Weight’s not budging

JStats

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Hit a bit of a plateau I think lately and looking for a bit of advice:

I weigh in every other Saturday morning before I eat or drink so I know it’s consistent. I weigh 14st 5lbs (201lbs) and am 20% BF, I track my calories in with everything I eat and weigh/measure everything. I use a Fitbit Versa 2 to guesstimate my calories out, typically I burn around 4500 during the weekdays and a little less on the weekends, I take into account that they’re not accurate so I usually take 25% of these calories off. I stick to 2300 a day everyday and for the last month I haven’t lost any weight whatsoever, I’m exactly the same weight. Any ideas of what I could do or try to do more of, if I drop any more calories I’m thinking it’ll be too little, I’m already on at least 1000 a day deficit. Thanks.
 
Burnfire

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Post your whole diet up and times you eat. What does your cardio look like? What about your sleep schedule.
 

JStats

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Post your whole diet up and times you eat. What does your cardio look like? What about your sleep schedule.
On a typical day

I wake at 6.30am and drink 500ml of water
7.30am- I eat a protein flapjack
11.30am - Oats so simple, scoop of protein, Almond milk + a light snack like -100 cal packet of crisps
2pm- protein shake
4-5pm - a gym workout (4 days a week)
6pm- Tea- normally around 800-900 calories
8pm- a light less than 100 cal snack, 2 squares of dark chocolate and a casein shake.
10pm bed normally asleep by 11 ish
 
Sean1332

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I know you don't want to hear this but you are NOT in a 1,000 calorie deficit. Your body is not so special and different from any other human being that you aren't losing weight in a 1,000 calorie deficit.

Stop relying on calories out based on your watch. You've indicated that you understand they're unreliable so don't even bother with your 25% from it. You're just skewing your calories and it's doing nothing to help.

Calculate your BMR using an online calculator and use a multiplier to calculate your activity level. At that point, you won't need to rely on any innaccurate calorie-out data from your watch.

Do you use a food scale to weigh out every calorie? Or measuring cups/spoons at the minimum? If you're not doing that consistently and are just eyeballing it, there's going to be a huge deviation and you're likely consuming more calories.

If you were actually in a 1,000cal daily deficit you would lose weight. Since you're not losing weight it's safe to assume that you're not in that deep of a deficit.
 
HIT4ME

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You are doing a lot right - using a food log is a big key. Couple of questions though -

1. Are you using a food scale?
2. Are you eating anything that you don't weigh/measure and log?
3. What do you do for work? 4500 calories for someone who is around 170 lean would require a ton of exercise.
 

JStats

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I know you don't want to hear this but you are NOT in a 1,000 calorie deficit. Your body is not so special and different from any other human being that you aren't losing weight in a 1,000 calorie deficit.

Stop relying on calories out based on your watch. You've indicated that you understand they're unreliable so don't even bother with your 25% from it. You're just skewing your calories and it's doing nothing to help.

Calculate your BMR using an online calculator and use a multiplier to calculate your activity level. At that point, you won't need to rely on any innaccurate calorie-out data from your watch.

Do you use a food scale to weigh out every calorie? Or measuring cups/spoons at the minimum? If you're not doing that consistently and are just eyeballing it, there's going to be a huge deviation and you're likely consuming more calories.

If you were actually in a 1,000cal daily deficit you would lose weight. Since you're not losing weight it's safe to assume that you're not in that deep of a deficit.
i weigh everything on a food scale. When I calculate using a BMR calculator it says my maintenance calories are like 3600, I work as a scaffolder and train 4 times a week and play football twice a week
 

JStats

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You are doing a lot right - using a food log is a big key. Couple of questions though -

1. Are you using a food scale?
2. Are you eating anything that you don't weigh/measure and log?
3. What do you do for work? 4500 calories for someone who is around 170 lean would require a ton of exercise.
I’m a scaffolder mate so I’m constantly lifting heavy, walking and climbing constantly all day. Then like I said I go to the gym Mon, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday then football train on Wednesday evening and play a game on Saturday.
 
HIT4ME

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Wow, you are one of the very few to have ever come on here and actually state they weigh and measure and log everything and still do not lose weight. If you are, then kudos. This is the #1 issue and nobody wants to do it.

I agree with Sean still - if you are right and you are in a 1000 cal deficit then you will lose weight. But that weight loss will be very, very slow for one thing - mathematically 2 pounds per week, likely as little as half that.

My next question is - do you have any cheat meals? A lot of people build up 1,000 cal/day deficits for 6 days and then have a cheat meal that is 3,000 calories (go to Olive Garden or almost any takeout and it is pretty easy actually...or drink enough bears with your meal) and that wipes out one-third to a half a weeks worth of work.

My next piece of advice will seem counter-intuitive. You have a super demanding job and that is great for burning calories. But all the additional exercise you are doing, 4 workouts per week in particular should be paired back to the minimum IMO given your work load. The ONLY purpose of working out if you are really trying to cut is to create a stimulus that tells your body to hang onto as much muscle as possible and doesn't dig a deep hole that you cannot recover from. Given your workload, I may even drop any cardio.

Also, I am a rare proponent of weighing yourself every day or even twice a day. It gives you a lot more data. Water can easily make your weight fluctuate 3 or 4 pounds and you could weigh one week and be a little less hydrated and be at 201 and then the next week you are a little more hydrated and at 201 but you have lost 2 pounds of fat and just have an extra 2 pounds of water. If you have multiple data points you may see that you actually were at 203 most of the week you got the first measurement and 201 on Sunday was a new low, while the second week you actually did everything right and your new low is 199 on Friday but you are now hydrated and back up to 201.

Finally, Sean is pointing out the correct path. Base your calories on what you are eating and the results you get. Any watch, calculator, etc. Is just a guesstimate. When you actually eat 3100 calories and see that over the course of a few weeks your weight does not change - you know that is your maintenance regardless of what your watch or calc says. We are all a little different.

My guess is you are like me...I am 5'8'' and gain weight easy. I probably carry about 150 pounds of lean mass or so. I have a sedentary job unlike you, so I have to eat around 1600 calories a day to even begin any noticeable weight loss. It sucks. Meanwhile I have a 6'4'' friend who can drop 10 pounds on 2500 calories in a few weeks.

My guess is your BMR is a little slower than you expect if you are like me (mine is about 1800 cals) and you do a lot of exercise and your real expenditure may be as little as 3000 or 3300 calories...which is still good. If you are doing everything right, sometimes it just takes patience. No need to change if you are already doing everything right.
 

JStats

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Wow, you are one of the very few to have ever come on here and actually state they weigh and measure and log everything and still do not lose weight. If you are, then kudos. This is the #1 issue and nobody wants to do it.

I agree with Sean still - if you are right and you are in a 1000 cal deficit then you will lose weight. But that weight loss will be very, very slow for one thing - mathematically 2 pounds per week, likely as little as half that.

My next question is - do you have any cheat meals? A lot of people build up 1,000 cal/day deficits for 6 days and then have a cheat meal that is 3,000 calories (go to Olive Garden or almost any takeout and it is pretty easy actually...or drink enough bears with your meal) and that wipes out one-third to a half a weeks worth of work.

My next piece of advice will seem counter-intuitive. You have a super demanding job and that is great for burning calories. But all the additional exercise you are doing, 4 workouts per week in particular should be paired back to the minimum IMO given your work load. The ONLY purpose of working out if you are really trying to cut is to create a stimulus that tells your body to hang onto as much muscle as possible and doesn't dig a deep hole that you cannot recover from. Given your workload, I may even drop any cardio.

Also, I am a rare proponent of weighing yourself every day or even twice a day. It gives you a lot more data. Water can easily make your weight fluctuate 3 or 4 pounds and you could weigh one week and be a little less hydrated and be at 201 and then the next week you are a little more hydrated and at 201 but you have lost 2 pounds of fat and just have an extra 2 pounds of water. If you have multiple data points you may see that you actually were at 203 most of the week you got the first measurement and 201 on Sunday was a new low, while the second week you actually did everything right and your new low is 199 on Friday but you are now hydrated and back up to 201.

Finally, Sean is pointing out the correct path. Base your calories on what you are eating and the results you get. Any watch, calculator, etc. Is just a guesstimate. When you actually eat 3100 calories and see that over the course of a few weeks your weight does not change - you know that is your maintenance regardless of what your watch or calc says. We are all a little different.

My guess is you are like me...I am 5'8'' and gain weight easy. I probably carry about 150 pounds of lean mass or so. I have a sedentary job unlike you, so I have to eat around 1600 calories a day to even begin any noticeable weight loss. It sucks. Meanwhile I have a 6'4'' friend who can drop 10 pounds on 2500 calories in a few weeks.

My guess is your BMR is a little slower than you expect if you are like me (mine is about 1800 cals) and you do a lot of exercise and your real expenditure may be as little as 3000 or 3300 calories...which is still good. If you are doing everything right, sometimes it just takes patience. No need to change if you are already doing everything right.
I appreciate your in depth response mate, yea I log everything. I tend to have a cheat meal every 3 weeks or so depending on how much I’m craving it. I agree that my BMR must be slower and it could be a lot of retained water weight. I’m hoping that’s the case and that just sticking to 2300 a day that it’ll all catch back up in a few weeks. I’ll give it another week or so and then maybe drop my calories 100 a week until I start to see results.
 

jrock645

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We’re you losing weight at 2300 cals before? How much weight did you lose? Have you made any adjustment to your diet since losing weight?
 
Dustin07

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How old are you, and how tall are you? Do you know what your BF% is?
I'm 38, 5'9" and 180-183lbs. 2300 calories a day would cause me to gain a lb a week potentially or more.

Is your training focused to a point that you log your workouts and can determine if you are gaining strength?
Have you taken pictures to be able to determine your before/after status, or if your bodyfat percentage has decreased?

Its possible to shave fat at a fair rate, without the scale tipping downwards if you are building muscle. I worked with someone who trimmed up nearly 3" around the waist in around 6 weeks time but did not lose a single pound. In actuality, she likely lost 4-8lbs but had been on an effective strength routine + very dialed diet over that period.

Without knowing anymore about you, that is a possibility.
The other possibilities could be:

a. you're actually making a mistake somewhere and eating more calories than you realize somehow (it happens to everyone at times)

b. you're over estimating how many calories you need.

It's hard to say without knowing more about you. I know young guys that need 1k calories more than you are eating and I also know that I need about 500 less.
 

JStats

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How old are you, and how tall are you? Do you know what your BF% is?
I'm 38, 5'9" and 180-183lbs. 2300 calories a day would cause me to gain a lb a week potentially or more.

Is your training focused to a point that you log your workouts and can determine if you are gaining strength?
Have you taken pictures to be able to determine your before/after status, or if your bodyfat percentage has decreased?

Its possible to shave fat at a fair rate, without the scale tipping downwards if you are building muscle. I worked with someone who trimmed up nearly 3" around the waist in around 6 weeks time but did not lose a single pound. In actuality, she likely lost 4-8lbs but had been on an effective strength routine + very dialed diet over that period.

Without knowing anymore about you, that is a possibility.
The other possibilities could be:

a. you're actually making a mistake somewhere and eating more calories than you realize somehow (it happens to everyone at times)

b. you're over estimating how many calories you need.

It's hard to say without knowing more about you. I know young guys that need 1k calories more than you are eating and I also know that I need about 500 less.
33. I’m 6”1 & I’m definitely gaining strength but not as fast as would normally if I wasn’t trying to trim down, I’m guessing that it’s a combination of increased muscle mass and slight water retention because I 100% feel leaner this week but still the scales aren’t budging. It’s just one of them things! I’ve slightly lowered my cals this week so I’m hoping to see a change on my next weigh in.
 
BloodManor

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Another big thing is that weight loss is not linear. There are lots of videos on it and how people lose weight. Mine always goes up a lb or 2 before I lose. Others are like stairs and stall for a while then drop them stall and so on.
 
Dustin07

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It depends on how serious you are, but I think taking pictures every couple of weeks and / or measurements of key areas like chest, waist, quads, are helpful. I also weigh in every single morning after my morning pee. I am consistently up 2-3 lbs on monday mornings and back down by Friday. when cutting, my goal is a drop by friday. since I'm not competing anymore I let myself cheat more on the weekends.
 
Dustin07

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I'm guessing your a Britt judging by your units of measurement and your evening Tea. This is dinner? If your diet stays 100% consistent it's my experience that men don't really experience the massive water weight fluxutations that women do. changes in water weight could be due to increased sodium or sugar intake in that evening tea and since you're guestimating it at 800-900 calories, it could be a culprit.

6'1 and 205lbs isn't THAT different than me at 5'9" and 185lbs proportionately. do you have any pics?

I wear a belt when I squat, deadlift, or when my oly lifts get heavy and I also use that as a measure for improvement when I can't really tell for sure elsewhere. I know I'm always supposed to be on the 4th hole or better. If I slip to the 3rd or (gasp) 2nd hole, then I know i'm getting wider in the mid section.

You can make this as complicated or simple as you want depending on what your legit goals are. Simply losing a few lbs is a big difference from building a washboard stomach in terms of dedication and obsession.
 
THOR 70

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I’m not a fan of almond milk. I would just get some vanilla whey mixed with water for the oatmeal.

Also, the theobromine in dark chocolate is probably disruptive to sleep quality even tho you probably don’t feel it. Also high in fat if you’re counting calories precisely.

For something sweet before bed I like a protein shake or a zevia drink.
 
Hyde

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How long have you been dieting? If you are past the 16-20 week range, it might be time for maintenance for a spell.

If you haven’t lost weight in 4 weeks at 2300 cal, it isn’t going to magically start happening again unless you reduce calories further or increase expenditure. You are pretty active so unless you can find the time for some extra cardio sessions it may be time to drop the 100 cal snacks & almond milk for water. And/or the chocolate pieces depending on cals, or tighten up evening Tea.
 
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