Just cannot make any progress - Considering stopping

Snaeem155

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Hi All,

Im 37, 189lbs and have been training for a few years now.

I have 3 weight sessions a week (Tues, Thurs and Sat) and 3 cardio sessions (3k x 2 and 1 x 5k - Mon, Fri and Sun).

I lift to the point of failure and I run at a good pace keeping my HR above 150.

I have never been able to actually make any progress and I can't seem to understand why.

Friends who work out less and eat junk all the time have gotten in better shape than I which I won't lie bugs me to the point I'm looking at taking Ostarine.

Diet I have 2 protein shakes a day (60g protein in each - morning and midday) and I have a protein heavy meal with carbs in the evening - So I only have one real meal a day. Because I have some fat on me I don't want to get fatter hence the one meal approach.

Don't eat junk like crisp, sweets or sodas - I do get fast food now and again but its always grilled chicken

I'd describe myself as medium/skinny fat.

I've tried tons of supps to assist but have never seen any headway from any other than one.

Thinking about giving it up as it seems like a redundant exercise at this point.

What could I be doing wrong? It just doesnt make sense to me.
 
the first glaring point I see is: calorie intake. either way, you are probably doing it all wrong.

the body doesn't like to burn fat when its starving, and likewise, it doesn't like to build muscle when its starving.

now I know you might not be "starving" but you may as well be to your bodies internal workings.

post up a typical dinner for us to see how it looks.
 
Snaeem155 said:
I want to put on a bit of size but have definition.
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Well, those 2 goals are opposite of each other. If you want to add mass and what your doing currently is not working then increase your training volume and eat more good food.

If you want more definition then you need to loose bodyfat. Which involves still training hard but outside of the weights you gotta move more and eat less.
 
xR1pp3Rx said:
the first glaring point I see is: calorie intake. either way, you are probably doing it all wrong.

the body doesn't like to burn fat when its starving, and likewise, it doesn't like to build muscle when its starving.

now I know you might not be "starving" but you may as well be to your bodies internal workings.

post up a typical dinner for us to see how it looks.
Click to expand...
I was gonna say post everything you ate per day this week. Let's see if we have consistency too
 
I would say that the diet is the problem. I'm a pretty skinny guy and am 6 foot and 180lbs and I have recently been very active at the gym, I don't do cardio however I am a retail manager and I'm on my feet all day and do 25k steps easy on any day. If I added cardio I just lose weight. My maintenance is now about 3200 calories that is more than it has been in years.

Your diet is like 90 percent of the work. Sounds like you are eating way too fer calories. Add some eggs in the morning and even something like a peanut butter and jam (jelly) sandwich with fruit at lunch. Eat some chicken with this too and have your protein shakes between meals.

This won't make the fat fall off but it will give your body some nutrients it must be screaming out for to start building muscle. Then the muscle will burn more calories at rest and you. An creep the diet up.

If you are not increasing weights or reps in the gym on a week to week basis you simply are not eating enough.
 
Typical week is like so:

Breakfast - black coffee no sugar

First shake - 12pm - 80% whey minimal sugar

Second shake - 6pm, as above

Dinner - 400g chicken breast grilled, with either rice, some form of bread or pasta.

Dinner will be a variant of the above as I only have chicken as a protein source.

No snacks or sweets during the day
 
Snaeem155 said:
Typical week is like so:

Breakfast - black coffee no sugar

First shake - 12pm - 80% whey minimal sugar

Second shake - 6pm, as above

Dinner - 400g chicken breast grilled, with either rice, some form of bread or pasta.

Dinner will be a variant of the above as I only have chicken as a protein source.

No snacks or sweets during the day
Click to expand...
so I was right after all. Smonty, take it away sir!

@Smont
 
Even if your last meal is at 9pm you are going 15hrs w/out food. That’s is a long time on the catabolic clock. Plus it is a shake that your body will burn through quickly as it is in dire need of fuel. Think of eating like keeping a fire going. It is easier to throw a clean balanced log on every few hours to keep the fire burning vs letting burn to embers and build it back up.
 
Black coffee and fasted cardio then a shake w 1/2 cup of oats in it wouldn’t be awful if you are on the go.
It’s almost like you are doing a fast w only 1 carb containing meal per day. Like a Atkins/fasting hybrid. One or the other would work. Combined one almost works against the other
 
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You are overtraining and under eating. You don't need your heart rate at 150 to burn fat, and that is eating into muscle recovery, which is nonexistent because you aren't feeding yourself enough.

Go here https://tdeecalculator.net/ get your parameters for your maintenance based on your activity level not including your cardio, then cut your cardio down for a bit and let you body recover and build some muscle. Stay there for a month, and then move up if you want to grow throughout the winter, then start leaning back out for the warm months. That way you chase one goal at a time and actually make progress on them both and the extra muscle in the late winter / early spring will help you lean out easier. You could also diet appropriately after the month to get leaner but stop training to failure in a deficit. It's hard on everything when you aren't eating enough. Heck it is hard on everything when you are in a surplus but then it makes sense and can be repaired easily.
 
In a couple of years you made no progress? Like no progress at all or you made progress and then it stalled for a while. Effort=outcome. If no progress is made you need to push harder. Also, I echo what’s been said above about diet. At 189lbs you should be eating way more, my 7 year old son eats more food. It’s not just eating more food for the sake of
Consuming more food. As the calories increase you will restore glycogen stores, have more energy, be able to train harder. Why would the body want to change when it’s starving? Start increasing calories slowly each week and see how you respond AND train hard
 
I was eating last meal at 7:30pm(zero carbs), taking 12.5mg of Mk-677 at 10:30-11pm, fasted cardio at 11:30-am and eating 2 meals 40g protein 30g carbs w a Gda, last 2 measl of day had 40 protein no carbs. Went from 205ish to 190. In 6 weeks
 
I'd also pull some Bloodwork..Although Diet is probably 95% of your problem..
This would be prudent and always an Eye on your Markers..
Learning to eat properly is way underrated..
Z...
 
Not losing fat because calories are too low really is not a thing. Imo this is most likely a case of yo-yo dieting. Eating too little most of the week to really build any muscle (we can build muscle in a moderate deficit, but a really severe one will really blunt this process). Then probably binging several times a week for such a sever deficit the other days, which washes away any caloric deficit achieved on the low cal days, so no fat is lost but no muscle is built either. This makes for the perfect storm to apply a lot of effort in the gym and training with no real results with strength, building muscle, or losing body fat.
 
Like everyone is saying, try changing up your diet. I dont think you posted your diet alongside your training days but I would keep or add your carbs around your workout (1 hour before AND 1 hour after). If you eat before your workout (two cups rice one chicken breast (low fat high salt) for ex) you will have better energy and fuel for your workout, then if you eat after (similar size and macro meal) those carbs will spike insulin which will be shuttled to your muscle cells and cause growth without the risk of those going to fat (like they will with a meal near the end of the day). Insulin is highly anabolic and why some big bodybuilders shoot the stuff.
Eating more like this may scare you but I would try to "clean bulk" for a couple months, even if your goal is to lose fat, as it is possible you have shut down your metabolism with the fasting.
Food will be more effective than osta ever will be, and cleanliness and timing of it will ensure you dont gain too much fat with it.
 
So much good info here, respectfully presented. Well done AM community. This thread gets a gold star ⭐️, fwiw 😉

I don’t know if the OP is still around but his was a common concern/complaint. Good info that could be stickied for others who cross this path.
 
SweetLou321 said:
Not losing fat because calories are too low really is not a thing. Imo this is most likely a case of yo-yo dieting. Eating too little most of the week to really build any muscle (we can build muscle in a moderate deficit, but a really severe one will really blunt this process). Then probably binging several times a week for such a sever deficit the other days, which washes away any caloric deficit achieved on the low cal days, so no fat is lost but no muscle is built either. This makes for the perfect storm to apply a lot of effort in the gym and training with no real results with strength, building muscle, or losing body fat.
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It is honestly probably this OP. Hard to determine with such little info though. This is a decently common issue I see.

Always feel bad for people who posts threads like this because it often gets confusing with all sorts of not very useful haphazard advice that doesn't take a lot of the actual situation into account.
 
JayNY2Fla said:
Excellent work man.
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Thanks Man! I have to buy new pants now but it’s better than doing the walk of shame to buy pants cause I’m FAT! Lol. I think the MK-677 helped w retaining muscle while in a deficit. I have been off the Mk for a month and a half and still hovering 187- 194 if I had a carb heavy weekend. So much easier to behave diet wise during work week
 
Resolve10 said:
It is honestly probably this OP. Hard to determine with such little info though. This is a decently common issue I see.

Always feel bad for people who posts threads like this because it often gets confusing with all sorts of not very useful haphazard advice that doesn't take a lot of the actual situation into account.
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Almost always on the same page lol.
 
If you can’t figure out how to make progress without drugs, don’t expect to keep making progress on them. The rules are the same, just drastically shifted in your favor & progress is accelerated. But if nothing else changes, you will still hit a deadend further down the road

Because you can only take so many drugs, for so long. What happens when you can’t add any more, or need to come off for health concerns?

If you are not losing weight, your calories must come down or expenditure go up at the amount you’re consuming. Focus your efforts on dropping bodyfat for now - the leaner you get, the better your body will handle the extra calories when you eventually add them back in to start growing some muscle later on.

Chasing two different hares at once will generally leave you with neither.
 
@Hyde VERY WELL SAID!!! For some reason the last part I heard in David Carradine’s voice.
 
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98FATBOY said:
Thanks Man! I have to buy new pants now but it’s better than doing the walk of shame to buy pants cause I’m FAT! Lol. I think the MK-677 helped w retaining muscle while in a deficit. I have been off the Mk for a month and a half and still hovering 187- 194 if I had a carb heavy weekend. So much easier to behave diet wise during work week
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Sounds like you might need to change your username too!
 
Yeah agree with this point of view, If you don’t see any changes then try to change your routine, make a proper schedule, if food isn’t enough for you then definitely try some protein pills that are consistent, don’t rash. Hopefully you will see better results.
 
Yeah agree with this point of view, If you don’t see any changes then try to change your routine, make a proper schedule, if food isn’t enough for you then definitely try some protein pills that are consistent, don’t rash. Hopefully you will see better results.
 
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