ISO Someone to Confirm my Math and Assumptions

@Tango_Bravado

I would say give it some time. Track your data, i.e. your waist size, weight, and calories. As I said before, you may have some initial water weight gain from all the exercise, if that's a fairly recent addition.

If you are truly at 1800 or so at your size, and that's counting all drinks, "cheat" meals and days, etc., and you've checked the database entries you're using for frequent items are correct, then I'd suggest more zone 2 cardio, which could be as simple as walking more.

Tango_Bravado wrote: »

(snip)

If I continue to not notice any weight change, is it possible that my body is burning fat and building muscle at a mass equivalent rate?

Unfortunately, I think that's unlikely.

A couple of pounds a month of muscle mass gain would be a good result for a male under ideal conditions. Ideal conditions include (among other things) a calorie surplus (i.e., bulking, a little weight gain) and relative youth.

Under less than ideal conditions, it'd be reasonable to expect mass gain to be slower. Further, if you've just started strength training (or resumed it after a long hiatus), some period of strength gain through neuromuscular adaptation (better recruiting/utilizing existing muscle fibers) is likely to precede mass gain. Gaining muscle mass is "expensive", so our bodies need to be convinced it's needful, in a sense.

On the opposite side, half a pound a week is about the slowest satisfying, observable rate of fat loss, and it can take multiple weeks to show up on the bodyweight scale amongst normal daily water weight fluctuations of several pounds from one day to the next.

It's unusual, even improbable IMO, for any realistic rate of muscle mass gain to outpace or equal any satisfying rate of fat loss.

What is common - especially 3 weeks in, in what's potentially a relatively small calorie deficit - is for water retention from new or increased exercise (especially strength exercise), to mask fat loss on the scale. When losing ultra-slowly, I've had it take maybe 6 weeks for the clouds to clear and show a reasonable trend.

I suspect hanging there with your current routine for another 2-3 weeks, maybe even a month or so, will shed some light. You're doing good stuff. It's highly probably that good results will accrue, and certainly the worst that can happen isn't disastrous in your situation. (Worst case: Zero fat loss, or a little fat gain but potentially a faster rate of muscle mass gain from the calorie surplus.)

Don't get me wrong, I don't think you're in that worst case scenario. If your logging is remotely accurate, I think you're probably on track. I'd endorse patient persistence, in your situation.

Tango_Bravado wrote: »

@tomcustombuilder @sollyn23l2 @Retroguy2000

I am military, so that dietitian is the one I get. I was honestly there for a separate issue which was mostly ignored by the dietitian, and instead was given a bunch of unsolicited advice on the diet stuff lol.

I assume the dietitian was referring to "starvation mode", which from what I have read online and here on the forums, wouldn't come into play unless I held this deficit for a really long time.

I am definitely a firm believer in CICO, and I also think I will start seeing more noticable results in the next few weeks since I am only just going into week four (in addition to the apparent inch I have lost on the waist).

My question, hypothetical as it may be, is what would I do if I just kept maintaining at 1800/day? I can't go much lower (and shouldn't need to, given the deficit already) and still be able to maintain the nutrients I need. I fully understand that miscounting is the number one reason for weight loss failure, but even if I was miscounting by 200/day I would still be in at least a 500/day deficit not including exercise. I really can't believe that I could miscount more than 200 cal. I am very meticulous, I weigh everything that isn't a single serving (at least until I notice there is only negligible difference, i.e. the protein powder). It is almost like a game, to see how accurate I can be on a daily basis.

If I continue to not notice any weight change, is it possible that my body is burning fat and building muscle at a mass equivalent rate?

Veteran here. I did the VA MOVE program, because I needed to complete that in order to have access to the weight loss doctor and drugs. I wanted Contrave. Unfortunately, I could not take it due to several unpleasant GI side effects.

The MOVE program is often facilitated by a dietitian, but my program was done by a nurse, and she was chock full of weight loss myths. UGH.

I did take a referral to a dietitian for individual consultations. I had three appointments, and for whatever reason got three different people. I didn't find any of them especially helpful. As a long time MFP user, I already knew about accurate logging, protein, fiber, fruit, satiety, etc.

Frankly, I find the MFP forums far more useful and informative than anything the VA has offered me. You just have to deal with people rubbing you the wrong way sometimes I almost quit after the first thread I participated in, but am so glad I stuck around.

Tango_Bravado wrote: »

(snip)

I do with this forum had a block or ignore function for the other 1% that just want to criticize.

There is an ignore function, though it's imperfect. It will hide a particular person's posts so you don't see them, but if someone else quotes them you'll see their words in the quote in the 2nd person's post.

Click on the name of the person you want to ignore. Click on "View Profile". Up in the upper right somewhere there's a drop-down with a person-head icon on it. Click there. Then click on "Ignore".

It may look different if they have their profile set private, but I think you can still ignore them.

Apologies for the digression from your main point.