 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
| HomeDiscussion GroupsGeneral TopicsLow CarbWeightWatchers WeightAdviser.com Contact UsLink To UsSearch & Site Map |
Weight Loss Forum / General Topics / August 2004could really use some help
I'm a 5'7" 34 year old male and am in terrible shape. I weigh about 210 lbs and realistically I should be no more than 170 lbs. I want to eventually have a little bit of muscle tone, especially in the upper body, but right now I just want to lose the fat. It's being fat that's bothering me most of all. I want to see changes in my body as quickly as possible So what I'm wondering is if I'm on the path to doing that or if there's a more effective way. Here's what I *have* been doing for the last three weeks: I've limited my daily intake to between 1000 and 1500 calories. There have been three days in there where I fell off the wagon and it was probably as high as 2500 calories. The rest have been in the 1000-1500 range. I am a creature of habit, which might be a boon to me in this endeavor, as I am able to eat almost exactly the same thing every day without getting (too) sick of it. I start out with an apple or orange when I first wake up. About an hour later, I have a Zone Bar (210 calories - 7 grams fat, 21 grams carb, 16 grams protein). A couple of hours later I have lunch, which is a grilled chicken breast (187 calories, 6 g. fat, 0 g. carb, 34 g. protein), broccoli and green beans (total of about 3 g. fat, 17 g. carb, 4 g. protein). In the mid-afternoon I have another Zone Bar, and sometimes maybe an apple a little later on days when I am going to exercise. In my case, that means doing cardio three times a week, usually for about 50 minutes. Mostly this has been in the form of spinning/cycling classes. In the evening I have another Zone Bar, and that's it. There has been very little variation from this so far. So my question is, am I on the right path? Is my calorie intake too high? Too low? Not consistent enough? I know there's no overnight cure, but I want to make sure that I'm doing everything I can to bring about my goal as quickly as possible. As you can tell, I have so far not included any lifting in my regimen. Is it a bad idea to completely ignore it for now? I just figured it'd be easier to lose fat first by restricting calories and burning as many as I can (and I'm operating under the assumption that 50 minutes of cardio will burn more than 50 minutes of lifting), then start lifting once I've gotten down near my goal weight. Will this work? Are there any supplements on which there is a consensus that they are effective and should be part of my overall plan? I would really like to try ephadra/ephadrine (whichever is more effective) and I know that perhaps there is not a consensus on that one, but would appreciate any info on the recommended frequency/amount of dosage one should take. Also if there is a particular brand that anyone would like to recommend, I'd appreciate having that information as well. I know this is a long post, but I would truly appreciate any sincere thoughtful, feedback you can provide. Thanks. You are on the right track, but you could make some modifications. One is to ditch the zone bars and eat real food. Second is that exercise is important if you want to look good, feel good and keep weight off after you lose. Success in losing weight lies in devoting a good amount of time to it, to spend on exercising, cooking food, learning about dieting etc. You could, say, eat 300 calories more and spend 300 extra calories exercising. Unless you exercise your muscles, they would be the first to go (and not your body fat). Expect to be on some sort of a diet (conscious eating) forever. So, it does not at all make sense to be in a hurry to lose weight. You can drop your 50 lbs of weight in a sane manner, in maybe 6 months or so,r ather than be in a hurry. Don't expect to lose weight and eat all you want afterwards, it does not work, unfortunately. i "Ignoramus7404" <ignoramus7404@NOSPAM.7404.invalid> wrote in message Thanks for your response. A couple of follow-up questions... > You are on the right track, but you could make some modifications. One > is to ditch the zone bars and eat real food. How important is this? I use Zone Bars because I don't want to have to think about what percentages/ratios my rations should be. I like knowing exactly what I'm putting in my body. Will eating these impede my progress? Or do they just not have as many nutrients as real food? Second is that exercise > is important if you want to look good, feel good and keep weight off > after you lose. Success in losing weight lies in devoting a good > amount of time to it, to spend on exercising, cooking food, learning > about dieting etc. You could, say, eat 300 calories more and spend 300 > extra calories exercising. Unless you exercise your muscles, they > would be the first to go (and not your body fat). I do cardio three or four times a week. I assume you mean I should also be lifting weight > Expect to be on some sort of a diet (conscious eating) forever. That much I figured >So, it does not at all make sense to be in a hurry to lose weight. I just figure the quicker I see results, the more motivated I will be to stick with it. That was what I meant by that comment. >You can > drop your 50 lbs of weight in a sane manner, in maybe 6 months or so,r > ather than be in a hurry. Don't expect to lose weight and eat all you > want afterwards, it does not work, unfortunately. Yeah, sadly I know that too. > "Ignoramus7404" <ignoramus7404@NOSPAM.7404.invalid> wrote in message > [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > exactly what I'm putting in my body. Will eating these impede my progress? > Or do they just not have as many nutrients as real food? Depends on your POV really. Meal replacements are helpful to some people especially if time is an issue. They're also good in that they're portion controlled and you know what you're getting re: calories, etc. Also, they can take the place of a multivitamin if you aren't getting enough nutrients from your food. Finally, some people like the taste of their bar/shake/meal and it keeps them from eating things that are not so good. For example, when I get in that real *I need chocolate* phase, sometimes chocolate protein shakes make a good breakfast/snack/lunch, etc. Just check the labels of the supplements to make sure they aren't primarily sugar (like slim fast), make sure you're getting enough calories each day, and try to fit in plenty of veggies - not a lot of fiber in those bars :) There are studies out there that show meal replacements are helpful to weight loss. Do what WORKS for you and don't get too hung up on people who think they know it all. There are some people, myself included, who have done well with meal replacements. > I do cardio three or four times a week. I assume you mean I should also be > lifting weight Doing resistance training like weights is important to a well-rounded fitness routine. If you can't or won't do a gym (not really necessary) there are plenty of things you can do on your own. An excellent resource is http://www.stumptuous.com/weights.html which is geared toward women but helpful to all. Best of luck! Jenn >>"Ignoramus7404" <ignoramus7404@NOSPAM.7404.invalid> wrote in message >> [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > >>Or do they just not have as many nutrients as real food? I and most others view diet as a long-term change. Starting today and ending when no longer medically possible to maintain as opposed to now until the weight is gone. In my view, part of that long-term change is learning to adapt to the foods common to everyone. For example, learning to find all the nutrients and limiting the calories of those foods to equal the zone bar from table foods. Sooner or later you’ll end up having to eat a meal other than a zone bar. Before this happens, you want to know enough about table foods so that it won’t cause your diet to fail. I strive to make my diet work while eating nearly the same meals as others when in their presence. For me, it eliminates peer pressure and conflict. This in mind, going to a family BBQ, I would drink beer and eat small portions of a hamburger w/bun, potato and/or pasta salad, corn on the cob and cookies or brownies for dessert. Again the portions of these selections would be smaller than those around me, but it wouldn’t be obvious that I’m eating differently. In addition the previous and following meals would be calorie restricted to make up for this over-indulgence. If I generalize from my own experience, the low carb (LC) and (LF) dieters would eat mostly the dish they prepared to share. It’s most likely a LC or LF favorite. Beside that dish the LC dieters would eat the burger but the bun, beer, pasta salad, potato salad, corn and desserts would perhaps be avoided. Low fat (LF) dieters might avoid the beer, burger, pasta and potato salad (mayo) and dessert. Along the same lines, the Zone bar on your plate would look “different”. This is from my own observations at BBQs and doesn’t represent the eating habits of all LC or LF dieters. This “difference” and the conflicts it creates I feel would eventually cause me to give up my eating habits and join the overweight population. That’s my personal preference/weakness. Others may believe the conflict makes them stronger and more likely to succeed or that those questioning their food choices should look in a mirror and think about joining instead of ridiculing. My choice is to avoid the conflict by limiting portions at the BBQ and perhaps reducing calories at the previous and following meals in private. >I do cardio three or four times a week. I assume you mean I should >also be lifting weight I believe your original post said you were looking for upper body muscle. This is rather difficult with only cardio unless you’re using an elliptical cross-training machine and increasing the resistance. > I strive to make my diet work while eating nearly the same meals as > others when in their presence. For me, it eliminates peer pressure and [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > these selections would be smaller than those around me, but it wouldnt > be obvious that Im eating differently. In addition the previous and The portions would not necessarily even be smaller than those of others. They will be smaller than you were used to. And, skipping something is rarely noticed, especially if you have a bit of it on your plate. i > I and most others view diet as a long-term change. yeah, that's why I didn't even bother with LC/ketogenic diets. Looking back on it, 50lbs to lose was a cakewalk really, (though it seemed to be an impossible goal at the start for some reason). eat less, exercise more. I think that's all most people need to lose any amount of weight and keep it off, though of course people need to look at their eating habits and figure out how to fit a WOE into their lifestyles. Not easy, really, and returning to the old habits will kill any diet success fast. You've got to really want to be thinner more than wanting to stuff your face. This is the core battle, everything else is a sideshow, though one must admit different people have different struggles with weight gain, and most guys have less physiological challenges than women in this department. Heywood 232/186/182 >> I and most others view diet as a long-term change. > > yeah, that's why I didn't even bother with LC/ketogenic diets. Looking > back on it, 50lbs to lose was a cakewalk really, (though it seemed to > be an impossible goal at the start for some reason). I have been in the opposite situation. Like you, I lost weight by eating less, and am maintaining, but right now I am drifting towards LC as it seems that it may best address my own health issues (history of diabetes in the family and my not so great blood sugar control). In fact, right now I am experimenting with a paleo diet -- no grains, no starch, no added sugar, no processed food. It's been about two weeks and so far, I am not gaining. I am not yet eating quite ad lib, but I am somewhat less hungry this way. I will see how it goes and how well it works to help me maintain my weight loss. In alt.support.diet.low-carb, there is a few people who maintained their weight loss for 6-7 years. One guy (Ray) has been on a paleo diet for 15 years, but since he is the author of the paleo diet book, he has a self interest that makes me look for experiences of people other than himself. i > "Ignoramus7404" <ignoramus7404@NOSPAM.7404.invalid> wrote in message > [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > exactly what I'm putting in my body. Will eating these impede my progress? > Or do they just not have as many nutrients as real food? There are two issues, one is the nutrients, as you noted. Even if they add vitamins to those bars, they are not as bioavailable as the ones from real food. Another is that these bars are full of sugar, which does not have much nutritional value. Third is that it is full of soy protein, which some people think of as promoting female hormones. I can dig up references if you are interested. > Second is that exercise >> is important if you want to look good, feel good and keep weight off [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > I do cardio three or four times a week. I assume you mean I should also be > lifting weight yes, both, cardio and weights, plus diet, that's what creates good fitness. (duh) >> Expect to be on some sort of a diet (conscious eating) forever. > > That much I figured Seriously, I hate to sound like a bore, but dieting is forever, once you get off the wagon, it is hard to get back. >>So, it does not at all make sense to be in a hurry to lose weight. > > I just figure the quicker I see results, the more motivated I will be to > stick with it. That was what I meant by that comment. Maybe how about replacing quicker by steadier. I have to admit that I myself lost weight too quickly, not knowing better. I was lucky and nothing bad came out of this, but it could have turned out worse. i I've bought whey protein bars and I've seen some that are low in sugar. "Ignoramus7404" <ignoramus7404@NOSPAM.7404.invalid> wrote in message > There are two issues, one is the nutrients, as you noted. Even if they > add vitamins to those bars, they are not as bioavailable as the ones > from real food. Another is that these bars are full of sugar, which > does not have much nutritional value. Third is that it is full of soy > protein, which some people think of as promoting female hormones. I > can dig up references if you are interested. > I've bought whey protein bars and I've seen some that are low in sugar. Interesting. The OP spoke about him eating Zone bars, which are full of sugar. Maybe there are whey protein bars sold somewhere, that are not full of sugar, I don't know. Or maybe they have hidden sweeteners, maltitol etc. What I would like to see on sale is real pemmican bars... Someone will make a fortune selling them. A simple product, stores forever without refrigeration, and of the right consistency for "bars". The cost to make one would be about $1-1.50 per 100 gram bar, but it is going to be about 800 calories, so paying $3 for it would not be unimaginable. Pemmican is made of crushed meat jerky, beef tallow, dried berries, and nuts or seeds. I made some last week. i > "Ignoramus7404" <ignoramus7404@NOSPAM.7404.invalid> wrote in message > [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >> protein, which some people think of as promoting female hormones. I >> can dig up references if you are interested. > > I've bought whey protein bars and I've seen some that are low in sugar. > [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > sugar, I don't know. Or maybe they have hidden sweeteners, maltitol > etc. There are several bars sold with less than 5 grams of sugar. Here's an easy way to find them. http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/protbarfinder.htm > What I would like to see on sale is real pemmican bars... Someone will > make a fortune selling them. A simple product, stores forever without [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > >> protein, which some people think of as promoting female hormones. I > >> can dig up references if you are interested. >> > I've bought whey protein bars and I've seen some that are low in sugar. >> [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/protbarfinder.htm Thanks, an interesting search engine. i >> What I would like to see on sale is real pemmican bars... Someone will >> make a fortune selling them. A simple product, stores forever without [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] >> >> protein, which some people think of as promoting female hormones. I >> >> can dig up references if you are interested. >>I've bought whey protein bars and I've seen some that are low in sugar. > > Interesting. > > The OP spoke about him eating Zone bars, which are full of sugar. 12 g of sugar per serving for a Zone bar 14 g of sugar for a medium apple 14 g of sugar for a medium banana 5 g of sugar for a 3" tomato  Signaturejmk in NC > There are two issues, one is the nutrients, as you noted. Even if they > add vitamins to those bars, they are not as bioavailable as the ones > from real food. Another is that these bars are full of sugar, which > does not have much nutritional value. Fruit is full of sugar. A ZonePerfect bar actually has less "sugar" in it than an apple. Really, what JMA said is on track. Do what works for you. If you love fruits and veggies, have a lot of them. If you like Zone bars, have some of them. Try to do things in moderation and do try to mix things up a bit so that you get the whole range of nutrients out there. Are you happy with the results that you are seeing at this time? Is this a Way of Eating (WOE) that you feel that you can maintain for the long haul? Signaturejmk in NC >> There are two issues, one is the nutrients, as you noted. Even if they >> add vitamins to those bars, they are not as bioavailable as the ones [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > Fruit is full of sugar. A ZonePerfect bar actually has less "sugar" in > it than an apple. But it is not real food. > Really, what JMA said is on track. Do what works for you. If you > love fruits and veggies, have a lot of them. If you like Zone bars, > have some of them. Try to do things in moderation and do try to mix > things up a bit so that you get the whole range of nutrients out > there. While doing what works always makes sense, the original poster asked for suggestions on his diet. In light of that, a suggestion to replace the zone bars with something else is quite appropriate, it would be up to him to take it or not take it. Also, the corollary of doing what works is stopping doing what does not work, in a timely fashion. i > Are you happy with the results that you are seeing at this time? Is > this a Way of Eating (WOE) that you feel that you can maintain for the > long haul? >>>There are two issues, one is the nutrients, as you noted. Even if they >>>add vitamins to those bars, they are not as bioavailable as the ones [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > But it is not real food. According to your definition of "real food." A lot of people on this ng use some sort of bar or shake on a regular basis with a good deal of success. Signaturejmk in NC >>>>There are two issues, one is the nutrients, as you noted. Even if they >>>>add vitamins to those bars, they are not as bioavailable as the ones [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > use some sort of bar or shake on a regular basis with a good deal of > success. I remember a guy who posted here about his huge success eating ONLY Costco Kashi cereal and skim milk. http://tinyurl.com/3ttg3 His menu: ``Now I eat: Eat everyday: Breakfast 8am Multivitamin 30 grams Cereal 250 grams skim milk Snack 10am 20 grams Cereal 250 grams skim milk Lunch 30 grams Cereal 250 grams skim milk Snack 4pm 20 grams Cereal 250 grams skim milk Dinner 6pm 30 grams Cereal 250 grams skim milk Snack 8pm Multivitamin 20 grams Cereal 250 grams skim milk I also have 2 days a week when I eat junk food like two slices of pizza for a meal (since it's free at work) but don't do this until you've reached your ideal weight. '' i >> There are two issues, one is the nutrients, as you noted. Even if they >> add vitamins to those bars, they are not as bioavailable as the ones [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >Fruit is full of sugar. A ZonePerfect bar actually has less "sugar" in it >than an apple. Surely it is a different sort of sugar? I understand that the sugar in fruit, being unprocessed, doesn't provide merely "empty" calories the way sucrose does. SignatureAnnabel Smyth mailto:annabel@amsmyth.demon.co.uk http://www.amsmyth.demon.co.uk/index.html Website updated 18 July 2004 > Third is that it is full of soy > protein, which some people think of as promoting female hormones. I > can dig up references if you are interested. Soy Benefits Type 2 Diabetes http://my.webmd.com/content/Article/91/101375.htm?z=1728_00000_1000_nb_02 Signaturejmk in NC >> Third is that it is full of soy >> protein, which some people think of as promoting female hormones. I >> can dig up references if you are interested. > > Soy Benefits Type 2 Diabetes > http://my.webmd.com/content/Article/91/101375.htm?z=1728_00000_1000_nb_02 Interesting. Looks like soy protein may benefit diabetics who have protein in their urine. I was not aware that the OP is a diabetic who has protein in his urine. So, the relevance of this to the OPis likely minimal. Whereas, the fact that soy contains isoflavones, which act similarly to estrogen, is highly relevant for the OP. i "Ignoramus11472" <ignoramus11472@NOSPAM.11472.invalid> wrote in message > So, the relevance of this to the OPis likely minimal. Whereas, the > fact that soy contains isoflavones, which act similarly to estrogen, > is highly relevant for the OP. Hey there. So what is the down side to isoflavones? I mean, I know you said they act similarly to estrogen, but what does that mean in practical terms? i.e. what's bad about that? Thanks. > "Ignoramus11472" <ignoramus11472@NOSPAM.11472.invalid> wrote in message > [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > said they act similarly to estrogen, but what does that mean in practical > terms? i.e. what's bad about that? Thanks. Check this out. There are conflicting results about how they affect males, see this review: http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0822/is_10_103/ai_110960950 ``These data are consistent with those of Gardner-Thorpe and colleagues (22), who reported a 6 percent lowering of testosterone...'' Since soy studies are financed mainly by soy industry, I would be careful about soy myself. It is not the kind of food that we people are used to eating. i > It is not the kind of food that we people > are used to eating. Except in Asia Signaturejmk in NC > > Third is that it is full of soy > > protein, which some people think of as promoting female hormones. I > > can dig up references if you are interested. > > Soy Benefits Type 2 Diabetes > http://my.webmd.com/content/Article/91/101375.htm?z=1728_00000_1000_nb_02 It also may help prevent gallbladder disease though right now it's only been women who were studied. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_19121.html Jenn > "Ignoramus7404" <ignoramus7404@NOSPAM.7404.invalid> wrote in message > [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > knowing exactly what I'm putting in my body. Will eating these impede > my progress? Or do they just not have as many nutrients as real food? It's really not that difficult to track your food intake and exercise by using programs like Fitday (http://www.fitday.com) or DietPower (http://www.dietpower.com). I've been using DietPower for over a year now with excellent results. I don't think you should rely on pre-packaged food like Zone Bars. What you should be doing is learning a new WOE that is healthy. Phil M. Ephedra is illegal because too many people have died from taking it. Keep up with what you're doing and forget about speed. You need to be doing this the rest of your life or the weight will come back. You want to be healthy for good, not bounce up and down like a yoyo. So keep up the exercise, get a wider variety of plant foods, and make sure you get your 120 grams of carbohydrates a day to keep your serotonin levels up. > I'm a 5'7" 34 year old male and am in terrible shape. I weigh about 210 lbs > and realistically I should be no more than 170 lbs. I want to eventually [quoted text clipped - 42 lines] > I know this is a long post, but I would truly appreciate any sincere > thoughtful, feedback you can provide. Thanks. > Ephedra is illegal because too many people have died from taking it. Keep > up with what you're doing and forget about speed. In a shocking turn of events, Patty is wrong again. Ephedrine is readily available in every drugstore in the U.S. and no one who has used it responsibily has been shown to die from it. It's not speed, either. For more information visit www.drumlib.com to learn about thermogenics. Dally > > Ephedra is illegal because too many people have died from taking it. Keep > > up with what you're doing and forget about speed. [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > Dally I thought president Bush banned ephedra a couple of months ago.... >> > Ephedra is illegal because too many people have died from taking it. > Keep [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > I thought president Bush banned ephedra a couple of months ago.... he banned ephedra the herb, but not ephedrine the chemical. i > > Ephedra is illegal because too many people have died from taking it. Keep > > up with what you're doing and forget about speed. > > In a shocking turn of events, Patty is wrong again. Ephedrine is > readily available in every drugstore in the U.S. and no one who has used > it responsibily has been shown to die from it. It's not speed, either. well yeah but do you know what's used to make methamphetamine? ephedrine, of course. http://www.totse.com/en/drugs/speedy_drugs/162384.html >> > Ephedra is illegal because too many people have died from taking it. Keep >> > up with what you're doing and forget about speed. [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > ephedrine, of course. And saltpetre is used to make gun powder. That doesn't mean you're going to explode after eating ham and pickles. Signaturejamie (jamiemck@newsguy.com) "There's a seeker born every minute." > >> > Ephedra is illegal because too many people have died from taking it. > >> > Keep up with what you're doing and forget about speed. [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > And saltpetre is used to make gun powder. That doesn't mean you're > going to explode after eating ham and pickles. but you never know for sure, do you? ephedrine does act similarly to speed for a lot of people. it isn't necessarily speed, but it can be and it can also be a substitute for it. > ephedrine does act similarly to speed for a lot of people. it isn't > necessarily speed, but it can be and it can also be a substitute for it. You mean it acts like a stimulant? How shocking! But true. Actually, that's the biggest problem with EC stacking: people are upset when they take two stimulants and get stimulated. Then they report the unwanted side effects as a problem - they felt jittery, wired, couldn't sleep... as if these were unexpected! Well, I guess they were because people are unrelentingly stupid. Don't take stimulants unless you want stimulants. Dally > > ephedrine does act similarly to speed for a lot of people. it isn't > > necessarily speed, but it can be and it can also be a substitute for it. > > You mean it acts like a stimulant? How shocking! i'm not the one who's disputing its properties as a stimulant. that would be you. >>>ephedrine does act similarly to speed for a lot of people. it isn't >>>necessarily speed, but it can be and it can also be a substitute for it. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > i'm not the one who's disputing its properties as a stimulant. that > would be you. I said it wasn't "speed", which is mostly thought o mean methamphetamines. See http://www.health.org/newsroom/rep/215.aspx for a definition of speed. Speed is addictive and has more affects than EC stacking. It's also illegal. There are substantial differences between EC stack and doing meth. Dally > >>>ephedrine does act similarly to speed for a lot of people. it isn't > >>>necessarily speed, but it can be and it can also be a substitute for it. [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > stacking. It's also illegal. There are substantial differences between > EC stack and doing meth. you don't say. > I'm a 5'7" 34 year old male and am in terrible shape. I weigh about 210 lbs > and realistically I should be no more than 170 lbs. I want to eventually [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > wondering is if I'm on the path to doing that or if there's a more effective > way. Forgive me for being critical - I am thinking of this as a helping hand but I'm afraid it's going to sound too sharp, but here goes. You don't need to change your body, you need to change your life. Your body will change along the way. You need to learn how to act like a slender person. There are five steps: 0. Fix your head 1. Eat less 2. Exercise more 3. Repeat 4. Forever. It takes a fair amount of work to figure out how to do all these things. Step 0, where you're at, is about introspection. Why do you want to lose fat? Why did you choose to become fat in the first place? Are you willing to change those behaviors for the rest of your life? There are trade-offs, you know. Are you choosing this because you've decided to change yourself, or is part of yourself bullying you into doing something you have every intention of sabotaging? > Here's what I *have* been doing for the last three weeks: I've limited my > daily intake to between 1000 and 1500 calories. There have been three days > in there where I fell off the wagon and it was probably as high as 2500 > calories. The rest have been in the 1000-1500 range. A man your age and size ought to be eating no less than 2000 calories a day or so. You're shooting yourself in the foot by dropping lean body mass alongside the fat: try to lose more slowly to preferentially target fat instead of muscle. That means eat more. My suggestion is to eat at what you'd think of as maintenance level when you get there. Just teach yourself what that feels like. Step 1 is about learning how to eat less for the rest of your life. Measure portions. Thing about fiber and phytonutrients and healthy fats. Learn some new food short-cuts and better breakfast choices and learn what mix works best for your body. The good news is that you've got every meal for the rest of your life to work this out. I highly recommend something like the Zone Diet books by Barry Sears. The South Beach Diet (once you get past the first two weeks) or even the Atkins diet once you get past induction (just skip that step) are good because they make you examine your carb choices. You don't have to be "low-carb", but you really ought to keep carbs under 50% of your calories just because otherwise you're probably not feeling sated on a reasonable number of calories. > I am a creature of > habit, which might be a boon to me in this endeavor, as I am able to eat > almost exactly the same thing every day without getting (too) sick of it. You need to develop some better habits. You also need more vegetables, healthy fats and fiber in your diet. > I start out with an apple or orange when I first wake up. Here's a great hint: add some protein and a dose of fat to every meal. For the apple you could slice it and eat it with peanut butter. For the orange maybe you have a dish of skimmed milk cottage cheese. > About an hour > later, I have a Zone Bar (210 calories - 7 grams fat, 21 grams carb, 16 > grams protein). It's a candy bar. Sorry. It's got all sorts of chemicals, simple sugars and various crap. I can see doing them once in a while, but you've got to learn a bigger bag of tricks. Could you boil some eggs? Eat some oatmeal mixed with protein powder? Even drinking a myoplex lite protein shake with some skimmed milk would be a better idea. > A couple of hours later I have lunch, which is a grilled > chicken breast (187 calories, 6 g. fat, 0 g. carb, 34 g. protein), broccoli > and green beans (total of about 3 g. fat, 17 g. carb, 4 g. protein). Sounds like my winter lunch. In the summer I tend to have salad with grilled meat of some sort on it. If I don't have leftover grilled meat (I do two breasts up at a time on my George Foreman Grill) then I'll open up a can of tuna and dump it on. > In the > mid-afternoon I have another Zone Bar, and sometimes maybe an apple a little > later on days when I am going to exercise. No problem with this. I think it's smart to plan a mid-afternoon snack to keep energy levels high. I usually have a Myoplex Lite shake then, or maybe a Balance Bar (which I prefer over Zone bars.) > In my case, that means doing > cardio three times a week, usually for about 50 minutes. Mostly this has > been in the form of spinning/cycling classes. I'll address exercise below. > In the evening I have another > Zone Bar, and that's it. There has been very little variation from this so > far. Ditch the Zone bar and eat a light dinner. Go light on carbs with this meal. I often have the same things for dinner as I had for lunch. In fact, I tend to make double recipes and use the leftovers for my lunch the next day. Consider grilling some fish. > So my question is, am I on the right path? Is my calorie intake too high? > Too low? Not consistent enough? The refeed day idea is a good one, but you should be a bit more deliberate about it. Pick your day in advance if you can and then deny yourself your splurges until then. It's not that you can't ever have pizza again, you can have it on your refeed day. One of the things this does is teach you how to STOP splurging because it's only one day and you have to practice climbing back on the restained eating wagon over and over again. This is a skill that will serve you well in life. > I know there's no overnight cure, but I want to make sure that I'm doing > everything I can to bring about my goal as quickly as possible. As you can [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > 50 minutes of lifting), then start lifting once I've gotten down near my > goal weight. Will this work? You're making a couple of mistakes. First off, it's a better deal for fat loss to spend 50 minutes weight-lifting than 50 minutes doing cardio. Cardio is good for the heart, but it really doesn't do much for fat loss, especially if you're doing 50 minutes of it, i.e., endurance stuff. You need to change the way your body accesses fat. You do that by startling your body. Instead of long-slow cardio, do interval training (wind sprints) where you cycle through slow/moderate/all-out/recovery: do this with 1 minute at each level four or five times in a row and you'll be wiped out and on your way to burning that belly fat. I personally do high intensity interval training two or three times a week and on alternating days I do weightlifting. The reason you want to do weightlifting is that it increases your metabolism, i.e., you burn more calories 24/7. It also helps to burn more of the calories from your fat stores and preserves muscle mass - you don't really want to lose WEIGHT, you want to lose FAT. Weightlifting facilitates that. Other good things about weightlifting is that it's addictive - you want to make sure you get to the gym two or three times a week or you'll lose your gains and get DOMS all over again. And then there's the part where weightlifting makes you stronger and less prone to injury, so your cardio is both more fun to do and safer. > Are there any supplements on which there is a > consensus that they are effective and should be part of my overall plan? Many of us have found that glucosamine/chondroitin/MSM is a good addition to our lives - all our new activity (with excess fat still on us) is hard on our joints. One knee injury can sideline you from exercise: protect your joints. > I would really like to try ephadra/ephadrine (whichever is more effective) > and I know that perhaps there is not a consensus on that one, but would > appreciate any info on the recommended frequency/amount of dosage one should > take. Also if there is a particular brand that anyone would like to > recommend, I'd appreciate having that information as well. Bronkaid and Primatene are both sold in drug stores in 12 mg caplets. I recommend getting a pill cutter and splitting them in half and starting with a 6 mg dose combined with 1/4 caffeine tablet (about 50 mg). The thermogenic dose is about 10 times the caffeine to the ephedrine. You need to know that this is a STIMULANT and will be stimulating. Ramp up slowly. Don't take after mid-afternoon. I take a dose first thing in the morning and rarely do an afternoon dose. I buy my ephedrine HCl in 8 mg tablets from places in Canada (google for them) but I'd start by buying one box from your local drugstore to see how this works out for you. I'll say this again: you are talking about taking a stimulant. You shouldn't do this if you have high blood pressure or a variety of organ problems, some of which you might not know about. Read up on EC stacks at www.drumlib.com > I know this is a long post, but I would truly appreciate any sincere > thoughtful, feedback you can provide. Thanks. My husband just walked by and asked if I was writing a book. :-) Dally 244/174/168 > I'm a 5'7" 34 year old male and am in terrible shape. I weigh about 210 lbs > and realistically I should be no more than 170 lbs. first, 40lbs is nothing. I lost that over 5 months from February. I'm 6'1", 37, and started at 232lbs. > especially in the upper body, but right now I just want to lose the fat. But looking back on it now, I think I went too fast and certainly should have concentrated on my upper body, since I lost more from the top than my waist, and now have ~10lbs still to go there. I too didn't think a "diet" and muscle building together made sense, but I think with the right WOE it can work. The main thing is to have good protein and carbs right after lifting for muscle repair, and also having enough carbs (as glycogen) at the start of exercise to power it. > It's being fat that's bothering me most of > all. I want to see changes in my body as quickly as possible So what I'm > wondering is if I'm on the path to doing that or if there's a more effective > way. My advice is to shoot for no more than a 1% weight loss per week, or in your case 2lbs/week. This is plenty fast enough to lose the 40lbs -- just 20 weeks! > Here's what I *have* been doing for the last three weeks: I've limited my > daily intake to between 1000 and 1500 calories. This is way to low. Starving yourself works in the short-term but not the long-term. With daily exercise, you will be burning at least 3000 kcal/day, and the calculation for fat loss is 1lb of fat = 3500kcal, so to lose 2lbs/ week you need to have a 7000kcal deficit, which works out to 1000kcal deficit per day, or . . . 2000 kcal/day of food intake. So 1500 kcal should be a daily MINIMUM not HIGH for you, because it is true what we diet at is what we've got to maintain on. > I start out with an apple or orange when I first wake up. About an hour > later, I have a Zone Bar (210 calories - 7 grams fat, 21 grams carb, 16 > grams protein). Not a bad start. Though maybe a bit carb-heavy, I too start with a cereal. > A couple of hours later I have lunch, which is a grilled > chicken breast (187 calories, 6 g. fat, 0 g. carb, 34 g. protein), broccoli > and green beans (total of about 3 g. fat, 17 g. carb, 4 g. protein). 200 kcal is pretty light here. You should have at least 4 meals w/ 400kcal each throughout the day. > In the > mid-afternoon I have another Zone Bar, and sometimes maybe an apple a little [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > Zone Bar, and that's it. There has been very little variation from this so > far. I second the recommendation for protein powder. I haven't tried many, but I really like the taste of the one I use: http://www13.netrition.com/eas_simply_protein_page.html it's got stevia in it, so it tastes great with milk, either in oatmeal or over cold cereal. I usually add it to my cheerios, and it's rather quite tasty. > So my question is, am I on the right path? Is my calorie intake too high? > Too low? Not consistent enough? I'd think about adding more calories for night. Remember, you've got to go all that time between dinner and breakfast, and getting hungry is most definitely not necessary for losing weight, as long as you eat smart. > I know there's no overnight cure, but I want to make sure that I'm doing > everything I can to bring about my goal as quickly as possible. gack. Don't worry about the goal. You'll be within spitting distance before the end of the year. Worry about staying healthy and learning how to not regain the weight. I just finished my 24-week regimen, but I'm still on the plan since I want to lose another 10 or so. If you're doing the diet right it's just a way of life, and something you won't have to go off of once you reach the goal. In fact, the very word goal is the wrong word, since there is no end goal -- if you work it right your body will always be improving from here on, out to the future... > As you can > tell, I have so far not included any lifting in my regimen. Is it a bad [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > 50 minutes of lifting), then start lifting once I've gotten down near my > goal weight. Will this work? It'll be great for losing MUSCLE. Don't go too fast. > Are there any supplements on which there is a > consensus that they are effective and should be part of my overall plan? I [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > take. Also if there is a particular brand that anyone would like to > recommend, I'd appreciate having that information as well. For 40lbs, forget it. Sheesh. 40lbs looks like a lot now but if you're anything like me the first 30lbs will come off with little pain, and only a bit of sweat. 2lbs/week doesn't sound very fast, but the weeks add up into real results! Heywood 232/186/182 >I too didn't think a "diet" and muscle building together made sense, >but I think with the right WOE it can work. The main thing is to have >good protein and carbs right after lifting for muscle repair, and also >having enough carbs (as glycogen) at the start of exercise to power >it. I kept up weight training for the two years it took me to lose 119 lbs. (as well as doing it before I began and continuing to do it now). While I'm sure I didn't have an actual increase in muscle mass over that time, I think it helped keep muscle loss to a minimum and helped me keep skin tone. (Someone who has never done weight training can actually add muscle while losing weight, but generally not someone who is well past the newbie stage like I was.) Your nutritional advice is good -- particularly the importance of eating after lifting. >So 1500 kcal should be a daily MINIMUM not HIGH for you, because it is >true what we diet at is what we've got to maintain on. I don't think this is exactly accurate. It may be that the starting figure for a dieter -- if they're significantly overweight -- may be the same as their eventual maintenance figure. But along the way to getting to goal weight they will drop their calorie intake below the maintenance level. Then when they reach their maintenance weight they'll need to increase their calories a bit to stop losing. You don't want to keep eating at a 500-1000 calorie per day deficit once you're at goal, clearly. Chris 262/143/ (145-150) > >So 1500 kcal should be a daily MINIMUM not HIGH for you, because it is > >true what we diet at is what we've got to maintain on. [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > don't want to keep eating at a 500-1000 calorie per day deficit once > you're at goal, clearly. yeah I was thinking "more-or-less" here. The more extreme the deficit the more lost muscle and hence the lower the BMR on maintenance. As a rule maintenance calories aren't that much greater, as a %, of dieting calories, so it behooves one to get a livable WOE and exercise plan going early rather than late to be able to enjoy as much food as possible while in maintenance. > I'm a 5'7" 34 year old male and am in terrible shape. I weigh about 210 lbs > and realistically I should be no more than 170 lbs. I want to eventually [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > way. > <snip> 1. You are very overweight - go see a doctor and get his OK on you starting exercise. 2. Build up exercise gradually; and I mean gradually - I was >200lbs two years ago; it's taken me that long to ramp up the exercise to daily cardio, and 3xWeights sessions a week. Don't run whilst you are carry a lot of weight - you'll muller your knees - try cycling/swimming. 3. Use natures snacks/meal replacements; your body is the product of millions of years of evolution based on natures' bounty; factory made food is a recent thing and IMHO has little place in a diet. Pick from this list (as examples): Apples, Bananas, Peaches, Pears, Almonds, Hazelnuts, Berries (Strawberries, Raspberries etc), Oatmeal (eg: Flapjacks made with real honey - yum)... etc etc. 4. Aim for a 1,000 calorie per day deficit. Tailor input to output to maintain that deficit. 5. Drink water. Lots of water. Aim to pee at least once every one/two hours. I aim for 3 to 4 litres a day - plus whatever I need extra when exercising. 6. Be patient. It probably took years for you to get into the situation you are in now - it'll probably take years to undo it. You are changing your lifestyle - not doing a temporary fix. Enjoy -- Succorso > I just figured it'd be easier to lose > fat first by restricting calories and burning as many as I can (and I'm > operating under the assumption that 50 minutes of cardio will burn more than > 50 minutes of lifting), then start lifting once I've gotten down near my > goal weight. Will this work? Yes. > Are there any supplements on which there is a > consensus that they are effective and should be part of my overall plan? I [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > take. Also if there is a particular brand that anyone would like to > recommend, I'd appreciate having that information as well. Forget the supplements. At this point, they will only complicate your exercise regimen. |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2012 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.