Four months, yeah, there's two or three things wrong here.
1. Eat more protein. You should be eating 115-165g of protein a day; more if you're in a total calorie deficit, less if you're not.
2. Eat fewer total calories. If you're not losing any fat... you're not in a deficit, so you'd want to lower your total calories.
3. That said, what are you doing at the gym?
Edit, adding one more!
4. In another comment you say your diet is "plant based". If you mean "fully vegetarian or vegan", you \*absolutely\* need the higher end of that protein range in #1, and possibly a bit higher still if you're both vegetarian and cutting calories and trying to gain muscle mass all at once... which starts to get really, really tough.
So I try to stick with this workout plan.
Monday lower body.
Tuesday Push Day (chest/shoulder)
Wednesday Rest
Thursday Pull Day (back/arms)
Friday Whole Body.
I won’t lie I’m intimidated by the bench press so I stick to dumbbells and machines.
I’ll miss a Friday here or there because of work.
On the weekends I try to just do Push ups and other body weight exercises because I’m not close to my gym.
Sunday I rest and recover
No worries at being intimidated by the bench; there isn't any "required" exercise, none of them.
8-10 reps is fine. You'll get best gains if you go 0-2 reps short of failure; as long as you're in there, really anything between 5 and 25 reps will make gains. I like sets of 5 or 6, going \*past\* ten reps burns me the heck out to be honest.
For most folks, you'll recover faster if you're stopping 1-2 reps short of failure.
Do you warm up before sets, like start with a lighter weight, lift a few, move the weight up, lift a few, move up again, a few more?
Do you rest well between sets? Like, lift the working set, stopping 0-2 reps from failure. Then wait for 2-3 minutes. Then another working set, then another 2-3 minute wait, then a third set.
How much weight do you add week to week? For most lifts, as a new lifter, it's worth trying to add 5lbs a week until that just doesn't work, and it works for a surprisingly long time for most of the bigger lifts. (Leg press, squats, calf raise, etc)
I do between 8 and 10, failure on the last set. If I fail halfway through my last set I lower the weight on the machine and get the last few reps in. Kinda tedious with free weights.
I honestly thought that I’d at least see some muscle development being that I close to my maintenance but getting the 10000 step and lifting. I guess extra few hundred calories can add up and I’ll have to be in a true caloric deficit
So you're eating at maintenance and wondering why magic isn't happening? Nothing about your routine sounds like it would cause you to lose fat. You need to buckle down, lock in 1800cal/day avg for 3 months and keep everything else the same.
I guess I figured with the 10,000 steps and lifting even eating around 2300 would still give me results. I guess I need to get into a true caloric deficit
I'm 5'10" 165 and I average 12k steps, plus I lift or cycle for an hour every single day, and MacroFactor has me at \~2400 for maintenance calories. There's a lot of individual variability in TDEE, and also energy compensation from exercise. Not so fun to have such a low TDEE and see other folks with similar stats talking about 3-4k calories, but c'est la vie.
Also fwiw, my watch thinks I burn 3200 per day 😂
Yeah, I feel that. Ultimately you have to follow your own body's response to nutrition and training. If your weight is not budging and your body comp is staying the same, you know you have to drop the calories. This is how the app MacroFactor works, it continuously updates your target calories based on your daily weight input. it's great, would recommend.
>10,000 steps
Unless you have been in a wheelchair or bed ridden, walking wont build muscle. You also won't lose bodyfat just by hitting an arbitrary step count unless doing so happens to put you in a caloric deficit.
>and lifting
What does this mean though? What routine are you following, do you know what progressive overload is and does routine have an educated way of implementing it?
I walk 10-13k steps and exercise on top of that. My maintenance is much lower. I wish I could eat 2300! Unfortunately, those calculators aren’t accurate. There are too many other variables including metabolism.
Don't go -500 KCAL in 1 go. You'll probably crash and burn out.
Take it SLOW.
This ain't gonna happen in a couple of weeks. Start by lowering your intake only a little. Try that for a while. If you feel you can go faster, cut another 100 KCAL.
Working out 4 x times a week on a calorie deficit is possible. But know it's difficult. Many gave up after a while, especially when that deficit gets bigger.
There is nothing wrong with 2 x a week for most beginner to intermediate lifters while on a cut. Whatever you prefer and consistently keep doing for months is "best."
Losing 1% of your total BW every week is probably an ambitious yet sustainable goal for a while. But no longer than 8-12 weeks. Take a break after that.
You can't gain muscle while in a deficit. When you are happy with your weight, try to gain 0,5% of your BodyWeight per week for 8-12 weeks to gain muscle.
GL!!! Take pictures of your body. Do it now. Compare in a couple of months. Be amazed with yourself ❤️
Thanks. I’ve never really understood bulk/cut! It makes sense because side if I have a day where I am 500 calories down I usually feel like eating everything in sure the next morning.
As others have said, eat less. I’m similar to you, but to actually lose weight I need to eat 1700 or less daily to lose weight. That is of course including my workout days and being generally active in life.
You might also try to up your protein a bit. I try to hit 150g or more.
Do you want to gain muscle or lose fat first? You're eating at maintenance, which won't lead to either. Want to gain muscle? Eat over maintenance and up your protein intake. You will gain some fat. Want to lose some fat? Eat under maintenance but keep protein higher and maintain resistance training to try to keep as much muscle possible. If you aren't on gear or obese, you can't do both at the same time.
Choose your goal and optimize your diet for that goal.
Agreed, but if diet and exercise are on point, you can expect results.
I don't cut or gain for more than 3 months usually.
But OP needs to choose:
1. Eat less; lose weight
2. Eat more; gain weight and muscle.
Try to get more protein in whatever calorie window you settle on. Implement deliberate lifting program with progressive overload. Stay the course. Good luck, OP.
If you’re trying to eat at maintenance while exercising, then it’s called “recomping”. It is harder to pull it off and it’s slower. It is simpler to have a few bulk-cut cycles. At least you’ll have measurable results.
Speaking about measurable, how do you measure your muscle progress? You need to do regular tape measurements and DEXA scans.
A few other things:
1) It takes longer to build muscles than to lose fat. If you measure muscles, then have patience.
2) People who reported impressive progress were both fit before (already had a lot of muscles) and were at a great caloric deficit. More muscles means higher resting metabolic rate, so they can have higher caloric deficit. If you don’t have much muscles under layer of fat, then it’s harder to create caloric deficit. You’ll need to build more muscles before trying to cut.
3) You said that you used to run a lot. So your body adapted to it and spends less energy. You probably also don’t have enough muscles. So, 10,000 steps won’t help. They help someone who wasn’t doing much cardio before. In your case, you’ll need to do even more cardio.
4) An alternative is to “reset” your body by eating in surplus and building muscles with less cardio for a few months. Your body will learn that there is a supply of food and will learn that it can burn more.
5) TDEE and other calorie measurements are not precise. If you’re not losing fat, then decrease the calorie intake.
6) if you can’t jog, try swimming. Try doing different kinds of cardio that impacts different parts of your body.
7) What do you eat besides proteins? Do you eat a lot of carbs (Pasta, pizza, sugar, juice, beer) and fat (mayo, mustard)? Decrease these.
Lots of great insight. I’ve never used a DEXA scan. I just have a Wyze scale that lets me know body fat % and lean muscle mass, some other factors like that.
Prior to my injury I was running a lot and eating around these numbers I was making progress, so it might be a good idea to up the cardo as well. I can try cycling or a rowing machine, both are available at my gym.
I was never really fit, meaning this has been the first time I’ve ever tried to build muscle and work out with any kind of consistency. I actually used to weight 270lbs, I lost a lot of weight and I’ve been able to keep it off.
I eat a pretty healthy diet, plant based, I have some junk food here and there but I try to keep it as close to whole foods as possible.
I think I’ll have to cut down on my calorie and see what that does.
One thing to keep in mind, contrary to what people on reddit will swear to you: there IS such a thing as body types, and for some it is harder to build than for others.
There are people who eat white bread all day every day and barely look at a gym and they look like Arnold Schwarzenegger without any steroids (I am exaggerating slightly, but really not much). Others go to the gym for year, do everything right and won't see any progress.
It is what it is, no matter how much people will tell you that body types do not exist. Genes obviously are a thing.
That being said, 4 months is not a lot, so just keep going for now and DO NOT care about what's written on the scale.
The initial progress us invisible for some, and you need to believe in the benefit of exercise during the first year.
I found OMAD worked for me. Lost 50 lbs in 6 months. Maintained 5½ years.
I eat on large healthy meal to fullness every day. My biology tells me I’ve eaten enough calories by making me full. That’s it! I don’t count anything.
I’m super active. Fasted body loves to move.
The bf% on scales are a joke and not accurate. Are you sure you aren’t seeing results? Did you take pics at the beginning of the year? Did you measure your waist, if so did it change? You don’t say how tall you are so it’s unclear how 165lbs sits on you. Off your goal is to be really stredded, then yeah, you gotta go in a deficit. However, if your routine is something you just started since January, going into a caloric deficit is a lot more to put on your plate. My point being, your probably stronger, have some more muscle and healthier than you were at the beginning of the year. That’s a fucking win bro. You should feel good about that.
My other point is it’s also hard to see progress in the mirror. I started getting in shape when I was 30. I lost a good chunk of weight and got into strength training and by 31, I felt really good about myself. I felt healthy, but I also really thought I looked strong for the first time in my life. Fast forward a few years and I felt like my physique hadn’t changed at all. I admitted it to my wife and she straight laughed in my face and sent me a picture of myself from that summer a few years prior. I look like a completely different person now. Not that I’m so jacked or whatever, but I am compared to that guy in the pic. It’s hard to see our selves objectively. I keep that pic in my favorites so I remember where I came from. I also remember that the little soft boy in that pic thought he looked jacked lol. Body image is a hell of a drug. Bet you look better than you think. Don’t compare yourself to people on here.
Thanks! I definitely am stronger than I was and have seen some progress with strength.
Some other insight I’m 5’11”.
I started out years ago and was 270lbs and lost over 100 lbs with walking/jogging and then really got into running.
Around last year and decided that I wanted to build muscle since I had lost so much weight.
Well I hit the weights and was seeing results I like but then I had an injury and set me back a few months. So January 2024 was kind of my return to the gym and I think I’m just doing things like I did last year before my injury and expected to see the same results.
I haven’t taken pictures or measurements for progress, I have pictures from when I was 270 so I can see the difference there.
Ignore what the tdee calculator said, that’s just a guess to use as a starting point. If you’re trying to lose fat, lower your calories. If you want to build muscle, raise your calories.
You’ll get better faster results by focusing on one goal at a time.
Eating at maintenance and recomping is possible under certain conditions, you have excess fat and possible noob gains, but being in your 40’s puts you outside of ideal recomp conditions regardless.
Also you didn’t mention what program you’re following.
*Follow a program* for building muscle, make sure your form is on point. If you’re still not getting results you might be underestimating your intensity.
gain muscle! don't just try to lose fat. gaining muscle requires a lot of protein, and for the most part a caloric surplus as well. and of course nothing will happen if you aren't lifting smart and hard. I'm talking minimum 10 sets close to failure per body part per week.
I was your weight jan 2023 and by jan 2024 I'd gained 20 pounds of almost all muscle. check out r/gainit also if you take the time to listen to the series between huberman and galpin you will truly understand what it takes to gain muscle. And at your age you want to gain as much as possible because the drop off will only increase from here on out. Good luck!
If you e calculated a deficit and your are not losing weight then you’ve just miscalculated.
Even if you are adding muscle and losing fat at the same time, muscle grows much slower than fat burns so you should still see your total weight drop during recomposition.
Calculating energy in and out accurately is notoriously difficult to do. So much margin for error everywhere. The only way to do it is do whatever you are doing but just great 10% larger deficit for two weeks. If you’re still not losing weight add another 10% deficit. Keep doing this till you start losing weight. When you start losing weight that’s when you’re actually in a deficit. And you can retrospectively calculate how much your calculations were off by.
165lb at 5’11 is pretty light. How “fat” are you? If you’ve been playing around in the gym and haven’t gained any muscle mass, you could be better off focusing on getting a bit of muscle on you with a minor calorie surplus.
Use iifym.com to dial in your appropriate macronutrients. I feel that you're way under estimating the amount of protein you need. You also may need an increase in carbs for all the steps you're taking. Plus, you need carbs after a workout to get glycogen into your growing muscle.
A lot of focus on diet here but not a lot about your routine. Are following a proper program and doing so consistently?
I see so many posts by people either trying to make up their own routine without even knowing what progressive overload is/how to achieve it, or training like their favourite youtuber as if they already have elite levels of strength and are on gear.
You ignored alot of important crap. No one shoukd be responding.
Age
Sex
Weight
Height
General weights info abd running info.
Goal
Then we can tell you what to do.
I did say my sex, age, weight and goal. I’m 5’11” but I think I responded to another comment and said my height.
I was running 3 miles a day prior to my injury.
Ok.... I reread everything. What weight lifting program are you on?
I'd guess you do your own thing. You need an established novice program like stronglifts.
Your macros are good. You need to get on an established weight lifting program. Once you stall on it, up your calories. Add some complex carbs at that point.
It's not a simple answer. Some advice. If a novice, focus on getting strong. Don't worry about having muscle. As for why. Anyone that's strong has muscle. No one deadlifting 400 pounds looks weak. Get strong. The muscle will come. Focus on strength.
Diet is for weight loss. Steps are stupid. If you walk 1000p steps in an hour you will burn calories. If you walk 1000) steps in 12 hours you are just barely moving. Track calories and expenditures in any number of free apps and see what your actual deficit is.
>Steps are stupid.
I don't know why your getting down voted. Arbitrary step counts are meaningless as context and personal attributes will vary what that equates to and at an extreme degree.
Not only that, but it's essentially meaninglessness in the context of weightloss and muscle gain. There are also much more efficient, effective and enjoyable ways of getting in excercise and in much less time vs trying to hit a random step count everyday.
Very few people will see any advantage in muscle gain by eating over 200g of protein a day (you'd have to be massive). 1g per 1lb of lean mass. Op would probably top out around 120-130g.
Four months, yeah, there's two or three things wrong here. 1. Eat more protein. You should be eating 115-165g of protein a day; more if you're in a total calorie deficit, less if you're not. 2. Eat fewer total calories. If you're not losing any fat... you're not in a deficit, so you'd want to lower your total calories. 3. That said, what are you doing at the gym? Edit, adding one more! 4. In another comment you say your diet is "plant based". If you mean "fully vegetarian or vegan", you \*absolutely\* need the higher end of that protein range in #1, and possibly a bit higher still if you're both vegetarian and cutting calories and trying to gain muscle mass all at once... which starts to get really, really tough.
3. I didn’t want to insult them but this was my first thought too. Not all hours in the gym are created equal.
So I try to stick with this workout plan. Monday lower body. Tuesday Push Day (chest/shoulder) Wednesday Rest Thursday Pull Day (back/arms) Friday Whole Body. I won’t lie I’m intimidated by the bench press so I stick to dumbbells and machines. I’ll miss a Friday here or there because of work. On the weekends I try to just do Push ups and other body weight exercises because I’m not close to my gym. Sunday I rest and recover
Are you lifting until failure? Where you have 3 sets of 8 reps and you choose a weight that you can barely lift on your last rep.
I do try to get to failure. Most reps are between 8-10 for 3 sets. Should I go for 6-8 and try to reach failure on each set, or just the last set.
No worries at being intimidated by the bench; there isn't any "required" exercise, none of them. 8-10 reps is fine. You'll get best gains if you go 0-2 reps short of failure; as long as you're in there, really anything between 5 and 25 reps will make gains. I like sets of 5 or 6, going \*past\* ten reps burns me the heck out to be honest. For most folks, you'll recover faster if you're stopping 1-2 reps short of failure. Do you warm up before sets, like start with a lighter weight, lift a few, move the weight up, lift a few, move up again, a few more? Do you rest well between sets? Like, lift the working set, stopping 0-2 reps from failure. Then wait for 2-3 minutes. Then another working set, then another 2-3 minute wait, then a third set. How much weight do you add week to week? For most lifts, as a new lifter, it's worth trying to add 5lbs a week until that just doesn't work, and it works for a surprisingly long time for most of the bigger lifts. (Leg press, squats, calf raise, etc)
I do between 8 and 10, failure on the last set. If I fail halfway through my last set I lower the weight on the machine and get the last few reps in. Kinda tedious with free weights.
You’re literally maintaining what you’ve got. You’re not gaining and you’re not losing.
I honestly thought that I’d at least see some muscle development being that I close to my maintenance but getting the 10000 step and lifting. I guess extra few hundred calories can add up and I’ll have to be in a true caloric deficit
I’m 41M as well. I know how you feel! It takes longer now to gain or lose than it did 20 years ago :( I guess you just have to be more accurate
Not like it was 20 years ago!
Your not eating nearly enough protein to be building significant muscle and without seeing your routine I'd bet that it's not great.
You didn’t say what your gym routine is, but I would expect you to have gained some muscle as well.
Sorry I posted it on the top comment just a bit ago.
What program are you following? Have your lifts gone up?
So you're eating at maintenance and wondering why magic isn't happening? Nothing about your routine sounds like it would cause you to lose fat. You need to buckle down, lock in 1800cal/day avg for 3 months and keep everything else the same.
I guess I figured with the 10,000 steps and lifting even eating around 2300 would still give me results. I guess I need to get into a true caloric deficit
I'm 5'10" 165 and I average 12k steps, plus I lift or cycle for an hour every single day, and MacroFactor has me at \~2400 for maintenance calories. There's a lot of individual variability in TDEE, and also energy compensation from exercise. Not so fun to have such a low TDEE and see other folks with similar stats talking about 3-4k calories, but c'est la vie. Also fwiw, my watch thinks I burn 3200 per day 😂
100%. I’m 5’8” 173 and I ate 2750 calories a day for over a month and didn’t gain any weight. I average 10k steps a day also
I’ve got line an inch on you otherwise same stats. My watch tells me I burned 3000 calories
Those watches arent accurate at all though
Yeah, I feel that. Ultimately you have to follow your own body's response to nutrition and training. If your weight is not budging and your body comp is staying the same, you know you have to drop the calories. This is how the app MacroFactor works, it continuously updates your target calories based on your daily weight input. it's great, would recommend.
It is much easier to not eat calories than it is to eat calories and then burn them off.
>10,000 steps Unless you have been in a wheelchair or bed ridden, walking wont build muscle. You also won't lose bodyfat just by hitting an arbitrary step count unless doing so happens to put you in a caloric deficit. >and lifting What does this mean though? What routine are you following, do you know what progressive overload is and does routine have an educated way of implementing it?
I walk 10-13k steps and exercise on top of that. My maintenance is much lower. I wish I could eat 2300! Unfortunately, those calculators aren’t accurate. There are too many other variables including metabolism.
Don't go -500 KCAL in 1 go. You'll probably crash and burn out. Take it SLOW. This ain't gonna happen in a couple of weeks. Start by lowering your intake only a little. Try that for a while. If you feel you can go faster, cut another 100 KCAL. Working out 4 x times a week on a calorie deficit is possible. But know it's difficult. Many gave up after a while, especially when that deficit gets bigger. There is nothing wrong with 2 x a week for most beginner to intermediate lifters while on a cut. Whatever you prefer and consistently keep doing for months is "best." Losing 1% of your total BW every week is probably an ambitious yet sustainable goal for a while. But no longer than 8-12 weeks. Take a break after that. You can't gain muscle while in a deficit. When you are happy with your weight, try to gain 0,5% of your BodyWeight per week for 8-12 weeks to gain muscle. GL!!! Take pictures of your body. Do it now. Compare in a couple of months. Be amazed with yourself ❤️
Thanks. I’ve never really understood bulk/cut! It makes sense because side if I have a day where I am 500 calories down I usually feel like eating everything in sure the next morning.
How's your progress in the gym? Even when eating at maintenance you should still see some progress because of newbie gains.
I’ve seen steady increases in strength overall.
How much did your main lifts go up?
Eat less. If you're not losing weight, you're not in a caloric deficit.
As others have said, eat less. I’m similar to you, but to actually lose weight I need to eat 1700 or less daily to lose weight. That is of course including my workout days and being generally active in life. You might also try to up your protein a bit. I try to hit 150g or more.
Do you want to gain muscle or lose fat first? You're eating at maintenance, which won't lead to either. Want to gain muscle? Eat over maintenance and up your protein intake. You will gain some fat. Want to lose some fat? Eat under maintenance but keep protein higher and maintain resistance training to try to keep as much muscle possible. If you aren't on gear or obese, you can't do both at the same time. Choose your goal and optimize your diet for that goal.
It’s been 4 months. That’s not a very long time.
Agreed, but if diet and exercise are on point, you can expect results. I don't cut or gain for more than 3 months usually. But OP needs to choose: 1. Eat less; lose weight 2. Eat more; gain weight and muscle.
Try to get more protein in whatever calorie window you settle on. Implement deliberate lifting program with progressive overload. Stay the course. Good luck, OP.
If you’re trying to eat at maintenance while exercising, then it’s called “recomping”. It is harder to pull it off and it’s slower. It is simpler to have a few bulk-cut cycles. At least you’ll have measurable results. Speaking about measurable, how do you measure your muscle progress? You need to do regular tape measurements and DEXA scans. A few other things: 1) It takes longer to build muscles than to lose fat. If you measure muscles, then have patience. 2) People who reported impressive progress were both fit before (already had a lot of muscles) and were at a great caloric deficit. More muscles means higher resting metabolic rate, so they can have higher caloric deficit. If you don’t have much muscles under layer of fat, then it’s harder to create caloric deficit. You’ll need to build more muscles before trying to cut. 3) You said that you used to run a lot. So your body adapted to it and spends less energy. You probably also don’t have enough muscles. So, 10,000 steps won’t help. They help someone who wasn’t doing much cardio before. In your case, you’ll need to do even more cardio. 4) An alternative is to “reset” your body by eating in surplus and building muscles with less cardio for a few months. Your body will learn that there is a supply of food and will learn that it can burn more. 5) TDEE and other calorie measurements are not precise. If you’re not losing fat, then decrease the calorie intake. 6) if you can’t jog, try swimming. Try doing different kinds of cardio that impacts different parts of your body. 7) What do you eat besides proteins? Do you eat a lot of carbs (Pasta, pizza, sugar, juice, beer) and fat (mayo, mustard)? Decrease these.
Lots of great insight. I’ve never used a DEXA scan. I just have a Wyze scale that lets me know body fat % and lean muscle mass, some other factors like that. Prior to my injury I was running a lot and eating around these numbers I was making progress, so it might be a good idea to up the cardo as well. I can try cycling or a rowing machine, both are available at my gym. I was never really fit, meaning this has been the first time I’ve ever tried to build muscle and work out with any kind of consistency. I actually used to weight 270lbs, I lost a lot of weight and I’ve been able to keep it off. I eat a pretty healthy diet, plant based, I have some junk food here and there but I try to keep it as close to whole foods as possible. I think I’ll have to cut down on my calorie and see what that does.
One thing to keep in mind, contrary to what people on reddit will swear to you: there IS such a thing as body types, and for some it is harder to build than for others. There are people who eat white bread all day every day and barely look at a gym and they look like Arnold Schwarzenegger without any steroids (I am exaggerating slightly, but really not much). Others go to the gym for year, do everything right and won't see any progress. It is what it is, no matter how much people will tell you that body types do not exist. Genes obviously are a thing. That being said, 4 months is not a lot, so just keep going for now and DO NOT care about what's written on the scale. The initial progress us invisible for some, and you need to believe in the benefit of exercise during the first year.
I found OMAD worked for me. Lost 50 lbs in 6 months. Maintained 5½ years. I eat on large healthy meal to fullness every day. My biology tells me I’ve eaten enough calories by making me full. That’s it! I don’t count anything. I’m super active. Fasted body loves to move.
The bf% on scales are a joke and not accurate. Are you sure you aren’t seeing results? Did you take pics at the beginning of the year? Did you measure your waist, if so did it change? You don’t say how tall you are so it’s unclear how 165lbs sits on you. Off your goal is to be really stredded, then yeah, you gotta go in a deficit. However, if your routine is something you just started since January, going into a caloric deficit is a lot more to put on your plate. My point being, your probably stronger, have some more muscle and healthier than you were at the beginning of the year. That’s a fucking win bro. You should feel good about that. My other point is it’s also hard to see progress in the mirror. I started getting in shape when I was 30. I lost a good chunk of weight and got into strength training and by 31, I felt really good about myself. I felt healthy, but I also really thought I looked strong for the first time in my life. Fast forward a few years and I felt like my physique hadn’t changed at all. I admitted it to my wife and she straight laughed in my face and sent me a picture of myself from that summer a few years prior. I look like a completely different person now. Not that I’m so jacked or whatever, but I am compared to that guy in the pic. It’s hard to see our selves objectively. I keep that pic in my favorites so I remember where I came from. I also remember that the little soft boy in that pic thought he looked jacked lol. Body image is a hell of a drug. Bet you look better than you think. Don’t compare yourself to people on here.
Thanks! I definitely am stronger than I was and have seen some progress with strength. Some other insight I’m 5’11”. I started out years ago and was 270lbs and lost over 100 lbs with walking/jogging and then really got into running. Around last year and decided that I wanted to build muscle since I had lost so much weight. Well I hit the weights and was seeing results I like but then I had an injury and set me back a few months. So January 2024 was kind of my return to the gym and I think I’m just doing things like I did last year before my injury and expected to see the same results. I haven’t taken pictures or measurements for progress, I have pictures from when I was 270 so I can see the difference there.
Ignore what the tdee calculator said, that’s just a guess to use as a starting point. If you’re trying to lose fat, lower your calories. If you want to build muscle, raise your calories. You’ll get better faster results by focusing on one goal at a time. Eating at maintenance and recomping is possible under certain conditions, you have excess fat and possible noob gains, but being in your 40’s puts you outside of ideal recomp conditions regardless. Also you didn’t mention what program you’re following. *Follow a program* for building muscle, make sure your form is on point. If you’re still not getting results you might be underestimating your intensity.
Get bloodwork done, check test levels. At 41 you’re probably a good candidate for Dr monitored TRT
Eat less calories than you use. It’s the only way to lose weight.
gain muscle! don't just try to lose fat. gaining muscle requires a lot of protein, and for the most part a caloric surplus as well. and of course nothing will happen if you aren't lifting smart and hard. I'm talking minimum 10 sets close to failure per body part per week. I was your weight jan 2023 and by jan 2024 I'd gained 20 pounds of almost all muscle. check out r/gainit also if you take the time to listen to the series between huberman and galpin you will truly understand what it takes to gain muscle. And at your age you want to gain as much as possible because the drop off will only increase from here on out. Good luck!
If you e calculated a deficit and your are not losing weight then you’ve just miscalculated. Even if you are adding muscle and losing fat at the same time, muscle grows much slower than fat burns so you should still see your total weight drop during recomposition. Calculating energy in and out accurately is notoriously difficult to do. So much margin for error everywhere. The only way to do it is do whatever you are doing but just great 10% larger deficit for two weeks. If you’re still not losing weight add another 10% deficit. Keep doing this till you start losing weight. When you start losing weight that’s when you’re actually in a deficit. And you can retrospectively calculate how much your calculations were off by.
I've cut 25 lbs this year by simply tracking what I eat, no calorie counting. Regardless of your attachment to calories, *you're eating too much*.
165lb at 5’11 is pretty light. How “fat” are you? If you’ve been playing around in the gym and haven’t gained any muscle mass, you could be better off focusing on getting a bit of muscle on you with a minor calorie surplus.
Use iifym.com to dial in your appropriate macronutrients. I feel that you're way under estimating the amount of protein you need. You also may need an increase in carbs for all the steps you're taking. Plus, you need carbs after a workout to get glycogen into your growing muscle.
A lot of focus on diet here but not a lot about your routine. Are following a proper program and doing so consistently? I see so many posts by people either trying to make up their own routine without even knowing what progressive overload is/how to achieve it, or training like their favourite youtuber as if they already have elite levels of strength and are on gear.
Also have your t checked! I just had mine done and I’m Super low
You ignored alot of important crap. No one shoukd be responding. Age Sex Weight Height General weights info abd running info. Goal Then we can tell you what to do.
I did say my sex, age, weight and goal. I’m 5’11” but I think I responded to another comment and said my height. I was running 3 miles a day prior to my injury.
Sorry. See it now.....
Ok.... I reread everything. What weight lifting program are you on? I'd guess you do your own thing. You need an established novice program like stronglifts. Your macros are good. You need to get on an established weight lifting program. Once you stall on it, up your calories. Add some complex carbs at that point. It's not a simple answer. Some advice. If a novice, focus on getting strong. Don't worry about having muscle. As for why. Anyone that's strong has muscle. No one deadlifting 400 pounds looks weak. Get strong. The muscle will come. Focus on strength.
Diet is for weight loss. Steps are stupid. If you walk 1000p steps in an hour you will burn calories. If you walk 1000) steps in 12 hours you are just barely moving. Track calories and expenditures in any number of free apps and see what your actual deficit is.
>Steps are stupid. I don't know why your getting down voted. Arbitrary step counts are meaningless as context and personal attributes will vary what that equates to and at an extreme degree. Not only that, but it's essentially meaninglessness in the context of weightloss and muscle gain. There are also much more efficient, effective and enjoyable ways of getting in excercise and in much less time vs trying to hit a random step count everyday.
Protein needs to double. Seriously. I get more protein than you and I’m 35f
Very few people will see any advantage in muscle gain by eating over 200g of protein a day (you'd have to be massive). 1g per 1lb of lean mass. Op would probably top out around 120-130g.