Is this a Plateau or what?!?!

[gr67]

I’ll try and make this short. I’m 6’ 4” and 39 years old. I’ve been lurking on this and many other sites for a few years. As you can see I never post. I’m not a newbie by any means. 5-6 small meals a day, 40/30/30, 5 day splits with cardio the other 2, 3 day’s with cardio every other, extra cardio, HiiT, etc. I mix everything up a lot. I’ve use / tried lots of supps, Whey, Creatine, Arginine, Ephedra, ZMA, Glutamine, multi’s etc.

I’ve always been over weight. I was the fat kid in grammar and high school. During my 20’s I was up and down. As high as 260 lbs, as low as 200 lbs. I had back surgery in 1999 and ballooned up to 270 lbs. in 2001.


Since 2001 I’ve done everything, Atkins, Body for Life, and read lots and lots of posts, articles etc. I’m pretty clean with the food, very disciplined with the workouts. I have not missed more than a handful of workouts in the last 5 years. I currently weigh 205 and stand at about 12 – 13% bodyfat. I know that because I have a yearly screening / blood test sponsored by work that has been at 12% for 3 years straight. According to Fit Day and My Body Comp, my daily calories are about 3300. I currently average 2600 at 45 % protein.


My Plateau is busting my ass. I have not made much progress in 2 years. I still have this real loose fat around my midsection. It is very soft and I can not get rid of it. It’s not loose skin, it’s fat. I know I can’t spot reduce! I was down as low as 194 and still had it. I’ve bulked back to 220 and cut back to 200 and still the same. My progress from 270 down to 200 is nice, but I can’t get to that next level. I currently look identical to my pic from 2004. No Progress! I’m 6’4”, 200 lbs, 12% BF and still have a belly?!?!? Am I expecting too much? Was I fat too long to get rid of this without lipo? Do I need to get even lower? 185? 185 lbs. at 6’4” seems a little light. I’m not trying to be a body builder, just trying to loose the gut for good.

Are there any other “Senior” members out there that may have some experience with this? You were over weight for a long time, started late in life with training, and have problems with a “30 + year old mid section”? I appreciate advice from the younger folks, but I’m not sure you’ll really understand until you’ve had to fight old man time.

[red ranger]

I have the same problem and I have been struggling with it for two or three years. I am now 190 and I got down to the 170s and still had the same size belly. I have also tried everything and right now I am trying the Atkins diet and the only thing that I am eating is grilled chicken breasts. I have been doing this for about a week and I have seen a little bit of a result but I don't think it is going to be all that successful.

I am at the point where I think lipo may be my only solution. If you find something that works let me know.

[ChocoChick]

You look pretty good to me

The saying goes: Abs are made in the kitchen. So if you want to post your diet, we can take alook and see if there's anything there that needs tweaking.

[gr67]

Hey red,
at least I know I’m not alone. Good Luck.

dbflgirl,

Thanks for the compliment. The weekdays during work are easy. I eat the same thing almost every day except for dinner. I help my wife plan dinner, (she has a great metabolism and can eat just about anything). That is the hardest to maintain. The family will not eat what I eat everyday, so I try to steer them towards higher protein, lower carbs / sugar etc. I’ll have pasta, tuna, steak, chicken fajitas, etc. It really varies, but I make sure to count everything and get it into FitDay to make sure I track my macronutrients. Here’s my current diet:

5:30 a.m.
Creatine, Arginine, CLA

6:30 a.m.
4 Egg Beaters,
2 scoops ON 100%,
1 cup of skim milk.

9:00 a.m.
½ cup 2% cottage cheese,
lowcarb vanilla yogurt,
1 tablespoon peanut butter

11:30
Arginine, CLA
4 oz roasted Chicken breast
1 cup green beans
1 medium pear
10 baby carrots
1 stalk celery

3:30 p.m.
1 EAS Carb control protein bar
Creatine, Arginine, CLA

5:00 p.m. Workout (currently doing 3 day splits. Off days are 30 min of cardio and abs)

6:00 p.m. Dinner (I try to get the PWO shake in, but sometimes dinner is already waiting so I skip)

9:00 p.m. ZMA

10:00 p.m. On Casein Shake (If my calories from dinner are not too high)

[ChocoChick]

Originally Posted by gr67

5:30 a.m.
Creatine, Arginine, CLA

6:30 a.m.
4 Egg Beaters,
2 scoops ON 100%,
1 cup of skim milk.

How about more eggs and some oats rather than the whey.

9:00 a.m.
½ cup 2% cottage cheese,
lowcarb vanilla yogurt,
1 tablespoon peanut butter

The cottage cheese is ok, but the lowcarb yogurt is not giving you enough protein to make this meal complete. A full cup of cc will give you ~32grams, which is about what you need at each meal.

11:30
Arginine, CLA
4 oz roasted Chicken breast
1 cup green beans
1 medium pear
10 baby carrots
1 stalk celery

ok

3:30 p.m.
1 EAS Carb control protein bar
Creatine, Arginine, CLA

Dith the protein bar and replace it with real food. You need protein _ starchy carbs here, since this is your pre-workout meal. You can also ad some fat, since you have 1.5 hours until your workout.

5:00 p.m. Workout (currently doing 3 day splits. Off days are 30 min of cardio and abs)

6:00 p.m. Dinner (I try to get the PWO shake in, but sometimes dinner is already waiting so I skip)

Can you bring the shake with you to the gym and drink it on the way home? Having a whey shake immediately pwo and then a real meal about an hour later is ideal.

9:00 p.m. ZMA

10:00 p.m. On Casein Shake (If my calories from dinner are not too high)

You should be having this meal. And you should keep your calories in line. You want to more or less evenly divide your calories across your meals. So this may mean less dinner for you

Now, just to reiterate, you look good right now. But if you are really intent on further reducing bodyfat, you are entering the territory of more serious attention to not just what you wat, but when you eat it.

[gr67]

Thanks for the input. I think I'll take your advice and give them a try.