Help me understand my body

[clapton924]

I've been struggling to understand how my body and metabolism works for a couple years now. I've been weight lifting for about 4 years now...had some time off in there due to life changes....but I am back in the thick of things. Early on I was able to transform my body from being weak and chubby to fairly strong and trim....though I could never get my body fat much below 15%.

I know my metabolism is not ideal in that I have a thyroid disorder which I take medication for...its not severe...but I know I dont have good genetics there. I've been working with fitday for a year or so now with minimal results.

For instance according to fitday I need about 2900 calories for maintenance. I'm 5' 10" and weigh about 205lbs. For the past couple months I know I have not consumed 2900 calories on a regular basis yet my weight has been stable...going up or down a pound here or there. I'm sort of stumped right now....as to I hear people say "oh just cut your calories by this much and the weight will come off"...but that has not been the case for me.

I've always been a "husky" or "thick" guy....never really fat....but I want to lean out some more.

Anyone with a similar body type or past history around here?

Thanks.

[the one]

number of calories is obviously important but so is the timeing. keep your metabolism up as best you can by increasing your meal frequency. start at about 2500kcals spread evenly or close to, at 5-6 meals throughout the day. keep your strenght training up as it is far more important than cardio for weight loss which alot of people on here might not believe or understand

[jAy_Dub]

This is fairly simple. Forget about what fitday says your maintenance is, it doesnt know your body.

Eat normal for a week, track every single calorie you take in and figure out the average. Thats what your maintenance really is. If you want to cut, then subtract 500 cals from your maintenance and start there. Once you stop losing weight, cut out a couple hundred more cals. Keep doing that until you're satisfied.

[40 Nunc]

I can't answer for genetics or metabolism with the thyroid disorder but I'm surprised to see your maintenance at 2900 calories. I'm 5'11" and started at 211 lbs 4 months ago @ 18% BF. 1600 calories with a calorie % split 40/30/30 (Protein/Carbs/Fat) and dropped to 185 lbs and @ 12% BF. My maintenance calories are @ 1900. Bumped my calories up to 2600 and gained 6 lbs in 30 days - I'm currently 190 lbs...

Like jAy Dub said - track your calories for a week. Weigh yourself tomorrow, track every calorie and weigh yourself in a week. If no change, drop the calories.

You and I are about the same size and I lift heavy 3-4 days/week and usually have 2 days of HIIT with abs/calves. If you have a similar workout routine as mine maybe try dropping those calories to @ 2000 and see what happens.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

[clapton924]

Thanks guys. Currently I am lifting medium intensity on a 3-day split. After a few weeks I plan to up the intensity. I've been off a regular schedule for several months....want to ease my body back into things.

My thoughts are similar to those who responded....I figure my body cant beat the laws of physics even if my natural metabolism is slow. I've been writing down what I eat...gonna keep doing that and see how things go.

Thanks

[the one]

dropping kcals isnt always the answer...sometimes you actually need to eat MORE