Haven't lost weight in 6 months?

w95677

I am a 58-year-old woman. I lost approx. 30 lbs in 6 months. I currently weigh 136 lbs. I want to lose 10 more lbs because I am carrying too much weight around my middle from to stomach and wrapping around to the back. I average walking 12,000 to 17,000 steps per day, average 7 hrs sleep per day, HIIT and Strenght Training are hit and miss, not as regular as I would like. I am averaging eating under 1,500 calories per day. I was on High Fat/ Ketogenic and recently switched my diet to the standard settings under FIXED because feel better eating more carbs. I don't like the body sensations a low carb diet gives me. Can I get some diet advice? I am not a GOLD member. I signed up when I purchased the FAT for FUEL book when it was first published. Thank You

w95677

Also, I wanted to add to my Discussion that I am averaging 690 calories or 50% FAT, 470 calories or 33.5% CARBS, and 280 calories or 15.1% PROTEIN per day. 1440 Calories per day and CHRONOMETER says I can eat 420 calories more per day according to my level of exercise when I look at the past 2 weeks of averages...what am I doing wrong? More HIIT cardio? More Strength training? What do you think? Less food? I reduced my basal calorie requirement from 1247 calories to 1200 calories per day under CUSTOM, activity level as NONE because I track activity with JAWBONE linked to CHRONOMETER. Maybe I should lower it further for a 58-year-old woman? Maybe the BASAL calorie calculations are wrong for a 58-year-old woman?

Karen_Cronometer

Hello @w95677

Our nutrition expert has a blog post on this topic you might like to check out: https://cronometer.com/blog/why-is-my-weight-plateauing/

Congratulations on the progress you have made already, that is a great accomplishment.

Best,

Susan_RD_101

@w95677

Congratulations on the weight loss success thus far! As I mentioned in my post, the main reasons why plateaus occur is 1) lower metabolism 2) reduced calorie intake. I wouldn't lower your calories past your BMR as this is more likely to result in plateauing (via the starvation syndrome). Another consideration is that you likely experienced some weight regain or plateau from the water storage that comes from eating carbs.

My advice to get you back on track is:
1. Accurately weigh and measure your food for 2-4 weeks. Enter everything you eat (even small bites!) to make sure you are capturing all calories.
2. Don't enter your activity for 2-4 weeks; I sometimes find that our activity is overestimated relative to our calories.
3. Only weigh yourself every 2 weeks. The further you are from your goal, the harder it is to reach. There's a chance that you are still losing weight, just at a lower rate.
4. Try to increase your carb intake relative to your fat (remember, fat is the most calorie-dense) by adding in raw, low cal fruits and vegetables at meals.

I'd also challenge you to see if you can increase your activity by any small amount - an extra 200 steps per day, an extra workout per week, etc.

Hope this helps!

Bubba

Susan Macfarlane - can you explain more directly what you mean with " try to increase your carb intake relative to your fat? " Example: My carbs today were 205.5 , fats 69.8, and protein 71.1. Total cal consumed were 1698 -- but it tells me that for my weight goal I can still consume 297 cal. But the individual grams I consumed were more than I'm supposed to. Expended Energy was 2494. So, did I eat too much? How can I adjust the ratios of protein:carb:fat?

Susan_RD_101

@Bubba

Thanks for following up. One thing that can help is paying attention to how much fat you add to your diet. By simply reducing your intake of fat, your ratio for carbs and protein will increase, but total calories will remain low. Generally, on a mixed diet, we get sufficient fat from the food we eat and don't need to go out of our way to add extra in through coconut oil, olive oil, nuts, and seeds. It's common for day-to-day ratios to vary, but in general, I find it helpful when carbs are around 50% (provided they are mostly coming from fruits, vegetables, and unprocessed whole grains), 25-30% fat, and 20-25% protein.

You can change your macro targets by clicking on "Profile" on a computer, and choosing your desired macronutrient target under the box titled "Macronutrients".

Please let me know if you have any follow-up questions!

Kind regards,

mander

Are you using a food scale to weigh your food? Those calories seem right you might have an error in your measurements?

Miko

Your fat intake is way too high, try significantly increasing your carb intake and reducing your fat intake. I am on a high carb diet and about 70-80% of my diet is in carbs and I'm losing weight! It works because most of those carbs are from low calorie fruits and veggies which are filling and help you to keep your calorie intake low but your satisfaction levels high. I munch on watermelon, grapes, strawberries, (low calorie fruits) throughout the day and eat about 5 times a day. Half of my plate for dinner is veggies for example, the rest is a starch or carb as well as maybe beans or something along those lines. You will notice a significant increase in your energy levels when you do this too.

w95677

I like this. The high-fat diet has it's advantages for weight loss, dealing with insulin resistance, and fighting cancer, but once I got past the weight loss and slight insulin resistance point, I grew tired of dealing with feeling a physical unease that is difficult to describe. I added more healthy carbs, felt good... and I am slowly losing the last of the weight and getting my body toned! The low-fat diet was worth it for battling where I put myself but it's not a permanent lifestyle choice that I can follow.

Bubba

@Miko Thanks for the suggestion! Yes, I have lowered my fat intake now and the weight is slowly coming off. All the carbs I eat are healthy carbs. It is very seldom now that I eat anything processed. I cook all my own food and am adjusting (thanks to cronometer!) my recipes to stay within my daily limits. It's not easy sometimes, but it's working. And yes, half the plate is full of veggies! My highest fat intake is in salad dressings, although I only use olive oil in them. (No more bottled dressing!) How do you dress your salad?

Susan_RD_101

This thread warmed my little dietitian heart!

What's so important to remember is there are healthy carbs (i.e. unprocessed fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains) and processed carbs (cereal, cookies, chips, crackers, etc.). Carbs have a lower calorie density than fat and at the end of the day, calories are what matters when it comes to weight loss.

I also never tell people that they need to fear fat, but encourage them to choose their fat from whole foods like nuts, seeds, flax, and avocados.

Keep up the great work everyone!

RoxieGirl1951

I notice you said that carbs should make up 50% of one's diet??? That would mean 750 calories? Of veggies and fruits? Nuts? Are you speaking of weight loss? I am having a great deal of trouble with the multi colored bar on my Nutrient summary....it tells me I need 162 Gm Carbs????? Come on, I will be fat as a pig before this over with. I am trying for 50 Gm carbs and that is a stretch for me, even though I am weighing and measuring.
Something is not making sense with the Dynamic Nutrient Bar and I have tried setting up my own Gm count/custom gm but I can't seem to figure it out, no matter how many times I read the Help section.

Karen_Cronometer

Hi RoxieGirl1951,

Dynamic Macronutrient targets allow you to set a ratio of protein: carbs:fat. This will calculate your macronutrient targets each day to achieve the ratio of macros based on your calories burned.

If you would like to set fixed gram amounts for your macros instead, select Fixed Targets from the macronutrient targets drop-down men. To set your own custom values, in the Nutritional Targets section (called Nutrient Targets in the mobile app), select the Carbohydrates tab, click Custom to override the default settings, then enter in your own custom value. Repeat this process for protein and fats.

Best,

Susan_RD_101

Hi @RoxieGirl1951 ,

The recommendation I am citing is from the Institute of Medicine (a value referred to as the Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Range or AMDR). According the IOM, the AMDRs for adults are as follows:

• Carbohydrates: 45-65% of energy
• Fat: 20-35% of energy
• Protein: 10-35% of energy

When it comes to weight loss, we have evidence to show us that a range of dietary approaches can help with the initial weight loss (weight maintenance is a different story ). Importantly, after 6 months to 12 months, all diets (whether they are keto, vegan, high-fat, low-fat, low-carb, etc.) seem to produce comparable results in regards to total weight loss. Ultimately, the best diet will be the one that you can follow the longest and that allows you to consume fewer calories than you burn.

Kind regards,