Motivation/Plateau issue?

[atp17]

Hi everyone, so i'm sure this gets tossed around everyday...i just didnt feel right invading someones thread and trying to find my own solution among their's.

ANyways, im 22 years old and over the past...roughly 7 months ive lost a good 25lbs. Ive gone down from roughly 210 to 180/184 depending on the morning and what i ate the previous night.

Now, ive gotten to the point to where i feel my small workouts aren't doing as much anymore. When i go to the gym, I find it difficult to stay for long periods of time unless i just did straight cardio, and honestly, alone for 20 minutes on the treadmill, I just get flat out bored/lose motivation, so then i start lifting weights....which only last for another 10-15 minutes. I feel as though i complete my sets pretty quickly with very little downtime in between them.

I normally eat a diet composed of eggs/whole wheat bread/turkey hot dogs/whole grain pasta and on a cheat day ill have a small pepperoni pizza.

The problem now, is that i've noticed its become to shed past 180. My i intensify my workout not by going longer, but by upping the speed/incline/doing heavier weights. But I feel as though something is preventing me from getting any lower

I'm open to all ideas and i accept that i could be completely wrong in some respects. All help will be accepted.

[matman1813]

You need to start tracking calories and macros.

[atp17]

Should I just write them down throughout the day...or...is there an app on my phone that does this best? I just find it hard to estimate serving sizes and calorie intake.

[matman1813]

You can use myfitnesspal.com, there's a free phone app too. It makes things a lot easier. Buy a food scale and weigh your food so you know how much you are having rather than estimating.

[matman1813]

Maybe up your calories a little so you have some more energy! Have you looked into pre workout supplements? I'm on grenade thermo detonator the past week and it's worked wonders in terms of energy! I blast through the gym! And I've lost 3% body fat in two weeks I eat around 1650 calories a day.

Why are you telling him to increase calories when he is struggling to lose weight?

[matman1813]

Because if he ups them a little, he'll have more energy, therefore be able to train for longer. Happened to me so I upped my carbs by about 20g-30g and found I was able to work out a lot longer than I normally would.

You eat 1650 calories a day though.

[Crooktele79]

My advice would be to correctly track calories as mentioned, and also get on a structured lifting program. Go to the workout program forum and pick one of the beginner routines. Put more emphasis on lifting weights than cardio and push yourself to get stronger. Sometimes having a goal of more than just losing weight makes things easier...or at least more interesting. What's the point of seeing a lower number on the scale if you look like death when you get there??

[jessyToo]

Why are you telling him to increase calories when he is struggling to lose weight?

1650 calories is in my opinion way to low..did that during my first year of competition cut and hit a plateau. Was at a whopping 1000cal deficit. After I increased my calories by 500 everything went smoothly again. (this was some years ago but I learned not to drop to low the hard way)