Need advice on my program and progress.

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coltrane73
coltrane73 Posts: 5 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
(Full disclosure: I posted this same topic on bodybuilding.com. Just looking to get as much advice as I can)

In January I decided that it was finally time to get serious about losing my extra 30 pounds. But after 4 weeks of trying my best to be compliant and honest about tracking my progress I'm wondering if something needs to change.

Here are my stats:

Male age 43
Height: 5'8"
Weight on Jan 18th: 213 pounds
Estimated body fat: 25%
Exercise: Weights 3x week (Stronglifts/Starting Strength variant) + Treadmill 30 mins 2x week.

Based on this data I calculated my TDEE to be around 2500 and I set my daily caloric goal to be 1800.

After 4 weeks my average caloric intake per day was 1960.

Daily macros were around 250g (50%) carbs, 60g (27%) fat and 110g (22%) protein.

Amount of weight lost: ZERO! ZILTCH! NADA!

But it's not all bad. I'm making some progress in other ways. In the gym, my lifts are all up:

Squat 135 > 160
Bench 125 > 140
Deadlift 135 > 215

And generally speaking, I feel a bit lighter and my clothes fit a little looser.

I'm also privy to all of the philosophies on "why" the scale isn't showing progress (water weight, muscle weight, starvation mode), but I really think 4 weeks should be enough time to see my weight go down at least a little.

I'm not in this for a quick fix. I expect that dropping 30 pounds is going to take at least 6 months if I'm super dedicated and more likely 9 months to a year if I'm being realistic. But progress is a great motivator and a scale that refuses to budge after a month is not helping!

So the real question is this: What am I missing? Are these results typical given my data and I just need to stick to it? Or do I need to think about tweaking something (more calories? less calories? different macro breakdowns? more cardio?)

Any advice is most appreciated!

Replies

  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    edited February 2016
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    I have two different opinions on this.

    #1 If you are happy with your results so far, keep doing what you are doing and eating the same as you are eating (except for protein, I'd up that and then take the added calories away from carbs.) Once you are not noticing changes in your clothes fitting/changes in the mirror, drop calories. This is probably the longer way to losing 30 pounds but you'll likely be able to add weight to your lifts longer without stalling than if you do #2.

    #2 Improve your calorie counting and do better at hitting your goal. If you aren't already, weigh all solids on a digital scale, measure liquids with a measuring cup, and estimate really really well if you can't do either (these occasions should not be the norm.) Log all calories using nutrition info from food packages or using verifiable info such as that from the USDA. If you do this and hit your calorie goal and don't lose anything after three weeks, drop your calories by 100, lather/rinse/repeat until you are losing.

    ETA: On protein, aim for a minimum of .64-.82 grams per pound of bodyweight. Protein advice varies but eating within that range should be good enough to minimize muscle loss while losing weight.
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,485 Member
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    ^^^^^ can't say better than that. Logging errors are usually the culprit.

    Don't settle for as good as, do as precise as possible. Most entries have a drop down for serving size. Use the 1 gram, and then the actual number of grams you weigh is your number of servings.

    Cheers, h.
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
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    Sounds like you are eating more than you think you are.

    If you were in a calorie deficit you'd see a reduction on the scale.

    But hey, atleast you didn't gain... right?

    Tighten up your logging by weighing your food and counting absolutely everything. You should see a dramatic difference pretty fast
  • Abby2205
    Abby2205 Posts: 253 Member
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    I have a couple of thoughts:
    1. Four weeks isn't much time and even if your TDEE estimation is exactly right and your calorie tracking is completely correct, the best you could have hoped for is a loss of 4 lbs, which could easily be masked by normal fluctuation.
    2. Maybe your true TDEE isn't 2500 calories. You (or anyone) cannot be certain that your activity level matches the one you chose in the TDEE calculator. Or, you could simply be a person on the low side of average.
    3. If your calorie counting is underestimated, then that eats away at your assumed deficit too.
    For example: imagine your TDEE is actually 10% less than you estimated, or 2250 calories. Then imagine that your actual calories consumed is 10% more than you tabulated, or 2156 calories. Now you only have a deficit of 94 calories per day, or 0.75 pounds per month.
  • matty86suk
    matty86suk Posts: 26 Member
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    Less lifting, more cardio, 1 gram of protein/lb body weight, less carbs
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    matty86suk wrote: »
    Less lifting, more cardio, 1 gram of protein/lb body weight, less carbs

    Don't listen to this.

    It's all about your diet. How accurate are you with your logging?
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    Francl27 wrote: »
    matty86suk wrote: »
    Less lifting, more cardio, 1 gram of protein/lb body weight, less carbs

    Don't listen to this.

    It's all about your diet. How accurate are you with your logging?

    Agreed.
  • coltrane73
    coltrane73 Posts: 5 Member
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    Thanks all.

    I feel I've been pretty accurate with logging maybe around 90%. I always weigh my food when I have a scale handy. There were a few days over the last 4 weeks when I didn't fully log but I don't honestly think I went over by more than 300-400 calories and I factored that in to the average.

    I'm going to stay the course for another 4 weeks, being even more precise about logging and reworking my macros a bit so that I average closer to 150g protein/day.
  • coltrane73
    coltrane73 Posts: 5 Member
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    Snapped a 4 week progress photo this morning and I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised. I'm sure the lighting/angle helps a little but it looks like progress to me. What do you all think? u91qx0lt6cad.jpeg
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,485 Member
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    I would say there is an improvement. Keep at it with the tightened logging.

    Cheers, h.
  • Refrigerator1
    Refrigerator1 Posts: 25 Member
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    Noticeable improvement!! Look at your stomach (getting smaller) and your chest (getting pecs). Keep up the good fight and you will get there. It's not easy, but if it were, we would all be on the cover of a fitness mag!! Lol

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