Looking for encouragement..

[rsm777]

@olives yea and thats all good, but again i think you got wrong numbers for your tdee and calorie target, and you ended up on a bulk instead of a cut.

but now that you know 2200 cal is too much, aim for

 

[olives]

@rsm777 Cutting 200 calories per day would be less than half a pound per week in loss lol. I’m not in a surplus at 300lbs and exercising 4+ days a week eating 2,200.

 

[rsm777]

@olives well hey, you're gaining instead of losing, you're off somewhere. good luck, you'll figure it out

 

[juliehlinak]

@olives How tall are you and what pace are you doing the miles?

I can't offer much advice but for encouragement: Yay! You're making changes and that in of itself is awesome!!!! Not all attempts are going to be "the best" but trying takes consistent willpower and mindfulness which can be exhausting. You can do this!

 

[olives]

@juliehlinak I'm 6'4" and I'm walking them at a moderate pace while pushing my child in a stroller, generally doing around 18 minute miles so not exactly 3.5mph but around there.

Thanks for the words of encouragement

 

[chryssa1791]

@olives The number on the scale indicates only one measure. There is a lot of good things going on underneath the skin. It's just hard to see. Look in the mirror after a set of pushups and you'll be impressed. Flex as well. Appreciating a good pump that you worked for is important.

Find more ways to measure your progress than just the number on the scale. I suggest measure yourself qualitatively by looking in the mirror with your clothes off. You are a great judge of your progress and frankly the only judgement that really matters is the one that comes from your mind.

 

[olives]

@chryssa1791 Thanks! That's a really positive way of looking at things!

 

[lavi]

@olives In my opinion, you do weights in order to get stronger, not to lose weight.

If you want to lose weight, you have to cut calories. The fact that you haven't lost weight means you're still eating too much. If you want to lose weight, I would cut calories even further (1700-1800) and do less weight training and more walking.

Also scales are notoriously inaccurate for calculating body fat and muscle mass. The only thing you can rely on them for is pure weight and that's it.

 

[olives]

@lavi

In my opinion, you do weights in order to get stronger, not to lose weight.

I am, in fact, trying to lose weight and get stronger at the same time.

Before anyone jumps down my throat...

1. Yes.
2. It's.
3. Possible.

In particular:

It’s not just possible for a beginner, regardless of age, to lose body fat while gaining lean mass, but quite doable. All it takes is some heavy weights and enough protein.

also,

So, lifters with relatively high body-fat levels should not feel like they’re unable to cut to their ideal weight if it happens to be lower than their current weight. I would expect that many lifters can maintain a satisfactory rate of progress while losing up to (roughly) 0.5% of body mass per week.

and, interestingly enough...

Despite the common belief that building muscle and losing fat at the same time is only plausible in novice/obese individuals, the literature provided supports that trained individuals can also experience body recomposition.

 

[jaoza]

@olives I know everyone tends to boil this down to need to eat less, but my experience of very similar timing/weight/resistance training is that I absolutely out on weight for up to 6-8 weeks when I start lifting after a long time off. It's a really difficult mental game that really does cause havoc with figuring out the right calorie level. Things I do to try navigate this:
- use daily weighing with a scale with a body fat percentage read. Yes it's not accurate, but does show trends and for was really helpful at the 2 month mark when I wasn't seeing any overall difference but was seeing a steady fat decrease
- use your clothes to measure progress. I found this was very very helpful. Having a shirt/belt/trousers that just fits or is tight and then tracking that really does show the fat is coming off
- focus on the habits. As everyone has said, diligence with tracking matters. For me that's what's even more frustrating when I'm diligent, completely dialed in and yet the scale itself doesn't move for a while

This is absolutely a real thing, that can also happen at the same time as inaccuracy with tracking. If you're confident you've got weighing/tracking/bingeing under control, then keep on going.

Do you feel like you're seeing and changes in clothes/belts yet?

 

[olives]

@jaoza

Do you feel like you're seeing and changes in clothes/belts yet?

My wife asked me the same thing! I don't think I've felt much changes yet there to be honest.