trouble losing weight

[B_NineInchCock_160IQ]

The heaviest I've ever been was 230 lbs. Maybe 240. Lightest I've been at my current height (6'6") was 190, though that was too skinny... I looked gaunt. Still I'd like to be around 200, or heavier if I was more muscular.

I was 210 when I left for Korea. Didn't have a scale over there. but when I got back to the States, I was 223. I gained 13 pounds. I put myself on a diet and ever since I've been home (a little over a month now) I've been going to the gym between 2-5 times per week, averaging about 3 times a week. I do weight training and cardio. I haven't lost anything. Actually today I'm up to 226.7. what the hell?

I wish I was 19 again. Back then I could do a sit-up and drop 5 pounds. My friend Ben is my age (28) and trying to lose weight also, and has had pretty much the same results.

 

[ManiacalMadMan]

every body is some how different on what makes them lose weight For some it is just diet some it exercise and for most or many it is both together.
Then there is yourself Some people lose weight from just cutting fat others eat mostly protein and no carbs. Some others lose from eating only vegetarian as in salads and vegetables. Discover your own body
Also what age are you at now? Bodies change and the metablolism changes as you age your needs for losing or maintaining a weight change.

 

[B_New End]

It takes time when you get older. YOu know it, I know it. It sucks, btu we ain't young anymore, and losing wieght is harder. I don't have a belly any more, but it took me a year to lose those stubborn ten pounds of belly.

 

[Mem]

The heaviest I've ever been was 230 lbs. Maybe 240. Lightest I've been at my current height (6'6") was 190, though that was too skinny... I looked gaunt. Still I'd like to be around 200, or heavier if I was more muscular.

I was 210 when I left for Korea. Didn't have a scale over there. but when I got back to the States, I was 223. I gained 13 pounds. I put myself on a diet and ever since I've been home (a little over a month now) I've been going to the gym between 2-5 times per week, averaging about 3 times a week. I do weight training and cardio. I haven't lost anything. Actually today I'm up to 226.7. what the hell?

I wish I was 19 again. Back then I could do a sit-up and drop 5 pounds. My friend Ben is my age (28) and trying to lose weight also, and has had pretty much the same results.

Wow you are VERY tall. I am 6' tall and when I see someone tower over me I have to take a second look. You must have been a GIANT in Korea. People that have a large frame and wide shoulders can carry extra weight. Current height? I hope you don't get any taller.:wink:

 

[Industrialsize]

I used to weigh 232!......Now I'm between 175 and 180....you can't go on a diet, you need to find a diet and exercise plan that you can live with the rest of your life.

 

[Ethyl]

How much weightlifting are you doing verses the cardio? Remember that muscle weighs more than fat, so when your fitting into your clothes more easily, look taut, yet the scale hasn't budged much, you may be gaining more muscle than you thought. Give it another month or two and you'll eventually see a few lbs drop but maybe not as many due to the added muscle.

 

[Gillette]

. I put myself on a diet and ever since I've been home (a little over a month now) I've been going to the gym between 2-5 times per week, averaging about 3 times a week. I do weight training and cardio. I haven't lost anything. Actually today I'm up to 226.7. what the hell?

This will be either entirely obvious or entirely wrong.

Muscle weighs more than fat does by volume so the weight gain you are experiencing could just be from muscle tissue development replacing some of the fat since you've been hitting the gym. Most fatty deposits are subcutaneous so until you reach a certain point that is what you'll see on the outside even though you're building more muscle tissue.

 

[burns1de]

Do you eat healthy or do you eat lots of greasy food? I'm 26 and I'm 5'10"/165lbs and I burn calories very easily, but then again I eat well (lots of fruits and vegetables, minimum red meat, chicken, pasta and lots and lots of liquid) and I exercise (weight lifting during the winter and 15km of bike a day during the summer - easiest way to lose weight, I find). How many times a day do you eat? I find it easier to control my weight when I just eat whenever I'm hungry (as opposed to the standard three-meals-a-day routine).

 

[No_Strings]

I find it easier to control my weight when I just eat whenever I'm hungry (as opposed to the standard three-meals-a-day routine).

You've hit a very good point here dude, sounds obivous but a lot of people don't do it - simply eat when hungry.

If this means abandoning a meal half way through because you're no longer hungry, do it. If you're then hungry again 30 minutes later, eat something more - if you can't finish this second snack then don't finish it, etc etc. Metabolism is pretty important whether working on weight loss or weight gain.

(One may have to start eating and chewing much slower to become aware of the bodies signals telling you when it's hunger is or isn't satisfied.)

 

[Dorian_Gray]

Do you eat healthy or do you eat lots of greasy food? I'm 26 and I'm 5'10"/165lbs and I burn calories very easily, but then again I eat well (lots of fruits and vegetables, minimum red meat, chicken, pasta and lots and lots of liquid) and I exercise (weight lifting during the winter and 15km of bike a day during the summer - easiest way to lose weight, I find). How many times a day do you eat? I find it easier to control my weight when I just eat whenever I'm hungry (as opposed to the standard three-meals-a-day routine).

this is basically how i lost like 15lbs... but since last month i've been going to the gym 5 times a week

 

[prince_will]

wow. i never really imagined how hard it would be to lose weight when you get older. I felt like shit when i lost 4-5 pounds at the gym in one month. i thought i was a failure. I lost some of the weight by just doing plain old cardio (treadmill, bike) and eating salads (sometimes) at Wendy's instead of a fucking awesome chicken sandwich.
i used to go to the gym like 4 times a week, and stay for at least an hour and a half.

 

[B_New End]

I would never change my diet... (it's fairly healthy anyways), so I had to start running and doing a small home workout regimen.

 

[Not_Punny]

Hello NI, seems to me the "big change" was a change of residence. Dietary habits are hugely different in America.

America is the Home of the Bravely Obese, so pardon me if I say that the Standard American Diet (which has a lot of dairy and beef) is a recipe for weight gain, Growth hormones in our food supply could also be a factor.

So, what were your dietary habits in Korea, and how are they different from now?

 

[B_NineInchCock_160IQ]

To answer some of the questions:

my diet is fairly healthy. I almost never eat fast food. Maybe once a month. I try not to eat out at restaurants too much, I know restaurant food is also often horrible for you, I do that maybe once or twice a week with family. When I eat at home, it's a lot of fruits and vegetables, protein shakes, fiber bars, Healthy Choice/Lean Cuisine meals, yogurt, cereal. I don't eat a "normal" 3 meals a day. I eat a little bit here and there... usually spreading out what I eat into 5 or 6 small snacks and maybe 1 meal over the course of one day.

At the gym I usually do 30 minutes of cardio and 25-45 minutes of weight training. Rarely I swim instead of doing the normal cardio. I run on the elliptical machine 2/3 times, on the fat burner program, do the exercise bike or tread mill the other times. For weight training I try to focus on different muscle groups for different days, but frequently focus on pectorals and abdominals. Sometimes I do more sit ups or push ups after I get home, probably not as often as I should. I use N.O.Xplode supplements before training. I used this before and it seemed to work okay. Haven't noticed any significant gains this time except my arms look bigger.

It occured to me I may just be adding muscle mass while losing fat... but my body doesn't really look any different, so I'm not sure about that. Maybe it's just too early.

Thanks for your input everyone.

 

[B_NineInchCock_160IQ]

Hello NI, seems to me the "big change" was a change of residence. Dietary habits are hugely different in America.

America is the Home of the Bravely Obese, so pardon me if I say that the Standard American Diet (which has a lot of dairy and beef) is a recipe for weight gain, Growth hormones in our food supply could also be a factor.

So, what were your dietary habits in Korea, and how are they different from now?

I ate fast food and pizza in Korea more than here in the States because if I didn't I usually had to eat Korean food and though I really like Korean food it got old every single day. I still ate Korean food pretty much every day, at least for one meal, which consisted mostly of the these chief staples: pickled fermented cabbage, seaweed, rice. Mixed with that was a lot of beef, squid, chicken. I also ate more sushi over there, I found a place by my apartment that was great that I went to frequently.

 

[Not_Punny]

I ate fast food and pizza in Korea more than here in the States because if I didn't I usually had to eat Korean food and though I really like Korean food it got old every single day. I still ate Korean food pretty much every day, at least for one meal, which consisted mostly of the these chief staples: pickled fermented cabbage, seaweed, rice. Mixed with that was a lot of beef, squid, chicken. I also ate more sushi over there, I found a place by my apartment that was great that I went to frequently.

LOL -- totally understand about Korean food! I live in a "town" in Los Angeles where they have great schools, and because of the schools, a lot of Koreans live in this area. Within a two or three mile radius, there are about 11 sushi restaurants a couple of Korean markets, as well as several "fast Korean food" restaurants including a great noodle bowl place. :smile: Yum, I'm going to go eat there as soon as I get off the computer!

But I digress -- the next question is this: What are you eating now, and how is it different than what you were eating before?

 

[burns1de]

To answer some of the questions:

my diet is fairly healthy. I almost never eat fast food. Maybe once a month. I try not to eat out at restaurants too much, I know restaurant food is also often horrible for you, I do that maybe once or twice a week with family. When I eat at home, it's a lot of fruits and vegetables, protein shakes, fiber bars, Healthy Choice/Lean Cuisine meals, yogurt, cereal. I don't eat a "normal" 3 meals a day. I eat a little bit here and there... usually spreading out what I eat into 5 or 6 small snacks and maybe 1 meal over the course of one day.

At the gym I usually do 30 minutes of cardio and 25-45 minutes of weight training. Rarely I swim instead of doing the normal cardio. I run on the elliptical machine 2/3 times, on the fat burner program, do the exercise bike or tread mill the other times. For weight training I try to focus on different muscle groups for different days, but frequently focus on pectorals and abdominals. Sometimes I do more sit ups or push ups after I get home, probably not as often as I should. I use N.O.Xplode supplements before training. I used this before and it seemed to work okay. Haven't noticed any significant gains this time except my arms look bigger.

So far, so good. You're doing it right, but I would try to increase your cardio work out. I do almost 2 hours of cardio a day and I can control my weight at will, almost. Working out your cardio also means working out your entire body, so you can't really go wrong.

It occured to me I may just be adding muscle mass while losing fat... but my body doesn't really look any different, so I'm not sure about that. Maybe it's just too early.

How long as it been since you've started working out regularly and seriously? A month? If so, it IS too early to see important changes, that'll come 2-3 months in, depending on your metabolism, diet (which looks good) and your work out routine (ditto).

 

[ebb33]

I really can recommend the south beach diet. Nothing new, I know. But with this + regular sport I was able to loose about 50 lbs in 1 1/2 year.

 

[wldhoney]

NIC, I have gone thru my own "chubby" stages! (I have a weakness for bread!!)

Up the amount of time you do cardio, at least 40 minutes not counting warm up and cool down. Stay in you target heart range. You body goes into a stage where the percentage of fat being burned goes up as more time goes by.

If you haven't yet, try an elliptical crosstrainer. Not a cheap one, but one that does not jar, is smooth, and has the arm work out as well. I purchased a really good one and it has been worth every penny. I have the heart monitor that goes across the chest, which I no longer need to use, and I set up a varying work out of different levels, and do it while I watch tv for an hour or more.

Even though I do other work outs and the gym, once I started it I noticed a very quick change in my endurance, arms, butt, and thighs.

 

[Not_Punny]

Oops -- sorry. Had not seen the earlier post where you described your current diet.

I could be wrong (and often am) but it sounds to me like you're eating way more dairy, more protein and less complex carbs (especially rice).

I gotta run, and I know I'm just another voice in the wind, but I do have a couple of common cents (two-cents) to add to the mixing bowl. I will post later -- not that anyone is holding their bread I mean breath.