Current goal: 32" waist (81-82cm)
The plan: From the start of the year, eating from as low as 1900 calories/180g protein per day for weeks, up to 2300 calories/225g protein per day.
Progress: My weight dropped pretty fast in the first month, from 83.3 kg to 78.2kg, waist from 94 cm to 89 cm. Then from February to late March, I was on the longest plateau in terms of weight loss. The good news is that during the same time period, my waist did decrease slowly from 89 cm to 86.5.
In the second half of March, I decided to try dropping my calories down to 1800. From there, I’ve made amazing progress in weight and waist, dropping 1.4 kg in 2 weeks (75.5) and 2 cm on the waist (83). But being on such a severe deficit wasn’t going to be sustainable for me long term. Right now, I’m back at 2000 calories and on the 5th week of Phase 2 of Beginner Rx, about to enter Phase 3 from stalling/regressing on multiple lifts. I still feel exhausted during workouts and a bit hungry most of the time. My weight has stayed the same at around 75.5 kg, but my waist actually increased to 84.5 cm.
From what I gleaned here, I get a sense that:
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Calorie intake has less to do with how tired you are on programs and your rate of progress, and more to do with the programming itself. So increasing my caloric intake won’t do much to help with fatigue, yes?
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Some people have the same issue as me, where our actual caloric deficit and maintenance is much lower than the NIH Body Weight Planner recommends. At my current weight of 76.6 kg, my maintenance calories is just below 3,000 assuming my physical activity level is Very Light/Active for work/leisure. But being at 2000 calories for 6+ weeks and not seeing progress on weight seems to fly in the face of this. Assuming my calories and macros are relatively on par, what could be causing such a low TDEE for myself? Could it have anything to do with my history of weight loss? When I was close to 300 lbs, I went on a 1,500 calorie diet for almost an entire year while doing intense exercise for ~1.5 hours 5-6 times a week.
Adding to this confusion is that I strongly correlate waist reduction with weight loss. Is this the wrong way to think about this?
Rito,
Thanks for the post and nice job so far!
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Pretty much, especially in the context of moderate weight loss. Feeling tired has more to do with sleep habits and other inputs than calories. I don’t think increasing calories is likely to help. no.
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Either the caloric intake you’re actually consuming is higher than what you’re reporting or the physical activity is lower. That said, yes it’s normal that individuals with a history of weight loss will tend to have a reduced TDEE compared to a person without a history of weight loss who is their same size.
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In general, waist circumference is tied to weight change, but I wouldn’t get too excited over a few weeks’ worth of data. I suspect it will trend down.
-Jordan
That’s a complete bummer, since I love eating. 
How long will it take for my TDEE to eventually catch up to a normal person my size (5’11)? Most of my dramatic weight loss happened in the first 12 months, just under 120lbs.
I have a couple of other questions, mostly regarding ethnicity:
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Since I’m Korean, the Beginner Rx guidelines say that I’m at risk for obesity related diseases at a waist circumference of 84 cm (33") or greater. At the same time, I’ve seen online research claiming that Asians are at heightened risk if they’re 34" or greater. Which one is it?
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As an Asian, would being at 32" waist be a good point to stop? And because of my weight loss history, do you suggest I eat at maintenance for a few months before considering a very slow bulk?
Rito,
Biggest driver of TDEE are your LBM and activity levels. So, getting more jacked and being more active may help. That said, it may not ever be the same as another individual’s and that’s okay.
- Both are in the literature. We use 33" as stated.
- I don’t think I’d go above 32-33" in waist circumference.
-Jordan
And if I want get more jacked so I can eat more, I should probably pursue a Hypertrophy based program after? 
I think I’m starting to understand why I may be more fatigued and hungrier than usual. I used to suspect that it was the increased volume and stress in programming, but I’ve also been having sleep issues. Currently trying to address it.
Hypothetically speaking, could I still slim down to a 32" while eating at maintenance? I’d be fine taking an extra month or two to reach my goal, if it meant better compliance with my calorie restrictions. Insomnia + late night cravings are a terrible combo, and I’m wondering if upping my intake would help remove the temptation from bingeing if I’m unable to sleep. Or should I just suck it up and continue the cut?
You probably can’t lose too much weight (and adipose tissue) while eating at maintenance unless you’re relatively new to training.
Insomnia is not usually related to calorie intake, but is more of a behavioral thing. I would recommend listening to our podcast on sleep, speaking with your doctor, and eating in a deficit.
Hi again Dr. Jordan,
Just wanted to say thank you for your advice. I’ve triple checked my caloric intake and finally think I have it under control. The lowest I’ve been so far is 74.1 kg (possibly even slightly less), and 81.5 cm on my waist. That’s a -1.4 kg weight loss and a whopping -3cm on my waist in a month!
My sleep hasn’t really improved that much since I haven’t had time to see a doctor, but I’m still consistent in finishing every single workout down to the letter. After almost two weeks of regressing on nearly every single lift, I’m starting to trend upwards or at least maintain some numbers. That said, I’d like to end my final week on the Beginner Rx so I can take a week to unwind physically/mentally and maybe catch up on Zzzs before starting Hypertrophy I. I was thinking about rerunning Week 9 on Beginner for my break, does that sound good?