What am I doing wrong?! So discouraged!

ScottyJD
ScottyJD Posts: 4 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Here is my situation, hopefully I can get some tips as to why nothing works. I am 6'2" and change, and I weigh around 225 pounds with a 40 inch waist. Over the past year I have dropped from 280 pounds, but the past 3 months I haven't been able to lose a significant amount. I'm trying to get down to 200 pounds or at least not have a noticeable amount of fat around my waist (I have a pretty good muffin top). When I first stopped losing I tried high intensity cardio for 45-60 minutes 5 days a week while staying under 2100 calories. No measurable change.
For the past four weeks I've changed my approach and started a new exercise plan http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/wotw12.htm. I use enough weight so that my muscles are sore, but not so much that I can't lift them. I also do 30-45 minutes of low intensity cardio (30 on lower-body strength days), switching between bikes, treadmills, and elliptical machines. I stay under 1900 calories on training days and under 1600 on off days. Now I am starting to notice an increase in muscle mass (obviously), but my waist measurement and overall weight doesn't change.
Do I change calorie intake? I really don't want to, as I feel I'm always hungry or don't eat enough, and I really don't think I could keep up this kind of small diet my entire life. Do I change exercise methods? Or do I just keep with it? When I lost that 50 pounds, I had to work at it, but I was eating around 2500 calories and the weight was just falling off, so what changed?

Replies

  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
    Define "haven't been able to lose a significant amount". How much have you lost in the past 3 months?
  • Sandtigress
    Sandtigress Posts: 7 Member
    Take this with a grain of salt, for I am no expert in any field related to weight loss and exercise.

    First of all, I believe the last fat you stored is the first fat to go. You are doing a hell of a good job. You are adding muscle mass while losing fat, it just may not be that the fat you are melting away comes from you waist. So keep at it, raise your calorie intake until you are still at a deficit but not starving all day. Be patient and look in the mirror / pictures / your clothes. Your scale may not be budging, but if the muscle mass is increasing, your fat stores are certainly being chased away!! Losing weight is not a straight path, but if you don't give up, eventually your fat stores can't keep up with feeding your muscle mass and your weight will start dropping again :)


    You are doing a fantastic job!! Keep at it :)
  • punkrockgoth
    punkrockgoth Posts: 534 Member
    Do you actually weigh and measure everything you eat, or just guess?

    There's a weight loss troubleshooting flow chart that usually gets posted to these threads. I don't feel like looking for it, but trust me, it's coming. Along with the rest of the diet and fitness extremist religion shitshow.
  • raymax4
    raymax4 Posts: 6,070 Member
    Keep up the good work, please don't get discouraged. Muscle weighs more than fat and you are building it. you will have your reward
  • ScottyJD
    ScottyJD Posts: 4 Member
    "Haven't been able to lose a significant amount": For the past four weeks I my weight has been hovering between 224 and 226.

    I do measure everything, and if I ever have to estimate/guess I try to land on the safe side and count more.
  • punkrockgoth
    punkrockgoth Posts: 534 Member
    raymax4 wrote: »
    Keep up the good work, please don't get discouraged. Muscle weighs more than fat and you are building it. you will have your reward

    Muscle does not weigh more than fat. Muscle is more dense than fat meaning that 1 lb of muscle takes up less space than 1 lb of fat.

    Also, measurements have not changed, so that argument doesn't even work anyways.

  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
    edited August 2015
    raymax4 wrote: »
    Keep up the good work, please don't get discouraged. Muscle weighs more than fat and you are building it. you will have your reward

    NO.

    He is not gaining muscle eating less then 1600 calories and muscle doesn't weigh more then fat, a pound is a pound, the science thing you know.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    You've lost a lot of weight! That's awesome! Congrats on a job well done!

    When I hit my plateau, I crawled to a stop. The weight got harder and harder to lose and then just wouldn't come off if I didn't starve. After discussion and phone calls, it was decided that I should take a break. I did six months off. No weighing. No think about dieting at all. I put the food scale away (it lives on the counter while I diet, lol) and after a few days, I was in heaven. No dieting, weighing, logging. Just lived life. I didn't change what I ate, but did eat more bread and made some really good ones, too.

    When I went back to it, the weight began coming off at a good clip again.

    I'm now a huge fan of the break, but cannot say it will work for you or even that it's the right idea. I have a doctor on board (he's the one who made the calls). I knew I'd go back to it. I was sick (to death!) of weighing and logging, but it took the break because it was part of the weight loss plan. A new part, but a part. It was done because I wanted to lose weight, not because I didn't want to work on losing anymore. It was just time. My mind was delighted to get one, but it was done because my body needed a break.

    Sometimes I hesitate to bring it up because I don't want to encourage people to quit losing, but it's a good option for some people, sometimes.

    So, food for thought there. :)
  • punkrockgoth
    punkrockgoth Posts: 534 Member
    Serah87 wrote: »
    raymax4 wrote: »
    Keep up the good work, please don't get discouraged. Muscle weighs more than fat and you are building it. you will have your reward

    NO.

    He is not gaining muscle eating less then 1600 calories and muscle doesn't weigh more then fat, a pound is a pound, the science thing you know.

    THIS
  • ElJefeChief
    ElJefeChief Posts: 650 Member
    edited August 2015
    I just ran the numbers. Your BMR is around 2000 for a person of approximately your height and weight. If you're moderately to extremely active (5 days / week of intense cardio probably qualifies) your TDEE probably is around 3000. So, 2100 calories should leave you with a deficit of around 500 calories per day, minimum.

    So, you're probably measuring wrong somehow. Either you're overestimating your exercise, or underestimating your food. It's possible you're just gaining muscle and your plateau is just muscle replacing fat, but that sounds unlikely.

    On the other hand, four weeks is a very short time. It doesn't even really qualify as a plateau - just more a brief stall. So, perhaps you shouldn't sweat it. Perhaps knock an extra 100 calories off your goal and then leave everything else as it is? If you're hungry a lot - make sure you redouble your emphasis on fibrous veggies and protein.
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
    punkrockgoth wrote: »
    Do you actually weigh and measure everything you eat, or just guess?

    There's a weight loss troubleshooting flow chart that usually gets posted to these threads. I don't feel like looking for it, but trust me, it's coming. Along with the rest of the diet and fitness extremist religion shitshow.

    Ask and ye shall receive. Although, I'm certainly not a diet or fitness extremist nor religious in any sense of the word. :smile: The point is, there are a lot of variables which could influence your inability to lose weight but they all boil down to the simple fact that if you aren't losing weight, you aren't eating less calories than you're burning. Here are some things to look at so you can pinpoint why:


    a37btb7mxb3t.jpg

    Flowchart created by @lemonlionheart

    Here's a great post about keeping a food diary that might offer some insight: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10191216/the-most-important-thing-you-can-do-to-lose-weight

    If you still have questions, please ask.
  • griffinca2
    griffinca2 Posts: 672 Member
    Have you checked your sugar consumption?? You may be eating more than you think; it's an ingredient in a lot of foods. I keep mine set at 45 gm and try not to eat over 60 gm. It doesn't matter if it is naturally in the food or added; track it. I was stuck for close to a month and once I started watching the sugar I lost more than I originally planned. That, and you may not be eating enough so you may want to try increasing your calories slightly.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    griffinca2 wrote: »
    Have you checked your sugar consumption?? You may be eating more than you think; it's an ingredient in a lot of foods. I keep mine set at 45 gm and try not to eat over 60 gm. It doesn't matter if it is naturally in the food or added; track it. I was stuck for close to a month and once I started watching the sugar I lost more than I originally planned. That, and you may not be eating enough so you may want to try increasing your calories slightly.

    If OP truly isn't losing, increasing calories isn't going to change that.
  • raymax4
    raymax4 Posts: 6,070 Member
    Serah87 wrote: »
    raymax4 wrote: »
    Keep up the good work, please don't get discouraged. Muscle weighs more than fat and you are building it. you will have your reward

    NO.

    He is not gaining muscle eating less then 1600 calories and muscle doesn't weigh more then fat, a pound is a pound, the science thing you know.

    i stand corrected
  • ASKyle
    ASKyle Posts: 1,475 Member
    Are you eating back any/all of your exercise calories?

    If so, how are you calculating them?

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