aslcbr600 Posted January 31, 2013 Report Posted January 31, 2013 Alright time for my guilty confession......lol I have been out of the military for a little over a year now and I really enjoyed not having to wake up every morning to go run however many miles, push ups and ect. Well now looking in the mirror and being on the scale has made me miss being forced to do those things. I have a more stocky body build to begin with but not overly stocky. I am 5'5" and used to weigh 155lbs when I was in the military. Now I weigh a whopping 180lbs.....not feeling too great about myself. My size 42 US 1pc suit still fits me but it's tight where all of my fat goes which is at the bottom of my stomach and my thighs. Of course those happened to be the most stubborn places to lose fat as well, I will add that I used to weigh 185lbs but since working out over the past month or so I am a consistent 180lbs so at least that. I am currently doing the "insanity workout" which is great but I don't really care for all of the jumping or the "routine" of doing the same DVD's over and over. Sorry for the long story but what can I do to really help cut my weight back down? I don't eat fast food, my diet is based more on smaller portions but more meals throughout the day. I switched from white bread to wheat bread, I don't use mayo on my sandwiches. I don't drink soda and whenever I get hunger cravings I drink more water or eat something like an apple. I also have bad genetics when it comes to maintaining weight, I really have to work hard to keep the progress I make just to begin with let alone trying to lose 25lbs. Quote
aslcbr600 Posted January 31, 2013 Author Report Posted January 31, 2013 I will also add that I have tried more natural fat burners and all they do is pump up my heart rate faster then I would without it doing the same exercise which limits me on how hard I can push. Then I also tried some other supplement stuff which is supposed to help release those stubborn fats when working out but can't really say those have done a whole lot either. I have even thought about doing 2 a days, cardio in the morning and weights in the afternoon as well. Quote
Pepsi Drinker Posted January 31, 2013 Report Posted January 31, 2013 My weight gain has been a little more progressive it seems. I have gained 45 pounds in 12 years. I used to have quite the bodybuilder type of figure ~ 44 1/2" chest, 27" waist, 18 1/2" biceps and 153 lbs complete with barely showing 6 pack abs. Now I am 44" chest, 32" waist and 16 1/2" biceps and just under 200 lbs. I don't hit the free weights like I used to but I do still use them regularly. I would love to drop back to about 180 lbs and lose everything around the middle. The more rigorously I exercise the hungrier I am, so usually the more I work out the more weight I gain. Plus it does nothing to get rid of the area around my waistline where I want the weight gone. I too tried one of those insanely intense workout videos and did it every morning for about a month then 4-5 days a week for the next 2 months. By week 6 I had gained 6 lbs. By the end of 3 months I had hit a plateau of 4 lbs more than I started at with nothing noticeably different cosmetically. Then lifes circumstances got me off track and I lost that weight and some of the fitness I had gained before getting back into more natural exercise regiment that I have today. I have for about 2 years now walked the dog almost daily. Not just any walking either, 3 miles in under 30 minutes most days and 5 miles in under an hour about 2 days out of the week. I have also been riding my bicycle regularly in good weather and the exercise bike on bad weather days. Typically as fast as I can for about 10 minutes then slow down for a short recovery period before a fast sprint again. On the road the rides are about 30-40 minutes. In the house they last about 20 minutes. Throughout the late fall I go out and cut down trees and haul wood home for firewood. I spend many days, often every day splitting and stacking and moving wood for upto an hour a day most of the winter. I am talking about 4+ cords of firewood a year that is moved atleast 7 times before it is burned. Cut down the tree, load up the logs, unload the logs, stack the logs, hand split the logs, stack the split wood, carry the wood into the garage and restack, then finally burn it. I go ice skate, cross country ski, downhill ski, waterski, canoe and swim regularly. Not everyday, but I am pretty active. In the spring and summer when my work schedule is the busiest I do the least amount of exercise activity and yet I manage to lose about 5-8 lbs every summer only to gain that back plus a few more pounds each winter when I am actually doing more exercise. Besides my Pepsi addiction. Which by the way I have cut down to 2 a day over the past few weeks. I avoid the obvious "junk food" that I know is empty calories ie... chips, fries, ice cream, fast food, dry cereal, fried foods etc... not having eaten the first three items in over a decade. I eat pretty darn healthy in my opinion staying away from most prepared foods and canned foods. I grow my own lettuce, carrots, rasberries, strawberries, green onions, apples and corn. I eat way more chicken than red meat or pork, although I love bacon with my chicken salads or in a burger etc... I keep the local KWIKTRIP in the green on their banana stock eating more than 5 lbs a week of them. I know some want to blame the sugar intake, especially from the Pepsi, but I had quit drinking Pepsi altogether for over a 6 year stretch and still had the same about 4-5 lbs a year weight gain during that time. I had a physical this past summer and at 5'9" and 195# the doctor said I was borderline obese. I really thought she was joking with me at first, sadly she wasn't. Although she did state I was in excellent health with BP of 105/78 and pulse of under 70 bpm etc...you know other than the being borderline obese. I have added a calcium supplement and a little more water to my daily intake. From the hydration thread. Plus plan on ordering soon Dr Prices drink mixes for hydration, perhaps I should look further for answers. One big thing I have noticed over the past say 6 years. My sleep schedule is all screwy, most nights I awake and roll over and move around numerous times, many times laying awake for as much as 30 minutes or more before falling back asleep. I am in bed for about 8 hours but I likely never get more than 6-7 hours of sleep, almost always waking up in the morning not feeling very rested. Perhaps I am sharing far too much information on the internet? I'd love to sleep better and get back to about 180 lbs with a flatter stomach...my vanity revealed Quote
ktk_ace Posted January 31, 2013 Report Posted January 31, 2013 aslcbr600's situation is erringly similar to mine (ie came out of the military 1.5 yrs ago too / belly fat hard to trim / lean and light inside the miltary/ got fat outside/dont drink soda ) Interested to know how to trim belly fat too!!! Quote
csmith12 Posted January 31, 2013 Report Posted January 31, 2013 I'd love to sleep better and get back to about 180 lbs with a flatter stomach...my vanity revealed I am similar goals. For those interested, I am going through a body transformation for the 3rd time in my life. You can see my progress here. Check the last page for the insane leg workout I did last night. It was my way of busting through a plateau. Subbed for the additional info that may help me along the way during my cutting phase in a few weeks. Quote
Cobie Fair Posted January 31, 2013 Report Posted January 31, 2013 One thing I have noticed (with myself and others) is when one is very active the amount of calories needed is high. I've had very physical jobs, and eaten 6x a day with no weight gain! One thing is people seem to keep eating a similar amount, rather than bring the quantity down, in proportion to activity. Another thing that has helped is exercising early in the day, brings the metabilism up for the whole day. Now that I think about it, we might want to start a thread on this as we have moved from endurance and stamina over to weight (valid, but different). Quote
aslcbr600 Posted February 1, 2013 Author Report Posted February 1, 2013 One thing I have noticed (with myself and others) is when one is very active the amount of calories needed is high. I've had very physical jobs, and eaten 6x a day with no weight gain! One thing is people seem to keep eating a similar amount, rather than bring the quantity down, in proportion to activity. Another thing that has helped is exercising early in the day, brings the metabilism up for the whole day. Now that I think about it, we might want to start a thread on this as we have moved from endurance and stamina over to weight (valid, but different). That is what troubles me too, the days I don't have as much activity I adjust the caloric intake. Really need to find a way to kick this weight. Quote
bradvanhorn Posted February 1, 2013 Report Posted February 1, 2013 This is a challenging topic... A lot of infomercial creators would be out of business if there were an easy solution. I've been in the military over 24 years and until a few years ago was very fit and had not much trouble maintaining. Time and abuse of the body (bad fitness practices, often harsh environmental conditions, etc) definitely have taken a toll and finally started catching up to me. Surgery on both shoulders in 2008, almost fully recovered my fitness and then in 2010 crashed and had a nasty concussion and neck injury, reaggravated the neck/brain issues in 2011, finally started working out regularly in Spring 2012 and then the left shoulder and left achilles crapped out a few months later. I'll estimate I've gained ~15 lbs of body fat (for sure not the worst case scenario) the last few years and it's frustrating when you're not used to having that trouble. I'm still improvising my workouts a lot because the left shoulder is terrible and the right shoulder now is going too; 5 pushups is enough to bring on excrutiating pain. Keeping intensity high and alternating a wide variety of workouts with high rep, low rep, no weight, heavy weight, sprints, long run/bike, etc., etc., keeps me going. If I mistakenly focus too much attention on any given part for too many days then I'll surely pay a price in new aches and pains. Anyway, one thing I did that I've enjoyed is a shift in my daily diet. I've not made a complete switch but I'm now on a Paleo style diet. Meals are fresh fruits/berries, vegetables (and not plates of lettuce), nuts (real nuts, not peanuts), and lean meat; almost no breads/starches when I can avoid them (hard to do this completely because my wife doesn't want to give that up). A handful of nuts/berries also is a great snack and is surprisingly filling. It's not a miracle cure and not for everyone but it's another option to consider. Quote
aslcbr600 Posted February 1, 2013 Author Report Posted February 1, 2013 Maybe I am eating too much bread.....even though it's wheat bread that could be part of my problem. I have 1-2 sandwiches per day with wheat bread, turkey meat and a slice of cheese. Quote
bradvanhorn Posted February 1, 2013 Report Posted February 1, 2013 Maybe I am eating too much bread.....even though it's wheat bread that could be part of my problem. I have 1-2 sandwiches per day with wheat bread, turkey meat and a slice of cheese. Well, bread and cheese aren't pure evil, but if you're really determined then you might look for ways to substitute or omit those parts. Another thing to consider is most people can't deprive themselves forever. Have a cheat day where you eat one or two meals of something awful, like pizza and ice cream . As long as you don't go completely crazy, a cheat day helps with cravings and gives you an opportunity to relax and enjoy foods you might otherwise miss. I've discovered over time I really don't like a lot of those less healthy food choices, but I do still enjoy some soft-serve ice cream or a donut once in a while . Quote
aslcbr600 Posted February 1, 2013 Author Report Posted February 1, 2013 Yea I think the other thing I am going to incorporate is weight lifting, I avoided doing it because the point is to lose weight and not gain it or become more bulky. Then I realized after reading around the one thing that stays consistent with every weight loss program is how weight lifting followed by cardio is great! The weight lifting keeps the muscles burning fat and or calories even while you aren't working out, rather running on the treadmill or biking you stop burning calories as soon as you stop. Going to integrate that into my workouts and see how that helps. My body feels "soft" and I don't like it, still flexible but not as much as I would like to be. Quote
Cobie Fair Posted February 2, 2013 Report Posted February 2, 2013 Hey BVH, Do you know what blood type you are? I've had friends have some good success with that as outlined there (as a guide at any rate). Quote
csmith12 Posted February 2, 2013 Report Posted February 2, 2013 Yea I think the other thing I am going to incorporate is weight lifting, I avoided doing it because the point is to lose weight and not gain it or become more bulky. Then I realized after reading around the one thing that stays consistent with every weight loss program is how weight lifting followed by cardio is great! The weight lifting keeps the muscles burning fat and or calories even while you aren't working out, rather running on the treadmill or biking you stop burning calories as soon as you stop. Going to integrate that into my workouts and see how that helps. My body feels "soft" and I don't like it, still flexible but not as much as I would like to be. I am helping my wife loose, she has lost 30lbs and lifts with me 3 times per week. It can be done if you find what is right for you. Quote
aslcbr600 Posted February 2, 2013 Author Report Posted February 2, 2013 Figured I would drop in an update, I am not a big APP person when it comes to phones but found one that's kinda cool. It's called "my fitness pal" and it's free, you type in how much activity you do during the day, how much you are going to workout, height/ wt and ect then calculates based on your goals and current standings a weight loss goal number and date. This also has a calorie counter as well, I went on some websites and got recipes for various meals throughout the day. Only challenging part is sticking to that 1200cal daily intake but everything just takes time to adjust. Figured I would post this up and see if anyone else would be interested in trying it out. I will update progress as it goes. Quote
bradvanhorn Posted February 4, 2013 Report Posted February 4, 2013 Hey BVH, Do you know what blood type you are? I've had friends have some good success with that as outlined there (as a guide at any rate). My blood type is A Pos. Are you thinking of the "blood type diet" or whatever it's correctly called? Quote
DrStephenPrice Posted February 5, 2013 Report Posted February 5, 2013 aslcbr600, First off, your fat distribution tells me that you have a chronic thyroid weakness. Specifically for you, you need 2500mg of L-tyrosine per day (it's an amino acid). And you will need 10 Kelp tablets per day. This will help stimulate your metabolism and help burn weight off the belly and thighs. Reducing calories is really the only way to cause the body to burn excess fat. Eliminating bread or "wheat", potatoes, rice, and pasta will make your weight loss more rapid. Consuming the correct amount of protein (see my post on Protein in the Muscle and Joint Supplements forum) will make it even easier. It's eat whenever you're hungry but only eat the amount of calories that you way in body weight. So if you're 180 pounds, whenever you get hungry you would only eat 180 calories. Quote
bradvanhorn Posted February 5, 2013 Report Posted February 5, 2013 aslcbr600, First off, your fat distribution tells me that you have a chronic thyroid weakness. Specifically for you, you need 2500mg of L-tyrosine per day (it's an amino acid). And you will need 10 Kelp tablets per day. This will help stimulate your metabolism and help burn weight off the belly and thighs. Reducing calories is really the only way to cause the body to burn excess fat. Eliminating bread or "wheat", potatoes, rice, and pasta will make your weight loss more rapid. Consuming the correct amount of protein (see my post on Protein in the Muscle and Joint Supplements forum) will make it even easier. It's eat whenever you're hungry but only eat the amount of calories that you way in body weight. So if you're 180 pounds, whenever you get hungry you would only eat 180 calories. Interesting info. I seem to recall a more complex formula for the calorie intake. Something like 6 "meals" (eat at ~3 hour intervals) a day plus a pre- and post-workout "snack". So more or less 8 meals a day. And the calorie count was based on desired body weight vs. actual body weight. I don't do this myself, but I seem to recall reading something like this... So, I'm hovering at ~195-200 lbs at 6 ft tall. My preferred weight usually is ~180-185 lbs. I gained most of the extra body fat as a spare tire running just under the belly button and in the love handles, but a little in the hips and glutes. Any dietary suggestions? Thanks! Quote
aslcbr600 Posted February 5, 2013 Author Report Posted February 5, 2013 aslcbr600, First off, your fat distribution tells me that you have a chronic thyroid weakness. Specifically for you, you need 2500mg of L-tyrosine per day (it's an amino acid). And you will need 10 Kelp tablets per day. This will help stimulate your metabolism and help burn weight off the belly and thighs. Reducing calories is really the only way to cause the body to burn excess fat. Eliminating bread or "wheat", potatoes, rice, and pasta will make your weight loss more rapid. Consuming the correct amount of protein (see my post on Protein in the Muscle and Joint Supplements forum) will make it even easier. It's eat whenever you're hungry but only eat the amount of calories that you way in body weight. So if you're 180 pounds, whenever you get hungry you would only eat 180 calories. So at what point do you go against this rule? Example, if I am working construction and doing 12hr days (which I will be in two weeks) how is that healthy for the body to only consume say even 6 meals at 180cal= 1080cal when you are working and burning calories for 12hrs a day? Every diet plan I have seen consists of taking your job into consideration such as how much activity you are doing throughout the day not even including your workout routine. It would be really hard to last even a day of work and only eating 180cal meals. Doesn't your body store foods as fats if you don't take in enough calories? A muscle recovery protein not "whey" protein supplement consists of 280cal, are you telling me I am supposed to eat 2 apples each meal or an apple and 1 slice of bread? That method just seems very unhealthy and boarder line anorexic..... Quote
aslcbr600 Posted February 5, 2013 Author Report Posted February 5, 2013 Also when I was in the military we were tested for thyroid on numerous occasions and never had any issues. Also never had these issues while in the military so I don't understand where you get this thyroid weakness from......people develop fats in stingy places while others it spreads out. What major is your doctorate? Quote
bradvanhorn Posted February 5, 2013 Report Posted February 5, 2013 aslcbr600, First off, your fat distribution tells me that you have a chronic thyroid weakness. Specifically for you, you need 2500mg of L-tyrosine per day (it's an amino acid). And you will need 10 Kelp tablets per day. This will help stimulate your metabolism and help burn weight off the belly and thighs. Reducing calories is really the only way to cause the body to burn excess fat. Eliminating bread or "wheat", potatoes, rice, and pasta will make your weight loss more rapid. Consuming the correct amount of protein (see my post on Protein in the Muscle and Joint Supplements forum) will make it even easier. It's eat whenever you're hungry but only eat the amount of calories that you way in body weight. So if you're 180 pounds, whenever you get hungry you would only eat 180 calories. So at what point do you go against this rule? Example, if I am working construction and doing 12hr days (which I will be in two weeks) how is that healthy for the body to only consume say even 6 meals at 180cal= 1080cal when you are working and burning calories for 12hrs a day? Every diet plan I have seen consists of taking your job into consideration such as how much activity you are doing throughout the day not even including your workout routine. It would be really hard to last even a day of work and only eating 180cal meals. Doesn't your body store foods as fats if you don't take in enough calories? A muscle recovery protein not "whey" protein supplement consists of 280cal, are you telling me I am supposed to eat 2 apples each meal or an apple and 1 slice of bread? That method just seems very unhealthy and boarder line anorexic..... The key element being, "eat whenever you're hungry". However, I was having a similar thought about this perhaps being too few or possibly too many calories. Quote
Cobie Fair Posted February 5, 2013 Report Posted February 5, 2013 BVH, I was referring to the blood type diet, some I know have had pretty good results with it. Quote
spthomas Posted February 9, 2013 Report Posted February 9, 2013 Alright time for my guilty confession......lol I have been out of the military for a little over a year now and I really enjoyed not having to wake up every morning to go run however many miles, push ups and ect. Well now looking in the mirror and being on the scale has made me miss being forced to do those things. I have a more stocky body build to begin with but not overly stocky. I am 5'5" and used to weigh 155lbs when I was in the military. Now I weigh a whopping 180lbs.....not feeling too great about myself. My size 42 US 1pc suit still fits me but it's tight where all of my fat goes which is at the bottom of my stomach and my thighs. Of course those happened to be the most stubborn places to lose fat as well, I will add that I used to weigh 185lbs but since working out over the past month or so I am a consistent 180lbs so at least that. I am currently doing the "insanity workout" which is great but I don't really care for all of the jumping or the "routine" of doing the same DVD's over and over. Sorry for the long story but what can I do to really help cut my weight back down? I don't eat fast food, my diet is based more on smaller portions but more meals throughout the day. I switched from white bread to wheat bread, I don't use mayo on my sandwiches. I don't drink soda and whenever I get hunger cravings I drink more water or eat something like an apple. I also have bad genetics when it comes to maintaining weight, I really have to work hard to keep the progress I make just to begin with let alone trying to lose 25lbs. I've learned some things that might be helpful. I'm 5'6" and was 155 although I'm actually trying to gain weight. Not sure where to start, so this might a be a little random. One thing was a friend loaned me a cookbook he had, "Cooking Light: Fresh Food Fast", which has really good recipes which are pretty easy to fix, taste great, and are healthy. Plus photos of every recipe. Being a guy, I like seeing the pictures because it's hard to tell what something will be like reading an ingredients list. You can find it on amazon, etc. During the week I'll have at least one meal with fish, chicken, beef and maybe turkey, to get some nice variety. I was not very good at hydrating, but someone mentioned using those Crystal Light packets and I tried those and it helps get down the amount of water you should be getting. I use one of those protein shaker bottles and fill with ice and water and some flavor of the day and take that to work. I also bring all my own food to work. I did it primarily for cost reasons, but you have control over everything and you can eat better. I eat 7 meals a day so I bring snacks like cottage cheese w fruit on the bottom (frozen blueberries are good because I usually have this around 3 in the afternoon and it keeps it cold). I also bring a protein shake & apple for a mid-morning snack. For lunch I'll usually have grilled chicken with salad (and I fix up all the meat and cut up veggies etc. on the weekend before). I do get up and get to the gym at 5am so I can work out before work. Otherwise it will never get done. But I'm not normal in that I just like working out. I grew up before electronics were popular, so we rode bikes, climbed trees, played in the pool etc. all summer and I just like moving. So I feel like I'm playing before I go to work and I don't see it as punishment. It's work but it's fun (just like a track day!). But I also found it helps my mind too, maybe it's all the endorphins or something. After that I come home and have 3/4c oatmeal, and scrambled eggs, 2whole+4 white (and my cholesterol is 120 and I am on no medications). So I think paying attention to your diet composition is a better strategy than just restricting calories. I eat a lot but I feel good, have energy, visible abs, etc. Guys, it's not wrong to feel good about yourself! You can do this! One last thing- one of the best pieces of gym equipment is a good friend to go with! Quote
mugget Posted February 9, 2013 Report Posted February 9, 2013 Alright time for my guilty confession......lol I have been out of the military for a little over a year now and I really enjoyed not having to wake up every morning to go run however many miles, push ups and ect. Well now looking in the mirror and being on the scale has made me miss being forced to do those things. I have a more stocky body build to begin with but not overly stocky. I am 5'5" and used to weigh 155lbs when I was in the military. Now I weigh a whopping 180lbs.....not feeling too great about myself. My size 42 US 1pc suit still fits me but it's tight where all of my fat goes which is at the bottom of my stomach and my thighs. I feel for ya, I was in a similar situation - got fairly hardcore into bodybuilding & was training hard, eating bucketloads of food but then due to working more overtime & life in general I just stopped training, but kept eating the same... got up to 24% BF (body fat) and could not see my abs, saw a photo of myself with my gut sticking out and thought that's just not me! But the good news is that I'm now down under 10% BF, feeling great & energy is through the roof (seriously considering lifting weights twice a day, and I am already on a 5 day split. Previously I would not have been able to bare the thought of anything more than my 3 day split, even when I was a lot younger). A favorite saying of mine is "what a man can do, any man can do" - that means you! So, here's how... Bear with me, this will likely be a lengthy post but it's important to explain things so you can have a solid evidence to base your decisions around. Of course those happened to be the most stubborn places to lose fat as well, I will add that I used to weigh 185lbs but since working out over the past month or so I am a consistent 180lbs so at least that. I am currently doing the "insanity workout" which is great but I don't really care for all of the jumping or the "routine" of doing the same DVD's over and over. First up, understand that you will lose fat from all over your body. I know that people say they have these "stubborn" places, but don't get discouraged by that. What you will find is that you will start to lose fat from your extremities, working in towards your stomach and thighs - those places may appear stubborn but that's just because they'll be the last places you lose fat from. You'll notice that your hands will get leaner (you may not think your hands are fat, but I promise you it's there), you'll feel that your shoes arean't as tight (yep fat is there as well). The point is that you can't try and select an area of fat you would like to lose, your body will lose fat in it's own way. As far as what kind of exercise to do, it's definitely important to find something that you enjoy - just from the point of view that unless you enjoy it, you won't stick with it. Having said that, the most effective way to change body composition (getting leaner or more muscular) is through weight training. Cardio has no effect on your body composition. Here's why: Body Composition Equation What you eat - determines your weight Strength - determines your lean mass Fat - is the difference in between So using that equation you have a couple of options if you want to lower your body fat %. You can keep eating the same, and get much stronger meaning that you will increase your lean mass and your fat mass will be proportionately less. Or you can adjust what you eat in order to lower your body weight (while maintaining your current strength which is very important), and your fat mass will also be lowered this way. Can you see how cardio fits into the above equation...? Don't feel bad if you can't see it - it's kind of a trick question... cardio doesn't have anything to do with fat loss at all! If you like lifting weights and have already started a program - that's great! The best thing you can do is stick with that, and best of all you don't have to spend hours and hours each week on a treadmill. Sorry for the long story but what can I do to really help cut my weight back down? I don't eat fast food, my diet is based more on smaller portions but more meals throughout the day. I switched from white bread to wheat bread, I don't use mayo on my sandwiches. I don't drink soda and whenever I get hunger cravings I drink more water or eat something like an apple. Standard Diets, Adaptation & Intermittent Fasting Okay - now diet is where there is a lot of room for improvement above & beyond body composition. If you eat a SAD (Standard American Diet) you will be overfed and undernourished. This probably goes for most of the western world as well, but if a panel of nutritionists and doctors got together and devised a diet with the aim of making people fat and sick - they would come up with the SAD. That's no exaggeration... it may be shocking to hear, but it is what it is. (I should also say that I am approaching this from the viewpoint of superior health & nutrition, not what most people would consider "normal". If someone wants to keep eating the SAD and die of heart disease, cancer or other illness in their 50's or 60's and be "normal" then that's their choice. But be aware that heart disease & diabetes are completely avoidable through superior nutrition and you can also greatly reduce your cancer risk as well as other illnesses.) You're on the right track by staying away from junk food (yes it's fast, but let's be honest - junk is what it really is). However eating smaller portions through the day may not be as productive as you think... How will your body ever use the fat (which is just stored energy) if you're constantly eating and giving your body energy through the day (no matter how small the portions may be). Also the body is amazingly adaptable - if you keep restricting calories eating less and less your body will just adapt to that. If you eventually get down to eating a leaf of lettuce and running 10 miles a day, your body would do it. (Okay, so you wouldn't feel great & probably would be ill, but your body would do it's best to adapt to those circumstances.) If you restrict your eating to 3 meals a day (or less) you give your body a chance to use the stored energy it already has. If you want to lose fat - snacking between meals is definitely out. One thing you may want to look into is Intermittent Fasting. This is an eating protocol whereby you set an eating window (perhaps 8 hours) and you don't eat anything outside that. I had some decent success with this, eating the first meal of the day at 1pm and not eating anything after 9pm at night. But IF is not a diet, it's just an eating protocol - you still eat all you would normally eat, just in the eating window. The whole idea that you must eat breakfast is basically nonsense. If you have a large meal (and you would on IF because there's no way to eat a whole days worth of food in 8 hours or less other than eat large meals) your body is still digesting that the next morning. Energy is fine, I was very skeptical at first but I ended up lifting weights in the morning (fasted) and it was just the same as if I had been eating 6 - 8 meals a day starting at 7am. The other thing people worry about is that their body will somehow "eat up" all their muscle while they're fasting. This is another nonsense. Why would your body skip past a readily available energy source (fat) and go straight to a difficult energy source like muscle? It just doesn't happen like that. IF is an option you may choose to utilise, some people find it convenient not to eat in the mornings but you still need a good diet... I also have bad genetics when it comes to maintaining weight, I really have to work hard to keep the progress I make just to begin with let alone trying to lose 25lbs. I would say that most people (well, practically everyone) has completely adequate genetics - once they remove toxic habits and allow the body to heal itself and begin to operate properly. This comes back to nutrition, most people simply don't get proper nutrition and their bodies pay the price. To get your head around this idea of superior nutrition you need to understand that the only way to consider food is on a nutrient per calorie basis, not on a calorie per weight basis. For example if I melt some butter and mix it into a glass of water, I could call it 98% fat free (by weight). Yet 100% of calories still come from fat. So you can see the difference... on one hand you have the common method that so many manufacturers and media use to judge food - 98% fat free, many people believe this makes a "good" food. But if you look at it from the view of nutrition, that same food is 100% fat. Bit of a difference! Diet Recommendations As I mentioned I had some success on IF and at that time my diet was something like 40/20/40 - 40/30/30 (protein/carb/fat ratio). High protein and high fat is actually good if you want to build muscle and lose fat. I was eating like that for at least 3-4 years and was slowly losing fat. I was doing IF for about 6-8 months and the fat loss sped up some, but nothing major. More recently I have switched to a "nutritarian" diet. This basically involves eating a lot of fresh veggies & fruit, as well as nuts and seeds - basically the salad is the mean meal, it requires you rethink your idea of salad & veggie portion sizes. The optimal version of this is vegetarian, but you can also eat up to 10% of calories from animal sources if your activity level requires or if you just like to. Now to dispel some myths... First of all you can get all essential and nonessential nutrients and amino acids from a plant diet (the only thing you will probably require are vitamin supplements B12 and D, plus Iodine and possibly a good EPA/DHA). Yes you will also get enough protein from a plant diet! Most people are conditioned to the conventional wisdom of protein requirement. Basically all the popular diets and guidelines you see will grossly overstate the daily protein requirement. Bodybuilding diets are even more extreme in their excess. Yes you may require large amounts of protein for "optimal" growth, but remember that I'm talking about this from the point of superior health. Scientific studies link high animal protein consumption with increased cancer risk. Most people don't realise that vegetables contain protein and even fats. A good bit of trivia is: What has more protein per calorie? Steak or broccoli? (It's broccoli!) Variety is also important. There's phytochemicals that scientists don't even know about, therefore if you limit the fruit & veg that you're eating you literally don't even know what other micronutrients you're missing out on. The problem with basing a diet around the macronutrients (protein, carbs, fats) is that your body needs much more than that for optimal health. The micronutrients are where the real nutrition is. If you eat a lot of animal products and grains, paying attention to the protein, carb, fat breakdown you likely won't be able to eat enough fruit and veggies, leaving your nutrition requirements lacking. However if you focus on eating for nutrition, your protein, carb, fat requirements will take care of themselves (fruit, veggies & nuts etc. contain protein, carbs & fats - but animal products & grains don't contain the nutrients found in fruit & veg). Ever notice that certain fruits or veggies will get featured in the media as being a "miracle food"? Well there are certain foods that have excellent properties.. but the point is that if you're eating a healthful diet full of variety you'll be getting all those variety of foods anyway - you don't need to go out of your way to select certain things. The other key points to a nutritarian diet are no sugar, no salt, and no dairy (have you ever seen a lively looking, energetic cow? Why should we drink the stuff they produce?!). Knowing what I know now, I have no problem giving up those things. But the key is education - if you're interested in this type of approach to superior health I would recommend reading Eat To Live by Joel Fuhrman: http://www.drfuhrman.com/ The Weight Loss - 8kg in 6 weeks Now for the really good bit - there are various meal plans/diets provided that take the guesswork out of what to eat, I am now on a "high activity" diet since I'm lifting weights again, but at the start of this I went straight from my previous regular diet (40/20/40) onto an "agressive weight loss" diet. In about 6 weeks on that I lost 8kg (~17lbs). That's a lot of fat! I was not training in that time, so I did lose some muscle mass as well, which was not so good... but you can get that back. It's best to at least maintain your strength with weight training. On that diet I was eating 3 times a day, nothing after about 8:30-9pm at night (it's best not to eat an hour or more before bed, for fat loss as well as other health reasons). On my current "high activity" diet I'm eating 3 times a day as well. My strength is coming back, I'm still losing body fat. Like I said I've got plenty of energy and I'm recovering from workouts fast enough that I'm considering working out once in the morning and again in the afternoon. Although I have adjusted my diet for greater health and longevity I still enjoy bodybuilding and I'm sticking with that, just that from now on I will build muscle healthfully and stay lean year-round. There's really no downsides to the nutritarian style diet, you'll be healthier and live longer. The only possible negative is that it takes longer to prepare fresh foods, but that is the cost of good health. And that's much better than what fast & convenient foods will cost you (being overweight, sick and unhealthy). Another thing to mention is that there's no nonsense about calorie counting. I've never been a fan of that myself. At least with all the time spent preparing food, you won't have to waste time weighing everything and calculating calories! A note on why calorie restriction/smaller portions don't work Just a bit more info on this... To give you some background, generally speaking the stomach can hold about 1 litre (1 quart) of food. Now your brain doesn't receive signals to stop eating based on how many calories enter your stomach - your brain will get the signal to stop eating when your stomach is full. So if you eat pizza or salad you will still need to eat the same amount to fill up. The difference is that with pizza you will have eaten way too many calories by the time you are full, with the salad you will still feel full but even though you've eaten a lot you will be nowhere near eating too many calories. This is the great thing about a diet with lots of veggies - you will not have to go hungry or feel like you're depriving yourself of food (and you'll still lose fat & be healthy). Small portions and calorie restriction may work for a little while - but is it sustainable? Remember that the body is incredibly adaptable, and likes to maintain a kind of equilibrium. So if you just eat smaller portions your body will adapt to that. And it's likely that you won't feel so great if you try and continue to restrict your food intake for a long time... most people who diet like that will eventually "fall off the wagon" as their bodies try to regain some balance in the face of ever decreasing meal sizes, and they regain the weight with a vengeance. If you could hear your body speak to you while you were reducing your portion sizes it would go something like this: "Okay, there's less and less food available - I'd better store some of this away as fat because I am going to need that energy if I keep getting so little food." Whereas if you were eating large portions of salad & veggies etc. it would go something like this: "Wow - plenty of food, I don't need to keep hanging onto all this extra fat I had stored, I'm already getting plenty of energy. And with all these extra nutrients I can have a spring clean and spruce up the place as well!" Hopefully you can see that a diet full of veggies & other natural foods is sustainable and truly healthful. Honestly I have zero reasons why I would change to any other kind of diet. I've been on this since November last year and there's just nothing in other diets that I miss. That tells me that this is definitely sustainable. I will also add that I have tried more natural fat burners and all they do is pump up my heart rate faster then I would without it doing the same exercise which limits me on how hard I can push. Then I also tried some other supplement stuff which is supposed to help release those stubborn fats when working out but can't really say those have done a whole lot either. I have even thought about doing 2 a days, cardio in the morning and weights in the afternoon as well. All the really effective fat burners have been banned for a good while... I have used MRM Meta-Burn EF for a good while when I was on the 40/20/40 diet and it did help with fat loss - but it seems that has been discontinued now. But honestly all those supplements and fat burners are basically ineffective compared with the rapid progress you can make with a truly healthful diet... I would urge you to look into changing your diet before going further down the supplements path. There is no truly effective supplement for fat loss, if there was - everyone would be on it. The entire supplement industry exists only because people are looking for shortcuts and an easy way out, on top of the fact that most people are so poorly educated when it comes to nutrition. If I could have a do-over... oh if only... compare years and years of rigid diet with fat burners thrown in - I lost the same amount of fat (maybe a bit less) in just 6 weeks through superior diet! Years versus weeks - that's a no-brainer to me. The Metabolic Cost The other thing to consider is that having a high metabolism is not a good thing for longevity. Not only do frequent small meals fail to assist fat loss, science shows a link between high metabolism and reduced life expectancy. Does having a raging metabolism even help fat loss? Well in my experience, having a slow metabolism sure doesn't slow fat loss! It may feel like your body is "doing something" when your body is running at max, but IMO it's not worth the cost. Educate yourself - base decisions on science & solid evidence You're going to find lots of different diets making all kinds of wild claims, but what I've learnt recently is that it pays to be very skeptical and critical. Sometimes you need to take things on faith if the subject or knowledge is just beyond you - but always try to find the reason for certain recommendations. For example don't just take the advice of the guy at the gym just because he told you a buddy put him on a diet and it worked for him... you can find people on just about every different diet who have low body fat and a great physique - but more often than not these people look good in spite of what they do, not because of it! Often different diets will rise to prominence in the media, or you may remember seeing conflicting information in the media. One that I keep remembering is the example of red wine. It seems like one minute the news reports are saying that a glass of red wine a day is good to cure x problem. Then the next day they're saying that red wine is bad for y problem. But there is an important lesson to be learnt there - don't take health and nutrition advice from the media! Nutrition is one of the most poorly understood subjects, even among doctors and nutritionists. In order to have a solid understanding of the subject one has to read thousands of scientific studies and stay up to date with new ones. The study methods need to be considered so that the findings are kept in context. This is simply beyond ordinary folks like you and I, which is why the only person and diet I've mentioned has been Dr. Fuhrman and the nutritarian diet. He lists the sources for all his claims - there's enough scientific studies listed in his book to keep a person busy for a long time if they wanted to read them all. Add to that the testimonials and success rate for his patents (completely reversing diabetes and turning back the clock on heart disease) and you start to get the idea that there's really something there based on science and not just guesswork. If you do happen to be seeking the guidance of a doctor or nutritionist etc. I think it's sensible to try and understand the reason why they make certain suggestions and recommendations. It may turn out that they really know their stuff - or it could turn out that they have old information or just plain don't have a good understanding of nutrition. Final Notes Just to briefly touch on a couple of other points that I saw mentioned in the thread - I saw mention of the blood group diet, I used to follow that myself as well and found it a good guideline. However as far as I know, there is absolutely no scientific basis for that diet. Whether or not you want to use that as a guideline for yourself, just be aware that it's not based on science. Another idea that seems to be popular (not that I saw this mentioned, but generally speaking) is "everything in moderation". The problem with this is that not all food is good for you, not even in moderation. Alcohol - if you are serious about losing fat and staying healthy, just give it up. Honestly alcohol is bad stuff... it's like steroids for fat. It will also actually cause you to lose lean mass faster than anything else. So you don't only get fat, but you get weak and fat. You can always tell young women who like to party and drink lots, it just stands out a lot on them. They may be slim, but they will be "skinny fat" - a dead giveaway for heavy/binge drinking. I have not had any alcohol since I made the decision to seriously lose my body fat about a year ago. And I've got some really nice scotch and port, different types of absinthe sitting in the house that I haven't even tried yet - but the cost is not worth it now that I'm serious about my fitness goals. If for some reason I felt like I wanted to drink because of a social occasion etc. I would limit it to a couple of drinks at most, not more than once a month (but even that is a compromise and is likely going to set you back). Binge drinking is probably the absolute worst thing you do as far as fat gain and muscle loss goes. You could literally undo months of hard training and careful diet! I don't know of any other drug that could possible do that kind of damage! I mentioned "toxic habits" earlier - what this means is basically things that are harming your body. If you feel bad when you give something up, if you are addicted to something, it's a sure sign that it's not good for you. It may be shocking for a person to realise that they have a sugar/salt/caffeine addiction, but if they try to give up those things and find they have headaches, feel poorly etc. then an addiction is exactly what it is. Once you remove the source of a toxin (for example sugar) your body starts to detox and you get the aches & pains. If you have some sugar again it keeps your body busy and it's not detoxing. If you feel better when you start having sugar again it could be easy to rationalise that it's good for you if it makes you feel better, but nothing could be further from the truth. Ultimately you will feel much better when you give it up and your body has had a chance to remove those toxins. On the subject of fat - these are a couple of facts that would have lead me to radically different decisions had I known them when I was younger. Firstly did you know that you cannot actually lose fat cells? As you gain body fat your fat cells expand and you look "fatter". However if you gain so much fat that your fat cells can't hold it all, your body will add new fat cells. The thing that really took me by surprise is that you can never actually lose those newly gained fat cells. Not really good news for those of use who have seen 20, 30% BF! Of course the size of those individual cells will reduce, obviously you can lose fat. But the shrunken cells will remain. The theory goes that this then makes fat gain in the future much easier. I guess at least that gives some motivation not to get any fatter than we already are! 2nd fat fact: The saying "a moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips" is true in more ways than one. When you eat fat, it is stored directly in fat tissues in the body. It doesn't even get processed/metabolised in any way before being stored. Scientists could take a biopsy of fat tissue and tell you exactly what kind of fat that is... chicken, beef, doughnut... I don't know about you, but that's kind of gross to think about... makes me rethink any desire for a Krispy Kreme or that bucket of KFC. If this all seems a bit extreme to what you're used to, just think about what kind of goal you want to reach and be realistic about your situation right now... If you want to make an extreme change, you must take extreme measures. I hope that wasn't too much of a boring read for you, I know there's a lot there but I am extremely passionate about this since learning and seeing how effective it has been for myself. I'm no scientist, so I've just tried to explain everything in a way that I would understand as a layman myself. Let me know if you have any questions or if there's anything else I can help with. I also noticed other people asking some questions so I'll just leave this post here and if anyone has questions I am happy to spend some time helping where I can. All the best with your weight loss! TL;DR Eat LOTS of fresh veggies Eat a large variety of foods including fruits, nuts & seeds (all as fresh as possible) Lift weights and increase your strength No need to count calories No need to starve yourself - eat until satisfied Try and limit animal products to less than 10% of calories Do NOT consume added salt, sugar Alcohol will turn you skinnyfat and weak Quote
DrStephenPrice Posted March 6, 2013 Report Posted March 6, 2013 Wow. Now I see why weight loss is a multibillion dollar industry. As you can see, there are as many opinions on how to cut weight as there are people in the world. It takes 3500 calories to make up a pound of fat. Your metabolism and activities determine how many calories you burn. So how you eat, what you eat, when you eat, can all be a factor. The most important thing for cutting fat is that you must burn more calories than you take in. It's a math equation. Not magic. Best, Dr. Price Quote
aslcbr600 Posted March 22, 2013 Author Report Posted March 22, 2013 Figured I would give an update on my progress thus far: I am now down from 185lbs to 178lbs, I weigh myself consistently and I have not had any variance in my new weight for the past week and a half or so which is nice because it proves my efforts really are paying off and not just having a "light day". I have been working 6 days a week 12hr shifts with a 2hr roundtrip for work commutes so essentially you can call it 14hr days 6 days a week. I haven't been able to really hit the gym except on my 1 day off a week so I knew I would need a drastic change in diet in order to continue losing weight. My job is on my feet all day doing various types of work but it's not intense all day long. We take 3 half hour long breaks every 3 hours, how does a guy lose weight with this type of schedule? Well I bring 4-5 bottles of water with me and 4 nature valley protein bars. I eat one protein bar every break instead of chowing down on full fledged meals like the other guys do. Each bar is 190cal, I also eat fruit on occasion but not always. I also bring some chicken or some type of carb meal like spaghetti and split that 1 serving size to 50% each break so I am not intaking a full serving favoring 1 break. I eat the slightly heavier serving with carbs at the 1pm break when I still have 6hrs left of work so it has a much better chance of burning all of the carbs as energy instead of being stored as fat at a later break we take at 4pm. At the 4pm break I will eat a protein bar and continue drinking water, I excercise when I can but right now it's very difficult to do when you need good sleep. I have been doing this routine for 3 weeks now and have lost 7lbs. The results aren't amazing but considering the conditions I think it's working very well for me! Rumor has it we may be switching to 6 10's so at that point I will actually have time to go to the gym Quote
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