cant loose weight, diet is off HELP!!

[drkovacev]

I am 5' 5", 168lbs, 46 years old, I have 23% body fat currently, probably a endo-mesomorph body type (more endo)
I have done many activities such as marathons, half marathons, Spartan race, tough mudder, half ironman, and i still weight train. Currently I am in the gym lifting weight 5-6 days per week for about 1 hour or longer, and i dont take very long rests between sets. I run 4-6 miles 2 days per week for cardio @ a 8:45 min/mile pace. alternating days slow cardio after weight training 3 days per week brisk uphill walk on treadmill for 15-20 min.

- Here is the issue:
I am trying to lose body fat and weight, i would like to be 150lbs. I used to take brown or slow glycemic index carbs and tried to stay calorie neutral in the past, but now am having trouble losing weight, I use UnderArmor my fitness pal and track macros, calories, ect.
Diet: this is where i am sure i am screwing up.. I used to take 1500 cal per day, didn't lose an ounce, then I cut it to 1300 cal per day, losing VERY slowly and seem to be on a plateau. macros: goal is 20% carbs, 35% fat, 45% protein. Honestly I usually don't go over carbs, except on cheat meals (2-3 per week) depending on how busy I am, and I NEVER hit my protein mark.

I really need some diet advice, i cannot imagine its my training at this point, are my cheat meals screwing me for the entire week? Or am I taking too many calories, too few calories? I am not loosing muscle that i can tell, strength is slowly increasing or stable on almost all exercises.

Thanks for your time.

[air2fakie]

- Count your cals properly; your intake is NOT 1300/day even without cheat meals

- Stop the 2-3 cheat meals per week; and yes, this counts towards your cal intake

- Your problem is NOT too few cals

[drkovacev]

appreciate the response, but I am tracking using fitness pal, barcode food scan, i weight food and usually overestimate if i can. I track even supplements, I am wondering if i am in survival mode for calories, and i do suspect the cheat meals are part of prob... i am trying to figure out my appropriate BMR so i know where to start.

[wlodarczykn]

yes, cheat meals can easily ruin your deficit for an entire week

say your deficit is 500 calories per day. 500 calories x 7 days per week = 3500 calorie deficit for the week. You can hit 3500 calories in 1 "cheat meal" (sometimes "cheat meal" means people go overboard) and you can hit 3500+ easily in 2-3 cheat meals

[TolerantLactose]

appreciate the response, but I am tracking using fitness pal, barcode food scan, i weight food and usually overestimate if i can. I track even supplements, I am wondering if i am in survival mode for calories, and i do suspect the cheat meals are part of prob... i am trying to figure out my appropriate BMR so i know where to start.

If you're not losing weight, the calories you are consuming is equal to the calories that you are expending. That's your TDEE, not your BMR.

[air2fakie]

appreciate the response, but I am tracking using fitness pal, barcode food scan, i weight food and usually overestimate if i can. I track even supplements, I am wondering if i am in survival mode for calories, and i do suspect the cheat meals are part of prob... i am trying to figure out my appropriate BMR so i know where to start.

Got it, I'm similarly meticulous and on a large deficit as well. I weigh every ounce of food & liquid that I eat, even every grain of salt, pepper and chili powder. I total 800 cals/day. I also have a daily cheat dinner. For some reason I can't lose weight either.

[AdamWW]

Got it, I'm similarly meticulous and on a large deficit as well. I weigh every ounce of food & liquid that I eat, even every grain of salt, pepper and chili powder. I total 800 cals/day. I also have a daily cheat dinner. For some reason I can't lose weight either.

LOL

This was awesome

[EiFit91]

appreciate the response, but I am tracking using fitness pal, barcode food scan, i weight food and usually overestimate if i can. I track even supplements, I am wondering if i am in survival mode for calories, and i do suspect the cheat meals are part of prob... i am trying to figure out my appropriate BMR so i know where to start.

You are lying to yourself. See sig below and reread air2fakie’s post.

[EiFit91]

Got it, I'm similarly meticulous and on a large deficit as well. I weigh every ounce of food & liquid that I eat, even every grain of salt, pepper and chili powder. I total 800 cals/day. I also have a daily cheat dinner. For some reason I can't lose weight either.

LOL

Hilarious but sad how accurate it is for many who come here for advice...

[bullarms]

Try some aerobic exercises as you have not mentioned swimming if knows how to swim or choose any sport like basketball (one of my friend started doing that and lose around 8 kg in 21 days) that supports your mental and physical interplay well. Try to do any of these you like the most!

[drkovacev]

I appreciate the legit responses, the sarcastic ones surprise me that you would waste time to post... I am only doing 1-2 cheat meals per week, they are not insane, but my I was actually looking for advice regarding how to get an accurate BMR and how to calculate my calories based on work out and macros. I have heard that reducing your cals can slow metabolism and result in no weight loss, thats why i was asking for help. So I appreciate the responses from those who are trying to help, haters and sarcastic ones, dont waste your time posting here. I will take the advice to reduce cheat meals to one per week and hopefully it will improve, but if anyone has advice on calories I should be consuming per day based on my metrics above, please advise, and should i be shooting for a 500 cal per day deficit after exercise? or more?

Thanks once again.

[TolerantLactose]

Reduce your chest meals to zero if you're not going to count them in your calculations. And, again, think in terms of tdee not bmr. You're needlessly confounding yourself by not doing that.

[drkovacev]

So i went and found this calculator, do these numbers seem accurate?

h t t p : //tdeecalculator.net/result.php?s=imperial&age=46&g=male&lbs=164&in=65& act=1.55&bf=23&f=1

If this is true, when i click the cutting option, it basically states i need 1990 cal per day to be at a 500 cal deficit for the day to to get more lean?
numbers seem high, am i reading this accurately?

thanks all

[AdamWW]

So i went and found this calculator, do these numbers seem accurate?

h t t p : //tdeecalculator.net/result.php?s=imperial&age=46&g=male&lbs=164&in=65& act=1.55&bf=23&f=1

If this is true, when i click the cutting option, it basically states i need 1990 cal per day to be at a 500 cal deficit for the day to to get more lean?
numbers seem high, am i reading this accurately?

thanks all

I mean 1990 for me would be miserably low... so.... no, it doesn't seem high at all...

[faithbrah]

So i went and found this calculator, do these numbers seem accurate?

h t t p : //tdeecalculator.net/result.php?s=imperial&age=46&g=male&lbs=164&in=65& act=1.55&bf=23&f=1

If this is true, when i click the cutting option, it basically states i need 1990 cal per day to be at a 500 cal deficit for the day to to get more lean?
numbers seem high, am i reading this accurately?

thanks all

~2000 calories for cutting is pretty standard for smaller people. you could stay on "1500 calories" (your version) without the cheat meals and see what happens...

[CommitmentRulz]

except on cheat meals (2-3 per week)

I am only doing 1-2 cheat meals per week

Want to give us another number? ;-)

This actually makes a point: Don't mislead yourself about what you're really doing.

[drkovacev]

Im going to try 1800 cal per day based on the calc above, and with 40:40:20 macros (low carb). I hope to get results, and appreciate input from all.

[AdamWW]

Im going to try 1800 cal per day based on the calc above, and with 40:40:20 macros (low carb). I hope to get results, and appreciate input from all.

Targeting macro %'s isn't needed at all...

it will make no difference.

Please read the stickies

[paulinkansas]

While not endorsing anything, there are some OTC things you can take to speed up you metabolism. Nicotine tablets, caffeine and synephrine. Do your own research, I'm not telling you to take them.

[air2fakie]

I appreciate the legit responses, the sarcastic ones surprise me that you would waste time to post... I am only doing 1-2 cheat meals per week, they are not insane, but my I was actually looking for advice regarding how to get an accurate BMR and how to calculate my calories based on work out and macros.

My second reply mirrors your response to me, so since you consider mine to be invalid that should shed some light on your own approach. And you're not doing yourself any favors by tiptoeing around your untracked cheat meals being a major issue when you're trying to cut - initially saying you do 3/week & now saying you do 1/week is kinda pointless unless you're just trying to make yourself feel better. Good luck!

[EiFit91]

Im going to try 1800 cal per day based on the calc above, and with 40:40:20 macros (low carb). I hope to get results, and appreciate input from all.

If you still do cheat meals, you won’t make 1800 calories a day.

I can wipe out an entire week’s deficit in a single cheat meal.

At 1800 calories a day you should be really, really hungry and feel like crap. Yet people who come here insist they eat this little or way less, even though some of us have actually tried eating a properly tracked 1800 calories (without the cheat meals) so we know what that should feel like.

You even claimed to eat 1500 calories and not lose weight. If you really were properly tracking, you wouldn’t have that problem. It is just not possible. Hence we tell you to drop the cheat meals. You are fooling yourself.

If you weren’t losing weight at «1500» and now start eating «1800» without changing anything, you will gain weight.

[EliKoehn]

At 1800 calories a day you should be really, really hungry and feel like crap. Yet people who come here insist they eat this little or way less, even though some of us have actually tried eating a properly tracked 1800 calories (without the cheat meals) so we know what that should feel like.

Can confirm. Ate as high as 2,500 calories a day, with about 1,800 the final two at a similar aerobic activity level described by OP. Lost 4 pounds last week - and this was after consecutive weeks of weight loss.

Had trouble focusing at work and felt far from chipper, even if it's manageable when there's plenty of fat to utilize for energy.

[air2fakie]

If you still do cheat meals, you won’t make 1800 calories a day.

I can wipe out an entire week’s deficit in a single cheat meal.

At 1800 calories a day you should be really, really hungry and feel like crap. Yet people who come here insist they eat this little or way less, even though some of us have actually tried eating a properly tracked 1800 calories (without the cheat meals) so we know what that should feel like.

You even claimed to eat 1500 calories and not lose weight. If you really were properly tracking, you wouldn’t have that problem. It is just not possible. Hence we tell you to drop the cheat meals. You are fooling yourself.

If you weren’t losing weight at «1500» and now start eating «1800» without changing anything, you will gain weight.

Plus anyone "cutting" is who this lax about cheat meals (while complaining they're not losing weight) is unlikely to be anywhere near as exact as OP claims to be about tracking cals and weighing food in the first place, and probably also isn't counting the chips and ice cream either.

But since he runs marathons and does Ironmen every week, he's the perfect subject for your TDEE theory.

[EliKoehn]

Plus anyone "cutting" is who this lax about cheat meals (while complaining they're not losing weight) is unlikely to be anywhere near as exact as OP claims to be about tracking cals and weighing food in the first place, and probably also isn't counting the chips and ice cream either.

But since he runs marathons and does Ironmen every week, he's the perfect subject for your TDEE theory.

.. Not even sure where I stand on that former debate, but that was well-played lol.

Inb4 EiFit rebuts that the scientific literature is properly controlled and OP's claims are not.

[EiFit91]

.. Not even sure where I stand on that former debate, but that was well-played lol.

Inb4 EiFit rebuts that the scientific literature is properly controlled and OP's claims are not.

LOL beat me to it!

[EiFit91]

Plus anyone "cutting" is who this lax about cheat meals (while complaining they're not losing weight) is unlikely to be anywhere near as exact as OP claims to be about tracking cals and weighing food in the first place, and probably also isn't counting the chips and ice cream either.

But since he runs marathons and does Ironmen every week, he's the perfect subject for your TDEE theory.

Definitely. Some people don’t seem to understand how our appetite can conspire against us in our weight loss efforts.

I am convinced that some people, on some subconscious level, just want to fail at losing weight. Maybe it is just more convenient than facing the truth.

[drkovacev]

So just to clarify, i would use different cheat meals on different weeks, for example, one week would be 1 cheat meal, some weeks up to 3, (so avg 2 per week) but I am certain that this was contributing to my self sabotage, because you all are correct that i did not record these meals well at all, but all others were tracked meticulously, so point taken, and I thank all for stating the obvious. Since starting this thread, I have now lost 2 lbs, and hope to continue without cheat meals, but workouts are tough, and my run pace suffers bc i feel fatigued all the time, and am hungry continuously, this was the reason I heard from many "experts" that I should add cheat meals on weekly, well clearly i cannot bc of the number of cals consumed is prob off the chart and wrecks the weeks losses. Will push on, trying 1800 ish per day cals

[air2fakie]

So just to clarify, i would use different cheat meals on different weeks, for example, one week would be 1 cheat meal, some weeks up to 3, (so avg 2 per week) but I am certain that this was contributing to my self sabotage, because you all are correct that i did not record these meals well at all, but all others were tracked meticulously, so point taken, and I thank all for stating the obvious. Since starting this thread, I have now lost 2 lbs, and hope to continue without cheat meals, but workouts are tough, and my run pace suffers bc i feel fatigued all the time, and am hungry continuously, this was the reason I heard from many "experts" that I should add cheat meals on weekly, well clearly i cannot bc of the number of cals consumed is prob off the chart and wrecks the weeks losses. Will push on, trying 1800 ish per day cals

Maybe reduce the marathons/Ironmen/Spartans down to once/week as well.

[drkovacev]

Not sure where you read that I did those activities once a week, perhaps re-read the beginning thread.

[air2fakie]

Not sure where you read that I did those activities once a week, perhaps re-read the beginning thread.

Sorry, I did misread your original thread thinking that you listed those activities as the lead-in because they were an integral part of your weight loss resume. I didn't realize you meant you've done them over the course of your lifetime & weren't relevant to your post.

Angry cant loose weight, diet is off HELP!! ... I have done many activities such as marathons, half marathons, Spartan race, tough mudder, half ironman, and i still weight train.