Lost weight, but can't see the weight loss anywhere? (reps)

[Crazy_Desi]

I'm skinny with a gut, I started off at 162lbs, 35'' waist, 14'' arms, etc.

Anyways, right now I'm 156.2lbs, but I still have 14'' arms and a 35'' waist.

That means I haven't lost any muscle, but does that also mean I haven't lost fat?



The only significant difference I notice is that when I wake up, my stomach seems a LOT flatter than before my cut, but when I'm bloated, it looks exactly the same.


Is this how fat loss works? If I keep losing fat will I eventually see progress somewhere? Is it possibly just genetics? I heard that for some people, stomach/chest/thighs is the last place that fat is lost.. this true?

[The_Contrarian]

Could be internal fat, or fat on other parts of the body you lost. Also it could be some water weight as well, keep at it dont quit.

[Crazy_Desi]

Ehh I strongly doubt it's water weight.. I'm on creatine and I've been drinking the same amount of water everyday. It's been exactly 3 weeks now, so I guess my progress is pretty good.

5-6lbs in 3 weeks.. 2lbs a week on average.

I'm hoping to see abs by July 20 (my birthday) but I don't know.. that means I'd have to lose like 5 inches off my waist.

[TheVector]

I know exactly how you feel. And I'm desi too!

[Crazy_Desi]

Right now, I manage to get some form of cardio on my four off days (atleast 30 min), and on workout days 3 days a week, I do HIIT after working out.

My diet consists of nothing but brown rice, grilled chicken, whole wheat bagels, natty pb, milk, whey, cottage cheese, raw oats, and the total is 2000 calories with about 180g protein, 220g carbs, 50-60g fats.

My cheat meal for the week is usually a pizza, like 1000-1500 calories.

[The_Contrarian]

Balle Balle, lets all just go for some bhangra HIIT and lose some fat...im a guji desi.

[The_Contrarian]

Right now, I manage to get some form of cardio on my four off days (atleast 30 min), and on workout days 3 days a week, I do HIIT after working out.

My diet consists of nothing but brown rice, grilled chicken, whole wheat bagels, natty pb, milk, whey, cottage cheese, raw oats, and the total is 2000 calories with about 180g protein, 220g carbs, 50-60g fats.

My cheat meal for the week is usually a pizza, like 1000-1500 calories.

my cheat meal is butter chicken + basmati rice + naan + samosas + kachori

I dont even wanna know how many calories that is. That cheat meal I have every 8 weeks.

[StillLivinin97]

Too many carbs! You're eating more carbs than protein!

You are what you eat. Do you want to be squishy like bread or lean and tough like protein?

Switch to a keto-diet with low intensity cardio.

[Crazy_Desi]

My carbs are all complex.. the only non complex carbs come from condiments.

[mpipes]

Right now, I manage to get some form of cardio on my four off days (atleast 30 min), and on workout days 3 days a week, I do HIIT after working out.

My diet consists of nothing but brown rice, grilled chicken, whole wheat bagels, natty pb, milk, whey, cottage cheese, raw oats, and the total is 2000 calories with about 180g protein, 220g carbs, 50-60g fats.

My cheat meal for the week is usually a pizza, like 1000-1500 calories.

You're retaining water with all these carbs plus creatine, no question about it, and you don't need that many carbs for the activity you're doing. You could cut the carbs in half, drop the HIIT and you'd still have more than enough carbs for your 3 main workouts.

Carbs suck up 3X their weight in water and dairy is notorious for making people look/feel bloated. That pizza alone, if it's 1500kcal in carbs, is good for 2.5lbs of water retention. If you're only drinking "enough" water to handle the baseline requirements of what you're taking in, you're guaranteeing water retention. You have to either give yourself so much water that the body has no choice but to drop it (and you'll piss every 5 minutes) or you have to stop drinking or using fluids when you eat carbs in order to force the body to pull the water from other tissues.

Do you wake up with a puffy/swollen face? If so, it's excess carbs and water retention.

[Crazy_Desi]

You're retaining water with all these carbs plus creatine, no question about it, and you don't need that many carbs for the activity you're doing. You could cut the carbs in half, drop the HIIT and you'd still have more than enough carbs for your 3 main workouts.

Carbs suck up 3X their weight in water and dairy is notorious for making people look/feel bloated. That pizza alone, if it's 1500kcal in carbs, is good for 2.5lbs of water retention. If you're only drinking "enough" water to handle the baseline requirements of what you're taking in, you're guaranteeing water retention. You have to either give yourself so much water that the body has no choice but to drop it (and you'll piss every 5 minutes) or you have to stop drinking or using fluids when you eat carbs in order to force the body to pull the water from other tissues.

Do you wake up with a puffy/swollen face? If so, it's excess carbs and water retention.

Very interesting post..

The real numbers are 1800-1900 calories, 180g of protein and 200g of carbs. The reason I take in this many carbs is simply because I don't think I can handle a low carb diet. If I did low carb, that would essentially mean going into a keto diet, right? At this point my only carb sources are raw oats and brown rice. Nothing else.

I don't think I lost water weight because I'm taking creatine, and everyday I'm pretty sure I get close to 2 gallons of liquid in my body. I keep it fairly constant. I drink 2 cups of water every hour, and after my fourth meal I stop drinking water.. so I believe my weight loss is not water.

When I wake up, I don't feel bloated at all.. I don't really notice bloat in my face, but definitely in the rest of my body I look very unbloated.

Would you advise going low carb though? Is it worth it? I pretty much sit at a desk all day, so I can sort of see how the complex carbs I'm taking in are unecessary.

However, in the past three weeks I've lost 5-6lbs, so I don't know if I should bother altering my diet so quickly..

[SpiceAddict]

Very interesting post..

The real numbers are 1800-1900 calories, 180g of protein and 200g of carbs. The reason I take in this many carbs is simply because I don't think I can handle a low carb diet. If I did low carb, that would essentially mean going into a keto diet, right? At this point my only carb sources are raw oats and brown rice. Nothing else.

I don't think I lost water weight because I'm taking creatine, and everyday I'm pretty sure I get close to 2 gallons of liquid in my body. I keep it fairly constant. I drink 2 cups of water every hour, and after my fourth meal I stop drinking water.. so I believe my weight loss is not water.

When I wake up, I don't feel bloated at all.. I don't really notice bloat in my face, but definitely in the rest of my body I look very unbloated.

Would you advise going low carb though? Is it worth it? I pretty much sit at a desk all day, so I can sort of see how the complex carbs I'm taking in are unecessary.

However, in the past three weeks I've lost 5-6lbs, so I don't know if I should bother altering my diet so quickly..

If I'm not mistaken, creatine mostly stores water in your muscles. Fat also stores a large amount of water. A gallon of water weighs 8 lbs, so it's not that hard to believe. Also the more you drink water, the more your body is willing to release it.

You should add beans to your cutting diet they are fantastic complex carbs and add protien and minerals.

I've been cutting on a 45p-35c-20f diet with protein ranging from 40% to 50% and carbs from 30% to 40% with a calorie amount ranging from 2000-2200 and I have lost quite a bit so far.

[Crazy_Desi]

So basically, my diet is bad because it has as much carbs as protein?

Will I be doomed with this diet?

Should I change to low carb now?

[SpiceAddict]

So basically, my diet is bad because it has as much carbs as protein?

Will I be doomed with this diet?

Should I change to low carb now?

I have a quick question. Are you counting the carbs that make up the fiber in your diet? Cause your percentage of carb intake would change if you didn't count them.

[Crazy_Desi]

I have a quick question. Are you counting the carbs that make up the fiber in your diet? Cause your percentage of carb intake would change if you didn't count them.

I count whatever the label says as the total number of carbohydrates.

[SpiceAddict]

what you should do is count up the total grams of fiber in your daily food and remove that number from your total carb intake, they do not count.

I think you should do fine on 40-40-20 or so with protein ranging higher than carbs if anything. Also are you weightlifting?

Everyones body is different, My diet is working well and I work out my body once over a 4 day split with high intensity reps/sets

[Crazy_Desi]

I'm lifting on M/W/F with 15 min of HIIT after.. and on off days I do 30 min of running in the morning.

My diet is 100% clean, the only cheat meal I have is like 1000 cal worth of pizza on the weekend.


If what you say is true about fiber not counting as carbs, then my carb intake is probably closer to 190/200 grams.. I don't know.


I'm very sure that I haven't lost water weight because my weight loss has been constant.. I guess I'll just have to wait and see.

It's only been 3 weeks anyways.

[The_Contrarian]

Internal weight, thighs, some other part of the body,etc.

Even if you have been consuming creatine, you can still lose water.

Also glycogen stores

Dont sweat, just continue with the workouts...This thread just reminds me a bit of girls when they complain about why they look the same even if they lost 3/4lbs...lol.

[SpiceAddict]

your body may also be predisposed to lose weight from other areas that you are unaware of, I lost on my calves, face, forearms, upper body areas first, then slowly my arms, stomach, back, thighs.

Also, the more fat you lose, the less water that will be stored, as there is less place for it.


Anyways, good luck, I think thats all the help I can offer

[SpiceAddict]

I just looked up your RMR with your stats and the suggested amount was 1775 calories a day to maintain.

Mine is 2300 a day, I eat around 2000 -2200 a day regardless if I'm lifting or not, and a cheat on Saturdays.

I've been losing weight consistently and I have plenty of energy everyday. Are you sure you aren't eating to much for your size on a cutting diet?

[Crazy_Desi]

Well the RMR is basically your BMR if I'm not mistaken.. it's the amount of calories you burn just sitting there doing nothing all day.

You have to multiply your RMR/BMR by an activity factor, such as 1.55 for moderate activity level, so my maintenance if my RMR is 1775 is actually 2750 calories.

You're losing weight because your maintenance is much higher.. there is no way a 235lb person needs only 2300 calories a day to maintain his weight.

[SpiceAddict]

Well the RMR is basically your BMR if I'm not mistaken.. it's the amount of calories you burn just sitting there doing nothing all day.

You have to multiply your RMR/BMR by an activity factor, such as 1.55 for moderate activity level, so my maintenance if my RMR is 1775 is actually 2750 calories.

You're losing weight because your maintenance is much higher.. there is no way a 235lb person needs only 2300 calories a day to maintain his weight.

you are correct, but I still seem to lose at a steady rate of 2 or so pounds a week. I have always had a slow metabolism. You may or may not be eating too much, thats up to you to figure out. If I was to bump my consumption up to 3000-3500 calories a day, like the formula suggests(3565 to maintain) I would be bulking no question.

Its not an "exact" science. yes, it's a good guide but everyone is different and a lot of factors go into it besides how active you are.

Also, take into consideration that I am roughly 20% bodyfat, yes I'm big, but I'm not solid muscle at 235.