What do you think of my diary?

dp1228

So I've been trying to kick this plateau for a few months now. I'm going up and down between 172 and 169 and according to my scale (which I know isn't 100% accurate, especially since I hold a lot of weight in my thighs) I am at 29 percent body fat. The number on the scale isn't THAT important to me, although I would love to hit my original goal of 165. What is really stressing me out is the high percent of body fat. It's no doubt due to the high cardio low strength routine I was doing for almost two years before I started getting serious about lifting heavy. I lost weight doing that but my body fat is NOT where I want it to be at this weight.

Could you guys take a look at my diary and tell me what you think? You are only going to see detailed entries for the past month or so but that is what my mostly cleaned up diet has looked like for a while. I stopped calorie counting for a while to see if I could do this without tracking everything and even though I maintained I think I'm better of tracking everything for now.

I'm trying to NET between 1600 and 2000 depending on what kind of exercise I have done that day. And sometimes I go higher to try and keep my metabolism moving. I'm mostly doing HIIT cardio + heavy lifting and some sustained cardio sessions (I love some of my gym classes and I like going on runs with friends). I started lifting heavy again about a month and a half ago but sadly I am not seeing my measurements go down. Just as an example, right now I can deadlift 70 pounds, do tricep kickbacks with 30 pounds, bench press 60, an incline leg press of about 150 and squat 40 (my knees make me scared to go higher with the squats).

I know I should wait at least 6 months to see changes with weight lifting but with no decrease in measurements and no decrease in weight I am a little concerned. Do you guys see anything wrong with what I am doing? Do I just need to be more patient? My high level of body fat is really bothering me. I'm trying to trust the process but I just want to get some advice from some more experienced users here on the site.

Hope someone can help!

pluckabee

You'll probably get more experienced answers than mine but I know a lot of people have success breaking through a plateau by lowering carbs. If you look up keto, that might help you break through but otherwise it looks like you have a pretty healthy diet!

You look amazing by the way.

Lunachic77

What might help (I'm no expert) is to focus on your macro nutrients (Protein, Fat, & Carbs) and hit those goals while still staying within your calorie goal. I adjusted mine to 40/30/30 and it has helped out a lot with trimming down. Just google it and find out what ratio best fits you and roll with that. I wouldn't concern myself with sodium or natural sugar (fruits, veggies, dairy) unless you have a medical condition with those. Also, if you are lifting weights you definitely need to up that protein...at least 1 gram per pound of weight you are, it will help out big time.

jesse1952

You've made great progress. I looked back a few days and I would try and cut back on your sodium intake. That gets to be more of a problem as you get older. Otherwise, good luck with that beach bod.

dp1228

What might help (I'm no expert) is to focus on your macro nutrients (Protein, Fat, & Carbs) and hit those goals while still staying within your calorie goal. I adjusted mine to 40/30/30 and it has helped out a lot with trimming down. Just google it and find out what ratio best fits you and roll with that. I wouldn't concern myself with sodium or natural sugar (fruits, veggies, dairy) unless you have a medical condition with those. Also, if you are lifting weights you definitely need to up that protein...at least 1 gram per pound of weight you are, it will help out big time.

Thanks! I struggle to consistently hit my macros every day. Right now I have it set at 50/25/25. I'm gonna look into upping my protein as well. I consume so many carbs and even though it is USUALLY complex carbs, i have to try and bring it down. thanks again for your help.

dp1228

You'll probably get more experienced answers than mine but I know a lot of people have success breaking through a plateau by lowering carbs. If you look up keto, that might help you break through but otherwise it looks like you have a pretty healthy diet!

You look amazing by the way.

Thanks! I think I do need to bring the carbs down slightly.

sweetpea03b

Really high sodium which of course makes you hold onto water weight... but you asked about body fat. Lower the carbs a hair.. you're eating a LOT of prepackaged stuff... I would try to get away from that a little and introduce more whole foods into your diet.

wahmx3

Really high sodium which of course makes you hold onto water weight... but you asked about body fat. Lower the carbs a hair.. you're eating a LOT of prepackaged stuff... I would try to get away from that a little and introduce more whole foods into your diet.

This is my thought as well....sodium is excessive most days and your water is almost nil. My thought is that both of those would impact fat....get rid of the processed stuff and that should help. Add more fruits and especially veggies along with drinking more water. Whole grains and oatmeal will also help.

luckyjuls

Really high sodium which of course makes you hold onto water weight... but you asked about body fat. Lower the carbs a hair.. you're eating a LOT of prepackaged stuff... I would try to get away from that a little and introduce more whole foods into your diet.

This, probably. Processed food isn't bad and won't impact your goals unless there is an overabundance of sodium, which there appears to be.

I think most lifters on here eat 80/20 and within macros, so maybe you'll see results with that IIFYM thingy.