My Fat Loss Has Stalled

Bigger Stronger Leaner Beginners
1

ok let me start by saying i have been lurking around T-Nation for almost 6 months reading the articles and all…i have search and read most of the diets and such but i dont think or better said dont really know which would be the best for me.

let me start with this: i have been working out now for a 1 year when i realized that i getting to a point where my body fat was becoming a health issue. for the 1st 6 months i did really well with loseing body fat and and gaining strenth. my problem is somewhere around month 6 or 7 my wieght loss came to a stop and i have been battleing to keep it were i am now.

i didn’t change my diet from what it was which i did change at the beginging of all this. i guess what i am asking for is i would like a general idea of a diet where i can lose body fat but still maintain and/or gain mucsle strength and size. i will end with with my personal stats.

i thank everyone for any input they give me and i am free to give more info of myself if neeeded. thanks,

Age: 21
Weight now: 248 lbs (current day weight)
Weight then: 312 lbs (weight when my concern started)
Height: 5 ft 6in on a good day
Bench press: 240 lb
Leg press : 965 lbs ( I know for some reason my lower body is abnormally strong)
Dead life: 260 lbs

2

Your lower body isn’t that strong. My max deadlift is maybe 30 below yours and I weight 130. Anyhow that’s not the point. Try mixing up your training program. Do you do cardio? Try doing HIIT. If you do both already maybe try cutting back your calories a bit or increasing cardio.

There’s a lot of things you can do. If you do change something try it for at LEAST 2-3 weeks then honestly reassess your progress. It sounds like a long time just to figure out if something will work or not but if you really want to continue losing fat you gotta dedicate.

3

Post your current diet.

You have to pick one goal, and from the looks of things I would aim to lose the fat first. You could maintain strength to a certain degree while losing fat, but don’t expect to add muscle while on a calorie deficit.

4

well my diet isn’t really set to one certain thing. but i can give you a basic round aboutt.

morning : usually i will have a protein shake.

lunch: usually sandwich small bag baked chips maybe a fruit from time to time.

dinner: usually a meat and a side of vegs with a salad.

i know that could be better but i guess maybe i need to really find out which one i really want…i know my strength gains are nothing to bragg about, but to me i see something in it so it just a hard choice to make for weather i want to lose the wieght or gain the strength.

5

[quote]fatstrenght wrote:
well my diet isn’t really set to one certain thing. but i can give you a basic round aboutt.

morning : usually i will have a protein shake.

lunch: usually sandwich small bag baked chips maybe a fruit from time to time.

dinner: usually a meat and a side of vegs with a salad.

i know that could be better but i guess maybe i need to really find out which one i really want…i know my strength gains are nothing to bragg about, but to me i see something in it so it just a hard choice to make for weather i want to lose the wieght or gain the strength.[/quote]

Is that really what you eat day in and out?

Listen, there are some guys that get chewed out on these forums because they really “major in the minors”, but you on the other hand could benefit by reading a few good books on nutrition.

My advice to you would be to set a goal and learning enough about nutrition so that you can manipulate it properly to reach your goals.

6

If that is what you eat in a day at almost 250 then you have stopped losing weight because your body has entered starvation mode. It is fighting to keep what you have as hard as it can.

You need to let your body know there is not a long starvation period coming. Read some articles and figure out your required cals for a day and sub 500 from that to cut weight.
Before you sub the 500 eat at maintenance for a little while to let the body know all is OK.

Once you start to eat better you will lose weight again.

I know, eat more to lose weight sounds wrong, but the more you read the more you’ll believe it.

7

[quote]fatstrenght wrote:
well my diet isn’t really set to one certain thing. but i can give you a basic round aboutt.

morning : usually i will have a protein shake.

lunch: usually sandwich small bag baked chips maybe a fruit from time to time.

dinner: usually a meat and a side of vegs with a salad.
[/quote]

You aren’t eating enough to lose weight or gain muscle. No wonder your body stopped shedding fat. Props for what you’ve lost already though. Almost 60lbs is an excellent start towards your goals.

First off, you need to be eating 5-6 times per day, and consuming quite a bit more protein.

The protein shake is a good start, but spice it up. Throw in 1c of uncooked oats, some berries, maybe some natural peanut butter (ingredients: peanuts), and a cup or two of milk.

Snack: can of tuna, or tuna sandwich on whole wheat bread (mustard adds great flavor), with some fruit or veggies

Lunch: more lean meat with veggies and some carbs like whole wheat bread, brown rice, or whole wheat pasta.

Snack: see other, or try a protein shake + banana + 1 spoon of Nat. PB.

Dinner: See lunch, but more veggies

Pre bed snack: 1c Fat Free Cottage Cheese or protein shake, and 1 scoop natural peanut butter.

Preparation will help you stick to it, such as cooking chicken en masse, or cooking brown rice in quantity, then putting it in tupperwares. You’ve already shown a good deal of discipline to get where you are now. Work on your diet a bit. Read everything on nutrition by John Berardi. He’s got a lot of great tips.

In general:

  1. Eat Breakfast
  2. Don?t drink sodas or lattes
  3. Drink more water (8 glasses minimum)
  4. Eat more protein
  5. Eat more fruit
  6. Eat more veggies than fruits
  7. Go for a walk
  8. Lift weights
  9. Eat 5-6 times per day
  10. Eat lots of protein and some fat right before bed
8

Hmm, can you give us an idea of the workout you’ve been doing so far? The only things you’ve mentioned are your PR’s.

Start squatting and stop leg pressing. It’ll make a huge difference. If you can’t find someone to teach you, buy Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe. Phenomenal instructions for all the major lifts.

9

Jaegor gives some good suggestions. In terms of nutrition, the best thing you can do for yourself is to READ READ READ. Look up articles on nutrition and educate yourself.

My suggestions:

  1. Eat 6 meals a day

  2. Eat 3,000 calories a day.

  3. Consume good fat (nuts, fish oil, olive oil), good carbs (oatmeal, whole wheat bread, vegetables), and whole protein (turkey, chicken, steak, beef) at every meal.

  4. If you can’t have a whole meal complete with nutrients, consume a Meal Replacement that has protein/carbs along with a sandwich that you made. I personally eat a peanut butter (all natural) sandwich on whole wheat bread + a meal replacement if I’m out and about during the day. You can keep it in your backpack or car.

  5. Eat carbs in the morning, pre-workout, and post-workout.

  6. Eat animal protein before you go to bed. (eggs, chicken, turkey, or cottage cheese!)

  7. MOST importantly. DRINK LOTS OF WATER!!!

10

thanks everyone for all the input so far… i will defenitly start to read more in the nutrition side of the diets. i find it a little funny to eat more to lose the fat… but i hay you guess are the one who know best thats why i came to you for help.

and yes i would say everthing i said i ate in my last post is true 90% of the time. maybe on the weekend i might have what you might call a cheater meal… but other then that, thats it. (maybe a few beers along from time to time)

my work go as followed:
monday: chest
tuesday: legs
wenseday: shoulders
thrusday: back
friday: arms.

i recently have been looking into a four day work out were i would do like
chest and tri’s, back and bi’s, legs, and one day shoulders. but i haven’t made and full switch as of yet.

on four of my 5 days that i work i use do cardio like run on the tredmill for a mile to a mile and a half. i am open to any and every thoughts you guys have thanks to everyone so far who has posted.

11

[quote]fatstrenght wrote:

my work go as followed:
monday: chest
tuesday: legs
wenseday: shoulders
thrusday: back
friday: arms.

[/quote]

Could you be a little more specific on your routine?

It’s helpful to know if your arms routine consists of 10 sets of 10 tricep kickbacks and 1 set of curls. How long have been on this plan? How much strength increase have you seen? Do you vary it occasionally?

12

Hello,

I didn’t start at your weights but I too am trying to loose some pounds.

6’2"
Then 252lb @ 31% BF
Now 230lb @ 20% BF
4 months

If I was going to make a list of top 5 things to look at #1 & #2 is nutrition.

When I started down this road I changed what I ate but I didn’t know how much I ate. First thing I started to do was log my food and the first week I averaged 1500cals! According to sites and people it takes 2600cals just for my body to function at the size I was! I was starving myself. The general public has been told to eat less to loose fat, that’s WRONG in many cases.

Soon as I started eating 5 times a day, protien and veggies each meal and got my calorie count up I started loosing the weight and that was before I started doing any real workout. Once your body realizes it doesn’t need to hold on to every calorie you eat things get going.

I read most of John Berardi’s stuff and follow many of his concepts. Found his ‘The Metabolism Advantage’ a pretty good book but basically I have read everything I can find on nutrition. Most of it right here at T-Nation.

All that said I have also stalled out but I think it’s because I need to eat more…not less now.

Good Luck.
Jeff