Need help, fat loss been stuck for months!!

[AGuilli75]

Hey guys! Bit of a long one.. apologize in advance! I’m 24 years old, male, 5’10” 229 as of this morning and according to my scale I’m 28.3% body fat. I started my fat loss journey at well over 265 mid 2019. Ive been working out since I was 18 and was always the strong but over weight kid. I’ve done the yo-yo diets over the years where I would lose 30-40 pounds each time but end up skinny fat since I was in a rush. I’ve finally taken it serious this time and have made great progress, but I’m struggling with how many calories to eat daily. I usually hit the weights 5-6 days a week, 3 days on, 4th day as rest (light cardio) then 3 days on again and repeat. Some days at work I may hit 10k steps on top of working out other days 3k. My TDEE puts me at 2900 calories for cutting including the exercise. Reason why I’m reaching out for help is I’ve been hovering around 230-227 pounds since November 2020. As you can tell, I’m not in a rush because I want to keep most of my muscle. It was fairly easy to get from 265 down to 240 I really just worked out and ate clean and the weight fell off easily. At 240 I stalled and tried intermittent fasting and kept my diet the same which got me to 230 around thanksgiving. Soon the intermittent fasting didn’t work anymore, so I started vigorously tracking my calories. Since I’ve been at 230, I’ve tried eating 22-2300, 2500, and 2900 calories for a few weeks (none of them saw any permanent change)!! Each time I see progress from 230 I drop down to 227 and stay consistent and then magically I start climbing back to 230! No matter what I do I can’t break past 227. Everyone tells me to just stick with it and I will see change, but I’m looking for some advice because it’s very frustrating to see the same number both weight snd fat% on the scale for almost 3 months when actively trying to change it. Please help!

[faithbrah]

have you really tried eating 2300 calories for 2-3 weeks? if yes, try 2000 and see what happens

the only answer to every "my weight has been the same for X weeks/months" question in here is to either eat less or move more. also make sure you're counting correctly

[AGuilli75]

have you really tried eating 2300 calories for 2-3 weeks? if yes, try 2000 and see what happens

the only answer to every "my weight has been the same for X weeks/months" question in here is to either eat less or move more. also make sure you're counting correctly

Yes, I’ve tried 2300 for 2 weeks before. Should I go back to 2300 and stick to it for longer? I just want to make sure I don’t put myself into too big of a deficit.

[SuffolkPunch]

Yes, I’ve tried 2300 for 2 weeks before. Should I go back to 2300 and stick to it for longer? I just want to make sure I don’t put myself into too big of a deficit.

Yes. Once of the hardest parts of fat loss is sustaining it for long enough.

We get given false hope when we drop several pounds in 1 week - but its mostly just water.

If you can't account for 3500 calories going missing, you didn't lose a lb of fat...

[brianadelstein]

Yes, I’ve tried 2300 for 2 weeks before. Should I go back to 2300 and stick to it for longer? I just want to make sure I don’t put myself into too big of a deficit.

I might be too early to help but with the help of others in this forum I've lost 10.5 lbs in a little over a month..

I've learned from Tommy who came into my thread with his advice that you MUST be in a deficit to lose weight.
If you aren't in a deficit, it'll stay put or go up- PERIOD.

And don't factor in moving more or exercise- I spent all of 2020 moving like a maniac, but couldn't overcome eating too many cals- even clean ones. it's almost impossible to factor in, especially if you aren't Michael Phelps, so just keep calm and move however you feel like and make your abs in the kitchen.

Lets assume your resting metabolism right now is 2450, that is, at that number- you would neither gain nor lose anything over 10 days.

Reduce your "budget" by 250 to 2200- jack up your protein to 140-150 grams and don't worry about how the carbs and fat make up the rest. This will keep you full and help preserve lean muscle.

If you lose 3-4 pounds in your first 7-10 days, the 2450 resting metabolism guess was likely spot on (and 1-2 lbs are water from making progress again).

If you lose 4-6 pounds in your first 7-10 days, add another 100 calories back- your metabolism was likely 2550 or even higher.

If you don't lose anything, cut another 100 calories.

As you lose weight, your metabolism will slow. Less energy is required to move your body as you get leaner. That is why plateaus happen.

After a 10 day plateau cut another 100 calories, that should push you back into a deficit, and so on and so on.

[VySingh]

I would suggest consuming 2000 for 30 days. If you lose 4 - 6 pounds then stick with it.

[Bosko]

Tracking your calories how?...by what a fit planner says?

Weigh your
Food
dressings
oils
drinks

on a scale by the GRAM

See where you actually are....you would be surprised to find out you are 200-300 calories off a day


my $0.02

[Tommy W.]

You very well may be taking in more calories than you think on a weekly basis. Don't try to revise your counting method right now, just stick to how you've been counting and drop a few hundred from there and sit on that for 3 weeks. Once you get the scale moving downward then at that point clean up your counting and tracking methods and understand that counting daily is only a means to figure weekly and even monthly calories which actually drive the train.

[CommitmentRulz]

Tracking your calories how?...by what a fit planner says?

Weigh your
Food
dressings
oils
drinks

on a scale by the GRAM

See where you actually are....you would be surprised to find out you are 200-300 calories off a day


my $0.02

I came here to say this. How are you measuring your food. A food scale is, BY FAR, the most accurate way. Count EVERYTHING. That handful of nuts/candy? Count it. That little bit of leftover food in the pan? Count it. That milk in your coffee? Count it.

We had a guy several months ago who wasn't counting the sugar he put in his coffee. He put a LOT of sugar in his coffee, leaving HUNDREDS of calories unaccounted for...

[AGuilli75]

I came here to say this. How are you measuring your food. A food scale is, BY FAR, the most accurate way. Count EVERYTHING. That handful of nuts/candy? Count it. That little bit of leftover food in the pan? Count it. That milk in your coffee? Count it.

We had a guy several months ago who wasn't counting the sugar he put in his coffee. He put a LOT of sugar in his coffee, leaving HUNDREDS of calories unaccounted for...

Thanks for all the replies! 99% of the time I scan the barcode and just enter the amount of servings I have measured out, but I realized today that even 2 slices of bread was actually over the serving size when weighed. I’m going to see how many calories I’m actually eating after correctly tracking and scale it back a couple hundred if needed.

[Tommy W.]

Thanks for all the replies! 99% of the time I scan the barcode and just enter the amount of servings I have measured out, but I realized today that even 2 slices of bread was actually over the serving size when weighed. I’m going to see how many calories I’m actually eating after correctly tracking and scale it back a couple hundred if needed.

If aren’t losing Then yes it’s needed regardless of what number you come up with. Your body doesn’t know numbers, only if it’s being given energy to either lose mass gain mass or maintain mass

[Nate2021]

Hey guys! Bit of a long one.. apologize in advance! I’m 24 years old, male, 5’10” 229 as of this morning and according to my scale I’m 28.3% body fat. I started my fat loss journey at well over 265 mid 2019. Ive been working out since I was 18 and was always the strong but over weight kid. I’ve done the yo-yo diets over the years where I would lose 30-40 pounds each time but end up skinny fat since I was in a rush. I’ve finally taken it serious this time and have made great progress, but I’m struggling with how many calories to eat daily. I usually hit the weights 5-6 days a week, 3 days on, 4th day as rest (light cardio) then 3 days on again and repeat. Some days at work I may hit 10k steps on top of working out other days 3k. My TDEE puts me at 2900 calories for cutting including the exercise. Reason why I’m reaching out for help is I’ve been hovering around 230-227 pounds since November 2020. As you can tell, I’m not in a rush because I want to keep most of my muscle. It was fairly easy to get from 265 down to 240 I really just worked out and ate clean and the weight fell off easily. At 240 I stalled and tried intermittent fasting and kept my diet the same which got me to 230 around thanksgiving. Soon the intermittent fasting didn’t work anymore, so I started vigorously tracking my calories. Since I’ve been at 230, I’ve tried eating 22-2300, 2500, and 2900 calories for a few weeks (none of them saw any permanent change)!! Each time I see progress from 230 I drop down to 227 and stay consistent and then magically I start climbing back to 230! No matter what I do I can’t break past 227. Everyone tells me to just stick with it and I will see change, but I’m looking for some advice because it’s very frustrating to see the same number both weight snd fat% on the scale for almost 3 months when actively trying to change it. Please help!

you need to sacrifice. i sacrificed. people sacrifice.

yes you are overweight. you must eat about 2000 calories a day. when you go to bed and you dont feel hungry or your stomach growling...then you have not done enough.

first - cut your calories a lot. go for 2000 calories a day AND STOP WEIGHING YOURSELF. TRUST ME ON THIS...after 1 month go for 1900 calories a day...and stop weighing yourself.

after 2 months of doing this (1st month 2000 cal/day then 2nd month 1900 cal/day) THEN GO ON SCALE AND LOOK AT THE WEIGHT FIRST THING IN THE MORNING AFTER YOUR POOP!!!

STOP WEIGHING YOURSELF everyday and looking for change. do this trust me it will work 100%

at the end of the day it depends on are you willing to go to sleep little hungry?

also incorporate exercises....dont run a marathon now....go for fast paced walking....or if you got treadmill or gym...put it on light incline of 1.5 to 2 and slow speed of 3.4 to 4 and go for 1 hour....

do this about 2 to 3 times a week......with that dieting i gave you...then you will see results!!!

remb!!! if you go to sleep not hungry...you are not dieting

[faithbrah]

remb!!! if you go to sleep not hungry...you are not dieting

guess i didn't diet from 180 lbs to 132 lbs then... only went to bed hungry a few times

[Luclin999]

remb!!! if you go to sleep not hungry...you are not dieting

I never go to sleep "hungry". That would disrupt my sleep pattern too much.

I just save some calories to eat later in the evening to prevent that.

[Tommy W.]

if you go to sleep not hungry...you are not dieting

What Bulls#it

[anonymous]

i agree hunger at bed time surely is a recipe for bad sleep.

I wake up ev night ravenous.

I agree with everyone on here

2000 is gonna seem like too low but no harm in tryin it.