Why am I not losing weight?

[ttaskmaster]

In vs. Out still applies.

Besides there being so many unreliable methods of actually measuring this, though, too much exercise or lowering of calorie intake is apparently bad and now your body even 'rebels' and 'adapts', to the point where you need supplements and a degree in dietary mathematics just to figure out why you're not losing weight... none of which is true, because it's all back to in vs out and nothing else anyway...

 

[BennyC]

So I'd live a full and happy life on 2000 calories of sugar only a day?

Well if your protein bar is 100% sugar and that's all your eating, then I've got news that your protein bar doesn't have any protein

As Monkee and others have said. Also 20-30g of sugar here and there is not going to be the reason for a plateau in weight loss.

 

[MikeTheNative]

I'm currently losing weight, just added a bit of cardio, cut out eating treats everyday and made sure my portion size is not too big. It's not difficult, people make it difficult.

 

[SixTwoSix]

Probably a pointless soundbite and it's massively simplified but something i read online last year stuck with me and it works for me when using the principle with IIFYM:

When trying to lose fat, eat as much as possible while still losing weight.
When trying to gain muscle, eat as little as possible while still gaining weight.

Basically I eat as close to my maintenance as possible and then either drop/raise calories by about 200 daily dependant on the goal.

 

[fez]

When trying to lose fat, eat as much as possible while still losing weight.
When trying to gain muscle, eat as little as possible while still gaining weight.

That seems like a very strange idea to me. You need food to build muscle. If you want to build muscle in the fastest way possible you need to eat an excess of calories. You will add some fat but gain muscle faster. If you eat as little as possible while training hard you will sacrifice a lot of gains and are more likely to become ill due to the stress of low calories and high demand for them.

 

[tom_e]

That seems like a very strange idea to me. You need food to build muscle. If you want to build muscle in the fastest way possible you need to eat an excess of calories. You will add some fat but gain muscle faster. If you eat as little as possible while training hard you will sacrifice a lot of gains and are more likely to become ill due to the stress of low calories and high demand for them.

If you're gaining then you're obviously eating in a surplus so why would there be any sacrificing of gains or stress of low calories

It's a sensible way to look at it to be honest. People who use bulking as an excuse to eat every small child that crosses their path mostly just end up looking like a fat balloon at the end and then need to go through all the work of losing the fat and therefore losing some of the gained muscle along with it.

 

[Ayahuasca]

It's not hard to grasp what SixTwoSix was saying

Eat as little surplus as you can whilst still gaining.

 

[wozza2k]

I weight 83kg and I'm 6'2". I have a low body fat percentage and quite a lot of lean muscle. Either you are pretty beefy or you have a fair % of fat.

Not the leanest but enough for people to ask me to PT for them and hardly beefy considering I don't look like I am sporty unless I wear a tight t-shirt or am topless.

 

[tom_e]

Not the leanest but enough for people to ask me to PT for them and hardly beefy considering I don't look like I am sporty unless I wear a tight t-shirt or am topless.

Can confirm I would wife wozza, he is no tubbster.

 

[SixTwoSix]

That seems like a very strange idea to me. You need food to build muscle. If you want to build muscle in the fastest way possible you need to eat an excess of calories. You will add some fat but gain muscle faster. If you eat as little as possible while training hard you will sacrifice a lot of gains and are more likely to become ill due to the stress of low calories and high demand for them.

But you would still be in a surplus while trying to gain muscle. I never said to eat in a deficit while gaining.

If you're gaining then you're obviously eating in a surplus so why would there be any sacrificing of gains or stress of low calories

It's a sensible way to look at it to be honest. People who use bulking as an excuse to eat every small child that crosses their path mostly just end up looking like a fat balloon at the end and then need to go through all the work of losing the fat and therefore losing some of the gained muscle along with it.

It's not hard to grasp what SixTwoSix was saying

Eat as little surplus as you can whilst still gaining.

These guys get it.

As I said it's really simplified but the logic is sound...IMO

 

[Somnambulist]

It's more or less sound but as I've found myself (ex-fatty with illogical fear of getting fat again phobia), trying to be too 'lean bulk, small surplus brah' can work against you because with the increase in training volume and intensity - and NEAT because homeostasis again - that comes from training to gain, you can easily wipe out your surplus and spin your wheels. Obviously going full dreamer bulk and getting fat quickly isn't the way to go either but it's very easy to be so cautious with weight gain you don't end up gaining much of anything.

Same applies for dieting. Going to extremes is never helpful but being too conservative can work against you.

 

[wozza2k]

It's more or less sound but as I've found myself (ex-fatty with illogical fear of getting fat again phobia), trying to be too 'lean bulk, small surplus brah' can work against you because with the increase in training volume and intensity - and NEAT because homeostasis again - that comes from training to gain, you can easily wipe out your surplus and spin your wheels. Obviously going full dreamer bulk and getting fat quickly isn't the way to go either but it's very easy to be so cautious with weight gain you don't end up gaining much of anything.

Same applies for dieting. Going to extremes is never helpful but being too conservative can work against you.

Found this myself, it is a matter of constant tweaking so that you're always in that very slight surplus which obviously is a lot of work.

 

[MikeTheNative]

Found this myself, it is a matter of constant tweaking so that you're always in that very slight surplus which obviously is a lot of work.

I think quite few people go wrong with this when trying to gain or lose weight. They lose or gain some but the don't account for that change in BMR in their diet. So wonder why their weight loss/gained has slowed but they are eating closer to their BMR than before.

 

[Jono]

The impact of sugar can be mitigated if you have a decent amount of fibre in your diet.

Howso? Genuine question I haven't searched for because I'm sure you know

 

[tom_e]

Howso? Genuine question I haven't searched for because I'm sure you know

Fibre slows the digestion and absorption of the sugar meaning you don't get the pronounced peaks and troughs in blood sugar levels.

 

[Freefaller]

^^ Nailed it basically.

Hormonal variance has a massive impact on weight loss and metabolism which is responsible for weight management.

Sugar triggers insulin which is a fat storage hormone as well as other things if you can reduce the spike and keep your body under more stable environment then so much the better!

 

[Chris1712]

To the OP, take a week off and eat what you like (don't go mad).
You'll gain some water weight but go back to your proper diet straight afterwards and I bet the weightloss will continue. Sometimes you just need a break to let hormones and things get back to normal.