I have my goals changing consistently and I don’t know where I want to go with my health journey

[vivekanandshastri]

Hey all, I’ve been doing CrossFit for 5 Months now. It’s been tough but rewarding. I (m29) hadn’t worked out in 8 years and hadn’t done much activity since 2020. Basically just living a sedentary lifestyle filled with bad habits and unachievable goals. I Ballooned in weight and went from 240lbs to 295lbs at 6’3”, gaining about 12lbs a year.

I want to get back down but this has required a lot of effort. I’m putting about 6-8 hours a week currently and plan to increase to 12-16 hours, gradually.

I don’t know if I should cut weight and do more cardio, or keep some weight packed on and reduce using it weight lifting and cardio simultaneously. I don’t think the weight has been coming off anymore in method 2 as rapidly.

I’m currently back at 265lbs and with a nicer physique. But it’s not where I want to be, I just don’t know where I want to be now. My original goal was 225lbs. Is that attainable, yes. Would it fit my frame? I don’t know.

 

[eligp1240]

@vivekanandshastri Weight is dictated by calories, not hours in the gym or doing cardio.

Get a nutrition coach to help you reach your bodyweight goals.

At 6’3” 225 is not that big. It just depends on what you’re training for. Aesthetics? Strength? Competitive CrossFit?

 

[vivekanandshastri]

@eligp1240 Thanks for the reply. Reasons I started CrossFit was for an increase in cardiovascular, strength and aesthetics.

I agree with the nutrition coach option and will look into it, that was a major recommendation from my doctor when I started. Although I do eat 100x healthier than before. I actually have trouble eating to hit macros that I have developed on my own, which might not be working, if I am starting to plateau.

 

[theological1988]

@vivekanandshastri Trouble with protein? Or amount of food?

Total calories and protein are the only two things most of us really need to control for.

 

[vivekanandshastri]

@theological1988 Trouble with the amount of food. I got big, mainly from sugar intake, not so much from the amount of food itself. I can’t pack away that much food. Eating the meal can feel like a chore sometimes, even though I want to and know it’s beneficial.

 

[theological1988]

@vivekanandshastri So Trouble eating enough? I’ll probably get downvoted, but as long as you get enough protein, some sugar if it fits in your macros is not necessarily a problem, especially if you’re working out that much the body needs fuel.

Are you focussing only on the number? Because muscle is heavy, if you’re working out and building muscle you might lose inches but not weight, perhaps weight is not the metric you should be focussing on.

Alternatively if you’re not losing weight as much as you want and also not losing inches, is it possible you’re eating more than you think you are? Do you track macros? If not I’d definitely recommend doing that for a short period to check. It’s a bit of a chore to log everything but you don’t have to do it forever, just as a benchmark to heal you understand what a diet that meets the macro recommendations looks like.

 

[alpacaone]

@vivekanandshastri Cardio does burn calories and is great for heart health but I would focus more on diet (slight caloric deficit) and strength training with cardio supplemented.

 

[vivekanandshastri]

@alpacaone I agree, I think I might just need more cardio and to hit more of a caloric deficit. I’m focused on hitting protein macros but at my weight and height I feel it gets difficult.

 

[nkululeko]

@vivekanandshastri Are you finding it difficult to eat enough in general? Or just eat enough protein?

 

[vivekanandshastri]

@nkululeko I’m finding it difficult to eat enough on occasion, to hit that protein count of 250g+, I also don’t enjoy protein shakes unless they are blended heavily with fruits.

I gained weight from sugar intake. I used to be able to kill 1.5L plus of soda daily.

 

[nkululeko]

@vivekanandshastri My humble advice as a big guy who had a similar journey is stop making it so complicated. Eat less calories, dont worry about the macros as ling as its healthy food and do the exercise that you enjoy the most and can stay consistent with. People fail from being overwhelmed.

 

[alpacaone]

@vivekanandshastri Ultimately as long as you have a good grasp on your daily caloric expenditure vs intake and pick workout routine that you can stick to and isnt going to leave you demolished at the end of the week (aka sustainable) than you are going to be in a good place.

 

[suzannetocher]

@vivekanandshastri Working out 12-16 hours a week is a lot and your body may not be able to handle that much volume.

 

[vivekanandshastri]

@suzannetocher It will be taxing but I plan to gradually increase, when I started my fitness journey I went from 3 day to 6 days a week gradually between a 2 month span.

 

[suzannetocher]

@vivekanandshastri 6 days a week is fine but 12-16 hours a week is a lot. You’d need to do 2 hours a day and some days 3 hours a day. Your body will break down eventually. Stick to 6 days a week and really focus on getting the most out of each WOD. Then also put focus on what you are eating as well.

 

[theological1988]

@suzannetocher Yeah agreed, that much working out isn’t necessary and isn’t the thing that’s going to change your weight loss journey.

Total calories, grams of protein, 5 classes a week, and depending on your programming maybe a bit of additional cardio, like one or two runs or swims a week or a daily walk. That’s it.

 

[vivekanandshastri]

@theological1988 Thanks I’ll see if I can change my program to something similar to this.

 

[theological1988]

@vivekanandshastri I mean… it sounds like from a workout perspective it’s what you’re already doing. I’d look at diet and give it more time, 5 months isn’t long to see changes.

 

[theological1988]

@vivekanandshastri Also, good for you for making changes. Give it time, trust the process, I’d say enjoy the challenge and focus on the improvements in the CrossFit elements and let the aesthetic side follow.

 

[zoba]

@vivekanandshastri Just my two cents, but 5 months is not that much time - as you said it took you years to put on that much weight. Trust your process, everybody reacts different and some have the biggest results between month x and y, others see it between z and n.

Be kind to yourself, don’t get burned out and consistency in training will get you where you need to be.
To sustain your results you will need to keep on going with what you are doing and for this you need to enjoy it.