Frustrated again - New direction?

[Tiger]

Hello,

Stats:
M
28
178
5'11"
Waist: 36inch. Just measured this evening. Maybe slightly less first thing in the morning.
Current 1RM's. Bench 250, Squat 350, DL, 400, Press 160. Currently doing Bridge 3.0

I've been doing either HLM or Bridge religiously over the past few months while maintaining my body weight but I'm not seeing any reduction in waist circumference. I'd actually really like to gain weight but I've got a ****ing double chin drooping down when I look in the mirror. Must be a bad genetic thing since many guys well over 200 don't have them and I have one while having very visible abs. Maintaining my weight while training 5 days a week (3 days lifting and 2 days GPP) is actually very tough. I had asked you a while back about which direction to go and you thought maybe it was best to maintain before considering it appropriate to gain. I'm just at a loss since my waist / chin status won't seem to decrease despite being fairly young and busting my ass in the gym. Do I just need to eat really clean / drop weight until my waist gets below xx inches? Sorry for the ramble just frustrated. Thanks for the help

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

Tiger,

Thanks for the post and I hope you're otherwise doing well. I can understand your frustration you expressed here as well. It can suck the fun right out of training.

I'd be curious to know how long you've been training and what you weighed 3 months ago and what your waist was. If they were the same then, I'd reduce calories to drop a bit of weight and get your waist under 34" before gaining weight. I'm not sure what you're doing nutrition wise, i.e. how are you managing your intake and what is it, in general, but I'd also try to have a fairly regular intake (calorie and macro wise) with a protein intake of 1.6-3.1g/kg bw and 35g of fiber per day.

-Jordan

[Tiger]

Thanks Jordan, yes I'm otherwise doing well just frustrated with that

Yea my weight and waist didn't really budge over the past three months. It was a bit of a challenge to even maintain weight and I typically have to eat when I don't want to in an attempt to maintain or gain.

I don't count macros but don't feel like I eat like crap either. I will definitely be more intentional about eating since I'm trying to lean out some. IE: today was 3 eggs, banana, protein bar for breakfast. Salad for lunch. Protein shake snack and chicken breast / veggies for supper. I may have to take in a couple protein shakes throughout the day to get that number where it needs to be.

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

Yea, I think being a bit more intentional with respect to your nutrition is likely to make a significant difference. Try tracking your protein and fiber every day for the next month and see what happens.

[Tiger]

Thank you I'll plan on doing that. With your protein recommendation for a 175lber I'd try to hit between 130 - 248g? Seems like a wide span. Is this just to give me some wiggle room?

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

Thank you I'll plan on doing that. With your protein recommendation for a 175lber I'd try to hit between 130 - 248g? Seems like a wide span. Is this just to give me some wiggle room?

Not really, but rather it's a range of intakes that are compatible with maximizing your resistance training outcomes. I'd pick a number in that range and aim to hit it everyday.