First Time Lurker. First Time Caller

[UsualSuspekt]

Hey y'all,

This is probably time 9,000 attempting to lose weight and I have been rather vigilant for the past 60 days but wasn't noticing any significant difference.

I went from doing strength based training from 45-60 minutes a day to strength and cardio. I am not going to say I cut out everything but I have been consistent in terms of avoiding my normal daily drivers which was salty snacks and soda.

I gave myself one cheat day a week (but I probably would go over board by cheating). The most I have been able to lose on my own is 6lbs.

I wasn't counting calories but now I downloaded an app for my phone which is helping me log my data. According to the app and my obesity, I am supposed consume 1,600 calories a day but with the 600 I am averaging in exercise, I am not sure what I need to eat to really get me over that hump.

I'm guessing I am not getting enough calories and my lack of proper food is turning to fat. I also started taking phentermine to help with cravings and while its been a Godsend, it's also making me extremely depressed.

I am doing everything within my power to make healthier decisions but it just doesn't seem to be enough. If anyone can offer suggestions on how to shed that weight so I can start building muscle and feeling poorly about the way I look, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks.

 

[MrNiceGuy1]

Hello UsualSuspekt and welcome to the forum.

Weight loss is very much like running, in the fact that it’s something you can always return to, regardless of age and level of fitness. Now, I’m not suggesting that you take up running, I’m simply demonstrating that, despite previous efforts, there’s no indeterminate figure that prevents either from being attempted.

Although you may have consulted a calorie counting app, even without knowing your current measurements, I’d suggest that 1600Kcal is the daily amount needed to satisfy your BMR (basal metabolic rate).

If you’re allowing the 600Kcal, burned through exercise, to be deducted from your BMR, its little wonder that you’re not witnessing the results you’d expect, since the body is being placed into a state of under-nourishment.

In order to create a daily calorie deficit, allowing energy stored in fat to be utilised, the 600Kcal expenditure must be deducted from your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure). Given that you’re exercising daily, on a BMR of 1600Kcal, I’d place your TDEE at 2480Kcal.

By deducting 600Kcal from your daily TDEE, it should allow you to negotiate the ‘hump’ rather comfortably, thus, allowing weight loss to be enjoyed at the rate you’d expect, since you’ll still be consuming sufficient calories to satisfy your BMR.

The key to successful weight loss largely rests upon knowing your numbers, based upon intended goals. To provide you with a clearer idea, consult BMR/TDEE calculators, whilst taking into consideration that as weight is lost, the calories needed to satisfy both BMR and TDEE will change.

To build muscle, you need to consume sufficient calories to support that aim. By consuming around 2500Kcal on daily basis, ensuring that protein intake accounts for around 1g per lb of body weight, you’ll ensure that the body utilises fat, and not existing muscle mass, to provide the energy needed to support your intended level of endeavour.

In response to your suggestion that lack of proper food is turning to fat, that’s not what’s happening at all. The reason you feel sluggish is due to the fact the body isn’t being provided with sufficient calories. Consequently, due to the fact you’ve probably deducted your expenditure from your BMR, as opposed to your TDEE, your levels of energy are suffering.

Based upon your level activity, by increasing calorie intake closer to your TDEE, you should find that energy levels increase, whilst also improving the amount of weight lost on a weekly/monthly basis.