My wife has been on a plateau for about 7 weeks now and I'm convinced it's diet related, not routine related. (She currently consumes around 1600 Cals per day) I've read several posts that say you shouldn't consume less than 1500 Cals per day regardless of BMR. But she's 5'5" and 129 lbs. Her BMR is 1400 and with the 1.375 activity factor (sedentary job) is only 1900 Cals per day. Even a 1 lb per week goal would be 1400 Cals per day. How many Calories per day do some of you consume when cutting? AND, if a 2 lb per week goal is safe, why would only 900 Cals per day be so unsafe? It seems unfair to her that I can cut at a 1000 Cal deficit and she can't.

My wife has been on a plateau for about 7 weeks now and I'm convinced it's diet related, not routine related. (She currently consumes around 1600 Cals per day) I've read several posts that say you shouldn't consume less than 1500 Cals per day regardless of BMR. But she's 5'5" and 129 lbs. Her BMR is 1400 and with the 1.375 activity factor (sedentary job) is only 1900 Cals per day. Even a 1 lb per week goal would be 1400 Cals per day. How many Calories per day do some of you consume when cutting? AND, if a 2 lb per week goal is safe, why would only 900 Cals per day be so unsafe? It seems unfair to her that I can cut at a 1000 Cal deficit and she can't.

I regularly eat below 1500... 1500 calories is a guideline, NOT a rule... some people react in different ways to different caloric deficits... have her try cycling her calories.. I'll give you an example of what I am doing right now... please realize that I'm training for competition... this may work very well to break her out of her plateau though

on weight training day's I aim for 1350 - 1400 calories 50% protien /30%carbs /20%fat
on cardio only day's I aim for 1050 - 1100 calories 60% protien/10%carbs /30%fat

I do 2 weight training day's in a row then 1 cardio only day and repeat

I was consuming 1200 cals/day, and stopped losing weight. As soon as I upped it to 1500, I started losing again. I think different people have different thresholds, and I'm sure if I ate much more than 1500, I'd stop losing weight again. I think she just has to experiment to find the sweet spot. :)

I was consuming 1200 cals/day, and stopped losing weight. As soon as I upped it to 1500, I started losing again. I think different people have different thresholds, and I'm sure if I ate much more than 1500, I'd stop losing weight again. I think she just has to experiment to find the sweet spot. :)

exactly... well put ;)

Chameleon, can you please post your diet? I want to decrease my calloric intake and I have no idea what to eat so that I don't feel hungry! My current diet is supposed to be around 1500 Cal, which leaves me on a fat loss plateu.

Thanks,
Gila.

Chameleon, can you please post your diet? I want to decrease my calloric intake and I have no idea what to eat so that I don't feel hungry! My current diet is supposed to be around 1500 Cal, which leaves me on a fat loss plateu.

Thanks,
Gila.

yesterday (weight lifting day):
pre-workout - 1 scoop whey w/ water
workout - back & chest (10 minute warm- up on eliptical)
post-workout - 1 scoop whey & three scoops dextrose w/ water
meal 1 - 4 oz Orange Roughy, 1/2 cup oatmeal
meal 2 - 7 egg whites, 1 tablespoon dried cranberries & 1 tablespoon natural peanut butter
meal 3 - 4 oz Orange Roughy, 1/2 cup oatmeal
meal 4 - 7 egg whites, 1 tablespoon dried cranberries & 1 tablespoon natural peanut butter
90 minutes of LISS (treadmill - 10% incline, 20 minute mile)
meal 5 - 1 rice cake w/ 1 tablespoon peanut butter

1365 calories - 46% protien, 33% carbs, 22% fat

today (cardio only):
45 minutes of LISS on cross trainer (eliptical type machine w/ the ability to change the incline)
meal 1 - 1 1/2 scoops whey in 1/3 cup oatmeal and 1 table spoon dried cranberries & cherries
meal 2 - 4 oz Orange Roughy, 1/2 cucumber and 1 tablespoon natural peanut butter
meal 3 - 1 1/2 scoops whey in 1/3 cup oatmeal and 1 table spoon dried cranberries & cherries
meal 4 - 4 oz Orange Roughy and 1 tablespoon natural peanut butter
90 minutes of LISS (treadmill - 10% incline, 20 minute mile)
meal 5 - 8 egg whites and 1 tablespoon flaxseed oil

1163 calories - 51% protien, 20% carbs, 29% fat

Thanks a lot! :tu:

Thanks a lot! :tu:

no problem ;)

damn... that's what I call a CLEAN diet.

You can probably fit all your groceries for the week in one bag!

damn... that's what I call a CLEAN diet.

You can probably fit all your groceries for the week in one bag!


lol... I'm trying (for the clean diet) and I do pretty good during the week.. it's the weekends that tend to kill my diet... but I'm working on that :p

oh and I go to the grocery store several times a week... even the bag boys at the grocery store know me :p

lol... I'm trying (for the clean diet) and I do pretty good during the week.. it's the weekends that tend to kill my diet... but I'm working on that :p

I have a post-it on my fridge and on the bathroom mirror that says
"Weekends are the most important days of the week." It's easy to get thrown off course because the typical structure of the workday is not there. My downfall on the weekends is usually that there is some kind of event (running, cycling, duathlon) on one of the days, so I'm either in prep mode or recovery mode. I use those terms to justify things like a bowl of pasta before a race, or those post-race oatmeal cookies.

oh and I go to the grocery store several times a week... even the bag boys at the grocery store know me :p

I go to the grocery store almost every night... a lot of the time at "odd" hours (around 11pm). We've got a great grocery store that "marks down" perishables that are at their "expiration date" (fruits and veggies, meats, and dairy) around 9pm when the department managers leave. So I try and stop by and scoop up things like poultry(which ends up being cooked the next day) or produce (which we go through pretty quickly) at a discount.