Crap, my waist is getting bigger...please help!

[John Tony]

When I started SS I was in the same boat as you. I am 5'7" and 200lbs. I started SS on Dec 12 2012 and my weight has stayed the same (within 2-3lbs). My pants fit looser in the waist and tighter in the thighs and my shirts are looser around the stomach but tighter in the chest/shoulder area. The only things I focused on my diet were getting at least 200g protein a day and keeping calories ~2500. This has not affected my recovery and I have not stalled on any weights yet. A typical day looks like this:

Breakfast- burrito (eggs, sausage cheese salsa) 1 cup of milk- 31g protein
Snack- Protein bar 1 cup of milk- 26g protein
Lunch- 2 cans of tuna with mustard and a piece of fruit- 40g protein
Snack- 1 cup cottage cheese 1 cup blueberries- 26g protein
Dinner- chicken/salmon/steak/lean beef with rice and or veggies- 30g protein
Snack- protein shake with 1 cup of milk and peanut butter 52g protein

Recently I have eliminated 1 cup of milk and occasionally skip breakfast with no detrimental effects to my training/recovery.

It can be done. I found it extremely helpful to read food labels and keep a log daily for the first 2-3 weeks so I knew exactly what I was eating and how much. That can of soda, the candy bar, mcdonalds etc. all adds up. Keeping a log will open your eyes to little things you never even thought of. I know that it really helped me pick up on things I needed to change.

Hope this helped in some way.

[rubinglen]

That does help. Encouraging to hear you had good results at 2500 or less. Probably, a good number for me to try dropping down to.

[Greg C]

That does help. Encouraging to hear you had good results at 2500 or less. Probably, a good number for me to try dropping down to.

Recommend an incremental decrease in calories - about 500 an increment. Drop 500, wait a week for it to settle. Wash, rinse repeat as necessary.

You will stall faster is the consequence of doing this than just eating until linear progression ends.

[HiTekLuddite]

Hi,

I am in a similar boat. I thought my diet was pretty good, then my (former) trainer suggested I put everything I ate for a week in the Livestrong website's "my plate" thingy and I was shocked to see the difference between what I thought I was eating, and what I actuall ate...

Good luck with your goals!

HTL

[sappbe]

I found this site to be relatively useful http://nutritiondata.self.com/ . Like was said before, it sounds like you really don't have a good hold on what you are actually consuming. I would also second dropping the nuts, cutting back on the milk, and supplementing with whey. You could try snacking on some jerky in place of your nuts; good protein but far less calorically dense.

[GHK]

I found this site to be relatively useful http://nutritiondata.self.com/ . Like was said before, it sounds like you really don't have a good hold on what you are actually consuming. I would also second dropping the nuts, cutting back on the milk, and supplementing with whey. You could try snacking on some jerky in place of your nuts; good protein but far less calorically dense.

Thanks from me.... I was snacking on nuts and dried fruit but now seem to find that they are too much fat as my weight was creeping up while I am trying to reduce flaboguts.

[melody]

Thanks from me.... I was snacking on nuts and dried fruit but now seem to find that they are too much fat as my weight was creeping up while I am trying to reduce flaboguts.

Dried fruits are super high in sugar.

[Alexis]

GOMAD is definitely targeted at skinny people. AT your height I would DEF drop below 3000kcal.

[Bazza20]

Thanks patrick for that link...great read and explained a lot. I will definitely cut back on the carbs and go for a more paleo (a la mark sisson) type diet. On a positive note I looked at the serving size info on my jar of nuts and figured out that I am not doing 3 cups a day....more like 1/2 - 3/4 of a cup.

Don't do that.

After reading your posts it seems you have really no idea how many calories you are eating.

First count calories for a week to see how much you are eating. Then lower by 10% and give it a couple weeks to see what happens before you change it again.

Paleo and cutting carbs won't make you lose weight if you don't lower your calorie intake.

Also don't just blindly follow calorie amounts eg 2500. Dropping your calories too low will kill progress. You want your calories low enough to loose fat but not so low it effects your workouts.

[maxde1]

im in the same boat as this dude. on SS and lifting ok, getting better. im 6ft and now 193lb. i was 82kg now 87.5. i now consume 3000 - 3500 calories a day tracked with my iphone ap. i have put on 5-5.5kg in 4-5 weeks. my 34inch pant are tight as now and i dont want to go to 36 in the waist! im getting stronger but my stomach is getting fatter visibly.....
i was going to cut calories to 2500 less carbs still 250-300g of protein per day.

what do you guys recommend?