A complete beginner on a 500 caloric deficit, not losing weight

[golan4840]

Hi all. I'm 25 years old, 1.90 meters and 100 kg. I just recently started working out seriously (about a month ago) after years of not working out and failing to make any gains in the past.
I will consider myself skinny-fat. Overweight and very little muscle mass.
I started a beginner full body split 3 times a week and it's going great. I'm getting stronger on all my lifts every week.
I do cardio 3 times a week as well (right after lifting). Brisk walking for 40-45 minutes.
I consume 2100-2200 calories every days, with around 180 grams of protein.
My TDEE according to most calculators I used, is around 2700-2800 calories (with light exercise highlighted).
I started at 103 kg. in the first week of training I dropped almost 2, in the second week I dropped the rest, and I've been on 100 kg for the past 2 weeks, without changing my routine at all.
Now I've read that complete beginners like me can lose fat and gain muscle at the same time. could that be reason why I don't seem to lose weight?
I am fairly confident in my macro and calories calculation so I don't want to cut more calories before I figure out all possible reasons as to why I stopped losing weight.
Any insight will be appreciated.

[OoOpsie]

I don't want to cut more calories before I figure out all possible reasons as to why I stopped losing weight.

Usually, if you're not loosing weight, you're not in a deficit.

However, as you stated, this could be becuase of the 'newbie gains', either that or you're eating at maintenance.

If you're still progressing with your lifts, I would stick with it for a little while longer and adjust as needed if nothing changes.
Sometimes the mirror is better than the scales.

[TheUnderdog83]

How confident are you in counting your calories? Do you have a kitchen scale or are you just “eye-balling” your serving sizes? Are you putting everything in an app, including any sodas, ketchup, bbq sauce, oil you cook with, etc?

Are you weighing yourself every morning or just once a week?

[SugarFree1]

If you are losing fat while gaining muscle at the same time; it should show on a tape measure your waistline shrinking.

[xsquid99]

Here's the whole problem with the whole theory of "losing fat but gaining muscle" at the same time. If you think you're in a 500 calorie deficit that would equate to 1lb a week of fat loss, but no natural lifter is going to be able to gain 1lb a week of muscle (and nowhere close to that in a caloric deficit), so that whole theory kind of goes out the window. I can see maybe getting some water retention and inflammation if your'e brand new to lifting, but this should balance out after 2-3 weeks at most.

Bottom line, if you haven't lost any weight for a couple weeks (3 at the most), you can safely assume you are not in a caloric deficit.

[golan4840]

How confident are you in counting your calories? Do you have a kitchen scale or are you just “eye-balling” your serving sizes? Are you putting everything in an app, including any sodas, ketchup, bbq sauce, oil you cook with, etc?

Are you weighing yourself every morning or just once a week?

I kitchen scale everything. and to make it even safer and easier, I eat almost exactly the same on workout days and almost exactly the same on non-workout days.
The only deal of the week I don't monitor is Friday dinner with family.
I am weighting myself every morning.

If you are losing fat while gaining muscle at the same time; it should show on a tape measure your waistline shrinking.

I guess I should measure that once a week.

Here's the whole problem with the whole theory of "losing fat but gaining muscle" at the same time. If you think you're in a 500 calorie deficit that would equate to 1lb a week of fat loss, but no natural lifter is going to be able to gain 1lb a week of muscle (and nowhere close to that in a caloric deficit), so that whole theory kind of goes out the window. I can see maybe getting some water retention and inflammation if your'e brand new to lifting, but this should balance out after 2-3 weeks at most.

Bottom line, if you haven't lost any weight for a couple weeks (3 at the most), you can safely assume you are not in a caloric deficit.

Yea makes sense. I suspected maybe a complete beginner can see more rapid muscle gains at the beginning, but probably not that much.

[sabbyroc]

Any chance that Friday dinner could be blowing or hindering your deficit for the week?

[SugarFree1]

I guess I should measure that once a week.


Yea makes sense. I suspected maybe a complete beginner can see more rapid muscle gains at the beginning, but probably not that much.

For me I average a quarter inch on the waistline per pound of fat lost/gained

It can go both ways with beginner/muscle memory gains. More often than not someone "thinks" they are making gains when they are not; but yes it can happen. As Ive said, the best way for me to track at home is with a tape measure. Earlier this year I just started back after a very long layoff. In the first 2 months the scale didnt move much at all (besides initial water weight loss the first week which I didnt count) but I dropped 4 inches from my waist.

[spradish]

I started at 103 kg. in the first week of training I dropped almost 2, in the second week I dropped the rest, and I've been on 100 kg for the past 2 weeks, without changing my routine at all.

It's completely normal to have a week or two here and there with no weight loss, even when eating in a deficit and losing fat. Fluctuations in water weight can mask the fat loss at the scale. Give it a bit of time and the fluctuation will go the other way and you'll see your weight decrease. But if you don't lose in 3+ weeks, it is time to cut calories further.

[TheUnderdog83]

Yea makes sense. I suspected maybe a complete beginner can see more rapid muscle gains at the beginning, but probably not that much.

A complete beginner would gain a maximum of 1-2 pounds per month, but it would take a slight calorie surplus to get maximum muscle gains per month.

Any chance that Friday dinner could be blowing or hindering your deficit for the week?

While this is possible, one meal per week shouldn’t be able to wipe out 500 calorie deficit. Even if that one meal was 1,400 calories MORE than his typical dinner, that only equals an extra 200 calories per day, leaving him at a hypothetical 300 calorie deficit.

No need to give up the family meals, just take xsquid99’s advice about lowering your calories by about 200-300 per day. If the family meal is extremely calorie dense one week (think fried chicken, apple pie and ice cream) then just limit the amount you eat at that meal.

[JeremyM07201978]

As Spradish said, give it a little time. If you're weighing and monitoring a 500 deficit you are probably good. You only started 4 weeks ago and are down 3 kg. That is completely acceptable progress so far on average. Good start, now stick with it. Monitor for a couple of weeks, and if still stalled, cut out another 200 calories.

[sabbyroc]

think fried chicken, apple pie and ice cream.

Dang, that all sounds great right now!

But I agree, that was my thought behind that as well.