1 month -good progress?? (pics)

[AsmodeusDM]

Attached are two pictures taken ~ 1 month apart.

Scale says:

4/18 -199.2
5/20 - 197.9

In the intervening 4 weeks I've lifted 12 times.. (making about +10 pounds on my bench, losing 20 pounds on my squat, gaining 15 pounds on my deadlift, nothing on my overhead press, and improving chin-ups from 5/3/2 to 12/8/5.

According to myfitnesspal I've eaten an average of 2345 calories (174g PRO, 92g FAT, 205g CHO)

According to my BodyMedia Fit armband I've burned an average of 1.65 METs or 3215 per day (active lifestyle, lifting, running, regular hikes, tennis, frisbee, etc. ).

So...... is this good progress or should I be looking to change/improve something? Seems like a lot of work to me for 1.3 pounds of weight loss... and well the pics look the same to me, although with only 1.3 pounds of loss I wouldn't expect them to look that differently.

[gautam85]

Oh boy !! You need to read the sticky threads, and re read them atleast 2ice a day. Looks like progress is made with workouts, but what about kitchen ? What does ur meal look like ? How about TDEE ? Also a quick note. Check your maintenance calories, and reduce them about 500 first 2 weeks and if you see a drastic change, may be 250 - 300 might work.

[AsmodeusDM]

I know the stickies and all their associated formulae by heart.

at my weight my bmr is right around 2000, also i'very had my RMR tested in a lab and it checked out at 2050.

Given my activity level an activity factor of 1.5 to 1.6 is realistic.

This gives me a TDEE of 3000 to 3200!

By consuming around 700ish less cals per day for a theoritical loss of 1+ pound per week.

I'm not bulking and I do have around 20% body fat so I went with the midpoint between 1g per pound of lmm and total body weight..ergo 180g of PRO.

Fat is right at .5g per pound of body weight.

The rest is carbs.

Also I know clean eating isn't important for weight loss, but my health is important too... my foods are all whole natural foods...actually aside from cottage cheese and Greek yogurt...its pretty much paleo/primal type diet (maybe not quite so much fat...and a lot more berries and fruit)

[tomlaw91]

Don't expect huge results in a month and if u wanna lose more than eat less

[mjdieth]

You could be making newb gains, putting on muscle while losing fat. This could be the reason why you have not lost on the scale, dont put too much stock in that number. Your chest seems to be a bit more defined. Keep it up and if after a while longer you are still not losing drop cals a bit more.

[wishitcouldlast]

in A month and trying to lose weight 2 pounds is not that good bro unless it is an ultra slow cut but you do not have a ton of muscle, could just be newb gains while lifting though.... read stickies are try 5/3/1 or starting strength for workouts. Good luck bro.

[InItForFitness]

Sorry but for a 1 month progress, this is disappointing.
Not sure exactly how you're achieving this but it's really so simple.
TDEE - 10% deficit (reduced from carb intake, ensure you meet protein/fat needs) = results you want.
However it doesn't look like you have a very solid muscle base you're cutting to, why not consider a bulk?
Than when you finally achieve a successful cut you'll have a nice solid body to show off underneath...
Just a suggestion though.

[nmarquis]

You could be making newb gains, putting on muscle while losing fat. This could be the reason why you have not lost on the scale, dont put too much stock in that number. Your chest seems to be a bit more defined. Keep it up and if after a while longer you are still not losing drop cals a bit more.

Couldn't agree more. In 30 days of doing cardio/plyo only I lost 7 pounds according to the scale. But using body measurements I lost 8 inches, and according to my body fat % I lost 6%. Doing the math, I lost 13 pounds of fat, and gained 6 pounds of muscle.

SCALES shouldn't matter at all. It's only 1 piece of a very large picture.

Great work, but as the old saying goes, no workout can undo a terrible diet. WOrkouts are great, but the real gains are in the kitchen.

[SubWooferCooker]

In 30 days of doing cardio/plyo

I lost 13 pounds of fat, and gained 6 pounds of muscle.

in 30 days? wow that is amazing

[Revolutionize]

In 30 days of doing cardio/plyo only I lost 7 pounds according to the scale. But using body measurements I lost 8 inches, and according to my body fat % I lost 6%. Doing the math, I lost 13 pounds of fat, and gained 6 pounds of muscle.

No offense, but that didn't happen. No way you gained 6lbs of muscle in a month. Absolutely no way (unless you're on some serious cell tech).

[MrM27]

It's only been 1 month so don't expect miracles. However, you should have lost more than 2 lbs.

What's your lifting routine?

A positive, chest looks a bit more defined.

Couldn't agree more. In 30 days of doing cardio/plyo only I lost 7 pounds according to the scale. But using body measurements I lost 8 inches, and according to my body fat % I lost 6%. Doing the math, I lost 13 pounds of fat, and gained 6 pounds of muscle.

Good story bro.

[Former300lber]

No offense, but that didn't happen. No way you gained 6lbs of muscle in a month. Absolutely no way (unless you're on some serious cell tech).

Not even on cell tech can you gain 6lbs of muscle in a month.

[AsmodeusDM]

Not even on cell tech can you gain 6lbs of muscle in a month.

Lifting routine is Starting Strength... squat/bench/deadlift/chinups + squat/OH press/power clean/chinups 3 sets of 5 reps, deadlift is 1 set of 5 reps, power cleans are 5 sets of 3 reps.

I try to add 5 pounds to the bar each time, but it's a struggle to complete and after failing to meet my work sets reqs I deload by about 10% and try to build back up from there.. sometimes it's successful, other times I have to de-load again.

Also weekly I take 9-point caliper tests (well my girlfriend does). The % bodyfat has gone down slightly consistent with a 2 to 3 pound loss of bodyfat with no change (up or down) in lean mass.

[AsmodeusDM]

re: "you should bulk, not cut"

most forum suggestions and blog suggestions seem to imply that you really should try to get down to a lower level of bodyfat.. say sub 15% before bulking.

I mean let's be honest.. with that gut of mine I really don't have any business trying to put ON weight.. do I?

[AsmodeusDM]

Lastly,

I'm really not in this for a short quick fix.. this is the end of a long multi-year journey for me from over 300lbs to where I am today.

I've learned a lot about what to do and what not to do... however each new "region" of weight brings with it new challenges.

This last part is by far the hardest.

Going from morbidly obese to just "regular" obese was beyond easy. From obese to overweight just took a lot of time and the addition of counting calories to my lifestyle. Overweight to normal had to include lifting and being more active.

So now i'm trying to go from "normal" to "athletically physically fit" and ... whew... this is beyond tough..

[Former300lber]

Lifting routine is Starting Strength... squat/bench/deadlift/chinups + squat/OH press/power clean/chinups 3 sets of 5 reps, deadlift is 1 set of 5 reps, power cleans are 5 sets of 3 reps.

I try to add 5 pounds to the bar each time, but it's a struggle to complete and after failing to meet my work sets reqs I deload by about 10% and try to build back up from there.. sometimes it's successful, other times I have to de-load again.

Also weekly I take 9-point caliper tests (well my girlfriend does). The % bodyfat has gone down slightly consistent with a 2 to 3 pound loss of bodyfat with no change (up or down) in lean mass.

You cannot gain mass on a cut, simple, You can however experience newb gains, and all these really are is your body adapting to new movements, it's your CNS (Central Nervous System) becoming well more equipped to handling certain loads if you will. That's why you are able to make weight jumps on the exercises while still being in a deficit.

That being said, 1 month progress and you've only gone down 1lb is not very good, Not sure if your chest looks more defined because of shaving, or because of fat loss, either way progress is progress, but you can definitely speed up the progress, the less time cutting just means more time bulking.



Edit: Although you may not have a lot of lean mass, you definitely have more fat then desired to start a bulk, disregard what anybody says and just do what makes you comfortable, I personally would continue to cut weight at a moderate deficit, and continue to lose the fat.

[Waldo56]

There are lots of suggestions to not bulk until 15% or lower, but people that have lost a lot of weight are a special exception (IMHO), I was higher than 15% on my first bulk and bulked ultra-lean, barely gained any fat at all until right near the end, even then, a couple pounds.

Few reasons for this. You've been cutting a long time. Your body is adapting to cutting, which just makes cutting that much harder. To lose as little as you did at that low of an intake, your metabolism is really low (I'm about your size, my total daily intake when cutting is north of 3K, my MFP setting of 2200 cal/day net is a 600 cal deficit).

Your body surely could use a nice long diet break. Your mind probably could too.

Your body will put on muscle mass really easy. You've got being a noob and having likely lost a bit of muscle mass while cutting going for you.

Now this doesn't mean its a good idea to go all slob and gain like a madman, but a few months in a small surplus, 200-300 cal, would absolutely do wonders for you, switch back to cutting and things should work much, much easier, at least for a while. The couple pounds of fat you'd gain would come right off, and your metabolism would be in much better shape to tackle getting to the next level of leanness.

[elgatito71]

Op IMO i think a loss it's a loss.. you look leaner from the picture in April.. like every one here said you should of loss more in a month but i think from experience when you cut the first 5 weeks it's a trial and error situation .... you also said according to MFP you eating 2345c per day...

are you weighting your food? oh just eating a banana and adding it to MFP as one large banana ?

[Revolutionize]

Not even on cell tech can you gain 6lbs of muscle in a month.

I've never been on gear, so I can't say for sure. Either way, I agree that it didn't happen.

[AsmodeusDM]

re: weighing

I'm a data analyst by profession.. I keep a digital scale in the kitchen and in the car... I'm that weirdo that pulls out the electronic scale at a restaurant (not that I eat out often).

::shrug::

I'll take what I can get I suppose... if it takes 6, 8, 10, even 12 months.. then it takes that long...


re: lifts

I'm not expecting to gain strength... just trying to do the best I can to keep that muscle around!


re: "cutting break"

I had shoulder surgery last September and was found to be low testosterone and low thyroid.. I basically took off from Sep to Feb from all dieting and ate at close to maintenance (even then I managed to put on 10 pounds..most of it fat).

With my shoulder cleared for activity again... this is me trying to finish what I started way back in 2008

Hence this thread... I feel like I'm doing everything right (well as close as I know how to get) but was a little.... let down... by my progress. I know it's only one month in... and trust me after 5 years of this I've learned patience... but I feel like I'm so close now (and compared to be 320lbs I am) and I want to finish strong.

[vismal]

Just lower your calories. Using a bodyfit device is a recipe for over eating. I don't care how accurate those things claim to be. Just eat less bro. Try 2000 calories. At your body fat you should easily be able to lose 1-2 lbs a week. Try not to be to analytic about it. The math will never add up. There is too much of a margin of error in everything. The FDA lets food companies come with in 10% of their actual caloric values. Plus they round to the nearest 5. That plus the 10% margin of error in the body fit device can account for the reason you haven't lost as much weight as the math would suggest you should have.

cliffs: Eat less, more more, or both.