r/stopdrinkingfitness • u/Tiny_Giant_Tortoise • 7d ago
Am I doing something wrong?
Need a bit of advice and input. I'm a 50yo male, between 195-200 lbs at 5'10". I am one-week shy of hitting my one-year of sobriety (yay!).While I had always led a generally healthy and active lifestyle (besides drinking every night) I spent the first 9 months of that just focusing on sobriety and figured I would save the fitness kick for later.
In that 9 months I lost about 5 pounds of booze fluff. That's it. No big deal, I thought.
I was very active all summer, and right now I'm 6 weeks into a serious routine. Weight training 3x a week (full body routine) and walking between 2 and 4 miles every day. Other activities as they come (pickleball, paddleboarding, etc). Eating healthy (lots of lean protein, veggies, not eating late) although I like to have a bit of chocolate or cookies at night because I gotta have something. Good sleep, water, etc.
I am using protein powder for smoothies and adding creatine, usually 1x per day, just to try and hit my protein goal. No other supplements.
And....nothing. The scale is exactly the same. I dropped 5 lbs in the first two weeks, and then it went right back up. I'm right where I started.
On the plus side -- I think I look better. My chest and stomach are tighter and I'm stronger. Maybe my waist is smaller? My wife says I look trimmer. I'm taking some measurements and have dropped about 1/2" - 1" off my neck and waist -- otherwise no major changes.
Am I replacing fat with muscle?
Is it too early to expect results?
Am I doing something wrong?
I really want to see something happen...I'm losing motivation.
Any thoughts or suggestions cheerfully entertained. Thanks in advance.
5
u/goutFIRE 7d ago edited 7d ago
First 4 weeks you won’t see much physical changes. Just getting a routine setup.
Second month - maybe you can see muscle definition if the lighting is right.
Third month - your family starts noticing
4 month and beyond - people will easily notice you’ve change.
But if you want the scale to move, you have to track your calories and eat in a deficit. Even 200 calories a day will get 1/3’ish a pound a week.
You’re definitely getting stronger. And your belt doesn’t lie. You’re very likely exchanging fat for muscle. Just now need to eat in deficit to lose the pounds. As you get older that sucks cuz you will inevitably be hungry at the end of day (speaking from experience)
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u/MexicanOtter84 5d ago
First off congrats on one year!
When I hit one year sober at 41 I also had the same problem. I’m a weightlifter for the last two decades but didn’t see loss on the scale. My husband would say I look so built now and my shirts fit amazing and I do feel big for 5’7 210lbs but i realized a lot of that is muscle and gone is all the flab.
I still have some on my stomach but my goals are just to be able to perform my job and inspire folks as a massage therapist but also who wants a fat sweaty massage therapist 😆
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u/Tiny_Giant_Tortoise 5d ago
Thanks! Yeah, I might not have the type of body that will ever get trim. I'll just see what happens!
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u/No-Picture-355 7d ago
You're replacing fat for muscle. 6 weeks is very recent. Congratulations on the soon to be one year anniversary. Maybe trade the chocolate/cookies for rice crackers or apples,etc.
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u/berniesandersbarber 7d ago
Congrats on the upcoming year anniversary! That is awesome!!
I’ve found that in addition to working out, I have to shoot for 8-10 miles, 15-20k steps daily to lose weight. I did find out the hard way that it’s best to work your way up to that total over the course of a few weeks to avoid joint pain. And if you do ramp up the steps, get supportive shoes you love.
And yeah calorie counting sucks but it’s the only way. Personally I try to have easy protein options that I know the count of to replace a meal or snack. Also maybe weird but if I get hungry at night sometimes I have some watered down apple cider vinegar or some chicken broth instead of snacking.
You’re doing awesome
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u/whaletacochamp 6d ago
Weight is only part of the literal picture. If you feel better and look better, you've probably replaced some fat with muscle.
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u/semiprobiotic 5d ago
Hey! Recomp is possible but it is a notoriously slow process. You just may be replacing fat with muscle, that you can see it in the mirror is a good sign.
If you don’t want to track calories (which it sounds like you don’t from your post) then just focus on progress in your lifting. Add weight or reps in the smallest increments you can week to week. If you focus on getting stronger your bodies metabolism will speed up and if your diet stays the same you’ll lose fat naturally.
If you do really want to lose weight you’re gonna need to track your food. Someone could be eating the exact same foods as you but have a horrible diet because they’re eating the wrong amounts. There’s no “healthy eating” as you refer to it without calorie counts involved.
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u/CatBowlDogStar 4d ago
I added 20lb. 5lb muscle. In 2 weeks.
First 2 weeks working out daily. Monster workouts followed by huge protein. Cool. Ok, some muscle gains. But where did this belly come from?
Day 40. No change in weight. Still 20lb up. Past month energy issues @ the gym from sobriety. Having chocolate too much, but actually down calories.
I think something in this process reset my set weight. I had lost 40lb with glp-1.
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u/CircularReason 2d ago
.5 lbs every week or two is "fast" for sustainable weightloss. So six weeks could be MAYBE 3 lbs. Could be you've gained 3lbs of muscle, could be you've only lost .1 lbs a week.
Give it time. The gains compound.
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u/SewCarrieous 7d ago edited 7d ago
If you want to lose weight you must track calories. Once you know what you’re consuming, it will be easier to identify the problem foods
Also lifting weights 3x a week and walking a couple miles a day is not a “serious” routine. How long are you lifting each session and how long of breaks between sets? Are you doing any cardio before or after lifting?
Lastly, it’s only been 6 weeks. That’s not enough time for a mediocre routine to show results.