Plateau?

[FranktheTank]

Hey guys. I have been stuck at 143-146 lbs for almost 3 months now. I lost a lot of weight early, but now the scale just doesn't seem to wanna budge. I am very good about keeping to my diet and workouts, but now I am beginning to get a little restless.

This is what I eat pretty much everyday: 1800 cal a day

• 8:00 am BKF- 1 scoop WHEY w/ 8 oz of skim milk and 1 packet of plain Oatmeal
• 11:30-12 Lnch - 1/2 tbsp of pb and 1/2 tbsp of grape jelly on a wheat bun, 2 cups of fruit, and 12 almonds
• 3:00 pm Post-workout Snk - 2 scoops of WHEY w/ 8 oz skim milk, and 1 cup of yogurt w/ 1/2 tbsp of wheat germ
• 6:00 pm Dinner - 600 saved for dinner (but don't usually have that much) Either pasta, chicken, fish, or beef w/ a side of Vegs. and salad
• 9 - 10 pm Shake - Before I go to bed I have 1 scoop of WHEY w/ 8 oz skim milk

I lost weight by having 1500 cal a day, but recently about 3 weeks ago I upped it to 1800 cal a day, since I wasn't losing anymore weight with the amount I was having then.

My workout routine can be found here: http://www.ironmagazineforums.com/showthread.php?t=53042
(I'm using a modified version of CowPimp's suggestion now)

Any advice where I may be going wrong would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Emma-Leigh]

Hey guys. I have been stuck at 143-146 lbs for almost 3 months now. I lost a lot of weight early, but now the scale just doesn't seem to wanna budge. I am very good about keeping to my diet and workouts, but now I am beginning to get a little restless.

Firstly - 130 pounds is much too light for a male of 5'6.

Why do you want to be that light (unless you are trying to make a weight class for wrestling or something)?

• 8:00 am BKF- 1 scoop WHEY w/ 8 oz of skim milk and 1 packet of plain Oatmeal
• 11:30-12 Lnch - 1/2 tbsp of pb and 1/2 tbsp of grape jelly on a wheat bun, 2 cups of fruit, and 12 almonds
• 3:00 pm Post-workout Snk - 2 scoops of WHEY w/ 8 oz skim milk, and 1 cup of yogurt w/ 1/2 tbsp of wheat germ
• 6:00 pm Dinner - 600 saved for dinner (but don't usually have that much) Either pasta, chicken, fish, or beef w/ a side of Vegs. and salad
• 9 - 10 pm Shake - Before I go to bed I have 1 scoop of WHEY w/ 8 oz skim milk

Ok - this does not look completely horrible, however ou are not getting enough healthy fats at all... 12 almonds + a little PB and the scraps you are getting from the meat and other things is really not going to be enough.

I would re-work this to include a better balance of fats and protein with a little more low GI real-food carbs replacing all that milk and fruit.

Also - with the amount of cardio etc you are doing you have likely hit a wall because your body has decided that you are doing too much. Especially with you being only 19 yrs old - your metabolism should be peaking round about now.

I would cut back on the volume and increase calories to maintainence for ~2-3 weeks. Give your body a break. Then slowly (and I mean SLOWLY) wean yourself back onto more cardio and lower calories. You will probably find that things kick start again.

However, if I were you, I would actually re-consider it all together and just think about sitting where you are and doing a re-comp. As I said before - you do not need to lose weight at your height and size.

 

[CowPimp]

Listen to Emma, she knows her stuff. I would like to say that I think you should up your calories to a lean bulk, and simultaneously start lifting in a more hypertrophy friendly rep range (5-12 repetitions). By lean bulk, I mean eat about 5% over maintenance.

If you add some muscle, then that will positively affect your body composition without having to lose any more fat. Then, if the time does come that you want to cut even more weight, then you can do so easier with the metabolic boost of the additional muscle mass.

What are the macros coming out to on that diet? I have a feeling it is inordinately high in protein.

 

[FranktheTank]

Thank you so much for replying and giving me some awesome information. The reason I want to get down to 130 lbs is because I feel my body still looks too fat and I thought that maybe getting down to 130 lbs would finally get rid of the fat I carry in my chest and stomach.

The macros in my diet come out to 40/40/20 about the same protein and carbs a day. I heard that I should be getting 1 gram of protein per each pound of me?

Also when I go to lower my calories again, once I do this lean bulk, what should I drop them to about if I chose to lose more weight? And what is a re-comp?

I just figured that if I bulked, it would give me more muscle, but underneath my fat......which would just make me look fatter.

 

[CowPimp]

Thank you so much for replying and giving me some awesome information. The reason I want to get down to 130 lbs is because I feel my body still looks too fat and I thought that maybe getting down to 130 lbs would finally get rid of the fat I carry in my chest and stomach.

Most people are their own worst critics. Sure, you could cut some more fat, but it will be much easier to do, and you will look better after you do it, if you add some muscle to your frame.

The macros in my diet come out to 40/40/20 about the same protein and carbs a day. I heard that I should be getting 1 gram of protein per each pound of me?

40-40-20 is a sound split that works for most. The idea is to get more omega-3s and a wider variety of fat sources in general into that 20%. I think that is the biggest problem with your diet. Also, the lack of vegetables should be remedied. I don't even count vegetable calories, except maybe carrots.

The 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight is a general guideline. It is highly debatable at best. I'm sure you're getting plenty of protein if 40% of your calories are from protein.

Also when I go to lower my calories again, once I do this lean bulk, what should I drop them to about if I chose to lose more weight? And what is a re-comp?

I would also keep your calories within 5-10% of maintenance when cutting. Ideally, you want to be losing about 1 pound per week. This is a good rule of thumb in terms of insuring that you are maintaining most of the muscle that you have.

Recomp is short for recomposition, and it is referring to bodyfat levels. Basically Emma was saying that you are at a healthy weight, but you could just replace some of that bodyfat weight with muscle weight. Also, I don't mean convert; you can't convert adipose tissue into muscle.

I just figured that if I bulked, it would give me more muscle, but underneath my fat......which would just make me look fatter.

Trust me, it will round out your physique more. For example, I weigh 185, and I estimate my bodyfat to be around 10%. So, I have 18.5 pounds of fat on me. Someone at 130 pounds with the same bodyfat level has 5.5 pounds less fat than me. I think my physique is going to look better though, because I have so much more additional muscle mass that you don't notice the fat.

Not to mention, like I said, cutting will be easier once you pack on a little bit of muscle.

 

[FranktheTank]

*Clean Bulk Food Plan*

Goals:
- 2200 cal a day
- 440 cal a meal
- 220 grams of protein and carbs, 48 grams of fat a day
- 44p, 44c, 9f, grams a meal

10 am: BKF - 410 cal - 33 pro, 58 carb, 4.5 fat

• WHEY
• Skim Milk
• 1/2 Banana
• Oatmeal

12:30-1 pm: Lunch - 440 cal - 47.5 pro, 60.5 carb, 11.5 fat

• Wheat Bun
• Tbsp Peanut Butter
• Tbsp Jelly
• Cup of Watermelon
• Cup of Canteloupe
• Can of Tuna in salad

4 pm: Snack - 420 cal - 51.5 pro, 24 carb, 11.5 fat

• WHEY
• Skim Milk
• Peanuts

6 pm: Dinner - 481 cal - 37.5 pro, 55 carb, 10.5 fat

• Chicken Breast (on bone)
• 2/3 cup of Tubetitini
• Peanuts
• 1 tsp of BBQ sauce
• Salad

9 pm: Snack - 395 cal - 45.5 pro, 28 carb, 10.5 fat

• WHEY
• Yogurt
• Skim Milk
• Peanuts
• Wheat Germ

I almost got all the grams I was aiming for: 2192 cal, 215p, 225.5c, 48.5f

For the next 2-3 weeks I will try and get 2200 cal this way with dinner being the only real change in my plan. I hope this and my new workout will shock my body into losing more fat. At the end of the ~3 weeks I will cut to maybe 1500-1800 cal a day to lose the remaining weight...I hope. How does it look guys? Anything I should change before I get to far into it?

Thanks for all the help.

 

[CowPimp]

There are two things I would change.

Replace some of your peanuts/peanut butter (At 4 different meals), with good sources of omega-3 fatty acids: flax, hemp, fish, and linseed are all great. Replace 2-3 of those servings of peanut with one of the aforementioned sourcse. All of them are available in pure oil form.

Add more leafy green vegetables. You don't need to count vegetables in your calorie allotment. Many vegetables take about as much energy to digest and convert to energy as they provide. 3 servings a day would be best. I typically have cucumber, lettuce, and celery every day. I also have some tomato.

In terms of calories and macros you look spot on. Don't be afraid to change the amount of calories you take in if necessary.

 

[FranktheTank]

Thanks for the tips CowPimp, appreciate all the help I can get.