why not losing weight...?

E

eric22rr

New member
I've researched quite a bit to find an answer to my question, and I've ruled out most of the obvious possible reasons.

Here are my stats:
27 male
6'0
160lb

I've been on a pretty extreme diet and exercise plan. I grew up fairly overweight, and then lost most of it... But I've always had that belly fat and just extra fat that clung to me. I don't really need to, but I decided I wanted to lose it quickly -- but in a healthy way. I dropped my calorie intake to about 1100 calories while doing some serious, but not strenuous, aerobic and anaerobic exercise. The anaerobic stuff has all been pushups, sit-ups, etc. Most of the aerobic stuff has simply been walking. I reduced my calorie intake drastically, but I have moved to an extremely healthy, totally balanced, ideal diet. I'm eating less but eating about as healthy as a human can (my basal for my age, etc. is 1800cal, but my total, based on my activity, is about 2600cal.) I lost about 4 pounds in one week! That made sense, considering the calorie density of fat (3500cal/lb), etc. Prior to that I lost 5 in two weeks. I was worried that I was losing muscle, since that's a big drop -- but with all of the exercise I'm doing -- I'm GAINING strength -- a lot of it! My resting heart rate went down 10bpm, and my blood pressure noticeably dropped to a healthier level over the past 3 weeks. In general, I've never felt so healthy in my life -- in every aspect. Now, over the past week, my weight has stayed the same. HOW DO I EXPLAIN THIS!? Every day I have a large, ~1500cal deficit, yet my weight stayed the same over the course of a week. I'm not losing muscle; I think I'm actually gaining it since I'm getting stronger... Am I simply gaining muscle mass while losing fat -- thus, the zero weight change???
 
There are a few things I have heard quite a bit that relate to this, keep in mind though I have not tested them out myself so I can't back it up:

- Muscle weighs more than fat, so if your muscle gain to fat loss ratio is at a certain point it could explain what is going on.
- If you starve yourself you may end up hitting a plateau resulting in no more weight loss. 1100 calories a day for someone that actively works out on a regular basis seems dangerously low. You could try adding some more calories into your diet in the form of various vegetables, this may help boost your metabolism if you are eating right and often enough through the day and if you eat things like legumes you will be increasing your protein intake which could lead to increased muscle, better definition, and more fat loss.

At 6' 160lbs I imagine you don’t have much fat that you need to lose. My recommendation is to evaluate your diet some more, again 1100 for someone who is physically active on a regular basis is putting you near or at that starvation point. Also try adding in to your work out routine some weight lifting exercises such as squats and dead lift.
 
Thanks for the advice! Since then, I've increased my daily intake to an average of about 1700 calories. I've been eating tons of vegetables, too -- I have been the entire time I started this. I knew that if I was going to give myself a 1000+ calorie deficit each day, it was critical that I eat better than I ever have in my life -- and I've stuck with that.

More than anything else, I'm looking for better definition. I've been doing a lot of anaerobic exercise. I don't mean to advertise or anything, but I've been using this 'weight-training' plan:



I used to lift weights, but now I exclusively use these exercises. In addition to that, I started walking an hour a day, and on some days with a 50lb weight vest.

I have a lot of loose skin around my belly, from the initial weight loss. One theory I have is that I'm retaining water, or something like that, as a way for my body to handle the change until my skin tightens up. Also, from what I've read, muscles can only develop at a rate of about 1lb a week, max. I've noticed increased muscle mass over the past few weeks, since I've followed the workout plan very strictly. Maybe I simply started gaining muscle at an unusually fast rate.

Thanks again for the suggestions!
 
The water retention is very likely, apparently it's common for people to hold on to 'weight' in the form of water and then lose it all in a 'woosh' effect. So same weight for a week, then lose 3 lbs, literally overnight.



I like lifting actual weights myself, but it's always nice to have a gym free option for resistance training :D
 
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