Needing some advice and pinpoints

[Torry159]

Just a little background info:
I'm soon to be 28 years old from Norway and I've been a heavy guy for quite a while. I started back in Jan 2021 with a friend on keto, which worked for about 3 months and i slowly lost some weight. At that time i was about 280 lb.
Since i work a lot, i didn't feel like i had "time" to keep up with keto, since most of my considered healthy meals such as oat meal went right out the window.
I kept on struggling with counting calories and so forth, until i contacted my doctor in sep of 2021. We started a plan, but as a weight and control plan, not a workout plan. I've ever since been walking about 2 miles as a "workout" every day since sep. At this given period i've been at 240 lb for about 2-3 months. I'm not finding my footing with counting, walking and keeping up with 10k steps every day and so forth.
My goal is in general to go down to about 200 or perhaps 180 lb in the long run, but look a little muscular. And i'm looking for inspiration or guidance for how i could reach that effectively.

So, since i haven't seen any results in about 2-3 months and my fat % keep staying at 40 i am really lacking motivation...

I started last week going to the gym every morning, and i feel exhausted... I'm not sure i'm either doing it correct or what i'm lacking.

My days at work usually looks like this:
07:00 wake up
07:30 gym (30-40 min on treadmill, walking/jogging, 20-30 min weightlifting, lacking in this part...)
08:30 Shower
09:00 work (breakfast about 09 to 09:30) (lunch around 12 to 12:30) (mid day snack 15-16)
17:00 head home
18:00 food
19:00 2nd workout perhaps? Depends on how exhausted i am
22:00 bed

So i usually eat this in day:
Breakfast oatmeal and nuts, or a oat snack (instead of oatmeal), i've also started taking protein shakes, since i read you should get this much amount pr day and i wasn't even close
Lunch is usually a salat with some protein (chicken, ham, etc) or perhaps a ciabatta with chicken
mid day snack is usually as above, nuts and oat snack and fruit if that has come in at work
dinner is usually chicken or beef (at least 75-80g protein) and either vegs or a plain baguette
Evening i usually have a protein shake to fill up with proteins after 2nd workout and that's about it.

All in all, i think my protein intake is at 120-140 grams (without shakes) and my calories sits at around 1500-2000 kcal. From what i've read, that might be why my muscle/fat % is never changing, because im burning muscle..
Now that this wall of text is out of the way, i got some specific questions that i need help understanding.

Would you recommend to keep all workout at one point of the day for both running and weight lifting?
What is a recommended training schedule? (What to do on Monday through Friday, like chest Monday, legs Tuesday, abs Wednesday etc)
Should i keep one day "off" to rest?
How is my meal intake? Anything you would change up?
Is the protein shakes necessary?
Is there any specific muscle groups i should focus more on for greater weight loss?

If you got any other tips, such as video's, blogs or workout schedules i'd be happy to try.
I'd just like to say thanks on beforehand if you ever get through this wall of text


Best regards.
A Newbie trying to find his way

[xsquid99]

Burning muscle is a much harder task for the body than using its fat stores, if you aren't in a caloric deficit then neither one would occur and that's why you're not losing weight.

In simplified terms, diet controls size, working out controls shape (as well as fitness/strength).

There's no way you're at a consistent 1500-2000 calories a day and maintaining 240 pounds, that's highly unlikely. That's a big range of calories, which means you're aren't really tracking. And people that don't track are usually at least 30% off in their "guestimations". I suspect you are taking in about 1000 cals more per day than you are estimating, which would fall right in line for expected TDEE for someone your size. https://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/cal...ture-tdee.html

Suggest you read the "Don't Look Past the Basics" sticky thread at the top of the forum, it will answer most of your questions as well as provide links to proven workout programs and a link for how to set your calories/macros.

[SuffolkPunch]

I echo the suggestion to read the sticky threads - we all need a certain basic level of knowledge and it's condensed into those threads.

Would you recommend to keep all workout at one point of the day for both running and weight lifting?
- it doesn't really matter - won't affect results as long as you feel awake and ready at the time of training.

What is a recommended training schedule? (What to do on Monday through Friday, like chest Monday, legs Tuesday, abs Wednesday etc)
- it's about way more than just the schedule. Don't try to make your own lifting routine. Do a ready made one like Fierce 5 in the sticky threads.

Should i keep one day "off" to rest?
- Fierce 5 is 3 days weights. You could do some cardio on other days - you'll have to play it by ear to decide but make sure you always have enough energy for your weight training sessions. If not, reduce cardio on other days.

How is my meal intake? Anything you would change up?
- tighten up on calorie counting accuracy - 1500-2000 is a rather broad range. This is what is going to give fat loss results so don't leave it to chance.

Is the protein shakes necessary?
- not if you really are getting 140g from food but they can be convenient if your diet has to change and you are eating less protein rich wholefoods.

Is there any specific muscle groups i should focus more on for greater weight loss?
- no. Weight loss comes from calorie balance. You should be training your whole body to prevent muscle loss and maybe gain some muscle along the way - using a well designed routine like I mention above.

Answers inline above

[Torry159]

Burning muscle is a much harder task for the body than using its fat stores, if you aren't in a caloric deficit then neither one would occur and that's why you're not losing weight.

In simplified terms, diet controls size, working out controls shape (as well as fitness/strength).

There's no way you're at a consistent 1500-2000 calories a day and maintaining 240 pounds, that's highly unlikely. That's a big range of calories, which means you're aren't really tracking. And people that don't track are usually at least 30% off in their "guestimations". I suspect you are taking in about 1000 cals more per day than you are estimating, which would fall right in line for expected TDEE for someone your size.

Suggest you read the "Don't Look Past the Basics" sticky thread at the top of the forum, it will answer most of your questions as well as provide links to proven workout programs and a link for how to set your calories/macros.

Thanks i'll have a look, and i've found a 12 week program i started today.

I did my macros for everything i've eaten today, and currently im at 2044 kcal. Divided into 187 gram protein (45%), 75 gram fat (18,6%) and 145 carbs (35%). I've eaten a little more than usual (probably due to harder workout) but from the basic and other sources, i'm lacking in fat. i haven't had my night snack at the time of writing this, but if i eat what i eat between lunch and breakfast, i'll be 2135 kcal.

Any tips for recommended food sources? More of fat, but lower in the calories.

[Torry159]

I echo the suggestion to read the sticky threads - we all need a certain basic level of knowledge and it's condensed into those threads.



Answers inline above

Thanks. I've found a 4 day program for 12 weeks which seemed good. Cardio for 2 days, so a little more of what i'm seeking in turns of getting in shape.

I did my macros for everything i've eaten today, and currently im at 2044 kcal. Divided into 187 gram protein (45%), 75 gram fat (18,6%) and 145 carbs (35%). I've eaten a little more than usual (probably due to harder workout) but from the basic and other sources, i'm lacking in fat. i haven't had my night snack at the time of writing this, but if i eat what i eat between lunch and breakfast, i'll be 2135 kcal.

Any tips for recommended food sources? More of fat, but lower in the calories?

[SuffolkPunch]

Fat is OK. If you use grams not percentages - and if you are overweight, it's better to use your lean body mass or target body mass not your current body mass when doing the sums.

Calorie level looks OK for a kickoff. As always, you will need to adjust it every couple of weeks according to results. Weigh in every morning, look for the long term trend in weight and if you don't drop 1lb a week on average, make adjustments.