PT doesn't want me to lose weight

mark2912 · 11-12-2025 10:17PM #1

I've started with a PT around 4 months ago, and around that time began cutting calories and have aimed for 10k steps most days. Since then, I have dropped 14kg on the scale, and am now around 95kg (23M 5' 8").

So far I have been enjoying going to the gym and PT sessions (hourly sessions twice a week). And my end goal is to be around 65kg, however my PT is constantly shutting this down, telling me that its too much and that anything under 70kg would look "bad" on me, and he is fixated on getting to 85kg only and even then tries to reassure me that I will be "lean".

I beg to differ with that to be honest, 85kg is only around 10kg away from my current weight, I can't see how that'd possibly make a drastic difference.

I really don't know what to do here. Do I find another PT who actually does what I want? Or do I keep current PT (as this is the only issue I have with them) and just continue with losing the 30kg as planned and ignore his advice?

Diddly Squat · 11-12-2025 10:21PM

If you beg to differ get a different pt who will agree with you

mark2912 · 11-12-2025 11:32PM

Don't get me wrong, I like this PT and am happy with the progress I've made so far, but at the end of the day, who are they to tell me that I can't be a weight that I want to be?

Tell me how · 11-12-2025 11:39PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058429726/pt-doesnt-want-me-to-lose-weight

Get to 85 first, maintain and reassess both your goals and their advice.

It may be that he wants to focus on you gaining good habits and consistency and not being scale focused. That is known to happen to people who base their happiness and focus on that one metric and they often end up yoyoing in their weight and rarely being truly happy with how they feel or look.

He may already plan on moving beyond 85, but doesn't want to focus on that until it is appropriate. I wouldn't go changing from someone who you are seeing success with and still have a goal to work on which you both agree with.

CPTM · 11-12-2025 11:58PM

Yeah I'd agree with the previous poster. Stick with this guy for now because it's clearly working.

I also just want to congratulate you on some serious effort. Even getting back to double digits in that period of time is impressive. You must have been averaging around a kg per week? That's understandable at the beginning but to maintain that over 4 months is fantastic.

beachhead · 12-12-2025 12:00AM

Stick with the professional plan for now.

copacetic · 12-12-2025 12:10AM

as above you are a long way off worrying about the final weight, 85kg sounds heavy as a final target for your height but worry about that when you get there. I’m not much taller than you and 65kg sounds a bit light, you’ll probably find find somewhere in the middle is right. When you hit 85kg just sticking to the routine that got you there will see the weight keep coming off. Your training 2 hours a week isn’t going to make you gain or lose any weight anyway so it doesn’t really matter what the PT thinks of the target.

CalamariFritti · 12-12-2025 12:36AM

Hard to know without knowing your body type and your age. Is your natural build more like a long distance runner or more like a boxer or more like shot put person…? Are you 25 or 45?

But if you're say 30 and of 'normal' to somewhat athletic build 65kg for 1.72m height seems low. Unless we're talking fully trained fitness level, top athlete sort of thing, welterweight boxer competing. Just losing weight down to 65kg would not look right.

I know this is old school silly but for normal build, youngish age the old 'grandma guideline' height minus 100 is a very good marker. So a youngish man your height would look perfect at around 75kg or even a little more, say up to 80kg.

But like I said at the start it all depends. You might be built like a rugby player and 85kg or more looks perfect on you.

mark2912 · 12-12-2025 03:57PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124063554#Comment_124063554

Thanks. If this averages out at around 3.5kg per month lost so far (obviously not linear each month), if I keep going the way I am atm, am I bound to hit 30kg lost in around 10ish months from now?

pjdarcy · 12-12-2025 04:05PM

Maybe he just likes chunky boys ;-)

Seriously though, maybe he's thinking that you could lose 20kg of fat and add 10kg of muscle (95 - 20) + 10 = 85. I'm no fitness expert so I'm just guessing what he has in mind

LambshankRedemption · 12-12-2025 04:11PM

What weighs more, a ton of feathers or a ton of steel? The answer is, they both weigh the same but a ton of feathers would take up a lot more room than a ton of steel. Its the same with fat versus muscle. The PT doesnt want you focussing on the number on the scale. In the early days you will lose weight by way of fat, but as you put on muscle you might put on weight, as in the number on the scales goes up, but you look better and are healthier.

Esse85 · 13-12-2025 02:54PM

How about you just listen and follow the advice of your PT because it's working?

You were 109kg before working with this PT which is obese and dangerous at 5"8

Clearly it sounds like the PT knows what they're doing and you don't based on both sets of results you shared (before and after).

You can either use a PT that gets results like this person is doing using their experience and knowledge or find someone who does what you say despite you have having little knowledge in this area.

mark2912 · 13-12-2025 09:56PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124067037#Comment_124067037

I am getting results with this guy, I do agree with that and am happy with the results I've gotten so far, just I don't want to stop losing it at his desired target, I want to get to my desired target.

Esse85 · 13-12-2025 10:14PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124068078#Comment_124068078

Only 4 months ago you were obese at 109kg and 5"8 and now you want to ignore the advice of the PT you're paying because you now know best?

Going to 65kg from 109kg in a short period of time sounds a little unhealthy to me.

Nate--IRL-- · 13-12-2025 10:21PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124068078#Comment_124068078

As other have alluded to, weight isn't really the metric you want to be targeting. It is the easier thing to measure for sure, but it doesn't reflect what you think it does, and can be a deceptive metric. It would serve you better to be aiming for a particular body fat percentage number instead. That said, this is harder to measure,.

Nate

jackboy · 13-12-2025 10:22PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124068078#Comment_124068078

What has your PT got to do with your weight loss? He is helping you with your training. The weight loss is down to what you are eating.

mark2912 · 13-12-2025 10:27PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124068116#Comment_124068116

The plan would be to go from 95kg (what I weigh now) to 65kg over the course of a year, definitely not weeks or a couple of months. Starting in the new year I'd aim to get to 65kg around this time next year.

65kg at my height would be in the healthy BMI range. I've been either in the overweight/obese range since I was probably about 11/12. Having this as a goal will keep me motivated, and I am doing it because I want to look better and feel better in myself, as well as be healthier.

Mellor · 15-12-2025 09:36AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124063355#Comment_124063355

That is terrible and frankly clueless advice.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124068139#Comment_124068139

A half decent PT would include dietary advice. It’s kinda fundamental

Mars Bar · 15-12-2025 09:38AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124068146#Comment_124068146

BMI is not a great indicator either. There's a lot of healthy people who are fit and lean who are "obese".

Stop obsessing with a number and go with how you feel and look.

Diddly Squat · 15-12-2025 09:54AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124070884#Comment_124070884

I was being facetious, the op comes across as someone who's hard to work with and doesn't take advice well. Whats the point of hiring a professional if youre not going to take their advice. They seem to need a yes man rather than someone who will point them in the right direction

3DataModem · 15-12-2025 10:28AM

Weight is a very useful high-level metric for those wanting a simple target.

BMI is a only slightly more useful metric for those wanting to assess their weight vis-a-vis the overall healthy norms.

But frankly, once you actually start getting healthy, these targets alone are much less useful. If you want to get physically fit and muscular then BMI and weight begin to largely lose relevance.

( For example: I have a very high BMI. Both a dietician and a trainer have told me that it's very unlikely I will ever not be - technically - overweight, at least until I become elderly. I have a very high relative muscle mass due to genetics, I am broad in the hip and shoulder. BMI is useful, but not that useful, for me. When I was a fat **** none of this mattered of course, just get the number down by eating less, but as it got down then the nuance became important. )

Listen to your PT. He knows that as you train you'll start to get lean and your weight loss will slow and even reverse. He's looked at your shape, probably estimates of your muscle, fat, etc percentages from the scales, and set a good target. Maybe he's wrong. Maybe he's just wrong for you. But it doesn't sound like it from what you've posted.

CramCycle · 15-12-2025 10:39AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124068146#Comment_124068146

BMI is a terrible metric if it's your only metric. If you don't have time or money for a DEXA you could do a skin fold test yourself and then do that again every 4 to 6 weeks. If I remember right from college, if done properly it gave consistent results to gold standard body fat measurements

Mellor · 15-12-2025 10:41AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124070915#Comment_124070915

That’s not really helpful to OP who is young and unsure. He might take it as face value and unfortunately there are are people who would give unhealthy advice to people.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058429726/pt-doesnt-want-me-to-lose-weight

Your 95kg, you have a way to go. 65kg sounds like a very random number at this point. It’s unlikely to be 85kg either, but that’s a much better position to reassess.

If you really want to put a number on it. Get your body fat precentage measured now. Assess your current mass.

witchgirl26 · 15-12-2025 01:59PM

OP as someone who is on a journey with health & fitness too, please listen to the PT and others here & stop focusing on a figure on the scales. That only tells part of the story, not the whole thing. You could be 65kg & terribly unfit, or 75kg and very fit with a large portion of that weight being muscle as opposed to fat.

As you continue to train you'll be building up muscle which weighs. If you're only focused on the final weight figure, you'll miss the health benefits that you're getting from building that healthy muscle.

Look I have had an idea in my head of the weight I'd like to be but being able to do certain exercises that I couldn't have a year ago is definitely a better feeling as I feel healthier. Overall picture needed not just the figure on a scale.

PT doesn't want me to lose weight

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