Our bodies are more complex than calories in vs out..
Sleep, hormones, food eaten the previous day.. have influence to regulate the nutritient intake for the day (eaten more the day before) but the body balances out by not being actually hungry at all.. or more hungry on some days when eating to little over time).
Our bodies have a natural weight range it strives towards to, when working out, there can be fat loss, but the weight loss of fat can be compensated by a increase in muscle. Weighing the same, but being leaner due fat decreases, gaining muscle but being leaner since muscle takes up less space than fat.
The weight range will naturally set itself when eating to nourish the body in the moment, trying not to eat more when not being hungry, not eating out of boredom or loneliness. Stop eating when satisfied and not stuffed, without counting calories.
Allowing to have any food in the moment, but in moderation. It's ok some days to recognize not being hungry anymore but still wanting to eat a piece of strawberry cake. Take a smaller piece, or a bit larger, but enjoy and recognize it's for the taste, our bodies will make up for it by being less hungry the next day.
The natural weight range is determined by genetics, exercise, food choices (aim for healthier foods most of the time which contains the nutritients the body requires while being lower in calories and being satisfied longer), eating less overall.
Eat anything you'd fancy but in moderation, but ask 'how hungry am I'? Does this salad looks more appealing or that piece of chocolat? The slize of pizza? Maybe even two slizes?
Eat until feeling satisfied but not stuffed. When eating, basing portions on hunger level, have anything you like but in moderation, it's always possible to eat some more when still being hungry.
Eating slower with non dominant hand, enjoying the taste, be satisfied quicker..
When eating something you / your body doesn't want first but actually wanting that more appealing piece of cake, go for what you really wanted: the piece of cake. Not going to eat the other food that looks less appealing anyway then, eating less overall.
When eating the first 'unappealing' food, then eating that piece of cake anyway.. that'll be extra unneeded calories over time.
Always eat what your body desires, it makes keeping satisfied quicker.
Calorie plan is a guidance, when not feeling hungry, don't eat more. Our bodies can be perfectly happy with x hundred calories left when having all nutritients it needs. It can be appealing to eat more when the plan says there's x hundreds of calories left, try honoring the body by not eating more until feeling getting hungry again.
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Brilliant post StefanC
Very detailed and perfect medically I would say.
Only the cats are missing .Lol
Regards
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Sounds like my smoothies but I put in 2 cups of kale, chard & spinach and 1 tb of hemp seed for protein and good fat as well. They are not real sweet but cool and healthy.
I hit plateaus too and I'm past menopause. Hormones cause water storage during the monthly cycle. It is a bit mysterious but it sounds like all you need is a little more patience with your unique process.
I'm sure that you are building muscle which is dense from your activity.
Breathe away the frustration as it brings cortisol the stress hormone which makes it hard to lose weight. list all the things that you are grateful for and smile.
Check in next week and see if the loss doesn't continue. When we are within 15 lbs of a healthy weight it is harder to lose I have read. It may go a little more slowly.
barbara
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Hi @SunsetRunner .
I can tell from your original and subsequent posts that you have your food compostition pegged - you eat well, you eat healty foods, you stay away from junk foods, so you're doing just fine on that front.
You are also fairly active, with a good set of daily and weekly activities. So what's missing?
Well perhaps two things. The timing of your food intake in relation of to your workouts might be an issue. I also note all of your activities are cardio. Unless I missed something, I don't see any resistance training.
Cardio is fine, but it entails an immediate burn. So a good cardio workout 45 min. to an hour after a good meal will provide the enegy needs for your workout; and if intense enough, you will also be chewing at the fat reserves. With weight training or resistance bands, although the immediate burn is relatively low, the result is an increased MBR that will last for the balance of the day. If you Google it, you will find ample evidence, based on sound reserach, attesting to the fact that regular resistance training can increase your Basal Metabolic Rate by up to 15%.
So these are the two areas I would take a look at - the timing of your meals in relation to your energy needs (workouts), and introducing resistance training in your fitness regimen.
One more things comes to mind - you may want to consider incorporating an interval scheme in your step-based activities. If you go for a 30-min walk workout for example, avoid maintaining the same pace for the entire workout. Instead, walk at a brisk pace for say 3 min.; and then walk as fast as you comfortably can for the next 3 min; and cycle through for the hole duration of your workout. This will cause your heart rate to go up and down, it will keep challenging your metabolism and cause you to burn more. Same thing with jogging - the peaks and troughs should show some immediate benefit in your burn rate. Again, lots has been written on the benefits of interval training - so if you Google it, you'll get more insights. I use a small app on my iPod that provides audio prompts for the interval scheme.
Hope this helps. Have a nice day.
TW 
(If this tip solved the problem for you, please mark this post solved, as this will be helpful to other users experiencing similar issues.)
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@SunsetRunner wrote:
Thanks for that. A lot of detail there!
I already do interval training (HIIT) as well as when I go running (sprint jog walk)
I do a few weights (free weights and also I use a pull up bar) but I probably need to do more resistance work... Thanks for your input! Much appreciated.
Glad I was able to help. I don't do HIIT per se, but try to incorporate an interval scheme wherever applicable (walking, running, cycling, rowing...) thus causing those peaks and troughs. It would be nice to hear back from you in a couple of months with an update. But you know, at the end of the day, yes, weight loss is important; but being happy with a few pounds extra is always a better choice than being leaner and not so happy. I still have 7 pounds to lose to reach the goal I had set for myself two years ago. But I'm not pushing it, because I'm happy with the gains I've made and the paradigm shift from a semi-sedentary lifestyle to a more active one, and from a diet too rich in sugar and carbs to a healthier one.
TW
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