33 y/o male not sure what to do.

alabama54

New member
Hello, I am in need of advise and or motivation. I am 33 years old medically retired veteran and I'm pretty broken, but I really want to get it better shape again.

It's been about 2 months since I've started going to the gym again. I haven't increased in strength at all. Or size, I've stayed stagnant at 266 lbs for about 6 months now. I am down from 270, but nothing I do seems to be working.

I work out 5 days a week, and I work a fairly stationary 6am-2pm job. I track my calories, though I don't pay attention to my macros. I do 60-70 minute workouts doing chest and tris Monday and Thursday, back and bis Tuesday and Friday, then legs Wednesday (this one really hurts me physically).

Work outs: I typically do reps of 12-15, aiming to reach muscle failure or to where I struggle on the last 3 reps. I typically do 3 sets. I do about three to four workouts per focused area. I don't do much cardio though.

Diet: I consume about 1630 calories a day. According to my watch and the online calculator says my maintenance calories should be about 2100. I don't eat anything until about 5pm then I'll have 2 protein shakes one post workout and the other before bed. It's not always the best food but it's still calories.

I sleep 8-9 hours a night thanks to meds. But a little about me.
I am 33 years old, I was in good shape at 172 lbs and about 17% body fat in 2019, until I got testicular cancer. So I ended up having an orchiectony (however you spell it). Well they had me on a bunch of steroids to help me keep my weight on while I did chemo, I gained a bunch of weight and got up to 232 lbs. The chemo destroyed my body. On top of all the damage done from my job at the time.

I went through a severe depression after I was medically retired. I ended up gaining another 38 lbs, which brought me to my current weight. There's a bunch of other stressors, but I am in a better place now. Either way I digress, either way, I am looking for advise.

I don't know what to do or if it's normal to just be weak and fat, and I'm just on a wild goose chase.

Thanks and sorry if post is not allowed.
 
@alabama54
Diet: I consume about 1630 calories a day.

Do you have access to health care? I would check with a doctor, even just a general practitioner or HMO primary care provider.

Even if you were sedentary, it doesn't make sense that you don't lose weight from 266 pounds on 1,630 calories a day. At 266 pounds, you would have to be 3 feet tall for your basal metabolic rate to be 1621 calories.
 
@needadvice2 This is a great suggestion. I think the OP could have some sort of underlying issue (perhaps related to your cancer, so sorry OP BTW) or it could be that they aren’t tracking properly.

Depending on the doctor’s response, Op may want to drastically increase the protein intake.
 
@alabama54 Your post says that you’ve been going to the gym for only two months? I would advise you to give that a little more time. From my experience after taking a long hiatus when our daughter was born ,it took me about three months just for my body to understand the new routine and then another 3 to 4 before I start seeing improvements in strength and intensity. Everyone is different and my main take away is that slow and steady will win the race with an emphasis on steady.
 
@derpman I guess I was just expecting something by now. I know I'm not as young as I used to be but damn lol. I appreciate your input though, I am going to continue going and get to the doctor.
 
@alabama54 How are you tracking your calories? Are you sure you're only eating 1630?
Are you doing any cardio, even walking?
You may not have lost weight but has your body comp changed? Are pants feeling loser even though the scale is stagnant?
There's a lot to this, but if you're really only eating 1630, and not just guestimating your calories, you should be losing weight and it may be time to consult a doctor.
 
@alabama54 Is it 1630 after subtracting for activity calories? You might be getting bad info about your activity since watches and machines overestimate calories burned?
 
@alabama54 Ok that’s good. At least that’s one source of error that you know is not contributing to your situation. I hope you get it figured out! Hang in there!
 
@alabama54 You need an actual weight lifting program. It'll make a ton of difference. Check out the rfitness wiki, or even the boostcamp app. I personally really like the app. Make sure you also eat enough protein and get as much sleep as you can. 2 months is nothing in the scheme of things, this sort of work takes years. But since it's only been 2 months, you are early in and can make some good progress. Looks like other people are getting into food, so they'll be more info there, but protein is the most important macro to focus on.
 
@alabama54 Best of luck! Macrofactor is an app I use for food tracking. It's a paid service, but probably the best out there for tracking and losing/gaining/ maintaining weight.
 
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