Am I @ My "Set Point"??

Hi all...I know this might be a long post, but I have to ask.

When I first joined CC I was told that I should keep my calories @ 1600. If I went below more than a couple of hundred for a day, it seemed I was not losing, but as soon as I increased to 1450-1600 I lost again.

Then, later I was told to decrease it to 1480, then 1414. This is the CC site telling me this...so I have been trying to keep it @ this amount, give or take. But about a week & a half ago, I realized that I was not counting my coffee creamer (30 cals per tbsp) so I started logging that as well, which obviously increased my daily intake by quite a bit (90-120 per day) & this meant that I was eating less food.

Suddenly, my weight loss came to a screeching halt ~ and I have been hovering @ the same 1.5 lbs ever since!

My question is this: since I was not counting the coffee cream before, and keeping my calories up closer to 15-1600, and losing weight...and now I AM counting the cream & my calories are lower (approx. 1400 or so)...should I increase it for the time being back to the 1600 level to see if I start losing the pounds again? Or am I @ my "set point"?? And how long is THAT supposed to last?!?

I should add that I have been increasing my workout time, also ~ I mainly use the treadmill & any other walking that I can get into the day ~ taking the tread. time from 35 up to 42 mins. per workout (my tread. measures it {calories burned vs minutes walked} by minutes, hence the odd time amount). Also, I have decreased the coffee cream as much as I can stand, so I can make up for wasted calories with actual food, lol.

I hope this post makes sense, cuz I could sure use some insight...

The only way to find out is to do what you were doing before.  Either you don't count your coffee creamer at all or you count it but increase your calories to what the coffee creamer has been taing away from your food calories.

Below is a link to Ask Mary about set points.  The first is about what the set point is, and the second is about losing weight after reaching it.  And the third link is to how you can figure out what your set point is.

http://caloriecount.about.com/body-set-point- q2981

 http://caloriecount.about.com/resume-weight-l oss-lowering-set-point-q3753

http://caloriecount.about.com/know-set-point- weight-q3026

As for your coffee creamer you should be counting the calories for it regardless of any set point.  All calories count after all.  My question is about whether your calorie target is accurate.  It's normal that as you lose weight your caloric needs decrease, however maybe the number your getting from CC is too low.  You're increasing your work outs but,  have you adjusted your activity level for your profile?  Are you logging your activities each day?  

In terms of your work outs in addition to walking on the treadmill longer, you may want to increase the incline to make it more of a challenge, if you haven't already.  Are you doing any kind of weight training?  That would be a great thing to add to your fitness routine.   Adding muscle will increase your metabolism.  Also, after you finish a weight lifting routine, there is a large after burn -- your body burns more calories from the exercise --  than there is with a cardio routine.  

Hope this helps and good luck. :)

edited to fix links

hello, spoiled_candy & vcarrie ~

Thank-you both very much for the replies...I am truly stumped here, as every time I get on the scale (3-4 times a week) I get a different reading, and not always in the direction I want to go. For the most part, I have been able to lose about 1.5 lbs per week, but I also get these weeks in between where nothing seems to work.

I went through my total calories per day since I joined CC & I averaged about 1406 per day overall. Then, I went to the Account Settings & it says I should keep it @ 1401. So I guess I was pretty close, but some days were way over that, some were under...it's a wonder to me that I've lost 25.5 lbs! I just don't want to lose the momentum, y'know?

Now that I've remembered the coffee cream calories, I can't help but log them; I know they should count but it makes me wonder how much I was taking in before I started!

I do log my activities every day; some days are more active than others, but I have sedentary days, too. I am an Artist so I spend a great deal of time @ my drawing table.

My husband tells me I should get a recumbent bike, so I will probably be doing that soon; and the subject of lifting weights has also come up (our daughter does this & she swears by it). Will increasing the incline of the treadmill make my metabolism burn more? I would love that...I have always kept it level.

Thank-you also for the links ~ I will be sure to check them out & let you know how I do. I'm sure there's something in there that I haven't heard before, so I can use the info to my advantage.

First off that's awesome that  you've lost 25 lbs and it sounds like overall you're doing the right things to get fit.  So, you should give yourself a big pat on the back and trust that what you're doing is working.  There may be points when your weight loss slows or plateaus and that's normal.  If you do a search for plateau either in the forums or in the "Ask Mary" section of calorie count you can get a lot of great information.

Ah, so you also weight yourself more than once a week.  I weight myself every day which isn't what most people recommend and for good reason.  There are so many things that can drive your weight up or down from one day to the next, ie  water retention, hormones, digestion, bowel movements (hope it's not TMI).  The weight jumping around seemingly at random can drive you batty.  Still I can't help getting on that scale every morning.  So, in order not to drive myself crazy I do three things.  1) Once a week I have my official weight in day when I record my weight. 2) I take my daily weight fluctuations worth a grain of salt.  It's a mental exercise but it works for me 3) I ask myself  is my weight trend line generally moving down with the occassional blip up?  If the answer is yes, then I know I'm on track. 

Maybe a better strategy for you is to weight yourself once a week.  But, if you can't resist stepping on that scale then you're going to need to figure out how to keep looking at the big picture.

As to the exercise yes raising the incline will help.  I'm not sure if will raise your overall  metabolism, per se, but walking up a hill is more work than walking on flat ground so you will increase the number of calories you burn during your work out.

lol...first of all, it is not TMI since we all know that everyone is human, eh? And I still haven't broken myself of the habit of weighing in every morning, but I do take it with a bigger grain of salt lately...

I was reading in Jillian Michaels' newsletter that the scale does NOT tell me everything; I mean, it's not every day one gets to lose enough and firm up enough to actually NEED to buy a completely new wardrobe, y'know?? So, for that (and for the positive feedback I am getting from my husband & children) I am so very grateful!(And yes, I actually did have to do this, lol ~ it was getting so I was literally drowning in all of my clothes! )

But starting today, I am lifting weights: first of all, a few lifts w/ the 3lb bar, followed by holding the two 2lb hand weights while walking for 35 mins. on the treadmill...I decided that 42 mins. is just too much for me right now ~ it nearly kills by the time I am done ~ so I have scaled that one back. Do you think that is ok?

Everyone in my family was telling me yesterday (over dinner) that I should start with the weights, so along with what you have said, I think that's a perfect place to begin to break through this plateau.

So, I'll give it a few weeks & see where this new plan takes me......

I would not recommend walking on the treadmill with weights - it throws off your body's natural rhythm.  Keep the weight training separate from the cardio or throw it in between treadmill sessions. 

hi, klr154443 ~ thanks for the input!

I had not heard that, about the natural rythm...but I thought it made sense since one sees people outside walking with weights all the time; wouldn't this be the same thing?

I'll do as you say, if it's the right way, then that's that...I must confess that 1) this plateau is really throwing me off my stride, and 2) most people here @ CC seem to know so much more than I do.

I wish there was an easy answer...

Original Post by klr154143:

I would not recommend walking on the treadmill with weights - it throws off your body's natural rhythm.  Keep the weight training separate from the cardio or throw it in between treadmill sessions. 

I agree. Plus, carrying 2lb weights cannot be considered weight lifting - most women carry purses that weigh at least that much.

One other thing...does anyone know if that BMR/RMR Index is accurate? According to my stats, it is telling me to increase my calories from 1401 to 1586.

I was just wondering since I know I have to eat more than 1200 a day to lose.

Do you mean the phord calculator? Accurate, maybe, but you said in your OP that you were losing weight fine at 1600, and when you dropped the calories, you stopped losing, right? I'd say - go back to what was working!