I don't get it. I've been lifting 3 times a week, doing one body part/session. I've been eating clean and right at my cutting caloric intake level of 2000 cals (I'm 6'-4, 198). I've been doing 2 sessions of 45 min. steady state biking, occasional HIIT, and hiking and mtn. biking on most weekends. I def. feel like I've been burning some serious calories. The great thing is my athletic performance had improved greatly, esp. biking. But my fat loss is minimal, esp. in my chest and stomach area. It's so damn frustrating!!! I don't look any different than a month ago and I'm doing alot more! I have def. lost some weight in the past 2.5 months, but hardly any in this region. I know I can't spot reduce, but damn it, my chest and stomach look like crap while the rest of my body is tone.... :mad: I can't stand the way my body looks and it's practically summer. I feel like I'm never gonna be able to get a somewhat cut chest, it just doesn't seem to want to happen for me..... :mad: :(
Not sure where to go from here.....

You know what? Everything is going to be okay. I know it sounds hokey, but you've got to believe me. Take a step back and forget about today, this week, this month or even this year. Try to imagine yourself 10, 20 or even 30 years from now. What do you look like? What are you doing? Who are you with? If you can focus on cultivating that image in yourself right now, you will be unstoppable. You are doubting yourself right now, but I tell you: if you see yourself as the person you want to become, you will become that person.

Just keep working on it.. That's the only thing I can say.

And at least you are losing weight and can see defination in your limbs and you can perform better in your athletic performance.

Yes its fustrating but that's the way lifes are meant to be.. May be you can't make it in time for this summer with a nice body but hey at least you started this year and next year you will have a damn power-body.

Try switching up your routine a little.

Interval pictures and measurements should show you tangible progress.

Try switching up your routine a little.
Yes. I was hesitant to change any part of my routine when I hit a plateau because I was convinced that I was already doing everything perfectly. But, in fact, I was wrong. During spring break I was forced to change what I ate and how I exercised, and now I have continued to change more things since I got back to school. And guess what? It's working.

Yea, and what are your diet ratios?

I do know what you mean my your chest and stomach looking bad, and the rest is ok. My forearms are somewaht cut, and my calves are cut and big. But I got boobs and a love handle. It SUCKS.

I went back and looked at your pictures, when you say you don't see changes very fast I think I know why. People that see very raipd changes (like myself for example going from 235 to 200 in 9 weeks) have body fat pretty much all over our body just under the skin and then larger chunks of it in our waist handles etc. It is easy to see and get that kind of fat to reduce very rapidly especially when under that fat is a good base of muscle. That is why you don't see changes to your body like for example my change so far.

From your pictures I can see your forarms are very skinny and your biceps probbly didn't start with much muscle either. Without a base of muscle built at an earlier age and then piling fat on that you have pretty much just the fat and without muscle to burn that fat. Your progress will naturally be slower however you are making progress and lots of it that you can't see right now. From the looks of it you must have been eating twinkys and krispy Kreams and making progress becoming a couch potato.

You are now on a road that is making a huge change in how your body uses energy, your heart is probbly twice as strong as it started. You gotta build from the inside out and when your body has completed fixing the internal damage you have done to it over I don't know how many years you will start to see rapid changes.

I would think however that with a hight of 6'4 your goal for a final weight should be more like 225 lbs. You need to build your internal organs first then put on some muscle and then cut the fat. If you were 300 lbs I would say yes you better cut the fat first but your fat is localized and the best way to get rid of that is to build muscle that will burn it.

Think about eating larger portions of the clean food you have now started on for a week or two and hitting the weights hard and not worring about that gut just for that week think only of building muscle, then cut for a week or two and repeat.

Remember I'm 46 years old and I have had at least 3 years bodybuilding in my 20s so I had a base of muscle and piled on fat on top of that. I still have the handles and bellyfat and started last Feburary 1st, the belly fat is the toughest thing to lose for all bodybuilders so your in good company there.

:gl:

You know what? Everything is going to be okay. I know it sounds hokey, but you've got to believe me. Take a step back and forget about today, this week, this month or even this year. Try to imagine yourself 10, 20 or even 30 years from now. What do you look like? What are you doing? Who are you with? If you can focus on cultivating that image in yourself right now, you will be unstoppable. You are doubting yourself right now, but I tell you: if you see yourself as the person you want to become, you will become that person.Trinity, you are wise beyond your years! No offense to the 20 something crowd but it's good to see someone thinking about the long term.

The fat on the chest and abs will come off in due time. For most of us, that's the last place that the fat disappears. Just hang in there.

Trinity, you are wise beyond your years! No offense to the 20 something crowd but it's good to see someone thinking about the long term.

The fat on the chest and abs will come off in due time. For most of us, that's the last place that the fat disappears. Just hang in there.

Aww, thanks "Old Guy!" :) Changing one's body is an extremely slow process, so it helps to focus on the horizon rather than your shoelaces. Everyone is so hard-working here, I know that in due time results will come.

I went back and looked at your pictures, when you say you don't see changes very fast I think I know why. People that see very raipd changes (like myself for example going from 235 to 200 in 9 weeks) have body fat pretty much all over our body just under the skin and then larger chunks of it in our waist handles etc. It is easy to see and get that kind of fat to reduce very rapidly especially when under that fat is a good base of muscle. That is why you don't see changes to your body like for example my change so far.

From your pictures I can see your forarms are very skinny and your biceps probbly didn't start with much muscle either. Without a base of muscle built at an earlier age and then piling fat on that you have pretty much just the fat and without muscle to burn that fat. Your progress will naturally be slower however you are making progress and lots of it that you can't see right now. From the looks of it you must have been eating twinkys and krispy Kreams and making progress becoming a couch potato.

You are now on a road that is making a huge change in how your body uses energy, your heart is probbly twice as strong as it started. You gotta build from the inside out and when your body has completed fixing the internal damage you have done to it over I don't know how many years you will start to see rapid changes.

I would think however that with a hight of 6'4 your goal for a final weight should be more like 225 lbs. You need to build your internal organs first then put on some muscle and then cut the fat. If you were 300 lbs I would say yes you better cut the fat first but your fat is localized and the best way to get rid of that is to build muscle that will burn it.

Think about eating larger portions of the clean food you have now started on for a week or two and hitting the weights hard and not worring about that gut just for that week think only of building muscle, then cut for a week or two and repeat.

Remember I'm 46 years old and I have had at least 3 years bodybuilding in my 20s so I had a base of muscle and piled on fat on top of that. I still have the handles and bellyfat and started last Feburary 1st, the belly fat is the toughest thing to lose for all bodybuilders so your in good company there.

:gl:


Thanks for the comments....the thing is, I haven't been eating donuts and garbage all my life. I was slightly overweight in college back 8 years ago, but since then I've been working out on a regular basis. Last summer after trying to cut last spring, I looked about the way I look now. Then during the fall I slipped a bit until New Years. Then I rededicated myself when I found this site. Since then I've been really steadfast in my working out. So to me it's very frustrating that I feel I'm doing the right things, but am not seeing the progress I expect or see from people on this board. Many of my friends, all of whom are around my age, eat like crap, don't do much in the way of working out, and don't have fat like I do. I friggin pisses me off. I guess I just don't believe that if I continue to do what I'm doing, I'm going to be rewarded.
I guess I could change things up, eat more of my clean diet, lift more, and see if that does anything....

Thank you to others for their support. I apprieciate it.

Just remember that the "gut" is the first place your body will store fat, and the last place it will burn it from. I got down on that to. Everyone was telling how good I looked. I was only looking at my "gut". So I signed up at www.mybodycomp.com (http://www.mybodycomp.com) and have been using measurements and comparing myself. From the period of March 8 to April 8 I have lost 2 inches from my abdominan and have lost 8lbs of fat mass and gained 2 pounds of lean mass. Just hang in there. It will come off. Just stick with it.

Just remember that the "gut" is the first place your body will store fat, and the last place it will burn it from. I got down on that to. Everyone was telling how good I looked. I was only looking at my "gut". So I signed up at www.mybodycomp.com (http://www.mybodycomp.com) and have been using measurements and comparing myself. From the period of March 8 to April 8 I have lost 2 inches from my abdominan and have lost 8lbs of fat mass and gained 2 pounds of lean mass. Just hang in there. It will come off. Just stick with it.

www.mybodycomp.com is a great tool to measure success. I thought since I wasnt loosing as much weight as I was at first I wasnt making progress but I found that my body fat had dropped 5% and I had only lost a couple of pounds. This is worth looking at because looking at yourself in the mirror daily doesnt let you know how much progress you have made. doing body fat measurements will.

DefJef, do me a favor and post your entire workout schedule for a week and a VERY good sample of what you eat and when during the day.

If you'd prefer, PM it to me. Without some new comparison pics, I can't tell if it's all in your mind or not, but if you are doing everything you say and seriously not making ANY progress then something is not right in your plan.

<<< I guess I just don't believe that if I continue to do what I'm doing, I'm going to be rewarded. >>>

Ahhh you don't believe you will be rewarded. Here is your problem grasshopper, as we know the mind/body connection is very strong. We know two things for sure.

Working out will produce results.
Not working out will not produce results.

Try setting some short term endurance goals, like total minutes running on a treadmill. Run at 80 to 100 % maximum and see how long it takes before you run out of steam. Write that number down and increase that time the next session by 10%. Say you run flat out for 5 min before you just have to stop, make the next session 6 min. That way you will be seeing endurance gains in the short term that will help you in keeping your longer term goals in focus.

By the way could you list your diet that you are on right now?

Remember I'm 46 years old and I have had at least 3 years bodybuilding in my 20s so I had a base of muscle and piled on fat on top of that. I still have the handles and bellyfat and started last Feburary 1st, the belly fat is the toughest thing to lose for all bodybuilders so your in good company there.

WOW! You're 46?! I kid you not, by looking at your avatar, assuming that is you, I thought you were in your 20s!

Thank's, Yes that is me taken I think April 12th last week.
Don't tell my wife that, she may shorten my leash! :D

Hell I thought you were in your 20's also! Damn! :db: