I’m struggling to lose weight despite working out 2hrs a day

[nct]

I am 35, M, 6’3” and I currently weigh 245. My caloric intake is at 1800 a day on average. My main macro target has been protein and I get about 180g a day.

I started to try and lose weight when I was 33 and weighed 400lbs so I have definitely come a long way. I did a Kettlebell routine after reaching 300lbs and loved the feeling I got from working out. I would work out 6 days a week with a rest day once a week. My workouts lasted roughly an hour and I would burn close to 900 calories (very intense). I decided to switch to a gym to start to target individual muscle groups in my legs as well as access to a treadmill for cardio. My workouts now last 2 hours with a weight session to start followed by treadmill for 40-50 minutes (including warm up and cool down).

I workout first thing in the morning at 5am with C4 pre workout being the only thing I consume prior to my workout. I have noticed that despite burning more calories than I did before I am not losing the weight like I want (1-2lbs loss a week). I tried going down to 1500 calories a day for two weeks and saw no change in weight and am now back to 1800 calories a day.

I am still very new to the fitness world and am looking to learn as much as I can. If anyone has knowledge of how I can improve my workouts to maximize fat loss I would love the advice. I’ll list my weekly workout below as well to help analyze the situation.

Monday: Bicep and Triceps (40-50 minute cardio)
Tuesday: Glutes and Abs (40-50 minute cardio)
Wednesday: Chest and Back (40-50 minute cardio)
Thursday: Quads and Hamstrings (40-50 minute cardio)
Friday: Shoulders (40-50 minute cardio)

I will split my exercises to three per group so I get 6 total exercise in split over two muscle groups. Then I go straight into cardio. I have noticed an increase in strength (not necessarily muscle growth) and would like to cut down to 200 to then start a bulk.

Any ideas?

Here is a before and after link:

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[confiteor]

@nct 1800 cals for a 6’3” man is reallly low i feel like. Im 5’8” and thats my calorie intake for my deficit while only working out 45-1hr each day. Your body might ne in starvation mode trying to store all nutrients it can. Btw congrats on all the hard work!

 

[nct]

@confiteor So you think maybe bump to 2000 and see for a couple weeks?

 

[confiteor]

@nct With all your cardio youre doing, id maybe go up tp 2200-2500. For an average joe 2000 calories is what you should be eating. Youre obviously above average size and have a very intense workout

 

[johnfish211]

@nct I agree with other comments, your calorie goal is way too low, I inputted your stats into a BMR calculator and these are the results:

Sedentary: little or no exercise - 2,558cals

Exercise 1-3 times/week -2,931cals

Exercise 4-5 times/week - 3,123cals

Those are the calories your body needs to maintain, depending on how often you are working out, all you need to do is take 400 calories off, and you'll be in a deficit. Should lose around 1lb per week.

Don't be too disheartened by the scales though, there are many things at play, water retention, muscle mass etc... best to focus on how you feel, keep moving, keep getting stronger, and I promise you will get there.

P.S. incredible work getting down from 400lbs!

 

[richardsj015]

@nct So with 900-1000 per workout and add 2000 and there’s a ballpark (rough) estimate, I’d bet you’re eating the wrong things (too much sugar and not enough protein.) or not enough

What do your workout look like?

 

[nct]

@richardsj015 Part of my losing 155 lbs was switching to a sugar free diet. Other than any natural occurring sugars I do not consume anything sugary unless it’s the occasional birthday. I also make sure that protein is the center focus of my meals and I only eat high protein snacks (legendary foods, the only bean edamame, chomps jerky, etc).

For example today my diet consisted of the following :

Breakfast : 3 eggs and 2oz of off the bone ham
Lunch: Beef Burrito and a protein muffin (25g protein)
Dinner: 8oz Salmon, roasted Brussel Sprouts and Cauliflower.
Desert: 5oz 0% Greek Yogurt mixed with Chocolate Protein Powder. Sweetened with Stevia liquid.

I typically get 4 sets of reps to failure per exercise. For instance bicep and tricep days are as follows:
Tricep pushdown : 4 sets to failure
Bicep Curl : 4 sets to failure
And so on through Overhead Cable Extensions, Cable Rope Curls, Dips, and Preacher Curls. Rest between sets until heart rate goes back to normal.

After that is completed I will walk on the treadmill on high incline and a speed of 3 (Matrix Treadmill). Will increase angle slowly to halfway time point and then decrease the angle until cooldown. Usually resulting in anywhere from 40-50 active minutes and a 5 minute cooldown.

I do not stray from this example of diet and exercise day by day. Again unless it is a special occasion. If you have any other specific questions I’ll try to answer what I can.

 

[richardsj015]

@nct Do you use any oil in cooking? Not bad to use but most people use an excessive amount. This looks good, sometimes it just takes time. If you’re interested in other workout plans, my small team and I just released SimplyFit AI on the App Store for iOS, if you end up using it let me know and id be happy to send over a 50% code.

 

[nct]

@richardsj015 Yes I do but only 2TBSP when cooking my eggs. Other than that my hot meals are usually cooked in the oven. I try not to use too much oil as I saw early on in my journey a lot of people talking about how easy it is to use too much.

I learned a great deal about the amount of calories in food and the best way to avoid the sneaky calorie foods.

 

[richardsj015]

@nct Do you monitor your heart rate during cardio?

 

[mooncat13]

@nct I think you should speak to a doctor and/or a professional trainer first. That said, you came here for advice, so:

You were seeing good progress with the kettlebell routine, but decided to switch to a bro split? Mate, if you are seeing progress with a routine then stick with it at least until that training block is over, or ideally, until you plateau.

Also, how is your sleep and hydration? How active are you during the day? These are also things to consider.

But anyway, let’s say you’re sticking with barbell work. As a beginner then the bro split you laid out is absolutely not the optimal way to train. For a beginner it is more optimal to train with more frequency i.e. a full body split > upper/lower > PPL (or Arnold split) > bro split.

I also think the sheer amount of exercise you’re doing is hampering you - a five day bro split with cardio afterwards and up to 2hrs a day in the gym is too much (for a beginner) and its no surprise that you’re in this position. With calories as low as you have then and that much exercise, your body is probably going into survival mode and holding on to any fat it can.

You’re doing too much to be sustainable and are not training in an optimal way (in my opinion anyway).

I recommend doing Gironda 6x6 for a while, which is a three day a week full body workout alternating A/B, and then on days you aren’t lifting to then do you cardio. Once you have plateau on that then something like the RP-21 would be my next suggestion, which is four days a week and allows for more accessory work. Both of these routines have good write-ups on T-Nation.

All the best in your training.

 

[nct]

@mooncat13 Thank you for the advice! Definitely have some homework to do.

 

[cc1]

@nct Why do you think you are struggling? What is the dynamics of your weight loss?

 

[nct]

@cc1 I am looking for consistent weight loss down to 200-210 without losing too much muscle. I honestly am still feeling my way through the balance of eating and working out but this is the first time I’ve plateaued in a long while. I started eating close to 2000 calories a day after some previous recommendations. It’s still early to tell but I already lost a pound since changing it a few days ago.

 

[cc1]

@nct I don't see a problem, don't expect your body will work like a precise mechanism. Btw, your diet has a lot of switeners, zero calories, but still not purely healthy. I general, don't give up!