All that effort gone. Back to square 0

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thatsright

Diamond Member
May 1, 2001
3,004
3
81
In the last 6 weeks I’ve been going to gym, eating healthy etc. BUT there out of that there was about 2.5 weeks where I didn’t go to gym enough and ate pretty poorly as I was on vacation and work was too crazy to get up at 5:15 am. Take that for what it is. So since June 1st, I’ve lost about only 4lbs. I still think this is too slow of weight loss. I’m making progress on some level, but not enough for me. I am lifting three days a week and doing 35 min of cardio the other two days. My cal intake is 2400 cal on days I lift and a little bit more on cardio days. I’m doing 5x5 program for lifting and now on the last or next to last set my body starts to give out which sounds like that’s a good weight. But when I leave the gym, I don’t feel like my body was pushed hard enough. Can you think of anything to adjust? Again, I’m just trying to loose fat and not build muscle.

Anyone.....?
 

Koing

Elite Member <br> Super Moderator<br> Health and F
Oct 11, 2000
16,843
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So in 6 weeks you have lost 4lbs. That isn't bad weight loss with 2.5 weeks being poor as you have stated. Think of it as 6lbs if you had dieted well over the 2.5 weeks.

If you are relatively new to training take measurements as well. People are way too focused on their scale weight. If fat and inches are coming off your arms, stomach, legs etc does it really matter that your scale weight didn't drop by 20lbs?

You just have to keep at what you are doing and grind out the 1-1.2lb per week like everyone else.

If you don't feel that your body was pushed hard then up your cardio and make it harder. Do interval sprints if you can or do it faster. Or lift with shorter breaks in your gym sessions or use heavier weights / more sets if you can. When I leave the gym I have nothing else to give. I am done.

I've never heard of anyone say they only want to lose fat and not build muscle? You will not look huge over night. Adding some muscle will make you look better.

Koing
 

thatsright

Diamond Member
May 1, 2001
3,004
3
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Well now I am really dejected. Over the last 3-4 weeks I have not lost one single pound on my scale, even though I've been going harder in the gym. I am doing more reps/sets and generally have to stop on a certain part due to muscle failure-so I am definitely going harder. I'm still doing 3 days of weights and then two days of cardio for 35 minutes each.

I have not lost any weight in terms of LBS from my scale in the last few weeks. But there has been a slight, but noticeable, improvement in how my clothes fit. So my body composition is changing somewhat. But not where I could/should be.

I have noticed that in the last 2-3 weeks I've been getting more and more hungry as the day goes on. Perhaps my metabolism has increased quite a bit and my body just needs more calories? So that my body is preventing my fat loss as it is being starved? My daily caloric intake: 2400 on gym days and 2200 on days not in gym. Am I eating too little? Or maybe you can think of something to get me back on track? Going nuts over this!
 

thatsright

Diamond Member
May 1, 2001
3,004
3
81
Well now I am really dejected. Over the last 3-4 weeks I have not lost one single pound on my scale, even though I've been going harder in the gym. I am doing more reps/sets and generally have to stop on a certain part due to muscle failure-so I am definitely going harder. I'm still doing 3 days of weights and then two days of cardio for 35 minutes each.

I have not lost any weight in terms of LBS from my scale in the last few weeks. But there has been a slight, but noticeable, improvement in how my clothes fit. So my body composition is changing somewhat. But not where I could/should be.

I have noticed that in the last 2-3 weeks I've been getting more and more hungry as the day goes on. Perhaps my metabolism has increased quite a bit and my body just needs more calories? So that my body is preventing my fat loss as it is being starved? My daily caloric intake: 2400 on gym days and 2200 on days not in gym. Am I eating too little? Or maybe you can think of something to get me back on track? Going nuts over this!

Anyone? Or perhaps I should break this out into a new thread.
 

blackdogdeek

Lifer
Mar 14, 2003
14,453
10
81
Please post exactly what you are eating in exact amounts and include any condiments/oils/toppings included in the preparation. Also, post your height and weight.
 

Koing

Elite Member <br> Super Moderator<br> Health and F
Oct 11, 2000
16,843
2
0
2400calories, but what is the macro split?

You are either eating more than 2400calories on average in a given week, or your macro split has too many carbs in it and it needs more protein and fats.

EVERYONE I speak to online who wants to lose fat does not eat enough protein or healthy fats. They do eat too many carbs though.

Give us a link to your daily plate.

Koing
 

thatsright

Diamond Member
May 1, 2001
3,004
3
81
Please post exactly what you are eating in exact amounts and include any condiments/oils/toppings included in the preparation. Also, post your height and weight.

For some reason, there isn't a way to share out my daily plate food log. So I copied it below. I eat the below 5 days a week. On the weekend its actually quite a few calories less. Also, I am 5'10 205lb.
10334613_FbMgrx

i-67cftZv-X2.jpg
 
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mple

Senior member
Oct 10, 2011
278
1
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Are you weighing and logging your weight every morning?

Did you track your food daily for the past 4 weeks? If so can you post the weekly average for the month?

Did you start taking creatine? You will gain a few pounds of water with it.

To be honest, if you aren't losing weight then continue decreasing calories a bit. What you're logging as 2400 calories may be a lot more than you think since you are going by serving size and not weighing everything out. For hunger, I'd suggest consuming meals less frequently. Substitute the processed foods such as the protein shakes and bars for more satiating food whole foods unless you really enjoy the taste of the protein shakes and bars.

With that said, Your clothes are fitting better and you're seeing visual improvements in the mirror. I'd suggest to keep at it and toss the scale into the closet for another month.
 

thatsright

Diamond Member
May 1, 2001
3,004
3
81
Are you weighing and logging your weight every morning?

Did you track your food daily for the past 4 weeks? If so can you post the weekly average for the month?

Did you start taking creatine? You will gain a few pounds of water with it.

To be honest, if you aren't losing weight then continue decreasing calories a bit. What you're logging as 2400 calories may be a lot more than you think since you are going by serving size and not weighing everything out. For hunger, I'd suggest consuming meals less frequently. Substitute the processed foods such as the protein shakes and bars for more satiating food whole foods unless you really enjoy the taste of the protein shakes and bars.

With that said, Your clothes are fitting better and you're seeing visual improvements in the mirror. I'd suggest to keep at it and toss the scale into the closet for another month.

No to the creatine. And I do weigh myself each morning as soon as I get up and right after going to the bathroom. I'm pretty confident in what the chart above shows is accurate in terms of the quanitity of calories per day. And I actually like those protein bars/shakes.

Right now I'm at 2400 cals per day, but if I go down to 2200 cals per day I'm worried that won't be much room down the road to adjust when I plateau out and have to reduce calories further.

Anyone else's thoughts?
 

blackdogdeek

Lifer
Mar 14, 2003
14,453
10
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First of all, that's a lot of sodium to consume daily. The RDA is about 2300-2400mg. Can you instead occasionally have some eggs for breakfast instead of cottage cheese to change it up?

Second, how do you determine how many servings you are consuming? Eg - you list that breakfast is 4 servings of cottage cheese. How did you determine that?
 

Koing

Elite Member <br> Super Moderator<br> Health and F
Oct 11, 2000
16,843
2
0
If you are eating 2400 per day and you haven't lost weight after 3-4 weeks I'd drop to 2200.

DO NOT LET THE WEIGHTLOSS STOP MORE THAN 7 DAYS IN A ROW. 7days is plenty a time frame to lose fat if you are over the initial 4 weeks of dieting.

Koing
 

Phanuel

Platinum Member
Apr 25, 2008
2,304
2
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Well, he could be gaining muscle mass to offset the weight. But yeah, if he's stalling at >200lbs, he should probably aim to get closer to 2K calories a day.
 
Sep 29, 2004
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thatsright,

The thing that sucks about exercise is that just jumping in and doing it sets no goals.

Do a program like starting strength or strong lifts. I advocate stronglifts simply because it is what I did. You start light, but every session you lift more. And eventually you break through some barriers. Every session you lift a little heavier and you see progress. You even look forward to doing it.

The same goes for running. If you can't do a 3 mile run, go look at the couch25k program. I went from not being able to run for 90 seconds to running for 25 minutes non stop in about 3 months. Eventually, I built up to a 5 mile run that I did in less than 50 minutes. I think it was a 45 minute run.

I guess my point is, it is hard to just exercise without goals. You need to see progress or it can get boring.

I'm currently in progress in getting back in shape. My only real goal is to run a 5K in two months. I might shoot for an 8K by years end.
 

thatsright

Diamond Member
May 1, 2001
3,004
3
81
Here we go again&#8230;..

A month ago I was at 2400 cals per day when I lift, 2200 when no gym and on cardio days 2400 cals+ whatever I burned. I then shaved 200cals off each day whether I&#8217;m in the gym or not. In the last month I&#8217;ve only dropped about 2lbs and in the last 3 weeks I&#8217;ve only lost 0-1lb. I&#8217;m now at 203lb. Beyond frustrating.

It&#8217;s hard to say if at the gym I&#8217;m doing good/bad/ok? I&#8217;ve increased my reps/sets in the gym from last month. I&#8217;ve gone up to 8 reps x 8 sets for all exercises. Too much volume? It&#8217;s been a struggle to go up much in weight for upper body routines. All other parts I go up each week.

However perhaps I&#8217;m focusing too much on the lbs. readout on the scale each week? I say this as since I&#8217;ve started all of my clothes are looser and things that were too tight back in June are baggy and I&#8217;m need to buy new jeans. I&#8217;ve lost about .75&#8221; from my waist line and the most dramatic loss has been 2.75&#8221; from around by belly/gut.

Thoughts? For all the work the last 3 months, I thought I&#8217;d be a little further ahead&#8230;.
 
Mar 22, 2002
10,483
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81

If you're not losing the amount you want, drop your calories. If you're still not, drop them more. Are you strictly tracking everything (and I mean absolutely everything) you eat? If not, you need to. Get a food scale, measuring cups, measuring spoons, etc. It may just be that you're not totally accurate in your food estimation.

Honestly, cutting or losing weight is the opposite of trying to gain weight, but with each you need the same approach. Track your calories to a tee. If you're not making the right progress, add/drop 300cal. If you're still not, add/drop 300cal.

Also, your lifting set/reps scheme is not good. 8x8? Professional bodybuilders do stuff like that. As a regular Joe, a 3x5 program for you would suffice, save you time, and you'd be able to go heavier. An 8x8 is ridiculous in the amount of shear volume. You don't need to do that much to make appropriate gains.
 

yottabit

Golden Member
Jun 5, 2008
1,496
528
146
From what it sounds like to me you're in an equilibrium where you ARE losing fat and gaining muscle. However you have to understand that this is a very gradual process (especially gaining muscle) Losing fat and gaining muscle at the same time is one of the most difficult things to do and requires extreme diet control (mostly in terms of nutrition- it's hard to get enough protein to gain muscle mass as well as supporting nutrients while keeping calories low enough)

You could lose weight a lot faster by either cutting calories or stepping up the cardio significantly, but you would probably hinder your chances at increasing your strength/gaining muscle. And if your calorie deficit is too large, you risk actually losing muscle.

The proper way to gauge progress attempting this kind of diet is with measurements and not scale weight. For instance body fat calipers or even waist measurements (you seem to notice you dropped almost a pant size, etc) Also bear in mind water-weight fluctuations can have big impacts on scale readings.

It really depends on what's important to you, losing the weight fast or maintaining more muscle. Personally I think being overweight is a bigger problem for people and a de-motivator so losing the weight fast first (possibly at the expense of having to rebuild a little muscle later) has higher chances of long-term success. You want to be able to see that muscle anyways.

Common guidelines thrown around online are to lose no more than about a lb/week on a high-protein diet to not risk significant muscle loss.
 
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