I Keep Getting Fatter

[BillyBobJimboJr]

I have been working out since November 2012 and lost 10lbs the first month. After that my weight lose stalled. I changed up my workout a few times but most recently I have cut out most machines and bike riding and put in more weight lifting. I have been following my new workout routine for 2 weeks. In the last 5 days I have gained 5lbs and my stomach seems to have gotten fatter.

I eat healthier than I have in years and I really don't understand what I'm doing wrong or why I can't get into shape. I mean I bust my butt to the point I'm about to black out at the gym. I'm giving 100% 4 days a week for 1-1.5hrs. I am literally soaked from head to toe after every workout.

I have read and heard from others that I'm just not blessed with good genes and that I'll probably never be someone that has a great muscular body no matter how hard I try. Also my fat gut and man boobs will probably never go away no matter what I do or how hard I workout.

Here is a sample daily meal.

Breakfast: Small bowl of raisin bran
Lunch: Pack of tuna on 15 grain break (No Mayo just spices) and a zip lock bag of raw vegetables (carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower)
Dinner: Chicken cooked in crock pot with cream of chicken or chicken broth

Also, I only drink water.

I started at the gym in November with hopes I would finally be able to take off my shirt at the beach this summer but it looks like that won't happen again this year.

[Jo3Buddha]

Dont cut out that cardio, even start doing HIIT on the bike. Weight lifting doesnt consume that many calories. Do that cycling after your weights its the best time to do that extra workout to really burn more calories whilst your body is already warmed up. That 10lbs was most likely water weight especially if you're new to working out your body needs time to adapt. Make sure you eat 1lb of protein per 1lb of lean body mass, keep up with the weights and do extra cardio/HIIT 4 days a week either straight after your weights or later in the evening. I had moobs and a fat gut and Ive changed in crazy time only been heavy training since January (training with dumbbells for nearly a year though). You may be tired after your weights but keep pushing yourself hard, get on the bike in the evening just keep pushing yourself.

[kenny85]

Your probably eating at maintenance on calories. You can eat all the " healthy " foods in the world but at the end of the day it's all about calories. Don't get discouraged. Just redo the math and count. Odds are you eating too many cals

[tara19]

Nobody likes the genes excuse.

I would check your calories/macros.
Measure your food and get your diet in check before worrying about HIIT or cardio.

[nickdavid]

like the guys say

nutrition is key

calories in calories out

you're on a resources like

bodybuilding .com

everything is here for you

you just have to

take action now

and decide on

what you want

and then decide

if you're prepared to

do what it takes to get it

get ALL IN

quit bein a wussie

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[BillyBobJimboJr]

Thanks for the advice. I think I'll add the bike back in and see how that goes over the next few weeks.

[polishedball]

Thanks for the advice. I think I'll add the bike back in and see how that goes over the next few weeks.

Adjust your portion sizes, if you don;t weigh and calculate your intake, atleast reduce the the physical amount. yes often you maybe hungry when eating in deficit.

[johnsonvt]

have you been measuring and taking bodyfat %? You could be gaining muscle and not losing much fat so that might be another thing to check in to.

[Pine Grove]

read the stickies in the nutrition section

start here - http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=121703981

[OfficerJimLahey]

like the guys say

and take action now

Any chance you could type in one line more and not take up so much of a page?

[BillyBobJimboJr]

@Pine Grove

Damn, who knew trying to eat healthy could be so damn confusing and complicated.

All I want to do is eat healthy and get in shape. I don't want to get all scientific about my exercise or eating.

[kenny85]

@Pine Grove

Damn, who knew trying to eat healthy could be so damn confusing and complicated.

All I want to do is eat healthy and get in shape. I don't want to get all scientific about my exercise or eating.

You can still lose weight without counting. Since you know what your eating everyday try skipping a snack or cut down your portions. That will cut down on your calories without keeping track

[Agabekov]

Track your macros. Learn how many calories you consume a day, the secret of weight loss is in caloric deficit...create that deficit and the only way to create it, is to know how many cals you eat a day. Also, start up with standart routine, 4 days lift, 3 days cardio, like this you won't put too much stress on your body. Try HIIT but for me, slow-intensity cardio is the king. I've lost 70 pounds so I understand how hard it is. Just keep it up, watch videos and never stop learning! Good luck!

[Agabekov]

Trackin your macros is easy, just download an app and type your food in. Its worth it

[orangegoblin]

@Pine Grove

Damn, who knew trying to eat healthy could be so damn confusing and complicated.

All I want to do is eat healthy and get in shape. I don't want to get all scientific about my exercise or eating.

If you can work this website, you can work a site like myfitnesspal.com (there are others...that's just the one I use. It's free). It only takes a few minutes to put in your foods and get the macro and calorie breakdown. Get a digital food scale and weigh everything out. It really doesn't take that much time and it will give you an idea of what you are taking in as far as calories and macros.

Good luck, man.

[jeremyisfat]

@Pine Grove

Damn, who knew trying to eat healthy could be so damn confusing and complicated.

All I want to do is eat healthy and get in shape. I don't want to get all scientific about my exercise or eating.

It's seriously one of the easiest, non-complicated things you can do for yourself. You need to weigh your food, and you count your calories. Go to the gym 3-4 times a week. Work hard. That's it. Too many calories is the only reason you wouldn't be losing weight.

[BillyBobJimboJr]

I started getting sick last week but kept working out but this week I had to miss Tuesday and I'll probably miss today unless my lungs clear up by this afternoon. I've also been eating the same way I have since I joined the gym and I lost 4lbs so far this week only working out Saturday. The dumbest thing, I go to the gym to lose weight and can't and miss one day this week and lose 4lbs.

[captaincranky]

I started getting sick last week but kept working out but this week I had to miss Tuesday and I'll probably miss today unless my lungs clear up by this afternoon. I've also been eating the same way I have since I joined the gym and I lost 4lbs so far this week only working out Saturday. The dumbest thing, I go to the gym to lose weight and can't and miss one day this week and lose 4lbs.

Water... weight. You can fluctuate a lot, even over night.

I weighed in last Thursday night at 191lbs. Went to sleep and woke up Friday and weighed myself at 187. That was less than 12 hours. I peed a lot, but that should give you some indication.

You don't have to get scientific with your diet, but you do need to be aware of what is going in and how much you're burning. Get a proper scale that monitors body fat. As a matter of fact, right now you should probably get rid of the scale altogether and just monitor your body fat. Who cares what you weigh if you look good? If I was 5'9" and 330 but looked like 195lbs of solid muscle, who cares?

[captaincranky]

Dont cut out that cardio, even start doing HIIT on the bike. Weight lifting doesnt consume that many calories. Do that cycling after your weights its the best time to do that extra workout to really burn more calories whilst your body is already warmed up. That 10lbs was most likely water weight especially if you're new to working out your body needs time to adapt. Make sure you eat 1lb of protein per 1lb of lean body mass, keep up with the weights and do extra cardio/HIIT 4 days a week either straight after your weights or later in the evening. I had moobs and a fat gut and Ive changed in crazy time only been heavy training since January (training with dumbbells for nearly a year though). You may be tired after your weights but keep pushing yourself hard, get on the bike in the evening just keep pushing yourself.

OP, please don't eat 1lb of protein per 1lb of LBM. You'll most likely destroy your liver.

[Gmoney25]

Body weight will fluctuate so when you weigh yourself it must be the exact way every time (i.e if you didn't eat for two hours then weighed in, you must do it every time like that). I think you need to work on portion control. This is a huge problem in the American/westernized diet. What the general population perceives as a proper serving tends to be grossly inflated. Check the portions and get back to us!

[DarkFoxx]

Don't worry too much about your weight unless you start gaining over a period of time such as weeks or a month. Just weigh yourself after you wake up and use the restroom every day to get a consistent reading. Also remember that calories burned from weight lifting will go up as you progress through higher weights. You're still in the noobie phase of lifting so it's possible to recomp meaning that you can lose fat and gain muscle at the same time. take pictures every month or two and compare them, you'll see a definite change for the good over time which will motivate you even further to become the man you envision to be.

[SMASHgym]

I have been working out since November 2012 and lost 10lbs the first month. After that my weight lose stalled. I changed up my workout a few times but most recently I have cut out most machines and bike riding and put in more weight lifting. I have been following my new workout routine for 2 weeks. In the last 5 days I have gained 5lbs and my stomach seems to have gotten fatter.

I eat healthier than I have in years and I really don't understand what I'm doing wrong or why I can't get into shape. I mean I bust my butt to the point I'm about to black out at the gym. I'm giving 100% 4 days a week for 1-1.5hrs. I am literally soaked from head to toe after every workout.

I have read and heard from others that I'm just not blessed with good genes and that I'll probably never be someone that has a great muscular body no matter how hard I try. Also my fat gut and man boobs will probably never go away no matter what I do or how hard I workout.

Here is a sample daily meal.

Breakfast: Small bowl of raisin bran
Lunch: Pack of tuna on 15 grain break (No Mayo just spices) and a zip lock bag of raw vegetables (carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower)
Dinner: Chicken cooked in crock pot with cream of chicken or chicken broth

Also, I only drink water.

I started at the gym in November with hopes I would finally be able to take off my shirt at the beach this summer but it looks like that won't happen again this year.

It actually sounds to me like you're not eating enough...if you work out those calories...it's probably 1k-1.5k cals tops. You're just destroying your metabolism this way.

[AllApologies]

It actually sounds to me like you're not eating enough...if you work out those calories...it's probably 1k-1.5k cals tops. You're just destroying your metabolism this way.

Or....OP is not at a deficit, and is lying about his daily caloric intake.

[BillyBobJimboJr]

I'm still gaining weight.
After getting over being sick, I've been back in the gym. Added more time on the bike to hopefully burn more fat and I have upped my weight in the weight room with more sets. So far in the last few weeks I've gained 6lbs on about 1500 or less calorie diet. I just don't understand how I can gain on that many calories. Any ideas?

[asal20]

Calories can be tricky. Eat too much you'll gain weight, eat too little and your body goes into emergency mode and stores the calories because it thinks it's in a time of famine. Also if you've cut out some cardio and upped your weight lifting you could be gaining muscle weight. I know when I did intense biking my quads got huge. Don't go strictly on what the scale says but sometimes what the mirror and the tightness of your pants say.

If you're serious about only loosing weight you want to try doing some sort of cardio with cross fit weight training, low weight high reps very short breaks. If you're trying to add bulk you're going to add weight. Muscle is smaller but more dense than fat, so you can gain weight if you're trying to bulk up.

Break up your meals into 5 meals a day so your body gets use to always having food so it doesn't store the calories that it's getting. It's amazing how much you can really eat if you do it correctly. by eating 5 smaller meals a day your body gets use to always having food, energy, and nutrition so it doesn't feel the need to store any of it. This is also tricky because if you do it wrong you'll obviously gain weight.

Good luck!

[Ralikar]

Breakfast: Small bowl of raisin bran
Lunch: Pack of tuna on 15 grain break (No Mayo just spices) and a zip lock bag of raw vegetables (carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower)
Dinner: Chicken cooked in crock pot with cream of chicken or chicken broth

Raisin Bran 1 cup=42 g carbs, 5 pr, 1.5 fat
1 cup fat free milk (guessing this is about what you use) 80 cals 8pr/12 carbs/0 fat
Pack of tuna? Can; maybe 190 cals, 42 pr, 0 carbs, 1.5 fat
15 grain bread 100 cals, 20 carbs, 2 fat, 5 pr
Chicken: variable , high protein, no carbs, low fat (depending)
vegetables: 1 serving raw carrots, 30 cals, .5 g pr, .1 fat, 7 carbs

This is the worst "diet" I've ever seen...

1) Your belly is expanding cause your body is F$$$ starving... and your hormonal system is thrashed... some of this is water retention... I know from personal experience.
2) You are woefully low in protein
3) You are way under calories I would guess... not sure
4) Your carbs are low. You don't need carbs but they make muscle and provide energy. Are you in keto?
5) Your fats are DANGEROUSLY low. Your hormonal system is being thrashed. This happened to me. You are taking in like +/-10g of fat/day!!

Your body feels it's DYING ...Your body is under stress and hording water cause it thinks you are DYING! And massive weight lifting is not the same as massive cardio on low cals. It's calories are low... low protein for muscle repair... low carbs to build muscle/energy... and DANGEROUSLY LOW fats to try to regulate skin/hair/hormones/testosterone...

Read the nutrition section/MACROS and plan a real!!!! diet. You NEED fat!

Real diet like: oatmeal/pasta/brown rice/nuts for fat/peanut butter/+post work-out shake or more protein, etc.

[BillyBobJimboJr]

Really my waist isn't changing, just my stomach.

I would love it if this site had meal plans listed for different types of workouts but all I can find is a book worth of information that I just don't have the time to sift through to figure out how to make a meal plan. Plus, it's just too confusing.

Thanks for the advice.