40 and can’t lose weight!

[Dline5603]

BLUF: I’m thinking about taking 20mg/day of anavar along with tirzepitide for 4-6 weeks. I’m basing this on this study. https://www.researchgate.net/public...ne_and_the_durability_of_effects_in_older_men

I’m looking for advice on getting a little boost to help lose weight. My intentions are not to gain and maintain lean mass or see bigger numbers in the gym, but I also don’t want to lose anymore lean mass or strength than I need to. I’m extremely overweight 6’ 315 lbs in spite of more than a year of strict dieting and intense exercise.

I pre package my meals for the week to make sure I stay around 2000 (usually more like 1800) calories per day and honestly don’t really get hungry. I’d eat less but it makes it hard to get enough protein when I do.

My workouts consist of cardio 6 days a week. I run a mile every Monday and am down to about 10 min which sucks, but at my weight it feels like my knees and ankles are going to explode. 3 days are variations of sprint or interval training on the rower or bike. 1 day I ruck 3-4 miles at about a 15 min pace. And 1 day is a long slow recovery walk.

After cardio I do 2 days a week of hypertrophy or strength training and 2 days a week of circuit training. I’m back to being as strong as I was 5 years ago before I let myself go to shit. For example I did 5 sets of 5 incline bench at 315 lbs yesterday. Which isn’t great for a 315lb man but is good for 230 which is what I should weigh.

I’ve also added some 6 hour orienteering courses the last couple of months to give me something to work towards. I’m not winning any prizes, but I’m not finishing last either.

I’ve done this consistently for a year and a half and have gone from 335-315. I can’t really push much harder because I already feel like I’m on the verge of injury all the time. If I lose some major fat I will be able to push the running longer and harder, but the last 3 months I’ve lost nothing.

My only experience with steroids is about a decade ago someone I worked with didn’t want to use the oral wynstrol they had purchased and told me “it’s pretty weak, I don’t want to add it to my stack and I don’t want to waste it” After doing no research I decided to half the dosage he told me and in eight weeks my bench press shot from 430 max to I don’t know because my joints hurt too bad to find out and I didn’t trust the 180 lb guy who gave me the pills to spot me for more than 5 reps at 460 lbs. My weight went from 230 to 265 in that time and I was still running 5 miles around 35 minutes although the extra weight made breathing harder. 6 months later I went through an intense 2 month training program that had me under 200 lbs and all of the gains were gone.

All of this is to say that before everyone responds that I’m a lazy fat fuck and I don’t know how to train and diet, that’s only partially true. I was that for about 5 years which let me get this fat, but should be getting better results from the work I’m putting in and don’t want to be 75 before I reach a healthy weight. Also the next guy that has never worked hard in his life and looks like a deflated balloon because he lost 80lbs on semaglutide by walking his dog every night might get punched in the face if he tells me I must not be counting my calories right. I don’t think those guys are on this forum.

Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Ghoul]

FFS. Tens of thousands of people successfully lost substantial weight, and kept it off for years, by using Sema or Tirz according to the basic pharma protocol.

Here we have the most effective solution for durable weight loss and significant improvement to every aspect of health, basically as close to miracle drugs as was ever discovered, and you want to reinvent the wheel by jumping on then off a GLP and expecting that to work.

Get on one of the fucking GLPs. Titrate up according to the pharma protocol, and discard the notion you have that they're diet pills and not hormones that boost the level of what you're lacking, like insulin for a diabetic, and can be stopped without your dysfunctional appetite causing you to regain the weight sooner or later,

You're already in a great position because you know the importance of protein and resistance training. Just get your metabolic hormone deficiency corrected with a GLP, silencing the "food noise" so your conscious mind will be in charge of what you eat, and you'll be good to go.

 

[adrenalytic]

I'll give you the dumb version. Calories in < Calories out and you will lose weight. It's as simple as that. You're either lying or delusional about your diet. The calories are coming from somewhere. Learn to eat like a healthy adult. Maybe get your free T3/T4 checked. And get on a GLP-1. Good luck.

P.S. Just anavar is dumb. Are you a burn victim or do you have AIDS?

 

[Dline5603]

FFS. Tens of thousands of people successfully lost substantial weight, and kept it off for years, by using Sema or Tirz according to the basic pharma protocol.

Here we have the most effective solution for durable weight loss and significant improvement to every aspect of health, basically as close to miracle drugs as was ever discovered, and you want to reinvent the wheel by jumping on then off a GLP and expecting that to work.

Get on one of the fucking GLPs. Titrate up according to the pharma protocol, and discard the notion you have that they're diet pills and not hormones that boost the level of what you're lacking, like insulin for a diabetic, and can be stopped without your dysfunctional appetite causing you to regain the weight sooner or later,

You're already in a great position because you know the importance of protein and resistance training. Just get your metabolic hormone deficiency corrected with a GLP, silencing the "food noise" so your conscious mind will be in charge of what you eat, and you'll be good to go.

I don’t think you read the post or maybe my wording was confusing. I fully agree with you and the plan is to use the tirz as directed. I guess the way I stated it made it sound like I was going to jump off of it. I was asking about adding anavar for a short time up front in order to maintain as much lean mass as possible since rebuilding lean mass after 40 is much harder then maintaining it as long as you can.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[BigDadd7]

I don’t think you read the post or maybe my wording was confusing. I fully agree with you and the plan is to use the tirz as directed. I guess the way I stated it made it sound like I was going to jump off of it. I was asking about adding anavar for a short time up front in order to maintain as much lean mass as possible since rebuilding lean mass after 40 is much harder then maintaining it as long as you can.

Thanks for the advice.

Nobody wants to read all that. It's nine miles of text on a diet plan that should be two sentences long.

"I plan to take tirz as directed specifically by the manufacturer. I will exercise regularly."

That's all you need to say and all you need to do. Dont over complicate it. Good luck.

 

[Matty_G]

Anavar won’t do shit if you’re fat.

 

[Dline5603]

I'll give you the dumb version. Calories in < Calories out and you will lose weight. It's as simple as that. You're either lying or delusional about your diet. The calories are coming from somewhere. Learn to eat like a healthy adult. Maybe get your free T3/T4 checked. And get on a GLP-1. Good luck.

P.S. Just anavar is dumb. Are you a burn victim or do you have

Good to know.

 

[RockyP]

Ok so step one is to take the GLP-1 as directed. Easy peezy.

2000 calories for a 300 lb male, whether it's fat or muscle, is absurd. You could be losing weight easily and swiftly eating 3500 calories per day. You may have done some metabolic damage here that needs to be reversed out of. I see this often in women but men too. Eating too little and doing lots of cardio is the EXACT opposite of what you should be doing. You should focus on resistance training and just do steps for extra activity (to start with anyway). By eating 1800-2000 calories and doing all this cardio you've instructed your body to slow your metabolism and pare down muscle.

The complication now is that once you get on a GLP-1 and take it appropriately, you likely wont want to eat more than 2500 calories. I would say eat as much as you can without being uncomfortable. You will lose weight. But you need to start as high as you can calorie wise to 1) fuel workouts and 2) give yourself somewhere to go from here. I'll use myself as an example. I ran tirzepatide for about 10 weeks. Great compound, would go back to it if Reta did not exist. The problem for me was that it really hit my appetite too hard and at 240 lbs I could barely get 2300-2500 calories in, which was not enough to maintain my training. I switched to Reta and i've been able to get in 2800 - 3500 and wouldn't you know it, the fat loss accelerated with the increase in calories. This happens quite often when people are overdieted. I take prescribed thyroid medication and my Free t3 is just above the upper limit of normal, but even with that on board, your body can down regulate metabolism if it thinks it's starving.

So,

1. GLP-1
2. No more running. Save your joints.
3. 10k steps (walking), or as much as you want
4. Resistance training 4-5 days per week
5. 1 gram of protein per pound of your ideal lean bodyweight (if you want to be 220 lbs lean, eat 220 g protein - at least)
6. Don't be afraid of carbs. The GLP-1 will (over time) enhance you insulin sensitivity and you will be able to process them. They rev your metabolism and spare muscle.
7. Skip the anavar and any PED's. You dont need them. All you need are healthy test levels. HRT is more than enough (and GH if you must).
8. If i didn't mention it before, stop fucking running.

 

[adrenalytic]

No more running. Save your joints.

idk man, interval running on the tmill is a huge reason for this transformation:



the idea behind it being that maintaining a zone 2 HR for a period of say 5 mins. then doing the same period in zone 4 then cooling down to zone 2 for the same period doing that for a minimum of 4 intervals per session (ideally 3-5 times per week) is like mitochondrial cocaine. If you do this consistently not only will you melt fat in no time, you will have the energy levels of a 20 year old. After I got conditioned, I woke up every day feeling like I could run a marathon. I actually kinda miss that feeling haha but I would rather be a vascular freak.

Yes, you will lose some muscle in a deficit but muscle comes back rather quick (muscle memory is a beautiful thing).

If his primary concern is fat loss, I don't see how scrapping cardio works in his favor.

 

[RockyP]

idk man, interval running on the tmill is a huge reason for this transformation:

View attachment 350164

the idea behind it being that maintaining a zone 2 HR for a period of say 5 mins. then doing the same period in zone 4 then cooling down to zone 2 for the same period doing that for a minimum of 4 intervals per session (ideally 3-5 times per week) is like mitochondrial cocaine. If you do this consistently not only will you melt fat in no time, you will have the energy levels of a 20 year old. I woke up every day feeling like I could run a marathon. I actually kinda miss that feeling haha but I would rather be a vascular freak.

Yes, you will lose some muscle in a deficit but muscle comes back rather quick (muscle memory is a beautiful thing).

If his primary concern is fat loss, I don't see how scrapping cardio works in his favor.

I should have been more clear. He should not be running at 315 lbs - he's going to fuck up his joints - he can get plenty of fat loss from a diet, weight training, and steps (walking). The guys who are paid to be big and lean for a living - none of them run. Not a single one. If you want all that zone this zone that you can get it from a step mill with zero impact. It's the running that is asinine at 315 lbs

 

[adrenalytic]

I should have been more clear. He should not be running at 315 lbs - he's going to fuck up his joints - he can get plenty of fat loss from a diet, weight training, and steps (walking). The guys who are paid to be big and lean for a living - none of them run. Not a single one. If you want all that zone this zone that you can get it from a step mill with zero impact. It's the running that is asinine at 315 lbs

Never been that heavy so I'll take your word for it. But yea, zone training has only to do with heart rate and breathing, not the activity inducing it.

I misunderstood thinking you meant no cardio whatsoever.

 

[RockyP]

Never been that heavy so I'll take your word for it. But yea, zone training has only to do with heart rate and breathing, not the activity inducing it.

neither have I - but running puts tremendous stress on hips, knees, ankles, and feet (4x bodyweight IIRC). Even people who are not overweight can screw themselves up badly if their form is incorrect (yes, running actually requires technique). I def think he should do cardiovascular exercise, and given his bodyweight something like an elliptical, erg, or step mill would be best.

 

[Dline5603]

Ok so step one is to take the GLP-1 as directed. Easy peezy.

2000 calories for a 300 lb male, whether it's fat or muscle, is absurd. You could be losing weight easily and swiftly eating 3500 calories per day. You may have done some metabolic damage here that needs to be reversed out of. I see this often in women but men too. Eating too little and doing lots of cardio is the EXACT opposite of what you should be doing. You should focus on resistance training and just do steps for extra activity (to start with anyway). By eating 1800-2000 calories and doing all this cardio you've instructed your body to slow your metabolism and pare down muscle.

The complication now is that once you get on a GLP-1 and take it appropriately, you likely wont want to eat more than 2500 calories. I would say eat as much as you can without being uncomfortable. You will lose weight. But you need to start as high as you can calorie wise to 1) fuel workouts and 2) give yourself somewhere to go from here. I'll use myself as an example. I ran tirzepatide for about 10 weeks. Great compound, would go back to it if Reta did not exist. The problem for me was that it really hit my appetite too hard and at 240 lbs I could barely get 2300-2500 calories in, which was not enough to maintain my training. I switched to Reta and i've been able to get in 2800 - 3500 and wouldn't you know it, the fat loss accelerated with the increase in calories. This happens quite often when people are overdieted. I take prescribed thyroid medication and my Free t3 is just above the upper limit of normal, but even with that on board, your body can down regulate metabolism if it thinks it's starving.

So,

1. GLP-1
2. No more running. Save your joints.
3. 10k steps (walking), or as much as you want
4. Resistance training 4-5 days per week
5. 1 gram of protein per pound of your ideal lean bodyweight (if you want to be 220 lbs lean, eat 220 g protein - at least)
6. Don't be afraid of carbs. The GLP-1 will (over time) enhance you insulin sensitivity and you will be able to process them. They rev your metabolism and spare muscle.
7. Skip the anavar and any PED's. You dont need them. All you need are healthy test levels. HRT is more than enough (and GH if you must).
8. If i didn't mention it before, stop fucking running.

Thanks for actually giving advice. I appreciate it. Old habits die hard. Would you replace running with an incline walk on the treadmill for a morning session or just stick to getting steps in?

I have an appointment to get my T levels checked tomorrow so I haven’t thought about HRT yet. The reason I thought of anavar was if I don’t need HRT then it wouldn’t completely shut off natural production, but I’ll take your advice and leave it alone.

I spent months multiple times in my 20s and 30s in extreme calorie deficits causing my weight to go from baseline 230 to as low as 165 and back up. I don’t know if that messed up my metabolism but it was never a problem until I got fat recently. Unfortunately I get a new doctor every 6 months so when I ask they say “your blood work and blood pressure are good so keep with the diet and exercise. “. That’s why I’m going out of pocket to a clinic to get checked out. Tired of messing with them.

 

[RockyP]

Thanks for actually giving advice. I appreciate it. Old habits die hard. Would you replace running with an incline walk on the treadmill for a morning session or just stick to getting steps in?

I have an appointment to get my T levels checked tomorrow so I haven’t thought about HRT yet. The reason I thought of anavar was if I don’t need HRT then it wouldn’t completely shut off natural production, but I’ll take your advice and leave it alone.

I spent months multiple times in my 20s and 30s in extreme calorie deficits causing my weight to go from baseline 230 to as low as 165 and back up. I don’t know if that messed up my metabolism but it was never a problem until I got fat recently. Unfortunately I get a new doctor every 6 months so when I ask they say “your blood work and blood pressure are good so keep with the diet and exercise. “. That’s why I’m going out of pocket to a clinic to get checked out. Tired of messing with them.

I’d go with whatever cardio 1) you enjoy doing (so it’s sustainable) and 2) is lowest impact (both in terms of joints and in terms of sapping energy from you). I’ve been following bodybuilding since I was a kid and it took me decades to realize why the biggest most shredded bodybuilders (some exceptions who do HIIT) did their cardio by walking fairly slowly on a treadmill. It’s because it spares their joints, spares their muscles, and they can do hours and hours of it without taking energy away from their weight training. I’m not saying you need to do that, but the big picture that will also help fix your metabolism will be to focus on weight training and then fill in the rest with steps and low impact cardio. Steps are great because they’re easy, can be done outdoors, can be done while getting other shit done (walking dog, errands, etc). If your journey is long then there will likely be a time many months down the road where you’ll need to add some dedicated cardio to your 10-12k steps. But that’s way off in the distance.

As far as the past dieting and big swings in weight, I’ve heard and read that it can cause metabolic damage but who the hell knows. Bottom line is you’re here now and have the GLP-1’s at your disposal. They’re really exceptional compounds. I never tried sema. Tirz was fine but too much appetite suppression for me and I got some fatigue after the shots as the dosages increased. Doesn’t matter which you choose. They all work. Just find one that’s tolerable and you can afford.

And if you have low T, get it replaced. It will help with metabolism, fat loss, snd energy levels.

One last thing. Get a sleep study. Can be done easily at home. Even if you don’t snore you need to make sure you don’t have sleep apnea. If you do, you need a CPAP. It will help with your cardiovascular health and energy. And if you end up on HRT, untreated osa will muddy the water in your bloodwork (hematocrit).

 

[Dline5603]

I’d go with whatever cardio 1) you enjoy doing (so it’s sustainable) and 2) is lowest impact (both in terms of joints and in terms of sapping energy from you). I’ve been following bodybuilding since I was a kid and it took me decades to realize why the biggest most shredded bodybuilders (some exceptions who do HIIT) did their cardio by walking fairly slowly on a treadmill. It’s because it spares their joints, spares their muscles, and they can do hours and hours of it without taking energy away from their weight training. I’m not saying you need to do that, but the big picture that will also help fix your metabolism will be to focus on weight training and then fill in the rest with steps and low impact cardio. Steps are great because they’re easy, can be done outdoors, can be done while getting other shit done (walking dog, errands, etc). If your journey is long then there will likely be a time many months down the road where you’ll need to add some dedicated cardio to your 10-12k steps. But that’s way off in the distance.

As far as the past dieting and big swings in weight, I’ve heard and read that it can cause metabolic damage but who the hell knows. Bottom line is you’re here now and have the GLP-1’s at your disposal. They’re really exceptional compounds. I never tried sema. Tirz was fine but too much appetite suppression for me and I got some fatigue after the shots as the dosages increased. Doesn’t matter which you choose. They all work. Just find one that’s tolerable and you can afford.

And if you have low T, get it replaced. It will help with metabolism, fat loss, snd energy levels.

One last thing. Get a sleep study. Can be done easily at home. Even if you don’t snore you need to make sure you don’t have sleep apnea. If you do, you need a CPAP. It will help with your cardiovascular health and energy. And if you end up on HRT, untreated osa will muddy the water in your bloodwork (hematocrit).

I had to Google OSA, but I will get the test. I do snore. Thanks.

 

[sionnach]

 

[newguy2]

Ok so step one is to take the GLP-1 as directed. Easy peezy.

2000 calories for a 300 lb male, whether it's fat or muscle, is absurd. You could be losing weight easily and swiftly eating 3500 calories per day. You may have done some metabolic damage here that needs to be reversed out of. I see this often in women but men too. Eating too little and doing lots of cardio is the EXACT opposite of what you should be doing. You should focus on resistance training and just do steps for extra activity (to start with anyway). By eating 1800-2000 calories and doing all this cardio you've instructed your body to slow your metabolism and pare down muscle.

The complication now is that once you get on a GLP-1 and take it appropriately, you likely wont want to eat more than 2500 calories. I would say eat as much as you can without being uncomfortable. You will lose weight. But you need to start as high as you can calorie wise to 1) fuel workouts and 2) give yourself somewhere to go from here. I'll use myself as an example. I ran tirzepatide for about 10 weeks. Great compound, would go back to it if Reta did not exist. The problem for me was that it really hit my appetite too hard and at 240 lbs I could barely get 2300-2500 calories in, which was not enough to maintain my training. I switched to Reta and i've been able to get in 2800 - 3500 and wouldn't you know it, the fat loss accelerated with the increase in calories. This happens quite often when people are overdieted. I take prescribed thyroid medication and my Free t3 is just above the upper limit of normal, but even with that on board, your body can down regulate metabolism if it thinks it's starving.

So,

1. GLP-1
2. No more running. Save your joints.
3. 10k steps (walking), or as much as you want
4. Resistance training 4-5 days per week
5. 1 gram of protein per pound of your ideal lean bodyweight (if you want to be 220 lbs lean, eat 220 g protein - at least)
6. Don't be afraid of carbs. The GLP-1 will (over time) enhance you insulin sensitivity and you will be able to process them. They rev your metabolism and spare muscle.
7. Skip the anavar and any PED's. You dont need them. All you need are healthy test levels. HRT is more than enough (and GH if you must).
8. If i didn't mention it before, stop fucking running.

This right here. If your 315 and truly eating 1800 kcal and not number your metabolism is trashed.

 

[HeatherSwanson]

BLUF: I’m thinking about taking 20mg/day of anavar along with tirzepitide for 4-6 weeks. I’m basing this on this study. https://www.researchgate.net/public...ne_and_the_durability_of_effects_in_older_men

I’m looking for advice on getting a little boost to help lose weight. My intentions are not to gain and maintain lean mass or see bigger numbers in the gym, but I also don’t want to lose anymore lean mass or strength than I need to. I’m extremely overweight 6’ 315 lbs in spite of more than a year of strict dieting and intense exercise.

I pre package my meals for the week to make sure I stay around 2000 (usually more like 1800) calories per day and honestly don’t really get hungry. I’d eat less but it makes it hard to get enough protein when I do.

My workouts consist of cardio 6 days a week. I run a mile every Monday and am down to about 10 min which sucks, but at my weight it feels like my knees and ankles are going to explode. 3 days are variations of sprint or interval training on the rower or bike. 1 day I ruck 3-4 miles at about a 15 min pace. And 1 day is a long slow recovery walk.

After cardio I do 2 days a week of hypertrophy or strength training and 2 days a week of circuit training. I’m back to being as strong as I was 5 years ago before I let myself go to shit. For example I did 5 sets of 5 incline bench at 315 lbs yesterday. Which isn’t great for a 315lb man but is good for 230 which is what I should weigh.

I’ve also added some 6 hour orienteering courses the last couple of months to give me something to work towards. I’m not winning any prizes, but I’m not finishing last either.

I’ve done this consistently for a year and a half and have gone from 335-315. I can’t really push much harder because I already feel like I’m on the verge of injury all the time. If I lose some major fat I will be able to push the running longer and harder, but the last 3 months I’ve lost nothing.

My only experience with steroids is about a decade ago someone I worked with didn’t want to use the oral wynstrol they had purchased and told me “it’s pretty weak, I don’t want to add it to my stack and I don’t want to waste it” After doing no research I decided to half the dosage he told me and in eight weeks my bench press shot from 430 max to I don’t know because my joints hurt too bad to find out and I didn’t trust the 180 lb guy who gave me the pills to spot me for more than 5 reps at 460 lbs. My weight went from 230 to 265 in that time and I was still running 5 miles around 35 minutes although the extra weight made breathing harder. 6 months later I went through an intense 2 month training program that had me under 200 lbs and all of the gains were gone.

All of this is to say that before everyone responds that I’m a lazy fat fuck and I don’t know how to train and diet, that’s only partially true. I was that for about 5 years which let me get this fat, but should be getting better results from the work I’m putting in and don’t want to be 75 before I reach a healthy weight. Also the next guy that has never worked hard in his life and looks like a deflated balloon because he lost 80lbs on semaglutide by walking his dog every night might get punched in the face if he tells me I must not be counting my calories right. I don’t think those guys are on this forum.

Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

There's a fella that does this thing called Snake Diet. Walked a few guys through it, there's a few versions of it. One of them is the sugar only at 2000+ calories a day that I've personally seen guys dropping 1-2lbs a day - which sounds outrageous but I saw it with my own eyes. And before someone says iT$ w@tR3 W3igH7 no, it was not, and it was not gastric weight either. Guys taking +1lb shits at day 30 after only drinking pop and was a shell of his morbidly obese self in like 45 days - not exercising

Someone would need to make the decision if the risk of sugar only consumption for 30+ days is worth the significantly shortened timeframe of loosing that much weight... Some say it is apparently as hes got a subreddit with hundreds of people reporting (with pictures) of sugar only working quite well for significant fast fat loss.

The most interesting thing imo is the people coming out of the diet have a jacked metabolism. TDEE (homeostatic caloric intake) is over and above what it was at the start for a sedentary person. Which is the opposite of prolonged OMAD, KETO, paleo ect, which is why there is often a rebound yoyo effect after target body weight is achieved and carbs and larger eating windows are introduced.

Anyone want to chime in on why they think this works I'd be happy to banter, I have my own ideas but would love to hear someone else's.

Edit

Found him. He's probably the most obnoxious person I've ever listened to, quote the delivery lol


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHloQidYfcg

 

[BeardedGuy]

Running isn’t it man, too intense. You’ve thrown your body into panic / survival mode. It feel like you’re at war, and is holding on to resources.
Try 3 10-20 minute walks per day. Ones where your heart rate is such that you could talk, but not sing. 125-140 bpm.
Track your food, including dressings, oils, nuts, etc.
no Anavar. At our size our lipids would go nuts and the juice is literally not worth the squeeze.
I broke my long term stall (315 for 6 months on Tirz) by getting a CGM (Stelo, $100/mo.) and a sous vide and cooking at home. “Joy” tracking app helped a lot, too.
Slow down, let things work.
What dose Tirz rn?

 

[Bandern]

I’m 83 and I can’t wipe very good!