Fat loss suggestions

[SDChungus]

As my name implies iv always been a short chungus. Iv been putting hard time in on the treadmill, elliptical, and alternating upper/lower resistance training. I am a short stalky build dropped from 264 to 227 over the last 8 months. I am gaining a good amount of strength and endurance. However, I am just stuck the last 2 months at 227...just can't shake it. Im running on a 2000-2200 calorie diet which has a good amount of protein. The wife says im slowly still losing inches...but the scale sure hasent moved anymore. I don't know if i should drop another 500 calories to 1700-1800 and push more protein or what. Thoughts? Meat sources mainly chicken, beef and buffalo with the occasional porkchop. 3 eggs in the morning and whey isolate. Portions 6-8oz meat and whatever frozen vegetables. Minimal bread and pastas. Diet really is pretty clean.
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Update 8-3-22:
I am around 235 but I have gained a good amount of muscle. The fat is burning off and I have migrated from a 42 jeans size to a 38 and can fit into a 36 with a little effort. My body composition now is night and day from the start. Anyone starting out in a similar situation as me...this is a marathon it is going to take you minimum of a year and likely 2 years to get where you want to be if you do it right (no extreme diets and not being unhealthy/damaging to your body). This is sustainable. Trust the process and listen to your body at all times.

 

[PNWGATOR]

I’d recommend reaching out to Kyle Camp at Valley to Peak Nutrition and get his input.

 

[SDChungus]

I’d recommend reaching out to Kyle Camp at Valley to Peak Nutrition and get his input.

I'll consider this thank you.

 

[Jxferg7]

What part of the state are you in? I’ve been in this situation as well and is tough! 3 things that helped me….stop weighing yourself everyday and go to more of a in-body type body readings every4-8 weeks. I also quit drinking heavily lol, and then instead of traditional weight training splits I moved to more full body workouts 3-4 times a week and on my off days hit your misc groups, bi’s and tris traps and shit like that. Good luck!

 

[Tod osier]

As my name implies iv always been a short chungus. Iv been putting hard time in on the treadmill, elliptical, and alternating upper/lower resistance training. I am a short stalky build dropped from 264 to 227 over the last 8 months. I am gaining a good amount of strength and endurance. However, I am just stuck the last 2 months at 227...just can't shake it. Im running on a 2000-2200 calorie diet which has a good amount of protein. The wife says im slowly still losing inches...but the scale sure hasent moved anymore. I don't know if i should drop another 500 calories to 1700-1800 and push more protein or what. Thoughts? Meat sources mainly chicken, beef and buffalo with the occasional porkchop. 3 eggs in the morning and whey isolate. Portions 6-8oz meat and whatever frozen vegetables. Minimal bread and pastas. Diet really is pretty clean.

Less in, the more you loose the less you need to eat, so it is a moving target. It is really tough when you get to bare bones like that to fit everything that you may want in (protein, alcohol, fiber, fun stuff, etc...).

 

[Centralcoastca]

About 4 years ago I lost 100lbs in 1 year, kept up the same routine and have maintained it. I remember hitting spots like that where everything was improving but the scale wouldn’t move much sometimes. Frustrating but it comes and goes. It could be that while you’re losing fat you’re also gaining muscle so you’re just trading what the weight is made of. Small nutrition adjustments make big differences sometimes. Since you’re being constant you should be able to make a change and notice what happens pretty quickly. Great advice is to keep a workout and diet journal. I never did but it’s great advice. Don’t do anything that you can’t sustain or isn’t healthy. Why lose weight doing something you’re not going to want to keep doing just to have it come back. I looked at the paleo diet myself and realized that it was something that I could sustain so I’ve just been doing that for the last 4 years and at 44 have never been healthier. Keep at it, you’re on the right path, you sound motivated and trust me it’s well worth it.

 

[Dos Perros]

Are you monitoring your body fat %? You could be trading fat for muscle 1:1 at this point. I'd take that deal any way.

 

[5MilesBack]

The only time I lose weight all year is elk hunting. I'll average a pound a day, and then spend the next 11 months trying to get it all back. It's hard to replicate all day elk hunting without taking all day to exercise, but there's got to be some happy medium of low calories and high intensity workouts out there that will work.

 

[carsonkeys]

Sounds douchey, I know, but have you been taking progress photos? It's easy to say "the scale's not moving so something isn't working" and change your whole routine when in reality, you are changing, but at a rate this is unnoticeable to you since you look at yourself everyday. Progress photos allow you to look back to last month and go "holy cow, look how much bigger my love handles were back then".

What's likely happening, like @Dos Perros alluded to, is the pinnacle of weight loss. A "body recompostion" where you're loosing fat and gaining muscle at the same time and the scale doesn't move. Because your wife says you're still changing, I would highly recommend not dropping your calories (or changing anything about your routine as it seems to be working). Add weekly progress photos on the same day, at the same time, in the same lighting, for the next six weeks and see what happens.

 

[92xj]

If your very short term goal is just to beat that scale number that hasnt moved in a while you have two option that will do it quickly. A - 36 hour fast B - Carb over load for a day, then back on your meal plan with no cheats plus exercise for 7 days. Either one of those will get the scale to hit a number below 227.

I go the fasting route because I know my eating addiction with take off out of control if I go the carb overload route. When I was in my big weight loss journey a few years ago (285 to 180), I would fast every friday, with a 4 mile hike. Saturday morning after some breakfast fruit I would feel AMAZING and I would always get the scale to bump off of plateaus. I have since bumped back up to 220 the past few years, but working on getting back to the 180s now.

 

[SDChungus]

What part of the state are you in? I’ve been in this situation as well and is tough! 3 things that helped me….stop weighing yourself everyday and go to more of a in-body type body readings every4-8 weeks. I also quit drinking heavily lol, and then instead of traditional weight training splits I moved to more full body workouts 3-4 times a week and on my off days hit your misc groups, bi’s and tris traps and shit like that. Good luck!

Im on Sioux Falls but originally from Aberdeen area. Mainly hunt the north part of the state up near there.

What part of the state are you in? I’ve been in this situation as well and is tough! 3 things that helped me….stop weighing yourself everyday and go to more of a in-body type body readings every4-8 weeks. I also quit drinking heavily lol, and then instead of traditional weight training splits I moved to more full body workouts 3-4 times a week and on my off days hit your misc groups, bi’s and tris traps and shit like that. Good luck!

 

[SDChungus]

Sounds douchey, I know, but have you been taking progress photos? It's easy to say "the scale's not moving so something isn't working" and change your whole routine when in reality, you are changing, but at a rate this is unnoticeable to you since you look at yourself everyday. Progress photos allow you to look back to last month and go "holy cow, look how much bigger my love handles were back then".

What's likely happening, like @Dos Perros alluded to, is the pinnacle of weight loss. A "body recompostion" where you're loosing fat and gaining muscle at the same time and the scale doesn't move. Because your wife says you're still changing, I would highly recommend not dropping your calories (or changing anything about your routine as it seems to be working). Add weekly progress photos on the same day, at the same time, in the same lighting, for the next six weeks and see what happens.

I have been taking photos every couple weeks. I need to line them up to see the change. I definitely feel it in my clothing I have dropped from a 44 to a 38 jeans size. Pinnacle of weight loss so you think I might be trading 1:1 fat to muscle? Its possible...she thinks im still losing inches. Thank you for the input I appreciate it.

 

[HighUintas]

There's some good advice above. You're probably making up the fat loss with muscle gain. Don't worry so much about the scale number. Just keep doing what you're doing and make sure you enjoy it and is sustainable long term.

If I'm just looking to drop some fat my go to is: eat less fat, eat less sugar, and do a once a week long run or hike. If you are able to run 15-20 miles once a week, that will cut some fat for sure. When running, once you get to a certain level of glycogen depletion, your body will likely start burning a little more fat. If you're not close to that distance already you want to work up to it slowly to avoid injury

Whatever you do, don't start dropping your calorie intake any more if you're exercising a lot. That can easily backfire and you need all the absorbable nutrition you can get if you're exercising a lot

 

[SDChungus]

Are you monitoring your body fat %? You could be trading fat for muscle 1:1 at this point. I'd take that deal any way.

I'm not sure how to do this? Any tips?

 

[fmyth]

I'm not sure how to do this? Any tips?

Amazon.com

 

[SDChungus]

LOL im sorry to laugh...I just picture taking a tongs and grabbing a roll from the deli. I'll look into this. Thanks for the info.

 

[carsonkeys]

I have been taking photos every couple weeks. I need to line them up to see the change. I definitely feel it in my clothing I have dropped from a 44 to a 38 jeans size. Pinnacle of weight loss so you think I might be trading 1:1 fat to muscle? Its possible...she thinks im still losing inches. Thank you for the input I appreciate it.

No, I have no idea what the ratio may or may not be, and really it's not important. The point is you're likely building muscle and losing fat at the same time, which is atypical for most people. If we look at body builders they go through two "seasons", if you will. A "bulk" where the build muscle, and a "cut" where they trim fat, because the two aren't usually synonymous.

I've seen that overweight folks (no offense) tend to hit a sweet-spot about six months into a consistent radical diet/exercise change where their body adapts to stimulus and diet really, really well. In your case, you say your clothes are fitting better and your wife is still seeing changes which only enforces the body recomp idea. Say, do you find yourself more hungry lately? How's your strength and energy?

Many people think body recomps aren't a real thing. More power to 'em. Look at the photos you've been taking and let us know what you come up with.

 

[Dinglebottoms]

I’ve started keto/carnivore the last year and have went from 256 to 215 currently and still losing some, low carbs ,high fat , lots of meat which we all like. I’ve gained much more mental clarity and it’s nice not starving to death. I do intermittent fasting and extended fasting, some carbs a couple times a month. It’s working for me and another tool to add to anyone’s weight loss journey.

 

[SDChungus]

No, I have no idea what the ratio may or may not be, and really it's not important. The point is you're likely building muscle and losing fat at the same time, which is atypical for most people. If we look at body builders they go through two "seasons", if you will. A "bulk" where the build muscle, and a "cut" where they trim fat, because the two aren't usually synonymous.

I've seen that overweight folks (no offense) tend to hit a sweet-spot about six months into a radical diet/exercise change where there body adapts to stimulus and diet really, really well. In your case, you say your clothes are fitting better and your wife is still seeing changes which only enforces the body recomp idea. Say, do you find yourself more hungry lately? How's your strength and energy?

Many people think body recomps aren't a real thing. More power to 'em. Look at the photos you've been taking and let us know what you come up with.

Strength and Energy have been good. I was doing extremely well with jogging and then took a break to increase strength training. I find it hard to hit the same marks that I was prior to the cardio break. In general my appetite is steady...somedays I feel voraciously hungry, but not that often. Days that I have extreme hunger I dont feel like I get full...I try to ride it out with protein and maintaining diet.

 

[SDChungus]

Really great advice everyone. I will use this to my advantage and keep on going. Target goal is about 200lbs and work back to 215 with muscle building. Ultimately I would like to be able to backpack archery elk and not feel like my body is holding me back from quality hunts.