Been about 10 years since I’ve gone hard working out and dieting, still in ok shape but trying to drop body fat. I have lost about 15 lbs so far down from 210 to 195. I’m 5’8 and 39 years old. I have done about 1700 calories a day for a while but I know that’s too low and I’m stalled out. I brought my calories up to 2000 daily. All through it macros were about 40% protein, 30/30 fat/carbs. Am I eating too little or too much? I lift 4-5 days a week and on off days I do steady state cardio or HIIT. My performance is improving on this diet still but weight is stable. I’m at 23.5% body fat and long term want to get down to 15 but I get that’s gonna take months. Not looking for quick solution just some guidance from those who have been there. What should I try, how much should I eat calorie wise. Thanks in advance.
Can you lay out an exact day, how you’re measuring, and how much variance there is day to day?
How long have you been dieting like this?
How do you feel (you note performance improvements, so that’s a positive)?
Have you ever been lean?
How much muscle do you have currently (or just give me some numbers on bench, pull-ups, squat)?
I have a scale that measures body fat and some other stuff, the fit track scale. Day to day variance is small, I see a change of 1-3 lbs a day, been stuck between 194-197 for a few weeks now. Body fat is consistently 23-24%. I feel stronger, not too tired. I sleep well 7-8 hours a night , I eat quality foods (95% Whole Foods), I track all my workouts so I can see the total volume of weight increasing week over week. Been eating like this for 43 days. The leanest I’ve been is about 17-18% body fat. Per my scale I have muscle mass of 127 lbs. I can bench about 200, squat about 250, deadlift about 350-400, all those number for reps not one rep max. I used to power lift so those numbers were a bit higher when younger.
If your goal is fat loss, your training does not match. This is how a performance athlete trains.
I would limit lifting to 4x a week, max, but more aim for 3x. I would walk on my non-lifting days, and have a day for sprints (not HIIT: proper sprints with proper rest intervals).
What quality foods are you eating, and when?
Almost entirely Whole Foods, cook everything myself. Overnight oats, lots of lean meats, bison and chicken primarily, fruits around workouts only, veggies with meals, Greek yogurt, rice but limited portions, lots of that kind of stuff. I vary it but I weigh and track everything best I can. Usually 3 meals a day with a snack if it fits calories. I’m not the biggest so eating 5-6 times a day is tough for me to stick to. Meals are tiny that way and I am always hungry.
I am asking you to share that information
Thanks!
I wouldn’t get wrapped up in this. It’s too dependent on little variables like hydration to give you any meaningful data.
I meant in your daily diet. Are you eating exactly the same thing every day?
Which ones? You were specific in your calorie counts, so here I’m just looking for how your day is laid out and how you’re measuring portions?
Am I reading you’ve lost 15 lbs in 43 days? That’s a very solid trend; I’m not sure we need to change anything.
Hard to reply to it all, but yes mostly same foods daily. I vary up the foods but macros are always very close to 40/30/30 a day. Put my carbs around workouts as best I can. Yeah I did most of that first 15 in the first couple weeks. I was eating like crap and then changed to good foods. Cut out any alcohol and junk so a lot of that is the initial weight. The past three weeks I’ve been stalled. Trying to continue progress even if it’s slow. I posted in another reply but foods are lean meats, chicken and bison mostly, fruits around workouts, oats in the morning with Greek yogurt and some whey typically, usually 3 meals a day. each meal gets me 40-50 grams protein, i fill the rest in with carbs. if i need more protein i have some sort of snack thats mostly protein. aiming for 180 grams a day but i dont know that i always get that, always get at least 150. Portions are usually 500-600 cals at a time. with some wiggle room for snacks in between if i get hungry.
sorry, multi tasking, what level of detail would help? you want meal by meal exact measurements or daily macros? something between?
its good to hear im on a good path. i am just frustrated with stalling out. maybe its relative since the first chunk of weight was the easy weight to lose.
I’ve worked with 2 different coaches and watched the process of dozens of competitors.
Most of them train 4+ times per week with LISS on all days.
im no pro lol, not attempting to compete or anything. Just want to look a bit better and feel strong again. Sick of having a gut. I used to train powerlifting 5 days a week and jiu jitsu 3 days a week and could deadlift 500+ at 175 lbs. not the strongest ever but i felt plenty strong. Saying this to say, at least at a younger age, my body can handle it without injury. I only train 1 hour at a time 4-5 days a week, usually 4 days. the cardio is usually a pelaton or just swimming slowly.
What you’re doing exercise-wise seems fine. My comment was in response to someone whose saying people dont train the way you are training when trying to lose fat, which frankly is not true.
You said you’re tracking your food intake. Can you share exactly what you have eaten for the last 3 days including weight (or alternative measurement)?
macros in p/c/f format
8/23: chrizo/bison burger patty, 9 ounces total i think, 51/0/44. Lunch bbq chicken burrito 650 cals (56/76/37, not sure on total chicken etc. includes rice/chicken/cheese/greek yogurt macros based on total ingredients for batch made), dinner, chicken thigh (not sure on macros, about 3 ounces meat) 2 chicken enchilada (not sure on macros, 2 small tortillas with cheese and about 1-2 ounces meat in each).
8/24: breakfast home made egg/sausage muffin thing, basically light pancake batter as filling, 330 cals 17/14/23 (not exactly on my plan, not sure on exact measurements macros are divided by ingredients). Lunch bbq chicken burrito 650 cals (56/76/37, not sure on total chicken etc. includes rice/chicken/cheese/greek yogurt macros based on total ingredients for batch made), 2 slices ny style pepperoni pizza (this is not typical, just had some people over and options were low, not sure on macros)
8/25: overnight oats with greek yogurt, berries, and whey. 450 cals (50/55/9). Lunch bbq chicken burrito 650 cals (56/76/37, not sure on total chicken etc. includes rice/chicken/cheese/greek yogurt macros based on total ingredients for batch made), dinner kicken chicken breaded in corn flakes, 12oz chicken, 1ish cup corn flakes. (500 cals ish 76/21/9), snack ground pork 3 oz with mozarella 1oz (28/1/23).
Dude why did this get at the info and I couldn’t? Am I that poor a communicator?
Gotcha! Truly stalled, or just a lot more frustrating than the first 3 weeks?
So I don’t list this out to be a jerk at all, because it catches most of us, but this will be the first place to start if strict calorie counting is the method we want to use. You don’t have to go this route, but it will be hard to really adjust without a little more precision.
Alternatively, I don’t know if you’re at a place where you really have to yet. You’re losing weight (I think), performance is improving, and you still have a little room in your diet to tighten up (at least the consistency). Personally, I would try to work toward leaner meats without really changing your food structure. Your fats are higher than I’d have them if also eating carbs. I think you’d knock out a lot of calories there, and you’re probably eating more calories than you think. As an example, the macro breakdown of your daily lunch burrito yields 200 more calories than what you have listed as the total - that could be the difference maker right there.
Like T4P just said, you have a lot of “kinda” measurements in there.
Lets tighten those up and get a real macro count for everything you’re putting in your body, to the gram (or .1 oz), weighed raw/uncooked.
I’ve made this mistake more times than I care to admit.
I’ve been noticing a trend (myself) where if I ask more than one question, I dont get answers to the 2nd, 3rd, 4th question, etc.
Asking the most important question and probing from there has been more helpful in my recent observations.
ha funny, maybe myfitness pal is lying to me on the macros then. Ill have to email them about their programming, its literally completely wrong. thanks for pointing that out. point taken on the “not sure”. appreciate the constructive feedback. no feelings hurt at all. ill be more diligent on measurements and yeah maybe im consuming more than i think.
not you, me. you asked it clearly, im too busy doing too much.
thanks all for the input, think i got what i needed. listing my food out made me see oh wait thats not good, oh wait also that. easy ways to improve. its easy to cut out the crap food, its harder to accurately measure and be disciplined on the good stuff.