Struggling with fat loss

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  • betuel75
    betuel75 Posts: 776 Member
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    erickirb wrote: »
    What do you mean "fat loss macros"?

    I would suggest a goal of losing 0.5lbs/week, and as long as you get 110+grams of protein per day don't worry about the other macros that much. play around with the amount of fat and carbs to see how you feel the best with.

    ^^ this.
    On an off topic side note. Thats crazy erickirb that at 5'6" and140lbs your abs show like they do in your profile pic. Im 5'6" as well and at 140lbs my abs dont show at all. Im 125lbs in my pic/now.
  • AliceDark
    AliceDark Posts: 3,886 Member
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    WBB55 wrote: »
    "Constantly stressed" :(

    Trade one of your workouts for mediation. You deserve to be happy. And cortisol can be a bear.
    This. OP, there are a few red flags in your posts that suggest that you need a break. (Such as "My scales broke once so I was all set to never eat again until I got a new one. Thankfully argos was open that day or I'd have ended up quite hangry." I hope that's a joke, but I'm not sure).

    A diet break could really help, and it could be worth it for you to recomp for a little while. Have you seen this site? http://www.strengthunbound.com/ He talks more about the benefits of bulking, but I'd bet you would see some very positive changes if you recomped for a little while and then went back to losing.
  • kraemes
    kraemes Posts: 2 Member
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    I also agree, a break may do you some good. Remember why you started in the first place. Take a break and start again refreshed. A week will not destroy all you worked for as long as your eating is sensible. Good luck and stay motivated!
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    betuel75 wrote: »
    erickirb wrote: »
    What do you mean "fat loss macros"?

    I would suggest a goal of losing 0.5lbs/week, and as long as you get 110+grams of protein per day don't worry about the other macros that much. play around with the amount of fat and carbs to see how you feel the best with.

    ^^ this.
    On an off topic side note. Thats crazy erickirb that at 5'6" and140lbs your abs show like they do in your profile pic. Im 5'6" as well and at 140lbs my abs dont show at all. Im 125lbs in my pic/now.

    Thanks man. You are more ripped than I am though. At the end of my last cut, a cople years ago, I bottomed out at 134 lbs and was pretty ripped, I tend to prefer myself in the 138 to 142 lb range, a little less definition but more "filled out" at that weight.
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
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    I too have anxiety issues along with a bunch of other stuff. Now that you've talked about it I think you should also give yourself a break. Can you do any of your workouts at home? I have had to work through a lot of exercise triggered anxiety and exercising at home was the first thing I did. Still don't think I will ever go into a gym so you have my respect for that!

    Aside from that, the anxiety, the fatigue and the hunger can all be symptoms of depression. Eat more, be kinder to yourself and get back to your goals once you've got yourself rebalanced a bit.
  • hiitsscott
    hiitsscott Posts: 34 Member
    edited August 2015
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    If meditation involves staying still, I'm really bad at that. Like I can only hold anyone position for a very limited time before something gets an ache. Sitting down is like some sort of torture to me, it's why I enjoy standing on the terraces when I go to watch my football team. The argos scales thing was a matter of hours thankfully, but without those scales I'd have tried any measure along the lines of decreasing number of meals because whenever I eat without tracking my weight balloons. I have lost the ability to eat properly using my eyes I think. I'd love to get back to bulking soon (done it in short spells, fun times) but I might give that recomp thing a try, presuming I've got this right and it involves maintenance calories and keeping the weight training going.

    Edit: I've done some home workouts before but even with the anxiety of being in a gym I just prefer it as I feel better afterward. It's just been a bit more difficult lately because if I've eaten more pre-workout than I intended I have less after and working out with very little to look forward to afterward just kills my mood. It's like I'm then working out as punishment for eating.
  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
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    hiitsscott wrote: »
    If meditation involves staying still, I'm really bad at that. Like I can only hold anyone position for a very limited time before something gets an ache. Sitting down is like some sort of torture to me, it's why I enjoy standing on the terraces when I go to watch my football team. The argos scales thing was a matter of hours thankfully, but without those scales I'd have tried any measure along the lines of decreasing number of meals because whenever I eat without tracking my weight balloons. I have lost the ability to eat properly using my eyes I think. I'd love to get back to bulking soon (done it in short spells, fun times) but I might give that recomp thing a try, presuming I've got this right and it involves maintenance calories and keeping the weight training going.
    It doesn't have to involve being still. Tai chi and yoga can involve movement and meditation. "Stress" is not good for fat loss.
  • lodro
    lodro Posts: 982 Member
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    I'm skinny fat like you and I also found I'm quite insulin resistant. IF that's the case with you, it'll be hard for you to lose fat with the way your macros are at the moment. And you might want to read up on dropping your carbs and upping your protein and fat. Other than that: yes, take your mind of things so your stressed out less.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,986 Member
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    hiitsscott wrote: »
    If meditation involves staying still, I'm really bad at that. Like I can only hold anyone position for a very limited time before something gets an ache. Sitting down is like some sort of torture to me, it's why I enjoy standing on the terraces when I go to watch my football team. The argos scales thing was a matter of hours thankfully, but without those scales I'd have tried any measure along the lines of decreasing number of meals because whenever I eat without tracking my weight balloons. I have lost the ability to eat properly using my eyes I think. I'd love to get back to bulking soon (done it in short spells, fun times) but I might give that recomp thing a try, presuming I've got this right and it involves maintenance calories and keeping the weight training going.

    Edit: I've done some home workouts before but even with the anxiety of being in a gym I just prefer it as I feel better afterward. It's just been a bit more difficult lately because if I've eaten more pre-workout than I intended I have less after and working out with very little to look forward to afterward just kills my mood. It's like I'm then working out as punishment for eating.

    Yoga was originally created to calm the mind before meditation. Sometimes I need to calm my mind before yoga. Cardio is good for that.

    So for you, I agree jumping right into meditation may not work. How about some yoga? And if you are restless during yoga, try doing it after cardio or working out. You do sound really stressed and yoga is often very helpful for that.

  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,986 Member
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    hiitsscott wrote: »
    Diary opened. I never pick sedentary. I've been on this particular macros plan for a few weeks now I think, or at least I've tried to stick to this with varying degrees of success. Before that I had been trying Eat to Perform which had a plan of 2400 calories training/1800 calories rest days which did not work for me. But in general, I've been on some sort of fat loss plan far more often than now since the beginning of 2012. I am constantly stressed, going to the gym stresses me because I don't like dealing with people. I suffer from anxiety issues but just try and get on with it. I've had a blood test at the doctors for constant feelings of lethargy, hunger, etc and they said there wasn't anything wrong with me. It's weird that three people have flagged that recomp thread, it seems very reasonable and nothing at all controversial.

    I go at off-peak times cuz I don't like to deal with the peeps either :)

  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,986 Member
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    VintageFeline wrote: »
    MFP doesn't account for exercise in its goals (unless you pick something more than sedentary) so my guess is you're not eating enough which is leading to the bingeing/overeating. I'd use a TDEE calculator and eat 250 calories below that for 0.5lb per week loss. The last bit is always going to be the toughest.

    Let me see if I can find the really good recomp thread.

    Another guess that not eating enough is causing problems.

  • AliceDark
    AliceDark Posts: 3,886 Member
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    hiitsscott wrote: »
    If meditation involves staying still, I'm really bad at that. Like I can only hold anyone position for a very limited time before something gets an ache. Sitting down is like some sort of torture to me, it's why I enjoy standing on the terraces when I go to watch my football team. The argos scales thing was a matter of hours thankfully, but without those scales I'd have tried any measure along the lines of decreasing number of meals because whenever I eat without tracking my weight balloons. I have lost the ability to eat properly using my eyes I think. I'd love to get back to bulking soon (done it in short spells, fun times) but I might give that recomp thing a try, presuming I've got this right and it involves maintenance calories and keeping the weight training going.

    Edit: I've done some home workouts before but even with the anxiety of being in a gym I just prefer it as I feel better afterward. It's just been a bit more difficult lately because if I've eaten more pre-workout than I intended I have less after and working out with very little to look forward to afterward just kills my mood. It's like I'm then working out as punishment for eating.
    I'm not trying to criticize you or be harsh in any way, but the bolded statements are big red flags that something about your relationship with food and exercise isn't entirely healthy. It's fine to realize that you need some way to measure your intake, but panicking because you're without a food scale for a few days isn't okay. I promise that you can learn how to eat for a week or two without a scale (or even without measuring your food at all) and your weight won't balloon.

    When you switch to eating at maintenance, the scale will go up a little bit. It does for everyone -- it's glycogen replenishment, maybe a little bit of water weight, and usually just the increased volume of food in your system. But it will go up, and you need to prepare for that. Don't panic and drop your calories. Instead, take measurements (because you'll see that, even if the number on the scale goes up, your body doesn't occupy any more three-dimensional space), and pick a range of about 5 pounds and be okay as long as you stay within that range.

    Think about this: how much does the idea of seeing the scale go up 5 pounds, due to factors that are not fat gain and without an associated gain in body size, bother you? If it's a little scary but manageable, that's fine. If it causes you a large amount of anxiety or panic, that's another big red flag that you are not in the best headspace.

    (And PS...I can't do seated meditation either. It drives me insane. I go walk outside, slowly, because it lets me clear my head and it feels good. It's not cardio, it's more of a mental tidy, and it works very well for me. Just a suggestion).

  • hiitsscott
    hiitsscott Posts: 34 Member
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    I actually tried yoga a few times in a class at my local sports centre last year. I struggled badly with it, but it was a class full of people who were clearly good at it so presumably were not beginners and I was having to try to go at their pace.

    I try and hit my gym at off-peak times as well but even just a couple of people panics me a bit. Not meaning to sound antisocial (probably more asocial) but it's just I go to the gym with a plan, I don't want to go there and just clart about randomly. So I have a plan written down, usually a workout I've found on the internet that I like the look of that has a sensible and hopefully effective number of reps for each part of the body. Anyway, I feel like I'm competing with people to use equipment because if someone gets in the way of my workout it just feels like I've failed. Oh and people who use equipment not to use, but to sit on and chat or leave their coats on and then give me a funny look because I actually want to do exercise stuff on it shocks me.

    And yeah, I get the red flags stuff - I wouldn't mind or even bother with the number on the scales if I could visibly see anything I was pleased with in the mirror. But more often than not any weight increase I can instantly feel and see, I think this is a problem with being small and skinny fat. I'm like a walking, talking emergency weight gain alert beacon. I really panic whenever I'm due to measure and weigh myself and check the mirror pretty much several times a day. Saw one of those people you talk to one about this, but they were pretty useless and all the talk of my relationship with food actually just made me hungry. I chuckled at the irony of that but it didn't do me much good.

    And regarding carbs, carbs are not really a problem for me, they used to be a problem in terms of bloating a couple of years ago but I remember someone helping me to manipulate my macros and pretty much straight away it was never a problem. I do like a good balance between fat and carbs so I can have a big bowl of porridge with peanut butter though. I was talking to a Mike Matthews chap on his Muscle For Life website and he was suggesting I need to eat less than 1700 calories a day (this based on doing a five gym sessions a week plan) to lose fat and on his site he advocates low fat, high carb. Like for fat would be about 40g...nice chap, but no chance. When I was subscribing to Eat To Perform their macros seemed to actually be working in terms of energy levels, 290 grams of carbs and 75 grams of fat on training days. But my body was changing regularly between looking lean and looking fuller than I wanted it to be. Shame.
  • hiitsscott
    hiitsscott Posts: 34 Member
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    Is body recomp purely about eating at maintenance every day? Because when I check that's what some articles tell me but others say to eat more on training days and eat less on rest days. Also I'm getting wildly different estimates for maintenance calories of between 2100 and 2500.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
    edited August 2015
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    hiitsscott wrote: »
    Is body recomp purely about eating at maintenance every day? Because when I check that's what some articles tell me but others say to eat more on training days and eat less on rest days. Also I'm getting wildly different estimates for maintenance calories of between 2100 and 2500.

    could be either way, but really as long as you do maintenance for the week doesn't matter same every day or more on workout days, though more on lifting days less on rest may have a slight (like very very small) advantage.

    If you get different estimates could be method, exercise included (TDEE)or not (MFP), the size of deficit, BMR calculated method. I suggest picking one stick with it for 4-6 weeks and if results are not what you would predict, adjust your cals up or down and repeat the 4-6 week before adjusting again.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,986 Member
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    It's common to get caught up with what others are doing in a yoga class and a good yoga teacher will discuss not being competitive with others and honoring your own body's current ability. Maybe try a class specifically for beginners or one described as gentle?

    Also, there are differences between gym yoga and yoga studio yoga. Gym yoga tends to more focus on what yoga can do for your body and I am recommending it for what it can do for your stress level, so maybe look for a beginner/gentle class at a yoga studio.
  • lilie710
    lilie710 Posts: 19 Member
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    i know nothing of the weight loss journey but what about cardio, a HIIT regimine?? i read that it´s more effective after a weight lifting session. i should try it too lol
  • hiitsscott
    hiitsscott Posts: 34 Member
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    @erickirb I'll give the lower end of the maintenance recommendation a try first then, how long do people generally do re-comp/maintenance for?

    @kshama2001 It was the only class in my area so other than that I'm on my own as to what I do. I did like the music at least, that was very calming.

    @lilie710 I have to be careful with cardio because it just bores me so much, even HIIT sessions. I much prefer playing organised sports than spending time on a bike or treadmill. In fact I avoid the treadmill completely now because I can sprint at 20kph for 30 seconds but having to manually adjust the console to slow down is a bit risky.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    hiitsscott wrote: »
    @erickirb I'll give the lower end of the maintenance recommendation a try first then, how long do people generally do re-comp/maintenance for?

    Depends on how long it takes until you are happy with what you see/feel. You could try for 3-4 months and if results are not what you want then re-evaluate, and either do bulk or cut.
  • hiitsscott
    hiitsscott Posts: 34 Member
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    @erickirb Do you ever have cheat meals? If so how often. I like to have something like a pizza every so often or eat out with friends but never sure how much I should be limiting this. Some people seem to think once a week, once a month, once a fortnight, once every couple of months, etc. There seems to be no accurate guideline on this.

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