noob lifting/eating?

[derekmdks]

background: im obese, i'm 5'9 and 240 lbs and just FAT.

I've been doing SL 5x5. started about 10 weeks ago, never lifted before, so every workout, i'm pretty much lifting the heaviest i ever have, and it's getting tougher.

plugged in the numbers into some calculator and my TDEE is supposed to be around 2900 (this sounds wrong. because i've been eating approx 2400 and my weight does not change). so i want to eat enough so i can keep gaining on the workout. wanna lose weight if possible or at least not get even fatter, but really wanna eat enough that i can keep adding to my lifts. what should my calorie be kept at?

[packattack87]

background: im obese, i'm 5'9 and 240 lbs and just FAT.

I've been doing SL 5x5. started about 10 weeks ago, never lifted before, so every workout, i'm pretty much lifting the heaviest i ever have, and it's getting tougher.

plugged in the numbers into some calculator and my TDEE is supposed to be around 2900 (this sounds wrong. because i've been eating approx 2400 and my weight does not change). so i want to eat enough so i can keep gaining on the workout. wanna lose weight if possible or at least not get even fatter, but really wanna eat enough that i can keep adding to my lifts. what should my calorie be kept at?

hmm 2900 actually sounds close to accurate to me... im suprised you have not lost any weight on a 500 calorie defecit while doing SL. how are you calculating your calories/macros?

edit: actually went ahead and plugged in some rough numbers and got a tdee of around 3000 completely sedentary... so if you are doing SL your tdee should be around 3300-3600. i would be really shocked that you have not lost ANY weight after 10 weeks.

[KGlack213]

2900 sounds like it might be a little high, but you'd probably still be calorie deficient at 2400... Are you eating the right balance of macros (carbs, protein, fat)? Those are just as important, if not more, than how many calories you take in.

[KwayZee]

2400 does sound like it should be a pretty good number. You could try dropping them a little lower, maybe around 2000-2200 per day and try that for a week or two and see how that goes for you.

[gbullock32]

If your weight is the same, but you're lifting more you might be doing a bit of a re-comp (adding muscle while losing fat); this is possible for obese people and new lifters. Since you fit both categories this might be what is happening, hard to say though.

[MikeDavidL]

You're definitely not counting your calories correctly. 2400 calories you would absolutely be losing weight. Are you counting everything that goes into your mouth? Are you weighing your foods? What are you using to track your calories?

You need to really get on top of the calorie counting if you're going to be able to track your progress properly.

For your height and weight, I would really recommend losing some of the weight and getting into a healthy weight range before trying to add muscle. You'll feel so much better and you'll be doing yourself a huge favour health-wise. It won't take you as long as you think.