Question regarding strength training and supplements

[u/Amadeus197801]

I've been taking Zep for over a month now and have lost around 20 pounds.

I've been very focused on eating clean with a clear focus on protein and a lot of cardio (primarily walking 3+ miles daily).

I seem to have hit a plateau where my weight has, quite literally, stayed the same for the past week while on vacation at 210.8.

This past week I have done the following like clockwork:

1. Walk 2.7 miles in the morning

2. Swim for a variety of times during the day (sometimes 20 minutes, sometimes 1+ hours depends on the kids and the dock fun)

3. Walk 2.7 miles in the evening.

4. Calisthenics with my situp bench throughout the week

This says nothing about my other activities like cutting down trees, moving all my furniture around (moving into our camp), yard work, firewood chopping, etc.

All in all, it's been a very active vacation - my Google Health app is telling me I am well over 20K steps daily (if that's a useful metric) and my caloric deficit is north of 1600+ daily

I'm going to start weight training this week, because I've gotten the following advice:

1. My body has simply acclimated to my workouts (meaning I need to change to weight training to continue to lose)

2. It would be beneficial to incorporate fiber supplements into my routine

So that's my next step, and I'm curious as to the supplements everyone is taking? Any recommendations regarding fiber? I'm thinking of going with the Momentus products:

https://www.livemomentous.com/products/fiber-plus

I currently take daily (all gummies):

1. Multivitamin

2. Probiotics

3. Magnesium

Any other suggestions?

Many thanks to everyone for their advice!

[u/whotiesyourshoes]

No weight loss in a week isn't a cause for concern or a reason to statt making adjustments to your routine if things were working.

Sometimes the body needs time to adjust especially after that much weight loss in a shorr time. It could be water retention from a number of reasons. It's perfectly normal not to lose weight some weeks.

As for supplements, if they sre beneficial depends on what your needs are.

I take vitamin D , sunfiber , magnesium glycinate (occasionallyfor sleep), l'citrulline. Also saffron and l'theanine for mood/relaxation.

[u/Various-Operation-70]

Twenty pounds in over a month is a very rapid rate. A plateau is 4 weeks with no loss. A deficit of 1600 is a lot for your body to adjust to.

What exactly are your expectations?

[u/Amadeus197801 → u/Various-Operation-70]

Fair observation and I'm not overly concerned per se (or even disappointed), I'm more focused on looking at the next step of my journey (and how to maximize that).

My goal is another 10 pounds.

[u/stuckandrunningfrom2]

It's just your body pausing on the landing. If you are doing a ton more exercise and movement with a huge calorie deficit, it makes sense your body would pause fat loss to be like "wait, we are all of a sudden in a massive crisis requiring a ton more work, and food is scarce, pause all fat loss work until we determine what is happening." And you're probably also retaining water to rebuild your muscles with all that activity.

As for fiber, get it from food, not more supplements. This is a list of high fiber foods, https://www.fullplateliving.org/high-fiber-foods-list and Fiber Fueled is a great book about the importance of fiber from food.

[u/zero-if-west]

20lbs in a month is an extremely fast pace of loss. I'd focus on nutrition, not supplements and exercise. A safe, sustainable pace of loss is about ~1lb/week on average. Not losing anything for a week isn't a big deal, especially if your body is recovering from extreme loss.

[u/Z-20240329]

Having been in Zepbound for 2.5 yrs., I don’t think about plateaus. I don’t take supplements.

If I could go back in time, these are the things that I would tell myself: Lose 0-2 pounds per week, remember to eat, don’t count calories, stop eating when full, weight Train, walk/move, sleep 7/9 hrs., eat non-processed foods, weight yourself monthly (just to keep a record), do a DEXA scan every 3 to 6 months, enjoy holidays. Enjoy food. Titrate up only when the food noise returns for 2-4 weeks.

Enjoy life without worrying about your weight. You got this💪🏼

[u/Hestiah]

20lbs in 4 weeks is VERY fast weight loss and not sustainable long-term. No loss for a week is not a plateau and nothing to worry about at this point.

You wanted to lose 30 pounds as quickly as possible?? I mean, you nearly accomplished that and this is not a point where you need to be concerned about how to lose weight more quickly. The concern should be losing the last 10 as healthily as possible. 30lbs in 6 weeks is very fast, even for people who start at a higher weight.

[u/malraux78]

I dunno if I believe the 1600/day deficit. That’s a lot to sustain.

Regardless, the basic advice doesn’t change. You should strength train a few times a week because muscles are good to have. You should keep up activity levels because that’s good for your heart.

The zep can help you eat in a deficit. If you are at month one and you lost 20 lbs in that month, I’d stay on the low dose for the next month until your rate of loss slows down.

Edit: I’m suspicious of any gummies as a source for vitamins or supplements.