Super-slow metabolism

[yakabebe]

Originally Posted by Arnoldfan

I'm 202 lbs., 5'10" and fairly muscular. I've been on my diet of 1800 calories a day for three weeks now - lowfat foods, plenty of protein, avoid sweets, you know how it goes. I've been working out in the gym about 4 times a week, and my days off I do cardio for about 30 min (for me, walking or riding an exercise bike; I can't run - bad knees).

Problem is, in the last three weeks I haven't lost a single pound! I can't figure it out - I only eat baked fish, grilled white-meat chicken, fruit, green beans, etc. I treat myself occasionally with a York peppermint patty or a Weight Watchers fudgesicle or a few peanuts (no more than 28 grams a day). Very strict. I don't really have enough time in my day to do the whole protein vs. carbs vs. fats calculations per meal per day for everything I eat, etc, etc. Keeping my diet high in protein, low in fat and moderately low in carbs while keeping my calories down is fine with me.

Anyway, for lack of anything better, I'm dropping my daily calories to 1600/day and doubling my cardio to 1-hr a day along with my workouts. I do have a sedentary desk job, but there's no way I won't be able to not lose weight with the amount of exercise and dieting I'll be doing now. It's incredible that I either have such a glacially-slow metabolism, or enough hidden calories are sneaking their way in somehow.

It's amazing how little it takes for me to add weight.

FWIW - as i enter the fray duckin' and weavin' - hoping not to get by incoming or friendly fire....

OP - your post doesnt quite give me enough info.

You say you havent lost a single pound in 3 weeks.

Believe me - that is no big deal. Plateaus like that are a universal

What I would ask is are you aware of the difference in the body composition that may be occuring?

Ie...using weight as your measure which is a bit of a folly (make that a BIG folly) a man who is 90 kg and 25% body fat who then goes to 100kg and 5% body fat would be tossing himself off the roof if he used the scales alone as the measure

How do you know that your body isnt losing some fat but gaining lean mass and hence no scale change?

Do you have fat calipers? Can you get your body fat measured? Do you have a mirror?????

Just some food for thought - and no calories in that food, my man!!!

[silverlightning]

up your calories for a few days. or just carbs. then get back to tracking them as close as possible. i don't count calories or pro., carbs, fat, but i have a general idea. your body may need more cals to bring your metabolism up.

[silverlightning]

Originally Posted by x-trainer ben

5 ft 10 and 202 and "fairly" muscular is pretty solid and for 3 weeks he has been doing the same thing with no new results. That being said week 4 needs a bit of a shake up(no bodybuilding contest here) so by increasing his calories some and cranking up the cardio he ....may... jumpstart the 45 year old sedentary metabolism. The key is a new routine and double the cardio for a fairly muscular guy. I just did this and am loosing fat like crazy now, but my cardio increased to 80 min 3-4 times per week.

if its the key, then maybe you know something we don't. how did you come up with this such key for a "fairly muscular guy"? OP says he's muscular, but that's subjective.

OP, post a picture.

[Arlecchino]

Since this forum has been going to crap lately, please everyone try to remain civil.

[beerbar]

Have you tried carb cycling? This has made a world of difference for me.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/par30.htm

[x-trainer ben]

Originally Posted by silverlightning

if its the key, then maybe you know something we don't. how did you come up with this such key for a "fairly muscular guy"? OP says he's muscular, but that's subjective.

OP, post a picture.

Personal experience baybeee, nothing better than experience. After a few weeks the body tends to say "not this same old sh-t again." The only thing that seems to "break" this, is to change things up; i was told this was adaptation. It worked for me so i am suggestion it to the poster as a suggestion for a new approach. I don't really care if he does it because it is working for me now!

[kostasthai]

Originally Posted by Arnoldfan

I'm 202 lbs., 5'10" and fairly muscular. I've been on my diet of 1800 calories a day for three weeks now - lowfat foods, plenty of protein, avoid sweets, you know how it goes. I've been working out in the gym about 4 times a week, and my days off I do cardio for about 30 min (for me, walking or riding an exercise bike; I can't run - bad knees).

Problem is, in the last three weeks I haven't lost a single pound! I can't figure it out - I only eat baked fish, grilled white-meat chicken, fruit, green beans, etc. I treat myself occasionally with a York peppermint patty or a Weight Watchers fudgesicle or a few peanuts (no more than 28 grams a day). Very strict. I don't really have enough time in my day to do the whole protein vs. carbs vs. fats calculations per meal per day for everything I eat, etc, etc. Keeping my diet high in protein, low in fat and moderately low in carbs while keeping my calories down is fine with me.

Anyway, for lack of anything better, I'm dropping my daily calories to 1600/day and doubling my cardio to 1-hr a day along with my workouts. I do have a sedentary desk job, but there's no way I won't be able to not lose weight with the amount of exercise and dieting I'll be doing now. It's incredible that I either have such a glacially-slow metabolism, or enough hidden calories are sneaking their way in somehow.

It's amazing how little it takes for me to add weight.

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=120160841
please read this thread and accept the ENERGY BALANCE equation. Track calories religiously, both the ones you take in (food) and the ones you burn. then calculate and divide by 9,000 to see how many days you need to loose one kilo. Easy. work out hard to increase muscle so your BMR increases. that is all, there no slow metabolisms, no miracles, just how it all adds up. sorry that I am blunt.

[Bob45]

Came back to the site for some motivation for myself. What happened to everyone's opinions wanted? Isn't that what these sites are made for? Not for a few so called experts to solve everyone's problems. I guess a good argument on a subject is good too.

Do you know your approximate LBM? About how many calories were you eating to maintain 202? How did you come up with 1800 for a start? All your hormone levels in check? A good point was made that muscle weight may be coming into play here. You gain fast after a layoff and it won't show on the scale as losing. Three weeks is nothing anyway. I am also very impatient. I want stuff to happen instantly.

Keep at it!

[x-trainer ben]

Originally Posted by Bob45

Came back to the site for some motivation for myself. What happened to everyone's opinions wanted? Isn't that what these sites are made for? Not for a few so called experts to solve everyone's problems. I guess a good argument on a subject is good too.

Do you know your approximate LBM? About how many calories were you eating to maintain 202? How did you come up with 1800 for a start? All your hormone levels in check? A good point was made that muscle weight may be coming into play here. You gain fast after a layoff and it won't show on the scale as losing. Three weeks is nothing anyway. I am also very impatient. I want stuff to happen instantly.

Keep at it!

good points, i forgot about hormone levels dohhhhhh!

[kodlawnman]

just looking at your avi and it says


WHAT EVER YOU FEED GROWS AND WHATEVER YOU STARVE DIES ?

1800 CALS ?

THATS WHAT BUCK IS TRYING TO TELL YOU

[JC480]

I hate to tell you guys but some men absolutely can have a maintenance level of 1600-1800 calories per day because they are sedentary. They sit on their asses 8-10 hours a day. Hitting the gym 2 hours a day and eating every 3 hours does not overcome this sloth metabolism.

There are plenty of guys, including me, on this board who will attest to this. So...if you're at sub 10% BF, then the BMR will be higher. How much higher in a sedentary athlete? I have no idea...bet it's not as much as you guys think.

[crupiea]

I guarantee your metabolism is not as slow as your math.

3 weeks of dieting and you are treating yourself with peppermints and peanuts and whatever.

The reason you are overweight is because of treats.

stop doing this and you will be fine.

SAlso stop trying to hit 1600 caplories per day. thats too few and it leaves you hungry and you need to "treat" yourself to make up calories you should have eaten earlier.

Try to eat 5 meals per day or 400 calories each. a meal every 3 hours or so.

no snacks no treats.

Workout like you are already doing.

In 1 week weigh yourself again and see if you have made any progress. by aware that you might not see any movement on the scale. if this is the case them lower 1 meal per day to 300 calories and leave the rest at 400 and repeat for another week.

After a couple weeks of this you will see something happen. If you dont then pm me an we can work it out.

[Bob45]

Where did he go?

[freebirdmac]

Originally Posted by JC480

I hate to tell you guys but some men absolutely can have a maintenance level of 1600-1800 calories per day because they are sedentary. They sit on their asses 8-10 hours a day. Hitting the gym 2 hours a day and eating every 3 hours does not overcome this sloth metabolism.

There are plenty of guys, including me, on this board who will attest to this. So...if you're at sub 10% BF, then the BMR will be higher. How much higher in a sedentary athlete? I have no idea...bet it's not as much as you guys think.

Hmmm, I can lift 4x week for about an hour, do no cardio, sedentary job, and with hypo and meno maintain at 1800 cals. At 5'4" and 110#.

Any guy who has my maintenance level has issues beyond not spending some time in the gym.

[Atropa]

I do not think there is enough information to give much advise.
OP, there is a reason your supposed to visit your doctor before starting any diet and exercise program.
For instance it would be helpful to know what your BF% is and if you have had all your hormone levels checked as well as a glucose tolerance test etc.
You did not post your diet in detail that I could see but maybe I missed it.
Point is this, while I do not agree with the blanket statement of calories in verses calories out it does not mean that it does not ring true MOST of the time, hence the need for having all your levels checked.
We need a detailed diet plan, both the food you eat and your target macros.
Your muscle to fat ratio, that along with things like a glucose tolerance test plays a huge factor in planing meals.
I noticed you said you avoid sweets, in general I have found that when people say that it means they treat themselves to something about once a day, those are often what halts progress right there.
What do you drink? People forget to factor in their drinks when looking at their total nutrition and you should unless you are drinking nothing but water.

No idea what your exercise plan is, I see no reps, exercises posted.

Over all , the only thing I could tell you right off is, if your lifting make sure your eating enough, if your not eating your muscles will not grow and the human body is amazingly efficient at holding onto fat, after all we did evolve that way so we don't die during periods of famine. So eat more, eat the right foods, stick to meats and veggies mainly, add in some whole grains if you can eat them, fruits are not the enemy but don't go overboard.
If it is man made, do not eat it! In fact stick to the outside loop of your grocery store, the only thing the isles hold is junk other than perhaps canned tuna and such.

[dungeonmistress]

>>>I don't really have enough time in my day to do the whole protein vs. carbs vs. fats calculations per meal per day for everything I eat, etc, etc. Keeping my diet high in protein, low in fat and moderately low in carbs while keeping my calories down is fine with me.

you most certainly DO have the time. there are programs out there on the web - check out fitday.com or dailyplate.com. it does everything for you. i personally use the daily plate. what helps me is to track my intake once during the day and then stick to it, make adjustments as necessary. you may be eating more than you think. why half ass it when you might find the answer to your problem in the data? in the alternative, f you were losing and now you're not, odds are you've hit a plateau as others have suggested or you have lowered your calories to the point where your body recognizes that it's too low to maintain both your regular bodily functions (breathing, walking, etc) and your exercise regime. what do you think it will do? that's right - conserve your energy (fat) stores.

[OutOfStep]

Originally Posted by JC480

sedentary athlete

Oxymoron - a combination of contradictory or incongruous words.

[JC480]

Originally Posted by OutOfStep

Oxymoron - a combination of contradictory or incongruous words.

White collar professional that sits behind a desk all day, has a family to raise and gets an hour or two a day at the gym.

So yes...SEDENTARY ATHLETE.

[liegelord]

Originally Posted by dungeonmistress;

you most certainly DO have the time. there are programs out there on the web - check out fitday.com or dailyplate.com. it does everything for you. i personally use the daily plate. what helps me is to track my intake once during the day and then stick to it, make adjustments as necessary. you may be eating more than you think. why half ass it when you might find the answer to your problem in the data?

^^Amen to that. It only takes a few minutes a day, even less if you're like me and eat the same things most days.

I use fitday and since Oct. 9 I've lost almost 2 inches on my waist and I'm still getting stronger, and I was already fairly lean (13-14%). No cardio, tho I probably should start boxing again. I've been eating 1900-2000 everyday and I'm 5'11 and last time I weighed (I don't use a scale anymore) I was 193.

I don't think OP's body is holding onto fat and slowing his metabolic rate (that takes months and doesn't slow much), he's probably eating too much.

OP: Have you measured your waist?

[ColoradoLawman]

Originally Posted by freebirdmac

Cardio does assist, just not as much as people like to think. It's the icing, not the main means.

Some good reading:

Awesome articles. I've been focusing too much on cardio, although I have been using HIIT. I've hit a weight loss wall. I am going to continue HIIT, but am going to spend more time hitting the weights. Thanks!

[plumher]

[QUOTE=
les alone as the measure

How do you know that your body isnt losing some fat but gaining lean mass and hence no scale change?


[/QUOTE]

i can feel your pain bro. It would seem like i have a slower and very efficient metabolism also. I've also heard it said when you start a cardio schedule it take a while for the body to learn how to metabolize body fat as an energy source.
My personal belief is that people have different body types and metabolisms and what works for one may not neccessarily work for another. This is why the pros use a journal/ log to write down what they do/eat for training. By making subtle changes, one can fine tune what works for them.

Our bodies are designed to be efficient. If you force your muscles to lift heavier weight, they will get stronger. If you run long distrance, your upper body will shed weight to allow it to be easier on the body. The same goes for sprinters. I'll add that genetics play an important part too.
To direct this info to losing fat, we have to understand if we cut calories too drastic the body will shed weight(muscle and fat) bvecause muscle burns MORE calories than fat at rest. Less muscles means the body can survive longer on the allotted calorie intake. Now if we cut just below maintenance and add resistance training we can preserve muscle from being spared while dropping the unwanted fat....slowly. What we have to do is change up the calorie intact/ exercise ratio until we get the best results.

[jmborr]

Originally Posted by Arnoldfan

I'm 202 lbs., 5'10" and fairly muscular. I've been on my diet of 1800 calories a day for three weeks now - lowfat foods, plenty of protein, avoid sweets, you know how it goes. I've been working out in the gym about 4 times a week, and my days off I do cardio for about 30 min (for me, walking or riding an exercise bike; I can't run - bad knees).

Problem is, in the last three weeks I haven't lost a single pound! I can't figure it out - I only eat baked fish, grilled white-meat chicken, fruit, green beans, etc. I treat myself occasionally with a York peppermint patty or a Weight Watchers fudgesicle or a few peanuts (no more than 28 grams a day). Very strict. I don't really have enough time in my day to do the whole protein vs. carbs vs. fats calculations per meal per day for everything I eat, etc, etc. Keeping my diet high in protein, low in fat and moderately low in carbs while keeping my calories down is fine with me.

Anyway, for lack of anything better, I'm dropping my daily calories to 1600/day and doubling my cardio to 1-hr a day along with my workouts. I do have a sedentary desk job, but there's no way I won't be able to not lose weight with the amount of exercise and dieting I'll be doing now. It's incredible that I either have such a glacially-slow metabolism, or enough hidden calories are sneaking their way in somehow.

It's amazing how little it takes for me to add weight.

Have you tried the elliptical machine? It's gentle on the knees and pulling from the handles will make your arms and back burn calories, in addition to your leg work.

[plumher]

Originally Posted by jmborr

Have you tried the elliptical machine? It's gentle on the knees and pulling from the handles will make your arms and back burn calories, in addition to your leg work.

my old plumber knees are screwed up big time and this has been my fav for 10 years or better

[bigvin73]

you most certainly DO have the time. there are programs out there on the web - check out fitday.com or dailyplate.com. it does everything for you. i personally use the daily plate. what helps me is to track my intake once during the day and then stick to it, make adjustments as necessary. you may be eating more than you think. why half ass it when you might find the answer to your problem in the data? in the alternative, f you were losing and now you're not, odds are you've hit a plateau as others have suggested or you have lowered your calories to the point where your body recognizes that it's too low to maintain both your regular bodily functions (breathing, walking, etc) and your exercise regime. what do you think it will do? that's right - conserve your energy (fat) stores.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the tip I just looked up fitday and tracked what I am eating and dammit I am way light tells me I burn 4400 cals a day and I am around 3k. It will be very hard for me to get to 4k however my weight is staying the same and body is changing so I figure if it aint broke why fix it. I will just take my time dialing in my diet I have 3 plus years before I want to take a shot at a stage.

[kgartin]

Originally Posted by Arnoldfan

Btw, you look great at 50! I know it takes a lot of work. I wish my wife at 45 looked half as good as you.

Whoa...bad form dude...








FTR:
My wife (at 45) is the hottest thing anywhere and she doesn't even work out. What a babe...