need some no homotivation/brotivation (weight loss)

[bbgiv]

So, to make a long story short - in college I blew up to a massive, walrus-like creature that was 5'9" ~260 pounds. 4 years later, with some ups and downs, I'm now ~165 pounds and I feel pretty good. Unfortunately, I have a pretty stubborn pooch of belly fat that is standing between me and looking good with my shirt off. Personally, I feel like I have a decent BF% everywhere on my upper-body except my belly. I have distinction between muscle groups, some vascularity, etc.

Basically, I'm just tired of cutting and looking for a light at the end of the tunnel. This picture may not be the greatest (got a little self-conscious of taking a shirtless picture to post to a bunch of guys on the innerwebs), but yea, here it is, tell me whatever you think (or don't, I can't make you).

edited: put in a pic of me as a walrus

walrus.png

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[NegativeX]

Shave and you'll lose 5% bodyfat right off the bat. Notsrs (but you will look better shirtless)

Lose another 10lbs slowly and I think you'll look totally different. Seems you have some decent mass to cut into, from looking at your arms. You're almost there man... don't give up.

Aim for -250 to -500 calories a day below maintenance. Lift strong, do some cardio on off days or some LISS after weight lifting. Eat enough protein a day. (160-170 grams) You got this man!

[bbgiv]

Shave and you'll lose 5% bodyfat right off the bat. Notsrs (but you will look better shirtless)

Lose another 10lbs slowly and I think you'll look totally different. Seems you have some decent mass to cut into, from looking at your arms. You're almost there man... don't give up.

Aim for -250 to -500 calories a day below maintenance. Lift strong, do some cardio on off days or some LISS after weight lifting. Eat enough protein a day. (160-170 grams) You got this man!

thanks for the response/humoring me.

i'd love to be able to lose weight just by eating 250-500 under maintenance and just some occasional cardio while lifting strong, but my body has not been particularly receptive to that type of plan.

i eat about 1400-1600 calories, lift heavy 2x a week with intervals/sprints after, do a kickboxing class at a MMA gym 3-4 times a week. since starting that program after taking summer off i went from about 180 to the present 165. even when playing soccer and rugby in the same season, my body held on to fat stubbornly. at least, that's how i've understood it.

[ColLoki]

Great work so far man!

With type of activity and those calories you should be losing quite a bit of weight on a constant basis....but you knew that already right.
Are you sure you are counting calories correctly? It is very easy to under measure the amount you are eating.

Can you also post your Diet? There might be a few things that could be tweaked to help.

[bbgiv]

Great work so far man!

With type of activity and those calories you should be losing quite a bit of weight on a constant basis....but you knew that already right.
Are you sure you are counting calories correctly? It is very easy to under measure the amount you are eating.

Can you also post your Diet? There might be a few things that could be tweaked to help.

i know for the last week or two i haven't been as disciplined with my diet (law school finals... eating my feelings). also, to workout and still study i get up at 545 and workout, and when i get up early i find i eat more throughout the day.

and my diet has been just a "eat whatever i want under a calorie limit" diet. generally, as a matter of convenience, that diet is filled with a lot of chicken breast, pork tenderloin, roasted vegetables, and other good stuff, but it's not remotely disciplined or tied to macros. i've been holding that out as the last ace up my sleeve should i eventually plateau.

[ColLoki]

i know for the last week or two i haven't been as disciplined with my diet (law school finals... eating my feelings). also, to workout and still study i get up at 545 and workout, and when i get up early i find i eat more throughout the day.

and my diet has been just a "eat whatever i want under a calorie limit" diet. generally, as a matter of convenience, that diet is filled with a lot of chicken breast, pork tenderloin, roasted vegetables, and other good stuff, but it's not remotely disciplined or tied to macros. i've been holding that out as the last ace up my sleeve should i eventually plateau.

It can be very difficult trying to fit everything in and keep the diet clean. I am currently working full time, doing my Masters finals and trying to fit in the Gym (which i do)...same as yourself I have to get up before 6am but its worth it.

I would say its pretty likely you are eating around maintenance if you are not seeing any further weight loss, considering the pressure you are under thats probably OK. Maybe hit the Diet hard again in a week or two? Also I find changing it up a bit to be helpful, it gets your portion sizes back to normal (they tend to somehow get bigger as time goes by with me anyway).

[bbgiv]

the loss has slowed, but over the last month i'm still down like 4 pounds. i aim for about 1400 - i can't imagine if, even with my lack of discipline, i put down more than 1900 calories a day. if that's my maintenance level, with the amount i exercise, i am BONED.

but you're totally right about getting off for a bit and then rededicating. if i stop having any progress, i'm definitely going to do 1-2 weeks of maintenance and then getting back on it.

[ColLoki]

Ahh OK, sorry I thought your progress had stopped. 1 pound a week is ~500kcal under maintenance per day which is good going and nice steady progress....even though it might seem slow compared with the previous weight loss. The pounds you are losing now are the ones that get very noticeable!

I reckon that is a good idea, focus on the study and then get back on the wagon. Hope it all works out for you btw and best of luck with the finals.

[bbgiv]

no need to apologize man! and yea, i'm really hoping these are the ones that get noticeable.

unfortunately, and you couldn't see in the pic, i have BIG legs - i don't care about how they look aesthetically, but i'm just worried that there's a lot of fat there that will eat into the % of the weight that comes from my midsection.

oh well, only thing to do is to stay on the grind and take care of business.

[bbgiv]

i'm allowing myself one shameless bump.