Genuinely need help on this y'all. 24, 5'5 M. Hovering around the 155-160 range rn. Run about 30 miles/week and lift 4-5 times per week.
Around 4 months ago, I set out to lose about 20-30ish lbs. The weight fell off rather quickly. My whole philosophy when I began was to do it slowly, steadily, and healthily, as many previous weight loss initiatives — particularly when I was younger — were far too aggressive to be maintained.
So, I started at about a month of a ~250 cal/day deficit. I escalated eventually to a ~500 cal/day deficit. I didn't even log my weights for the first two weeks of my weight loss, so the initial water weight drop isn't a factor when I say I consistently was losing about *2 lbs per week,* despite having aimed for a much less aggressive rate.
I dropped from 180 to 160 rather quickly at a rate of 2.1 lbs lost per week. I averaged about 10 lbs down per month. On MFP, I set my activity level to "Active," and my desired rate of weight loss to 1 lb/week. I was eating somewhere in the window of 2700 calories per day, +/- 250 calories, *losing 2 lbs per week.* According to MFP, I should have been losing 1 lb per week; additionally, according to ChatGPT/Gemini's calculators, 2700ish should have realistically been my *maintenance*, even factoring in my physical activity.
So how on Earth were they that wrong? Based on my calorie intake and actual rate of weight loss, my actual TDEE was probably often somewhere around 3700-4000 calories. Which *shouldn't make sense.* Yes, I run a lot and lift a lot, but I always made sure to enter the extra active calories burned from my workouts. I logged everything to a T, used my scale and measuring cups religiously. I logged my food and exercise as accurately as possible.
My diet ended up crashing and burning when I began to see results and got carried away. Foolishly, around the 160 lb mark, I upped the goal in MFP to 2 lbs/week and, on the advice of ChatGPT, reduced my activity level to "Lightly Active." (I was still adding extra calories burned from my actual workouts.) Technically, this *should* have worked based on my stats and activity level (student/desk job), but I ignored the real-world data, ie the scale.
As you'd expect, upping beyond what is generally regarded as the safest maximum rate of weight loss (2 lbs/week) yielded some pretty poor results. My energy levels tanked. Irritability was high. Social drive was low. Libido practically gone. Then, went on a family vacation, had one night where I let myself splurge, which subsequently has led to several nights of binging when I got back home.
I got to about 147 lbs before my body tapped out. I've already gained a bit of the weight back. Not panicking about it and letting my body rest. It should go without saying that I am taking a diet break to both give my body & mind time to find equilibrium.
But for when I'm ready to hop on the wagon again: what on Earth do I do when my body is defying all the formulas, even going beyond generous TDEE estimates? Do I just chalk it up to being young, active, and 24? I genuinely want to do this whole thing *right* and sustainably, and plan to go back in a hell of a lot more gently and wisely when my body is ready. I tried to do it right according to the book, but ignored the real-world feedback.
Any advice?
Thanks in advance y'all.
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