Eating the right things, killing the weights and...not losing a lb.

[BioZeke]

Hey guys and gals, I come with a couple of questions after scouring the site for a solid week or so (abusing that search box! ) about what might be going on with my "cut".

I'll start by saying that I've read and re-read Emma Leighs post on calculating macros so much that I could write it without looking at it. I've calculated what my BMR is, what my maintenance is and what my deficit should be. For three weeks now, I've been working on a clean eating cut (on about 2000-2100 calories a day, 170-200g protein, 60-80g fat, rest carbs generally to fill in what I need) going to the gym 4 days a week working legs/shoulders, chest/tri, back/bi/abs while tossing in 20 minutes of cardio after each lift day. But I have not lost any weight.

I eat every 2-3 hours, and eat well (lean meats, complex carbs, healthy fats) and drink 3 liters to a gallon a day of water. My "stack" consists of Opti Men multis, fish oil, (occasionally caffeine) and creatine hydro chloride.

But something that keeps entering my mind, is, before going on this cut, I could eat 2-3 small meals a day (general unhealthy, fast food etc) and be fine. Now that I'm eating what seems to be very clean foods (all cooked at home, whole foods) there's not only a ton of it it seems, but how could I possibly be losing weight eating so much?

Do any of you guys have any insight to this? Why might I not be losing any weight?

(And I'm lifting 70% of my on rep max on almost everything, which is mostly compound exercises)

[Ben6485]

creatine makes you hold a lot of water.

[acrawlingchaos]

How long have you been dieting for? If you read Emma's guide, you should know what she gives you is an estimate, and that she directs you to continue reducing intake until you start to lose weight.

These BMR calculators are only estimates, they give you a general idea of where to start and you must dial in from there.




. Eating "clean" has nothing to do with weight loss. It's just a subjective term used by nutritional alarmists.

. Meal timing/frequency have nothing to do with weight loss. Eat according to preference.

. Ditch the creatine. Creatine will cause water retention and mask weight loss. While creatine isn't detrimental to weight loss, it can making tracking weight loss trends difficult.

[BioZeke]

creatine makes you hold a lot of water.

I thought that might be at least part of what is going on. I certainly can't profess to know everything about creatine, aside from what benefits it can provide and its side effects, but I thought the creatine hydro chloride might be the best route to try and keep the bloating down a tad. Though I know I will hang onto some, because that is what it's supposed to do working with your muscle tissue!

I suppose I'm having a bit of a difficult time adjusting my diet to what it should probably be. Could the creatine be having that much of an effect? I'm hitting the macros spot on, I'm just afraid I may be taking in too much or too little of a certain nutrient. Though, with my numbers above working on ~2100 calories a day, I don't think I'm far off. It's only been three weeks, but given the bit that I've provided here, should I keep pressing on and expect to see some results in the weight loss dept? I'm shooting for no more than 1-2lbs a week, but in this first 2-3 week phase, could creatine be holding that up a bit?

[BioZeke]

How long have you been dieting for? If you read Emma's guide, you should know what she gives you is an estimate, and that she directs you to continue reducing intake until you start to lose weight.

These BMR calculators are only estimates, they give you a general idea of where to start and you must dial in from there.




. Eating "clean" has nothing to do with weight loss. It's just a subjective term used by nutritional alarmists.

. Meal timing/frequency have nothing to do with weight loss. Eat according to preference.

. Ditch the creatine. Creatine will cause water retention and mask weight loss. While creatine isn't detrimental to weight loss, it can making tracking weight loss trends difficult.

I've been going at it for three weeks now. And I certainly understand that they are estimates, I just think I might be having a difficult time actually finding out what my body really needs going from a 2-3 meal a day diet consisting of a burger and the previous nights chinese to eating like a normal, healthy human being should! I'm afraid to drop by too much, in fear that it might be counter productive. But, I hear you.

My thoughts behind taking the creatine is that it may help me boost a little muscle growth to aid in a metabolism increase in a sense - a headstart I guess you could say. If you guys think it will work at least in the longer term and I need to ride it out a bit by chalking it up to water retention, I'm certainly cool with that, I just suppose I need some of you that more familiar with these things to tell me that's what's going on.

[kingarnold187]

watch your fat intake.....you can be eating a good deficit of carbs/calories but how many grams of fat is in your daily macros?...that was my problem

i highly doubt creatine is hindering your results..yes you hold a bit of water...but not THAT MUCH ....creatine most likely isnt the issue here

ppl can still cut/lost weight while taking creatine...unless your trying to get to around or below 10-8% bf then creatine might be an issue

[acrawlingchaos]

I've been going at it for three weeks now. And I certainly understand that they are estimates, I just think I might be having a difficult time actually finding out what my body really needs going from a 2-3 meal a day diet consisting of a burger and the previous nights chinese to eating like a normal, healthy human being should! I'm afraid to drop by too much, in fear that it might be counter productive. But, I hear you.

If you liked eating 2-3 times a day, why did you change it? Normal people eat 2 or 3 times a day. Why are you afraid of dropping fat? How could that be counterproductive?

My thoughts behind taking the creatine is that it may help me boost a little muscle growth to aid in a metabolism increase in a sense - a headstart I guess you could say. If you guys think it will work at least in the longer term and I need to ride it out a bit by chalking it up to water retention, I'm certainly cool with that, I just suppose I need some of you that more familiar with these things to tell me that's what's going on.

If you're in a deficit, creatine isn't going to help build muscle, or help with a metabolism boost. Creatine helps crank out a few more reps and much more useful on a surplus. In the meantime, being new to cutting, it WILL mask weight loss. Save yourself some sanity and just ditch it.


Question.... Are you actually counting all your calories? What program are you tracking on? Are you actually weighing everything you eat with a scale?

[BioZeke]

If you liked eating 2-3 times a day, why did you change it? Normal people eat 2 or 3 times a day. Why are you afraid of dropping fat? How could that be counterproductive?

If you're in a deficit, creatine isn't going to help build muscle, or help with a metabolism boost. Creatine helps crank out a few more reps and much more useful on a surplus. In the meantime, being new to cutting, it WILL mask weight loss. Save yourself some sanity and just ditch it.


Question.... Are you actually counting all your calories? What program are you tracking on? Are you actually weighing everything you eat with a scale?

Thank you for the response on creatine! I'll drop it and keep going and see what happens in those regards.

I am counting my calories using a combination of myfitnesspal and I'm weight my food on a digital postal scale (dont laugh) but it's effective. I only weigh meats, and measure my carbs and veggies by cup.

[chevro1et]

Are you noticing any difference in the way you look in the mirror or how clothes fit? Take progress pics (and possibly body measurements) so you can do comparisons. Don't let the scale be your ultimate judge.

[Delgadido]

How long have you been dieting for? If you read Emma's guide, you should know what she gives you is an estimate, and that she directs you to continue reducing intake until you start to lose weight.

These BMR calculators are only estimates, they give you a general idea of where to start and you must dial in from there.




. Eating "clean" has nothing to do with weight loss. It's just a subjective term used by nutritional alarmists.

. Meal timing/frequency have nothing to do with weight loss. Eat according to preference.

. Ditch the creatine. Creatine will cause water retention and mask weight loss. While creatine isn't detrimental to weight loss, it can making tracking weight loss trends difficult.

i would disagree on the creatine comment.

i would say keep it. it can help keep performance up in the gym which will help prevent fat loss.
if you are deficit op you are losing weight no matter what and you have to remember that.

If you arent losing weight or dont notice any changes in the mirror you should bring the calories down..


fat loss will occur regardless if you increase in weight(due to water weight) as long as you are in a deficit.

[CelluliteHate]

Yeah creatine shouldn't make you hold THAT MUCH water.

[Naeem11]

I disagree with the above poster on creatine. It's not going to mask your fat loss, and even if you retain water....it's just water which is intracellular (in the muscle and not around your waist)...trust your deficit. Also if you're new to cutting, you're likely new to lifting mean....a noob....noob means you will gain strength and mass on this cut. I'm a noob who has been training for 8 months and I can now max a squat at 335, deadlift 405 (maybe more), overhead press 135x2x5 (hit that today as a PR), and bench 205x3 as a max. Pretty sure I've gained some mass, seeing as for awhile my weight barely moved but I maintained my trusted deficit and my body has changed dramatically. I weighed 154lbs last summer after cutting from 305lbs. At 154 I had 0 mass on my frame and binged because of my ED to 190. Started the cut at 190, am now 172 and have been cutting for the past 8 months which is when I started lifting. Started lifting in a -500 deficit. My noob gains may be abnormal, but nonetheless you will have noob gains.

You will have weight fluctuations, the day before I weighed in at 172 (which was last Friday) I weighed 179. Again, trust your deficit as long as you're properly counting your macros. Weight loss is not linear. Which brings me to my next point. If you're not consistently losing bodyfat/weight....then you're likely miscalculating your macros and eating more than you should. Something else that might be happening is your sodium intake is up and down rather than remaining consistent. Either way, if you know you're counting and measuring everything correctly then trust it, and lose your weight.

All this being said, try to keep your food intake as high as you can. Before lowering calories try increasing activity (cardio). The more food you can take, the better off you will be as far as gym performance goes which will help in LBM preservation, and if you are in fact a noob it will help your noob gains, and will help in preventing any significant metabolic damage or slowdown.

Hope this helps OP.

[RJKosc97]

I would recommend keeping your rest between 45-60 seconds between sets and go for 10-15 reps each exercise to promote lean muscle growth while burning off fat. Keep your weightlifting under an hour and try doing 20 minutes of interval sprinting at the end of your workout. You'll get a real nice ripped/ shredded veiny leaner look

[BioZeke]

I disagree with the above poster on creatine. It's not going to mask your fat loss, and even if you retain water....it's just water which is intracellular (in the muscle and not around your waist)...trust your deficit. Also if you're new to cutting, you're likely new to lifting mean....a noob....noob means you will gain strength and mass on this cut. I'm a noob who has been training for 8 months and I can now max a squat at 335, deadlift 405 (maybe more), overhead press 135x2x5 (hit that today as a PR), and bench 205x3 as a max. Pretty sure I've gained some mass, seeing as for awhile my weight barely moved but I maintained my trusted deficit and my body has changed dramatically. I weighed 154lbs last summer after cutting from 305lbs. At 154 I had 0 mass on my frame and binged because of my ED to 190. Started the cut at 190, am now 172 and have been cutting for the past 8 months which is when I started lifting. Started lifting in a -500 deficit. My noob gains may be abnormal, but nonetheless you will have noob gains.

You will have weight fluctuations, the day before I weighed in at 172 (which was last Friday) I weighed 179. Again, trust your deficit as long as you're properly counting your macros. Weight loss is not linear. Which brings me to my next point. If you're not consistently losing bodyfat/weight....then you're likely miscalculating your macros and eating more than you should. Something else that might be happening is your sodium intake is up and down rather than remaining consistent. Either way, if you know you're counting and measuring everything correctly then trust it, and lose your weight.

All this being said, try to keep your food intake as high as you can. Before lowering calories try increasing activity (cardio). The more food you can take, the better off you will be as far as gym performance goes which will help in LBM preservation, and if you are in fact a noob it will help your noob gains, and will help in preventing any significant metabolic damage or slowdown.

Hope this helps OP.

Thank you very much for this reply! It's as encouraging/motivational as it is informative. I keep my fridge stocked with meats (be it fish, chicken, beef etc), brown rice or whole wheat penne, and some kind of fibrous green. Having a nursing wife to a 6 week old, I have to keep her fed with the healthy stuff as much as myself - but with that being said, having a 6 week old and working full time can really be tough on getting a rhythm going. So, my diet is there, it could just be more consistent I think. It will have to be, because after my 3 week picture comparison, the ONLY change was some of the chest hair that I shaved off a week and a half or so ago. It was very discouraging to look at, which brought me back here.

I've really, really noticed an improvement in the gym. A good example might be skull crushers - started with struggling using 25's a few week ago, and was able to do 3 sets of 10 (stuggling at the end!) with 45's. Pushdowns are great, bench has jumped up and legpress/squats have really improved. It could be chalked to getting form just right or maybe I am getting stronger! As you said, noob gains

The most difficult thing about all of this though, is counting exactly how much of which macro I'm consuming. I use myfitnesspal, which gives me a good idea what I should have when I have the perfect macro day, but eating the -exact- same thing may be tough to do. Changing it up, flavor and food type, is great, but it also changes the macros - and I'm having my most difficult time finding the sweet spot - am I consuming too much fat or too many carbs? It's tough.

My protein is in check, both in my meals and supplementing with Optimum Nutrition's Gold Standard so it's gotta be a surplus, or deficit, of either of those. Damn, why can't my body print out a TPS report and have it on my desk by the morning?!