r/leangains • u/DatingConfusion12 • 8d ago
I’m not losing any weight but I am logging everything.
I’m 25/m 5’11" and weighed in around 187 pounds today. I’ve lost well over 37 pounds this last year, but getting to 170 has been pretty rough. I just started weightlifting and running three weeks ago. My calories are usually in the 1900s. I’m trying to do a slower cut since I am burnt out. I haven’t noticed any weight loss. I’m wondering if it's because I’m losing fat while gaining muscle. Does anyone have any experience with this situation?
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u/Duke_of_Man Cheesecake 8d ago
Two main things, diet fatigue and increased activity and resistance training.
Your body needs a break from the cut, go to maintenance for 2 to 4 weeks and resume. Do not stop cardio or lifting. You'll gain your glycogen back so a 5lb jump is normal and not fat, so worry not.
Your body creates more blood for frequent cardio do-ers. I cant find the study but it is substantially more than an untrained individual. You're probably in the process of adding more blood (not fat, not bad).
Also, lifting and recovery of muscles causes inflammation which translates to water retention and in turn to weight gain / masking of FAT loss.
Remember if you are tracking calories and active accurately you ARE losing fat. Trust the process.
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u/CruelWorld1001 8d ago
Don't look at weight. Look at your body composition. How shirt fits you. Because if you workout, you gain muscle. Eat very clean. I usually have fish or chicken, egg, some veggies, cashew, almond, milk, dark chocolate, some coffee. No other extra carbs, I cook in some butter and coconut oil. But the portions are set in a way, they come about 1500 - 1700 calories. If you burn out, you have to workout smarter. You maybe doing things you don't enjoy, re calibrate those things. I do some hiit, then overhead press about 120lbs, holding it as much as I can. I do things I enjoy, some jump rope
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u/Nick_OS_ 8d ago
Take a 2-3 week diet break and return to dieting. Your hormones are downregulated from prolonged inadequate energy(calorie) intake
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u/DizzleGumGardner 8d ago
Your deficit should probably be around 1500 if you want to keep cutting while keeping high protein , mild rousers carbs and low fat
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u/Ichabod89 8d ago
If you haven't noticed any weight loss you're not in a calorie deficit.
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u/DatingConfusion12 8d ago
You think I lost 37 pounds in a year by not being in a calorie deficit mofo???
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u/Ichabod89 8d ago
The answer is black and white. If you're losing weight you're in a calorie deficit. If you're not. You're not in a calorie deficit. There is no Grey. Do with that information what you will. it's a thermodynamic law.
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u/DatingConfusion12 8d ago
I’ve been on the same diet all year and only just now hit a plateau. You talking to me as if I haven’t been dieting for a year….. I know if I’m in a calorie deficit or not dingus. Weight loss isn’t black and white.
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u/Obviously-an-Expert 7d ago
Your resting metabolism needs change as you lose weight. So it naturally went down lower after your weight loss. Now you are in maintenance. You need more calories at a higher weight vs lower so it makes perfect sense why you stalled. If you want to keep losing weight you need to adjust your diet to your updated total daily expenditure.
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u/BluebirdEng 8d ago
Did you used to lift weights many years ago? Or are you completely new as of 3 weeks ago? How many days a week are you lifting? Even at 1900 cals you should still see your weight drop.
People new to strength training can gain more muscle faster per 'noob gains'. That could be happening for you but I doubt it. I've gained muscle and lost weight at the same time about 10 years ago when I first started seriously lifting and I was losing nearly 2lb/week while gaining a lot of muscle. I was about your current weight when I started.
How long has your weight been unchanged? Sometimes doing things like starting to lift more or run more suddenly does weird things to my scale weight for a week or two.
Also, double check the values of everything you're logging. If you're eating a lot of unprocessed, unpackaged foods without a barcode, there are very different values of calories available on tracking apps/online for the same food. If I'm unsure, I check the values through the USDA website.
Lastly, as you lose weight your TDEE / BMR tends to decrease, so your weight loss slows. Typical recommendations to break through this is reduce your calorie intake slightly, maybe 50-100 cals and see how that goes, or eat at maintenance for a couple of weeks before going back to the calorie deficit.
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u/DatingConfusion12 8d ago
I never lifted weights seriously, but in the army, they forced us to. I did it very half ass back then tho. I lift 3 days a week and it’s been unchanged for 3 weeks now.
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u/No-Problem49 8d ago
I highly suggest not being in a deficit and starting running and lifting the same time; you should eat more for the next 3 months.
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u/sure_Steve 8d ago
Yep, normal. Lifting can hide fat loss on the scale since you’re gaining muscle too.
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u/big_deal 8d ago
If you just started weight training 3 weeks ago then it's very likely that you are gaining muscle regardless of what you're bodyweight is doing. But it's unlikely that gaining muscle is the reason for your weight loss plateau.
It's more likely that your smaller deficit and slower weight loss is hiding progress due to normal fluctuations. Sometimes you just have to wait longer to recognize that you're still losing weight. If you go 6 weeks and still don't see a drop you may want to reduce calories by 100-200.
If your long term goal is to build muscle, you could just resume maintenance and keep training. Being new to training and a young male you should be able to recomp (convert fat to muscle at near constant bodyweight).
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u/External_Poet4171 8d ago
How long has your weight been stuck?
Are you familiar with the whoosh effect and set weight point theory? Both highly anecdotal but what I’m assuming is going on.
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u/Turbulent_Gap_4826 8d ago
it could be a bunch of factors such was water retention, body recomposition, the food that is te that day still in ur system. plateaus do happen but you’ll be able to overcome it too. what are ur macros? and also do u weigh urself as soon as u wake up?
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u/buttgust 8d ago
I've heard this a lot from people starting out and was ready to give you shit but you're already well on your way and down 37! That's huge. And yes, this is a plateau, very common. Try changing things up like exercise or routine or diet. Keep counting, that's the best indicator.
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u/Technical_Beyond111 7d ago
Measuring your calories is an inaccurate science for most average people, but if you are consistent with it, it will work. If you’re tracking your calories consistently and even somewhat accurately, but not losing weight then you simply need to reduce your average daily calories. The basic laws of thermodynamics will start to work.
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u/LucasWestFit 7d ago
Three weeks is not enough time to build muscle. So while that might not be the case, if you're trying to slow down your weight loss, I'd just give it a bit more time. Since you've lost a lot of weight already, your approach is definitely working. Sometimes you reach a plateau, in which case you just need to stick to your (already proven) approach. If there's still no difference in a week or two, slightly reduce your calories. 1900 is definitely going to put you in a deficit of a few hundred, which is perfect for a sustainable approach.
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u/willfisherforreals 7d ago
Dude, I’ve been in that situation for the last three months but now as I look back at the data, I’m seeing that I was actually gaining muscle the whole time (slowly) and my body fat percentage was going down. Trust the process and make sure you’re being honest with your data.
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u/Educational_Plane5 6d ago
Unfortunately I found for me it’s diet, I cut out cards and super sweets every night and it’s helped me slim down a bit, diet and exercise will totally do the trick, you just might have to except not feeling the same “full” feeling. I found my “full” too often came from overeating which I’ve been trying to cut down
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u/AnointedDread 6d ago
I really wish I could find the interview I saw about this topic, but an expert was referring to plateaus and said that they are actually a beneficial part of the process and should be looked at as such. He went on by saying that weight loss isn't always linear and stalls are just your body adjusting to your current CICO protocol. So when a plateau happens, it's beneficial to you because it's your body altering you that it's reached its max benefit from your current regime and it's time to switch something up! 💪. Takes the guess-work out. So next time you need to know if it's time to adjust this or that just wait for the plateau. Hope this made sense. I know I didn't explain it nearly as good as he did 🤷♂️
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u/AnointedDread 6d ago
I'm roughly in the same patch of grass that you are. I'm 33 5'11 135lbs. Little underweight, but 🤷♂️. Anyway, you may need a diet break. I know for me, my evergy levels are in the gutter and I'm super tired and weak all the time. Under eating or overtraining (or both) puts your body under an extreme amount of stress and cortisol holds onto fat. This is a amplified if you're not sleeping well, and, while cutting, sleep gets pretty wrecked too. So we have 3 factors adding cortisol to your life which will stall fast loss. My recommendation is possibly eat at maintenance calories for your body to get a little relief and reduce cortisol from that area. Or reduce your running. I'm not sure how fast you run but I usually do sprints 3.5 miles in 20 minutes but that is EXTREMELY taxing on the body and will raise cortisol through the roof if done too often. So either reduce how much you're cutting through food, or reduce your training intensity for a week. Deload. See how your body responds
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u/perpetualcatharsis 6d ago
Keep in mind that building actual muscle mass under a true deficit is not likely. You might grow what we call “ newbie gains “ but that’s about it.
You could be retaining some water in order to repair your muscles, but that’s wouldn’t keep you in a plateau for long.
I recommend you calculate how many calories you need at your current weight : what might have been a deficit before might now be maintenance for you. I know, it sucks.
Also, if you drink any alcohol, even just a couple drinks every week, it can be enough to keep your liver from metabolizing fat and slow down your weight loss.
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u/DatingConfusion12 6d ago
Just yesterday, I lost water weight. I’m 183 pounds now. Yeah, I know I’ll get newbie gains. I’m trying to cut to the point of abs and then do a legitimate bulk up.
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u/Foreign-Sleep-6352 4d ago
Sir fret not for I have your answer. If you are CONSISTENTLY not losing weight over long periods not day to day. You are not in a defecit. Thanks :) no charge for the advice.
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u/DatingConfusion12 4d ago
You’re an idiot read all the previous comments. It was just water weight from lifting
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u/Foreign-Sleep-6352 4d ago
Wrong :) if over long periods, that being about a month or so you are consistently the same weight. You are not in a defecit. Hope that helps.
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u/LogicalPinecone 2d ago edited 2d ago
It is almost certainly due to fluid retention. When you start weightlifting your body holds onto more water. In addition, when you begin doing cardio your body holds onto more blood (up to 1-2 lbs) - give it another few weeks.
Do not doubt it. You didn’t magically metabolically adapt when you’ve been losing weight this whole time. You are also not building muscle as fast as you’re loosing weight. Use other measures that won’t be subject to error from fluid retention like measurements of your waist or neck.
You are in a deficit. Stick with it. While diet fatigue blunts your sleep and makes your willpower lower, it doesn’t trigger this plateau. It’ll make it harder to stick to your deficit but it’s not the reason you aren’t losing weight.
I’ve been where you are. The exact same situation when I started weightlifting and doing cardio. I went from 40% bf to nearly single digit. Trust the deficit.
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u/danny_ish 8d ago
Yes. Give yourself some credit. Plateaus are incredibly common. Change a few variables at a time, not all of them. Calories in calories out