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Nutrition Fat and Frustrated

Hey Clay,
John K is right. Weight fluctuates throughout the day.
Your "walking around" weight is much more than your weight right after you wake up.
Ask anyone who ever wrestled. I could easily weigh 5 lbs less when I hit the scales if I was in a dry/fasted state.
Also, certain foods are more dense and take longer to clear your system, which can appear as gain when you hit the scales.
My tactic during wrestling season to get the most accurate scale reading, was to take Metamucil before meals, and ONLY weigh myself FIRST thing in the morning BEFORE drinking/eating and AFTER a good poop. It never failed me.
Weigh in times and factors have to be consistent. I'm sure you're on the right track. Keep up the good work.
 
Some thoughts and frustrations:
I am on a weight loss journey. So far I have brought my weight down from 270ish to last week 258.8 without tracking weight religiously but through exercise & tracking calories. I weighed myself this morning and am at 260... about 1 pound gained from last week.
I have been religiously tracking calories, not eyeballing, but weighing and measuring everything. My daily intake was targeted at 2200 calories with a an average of 2400 when you average in a 'cheat day.'

I am 40 (almost 41) and 6' tall.
I have been exercising about 4 days a week with S&S and a high volume swing day thrown in.


Using an online calorie calculator:
my basal metabolic rate should be about 2100 cal/day
If I am sedentary-ish, my maintain weight should be about 2550 cal/day
If exercise a little 1-3 days per week, my maintain number should be about 2900 cal/day

By these numbers I should be in a calorie deficit, and I am wondering why in the world I gained a 1+ last week?

Thoughts/possibilities:
1-I could be consistently miscalculating my calories...
2-My basal metabolic rate could be lower than others...
3-While I think I fit into the light exercise category, I could be more sedentary than I think...
4-It could just be an off week...
5-gaining muscle...

1-I don't think I am miscalculating calories and I try to error on the side of caution (slightly over estimating calories and rounding up when needed).
2-Maybe my metabolic rate is lower than others but I feel like this is sometimes an over-used excuse.
3-I do think that even though I exercise, my base movement is not high enough (step count etc).
4-Maybe it's an off week, but I'd rather not backtrack for another 1 to 2 weeks to find out.
5-Gaining muscle is another one of those things I feel like is over-said/used, pluse gaining a pound of muscle in a week... come on.

My current plan is to make sure my daily average for next week is down to 2000 cal/day and to increase my daily steps...

Bottom line. I'm fat and frustrated.
My healthiest adult time was about 14 years ago and I was about 210...

Not looking for answers per se, but I did want to externalize some of my frustrations and get thought and input.
Thanks.

@ClayPainter, a few things:

Background: I lost about 30 lb but it was over the course of a few years. Much of it was a from a shift in diet and activity.

Let's talk about mindset here for a minute. You stated that you lost 10 pounds, but gained one, and it seems like that one pound gain was what brought you to frustration. Consider that you made a commitment to lose weight, and you've already lost 9 lb. Good job! Also remind yourself that you aren't going to give up, and there will be obstacles along the path. Welcome them, because that is when you learn the most along the way.

It can become extremely complicated following diets and if you don't see the results you want, it's easy to give up on the diet and believe it doesn't work. Some guidelines that I use to simplify all of this:

First, eat four or five smaller meals a day. If you need a snack, I find hard-boiled eggs to be satisfying and give a shot of low-calorie protein. For occasional variety, some oatmeal (without added sugar) provides more healthy fiber in the diet. Also drink lots of water. I'm talking a few liters per day.

Second: each meal should be a balance of protein, carbs, and vegetables. Make a fist-the serving of protein, carbs and vegetables is (each) ideally the size of your fist. That's how I gauged it with good results. A banana or other fruit makes a nice dessert. As you continue to strength train, your body may begin to demand more protein. Honor it, because it is necessary for recovery.

Third: don't eat after 6:30 p.m.

Fourth: take several 15-minute walks throughout the day, and on weekend mornings go for a 45-minute or hour walk in a local park. This is on top of S and S or whatever workout you are doing. Walking is great for active recovery, joint health, and to maintain your metabolism.

Do these things for a week and take note. If you hit a stride where you are losing one or two pounds a week, then continue along this path. If you stop losing weight, made mild adjustments and get the stride back. It's healthier to lose weight over a longer period anyway, give yourself a few years to lose the weight you want. Keep in mind that if you have a beer or a treat once in a while it's not a big deal, and it is not a failure on your part provided your habits continue to align with health and weight loss over the long term.

Give this a shot, and in the meantime be good to yourself and, most important of all, trust the process.

Good luck,

-W
 
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Good work losing 10 lb.!

Simple and effective tips:
1. No booze. None, nada. If you're a weekend warrior, the first weekend is difficult, but once you get to 10 days, you're good.
2. Get at least a 30 minute walk in every day.
3. 1 -2 TBS of Metameucil in water a day. It will fill you up. It's GREAT for you and it gels up the junk in the digestive tract.
4. Drink water like it's your job
5. Fast 22024 hours once or twice a week on non-consecutive days.
6. Carb sources: Lentils (vinegar/garlic and olive oi) put them in salads, omelets, anything. Quinoa, Sweet Potato, Beans (I like lentils better, no gas with lentils because there are not digestive sugars)
I don’t do any of this except I’ve been IF’ing for 15 years and before it was a thing. Amazing takes here. I also enjoy a cocktail every evening. I’m 63.9A902E4D-F76A-49D4-8A4B-5D8E759EBF4F.jpeg
 
I think this is key @Bauer and I appreciate it.
I struggle to not let these number derail me and allow myself to spiral into eating too much afterward.
Long term consistency is something I need to create and maintain.

Thanks for the input and encouragement.
Hey Clay,

Definitely don’t get caught up in the scale - focus on how you look & feel. Your weight might stay the same but you could drop 2 pant sizes because you’re building muscle at the same time you’re losing fat.

I’ve also recently had success with intermittent fasting, both on the weight management side and I have noticed a lot more self-control when it comes to food choices etc…
I follow: “Fast this way - Dave Asprey”

Hang in there - Consistency is key.
 
FWIW - 70-yr old female here (so all the hormonal challenges to change there!). I am interested in being capable for my grandkids (eldest is almost as tall as me, though he weighs WAY less - one of those slender as a stick boys). For having the capability to be there no matter the circumstances, I look to CV endurance, muscular stamina, agility & mobility. I try to evaluate and measure those. Body composition is a poor proxy for that, but at least somewhat indicative. Weight is a lousy proxy for body comp, so I mostly ignore it. YMMV, of course.
 
Weight loss has been an elusive and difficult thing for me in the past 2 years. The only time when I lose weight is when I run a bit, but given the current COVID situation that has not been possible for me on a regular basis. But in the past 2 years, I feel healthier, my body in general feels solid, stronger, and my mobility/flexibility has improved by leaps and bounds. If I focused primarily on fat loss then I would’ve lost on all the gains I made during the past 2 years. Of course, fat loss is a good thing, and I will be trying to do it this year as well. Hopefully i will be able to shred some fat as I see that the muscle in my body has gone up and rather than the fat it is the muscle mass that has increased, so I expect at some point the fat to start dropping. As many of the awesome posts have already mentioned, fat loss is also about habits and habits related to nutrition. I can say, although a bit shamelessly, that my habits are anything but ideal. I end up having a drink or two a couple of days a week, and its mainly for social reasons and my diet ain’t necessarily the best. So … it will go a long way for to fix that this year rather than anything else that I’ve been doing so far.
 
Some thoughts and frustrations:
I am on a weight loss journey. So far I have brought my weight down from 270ish to last week 258.8 without tracking weight religiously but through exercise & tracking calories. I weighed myself this morning and am at 260... about 1 pound gained from last week.
I have been religiously tracking calories, not eyeballing, but weighing and measuring everything. My daily intake was targeted at 2200 calories with a an average of 2400 when you average in a 'cheat day.'

I am 40 (almost 41) and 6' tall.
I have been exercising about 4 days a week with S&S and a high volume swing day thrown in.


Using an online calorie calculator:
my basal metabolic rate should be about 2100 cal/day
If I am sedentary-ish, my maintain weight should be about 2550 cal/day
If exercise a little 1-3 days per week, my maintain number should be about 2900 cal/day

By these numbers I should be in a calorie deficit, and I am wondering why in the world I gained a 1+ last week?

Thoughts/possibilities:
1-I could be consistently miscalculating my calories...
2-My basal metabolic rate could be lower than others...
3-While I think I fit into the light exercise category, I could be more sedentary than I think...
4-It could just be an off week...
5-gaining muscle...

1-I don't think I am miscalculating calories and I try to error on the side of caution (slightly over estimating calories and rounding up when needed).
2-Maybe my metabolic rate is lower than others but I feel like this is sometimes an over-used excuse.
3-I do think that even though I exercise, my base movement is not high enough (step count etc).
4-Maybe it's an off week, but I'd rather not backtrack for another 1 to 2 weeks to find out.
5-Gaining muscle is another one of those things I feel like is over-said/used, pluse gaining a pound of muscle in a week... come on.

My current plan is to make sure my daily average for next week is down to 2000 cal/day and to increase my daily steps...

Bottom line. I'm fat and frustrated.
My healthiest adult time was about 14 years ago and I was about 210...

Not looking for answers per se, but I did want to externalize some of my frustrations and get thought and input.
Thanks.
Everyone’s journey is different but if I could offer any words of wisdom it’s this. Don’t look at immediate results, and don’t look for short term diets. I lost around 40 lbs over the past 3 years and I saw the most results when I stopped tracking calories and stressing myself. I did change my diet for good though, it’s basically 80% animal based lots of grass fed steak, eggs, chicken,bananas, avocado, and potatoes when I need carbs. I haven’t touched a soda in 3 years and don’t miss it one bit…Cutting out grains, sugars, and seed oils is a huge factor in my weight loss and overall metabolic health. My diet may not work for everyone but I feel the best I’ve ever felt eating this way. I’m not trying to preach either just trying it offer what worked for me. Whatever you do, don’t get frustrated and don’t be too hard on yourself. The mindset change for me came when I realized you have to find ways to exercise that you can sustain for life. Your fitness journey never ends until we do lol…the only thing that will get you where you want to be is time and consistency.

And lastly good s*** for losing the weight you have lost! It takes mental toughness to admit that you need to make a change it’s awesome that you’re acting on it.
 
I've asked about candy, because unfortunately a lot of it has some added vegetable oil. I would also bet your company canteen saves money by adding these (even high end restaurants usually cook with the same toxic oil as cheap fast food places).

The problem with these toxic fats isn't only or even primarily their calorie content, but the metabolic disruption they cause. If you try to lose weight while continuing eating these it's a Sisyphean task; you literally need to fight your body every day to make any progress, if at all. No matter how little calories you eat, weight loss won't happen if your cells aren't able to burn your stored fat effectively, or if a large percentage of your adipose tissue is actually made of these same toxic fats. You can read more about this topic here.

From my experience: I used to be on a crash diet which consisted of two slices of bread, an apple an a small bowl of oatmeal each day. I failed to lose any weight while my body temperature dropped dramatically (I shivered uncontrollably in warm summer nights), I became weak and mentally lethargic. During my military training, I exerted myself to exhaustion (and then some) every day while eating very little. However, that "very little" consisted mostly of vegetable oil and carbs. At the end, my arms and legs looked like an anorexic's while my belly was even larger. So much for eating less and moving more.

After I've learned about the vegetable oil problem it was a completely different story. I lost about 15 inches off my waist in about nine months without any conscious calorie or macro tracking - just making sure to eat absolutely no veg oil.

One more aside - I suggest measuring your waist circumference rather than just weighing yourself. A small change in weight may be related to myriad factors - muscle mass, retained water, a large meal before. Thinner waist is always better.
Cutting out vegetable oil changed my life!!! I was always inflamed felt like crap, had asthma, allergies since going animal based my metabolic health has improved tenfold.
 
One more thing on training.
Scientists found that Myokine has about 600 transmitters that interact with all parts of your body. Be it nerves, tissues, cells...
Stimulus on muscles sends those transmitters to fat-tissue, so called brown fat, and encourages calorie burn.
So, training is a must. It's enough to just send stimulus to your muscles. Something like a crosstrainer, burpeess, resistance bands , good old kettlebell.. you name it. Just make sure you train your muscles on a daily basis.
A gripper in the office, isomectric holds to the desk, armrest, doorframe... Little things throughout the day. GTG!
Get muscular!
;)
 
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Switch to do some kind of a blue collar job. This alone is obviously not a gurantee of weight loss but certainly will help.
Try to drink less beer, if applicable.
Sleep as much as you can, but not too much to ruin your adult life.
 
Some thoughts and frustrations:
I am on a weight loss journey. So far I have brought my weight down from 270ish to last week 258.8 without tracking weight religiously but through exercise & tracking calories. I weighed myself this morning and am at 260... about 1 pound gained from last week.
I have been religiously tracking calories, not eyeballing, but weighing and measuring everything. My daily intake was targeted at 2200 calories with a an average of 2400 when you average in a 'cheat day.'

I am 40 (almost 41) and 6' tall.
I have been exercising about 4 days a week with S&S and a high volume swing day thrown in.



Using an online calorie calculator:
my basal metabolic rate should be about 2100 cal/day
If I am sedentary-ish, my maintain weight should be about 2550 cal/day
If exercise a little 1-3 days per week, my maintain number should be about 2900 cal/day

By these numbers I should be in a calorie deficit, and I am wondering why in the world I gained a 1+ last week?

Thoughts/possibilities:
1-I could be consistently miscalculating my calories...
2-My basal metabolic rate could be lower than others...
3-While I think I fit into the light exercise category, I could be more sedentary than I think...
4-It could just be an off week...
5-gaining muscle...

1-I don't think I am miscalculating calories and I try to error on the side of caution (slightly over estimating calories and rounding up when needed).
2-Maybe my metabolic rate is lower than others but I feel like this is sometimes an over-used excuse.
3-I do think that even though I exercise, my base movement is not high enough (step count etc).
4-Maybe it's an off week, but I'd rather not backtrack for another 1 to 2 weeks to find out.
5-Gaining muscle is another one of those things I feel like is over-said/used, pluse gaining a pound of muscle in a week... come on.

My current plan is to make sure my daily average for next week is down to 2000 cal/day and to increase my daily steps...

Bottom line. I'm fat and frustrated.
My healthiest adult time was about 14 years ago and I was about 210...

Not looking for answers per se, but I did want to externalize some of my frustrations and get thought and input.
Thanks.
I understand that weight loss can be a challenging and frustrating journey, and it's great that you're seeking to externalize your frustrations and gather thoughts and input. While I can't provide personalized advice, I can offer some general insights that may be helpful:

  1. Weight Fluctuations: It's important to remember that weight can fluctuate due to various factors such as water retention, changes in muscle mass, hormonal fluctuations, and digestion. Short-term weight fluctuations are common and not necessarily indicative of fat gain.
  2. Accuracy of Calorie Tracking: While you mentioned that you're diligent in tracking calories, it's still possible that some inaccuracies may occur. Double-checking portion sizes, using a food scale, and reviewing the accuracy of the nutritional information for packaged foods can help ensure more precise tracking.
  3. Metabolic Rate: Metabolic rates can vary among individuals, and online calculators provide estimates based on general formulas. While these estimates can be a good starting point, they may not be entirely accurate for everyone. Factors such as genetics, body composition, and overall health can influence metabolic rate.
  4. Activity Level: While you engage in regular exercise, it's also essential to consider your overall activity level outside of dedicated exercise sessions. Increasing your daily steps and incorporating more movement throughout the day can help enhance calorie burn and contribute to overall weight loss.
  5. Patience and Long-Term Perspective: Sustainable weight loss takes time, and it's important to have patience and focus on long-term progress rather than short-term fluctuations. Aim for gradual, steady weight loss rather than rapid changes, as this is more sustainable and healthier for your body.
Consider consulting with a registered dietitian or healthcare professional who can provide personalized guidance based on your specific circumstances and goals. They can help you assess your current approach, provide further insights, and create a tailored plan to support your weight loss journey.

Remember to prioritize overall well-being, including mental and emotional health, as you work towards your goals. Stay committed, and celebrate the progress you've already made.
 
edit: wow I just realized how incredibly old this post was. Wouldnt have replied if i'd seen it sooner

I used to treat obese patients clinically and was quite good at it.
I haven't read all the replies judiciously, but here's my take on it: you lack metabolic flexibility & need to regain it.

Your 260lbs and have lowered your kcals to 2000. What's next? 1800? 1500? 1000?
This is an awful idea. You'll get some weight loss and then plateau when your metabolism drops.
It'll keep dropping each time you lower your kcals.
IME it takes less than a week for this to happen, provided your daily kcals, macros, expenditure, etc are all kept constant.
The more constant the quicker it happens.

The biggest issue your facing is one of metabolic flexibility - your body doesn't have the ability to switch quickly and efficiently between burning fat stores & burning ingested kcals.
You've greatly hindered this over the years by your diet & exercise habits, and therefore need to fix it - need to create metabolic flexibility.

I can outline how I would go about doing this in a further reply, if you're interested.
 
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edit: wow I just realized how incredibly old this post was. Wouldnt have replied if i'd seen it sooner
... here's my take on it: you lack metabolic flexibility & need to regain it.

I can outline how I would go about doing this in a further reply, if you're interested.
The original post may be old but definitely relevant to me (if not the original poster).
Please tell me more about metabolic flexibility and how to improve this.

and here's my recent question on fat loss if you want to add anything.
Fat loss and Muscle gain (not versus)

@ClayPainter how are things 18 months later? if you have made little progress, then Enter the Kettlebell and Pavel_T "will make you progress" :) if you made progress then I'm interested in learing your journey....well, I''m also interested in learning about your journey if you have not made progress! it will be instructional for both of us, and hopefully telling your story will reinvigorate you to get onboard again.
 
edit: wow I just realized how incredibly old this post was. Wouldnt have replied if i'd seen it sooner

I used to treat obese patients clinically and was quite good at it.
I haven't read all the replies judiciously, but here's my take on it: you lack metabolic flexibility & need to regain it.

Your 260lbs and have lowered your kcals to 2000. What's next? 1800? 1500? 1000?
This is an awful idea. You'll get some weight loss and then plateau when your metabolism drops.
It'll keep dropping each time you lower your kcals.
IME it takes less than a week for this to happen, provided your daily kcals, macros, expenditure, etc are all kept constant.
The more constant the quicker it happens.

The biggest issue your facing is one of metabolic flexibility - your body doesn't have the ability to switch quickly and efficiently between burning fat stores & burning ingested kcals.
You've greatly hindered this over the years by your diet & exercise habits, and therefore need to fix it - need to create metabolic flexibility.

I can outline how I would go about doing this in a further reply, if you're interested.
thank you so much for your response and suggestion. really appreciate that
 
Try the Carnivore diet for one month and only eat lunch and dinner.

I ate like a pig, was never hungry, always felt great, and lost ten pounds of pure fat: no muscle loss.

It felt so good I eat only gound beef now pretty much every day for lunch.
 
I've had my most consistent weight-loss when
- fasting till noon
- keeping carbs lower sub 50 or sub 100 per day depending on how slow you want to lose weight
- eating a sizable protein with each meal
-2000 calories is about right for most men
- walking fasted and/or after workouts

I'd suggest Easy Strength for Fat Loss. I just think it's the most sensible course for most people.

This video changed my attitude towards food.



Best wishes. Weight loss is a tough journey.
 
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