Weight loss help!

[Lizfit9]

So I started my weight loss journey in January 2019 and weighed in at 137 pounds and 5’0 with a goal of 100 (still within a healthy BMI).  I ran/jogged everyday for 30 min and gave my self one rest day a week. I’m not sure if I was too involved in counting calories or not, but the weight came off quick. I was obsessed and was loosing 1.7 pounds a week. Then around April, things started to slow down. I had hit a rough anxiety patch and my weight was 116. I was unmotivated and felt a ton of pressure to work out. I ended up feeling better and was 112 by June. 

        Then, I got concerned that I was losing weight too slow. I wondered if I was eating too much, too little or if I could eat my calories back. Tried eating my calories back and *yikes* gained about 2 pounds back. Then I started weight lifting and then gained another pound. Then, after realizing I couldn’t eat my calories back, I put my self in a 750 deficit. My tdee is 2144, and I now eat 1,400 calories a day. Guess what. I haven’t lost a single pound. And sometimes with water retention it’s more. I’m freaking out. How much should I eat? Should I work out more? I normally run 5-6 days a week and burn (according to my Fitbit) 300-400 calories a day. 3 out of 7 days a week I weight lift for 1hr and 30 min. I get enough of each food group, but maybe too much sodium. I have symptoms of eating too little ( hair loss, depression, anger, sensitive to cold, etc.) but I’m worried that if I eat more I’m going to gain weight. Please help; I am so unmotivated.

[Dominique]

You started from 137 (BMI: 26.8, i.e. mildly overweight) and want to reach 100 (BMI: 19.5, i.e. very close to the lower end of the normal range). That would be 27% of your starting weight, which is a lot.

So you reached 116 in April. That was BMI 22.4, about in the middle of the normal weight range. Why not focus on maintaining that level for a while, so as to let your body get used to its new, lower weight, and rebuild your metabolism?

If/when you lose too much and keep losing for too long, you will face sharply diminishing returns, as you found out: you lost 21 pounds in the first four months, and only 4 pounds in the next three months, in spite of (likely) putting on even more effort.

[Lizfit9]

This is really great news! I appreciate it. How long should I maintain this weight for? And then, what would I need to do to lose the rest?

[Dominique · Accepted solution]

Here is my favorite resource for this kind of issues: the Losing All Your Weight at Once video, by Dr. Mike Israetel. It provides some general guidelines, as well as explanations/justifications.

I think it would suggest to be in maintenance for at least as long as you have been losing: since your active weight loss was from Jan to Apr (4 months), maintenance should also be at least the same (4 months). Not sure whether we should count from April (since you were trying to push further down), or from now (if you now accept maintaining as a positive/desirable outcome rather than as a failure), but the general idea is there is no need for you to rush, especially since you’re already in a good place health-wise (in terms of weight).

As to what will start your next phase of weight loss: good old-fashioned caloric deficit, like with the previous one. It should be easier after your metabolism has recovered (thanks to spending enough time at maintenance).