Seems I am stuck

[kyle64]

I can't call myself a body builder. I used to go to the Gym through my entire 20s, I worked out with several body builders and followed their routines. I was in great shape till I quit working out when I turned 29. Since then I have gained a total of 70 pounds.
11 months ago I started changing my eating habits and began controlling portions at meal time. Over time I was able to go up to 8 small meals a day.
I lost a total of 37 lbs in the 10 months and I am now down to 220 pounds. 2 years ago I was at 270, 11 months ago I was at 257 when I had my physical.
A month ago at 220 pounds I began what I am calling a conditioning routine as I cannot handle working out like I used to, I am afraid of injuries as I cannot afford to be out of work.
The great news is that I have dropped from size 38 waste to a little under 36 and I feel very energetic. What I am not happy about is I am not losing weight, I am stuck at 220 pounds and I am 5'8", it seems working out have stopped the weight loss which is really puzzling.
My conditioning routine consists of 5 minutes warm up on a stationary bike, 10 minutes of stretching, nothing as intense as what is on the stickied links in the training forum. I then do resistance exercises, I target different muscle groups every day and rest them for 2 days. When I am done with my resistance exercises I spend 20 minutes on the stationary bike.
Why am I not losing weight? I am not eating anymore than I was before, I am staying between 1800-2000 calories a day.
My goal is to hit 198 pounds within a reasonable time and go down to 180 by the time I am 50.
Any input or advice will be appreciated!

 

[danzik17]

Post your diet including the macronutrient breakdown and total calories.

When was the last time you took a diet break? Meaning for 1-2 days, you just ate normally. It's actually very important to periodically do that; it upregulates certain things that drop while you're on a cut.

 

[kyle64]

I don't have a diet per say. I eat what I used to eat but in smaller portions, never a second helping. I eliminated processed sugar from my diet, I eat 3 regular meals a day and have 5 snacks. When I snack I have a stick of jerky or a banana or other fruits, sometimes a handful of pistachio nuts. I do not eat any dairy products as I am lactose intolerant, I only eat low calorie breads and normally no more than a slice per meal.
For breakfast I have one of the following:
A small bowl of cereal with Soy Milk.
2 eggs over medium with a slice of bread.
2 slices of turkey bacon and one egg over medium

My lunches vary a lot, I could go to Burger King for example and instead of ordering a whole meal I will order a Whopper Jr with no cheese and a diet coke.

Dinner is whatever my wife makes and we have a huge menu at home, she makes over a hundred meals and makes them well. I simply eat in a smaller plate and avoid foods like potato of and other starches. The only starch I eat is rice, I love rice but I only eat it plain not fried.

I hope this answers your question. I don't know what you mean by macronutrient, not familiar with the term. My calorie estimate is based on research I have done online for different foods.
When you say eating regular do you mean eating like before? 3 meals and larger amounts than what I eat now?

 

[Perdido]

Macronutrients are explained down several paragraphs here as well as the best way to count calories: http://www.ironmagazineforums.com/new-members-begin-here/97077-read-me-first-homework-1-newbies.html

 

[Curt James]

Have you tried one of those calorie counter web sites?

At age 45 I went on a cut for ten weeks and dropped around 20 pounds. My goal was to lose two pounds per week. I was on very low calories - sometimes as low as 800 per day - and was doing double cardio sessions some days of the week. Lost a lot of what little muscle I had, but definitely stripped the bodyfat away.

I could use another cut, though. Can't expect to go back to normal or excess eating and not gain the weight back.

Anyway, you might want to start counting those calories or increasing your cardio until you see the weight dropping again.

I agree with the cheat meal advice. Otherwise you body will go into starvation mode or believe it's starving and shut down/slow down your metabolism to compensate. Trick it into thinking things are business as usual by eating regularly for one meal each week.

Good luck!

 

[kyle64]

Here is what I ate today. Normally I eat more because I get up for breakfast at 7 am and I snack more during the day.

10 am Banana (110)
Lunch 12.30 pm:
White Egg Omelet in Soy Milk
1 whole Egg (65), 2 egg whites(17 each), 1/2 tbsp olive oil (60) 3 Centrella Green Olives (25) Silk Soy Milk (30) 2 slices of low Calorie Sara Lee bread (45 each) total 304 Calories

Snack 2.45 pm:
1 oz beef jerky (80)

Snack 4.15 pm:
6 oz crab meat (60) calories, 7 wheat thinks (120) Picante sauce (20) total 200 calories

Snack 5.20 pm:
4 tbs Jello (40)

Dinner 7.55 pm:
Tuna Salad - Tuna (250) Mayo 1Tbsp (90) Half tomato (15)
1 Sreving corn chips (140)
Total 595 calories
Total for the day = 1399 calories (including banana I will eat later)

I will have another Banana in about an hour but that will be it. I also had 5 glasses of 10 oz water normally I have about 8

I am going to keep a daily log of everything I eat.

 

[danzik17]

I won't ask you to break that down to macronutrients because I can already tell they're all out of whack.

Can you estimate your current bodyfat level?

 

[kyle64]

According to the YMCA method it is 27.03% and 26.45% according to the Navy body fat formula and 24.3% according to the BMI Calculator. My goal is 14-16%.

 

[kyle64]

I have lost 1.5 lbs since i started posting here. I am eating between 1600 and 2000 calories a day I am trying to leave 200-300 difference between one day and the next to keep my body confused. I am counting everything I am eating. I am only eating food I can measure the calories of.
I am getting really tired early in the evenings though, I just woke up from a nap I had to have around 9 pm and I am still very tired.
A month ago I had no issues staying up till 2 am every night, now I am totally worn out by 11 pm

 

[SilentBob187]

220lb and only eating 2000 cals a day? I don't think you're eating enough.

 

[kyle64]

According to several calculators I found on google at my level of activity which I consider light it says I burn aprx 3200 cal a day. How much should I be consuming to lose an average of 2 lbs a week without risk to my health?

 

[kyoun1e]

Have you been dieting non-stop and have now hit a wall? If yes, your body may need a break.

If not, I'd guess that your maintenance calories is apprx. 3,300 (15 x 220 lbs...simple formula that usually gets you in the ballpark). To lose 2 lbs per week of fat (which would be a lot) you need a weekly deficit of 7,000 calories or 1,000 per day. So, on average, you need to eat 2,300 calories or less per day.

If you say you're eating at 1,800-2,000 calories right now, you either need a diet break because your body has had enough (see recent threads on Leptin) or you're just not counting your calories correctly and you're actually eating much more than you think.

Do you weigh your food?

KY

 

[danzik17]

Alright, so lets take the middle of those 3, call it 25% bodyfat and leave it at that.

The bare minimums that you need to eat are 0.5g fat per lb/lbm and 1g protein per lb/lbm.

You weigh 220lbs, 25% of which is fat (55lbs). That means you have about 165lbs of LBM on your frame.

You need to eat a minimum of:

165g protein ( 660 cals)
83g fat ( 747 cals)
Total: 1407 calories MINIMUM

For reference, carbs are 4 cals/g. Fiber doesn't count (it's like 1-2 cals/g and it's damn near impossible to eat too much).

Now, I generally ask people to start dieting at 2300 calories per day for 1-2 weeks, see how their body reacts, then report back.

Follow the minimums I recommended for 1-2 weeks and report back. For the remaining 800 calories allotted, you can fill it with whatever combination of protein, fat, and carbs that you want.

 

[kyle64]

Guys thanks for responding.
kyoun1e

Have you been dieting non-stop and have now hit a wall?

I started watching my food intake October 29th 2009 by simply reducing portions but not counting calories, I started calorie counting around middle of November

To lose 2 lbs per week of fat (which would be a lot) you need a weekly deficit of 7,000 calories or 1,000 per day.

Why is it a lot?

Do you weigh your food?

Yes, but only in the last 3 weeks, now when my wife or I make a meal, we are measuring weights even of oils and salt, we only use Olive Oil in food and we are using it sparingly since it has 124 Calories per Tbsp. I take the total weight of the meal and calculate total calories then weigh the portion I want to eat (I have an electronic kitchen scale) and do the math accordingly to estimate how many calories I am eating, I say estimate because I am probably off by 50 calories give and take due to reduction when cooking. I am keeping a record of everything I eat and drink every single day.

you either need a diet break because your body has had enough

If I need a break, how many calories should I eat during the break?

danzik17

Now, I generally ask people to start dieting at 2300 calories per day for 1-2 weeks, see how their body reacts, then report back.

Thanks for the detailed info it will be very helpful, since October 29th I have lost 20 lbs following my "diet plan". When I originally posted 7 days ago I had hit a wall, I think that may have happened because I was pretty much staying at 1800 a day within 50 or so calories, What I did in the last 6 days is go up and down from 2200, 1600, 2100, 1750, 2300, 1800. In the last 6 days I lost 1.5 lbs, do you think fluctuating the daily calorie intake had anything to do with it?

 

[kyoun1e]

Dude...you've been dieting for what looks like three consecutive months. You lost 20 lbs. First thing...that's great. You're averaging 1.5 lbs lost per week...and this includes the thanksgiving and holiday season!

I know from personal experience that once you get rolling on a diet you just don't want to stop. I personally think you should take a step back and take a two week break from dieting. Congratulate yourself. Rest the mind and body. Your body will be thankful and will be much more willing to give you fat loss when you return. Again, see all the great threads on leptin, refeeds, etc. You MUST DO THIS periodically.

As for how much you should eat should you choose to take a diet break...eat at your maintenance level calories.

And you know what...during a maintenance break you may find that your body decides to relax and let go of a couple pounds of fat. It happens.

I say take a break. Refuel. Then go for broke again.

KY

 

[kyle64]

Thanks Kyoun1e, I will take a break and stay around 3000 a day for a couple of weeks and see what happens.
Will keep you all posted.

 

[FMJ]

KY's right man... 20 pounds in three months is excellent! Nice work!

 

[kyle64]

I am a little confused, I have not measured my weight for the last few days, this morning after going to bathroom I weighed 215.6, I moved the scale in the bathroom to make sure it is not inaccurate and I weighed again and it was 215.6
My friend also has an electronic scale, I went down to his house and I weighed 215.4
In the last 2 days I raised my intake to 2100 and 2350, how can this be? I have lost 4 lbs in the last 6 days??????

Today I am raising my intake to 2600, I had a hell of a time getting to 2350 yesteday, I just couldn't eat anymore.

 

[FMJ]

And increase or decrease in calories take a few weeks to show up on the scale. Certainly not two days. As for the 4 lbs, what does your BF% and measurments say? Are they also decreased?

 

[danzik17]

I am a little confused, I have not measured my weight for the last few days, this morning after going to bathroom I weighed 215.6, I moved the scale in the bathroom to make sure it is not inaccurate and I weighed again and it was 215.6
My friend also has an electronic scale, I went down to his house and I weighed 215.4
In the last 2 days I raised my intake to 2100 and 2350, how can this be? I have lost 4 lbs in the last 6 days??????

Today I am raising my intake to 2600, I had a hell of a time getting to 2350 yesteday, I just couldn't eat anymore.

Your body can be quite weird eh? I just started a cut and for the first 3 days, my weight stayed solid OR even went up. Keep in mind that I'm running damn near a 1400-1500 calorie deficit per day (PSMF).

On the 4th day, my weight dropped by damn near 4LBs. Just goes to show that day to day progress means nothing, it's the longer term that you should be looking at.

 

[kyoun1e]

I am a little confused, I have not measured my weight for the last few days, this morning after going to bathroom I weighed 215.6, I moved the scale in the bathroom to make sure it is not inaccurate and I weighed again and it was 215.6
My friend also has an electronic scale, I went down to his house and I weighed 215.4
In the last 2 days I raised my intake to 2100 and 2350, how can this be? I have lost 4 lbs in the last 6 days??????

Today I am raising my intake to 2600, I had a hell of a time getting to 2350 yesteday, I just couldn't eat anymore.

Did I just predict that or what.

Your body could be holding tight to that fat. Next thing you know, you relax, eat and ...WHOOSH. Fat begone when you least expect.

Reward your body now. Trick it into thinking it's getting plenty of food. Then go for broke again.

KY

 

[kyle64]

I am very pleased with what I have done so far. Today I managed to eat 1937 calories. It is really hard to eat more calories while avoiding nasty food. I am really full and not sure what to eat to increase my calorie intake at this point.
I added a Soy protein powder I got from GNC called Soy Protein 95, it was the only one I could find that did not have Milk, I am lactose intolerant. It provides 25g of Protein per serving.
Here are the other suplements I am taking:
L-Carnitine 250mg
L-Argenine 500mg
Super B-Complex
L-Lysine 500mg
Vitamin D 5000 IU
I take a break every Saturday from all suplements.

 

[danzik17]

Use the tub so it doesn't go to waste, but I wouldn't buy soy protein again. It causes estrogen levels to rise in men when consumed in more than small amounts.

Why not try one of the Whey Protein Isolates available either from AllTheWhey or IronMagLabs? I'm sure Prince/Rob can confirm this, but I believe those are suitable for lactose intolerant people.

 

[kyoun1e]

Peanut butter?

Nuts?

I'm doing UD2 Mass right now and getting cals up to 2,500 is usually challenging (since I can go no more than 100g of carbs). I usually fill in the blanks with three tablespoons of peanut butter and a half cup of walnuts. That's a few hundred calories right there.

KY

 

[kyle64]

Peanut butter?

Nuts?

Great idea, I been avoiding those but I will add them to my diet.

AllTheWhey or IronMagLabs

will definately look into those, I have to be very careful with lactose, it kicks my ass!

Last night, I took a picture to compare to the picture I took October 31st last year of my body, in both pictures I was standing in front of the same background and wearing the same Boxers. My wife says I look a lot thinner and better muscle tone but to me I look exactly the same!

 

[kyle64]

When I am making meals, I am weight measuring all the ingredients before cooking them, when the meal is done, should I be relying on volume or weight for measurement to figure out the amount of calories in the portion I am going to eat?
Some ingredients are measured by weight and some are being measured by volume, for example if I use a can of Garbanzo beans, it is 15 Oz but the onion I am chopping to go with it, I am weighing it on the scale. It is a little confusing.

 

[danzik17]

You don't need to weigh the onion, period. How's that for an answer

Very little calories in them, it's not even worth the effort or stress to measure it.

I just use fitday.com to find the calories in my raw foods. I weigh them and freeze them. Past that, it's just a matter of defrosting and cooking - I already know the exact weight of each package.

 

[kyle64]

I got tired of my piece of crap bathroom scale, my doctor recommended the Seca 769 so I bought it and finally I can weigh myself 3 times in a row and get the same reading. I know, I obsess too much about my weight

202 Pounds this morning. I am 4 Pounds away from my big goal of 198 pounds (100 Kg).
It's been an exhausting ride since October 31st, I can't wait to hit 198 so I can take a break.
I still have a problem grasping how I keep getting stuck at a certain weight then within 2 to 3 days of doing nothing different I drop 5 pounds. I am like what the heck!
It is not so much going to the bathroom because I do that 2-3 times a day due to my large intake of fiber (Fiber one Cereal 57%) I eat 5-6 servings a day!

 

[Marat]

I still have a problem grasping how I keep getting stuck at a certain weight then within 2 to 3 days of doing nothing different I drop 5 pounds.

As explained above, and although you are probably just venting, this is something that you are going to have to become accustomed to. It's completely normal and has been going on your entire life --- perhaps you haven't noticed it until you started weighing yourself regularly.

I know, I obsess too much about my weight

Again, maybe you are just venting. However, I highly recommend that you understand that the process of fat loss is entirely scientific --- especially if you are getting advice from this forum. You can trust that the process works, and as long as you follow the protocol, you'll be successful.

Although staying focused on your goal is important, if you ride every pound up or down, this process will invariably get too stressful (even if you are not aware of it) and you are far more likely to not reach your goal.

Just relax --- try not to lose it after every trip to the scale. We have your back here and as long as you keep posting, we'll be happy to help you out.

 

[kyle64]

m11 thanks for the encouraging words. I decided I am only going to visit the scale once a week.
You are right it is rather stressful no matter how much I tell myself it is part of the process. The old scale was driving me crazy, I could weigh myself 3 times in a span of 5 minutes and get 3 different results ranging by about 6 pounds lol
Overall I am somewhat pleased with my progress, like everything else we wish it could be done over night but it takes time and I am learning to be patient.