What is going on??? My body is harder, but I am not losing weight and I am not getting any lines.

alex26i

Ok, in the past when I was younger I was in a body building club. 19 to 20 years old. I would work out one month and be ripped. throughout my life I would goto the gym off and on.. by 25 I had gained a lot of weight. I would go back and workout 3 months and be fit again. I am now 43 years old 215lbs.

I was in the gym last year, got fit again where I could do my routine. I then stopped after 3 months. But I had not lost weight, I just was firmer.

This 2015 october I said.. OK I enough is enough. I am going to get fit. I want abs before I die. It took me almost a month to get my back and legs strong enough to do a real workout routine again. I didn't want to hurt myself. So I made sure my back was strong and my legs were good. So by December I was in full swing. Heavy lifting, doing bike. Eating 6 meals. jan is gone, feb is gone, I am into the middle of March. I have been working out 5 days a week till I could not stand. And my weight doesn't change. I am still 215. It will go up and down a few lbs.. but that is it. Also I am not really making a lot of gains. I started at 60lbs and have worked upto 90lbs dumbell press. To give you an idea. So being really upset, I noticed my body is hard. I also noticed on the sides I had lines that started to look like abs. But my belly still has about a 4 inch Fat layer over it. Beginning of febuary, I noticed I was not recovering from my workouts too well. So I started on the protein powders and Aminos, Glutimine powder. In fact I was on glutimine from the start. I really never needed this stuff before. An figured it would help, it did. I didn't feel shaky after my workouts. But I also kept feeling like I didn't push hard enough.

So I figured I am working out 5 days a week, and pushing myself hard, maybe I am just fatigued or overtrained. Maybe I just need a rest. SO I have taken 4 days off. In a row, getting a lot of sleep. Now I feel fat and softer. My weight has not changed.

I don't use stimulants, because I get messed up. My diet is 4 eggs in the morning, workout from 9:00 - 10:30, Then goto work and have a protein shake. Hand full of almonds. Lunch Protein shake, chicken sometimes. 3:00 almonds 5:30 dinner, whatever my wife cooks, usually some small amount of rice, 4 onces of meat and veggies, broccolli.

My routine is pretty much a full body building routine. Daily warmup, Back extentions with 45lb weight. Legs adduction and abduction 200lbs.(I need this to make my knees feel good) Leg curles, 200lbs machine won't go any higher , kettle bell 60lbs squat thrust. Leg lifts 3 sets of 30 to 40, And inclined situps with 35lbs on my chest. 3 sets of 30, 20 minutes on the bike with as much resistance as I can take. Monday, Back, bicepts, legs, Tuesday, Tricep, chest, shoulders. Wed. Abs, calfs, Butt. thursday Chest, back bicepts Friday, Tricepts, abs and legs, shoulders. I mix it up all the time and push myself very hard. I mentally feel better after my workout, but lately my body has been disagreeing with me. Also my mind has been much sharper.

I have more than enough willpower and discipline. I have never felt lost, in anything in my life. I can push myself harder than anyone else I know. There are 1000's of programs out there and I will do whatever it takes. I have been tested and My thyroid and everything else is perfect. I am just not losing weight and really not gaining much Mass. Youtube is just a rehash of the same old stuff I have been told all my life since I got into body building at a young age.

Thanks.

SonyaCele

welcome to the 40's

TavistockToad

If you're not losing weight it's because you're not eating in a deficit

msujack

adding muscle will not define abs. lowering fat percentage does that. Lifting weights and getting stronger is definitely great for fitness, however if you want abs, you need to lower your body fat, which is done by burning more calories than you consume. You can have abs at 215lbs, or at 170lbs. Strength training will make you stronger, but not revel abs. I would bet with your workout routine, you have the abs you are looking for, you just need to lower the body fat percentage by losing fat.

alex26i

I have seen many guys in their 40's doing well at this. I am either over excising or under-eating. I don't think I am taking on 245grams of protein a day. My weight not changing though is really troubling.

RGv2

1) Are you 43 or 35? Your profile seems to differ from your OP.

2) If you aren't losing, it's not because you're under eating.

3) Can you open your diary.

alex26i

Thank you or pointing this out. It seems it just put some random information into the profile when I signed up today. Took me a moment to find it. I opened my diary. And added exactly what I eat.

RGv2 wrote: »

1) Are you 43 or 35? Your profile seems to differ from your OP.

2) If you aren't losing, it's not because you're under eating.

3) Can you open your diary.

alex26i

While I do know this, the first steps would be to see my weight go DOWN. I would assume I would gain at first, but with time my weight didn't change at all. WIth or without cardio added in. The only thing I have not tried yet is Time off.

msujack wrote: »

adding muscle will not define abs. lowering fat percentage does that. Lifting weights and getting stronger is definitely great for fitness, however if you want abs, you need to lower your body fat, which is done by burning more calories than you consume. You can have abs at 215lbs, or at 170lbs. Strength training will make you stronger, but not revel abs. I would bet with your workout routine, you have the abs you are looking for, you just need to lower the body fat percentage by losing fat.

Marilyn0924

If your weight isn't dropping, you're not eating at a deficit.

DaddieCat

I took a look at a few days of your log. It looks all over the place to me. Inaccurate entries, nothing is weighed... ultimately, while you are logging, you actually have no idea how much food you are really intaking.

I'd recommend tightening up your logging so that you have accurate numbers. Knowing exactly what you are taking in will make this an easier journey for you.

Start here:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide/p1

alex26i

I signed up this after noon, I have only one day entry and each food I selected from a drop down. with exact amounts. Most of my days are pretty similar.

BecomingBane wrote: »

I took a look at a few days of your log. It looks all over the place to me. Inaccurate entries, nothing is weighed... ultimately, while you are logging, you actually have no idea how much food you are really intaking.

I'd recommend tightening up your logging so that you have accurate numbers. Knowing exactly what you are taking in will make this an easier journey for you.

Start here:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide/p1

DaddieCat

alex26i wrote: »

I signed up this after noon, I have only one day entry and each food I selected from a drop down. with exact amounts. Most of my days are pretty similar.

BecomingBane wrote: »

I took a look at a few days of your log. It looks all over the place to me. Inaccurate entries, nothing is weighed... ultimately, while you are logging, you actually have no idea how much food you are really intaking.

I'd recommend tightening up your logging so that you have accurate numbers. Knowing exactly what you are taking in will make this an easier journey for you.

Start here:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide/p1

That doesn't change the fact that, if you didn't weigh them, you really have no idea what you are intaking.

https://youtu.be/JVjWPclrWVY

https://youtu.be/vjKPIcI51lU

jemhh

alex26i wrote: »

I have seen many guys in their 40's doing well at this. I am either over excising or under-eating. I don't think I am taking on 245grams of protein a day. My weight not changing though is really troubling.

No. If your goal is to lose fat, you need to consume fewer calories than you burn. Right now you are eating as much as you are burning. The easiest way to tell that is happening is that your weight has remained constant. How could that be? You've upped your exercise greatly over the past few months? The simple answer to that question is that you've increased your calorie intake along with your calorie burn:

So I started on the protein powders and Aminos, Glutimine powder.

^^^ Added calories there. You may very well have added calories through regular food as well.

It seems that you are pretty good at eating right at maintenance. The good thing about that is that you could log your food by accurately weighing/measuring/logging for the next week and then just cut it down by 500 calories per day next week in order to start losing a pound a week. You're ahead of a lot of people since you seem to have found your equilibrium/maintenance calorie level without even meaning to. So log really well this week, start cutting next week, and you'll be on your way.

3bambi3

alex26i wrote: »

I signed up this after noon, I have only one day entry and each food I selected from a drop down. with exact amounts. Most of my days are pretty similar.

BecomingBane wrote: »

I took a look at a few days of your log. It looks all over the place to me. Inaccurate entries, nothing is weighed... ultimately, while you are logging, you actually have no idea how much food you are really intaking.

I'd recommend tightening up your logging so that you have accurate numbers. Knowing exactly what you are taking in will make this an easier journey for you.

Start here:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide/p1

Your diary is full of generic information.

For breakfast: 3 fried eggs. Fried in what? and in what quantity?
How are you measuring those almonds? Nuts are incredibly calorie dense. Same for the rice.
4 ounces of chicken, how was that measured, and what type of chicken? Breast, thigh? They have different nutritional profiles.
And what kind of red meat did you have? How did you know it was 4 ounces?

Your entries aren't nearly specific enough to be accurate.

alex26i

I am eating about 1400 calories. I am sure it is pretty close. Your telling me as a 200+ lb guy I need to eat less?
That 2130 calories goal number was what the calculator came up with for weight loss for me.

jemhh

alex26i wrote: »

I am eating about 1400 calories. I am sure it is pretty close. Your telling me as a 200+ lb guy I need to eat less?
That 2130 calories goal number was what the calculator came up with for weight loss for me.

I can, without a doubt, guarantee that you are not eating 1400 calories per day. You may have eaten 1400 calories today as of 3:17 PM EST but not day in and day out since October 2015. I am a 39 yo 148 pound woman and can maintain on 2200-2300 calories per day. No 200+ pound man will maintain on 1400 calories per day.

Your diary up above shows that you are not weighing your solid foods accurately or using accurate nutrition information. My hunch is that you are not measuring your liquids accurately either. Allow me to elaborate:

1. Eggs - An egg that is defined as large by the USDA averages 70 calories. You have 270 calories listed for three fried eggs. Where is the extra 60 calories coming from? Is this oil that you fried them in? Because 7 grams of coconut oil is ~ 60 calories but did you actually measure that out? Or did you pick "Egg, whole, cooked, fried" from the database and enter the quantity as 3?
2. Almonds - Did you weigh the almonds or eyeball them? Nuts are delicious but calorie dense and most people are way off when they estimate how many they eat.
3. Chicken - White meat? Dark meat? Skin on? Skin off? Per the USDA nutrient database, cooked chicken breast with no skin or bone (meat only) is 165 calories per 100 grams. 4 oz = 113.4 grams. That would be 187 calories, not the 110 calories that you've logged.
4. White rice - Did you eat straight up white rice with no butter or broth or anything else in it? How did you measure it? Did you jam it in a cup packed tight like brown sugar? Or was this lightly plopped into a cup to measure? Do you see what I'm getting at here? One man's cup is another man's bowl. This is a solid and should be weighed, not measured with a measuring cup.
5. 4. Red meat - What is red meat? I am dying to know what this is.

piperdown44

What everyone is saying is you don't know how many calories you're are getting unless you are weighing everything and finding the appropriate entry.
You could be eating 1200 cals or you could be eating 2500 cals. You don't know unless you are accurately weighing each portion and accounting for it in your diary.

alex26i

This has been my basic diet. The 3 large eggs have coconut oil enough to coat the pan, it is not swimming in oil. I am sure a few extra almonds give or take 3 or 4 is not going to cause me much weight gain. The rice is pretty much plain. Sometimes with a dash of salt or lime juice. The beef meat with a dash of salt, no oil needed. chicken is breast meat just cook in a pan, no oil, and heck most o them don't come with skin anymore.

I am very grateful for all your input, and I might end up being wrong. I don't think I am too far off on my calorie count.

I don't use sauces or extras. The most is a pinch of salt and I use coconut oil. But I also have been eating likes this for long time, this is not just recent. It was only after adding the protein that I was not completely wiped out after my workout. I have done the weigh thing before so I have a very good idea what 4 ounces is in terms of meat. I am not accidentally eating 8 ounces.

jemhh

alex26i wrote: »

This has been my basic diet. The 3 large eggs have coconut oil enough to coat the pan, it is not swimming in oil. I am sure a few extra almonds give or take 3 or 4 is not going to cause me much weight gain. The rice is pretty much plain. Sometimes with a dash of salt or lime juice. The beef meat with a dash of salt, no oil needed. chicken is breast meat just cook in a pan, no oil, and heck most o them don't come with skin anymore.

I am very grateful for all your input, and I might end up being wrong. I don't think I am too far off on my calorie count.

I don't use sauces or extras. The most is a pinch of salt and I use coconut oil. But I also have been eating likes this for long time, this is not just recent. It was only after adding the protein that I was not completely wiped out after my workout. I have done the weigh thing before so I have a very good idea what 4 ounces is in terms of meat. I am not accidentally eating 8 ounces.

Look at the difference between the amount of almonds in the these pictures. Not much a difference by eye but significant when you're talking calories. Your problem IRT not losing fat is clear--you're eating more than you think. You say that you've been eating like this for a long time and, yes, you have. Consider the fact that eating like this for a long time has resulted in you wanting to lose fat and not being able to do it. Perhaps that indicates that "eating like this" is what needs to change in order for you to get a different outcome.

TavistockToad

alex26i wrote: »

I am eating about 1400 calories. I am sure it is pretty close. Your telling me as a 200+ lb guy I need to eat less?
That 2130 calories goal number was what the calculator came up with for weight loss for me.

Not big on veg are you?

Knoxvilla5

You can either do the scales for food because everyone here is right: accurate measurements are ESSENTIAL. That little bit of coconut oil the food is fried in--you'd be amazed how much goes down your gullet, thus increasing your overall caloric intake. And 1000% correct on the generics here on MFP--it's not what you need. You need specifics, and specific amounts.

After 30, it all goes downhill they say. So it will probably be harder for you to lose & shred. But if you really want to do it, you really *have* to do what it takes: accuracy in intake & output. Obvs if you want to go to the doctor and see if you have a thyroid issue go for it.

Since you seem to like to eat, have you checked out ETP (Eat To Perform)? Maybe taking a look at what they're offering will be an alternative you'd like to explore. You'd get to eat more, but even if you go the ETP route, you still have to be accurate in your reporting.

Accuracy, accuracy, accuracy!

Good luck!