Waistline will not reduce, despite all efforts :(

S

SadFatMan

New member
Hi All,

I am 38 years old and have been told by my doctor to loose weight or die before I hit 50. I weigh about 112kg and have been battling weight all my life, it has come to dominate everything i do... and I am at witts end and miserable.

I have tried every excercise regime, every diet, every weight loss program and the inches just continue to stay on my waist.

For the last two years I have been throwing everything at this problem, here is what I am currently doing:

A) Training with a personal trainer 3 times a week
B) Cardio sessions, 3 times a week
C) 1 'day off' from gym workouts

My workouts are broken into three seperate sessions, legs, chest and back. Some numbers:

Squatting about 120kg
Bencing about 130kg
Deadlifting about 140kg

I can run on treadmills, use rowing machines, blast away on a cross trainer for 45 mins at high settings, sweat like a pig and nothing works.

I am following a 1600 calorie day diet with macro and micro nutrients, keeping hydrated and taking high quality whey protien post-workout, I am also taking a daily supllement of L-Glutamine and other vitamins.

No sugar in my diet, No fried foot, diet has been put together by my Doctor and nutritionist.

As I said, this has been going on for two years now and I just had an assessment...

Despite all this work, I have not lost a SINGLE INCH off my fat wasit :( I've packed on muscle, my cardio capacity is higher (much higher), but I can't get rid of this damned FAT!

I can out-bench, outlift and out power most guys in the gym, I cario harder than most other people, do everything i can but my body refuses to shed any of the weight it has accrued around my middle.

My doctor doesn't believe me, he tells me to 'say off the snacks' with a smile on his face and says I need to drop about 25kg or I'll have problems in a few years...

The worst part is that my trainer can't understand it, My doctor is bemused and doesn't seem to believe me either, people keep making jokes about food around me and I feel terrible, whenever i go to a family function my well meaning family give me 'small' or 'half' sized serves, as if I'm some food junky that needs to be managed.

I'm at witts end here, my trainer can't believe that I'm not loosing any fat, despite putting on huge muscle gains.

Blood tests reveal nothing unusual.

What can I do? I'm told I can't reduce calories any more and I can't realistily excercise any more than I already am.

My trainer says that my body may be incapable of metabolising any more fat as the 'fat set point' has been left too high for too long and years of yo-yo dieting may have wrecked my endocrine system.

I'm now considering mega-lipo, I've not 'gained' any fat for about five years and my body weight is steady, it's just .. got a lot of fat on it.

Has anyone else encountered similiar problems?

-SadFatMan
 
Hmm, I can see why your doctor would not believe you. We see a lot of people (I did a GP rotation once for a few weeks) who claim not to eat anything at all and still are obese... and all of them are lying. To us but also to themselves.

Your story sounds like one of those, I am not saying you are lying, but I can see why your doctor would think so. Are you absolutely sure you only eat 1600 cals? Are you completely sure you are counting every single item you put in your mouth? Sometimes we think we eat nothing but are actually piling on the calories by eating a bite here and a bite there. Or maybe you miscalculate in your portion sizes?

Otherwise, if your thyroid function is normal, all your bloodlevels are normal, you do eat 1600 cals and work out 6 days a week, you are a pretty unique case! I mean a body works pretty straight-forwardly... you put energy in and you get energy out of it. If in is less than out you need to burn reserves (carbs first and then fat). Where does your body get the reserves if it isn't eating into your fat? I mean no way can a 112 kg man work out 45 minutes at a high level cardio machine and not start burning reserves if he hasn't eaten a ton!

Again I am not saying you are lying, but I am quite baffled by your case. Maybe change dr. but to be honest most nutritionists or even general practitioners will think you are lying. I am really sorry this is happening to you, I have no real advice other than write down every single thing that crosses your lips for a week and report to someone (us for instance), write down every single minute of exercise you do every day and report to the same source. Then see if you really are eating and exercising at the level you think and bring that document to your doc...

Sorry I could not help more, Camy
 
How are you measuring your fat levels ? you usually can't gain a lot of muscle if you are in a calorie deficit, are you sure you are measuring your food intake corectly ? do you weigh your food or jus guess ? added strength does not always = added muscle.
 
Yes, actually I have had the exact same issue. I sometimes overeat (maybe up to 2400 calories, nothing too extreme) or cut out exercise for a few weeks, but I've generally been dieting for freakin 2 years with no results and actually a 10 lb weight gain (after I had lost 30 lbs). Sure some weeks I eat more than I should, but never THAT much. And there are so many weeks where I carefully weigh everything and track my calories and exercise everyday vigorously, and I can't get past a certain plateau weight. Its totally frustrating. I got the same reaction from an endorinologist, who recommended I eat less and exercise. As if I'm not a freakin EXPERT in diet and exercise!! I am now working with a doctor who is checking my hormones to see if that might give us some insight. I am testing the saliva 9 times over a 28 day time frame to see if they are fluctuating normally. I assume you checked your thryoid? I'm also trying green tea extract, which is known to slightly speed up fat loss. I do know how you feel though, and probably the worst is when people think you somehow dont know how to count calories or weigh your food right. You just must be overexaggerating something (exercising) or minimizing something (food intake). Well actually our hormonal system and other systems are extremely complex and it is naiive to suggest that fat loss solely comes about if you just eat and burn the right number of calories. For most people yes, but sometimes there is something off in the system that just seems to prevent this. But I'm still not giving up! Trying AGAIN!
 
The one thing that stood out like a red flag to me is that you said you've had "huge muscle gains". You can't gain huge amounts of muscle in a calorie deficit. It just doesn't work.

So the question is then, how much ARE you eating? I'm not calling you a liar ... I'm just wondering if you're truly accurately measuring everything you're eating. I just cannot even begin to imagine that a 240lb man could eat 1600 calories AND workout at that level and not lose weight. It's just physically impossible.
 
Obviously he is not in a calorie deficit because his metabolism is very slow. Hence why he is maintaining his high weight despite eating a low amount of calories and exercising. And that is why it is easily possible to put on muscle mass. I certainly very easily put on muscle mass too, including when dieting. I've lifted since 1993 so I know what I'm doing and seeing.

With regard to weight, not everything is as cut and dried for everyone though it indeed is for MOST people. Our bodies are very complex machines and dont work just like clock work all the time. That is from someone who lost about 1 pound a week reliably for an entire year, and that weight loss coincided PRECISELY with my calculated calorie deficit. However, one day that stopped working, despite my STILL knowing how to count calories and work-out.
 
Hi All,

:( Yep, seeing the same sort of replies here too... "I am not callinig you a lier but...", it used to make me angry but not any more.

OK, to those who asked, yes I track everything I eat, everything is weighed and measured for calories, fat content, micro nutrients and fat nutrients, I can cut and paste months worth of boring food diary entries if you like or attach them to a post.

It takes any enjoyment out of eating, it may as well all be grey chalk bricks, planning our every morsel of food you will eat for the entire day:

I do eat a lot of protein, good protein, in my diet.. very little carbs in the evening:

Here's a typical day...

Breakfast - 4 Wheetbix biscuits with low fat milk and half a bannana, cup of green tea with no sugar, a small glass of fresh orange juice.

Mid Morning - Small tub of low fat youghurt (50-75g), or a small tin of Tuna (90g), glass of water.

Lunch - Some brown rice, with lean mince, red kidney beans and some salad (no dressing) in a small bowl

Afternoon - Some Pieces of fruit from home, apple, bananna, pear (about 90g worth, not a lot). OR small tub of yoghurt (sometimes i'll swap the tuna and youghurt for mid-moring / afternoon).

Evening - Lean piece of meat, chicken, lamb or beef, with steamed veggies. last night it was lean red steak with brocollini and asparagus, no dressings or sauces.

Post-weight session is 1 scoop of Whey Protein with 1teaspoon of L-Glutamine and 1 teaspoon of Dextrose powder to aid protein absorbtion.

On non weight training days calorie intake is just about 1550 calories, on weight training days the calorie intake is about 1650 calories, give or take about 10/15 calories, I've had this reviewed by trainer dietition and they say its good.

You'll notice not much carbs in evevning, you WILL get carbs from veggies but you can't be silly about avoiding them, I don't carb-load in evenings.

Anyway, hope that helps...

Anything you think I need to change?

-SadFatMan
 
So of course it sounds counterintuitive, and I have tried it to no avail, but many people have started losing weight again when they increase their calories. How about increasing your calories by 100 calories per day each week until you are at a normal maintenance calories of at least 1900-2000 for a few weeks. Supposedly you may put on a few pounds at first but will hopefully lose those as your metabolism starts to speed up again. This has worked for people on this board is how I know of it. Its worth a shot as it does sound like you have tried the proper stringent methods. Maybe do a little shake up, more carbs and more food for a bit? Have you tried this yet? Best wishes to you :).
 
I agree with Blancita your food looks good. what is your workouts like cardio intensity? etc. what is your resting HR like ? what HR range are you usually working in ? intervals or steady state ?

your bench is good but squat and deadlift are a little low for a male your size.
 
Yeah.. whilst I am no expert ...I was going to say something similar.. at 112kgs 1600 cals is pretty low.. I am eating 1500 and not doing anything like the exercise you are and losing at least 1kg per week of fat. it is all coming off my belly (lost about 10cm so far in 3 weeks.

I would suggest you up your cals a little on a trial basis also.. try adding some natural almonds or other good nuts they are very calorie dense.

but again I am no expert, but given the experts are all scratching their heads I would give it a go!
 
Actually my next response was going to be exactly what Blancita suggested. Note that I'm not a professional, so all disclaimers apply ... but is it possible that at your weight and doing the amount of exercise that you're doing, that you're not eating ENOUGH and you've depressed your metabolism with 2+ years of extremely low cals?

Maybe eating a little more and trying to ease your metabolism UP ... ?
 
Hi,

Yeah, i've tried boosting calories by about 100 per day. What happens is that I begin to slooowly put more fat on around my waistline, say I boost by 100 calories per day for a couple of weeks...

I will put an INCH on my waistline, an entire inch.. or one belt notch :(

Now here's where it gets weird. If I go back to my 'normal' calorie intake as described in a previous post that inch will come off! But once that inch has come off... no more will come off.

It's like the body has some 'set point' for body fat that will not change. If I cut calories by 100 per day I will see loss of strength as my body begins to break down muscle tissue whilst leaving fat untouched.

:(

Trusylver said:
I agree with Blancita your food looks good. what is your workouts like cardio intensity? etc. what is your resting HR like ? what HR range are you usually working in ? intervals or steady state ?

your bench is good but squat and deadlift are a little low for a male your size.
Click to expand...

This is where it gets even weirder...

Blood Pressure... 115/76
Resting HR... 50-55

Cardio intensity is 'high', typically for 45 mins in 3 15min 'mini sessions', where I change the excercise to keep shocking the body.

I suffered a back injury (whilst squatting) a while ago, nothing too serious so am rebuilding leg strength, should be back to mid 100's soon.
 
Last edited:
btw.. you haven't said what your waist measurement is.. What are we talking here in terms of the "fat" on your stomach.. a few pockets of loose soft material or solid type beer gut.. or hanging flab?
 
hi (we will have to change your name...i can't call you sadfatman!!)

have you had your thyroid checked?? my mum & aunts all gained weight in their 40's & 50's...it wasn't till yrs later that they were told they all had under active thyroids with medication they have all since lost the weight. (though of course they had to increase their exercise etc too) i've had mine checked a couple of times too just incase but so far ok just slightly borderline.

hope coming on here helps you feel a little happier!!! :)


edit...
just noticed this question has already been asked!!
 
SadFatMan said:
Hi,

Yeah, i've tried boosting calories by about 100 per day. What happens is that I begin to slooowly put more fat on around my waistline, say I boost by 100 calories per day for a couple of weeks...

I will put an INCH on my waistline, an entire inch.. or one belt notch :(

Now here's where it gets weird. If I go back to my 'normal' calorie intake as described in a previous post that inch will come off! But once that inch has come off... no more will come off.

It's like the body has some 'set point' for body fat that will not change. If I cut calories by 100 per day I will see loss of strength as my body begins to break down muscle tissue whilst leaving fat untouched.

This is where it gets even weirder...

Blood Pressure... 115/76
Resting HR... 50-55
Click to expand...

Interesting. I also easily take off the new weight, which is usually just water but can be up to 5 lbs. Once that water weight comes off though, no matter what I seem to do the weight I have just stays. And I also have very good blood pressure and my resting heart rate is very low (around 60-65). I am quite fit, but this weight will no longer budge. If you find your answer, please us know. As for me, I have resigned myself to this weight, which isn't toooo too bad at a size 12 pant. It could be a lot worse. Of course I'm only 5'2" so I could stand to lose at least 10 lbs but alas, I am struggling and working hard just to maintain this weight. I will have to make sure I dont put on any new weight because the new 5 lbs I put on last Fall will no longer budge and now THIS higher weight is my plateau weight. Grrrrrr. I feel for you buddy, especially when you're constantly accused of not knowing what you're doing when it comes to calories and exercise. Best of luck figuring this out :seeya:.
 
It sounds exactly like what I am going through at the moment...

Some things you could look at would be your consumption of low-fat prods, I know they can be higher GI which means sometimes they can cause insulin spikes (esp the milk and OJ) which will make weight loss harder. (There is a link between women drinking low-fat milk and becoming infertile too). Also, perhaps you could increase your calories bc it sounds like your metabolism is slowing down. Could you consider eating no sugars (even fruit) for a couple of weeks and see what happens?

Stay in the loop and I hope you get over this hurdle really soon; there is a way out, you just have to stick with it till you find it. :)
 
Kori said:
btw.. you haven't said what your waist measurement is.. What are we talking here in terms of the "fat" on your stomach.. a few pockets of loose soft material or solid type beer gut.. or hanging flab?
Click to expand...

My waist measurement is huge... 102cm :(

I've got a bit of an overhand on the front, not much on the flanks though it's there, it's like this belt of fat around my midrif, there's no fact on my legs or upper body or face... it looks bizzare.

The fat is extremely soft and pliable, like that neoprene stuff you see keyboard wrist supports made of, the fat on my bely is soft also, I'm told it's all subcutaneous fat as opposed to visceral fat, but if there's a bit of subct, fact there's likely to be a bit of visceral fat also, one goes with the other.

But no, no big solid beer gut... just this fat-suit like 'belt of fat' :(

-SadFatMan
 
Then I say lipo it dude! If its nice n' soft then it can easily come out, and then you will feel good while you continue to eat healthy and exercise to maintain your weight (minus the flab on the stomach). I had done lipo on my stomach in 2000, and once the fat cells are removed, they dont come back until you gain a ton of weight. So I would gain weight everywhere else, but very little on my stomach. I have always fluctuated in weight by 5 to 10 lbs, when I gained 70 lbs during my pregnancy. That seemed to have created new fat cells so I was gaining LOTS on my stomach after that. But 10 years with a small stomach (even when I would gain on my hips, legs and butt) was a great result!
 
Ta for the advice... but I went a while ago to a clinic that does Lip and guess what?

I'm TOO FAT for Lipo! :( Here in Australia Lipo is highly regulated, I am told I need to loose about 25kg of fat in order to qualify for lipo, which just adds to my depression...

So i've gone and created a 500 calorie a day deficit in my diet, i'm down to about 1100 - 1200 calories a day now.

Hopefully this plus activity will be what I need to do, it'll be hard but I have no idea what else to do. Just retreat back to the old 'slash and burn' regarding energy intake. this time i'm going to keep cutting calories... don't care if I starve.. this fat's comming OFF. I'm happy to loose muscle power if that goes as well...

-SadFatMan
 
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