Not losing weight, getting fitter

[blindsage]

So I'm somewhat overweight for my size and frame and I definitely need to lose some weight, but I'm less concerned with weight per se than I am with being healthier and more fit. I do MA 2-3 times a week and am doing P90X in the mornings (modified because you know, I'm not them, yet). I'm adding in a Tabata set once a week of (I'm calling them) squat presses, squats with 20lbs. dumbells at the shoulder and a shoulder press at the top of the squat. I've been working on my diet, but just eating healthier in general, no specific diet method. More whole grains, less (to eventually no) fast food, plenty of protein and vegetables.

Here's my dilemma, I've been doing this for over 6 months and I haven't seen any real weight loss. I'm gaining muscle, my wife says I'm slimmer in the middle (and I'm down a notch on my belt), I have more energy, but I'm a little concerned that I haven't lost any weight. I've got a decent sized belly and I'm concerned about the long term health risks it represents.

Does anyone have any insight as to whether I'm missing something here, or if I just need to be more patient with the process?

 

[Ken Morgan]

Bodybuilders generally never use a scale, (obviously if they know they're going to be close for their weight class, yes), anyway. I wouldn't worry about it to much sounds like you're on the right track. Muscle burns more calories then fat.
I would look at my diet and eliminate another 100-200 calories a day that you don't need. Sugar in your coffees? Breads? any junk at all? Butter? You get the idea and see what happens.
You need to play with you diet and see what works for you though.

 

[Carol]

Definitely be patient.

Muscle weighs 3x more than fat, how your clothes fit is a far better metric of whether you are on the right track. In addition, fat isn't burned in your stomach, or in your GI tract, it is burned by muscle tissue. The more muscle tissue you have, the more fat you can burn. If you feel like making the investment, a body fat monitor scale can help you quantify whether you are losing body fat...but I do not think they are necessary.

One area where I will advise caution: the BMI scale does not take one's muscularity or fitness in to account. Do not let this discourage you.

 

[David43515]

Just be patient, you`re on the right track. You didn`t gain the extra weight over night, and it doesn`t come off all at once either. (Generally if you take weight off fast, it comes back. Slow and steady is the way to go.)

You said your belt is getting looser, and your wife has noticed you`re getting slimmer. So what you`re doing is working. JUst keep it up. The reason you haven`t seen a noticeable change in your weight is that muscle weighs more than fat. Muscle also burns more calories than fat does.* So as you`ve begun building muscle, you`ve begun burning more fat. Your body is changing slowly (getting slimmer) but it IS changing. As you keep it up, the change will either be faster or at least more noticeable.Just be patient, you`re building the framework now. Once the base is there you`ll probably begin noticing a change in weight. For people who haven`t done alot of exercise in a whil it`s not even uncommon for them to gain a little weight as their clothes get looser.

* If you were laid up in a body cast and couldn`t excersise for a while your body still burns calories every day just maintaining itself.Each pound of fat burns about 2 calories a day just "being there". Each pound of muscle burns about 30 calories a day just "being there".

 

[searcher]

First, why are you doing P90X and Tabata protocal in the same week? This is way to much and will hold you back considerably. Tabata is crazy hard if done correctly and needs to have at least 24-48 hour recovery time. If not, your body will not be able to recover and will hold down the speed of your metabolism.


As far as dietary goes, if you are wanting to lose scale weight, you need to restrict your calories and get rid of the junk(fast food, processed foods). If you are wanting to work on body composition, change what you are eating and worry less about how much. The foods you eat will directly affect your body composition. So, if you want less fat, cut out everything except: nuts, seeds, lean meat, eggs, and veggies. This will change thestructure, but may not result in scale weight loss.

JMPO.

 

[mook jong man]

Just keep it up , fat around your gut always seems to be the last bit to go .

 

[girlbug2]

As you can see, everybody has their own take on how to lose belly fat and weight in general. Nobody's right or wrong exactly...but a lot of the advice seems contradictory doesn't it?

I think Searcher shows good common sense, so I'll second what he said. In addition to that, think about this: Adding more grains to your diet, whole or otherwise, is not going to make you lose any weight. In particular, wheat is a huge culprit in large bellies. Google "wheat belly" to see what I'm talking about. And also look into what the Italian team did to get in shape before the Tour De France:
http://www.mensjournal.com/winning-without-wheat

I wish you good luck on your quest for better health!

 

[CoryKS]

Does anyone have any insight as to whether I'm missing something here, or if I just need to be more patient with the process?

Try following the diet that came with the P90X program and see what happens. I had to add an additional meal about a month into the program because I had already reached my target weight and was still losing.

 

[blindsage]

First, why are you doing P90X and Tabata protocal in the same week? This is way to much and will hold you back considerably. Tabata is crazy hard if done correctly and needs to have at least 24-48 hour recovery time. If not, your body will not be able to recover and will hold down the speed of your metabolism.

Thanks for that insight. I'm just starting to add in the Tabata protocol, so I will rethink how I approach this. And yes, Tabata is hard as ****!

As you can see, everybody has their own take on how to lose belly fat and weight in general. Nobody's right or wrong exactly...but a lot of the advice seems contradictory doesn't it?

I think Searcher shows good common sense, so I'll second what he said. In addition to that, think about this: Adding more grains to your diet, whole or otherwise, is not going to make you lose any weight. In particular, wheat is a huge culprit in large bellies. Google "wheat belly" to see what I'm talking about. And also look into what the Italian team did to get in shape before the Tour De France:
http://www.mensjournal.com/winning-without-wheat

I wish you good luck on your quest for better health!

I will look into 'wheat belly' further. I've heard mention of this before, but I've never really looked into it, and I do have a lot of wheat in my diet so it's probably time to check this out. Thanks.

You all have given a lot of good advice and support, thanks, I've got a lot to think about.

 

[robertlk808]

That seems pretty heavy duty doing P90X workouts AND utilizing the Tabata protocol. I wonder if you are eating enough, this is just my own ... "theory" Personally I'm using the Insanity program by Beachbody which utilizes the HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) principle and I feel like I'm not dropping weight either but I have noticed an improvement in conditioning and recovery. I actually completed 30 days and by appearance it seems like I haven't dropped any weight. Without going into a log story here, I used a Calorie Intake Calculator provided by Beachbody and they have a neat little feature in which you enter your stats and then select the workout program that you are doing. In order to lose weight my caloric intake without any program is 2K something but when I selected Insanity as my program it jumped up approximate 1K more. So I decided to start over and document my progress although I haven't been too good with documenting my caloric intake this Sunday a buddy of mine who is following the program will be checking our measurements.

I'm also looking into the Paleo \ Primal Diet via the "Primal Blueprint Book" and while searching for other things I did come across a few article about wheat and grains not necessarily being great for weight-loss.

Pretty good thread here, hope to see you post often about your progress! Ive got a blog to help me with accountability (as seen in my signature), document progress as well as promote beachbody products. Would love it if you guys took a look and gave some feedback as well.

Aloha,
Robert