Can't Lose Fat

I have been lifting for many year, but within the last 2-3 years I actually learned how to properly lift and gained some muscle. I basically want to lose fat, and I have NO INTENTION of getting bigger till I lose a decent amount of fat because of my chest sticks out and the fact that I live on a beach.

I have posted as much information as possible, along with pictures. I think the main reason I am not losing fat is because my calories may be way to under.

**My BMR is 1743, TDE is 2549 and I eat about 1772/2263 calories a day depending on if I order a 6inch/foot long at subway (convenient).

  • I weight 158 (morning fasted) and I am barely 5’10.

  • My split is upper front/back/rest/lower repeat.

  • 305 deadlift (only main lift I do, the rest of exercises I use dumbbells)

I will listen to any advice, but i want to make sure that my main goal is to lose fat. I do not want to gain weight or get any bigger at this point. My goal as of right now is to lose fat. I am fully aware that I am probably not considered muscular at all here.

  • This album contains pictures of me, along with what I eat daily, and my workout.

imgur.com/a/g7iOh

At 5’10 and 158, how much more weight do you want to lose? What is your goal weight?

if you look at my pics, i have a lot of fat on me that i want to get rid of

Don’t take this to hard but you don’t look like you have ever been inside a gym let alone been training productively for 3 years. Not even close. You need to put some muscle mass on yout. You could lose another 15lbs and still wouldn’t have ANYTHING to show for it at all… Hell honestly you would just look sick like in a starvation kind of way.

You don’t need to lose any more weight. You need to stop fooling your self into thinking you know what you are doing in the gym or kitchen and listen to people a little further along than you. Just my opinion but if your goal is to weigh less than my girl firend at a taller height just keep on going man.

Are you sure you’re counting calories right? Is your scale broken? Have you been tested for hormone problems; hypothyroid, low T, etc?

It’s hard to believe you weigh 158 in those pictures.

IMO, you should focus on pushing yourself in training and dieting. Train compound movements and push harder on that instead of limiting yourself to dumbbell work. The added muscle and increased metabolism will help you lose fat. You won’t have to worry too much about counting calories if you eat a lot of whole foods and cut out the processed foods while pushing strength training and conditioning work.

You said you don’t want to gain weight or get any bigger but I hope you realize that putting on 30 lbs of muscle and losing 20 lbs of fat would result in you looking better. You would lose fat in the areas you want which is mostly your waist and chest. The added muscle is nice because you don’t have to worry about whether you over ate from adding mayo in your 6" sub. Those small details will no longer matter. You’ve been training for 2-3 years and haven’t gotten the results you want. It doesn’t mean you have to go on a big bulk. Just make sure you’re eating enough to recover from the intense training. Go all in and you won’t regret it.

How often are you training now? If I were you I would strength train 3x a week, do some form of conditioning 6x a week and eat good food to put on 30 lbs in 15 weeks and then cut 15 lbs in 15 weeks (or gain 10, lose 5, gain 10, lose 5, gain 10, lose 5). If you’re really set on losing weight first it could be done the other way around but I bet the final result wouldn’t be as good or as easy. It’s much easier to lose 15 lbs with the added muscle.

Edit: I saw your program. Cut out all the extra stuff and stick to a few compound movements that you can really push. Something like Starting Strength or 5x5 where you can focus on the big movements and use some sort of progression. Ultimately the order of weight gain and loss is up to you. You just need to work harder (in the gym and kitchen) and more often to reach your goal. Working hard will eventually become easy when you’re consistent and motivated.

i think it looks like you need to focus on growing more than anything. i know you said something about not wanting anymore size but you have to have something to begin with in order to cut down and show off hard work. it seems like your either not training hard enough or not resting and recovering. are you sleeping enough and drinking enough water ? what is your goal physique like ? if i was you i would put on size. dont be afraid to get “fat”, you need to grow to show it off at a low body fat. otherwise you will have nothing to display and just look like a holocaust survivor

[quote]audilover wrote:
if you look at my pics, i have a lot of fat on me that i want to get rid of[/quote]

I can’t tell if you are responding to my post or if this is just additional info. I still want to know your goal weight.

[quote]Reed wrote:
Don’t take this to hard but you don’t look like you have ever been inside a gym let alone been training productively for 3 years. Not even close. You need to put some muscle mass on yout. You could lose another 15lbs and still wouldn’t have ANYTHING to show for it at all… Hell honestly you would just look sick like in a starvation kind of way.

You don’t need to lose any more weight. You need to stop fooling your self into thinking you know what you are doing in the gym or kitchen and listen to people a little further along than you. Just my opinion but if your goal is to weigh less than my girl firend at a taller height just keep on going man. [/quote]

This is the answer you’re looking for.

[quote]goochadamg wrote:
Are you sure you’re counting calories right? Is your scale broken? Have you been tested for hormone problems; hypothyroid, low T, etc?

It’s hard to believe you weigh 158 in those pictures.[/quote]

Before I left for school, I did a blood test and it said i have low test. I will be seeing an endo once I get home, it is hard to do right now because I am in medical school.

[quote]Reed wrote:
Don’t take this to hard but you don’t look like you have ever been inside a gym let alone been training productively for 3 years. Not even close. You need to put some muscle mass on yout. You could lose another 15lbs and still wouldn’t have ANYTHING to show for it at all… Hell honestly you would just look sick like in a starvation kind of way.

You don’t need to lose any more weight. You need to stop fooling your self into thinking you know what you are doing in the gym or kitchen and listen to people a little further along than you. Just my opinion but if your goal is to weigh less than my girl firend at a taller height just keep on going man. [/quote]

I didn’t think I look “sickly” but I understand what you are trying to get at. I am going to try to eat more and gain some muscle which should help.

[quote]lift206 wrote:
IMO, you should focus on pushing yourself in training and dieting. Train compound movements and push harder on that instead of limiting yourself to dumbbell work. The added muscle and increased metabolism will help you lose fat. You won’t have to worry too much about counting calories if you eat a lot of whole foods and cut out the processed foods while pushing strength training and conditioning work.

You said you don’t want to gain weight or get any bigger but I hope you realize that putting on 30 lbs of muscle and losing 20 lbs of fat would result in you looking better. You would lose fat in the areas you want which is mostly your waist and chest. The added muscle is nice because you don’t have to worry about whether you over ate from adding mayo in your 6" sub. Those small details will no longer matter. You’ve been training for 2-3 years and haven’t gotten the results you want. It doesn’t mean you have to go on a big bulk. Just make sure you’re eating enough to recover from the intense training. Go all in and you won’t regret it.

How often are you training now? If I were you I would strength train 3x a week, do some form of conditioning 6x a week and eat good food to put on 30 lbs in 15 weeks and then cut 15 lbs in 15 weeks (or gain 10, lose 5, gain 10, lose 5, gain 10, lose 5). If you’re really set on losing weight first it could be done the other way around but I bet the final result wouldn’t be as good or as easy. It’s much easier to lose 15 lbs with the added muscle.

Edit: I saw your program. Cut out all the extra stuff and stick to a few compound movements that you can really push. Something like Starting Strength or 5x5 where you can focus on the big movements and use some sort of progression. Ultimately the order of weight gain and loss is up to you. You just need to work harder (in the gym and kitchen) and more often to reach your goal. Working hard will eventually become easy when you’re consistent and motivated.[/quote]

Thanks for the advice, I guess I will try to pursue gaining weight. I think mentally I just have to get used to the fact about my body fat, and it will be a long term process. Hopefully getting my test fixed will help out

[quote]audilover wrote:
Thanks for the advice, I guess I will try to pursue gaining weight. I think mentally I just have to get used to the fact about my body fat, and it will be a long term process. Hopefully getting my test fixed will help out
[/quote]

Focus on performance in compound movements to push yourself and eat good food (and enough to recover and perform well each day). Push your training capacity as well. It shouldn’t be that difficult to do 4-6 days of conditioning. This can vary from low (walking a few miles) to high (sprints, strongman type conditioning, rowing, etc.) intensity. The conditioning should be used to increase your general physical preparedness and increase metabolic rate without affecting your strength programming.

Turn your engine into a high performing one before worrying about what the exterior looks like. The motor can then be suited for whatever goal you please. Beginners tend to focus too much on strength or too much on aesthetics when first starting off (I made this mistake too). Learning to get big and strong will set you up for any future goals. When you learn how to put on lean mass, you’ll find it way easier to strip off fat.

Edit: Also, fight the temptation to make quick progress in strength and weight gain. While on the linear strength program, make small jumps in weight for compound movements to allow your body time to adapt. For weight gain, eat healthy foods and more than you normally eat. If you’re going by feel, you should be eating so that you perform well each day. When the lifts begin to get tough, you need to eat more food and sleep well to recover. Do NOT let performance decline for as long as possible. Increase the amount of food over time. Shoot for 1-2 lbs a week (about +500 calories/day). If you eat way more than your body needs, say 5000 calories right off the bat, you’ll just add fat. At your current state, if you’re eating good food in slight excess, getting plenty of sleep, and creating the demand with hard and heavy work, you can gain muscle and burn fat at the same time. Good luck on your journey.

Pretty much what everyone else said. Focus on getting stronger in the big lifts (squat, bench, press, deadlift) and eat lots of good food (grains, complex carbs, protein, some fats, make sure you’re getting your micronutrients too). The muscle will come and the fat will go. Just be patient and consistent.