Why Can't I Lose It?!

T

thefinn

New member
I'm a 20 year old male, 6'0 in height and just under 140 lbs. I would definitely say that I'm a skinny guy, however my body seems to choose to store any fat I do have in my lower abdominal area and I just can't get it to go away. I started back at the gym 6 weeks ago and generally run about 4k 4 to 5 times a week. I am eating about 1800 calories a day. I've tried for years to get rid of my lower stomach flab and I have never once been successful. I also do weight routines a couple times a week, focusing much of my attention on my abdominals. I've read that you can easily have a toned stomach but if there is fat there you'll never see it. I'm thinking this is the case for me.

I'm at my wits end. I'm tired of going to the gym all the time and my stomach never changes...even a little bit. It's just always the same. I vary the intensity of my cardio workouts with many intervals of high and low intensity. I do a variety of cardio work, including running, walking, jogging and using the elliptical machines.

I just want to be able to go to the beach this summer without a shirt!
 
6'0 and 140 lbs? Yowch. My ex is 6'1" and at 140 lbs (right out of the Marines) he looked emaciated.

And at your stats, eating 1800 calories is eating under your BMR - you're not even eating at maintenance to be healthy.

I'm going to take a stab here and say that you've been undereating for so long that you're stunting your ability to gain muscle. So your workouts are probably ultimately unproductive except to maintain the limited amount of muscle that you have.

I'd say at this point, what you need to do is switch your focus from weight loss to muscle building. Stop looking at the number on the scale and start looking at the composition of your body.

Start eating at around 2500 calories and focus on HEALTHY foods. Start with lots of lean protein (about 140g of protein per day), lots of veggies, a little fruit, about 25% of your diet from healthy fats, and then make up the rest of your calories from complex carbs and whole grains.

Post more about your routine in working out and we can probably give you some advice there as well. I would recommend full body workouts 3x a week (with a full day of rest between) and cutting back on the cardio just a little until you start seeing some muscle mass developing.
 
What do your 1800 cals consist of? You'll need to be at about 5% bodyfat ratio to really see your abs like you want. Increase protein and low sugar carbs (ie -- leafy greens, green veggies, salad, etc). Drop the fat content of your food as low as possible. Get rid of starchy carbs like bread, pasta, etc. Also, increase your weight routines and how much you do. If you build more mass without increasing your calories, you'll burn more calories by default. That ought to help.

Cheers,

bluemomma
 
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