stopped losing weight at 205

[audiophyle]

I started dieting and have lost about 40 pounds slowly over the course of 5 months. I've been overweight all my life and one day just decided to stop. So anyways, i'm down to 205 and i cant seem to lose anymore. I've stayed in between 203-206 for the past month without any progress. I keep my calories under 2400/day. I'm 6'4" 19 years old. Should i drop the calories even more?? I also started doing cardio regularly and do 2 miles on the treadmill every other day or so. I've been lifting weights since i started dieting and have gotten decent results (I can tell i'm building muscle because I can lift more) but i cant seem to get rid of what fat i have left so its difficult to tell that i'm getting stronger. A friend of mine recomended protein so i've been eating more tuna and meats and bought a protein powder but i'm not quite sure how much protein i'm supposed to have per day. One of the trainers at the gym told me that i should just have one scoop (~24g protein) before i work out, and one scoop after. Is this too little? I must admit I eat alot of carbs, mostly from cereal (no sugary shit, just corn flakes and rice crispies) and alot of bread for tuna sandwiches etc. Should I cut back on carbs? Ive heard conflicting opinions on carbs. Some say all carbs are bad, and others tell me only simple carbs are bad and that bread and potatoes wont cause me any problems. Which one is true? anyways, thanks for any advice!!

 

[Him1]

Audiophyle:just corn flakes and rice crispies

I think you may be mixed up on Low and High-GI carbs. Those aren't optimal choices. Try oatmeal instead of cold cereal, as there are only a few that aren't pure sugar(Rice Crispies are NOT one of them) Sweet Potatoes, Whole Wheat Bread only, and Brown rice are examples of low glycemic carbs. I'd do some reading in the diet archives, that should clear some things up for ya.

 

[mojokid]

Audiophyle

I was/am sorta in the same boat as you are. I've lost a lot of weight and it has stopped. Muscle building is important because muscle burns fat, but you can only do one at a time, either build muscle or get cut ( burn fat )

I would follow a CKD If I were you for like 8 weeks and you should see some good fat loss, I'd cut the carbs except for the carb ups on weekends ( as per the CKD ) and when you do carb up eat good carbs ( oatmeal, brown rice, sweet potatoes, whole wheat stuff )

Keep the cardio up and weight training up but cut the carbs.

Too much protein can convert to glucose and stunt fat loss.

 

[audiophyle]

whats CKD

Whats is CKD and where can i read about it? I'm kinda new to all of this. Thanks for the replies

 

[Surgical]

You could try changing your cardio to different sources: bike one day, treadmill next time, stair stepper next time. You can also change the intensity of the workout. When doing cardio try 2 minutes high intensity, then 1 minute moderate intensity. You have to keep changing it to see results in fat reduction. Your body gets used to one routine and after a while it doesn't work.

 

[WODIN]

You are 6-4 and 203? You're skinny!

The main reason you are lifting more is that your base line metabolic rates are up and you are producing more test now than you were with a lower metabolic burn rate.

How many meals are you doing with the 2500 K? And your daily intake is fine. You don't need to lose any more weight, you just need to adjust a few things diet wise.

 

[audiophyle]

How many meals are you doing with the 2500 K?

I usually have 4-5 small meals and 1 or 2 snacks (vegetable or fruit) per day.
I know 205 at 6-4 sounds skinny, but i still have no abs and the lovehandles arent gone yet. Is CKD something I should look into? I've done a little bit of research and the before and after pictures look fantastic! My main fear is that I will lose alot of muscle with the fat. Is it possible to lose weight on CKD and maintain muscle?
One other question, what is the optimum weight for someone my height?

 

[Burning_Inside]

I usually have 4-5 small meals and 1 or 2 snacks (vegetable or fruit) per day.
I know 205 at 6-4 sounds skinny, but i still have no abs and the lovehandles arent gone yet. Is CKD something I should look into? I've done a little bit of research and the before and after pictures look fantastic! My main fear is that I will lose alot of muscle with the fat. Is it possible to lose weight on CKD and maintain muscle?
One other question, what is the optimum weight for someone my height?

A CKD is all about maintaining muscle..I'ts basically designed for bodybuilders to cut down while maintaining their mass, or most of it anyway. What happens is, the body wants to use whatever source of fuel is more abundant in the bloodstream, so when you have a lot of fat floating around, you're going to switch over to using ketones (kinda like what glucose is to carbohydrates..it's what the body breaks the nutrient down into for energy) for fuel instead of glucose.

the reasoning that the CKD is "protein sparing" goes like this..there's a process done by your liver and kidneys called gluconeogenesis. What this is, is basically a way to make glucose for the body if there's not a lot of it floating in the bloodstream. What it does is pretty much break down the body's own protein stores (muscle) for glucose. Now the thing is, is that the need for gluconeogenesis goes down as the more fats are found in the blood to run on instead of carbs. So this way, you won't be burning much if any muscle. It's also clinically proven that the body can maintain it's lean body mass on only 15% of it's BMR (bodyweightx12 or so) calories per day coming from protein consumption.

In contrast, carbs can be protein sparing also, because of course they would eliminate the need for gluconeogenesis, however guess what, they're also fat sparing too. Why would your body want to burn fat if it's got an abundance of carbs? And fat is what we want to burn, not carb stores, since the body has none lol.

So as you can see, the CKD is a great diet. In 3 weeks I'm down another inch around my belly button (I never measure waist) and I'm at a little under 175 now, starting from 180. I have the same problem as you, I'm tall, like 6'3" or so, but I don't have a permanent 8 pack yet, which is my goal, and no matter what i will get there, skinny looking or not. being skinny, tall, and having abs could land me a modeling gig somewhere.

 

[audiophyle]

awesome, thank you so much! You cleared up alot of issues I was confused about.

I only have a few other questions and i'll get back to researching

First, how often should you use a CKD diet? Is it a once a year type thing? Or is it ok to do it as often as necessary?
Second, what kind of diet should I go to after my CKD is done? I'm assuming I should go straight into some type of muscle building diet? Or is it best to start with a maintenance diet?
Thanks again, this forum kicks ass!

 

[Burning_Inside]

awesome, thank you so much! You cleared up alot of issues I was confused about.

I only have a few other questions and i'll get back to researching

First, how often should you use a CKD diet? Is it a once a year type thing? Or is it ok to do it as often as necessary?
Second, what kind of diet should I go to after my CKD is done? I'm assuming I should go straight into some type of muscle building diet? Or is it best to start with a maintenance diet?
Thanks again, this forum kicks ass!

do the diet for about 8 weeks. Don;t worry about what to do after till the time comes.

READ these articles. All you need to know.
Mr.X's CKD manual (must sign up at Massmonsters.com which is free)

Mr.X's CKD worksheet, must sign up at massmonsters.

Low carb FAQ

Lyle McDonald's CKD faq (Lyle is a CKD guru)