Am I doing this right?

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Ok, I am 30yrs old, 6'2, and started out @ 320LBS. I have been dieting for about 2 months and stay under 2000 Calories, and under 1500MG of sodium and try to use sense of what I eat. I began working out 3X a week (Mon, Wed & Fri) and my workout is usually Flies @ 30-50 LBS 3-4 sets of 8/12/16 Reps. Leg Press @ 200LBS 5 Sets of 20, Crunch Machine 5 sets of 20 @ 150-170LBS
30 mins on treadmill and do forarms with 20LB bells .......I have hit a wall and seem to be gaining weight and am not sure if its due to water retention or what.... My question is.... AM I doing this correctly? I feel great and dont want to really do less than what im doing.....or is it too little? Any help or suggestions would be great since I've never done this before.

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  • mommazach
    mommazach Posts: 384 Member
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    First, did you lose anything on this at all? If so, keep doing it.
    Second. Change up your diet/routine/water intake. When I hit a wall, it's a dietary issue. Try dropping grains, dairy, etc. See if that boost your loss. Dairy was my biggie. Lost 14 lbs so far with dropping that to minimal. (like feta cheese occasionally in salad)
    Third. Measurements. First of all your body. See if you are losing. Second, food. Make sure it's accurate. Once I started actually measuring and weighing my food, I found that I was underestimating almost everything.

    You will get a ton of suggestions, and as with mine, take what you want, and leave the rest of it.

    Building muscle helps accelerate the weight loss for some, and your body starts shifting. My legs gained inches due to a ton of squats, and I've got a butt for the first time EVER... My pants are getting smaller, and I feel great. I still have other areas in which to work on, but the way my measurements are going down, I know that I'm still gaining health.

    Best of luck to you.

  • eauman
    eauman Posts: 5 Member
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    Accurate food logging is key & as long as you create a negative calorie deficit you will lose weight, i.e. Burn more energy than the energy you consume (in calories). Remembering you are burning energy even when lying in bed :-) read here for more info.

    http://www.hussmanfitness.org/html/TFCalories.html

    Slight rises in weight can also be attributable to muscle gain, but as others have said make sure you are really only eating 2000 calories & change things up if you have plateaued as the body can adapt to the same foods & routine.

    All the best
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,182 Member
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    @morbidchild21st When I was your age and your size, and this is true, I played racquetball for one hour each weekday morning. I used gym machines much like you use for one hour during lunch. I participated in an aerobics class for 1 hour in the afternoon. I did not lose weight. I was not counting calories. After morning racquetball, we went to a breakfast buffet and I had a huge breakfast. After the weightlifting, we went to a buffet and I had a huge lunch. After aerobics, I went home and took my wife out to a huge dinner. I was easily eating back every calorie I so vigorously worked off. Just don't do what I did, which was work hard and eat hard. I will describe what I see in your initial post. You go to a gym 3 times each week. With each visit you use a variety of muscle groups to sling some iron. That's good. With each visit you do 30 minutes of cardio. That's good too. The thing about the 30 minutes of cardio is that studies have repeatedly shown that you need to do that 5 times each week to make real improvement in your cardiovascular conditioning. I suggest you add some cardio to a couple more days in the week, and that could be a 2 mile walk in your neighborhood rather than a big gym production.

    About the calories: Are you sure? Do you have a scale and weigh your solid foods? Even restaurants with nutrition information on the web substantially vary the product each time a different person prepares it. Even packaged foods are allowed to be 10% off. Many of us discovered our assumptions to be busted when we started weighing our food.

    About the sodium: As hard as you are working 3 days a week, I suggest you let your sodium get up to 2300 mg on those three days. You can have too little sodium in your body, but you don't want to experience that.

    Overall, you're trying to do it right, and I commend you. Be patient. Stay in a calorie deficit for extended weeks, and you too will lose weight. I started from 272.4 in January of 2016 and I'm hoping to reach my goal of 160 by Christmas. You can easily work hard and overhaul your eating habits and still spend a year getting to your goal.
  • Dar_Line86
    Dar_Line86 Posts: 245 Member
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    Good luck on your journey!
  • JuliWordgirl
    JuliWordgirl Posts: 9 Member
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    Muscle weighs more than fat. Weighing and measuring food is wicked important. So is exercise EVERYDAY for a minimum of 30 minutes, but try for 60 and more. Do your cardio first so your body is pliable and warm, then hit your weights. Also, vary your routine -- don't get stuck in a routine rut. Mix up your exercises and works different muscles on different days. Sometimes you'll see your body changing before you notice and significant weight come off. Don't be discouraged. Eat lots of protein and veggies, easy on the carbs. And best of health to you.
  • lisahebert186
    lisahebert186 Posts: 736 Member
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    I would say make sure to use a good scale to measure your food and keep up the exercising. Good luck!!