am currently doing. In terms of calorie deficit I have calculated and I am on around a 1000 deficit per day.

🙂 

[Glenda]

@zeebee92 Exercise is critical for good health.   People who exercise to lose weight usually eat more and don't lose.  You have done extremely well so far.  Congratulations on a great 40 pound weight loss!!!   At this point, just my opinion, I would exercise  less, and eat fewer calories.  Eat no sugar, flour, and maybe less diary.   Trying to figure calorie deficits seems to be difficult to do accurately.  I wouldn't depend on that.  Best wishes.

[Heybales]

Sounds like some good experience there for 5-6 months. Congrats on everything it took to get there.

Sounds like you correctly ate less than you burned and accounted for it - or else you would not have lost 40 lbs so far. Keep that up.

But 1000 cal deficit was likely extreme at the start because your body is already under stress with PCOS.

Even on a healthy body, last 12 lbs would see 1000 cal deficit as extreme.

Extreme diets lead to the 80% failure rate to reach and maintain goal weight.

You have likely increased your cortisol levels to pretty bad high state, leading to retained water slowly increasing - that can cause 20 lbs gain.

How many weeks of fat loss could that hide on the scale?

Your workouts are fine enough (though the 1 body area just once per week isn't optimal for either muscle or strength gains), and as long as you keep the lifting challenging it is at least telling the body you want and use this muscle. Very true you aren't about to gain muscle with that fast of weight loss, but at least you can see what you got much better.

But that means the body being stressed will adapt other ways to slow you down to burn less, so the deficit truly isn't that great, no matter how it looks on paper.

You have your potential burn, and your suppressed burn. You really have no idea how good your workouts could be at this point already being in that state.

I'd suggest at this point after that much loss it's time for a diet break - which you may think is going on right now anyway, but that's only because you are eating as much as your suppressed daily burn.

Now perhaps your suppressed burn is part of the problem, perhaps some is inaccuracy on the food logging is more of it.

Looking back at your records when still losing - find the last 2 weeks that seemed to be the same loss rate as the weeks proceeding.

How much was lost in those 2 weeks?

How much did you log that you ate in those 2 weeks?

Once I have those numbers, we can see what your real daily burn was for your normal activity (which seems nice and consistent).

And then slowly eat more up to that maintenance level, in order to unstress your body.

At some point with a slow increase to eating level your body will get unstressed and lower cortisol and you'll get a whoosh of water weight loss.

You'll keep eating up to potential maintenance level, increasing your current suppressed level.

After a week there - you'll take a much more reasonable 250 cal deficit and finish off the final weight to goal.

Read the forums - this may sound like a slow approach, but compared to many that stall out for 2-4 months trying everything and getting more stressed and just crashing their bodies into the ground - it's much more successful and actually shorter in time.

[zeebee92]

Wow, thanks so much for the advice, much appreciated. I have actually in the past unknowingly done what you've suggested, when I went on holiday stopped dieting - came back and then saw weight loss over the next few weeks. So I will run the numbers and take on board what you've said! 

[zeebee92]

Thanks Glenda!