Frustrating mental/physical block in weight loss

[joshvegas]

I’m a 45m with a fairly decent history of gym attendance with a heavy focus on lifting.

I’m around 245, and using a eVolt scanner, I’m around 195 lean body mass. I’m looking to get down around 210 or so, so it’s not Terribly long journey.

I dropped to around 220 during the pandemic, a result of very little to do in the way of drinking or eating out, and rebounded with work stress causing bad habits. I find I just am not getting traction on losing weights this time around.

I’ve been trying to push closer to a 2lb a week deficit in calories (so roughly 2500 calories/day, 1.2g protein per pound). Mostly work from home, with a strength routine at a gym consisting of isolating routines (chest/shoulders, back, legs twice a week, then auxiliary movements or more shoulder work), basically a P/P/L split spread over 5-6 days a week.

I just feel like I can’t get more than a week into a serious push without mentally stalling, feeling like I see no changes, the scale fluctuates but stays relatively the same. Leads to mental fatigue and cheat meals/drinks.

Is it the age? Should I be backing off strictly to 2-3 sessions a week? Am I eating too low a calorie count?

Just feeling a little lost. Love the gym, would like to lean out after years of hard work and building a lot of strength.

 

[nataliebrooke]

@joshvegas Bring your calories up for a bit to be honest, if you're grinding out and it's causing you to cheat, then tightly restrict you're getting the worst of both. Bring your Kcals up to 3K if your able to lose at 2500 you should at 3K, watch your weight, and take a break. Weight loss is basically determined by calories in, and trying to keep your activity steady, not bringing it up because there's heavily diminishing returns on driving activity way up.

Odds are your calorie targets are a bit off or your reality. Which don't worry, supper common, I've had the problem both directions. IF you're legit 195lbs of lean mass you're either really tall or jacked as fuck, so I would take any BEI BF scanner with a mountain of salt.

Training sessions a week is a you thing, if you're recovering between them (able to meet or pass your performance for that day from the previous week) and don't have joint/connective pain there's no reason to change a routine you like and adhere to. You could theoretically have 21 small sessions a week, it'd be dumb, but it could work.

 

[joshvegas]

@nataliebrooke I’m 6’1”, pretty well built. I’ve been steadily strength training for a number of years, so I’m fairly confident in the scan numbers.

I recently retired as a chef, so that lack of physical exertion is certainly changing things, but so is the lack of pain/injury from it.

I figure you’re mostly correct about the calories being a little steep. Just frustrated, would like to power through the loss and it’s probably not the best approach.

 

[borisv]

@joshvegas Probably not what you want to hear but it maybe worth it to bring a mix of cardio into your routine. Both low and steady (walking or light jogging) and HIIT.

 

[joshvegas]

@borisv Sigh.

Yeah, I’m not a huge fan of cardio but it’s certainly something I should be packing in.

Probably going to shift to 3 day lifting, 2-3 cardio.

 

[borisv]

@joshvegas Cardio absolutely sucks but it really can help break through the plateau.

 

[dawn16]

@joshvegas Try rowing.

It sucks less than running

 

[joshvegas]

@dawn16 Lmao someone down voted you for absolute truth

 

[questioner1]

@joshvegas The only way I got there in my 40s was focusing on the thing that will get you there and that is diet. The only way you can make it happen is to make changes you can do for the long term and I mean real long term. You have to ask yourself what you will do when you get to your goal weight? Any change requires long term consistent effort. So if you want to drop weight you have to keep yourself in a deficit as long as possible in a consistent way. So if you do that for 3 weeks only to binge for a week it is meaningless long term.

So for a year I didn't even worry about working out. I just focused on diet alone. Once I saw consistent loss because of my diet changes i looked to add exercise in. In the second year once I was down 20-30 pounds in real weight from diet changes alone I started adding exercise in in increasing amounts. For the first year i just walked, cycled, and hiked. So things I consider activities not really working out. Second year I started doing increasing higher intensity cardio. By the time I got to my goal weight that was closer to the end of year 2. I hadn't done any weight training. Just high intensity cardio, stretching and body weight exercises. And now 2 years after that I am still the same weight and still doing only those kinds of workouts. I went from 220-230 to 155 pounds now. So leaning down in your 40s is possible but it will likely require significant long term changes to diet to get there.

If interested you can see my longer results post at r/intermittentfasting as it has more detailed info in it.

https://www.reddit.com/r/intermittentfasting/comments/ym144t/46_year_old_start_weigh_220230_if_since_summer_of

 

[muted]

@joshvegas Since you said you recently retired from being a chef. Maybe your TDEE is lower than it was before? Idk just an idea. Was listening to a podcast recently that said, often when people have a life change they don’t realize their overall expenditure for the day has changed. If so incorporate some more walks! I find walking has been a game changer for me. I’ve always been active but would disregard walking as a waste of time. I’ve changed my perspective on it and it has really brought my expenditure up. You could also look into the Macrofactor app.
It’s amazing. It takes a lot of the guesswork out of what your expenditure is and how much you should be eating for you weight loss goals. Best of luck!

 

[joshvegas]

@muted It’s funny because I live in downtown Philly (museum district anyhow) and would walk to work, walk everywhere. I’ve gotten back into it as the season breaks, but the rain and cold definitely put a damper on it.

You’re certainly not wrong about TDEE. I went from 80 hour wells on my feet to full stop.

 

[muted]

@joshvegas Yeah! Maybe that’s the biggest factor!