No results, having doubts, thoughts?

[horseshaq]

May 2015 I had had enough and decided I was going to get back in to shape after years of neglect (partly due to depression).
I am 31, male, 184cm tall, starting weight of 165kg. While not fit nor healthy, I had no mobility nor serious health issues, just obese but with my height, no so bad.. but bad.
I joined a local gym and they are great. They encourage and advise me every step of the way. They review my progress and routine every 6-8 weeks.
In the first month I lost 10kg which was fantastic but I knew that rate wasn't going to continue. In the 2nd month I lost 5kg which I feel is more realistic.
For the next 5 months I have lost nothing (+/- 2kg fluctuations).
The first reason my trainers gave was "opps, we have you doing too much weights and not enough cardio, our bad".
A bit later they said "oh, its the weights you are now lifting equalling the fat loss". I didn't believe this was the case.
A bit later they said "hmm, youre more capable then we thought. We havent really pushed you. We will now".
A bit later I showed them a calorie in/out chart I had filled in on webMD. This made them theorise my problem was not eating enough food given all the exercise I now do- "eat more!"
So a month ago, in the last review, I said (again) to "PUNISH ME! Motivation isn't an issue. Give me something tough!" and they gave me a harder weights program but left my cardio saying they were happy with that.
Their theory is build up my muscle and someday... someday.. "the weight will just melt off".
I am liking my weights program- tough but not too tough- and its working in building muscle. However, I am getting incredibly frustrated with not losing any weight/ body size (limbs and butt are getting leaner).
Current routine: 10 reps x 6 sets at my maximum ability on 3 machines Mon/Wed/Fri- leg press, squats with a bar, bench press- plus 60min on elliptical. Tue/Thu 90min on elliptical. Sat/Sun break or catch up day if I had to miss a day.
Current diet: 7am- Protein shake, 10am- rice waffers and/or feta cheese, 12-2pm varies but mix of carbs and protein, 4pm- post workout protein shake, 6-8pm- tuna or chicken based meal (sometimes lean beef).
My calories in/out prior to last routine/diet review said: 1800-2000 in and 600-900 out daily. Trainers say I should be at least 2500 in per day which I think I now achieve.

Basically Im getting very frustrated that Im not losing anything despite following what my trainer says the entire way. They act like Im doing fine but at the same time its clear they have no idea why Im not showing some improvement.
So Im opening it up to public suggestions.
Thanks for any help.

 

[Trusylver]

Firstly has your trainer done bodyfat % measurements, a good trainer will not just guess that your weight is stalled due to muscle gain, but will track both muscle gain and fat loss. Secondly by knowing What your lean body mass is, your diet can be fine tuned, especially your protein intake which may be to high.

are you weighing your food or just eyeballing it.
are you tracking your calories every day, if so what is your macro breakdown
also your weight training program is unbalanced and will eventually lead to injuries because the muscles are not being worked to keep the body in balance, eg although leg press is an ok exercise there is more emphasis on the quadriceps compared to the hamstrings, so extra hamstring work is needed to keep the muscles in balance. Squat is an awesome exercise, working the core, quads and hamstrings, but depending on the style of squat may also work the quadriceps more than the hamstrings, further exacerbating the already existing imbalance from the leg press. Bench Press is also a great exercise (I am assuming your actually doing a bench press with a bar and not a chest press machine) which is great for chest, triceps and anterior delts but you have no exercise to work the muscles needed to keep your body in balance, you are not working any of your muscles in the upper or lower back, or posterior deltoids, or biceps.

When you have a muscle imbalance, you put strain on your joints which can lead to serious injury.

 

[Trusylver]

As far as body fat measurements go, digital scales are not accurate, but ok when you have nothing else, they are ok for tracking trends but not specific numbers. Your trainer should have a set of callipers and be trained in using them (I don't know which country you are in) but in Australia measuring bodyfat with callipers is part of the training for a Personal Trainer, and they only cost a few bucks to buy so expense should be no excuse and it does not matter how big you are for them to be effective.

Macros are the breakdown of Fat, Carbs and Protein in your food. You should make an effort to track every day and to measure portions from packets, or weigh fresh food which should make up the bulk of your diet. there are plenty of places to track food online which will calculate your macro's for you, I personally use calorie king Australia, but there are other free sites out there.

It is very unusual to have a weakness in the Quadriceps but I can't judge that online.

The leg press type machine you describe is not a leg press but a Hack Squat http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Quadriceps/SLHackPress.html

which as I pointed out targets the Quads and has very little impact on the hamstrings

The Bench press http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/PectoralSternal/BBBenchPress.html does not target the bicep, at most it is a minor stabiliser nothing more.

the squat varient you describing sounds like a front squat http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Quadriceps/BBFrontSquat.html which again targets the Quads

I would suggest you not do a weigh in a day or two after lifting, as your body will hold onto fluid for a couple of days after lifting to aid in muscle healing and recovery.

without all the info it is hard to tell why you have stalled, but lifting is important as part of your weight loss because you want to maintain the muscle you have as the more muscle you maintain the more calories your body will use when your at rest.

Trial and error still has a role in loosing weight, allergies and biological differences mean that what works for one person doesn't always work for somebody else. As a coach and trainer I am fine with admitting that sometimes I don't know the answer and your trainer should also be upfront and admit if they do not know something but at the same time attempt to find out.

Sometimes a diet break will trigger some fat loss but you need to return to maintaining a good diet afterwards. The body is complicated and no one has all the answers.