True metabolism booster/thermogenic recommendations?

[jimmyjusa]

Hello all, I know this question is asked a lot, but I'm lost at where to go. I'm 240, at roughly 35% body fat. I've tried multiple diets in the past, and I have tracked average days calorie intake being between 1500-1800. I haven't lost a pound for over 4 years no matter what I have tried. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[The_Old_Guy]

I was close to 300 with BF in the ???? 4x% range? Unless you have a no-sh^t medical problem, no way you worked out properly and ate right and didn't lose anything. You need to figure out your TDEE more accurately, and then track your food like a maniac and only eat exactly what you have in MyFitnessPal/FatSecret etc...

Maybe a trip to the doctor for a full blood workup should be your first stop.

No way I'd recommend any supplement at this stage.

 

[ma70]

Hello all, I know this question is asked a lot, but I'm lost at where to go. I'm 240, at roughly 35% body fat. I've tried multiple diets in the past, and I have tracked average days calorie intake being between 1500-1800. I haven't lost a pound for over 4 years no matter what I have tried. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

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[cheftepesh1]

I was close to 300 with BF in the ???? 4x% range? Unless you have a no-sh^t medical problem, no way you worked out properly and ate right and didn't lose anything. You need to figure out your TDEE more accurately, and then track your food like a maniac and only eat exactly what you have in MyFitnessPal/FatSecret etc...

Maybe a trip to the doctor for a full blood workup should be your first stop.

No way I'd recommend any supplement at this stage.

Agree to this. I would seek a doctors opinion or maybe see a trAiner nutritionist who can check what your doing. It all comes down to calories in verses calories out. Something has to be off.

 

[jimmyjusa]

I was close to 300 with BF in the ???? 4x% range? Unless you have a no-sh^t medical problem, no way you worked out properly and ate right and didn't lose anything. You need to figure out your TDEE more accurately, and then track your food like a maniac and only eat exactly what you have in MyFitnessPal/FatSecret etc...

Maybe a trip to the doctor for a full blood workup should be your first stop.

No way I'd recommend any supplement at this stage.

I've gone to my gp and he couldn't see anything wrong with the standard lab work, so I'm waiting to see an endocrinologist but with so few where I am I won't be seen until September. I brought up more in depth labs to my gp and he said that insurance is more likely to pay if ordered by a specialist. I track using s health, which is just like myfitnesspal.

 

[john.patterson]

Are you working out? And how are you tracking calories? Do you have a food scale? Many times people think they're eating a certain amount of calories but it can often be much more than they're estimating their portions. I'd be curious to know how you got the the 1500-1800 number, which seems incredibly low.

What is your current cardio and training? You didn't mention it in your post, so that would be a helpful piece to the puzzle in figuring out what to adjust to get the scale moving

 

[HIT4ME]

I've gone to my gp and he couldn't see anything wrong with the standard lab work, so I'm waiting to see an endocrinologist but with so few where I am I won't be seen until September. I brought up more in depth labs to my gp and he said that insurance is more likely to pay if ordered by a specialist. I track using s health, which is just like myfitnesspal.

I am not coming down on you at all, but reality bites and I am going to do my best to put it all in perspective. The_Old_Guy was actually kind about the situation. I would say that EVEN IF you have a medical problem, 99% of the time you will lose weight if you diet correctly. There is NO way this doesn't work without you becoming very aware that there is an issue. It is the laws of thermodynamics. You can't gain weight if you aren't eating. And if you can't make energy, you have to get it from somewhere. So if you aren't getting it from food, your body will take it from some place in your body - muscle, fat, etc. There is NO way around this.

In reality, even on extreme diets, 3 pounds of weightloss a WEEK is really, really good. Without going to great efforts to lose weight, 1 pound per week is more likely what you will see. But even that requires SOME effort.

There are three tools you need to diet successfully:

1. A pencil
2. A notebook
3. A scale.

If you aren't losing weight, you need to be sure you are using these tools PRECISELY. Don't eat ANYTHING without weighing it and writing it. If you don't do this, there is no way a doctor or anyone else will be able to say what you are doing wrong. If you do do this, you will easily find what is wrong, and you will most likely become VERY surprised.

But more important than ALL of this - Do you really WANT to lose weight? What is it about losing weight that you want? Why are you doing this?

I've seen people do EVERYTHING wrong and lose a ton of weight because they wanted it so badly. So, do you really, really want it? Or do you just kind of want it because it would be nice?

 

[jimmyjusa]

I'll try my best to give all the facts needed. I am now 25, in high school I played football and baseball, from junior year until age 20 I was 225. After graduating I became less active by age 22 I was up to 235, recently gotten up to 248 which nearly brought me to tears gaining ten pounds in 6 weeks. I've been on anti depressants since I graduated, with non-stop changes in medications and dosages the past year or so. I've had job gaps which did not allow me to afford a gym membership. So on top of working on trying to get jobs, and depression, exercise took a back seat. I'm finally on a financially stable place and just got a gym membership 2 weeks ago, going 5 days a week. Regarding diet, I'd go days without eating, then I'd gorge others when at my darkest.

 

[jimmyjusa]

In my attempts to lose weight through diet, I've cut out pop, alcohol, doubled and tripled my water, tried cutting out gluten for a few months, tried the 4 hour body diet, tried keto diet both for a couple months at a time. With all these changes, I still never saw a drop in weight in any of these trials

 

[ma70]

In my attempts to lose weight through diet, I've cut out pop, alcohol, doubled and tripled my water, tried cutting out gluten for a few months, tried the 4 hour body diet, tried keto diet both for a couple months at a time. With all these changes, I still never saw a drop in weight in any of these trials

Judging by this post, I guess I should have done what everyone else in this thread did and comment about that first. Count calories man (and weigh your food). I'm sure you can find someone eating a gluten free diet that consumes 5000+ calories a day, so trendy diets like that mean nothing unless you're counting calories.

 

[HIT4ME]

In my attempts to lose weight through diet, I've cut out pop, alcohol, doubled and tripled my water, tried cutting out gluten for a few months, tried the 4 hour body diet, tried keto diet both for a couple months at a time. With all these changes, I still never saw a drop in weight in any of these trials

Yeah, you are going about it wrong. Read the end of my post and come up with some answers to my questions.

This isn't about eat this, don't eat that, or this food is bad for you and this ingredient must be avoided. People like to think, "If I JUST cut out this one thing, I will get reaults" but that is no different than sayi g if I just pop this pill, I will get reaults. It doesn't work like that.

You can do this though, if you want it bad enough and clearly enough.

 

[HIT4ME]

And the starve/binge cycle isn't good, but I'm sure you know that. I grew up with parents who were overweight and knew NORHING about nutrition...and I learned a lot of bad habits from them. This is easier than you think...but requires some learning.

 

[jimmyjusa]

I've never ate breakfast since middle school (in general, of course I have at times) because when I eat breakfast I am hungry all day. I would eat the school lunches. Since graduating, most days I would only eat lunch every few days and then have dinner. My 1500-1800 calorie tracked days were when I would make myself eat breakfast and lunch, when I'd eat once a day it would be 900 calories maximum. I know that is too much for one meal, especially when there is no extra exercise. With the exception of my recent weight spike due to a medication trial that made me unable to ever feel full (remeron, try that if you need to pack on weight) which I luckily got taken off of. With my diet cuts (gluten free) I would eat vegetables and meat, I don't see how I could eat a surplus of calories eating one full meal in the evening, sometimes lunch as well

 

[john.patterson]

I'm finally on a financially stable place and just got a gym membership 2 weeks ago, going 5 days a week. Regarding diet, I'd go days without eating, then I'd gorge others when at my darkest.

I would find a workout plan that fits your schedule and commit to it. Push yourself every day you're in the gym and work hard. Lift heavy, do your cardio, and focus on your goals.

As far as the diet goes, be more consistent. It sounds like you've tried many different approaches to dieting and your eating habits aren't established. I would focus on eating well balanced whole food meals containing lean protein and vegetables. Track your food intake and calories and STAY CONSISTENT. You'll never be able to determine what's working and what isn't working if you aren't sticking to a plan.

 

[jimmyjusa]

Thanks all for your input, my diet approaches have been throughout the years. It has been a frustrating time when I can bust my ass with cardio, eat nothing but salads or sit on my ass and have multiple beers and my weight never change a pound. I'm finally getting out of my mental black hole, and trying to turn my health around. It's been difficult wanting to better myself when there are times I've wanted to give up on living... So I'm sorry if I seem defensive in some of my responses, I'm just looking to get a kickstart in my fat loss.

 

[tstak]

Hire a coach and outsource your decision making. If you are not making progress after 4 years you are better off focusing on using your energy for working out and life outside of fitness.

I suffer quite a bit of depression, anxiety as well as life issues. I found working on myself from the inside out works the best and eventually your body reflects the person you grow to be inside.

Sounds corny but till you suffer from deep deep depression its hard to see that perspective.

 

[HIT4ME]

Thanks all for your input, my diet approaches have been throughout the years. It has been a frustrating time when I can bust my ass with cardio, eat nothing but salads or sit on my ass and have multiple beers and my weight never change a pound. I'm finally getting out of my mental black hole, and trying to turn my health around. It's been difficult wanting to better myself when there are times I've wanted to give up on living... So I'm sorry if I seem defensive in some of my responses, I'm just looking to get a kickstart in my fat loss.

You don't seem defensive. A lot of our advise comes from having stood in your shoes before. What I've learned on this forum is that we are all on the same path. Like The_old_guy said, he was 300 pounds once. I was 300 pounds once. I look at TOG and his avatar and can only hope to get there, but I've lost over 100 pounds. TOG is down the road further than I am, but it is the same road. We aren't judging.

Dieting is HARD. Losing weight at all is hard. It is simple, but difficult. And if you have a reason to do it that is clear enough and strong enough, and you have a strategy, you can do it.

Do you track protein? What food sources do you rely on? Do you plan your meals?

I find that one of my biggest problems is making decisions on the fly, there is so much junk pushed at us that bad decisions become automatic if you don't have a plan in place that is easier to follow than a trip to Wendy's.

For instance, where do most people keep their treadmill? In the basement. How often do they use it? Never.

Where do most people keep their TV? In the center of their house where they see it no matter what they do. How often do they use it? Always.

How often would you use your TV if it were in the basement? I bet a lot less.

Have you tried to plan a diet yet? Maybe we can help.

 

[HIT4ME]

Also consistency is the real key, as Johnpatterson has said. Losing a pound may take a week. Drinking a half gallon of water will cause you to gain 4 pounds the second it is in you. That isn't fat weight, it is water weight and it will come off again, but weight will go up and down a lot.

This goes against what you normally read, but start weighing yourself multiple times a day. Once in the morning before you eat or drink anything, and then different times throughout the day. You will see your weight can fluctuate 3, 4 , 5 pounds in a day just normally. Seeing a pound loss is hard to track.

Create a caloric deficit and stick to it. Concentrate on eating 3-5 protein packed, nutritious meals per day that are below your calorie limits. And just keep at it.

 

[jimmyjusa]

You don't seem defensive. A lot of our advise comes from having stood in your shoes before. What I've learned on this forum is that we are all on the same path. Like The_old_guy said, he was 300 pounds once. I was 300 pounds once. I look at TOG and his avatar and can only hope to get there, but I've lost over 100 pounds. TOG is down the road further than I am, but it is the same road. We aren't judging.

Dieting is HARD. Losing weight at all is hard. It is simple, but difficult. And if you have a reason to do it that is clear enough and strong enough, and you have a strategy, you can do it.

Do you track protein? What food sources do you rely on? Do you plan your meals?

I find that one of my biggest problems is making decisions on the fly, there is so much junk pushed at us that bad decisions become automatic if you don't have a plan in place that is easier to follow than a trip to Wendy's.

For instance, where do most people keep their treadmill? In the basement. How often do they use it? Never.

Where do most people keep their TV? In the center of their house where they see it no matter what they do. How often do they use it? Always.

How often would you use your TV if it were in the basement? I bet a lot less.

Have you tried to plan a diet yet? Maybe we can help.

Thanks for the kind words, I agree with the exercise equipment location. Personally, having a monthly chunk of money come out for a membership is more of a drive to use it than a one time purchase of equipment would be. Just being honest there.

As for my current diet: coffee at work, normally black. Then a protein shake a couple hours later. And a protein shake for lunch. Usually I have a protein bar as a snack before leaving for work. Then I come home and wait for my girlfriend to get off work. We get changed and go to the gym for an hour when she is able, otherwise it's just me going. The types of foods we have are steamed veggies of some sort (broccoli, Brussels sprouts, asparagus, cauliflower) and then protein being some type of meat common sources being: ground beef, chicken breasts, venison, tuna steaks, pork chops. Once a week or less I will get fast food for lunch. Also, I drink about a gallon of plain water a day at work, then a few glasses at home. For carbs, sometimes we have pasta or rice, less often is potatoes.

 

[georgetown]

I havent read completely through all thats been posted in this thread but those calories seem way too low, they would be throwing your body out of wack. Focus on eating healthy and just getting in and out of the gym. Your situation is most likely where the term "eating clean" can actually be used. Make smart choices about food, enjoy your food but be logical a hamburger wont kill you. Eating smart and training hard should work for your situation. If this really gets you nowhere definitelt visit a doctor/and or get your hormone levels tested

 

[HIT4ME]

Thanks for the kind words, I agree with the exercise equipment location. Personally, having a monthly chunk of money come out for a membership is more of a drive to use it than a one time purchase of equipment would be. Just being honest there.

As for my current diet: coffee at work, normally black. Then a protein shake a couple hours later. And a protein shake for lunch. Usually I have a protein bar as a snack before leaving for work. Then I come home and wait for my girlfriend to get off work. We get changed and go to the gym for an hour when she is able, otherwise it's just me going. The types of foods we have are steamed veggies of some sort (broccoli, Brussels sprouts, asparagus, cauliflower) and then protein being some type of meat common sources being: ground beef, chicken breasts, venison, tuna steaks, pork chops. Once a week or less I will get fast food for lunch. Also, I drink about a gallon of plain water a day at work, then a few glasses at home. For carbs, sometimes we have pasta or rice, less often is potatoes.

It seems to me your food choices aren't too bad. Are you weighing/measuring EVERYTHING? You can eat the right things and think you are taking in a certain amount of calories, but if you misjudged by a small amount on each meal, a couple hundred calories can kill your deficit.

1800 calories is NOT too low either. Esp. If you have a lower activity level.

 

[jimmyjusa]

I'm trying to do more and get up to the 2100 calorie mark as my doc thinks that my body is in a constant starvation mode so it's not letting anything go weight wise at 1500-1800. This was without exercise, so I'm probably still having issues. The only hormone test my doc did was at my physical was my test level which was 408... Not happy with that and after requesting more labs he has referred me to an endocrinologist, so now I wait

 

[HIT4ME]

I'm trying to do more and get up to the 2100 calorie mark as my doc thinks that my body is in a constant starvation mode so it's not letting anything go weight wise at 1500-1800. This was without exercise, so I'm probably still having issues. The only hormone test my doc did was at my physical was my test level which was 408... Not happy with that and after requesting more labs he has referred me to an endocrinologist, so now I wait

I don't advise this at all and I shouldn't be doing it, but I've been on 800 cals/day for a while and I am losing weight.. Starvation mode isn't stopping me. I do think 1800-2000 calories is a better place to be than fewer calories. But you need to measure and be sure you are actually there.

For instance, 3 oz. Cooked chicken has 120 cals, but if you eyeball, it might be 4 or 5 oz. Easily and suddenly your at 200-240 cals. Do that on 1800 calories and suddenly you are at 3000 calories. And frustrated.

 

[jimmyjusa]

It seems to me your food choices aren't too bad. Are you weighing/measuring EVERYTHING? You can eat the right things and think you are taking in a certain amount of calories, but if you misjudged by a small amount on each meal, a couple hundred calories can kill your deficit.

1800 calories is NOT too low either. Esp. If you have a lower activity level.

Protein shakes are measured by the scoop of course, protein bars have the nutrition labels, and with vegetables I figured I don't need to measure those since they are a major source of my fiber and are fairly low calorie. Most meat we get is a pound and I have half.

 

[The_Old_Guy]

Dude, no one's busting your balls, we only do that to each other about prop blends I was a disgusting mess of soon to die blubber from 37 to 46. In my youth I was with the 75th Ranger Regiment at 7% BF and running 5 miles a day - so I know how it feels! LOL!

You need research nutrition strategies and adopt one and then do sensible cardio and weight (or even body-weight) training. Plan on a pound a week loss and rejoice! in one year

I have my opinion on SSRI's but I'll not go against your doctor. Good luck!

 

[jimmyjusa]

Thanks guys, I'm working on getting chunks of protein in through the day, so far my workouts are an hour long, half weights and second half is cardio.

 

[tstak]

Sorry man i need to call you out for bull****

You are either are lying to yourself or providing invalid data.

"I'm 240, at roughly 35% "

If you are eating clean, working out and restricted you wouldn't have the numbers above, mostly for 4 years.

You cant fix something that you cant identify as a problem.

 

[jimmyjusa]

As I've tried explaining, I've tried dieting over the past 4 years. With minor exercise up until two weeks ago when we could finally afford a gym membership and I finally stopped getting my meds messed around with.

 

[jimmyjusa]

Oh, and my fat% is based on the electro impedence things that scales have or are hand held.

 

[HIT4ME]

Jimmyjusa - I think you are trying; but tstak's comments aren't too far off. You aren't lying to us, you are lying to yourself.

It is common, we often fool ourselves into thinking that we are trying and don't. The key to me is, I asked you 3-4 times if you weigh your food with a scale or measure it and you didn't answer until you finally said,

Protein shakes are measured by the scoop of course, protein bars have the nutrition labels, and with vegetables I figured I don't need to measure those since they are a major source of my fiber and are fairly low calorie. Most meat we get is a pound and I have half.

On these items you are somewhat right - this sounds like a plausible answer to the question at first. But it shows that you ARE NOT weighing and you ARE NOT planning your meals. You're half measuring. Like you say, when things are prepackaged, I get that and it's cool - but you shouldn't be eating everything prepackaged. You need to start weighing and preparing meals.

And depending on the veggies you are eating, you may have to measure them. And your carb sources should DEFINATELY be measured. Rice, pasta, etc. - what looks to be a small amount can turn out to be 2-3 servings sometimes. If you aren't weighing, you won't be accurate and could be taking in 2-3X the carbs/calories that you think.

Get a scale and a notebook, weigh it all, write it all. You will learn more about what is wrong from that one thing than you realize.

And again, not busting your balls. We have all been here.

I'll give another example. Let's say you're in a 500 cal/day deficit. That's 3,500 calories/week. You do great 6 days a week and then have a cheat meal one night. You decide to go to Olive Garden for this meal and don't add up the calories. You have the soup, the bread sticks, the meal, and then a slice of cake (hey it's your free meal right?) You just ate 3000-3500 calories in that one meal. No joke. And the pound you lost dieting for 6 days? Gone. No more deficit.

This is something I did 2 weeks ago. My gf suggested Olive and I was going to go until I looked at the nutritional info. It's SOOO easy to overeat and not even realize it.

Plus, if you weigh and write everything down - you can bring that log to your doctor or to us and say, "Here it is" and we will be able to see exactly what you are eating and have a better suggestion.

 

[john.patterson]

All great info in here. Its easy to overestimate and think you're pushing yourself harder than you really are. If you ask anyone in the gym if they train hard they're tell you yes, but chances are most people don't honestly push themselves.

Aside from pushing yourself physically, you really need to dial in your diet. Buy a scale and be honest with your measurements. Weight your portions and track EVERYTHING that goes into your mouth. Its very easy to be off if you're eyeballing your food, and a few hundred calories here and there throughout the day adds up quickly. Be especially mindful of measuring your fat sources (peanut butter, nuts, oils, etc.) - these calories add up QUICK if you aren't measuring accurately.

Dig deep, dial in, and focus on your goals. Make it your biggest priority and go all in. Its not a short journey, but if you're consistent and focused you will start to see results.