Alright. Never done anything like this before.
I’m a 5’10" dude, been fat my whole life, with a highest recorded weight of 260lbs. 4 years ago, I lost 105lbs, getting down to 155, and it just was not sustainable. I shot back up to 190, and have managed to stay around 170-180 since then with relative ease.
I’ve still never seen my abs, and I don’t have a lot of muscle, and especially didn’t back then because I basically just starved myself.
With all that being said, I’ve been in the gym for 5-6 months now, and my progress has been fine but it has plateaued. I’m horrified of eating more and getting back into my old habits, but I’m also worried of being stagnant and never slimming down or building muscle.
Is the plan to bulk up quite a bit more and just suffer the cut again? Or what? Please help.
This sounded so many alarms and red flags for me.
I would seriously consider speaking to someone regarding my relationship with food were I in this situation. Until that is resolved, I see attempts to move in any direction causing more harm than good.
What is your training like?
Stay put as you are now . Dont bulk dont cut.
- As @T3hPwnisher remarked address any possible eating issues you have.
- As @FlatsFarmer asked … what are you currently doing related to lifting or conditioning?
Besides not eating what else were you doing in regards to #2 ? While you was lossing weight and what was the length of time ?
I’ve been following an upper/lower split. Bench, shoulder press, lat pulldown, preacher curl, and pec deck if I can ever get the machine for upper. Legs is leg press, extension, seated curls, and calf raises.
When I lost weight the first time around I only counted calories with a little cardio. Minimal bodyweight exercising, and it took about 7-8 months to go from 260-170, then the last 15 took another 4-5 months.
OK!
That’s a pretty small group of lifts to work on and progress for months and months.
A few changes will give you a new challenge and have you progressing again.
And you’re not getting a lot of work for your hips and back, where the Big muscles are. If you hit them harder you should get hungrier automatically, and Need to eat some more.
Sure, thank you. Could you recommend anything to add or take out of my program?
I’ll also mention I’m worried I have a bit of loose skin from weight loss. I’m uncertain if I need to fill it in or lose some more weight or what. I’ll post some pictures later when I’m home.
You kinda sound like me. I was 205lbs at 5’3 after a decade of yo-yo’ing which is similar to being 260lbs at 5’10. I have been 130, I have been 205 and everything in between.
That’s great progress being at 170-180 vs 260. You should be proud of that achievment.
I don’t really have any advice to give except there is probably some physical and mental things going on that are making it harder to lose weight. A lot of my progress has come from shifting my mindset and the way I think about things and react to daily life. I could flip right back if I want but I have learned to relax my mind which reduces hunger feeling. Yes I still get hungry like everyone else but it’s not an intense frantic constant hunger.
Also, you don’t have any reason to bulk. Eat just enough that you’re making progress in the gym. I am 5’3 160lbs around 34% BF and been recomping like that. I don’t even count cals anymore I just eat by feel (although I have a lot of experience counting and eating healthy). Eating a whole foods only diet with no processed sugar, limited oil and high fiber helps a lot with that.
As for lifting, to grow the most muscle do RDL’s and Squats. Your lower body has the biggest muscles so if you hit those hard you will grow a lot of muscle in those areas. I think the list of biggest to smallest muscles is something like Glutes, Quads, Hamstrings, Shoulders, Lats and then everything else. So the more you grow those the more lean body mass you accumulate which will displace the fat you have now.
Also as far as you being afraid to eat and gain all the fat back, that’s where eating that whole foods diet comes in. If you’re eating nothing but regular whole foods with no processed sugar and limited oils, you’re not going to lose control as if you were eating a 1500 calorie lunch at a restaraunt.
My diet is - Nonfat Greek Yogurt, Almonds, Fruit (any), Flax Seeds, Vegetables (I do the ones you microwave steam in a bag), Olive Oil (limited to 15-30ml a day), Oatmeal, Potatoes, Beans, Sardines, Salmon, Almond Milk, Protein Powder, 93/7 ground beef, chicken breast, beef jerky (sparingly nowadays) and that’s pretty much it. Yeah I’ll go out and have a meal with my family every once in a while or I’ll eat some chips at work or at a party or eat a couple slices of pizza at a party but it’s not a regular thing for me anymore. This is coming from a guy that ate literally nothing but Dominos Large Pizzas and a big bowl of ice cream every single day for 6 months during Covid Lockdown (that’s how I became 205). I didn’t just go from that to this, it took years, like 15 years to develop this. I don’t find it hard or depriving at all. I have a good reason to eat this way. If I eat anything processed, my brain just wants more. I don’t like it. I don’t put myself in that position. Also I learned about how fiber helps regulate blood sugar and cholesterol and stops stomach cancer so I eat fruits, vegetables and stuff with fiber. I keep saturated fat to a minimum to keep LDL low.
You can do it too. You just have to find your reasons. Get some bloodwork done, maybe it’ll show you that you need to eat healthier.
For sure I would Add some type of “rowing” or “horizontal pulling” or “back thickness” move. Like barbell rows, dumbbell rows, seated cable rows or some kind of machine rows. Anything you’re comfortable with.
And I would Add some type of hip extension or glute and hip move. Like back raises, or lunges or dumbbell deadlifts. Possibly even hip thrusts if there is no other option. Again, whatever you’re comfortable with.
Additionally I would Swap out the Preacher Curls with some other type of curl. To give your elbows a break and give your biceps a new challenge. Barbell, dumbbell, incline curl, cable curl. Whatever you can do without much hassle.
I’d also probably ditch the Pec Deck and pick something you can consistently get to. Like DB flies or DB presses or chest press machine or even dips. Whatever isnt a head ache.
For the loose skin, you’ve got to give it some time to tighten up or build some muscle to fill it out. Losing weight won’t just make it go away.
I can totally relate to this. Getting to a good place in my brain with food has been super tough for me. I always felt like if I let the reigns a little loose I would totally lose control. I did a run of 5/3/1 that required me to eat more to support the lifting. Allowing myself to eat was harder for me than the actual work. What works for me is changing the actual food. If you are eating whole foods you will have a much harder time slipping into old habits. Going overboard on apples is way harder than going crazy on potato chips. If you improve the quality of your food, the quantity will be less of a problem. Eat nutrient dense food and it will make having to control yourself much easier if not obsolete.