I must be doing something wrong - Help?

mbarkitek

Hey. im a 37 y/o man. Ive been up and down weight wise from 185 (teens) to currently pushing 240lbs. I am and have always been a bigger dude (well 5'9" so not a tall dude). I have never had confidence about my body.

3.5 Years ago I ran a half marathon and weighed around 204lbs.
2 years ago we had another child, my son, who is a handful to put it nicely, and between the 9 months of waiting and going forward I have gained 30 lbs and have not been able to lose it.
For the past TWO YEARS of quarantine I have done a 30 minute workout almost every day, plus walked 1-3 miles at least 3 times a week. I am for 1500 calories a day.

I know stress is a huge thing, but stress never goes away. I do not get great sleep, but its typically 6-7 hours a night. So I know those two things work against me. I do not generally like to eat raw fruit / vegetables as a snack. I do drink alcohol - but even having cut this for months at a time did not see a difference on the scale.

I work out (Various Beachbody fitness programs). I track my calories. I OVER ESTIMATE my calories. and I have been steadily GAINING WEIGHT. And yes, I credit some of it to muscle building (I can 100% FEEL the difference in my muscles) but I have not really lost any inches anywhere, and I am gaining weight.

I am losing my mind and getting so mad at myself. Then I give up and eat too much.
I don't feel human if I do not do a workout so that is not going to stop.

I'm just hopeless and looking for real suggestions and help.

I want to lose 20lbs by my birthday in May. I feel I NEED to lose 40 lbs as a bigger goal to be healthy. In my imagination I weigh 185 or so.

callsitlikeiseeit

Thank you for having your diary open.

I see a lot of days that look incomplete. A lot of days not filled out. And a lot of logging that isn't as accurate as it could be.

My guess .... you are eating more than you think you are. Do not aim for less than 1500, that is a MINIMUM for males (and truly there are plenty of times as an older and much smaller female I eat more than you do). But your logging needs to improve.

To truly build muscle, at least consistently, you have to have a calorie surplus. This is not my area of expertise, so other than saying its possible the weight you are gaining is muscle (at least some of it if you are using a progressive lifting program), I am not sure it is likely. But again, not my area of expertise, so take it with a grain of salt.

Useful Links
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide/p1
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1296011/calorie-counting-101/p1