The Flu/Cold (not Covid) froze my weightloss progression. Help!
Hey, I was hoping to get some insight into what's been going on with me.
I've put on and lost weight really easily all my life. In the late fall, I made a decision to get back to a healthy weight once and for all. I changed my diet and started to work out often and I saw rapid results.
I'm male, in my 30s and 5'10". When I started this process on November 4th, I weighed the most I ever weighed after pretty much neglecting fitness thanks to Covid/work from home for two years. I clocked in at 295. Pre-Covid, i was about 185 and I've ranged anywhere from 170-240 on average since High school. But i'm getting older, and I have nephews now I want to be around (born since the pandemic), so it's past time to get serious with this tuff.
Things were going great for about two months and change. I was losing about 0.5 to 0.8 lbs per day. On December 26th 2021, I weighed 258.
On December 24th though I visited my toddler nephews for Christmas and got a Cold / Flu from him (not Covid, tested many times) that kicked in around December 29th. I'm usually very very robust with my health and get over sickness quickly, but this thing completely kicked my ass and laid me out for over a week.
On January 6th, I clocked in at 244.5 lbs, 51 lbs down from when I started on 11/4. I had lost 14 lbs while being sick. I'm aware most of that was water and muscle as my body tried to heal, but it was a precipitous drop. And I've been locked there ever since. My weight cannot break this 244 "barrier".
The Cold's acute effects were gone by 1/7, but I still had what I would call the worse cough of my life for the next 12 days, and even right now I feel significant mucus in my throat. Besides that, I've felt 100% for 2 weeks and have been doing my full work out since then. I've even amped it up a bit.
My weight though, hasn't moved an inch. I'm stuck at 244-246.
My routine is:
- 6 days a week of Cardio (treadmill for an hour, walking at 2.4 mph for 30 minutes then briskly 3.2 for 30 minutes). 3 days a week I do 25 minutes of a bike too.
- Weight lifting with machines 6 days a week (12 reps x 4 sets, 3 day cycle done twice per week)
My body is pretty deconditioned from 2 years of neglect. My upper body strength is a joke right now - I have the arm strength of a 60 year old man. My legs and back are very strong. My knees hurt a lot from my body weight. I'm trying to get lighter so I can run easier / more sustainably and not limit myself to brisk walking. For reference sake, none of this was new... I was athletic in high school and college. I just let things slide badly.
Diet wise, I'm eating a <20g carb, high protein diet. I've found that what works best for me is to meal prep once a week and remove the element of choice (opening the fridge, deciding what to eat) and keep things fairly uniform.
- My breakfast is always an egg white omelette (bob and evan's egg whites), I fill with a handful of 3 cheese mexican cheese, sliced onions and celery.
- My lunch is always a bumblebee tuna packet (about 100 calories), a spoonful of light hellmann's mayo, celery, and onion (no bread, I eat it from the bowl).
- My dinner is always either a Chicken breast (seasoned with a rub), 3/4ths a lb of Cod, or a 3/4ths a pound Tuna Steak. On the side I always have either a Cup and half of Broccoli or a package of Spinach. There is never any use of sauces, oils or butter.
I don't have cheat days, or eat outside of this diet at all. I stick to it religiously. I drink epic amounts of water.
I keep track of my food / daily weigh in with My Fitness Pal, and my activity level with Pacer.
I will say my sleep has been inconsistent since I was sick. I was previously doing a good 7 hours a night, but now I'm doing 6 hours or 4 hours twice a day (and at strange times). I don't have trouble falling asleep, but after a few hours, I'm having a very hard time staying asleep.
I guess my question is, what's going on with me right now? My completely "I googled it and put things together theory" is that my precipitous 14 lb drop between 1/1 and 1/6 wasn't "real" and was going to come back in full and all the exercise I've done since 1/7 to today as been making it "real". That would mean my weight loss standing still is a mirage... I'm just "earning" what the Cold gifted me. Is that accurate or not how things work? Any ideas?
I'm pleased with how things have been going and I'm much happier with my physical well being than I have been in a long time. I feel I'm on the right track, but I had hoped to be entering the 230s by the end of January.
Also if anyone has any suggestions at how to lose it and obtain a better level of fitness I'd appreciate any insights. :) Godbless.
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