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[ToxicAdam]

I've gained 4 lbs. in two weeks. Is that normal for SS for a complete beginner to compounds? There's no way it's fat as my clothes at least seem to fit better these past few weeks.

Its probably your body storing more fat, water and glycogen in response to all the stress you are putting on it.

Real muscle takes time to build. You are essentially breaking down the cells and then your body has to rebuild them even stronger. You can't really circumvent or speed up this process.

Any ideas?

Quit sitting.

 

[Deleted member 47027]

Repost from the weight loss thread.

Feeling fucking defeated. Not sure what to do or where to go.

1. I am eating a low carb high fiber diet targeting around 2000-2500(i used to eat less but i upped it because it was not working) calories. I record all my food to make sure(MFP)
2. Working out 5-6 times a week. 45 minutes of cardio or 30 minutes of HIIT. Paired with 30 minutes of strength training. Targeted muscle groups
3. Also use a fitbit to track my walking calories

I'm 282.3 and cannot lose a single pound. Held steady here for 2 months(sometimes to the exact 10th of a pound). My clothes do not fit better at all. About a year and a half ago the same thing happened. I was running daily and recording everything I eat and my weight would not budge from 278 for 2 months.

I have had my thyroid tested and it seemed in the normal functioning range . Why in the hell can't i get away from 280? I'm 5 11. This is not a healthy weight for me. I don't want to be here any more but nothing seems to work.

My plan is to talk to an endocrinologist within the next month. That's the only thing I can think of.

Any ideas?

When you saw low carb, how low? I saw VERY little change by a calorie limit - only by eliminating all carbs and sugar, then my body responded (and did it quick) - it was hell for a while but you gain some steam. How many carbs are you bringing in?

 

[MThanded]

When you saw low carb, how low? I saw VERY little change by a calorie limit - only by eliminating all carbs and sugar, then my body responded (and did it quick) - it was hell for a while but you gain some steam. How many carbs are you bringing in?

I used to do under 50. Did that for a few weeks and there was no progress. It worked when I dropped from 330 to 280 but have never worked since then. I have gone up to 100-150 now.

Its probably your body storing more fat, water and glycogen in response to all the stress you are putting on it.

Real muscle takes time to build. You are essentially breaking down the cells and then your body has to rebuild them even stronger. You can't really circumvent or speed up this process.


Quit sitting.

I am a PhD student that works in a school office. Sadly I can't get a standing desk. Not sure if you were joking or what.

 

[abuC]

Never trust a scale, go with your gut!

Word, I gained 8lbs in the last 3 months but my waist & face have slimmed out.

 

[blackflag]

Repost from the weight loss thread.

Feeling fucking defeated. Not sure what to do or where to go.

1. I am eating a low carb high fiber diet targeting around 2000-2500(i used to eat less but i upped it because it was not working) calories. I record all my food to make sure(MFP)
2. Working out 5-6 times a week. 45 minutes of cardio or 30 minutes of HIIT. Paired with 30 minutes of strength training. Targeted muscle groups
3. Also use a fitbit to track my walking calories

I'm 282.3 and cannot lose a single pound. Held steady here for 2 months(sometimes to the exact 10th of a pound). My clothes do not fit better at all. About a year and a half ago the same thing happened. I was running daily and recording everything I eat and my weight would not budge from 278 for 2 months.

I have had my thyroid tested and it seemed in the normal functioning range . Why in the hell can't i get away from 280? I'm 5 11. This is not a healthy weight for me. I don't want to be here any more but nothing seems to work.

My plan is to talk to an endocrinologist within the next month. That's the only thing I can think of.

Any ideas?

Have you tried eating a ton of carbs for a couple days?

Go over your calories and eat like 600g carbs each day. It has helped me and others break plateaus.

Leptin levels and other things can mess up weight loss and are effected by low carb. This is why when I did low carb I carb loaded at least once ever 2 weeks for 36 hours. If you aren't lifting intensely though, I'm not sure it's needed.

Never hurts to see an endo. Get everything checked out.

 

[Deleted member 47027]

I used to do under 50. Did that for a few weeks and there was no progress. It worked when I dropped from 330 to 280 but have never worked since then. I have gone up to 100-150 now.


I am a PhD student that works in a school office. Sadly I can't get a standing desk.

It sounds like keto is what you should shoot for then, drop it under 20g for a week and let me know if you piss out 6 lbs of water weight (I did.) then the loss should continue. I think that combined with the amount of exercising you're doing, and being just above the threshold for keto to kick in that you're basically spinning your wheels - I'd drop the carb intake to <20g daily and turn down the exercise by a large degree to see if you notice anything for a few weeks.

 

[ToxicAdam]

I am a PhD student that works in a school office. Sadly I can't get a standing desk. Not sure if you were joking or what.

I wasn't joking. Standing all day at work was a significant contributor to help me lose 40 lbs in 4 months.


I didn't have a standing desk either. I got a cardboard box and put my keyboard on that and threw away my chair.


Standing all day at work vs. sitting = the amount of calories you are burning during your cardio session.

 

[abuC]

Repost from the weight loss thread.

Feeling fucking defeated. Not sure what to do or where to go.

1. I am eating a low carb high fiber diet targeting around 2000-2500(i used to eat less but i upped it because it was not working) calories. I record all my food to make sure(MFP)
2. Working out 5-6 times a week. 45 minutes of cardio or 30 minutes of HIIT. Paired with 30 minutes of strength training. Targeted muscle groups
3. Also use a fitbit to track my walking calories

I'm 282.3 and cannot lose a single pound. Held steady here for 2 months(sometimes to the exact 10th of a pound). My clothes do not fit better at all. About a year and a half ago the same thing happened. I was running daily and recording everything I eat and my weight would not budge from 278 for 2 months.

I have had my thyroid tested and it seemed in the normal functioning range . Why in the hell can't i get away from 280? I'm 5 11. This is not a healthy weight for me. I don't want to be here any more but nothing seems to work.

My plan is to talk to an endocrinologist within the next month. That's the only thing I can think of.

Any ideas?

Edit:
Some back story. I put on this weight when i went through puberty. Even back then I never ate terribly. My parents were health nuts. I am 26 now. I was once 330 but I worked my ass off and got it down. Ever since then it would never seem to go below 280-275 despite my blood sweat and saliva.

Turn that into 1 hour of weight lifting, drop the HIIT for now and pick up the iron. I was 271lbs 3 years ago, I am 226lbs today and very muscular, I didn't even start doing cardio until last year and I was already down to 230lbs at that point.

 

[MThanded]

It sounds like keto is what you should shoot for then, drop it under 20g for a week and let me know if you piss out 6 lbs of water weight (I did.) then the loss should continue. I think that combined with the amount of exercising you're doing, and being just above the threshold for keto to kick in that you're basically spinning your wheels - I'd drop the carb intake to <20g daily and turn down the exercise by a large degree to see if you notice anything for a few weeks.

Interesting. I could try that.

I wasn't joking. Standing all day at work was one of the biggest contributors to help me lose 40 lbs in 4 months.


I didn't have a standing desk either. I got a cardboard box and put my keyboard on that and threw away my chair.

I guess this is an alternative solution.

 

[ReadingRambo]

It sounds like keto is what you should shoot for then, drop it under 20g for a week and let me know if you piss out 6 lbs of water weight (I did.) then the loss should continue. I think that combined with the amount of exercising you're doing, and being just above the threshold for keto to kick in that you're basically spinning your wheels - I'd drop the carb intake to <20g daily and turn down the exercise by a large degree to see if you notice anything for a few weeks.

I concur. Sounds like MT is in between dietary strategies. When I was strict keto (sub 20g a day) the weight loss was very consistent. Also drink an ass load of water. At your size a gallon is a good goal.

 

[Deleted member 47027]

Interesting. I could try that.


I guess this is an alternative solution.

btw I mean drop it to <20g carbs from now on. You'll probably get fatigued or such the first few days, then you'll be back to normal or better energy-wise. You'll know if keto is doing anything for you though by the end of the second week of it. You'll just know - so if you're at a standstill, you'll definitely know if it's doing you any good.

 

[MThanded]

I concur. Sounds like MT is in between dietary strategies. When I was strict keto (sub 20g a day) the weight loss was very consistent. Also drink an ass load of water. At your size a gallon is a good goal.

I drink about a 90 ounces. I can up that.

btw I mean drop it to <20g carbs from now on. You'll probably get fatigued or such the first few days, then you'll be back to normal or better energy-wise.

I'd probably need to cut back drastically on the working out. Which sucks because I really enjoy my gym time.

 

[Deleted member 47027]

I'd probably need to cut back drastically on the working out. Which sucks because I really enjoy my gym time.

Time enough for that when you've lost weight! It helped me focus on diet only and I dropped 60 lbs. If I had added in a lot of cardio with that I would have burned out or cheated on my diet.

 

[Host Samurai]

I figure on Sunday, after my cheat meal, I will start only doing 1 cheat meal every 2 weeks instead of every week.

 

[ReadingRambo]

And just to clarify, dropping your carbs under 20-30 will require you to drastically up your fat intake most likely. Upwards of 50-60% of your cals will be from fat. If you simply up your protein to compensate, your body will start treating it like sugar (very layman's explanation).

 

[entremet]

Repost from the weight loss thread.

Feeling fucking defeated. Not sure what to do or where to go.

1. I am eating a low carb high fiber diet targeting around 2000-2500(i used to eat less but i upped it because it was not working) calories. I record all my food to make sure(MFP)
2. Working out 5-6 times a week. 45 minutes of cardio or 30 minutes of HIIT. Paired with 30 minutes of strength training. Targeted muscle groups
3. Also use a fitbit to track my walking calories

I'm 282.3 and cannot lose a single pound. Held steady here for 2 months(sometimes to the exact 10th of a pound). My clothes do not fit better at all. About a year and a half ago the same thing happened. I was running daily and recording everything I eat and my weight would not budge from 278 for 2 months.

I have had my thyroid tested and it seemed in the normal functioning range . Why in the hell can't i get away from 280? I'm 5 11. This is not a healthy weight for me. I don't want to be here any more but nothing seems to work.

My plan is to talk to an endocrinologist within the next month. That's the only thing I can think of.

Any ideas?

Edit:
Some back story. I put on this weight when i went through puberty. Even back then I never ate terribly. My parents were health nuts. I am 26 now. I was once 330 but I worked my ass off and got it down. Ever since then it would never seem to go below 280-275 despite my blood sweat and saliva.

Get away from targeted muscle groups and do a program focusing on compound movements like Starting Strength.

Compound exercises build more muscle quicker and improve body composition for natural lifters. I assume you're not on PEDs.

Stop doing traditional cardio too, esp LISS--low intensity stuff. Stick with HIIT only, but also play around with barbell complexes, hill sprints, etc.

Think sprinters and how they look compared to marathoners. Throw away your scale and focus on improving body composition.

Also how's your sleep? Lack of sleep raises cortisol, which is a hormone that tends to promote fat gain and impede fat loss.

Forget about macros other than protein and make sure you're getting 1 gram per pound of lean muscle mass, so you can do around 220-240g I'm guessing.

 

[CrankyJay]

Nothin' like a slim fit t-shirt to make your arms seem bigger than they are!

 

[twofold]

@MThanded - I'd give this a read; http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/not-losing-fat-at-20-deficit-what-should-i-do-qa.html

 

[Szu]

Nothin' like a slim fit t-shirt to make your arms seem bigger than they are!

http://i.imgur.com/LMyX9z6.jpg[/QUOTE]

Looking good, but you still look cranky.

 

[Ekdrm2d1]

Nothin' like a slim fit t-shirt to make your arms seem bigger than they are!

wow!

Looking good dude

Edit:

Looking good, but you still look cranky.

:lol

 

[blackflag]

I'd probably need to cut back drastically on the working out. Which sucks because I really enjoy my gym time.

Oh, I assumed you meant keto when you said low carb. Honestly I'd say go keto and compound lift. That's how I lost 90 lbs in less than a year. No cardio needed. Carb load once every couple weeks for a day or so.

Honestly I had more energy on Keto after the first shitty feeling week where your body is transitioning.

 

[CrankyJay]

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Looking good, but you still look cranky.

All a front... =)

 

[Deleted member 47027]

Lookin great Crankyjay! I need to get some of those slim armed shirts, I just wear shit I haven't work in 15 years and yknow.

 

[blackflag]

And just to clarify, dropping your carbs under 20-30 will require you to drastically up your fat intake most likely. Upwards of 50-60% of your cals will be from fat. If you simply up your protein to compensate, your body will start treating it like sugar (very layman's explanation).

Yep this happens. Gluconeogenesis. I usually kept my protein at 220g fat at 140g

 

[MThanded]

@MThanded - I'd give this a read; http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/not-losing-fat-at-20-deficit-what-should-i-do-qa.html

Damn this is insightful for me and someone close to me. Good shit.

Sent this over to my GF. She is super familiar with the water retention issue. She is 125 and 4 11. Trying to get closer to 119 but due to the water fluctuation during the month she can rarely if ever see losses.

Sucks for her though, When you are short as shit 5 pounds in water weight makes a lot of your clothes not fit.

 

[Ekdrm2d1]

I think I'm getting burnt-out on non-microwaved QB cooking dough. Need to get me a box of PB Supreme, try the Banana Nut and PB&J.

 

[V_Arnold]

Anyone knows of protein shakes with the least amount of bullshit possible? I want to avoid taurine supplements in it, for example.

 

[BruceLeeRoy]

Looking great CrankyJay!

 

[grumble]

Repost from the weight loss thread.

Feeling fucking defeated. Not sure what to do or where to go.

1. I am eating a low carb high fiber diet targeting around 2000-2500(i used to eat less but i upped it because it was not working) calories. I record all my food to make sure(MFP)
2. Working out 5-6 times a week. 45 minutes of cardio or 30 minutes of HIIT. Paired with 30 minutes of strength training. Targeted muscle groups
3. Also use a fitbit to track my walking calories

I'm 282.3 and cannot lose a single pound. Held steady here for 2 months(sometimes to the exact 10th of a pound). My clothes do not fit better at all. About a year and a half ago the same thing happened. I was running daily and recording everything I eat and my weight would not budge from 278 for 2 months.

I have had my thyroid tested and it seemed in the normal functioning range . Why in the hell can't i get away from 280? I'm 5 11. This is not a healthy weight for me. I don't want to be here any more but nothing seems to work.

My plan is to talk to an endocrinologist within the next month. That's the only thing I can think of.

Any ideas?

Edit:
Some back story. I put on this weight when i went through puberty. Even back then I never ate terribly. My parents were health nuts. I am 26 now. I was once 330 but I worked my ass off and got it down. Ever since then it would never seem to go below 280-275 despite my blood sweat and saliva.

First off, I'm impressed by how dedicated you are.

My view:

1. Drop half the cardio, replace it with heavy strength training. Get your deadlift, squat, bench, press, etc up way high. Strength training is amazing at changing your nutrient usage, and a lot of cardio can actually be hard on weight loss as your cortisol levels remain chronically elevated and your body thinks it's starving. Post regularly here about your progress under the bar!
2. Get tested by an endocrinologist, to make sure you don't have a disorder of some kind.
3. Increase protein intake substantially. Personally I don't think keto's 'all that', but it's a good option if it improves compliance and some insulin resistant folks get great results.
4. Is your sleep, micronutrient intake, etc okay?
5. Do you drink a lot of alcohol? If so, cut it down. Alcohol is rough on fat loss.
6. Your body does slow down metabolically as you are on an extended diet. This may mean that you have to further reduce calories, so try to hit 2000 and not 2500. Also experiment with weekly high calorie days to keep your metabolism from crashing.

 

[theytookourjobz]

I'm a pretty weak squatter but I fucking finally squatted over 300 today. Behold in all it's glory my slow, grindy, felt like I was going to pass out 140kg (308) squat. (First one is 130kg)

http://youtu.be/3Bh51dhaerc

 

[Petrie]

Anyone knows of protein shakes with the least amount of bullshit possible? I want to avoid taurine supplements in it, for example.

http://www.truenutrition.com/p-4311-whey-protein-concentrate-high-grade-1lb-milk.aspx

 

[MThanded]

Thanks for all the tips and the links. Insightful stuff.

 

[Imm0rt4l]

Seconded on grumbles advice.


Don't be afraid to lift heavy(relative to your strength), does your metabolism good.

 

[MThanded]

The big challenge is there are always about 10 possible solutions that people believe will solve the problem.

My first steps will be increasing water intake, cutting back cardio, increasing strength training and seeing endocrinologist. Then I will go from there.

 

[Nibel]

Nothin' like a slim fit t-shirt to make your arms seem bigger than they are!

What a gun

 

[Dance Inferno]

I apologize for the long post but I'm just getting back into lifting again and wanted to make sure I'm getting the right advice before I go ahead.

I've been out of the lifting game for a while due to a wrist injury I sustained back in 2011. I tore the TFCC ligament in my left wrist (and possibly my right wrist as well), which meant I couldn't go to the gym without feeling extreme, debilitating pain in my wrists. After months of getting bounced around between doctors and physical therapy I finally got surgery in January of this year to get my TFCC repaired. I started going to the gym a few weeks ago for the first time in many months, sticking mainly to machines. However my wrist is getting stronger and I think I'm going to move on to free weights starting next week.

This is the routine I had before I stopped going to the gym:

Day A
Squat 5x5
Bench 5x5
Barbell Row 5x5
Dips 3xF (will probably swap this out for something else since it puts a lot of strain on my wrist and it's still healing)

Day B
Squat 5x5
Overhead Press 5x5
Deadlift 1x5
Chin Ups 3xF (may swap this out for dumbbell curls since supinating my wrist is the motion that gives me the most trouble)
Abs

Does this seem like a good routine to start with? As far as my personal details:

• Age: 26
• Height: 5'11"
• Weight: ~180
• Goal: Muscle gain
• Current Training Schedule: 3 days a week (M/W/F)
• Current Training Equipment Available: Full gym

The other aspect of it is my diet, which is important because I'm a hardgainer and I have serious trouble putting on any kind of muscle/weight. In the past I have stuffed myself every day and still not seen gains as fast as I would like. For the past few weeks my diet has been:

Glass of milk + 2 scoops whey for breakfast ~7:30am
Egg white omelet (w/ spinach, turkey, blue cheese) around 10:30am
Brown rice, vegetables, two chicken breasts for lunch ~1pm
Quest bar around 4-5pm
On workout days I'll go to the gym 7:30-8:30pm
Quest bar after my workout on gym days
Two chicken breasts + quinoa for dinner ~9:30-10pm
Glass of milk + 2 scoops whey before bed ~12am (quite often I forget this meal though)

This is on weekdays. My diet on weekends kinda sucks because my schedule is messed up due to being out of the house and hanging out with friends, so I need to work on that. However even with this diet I don't always see the gains I would like, which is kind of frustrating since by the end of the day I literally cannot eat any more.

Anyway if you guys have any suggestions please let me know. Sorry again for the massive post, just wanted to make sure I mentioned all my points!

 

[Cooter]

My scale if officially broken now. I weighed 167 this morning. lol It's all about the mirror now baby!

 

[blackflag]

The big challenge is there are always about 10 possible solutions that people believe will solve the problem.

My first steps will be increasing water intake, cutting back cardio, increasing strength training and seeing endocrinologist. Then I will go from there.

That's a good plan

 

[BruceLeeRoy]

My scale if officially broken now. I weighed 167 this morning. lol It's all about the mirror now baby!

Yeah man who cares.
I very rarely weigh myself. Its always about mirror checks.

 

[Deleted member 47027]

My scale if officially broken now. I weighed 167 this morning. lol It's all about the mirror now baby!

Liberation, my brother.

 

[sphinx]

As long as the weight is carried mainly on the back grip is less important

Thanks! That settles that.

Nothin' like a slim fit t-shirt to make your arms seem bigger than they

Cranky read my mind, i was thinking the other day about why we post pics of random body parts but never biceps. Isn't it about time we did? Or Is it tacky? Lol

 

[FallingEdge]

I need that scale cause sometimes I worry if I am losing the weight too fast.

 

[HisshouBuraiKen]

I need that scale cause sometimes I worry if I am losing the weight too fast.

No such thing man, as long as you're keeping the same weight on the bar, whatever's coming off you is either fat, water, glucose, or poop.

In fact when I weigh myself in the morning I usually take off at least two pounds for poop.

 

[Petrie]

No such thing man, as long as you're keeping the same weight on the bar, whatever's coming off you is either fat, water, glucose, or poop.

In fact when I weigh myself in the morning I usually take off at least two pounds for poop.

Losing weight and my bench keeps going up. Have yet to fail a cycle of 5/3/1. Attacking 240 for my 1 rep next week. Intimidating but awesome all at once, especially being almost down to 170, and on the smallest notch of my weight belt I've hit thus far.

Squats and Deads keep going up too, but it's my bench I was the most worried about stalling on, given it being higher relative to my size than my other lifts. 395 next week for Deads is a bit scary too though.

 

[FallingEdge]

No such thing man, as long as you're keeping the same weight on the bar, whatever's coming off you is either fat, water, glucose, or poop.

In fact when I weigh myself in the morning I usually take off at least two pounds for poop.

If that is the case then I got nothing to worry about. I am squatting and OHP more than I ever have before. Doing decline so I have nothing to base that off of and deadlifts... yeah.

But after watching that vid that Alien posted yesterday, I believe that it is due to lack of one arm rows/Kroc rows. Time to bring that back as I was doing them in the past and in turn, saw my deadlifts go up in the process.

 

[Deleted member 47027]

I almost stalled on bench last night. Almost. Churned through that last rep and man, that felt like I conquered some serious shit.

 

[crpav]

Questbar taste redeemed! So I bought a box of the cookie dough from GNC as well as 2 cinnamon roll and 2 strwaberry cheescake bars since it was buy 3 bars get 1 free. Basically just to try them. I tried the cheescake the other day and wasn't super impressed but it's protein and edible. tried the cinnamon roll yesterday and was not impressed with it either. Nothing puke worthy but not something I would go out of my way to eat. Today, right now actually, I am eating the chocolate chip cookie dough and it is amazing. Ggood job with the hype that came through fit GAF.

 

[Cudder]

Not our area of expertise I'm afraid.

We might get you to look like this though:

Everyone in this thread wants to look like a powerlifter? News to me.

 

[ReadingRambo]

Everyone in this thread wants to look like a powerlifter? News to me.

Where you been at?

 

[FallingEdge]

best build.

That settles it. By summer of next year, I want to look like Tanahashi. That's final. No more changes!