Arkk's Weight Loss Thread

[Tuco]

Surprise Surprise the canadian likes hockey!

[jcdent0n]

I've managed to browse through most of this thread and it is certainly quite abundant with helpful information and tips. I was left with a few questions about what approaches should be applied based on the goal of the individual.

A brief summary of my current state of affairs - I am 23, 6'0" and about 235 lbs. My activity level has dropped of each year since high school where it was very high. I weighed around 205 my senior year in high school. That kind of defines my overarching goal - get back to my physical level 5 years ago. That being said my primary interest is burning fat.

A few questions that I had:

1) There seems to be quite a debate about cardiovascular training programs. I have been maintaining about 30 minutes a day running/walking (probably 3:1 running to walking). This is on top of a generally sedentary day job with some other activties during the week (golf, swimming, occasional hike) To truly be effective is this enough combined with a proper diet for healthy weight loss? Is it important that I extend the time or incoporate multiple smaller sessions during the day?

2) I see quite a debate about protein shakes. Are these used as a means of promoting muscle growth? I always avoided them under the impression that they were just for those trying to bulk up and were excessively calorie-dense. I am now realizing that that may be an inaccurate assumption as they seem to be used to meet the quota for protein, fat, and carbs.

3) The last point I wanted to bring up was a bit broader and about my general lifestyle. I run into the issue that to eat properly and avoid excessive calorie intake (I shoot for 1800 a day) I find myself attempting to avoid many things I would normally do for pleasure. A big component is alcohol in that I find myself avoiding going out for a drink with my friends because I know that will be 300-400 extra calories on the day or not going out to the movies because that would lead to some form of restraunt meal. Ultimately it comes down to willpower which I obviously lack to some extent but I was curious if anyone else felt that in order to get a handle on their own weight they had to shut many other things out...

[Fungul]

Originally Posted by jcdent0n

I've managed to browse through most of this thread and it is certainly quite abundant with helpful information and tips. I was left with a few questions about what approaches should be applied based on the goal of the individual.

A brief summary of my current state of affairs - I am 23, 6'0" and about 235 lbs. My activity level has dropped of each year since high school where it was very high. I weighed around 205 my senior year in high school. That kind of defines my overarching goal - get back to my physical level 5 years ago. That being said my primary interest is burning fat.

A few questions that I had:

1) There seems to be quite a debate about cardiovascular training programs. I have been maintaining about 30 minutes a day running/walking (probably 3:1 running to walking). This is on top of a generally sedentary day job with some other activties during the week (golf, swimming, occasional hike) To truly be effective is this enough combined with a proper diet for healthy weight loss? Is it important that I extend the time or incoporate multiple smaller sessions during the day?

2) I see quite a debate about protein shakes. Are these used as a means of promoting muscle growth? I always avoided them under the impression that they were just for those trying to bulk up and were excessively calorie-dense. I am now realizing that that may be an inaccurate assumption as they seem to be used to meet the quota for protein, fat, and carbs.

3) The last point I wanted to bring up was a bit broader and about my general lifestyle. I run into the issue that to eat properly and avoid excessive calorie intake (I shoot for 1800 a day) I find myself attempting to avoid many things I would normally do for pleasure. A big component is alcohol in that I find myself avoiding going out for a drink with my friends because I know that will be 300-400 extra calories on the day or not going out to the movies because that would lead to some form of restraunt meal. Ultimately it comes down to willpower which I obviously lack to some extent but I was curious if anyone else felt that in order to get a handle on their own weight they had to shut many other things out...

1. Are you seeing results? How do you feel at the end of the 30 minute session? If you have more energy and time doing more certainly won't hurt. I believe 1 hour is a good number to hit. It's also important to mix up the cardio activities which you seem to be doing. However on top of mixing the activities you should also mix up intensity. By this I mean don't always run for distance, sometimes run sprints. Swim some laps for speed. Get jump ropes! HIIT is how you'll burn a lot of fat.

2. People have the completely wrong impression of protein. If I tell girls to get more protein in their diet they immediately say "I DON'T WANT TO GET BIG!". The 3 macronutrients you have to balance in a diet are protein, fat, and carbs. There is absolutely no way around it. You need to figure out what balance works for you. You'll probably do well with a 35/35/30 or 40/40/20 ratio. After a workout a protein shake with a 2:1 carb/protein ratio is needed.

3. 1800 calories a day is really low for your weight. Where did you get that number? If you want to achieve your goal in the quickest posible time then yes I would say stop drinking. However if you're looking to find balance in your life then figure out how to eat healthy, exercise, and enjoy yourself. Personally I've done 3-4 month stints without any drinking or eating out so I could reach my goal without distraction. The side effect is you have no life. What you have to ask yourself at the end of the day is are you happy with your lifestyle?

[Tallyn]

Imo there's a lot of confounding going on between which activities are optimal for improving your body/fitness, and which are sufficient. While it certainly seems the case that having small meals, ~35/35/30 prot/fat/carb splits in your diet, and coordinating your meals and exercise is highly effective, you can definitely achieve "good" results with a much less OCD approach that works better for your lifestyle and is sustainable.

I've been lurking the body improvement competition and have lost over 15 lbs since June. Basically the only dietary thing I changed was to start counting calories using a free app on my iPhone ("Lose It!"). I still eat 3 times a day, and I eat exactly the same things in the same proportions as I did before, simply at a reduced quantity. I end up with a 25/25/50 prot/fat/carb split because I like fruits and vegetables (~2k cal and 100-150g protein per day, if you care). I've been making a mild effort to exercise more (I normally work out in some form 5 days a week), which has resulted clear strength and muscle gains even though that wasn't my primary goal.

Basically, I'm on a strong track to be in the best shape of my life about six weeks from now, at 30 years old. Could I get there faster and 10% "better" by eating boiled chicken with vitamin and fiber supplements? Probably, but that would make the process dissatisfying enough that I wouldn't keep it up. The most important thing you can do is to pick a compromise between performance and comfort that you can enjoy living in. After all, if you can't keep it up forever you're just going to regress to where you started.

[jcdent0n]

Fung,

In terms of results, I have not noticed a difference on the scale (been 2.5 weeks or so) but I definately notice my endurance increasing which is certainly a positive. That being said, I certainly can't run for that long but I could extend out to the hour mark with some longer walks for sure.

I am not versed in the technical aspects of fitness but my impressions were developed in high school where our cross country coach emphasized longer 70% heart rate activities which is why I always leaned towards hiking and longer walks.

In terms of calorie intake, I landed on 1800 because it worked for me a few years back albiet I was slimmer then...Looks like I should be shooting for 2100-2300 with moderate exercise.

[Eyashusa]

Going out and not drinking with your friends at a bar requires a lot of discipline, but its doable. Plus I know for me that when I drink, I smoke, and waking up the next day after smoking half a pack when you never smoke during the week makes me feel 10x worse than a hangover. So that gives me some incentive to stay sober when I go out.

[Vin Diesel's Dance Teacher]

This has been a really helpful thread and I've started to plan a new fitness regime with my house mate for our next year of Uni and wondered if you guys could offer me any advice or improvements on it please.

We're 22 and 21 - I'm build big (6ft 2, broad shoulders, muscular arms and frame for Rugby) but overweight now (16.5 - 17stone but don't look it thanks to my build) due to bad eating habits and lack of exercise. He's 6ft and more athletically built than me but still quite broad. Our plan is working towards the target of running the half marathon in our city in May as it's at the end of our academic year before we break for the summer. As we live in a shared house and do the same course at uni we feel our best bet is to do it togeather as we have similar schedules and can motivate each other.

At the moment our aims are weight loss, muscle toning and increased fitness and our plan is -

2 runs a week (starting with about 3 miles and progressing up between September and May)

3 Gym sessions a week - just lifting, no cardio. We're unsure whether 3 whole body work outs (arms, chest, legs and back) or splitting the 3 days up so different muscle groups are on different days is best.

1 Bike ride (most likely on sundays) - we live near a big national park and plan to ride parts of it each week. Aiming to ride for about 3 hours roughly.

1 5-a-side soccer match - We play for a 5-a-side soccer team and have a 50minute match once a week (high cardio).

I'm joining the Uni Lacrosse team and my training partner plays for the Uni Rugby team so that's training once a week and a game once a week usually.

Diet wise we're just going to try to eat better and cut down on the carbs. Eating more unprocessed foods and trying to cut down how often we get take outs (from once a week to once a month).

One problem we do have is as students we usually have 2 big nights out a week - average drinking for those nights out is 6 pints and a few shots a night.

It all sounds like a lot but due to our relaxed time table at Uni and lack of other commitments we think we're able to keep it up.

Any tips / advice on what could be improved / cut out / added in or what kind of weights we should be doing and what kind of meals we should be eating would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks a lot

[Fungul]

Originally Posted by Vin Diesel's Dance Teacher

This has been a really helpful thread and I've started to plan a new fitness regime with my house mate for our next year of Uni and wondered if you guys could offer me any advice or improvements on it please.

We're 22 and 21 - I'm build big (6ft 2, broad shoulders, muscular arms and frame for Rugby) but overweight now (16.5 - 17stone but don't look it thanks to my build) due to bad eating habits and lack of exercise. He's 6ft and more athletically built than me but still quite broad. Our plan is working towards the target of running the half marathon in our city in May as it's at the end of our academic year before we break for the summer. As we live in a shared house and do the same course at uni we feel our best bet is to do it togeather as we have similar schedules and can motivate each other.

At the moment our aims are weight loss, muscle toning and increased fitness and our plan is -

2 runs a week (starting with about 3 miles and progressing up between September and May)

3 Gym sessions a week - just lifting, no cardio. We're unsure whether 3 whole body work outs (arms, chest, legs and back) or splitting the 3 days up so different muscle groups are on different days is best.

1 Bike ride (most likely on sundays) - we live near a big national park and plan to ride parts of it each week. Aiming to ride for about 3 hours roughly.

1 5-a-side soccer match - We play for a 5-a-side soccer team and have a 50minute match once a week (high cardio).

I'm joining the Uni Lacrosse team and my training partner plays for the Uni Rugby team so that's training once a week and a game once a week usually.

Diet wise we're just going to try to eat better and cut down on the carbs. Eating more unprocessed foods and trying to cut down how often we get take outs (from once a week to once a month).

One problem we do have is as students we usually have 2 big nights out a week - average drinking for those nights out is 6 pints and a few shots a night.

It all sounds like a lot but due to our relaxed time table at Uni and lack of other commitments we think we're able to keep it up.

Any tips / advice on what could be improved / cut out / added in or what kind of weights we should be doing and what kind of meals we should be eating would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks a lot

It sounds like you 2 are extremely active. What you do for weight lifting is completely up to you and anything is going to work. I'm currently doing Westside for Skinny Bastards using the speed and strength template. It might be something you want to read up on.

The biggest thing is do a lot of research on eating clean. Make sure you're eating enough and have the proper ratio of protein/fat/carbs that works best for you. You don't want to go too low on carbs because you have a lot of cardio activities. A 40/40/30 ratio is probably going to work well for you.

Don't worry about the drinking unless you feel it's completely fucking everything else up. Try to balance it into your total calorie instake and you'll be fine.

[xeg_IS]

I broke up with my girlfriend of 3 years last year and decided it was time to get my shit together physically. I had been consistently going to the gym and doing 2 hours of cardio per week for at least a year and saw zero results. The only reason I stuck with it was that it was fun (football class). The significant change that occurred post breakup was my diet. It wasn't calorie counting or micromanaging what I ate, I stopped eating until I was full. Instead, I ate until my hunger was satisfied. Once portion control was considered in my diet, I dropped 20 pounds in less than two months. It's not rocket science but it is a lifestyle change, and its not easy, but once you get the hang of it, you're golden.

[Dinthug]

I haven't read the entire thing, but is there a better place to monitor your daily food than FitDay - Free Weight Loss and Diet Journal? It seems like that site has a pretty incomplete database of food, and the best suggestions usually don't even have what I'm looking for even though they are popular types of food.

If anyone wants an idea for a website, how about a website like this except with a flash based Grocery store foods /ingredients (icons of bread, cold cuts, burgers, cheese, mayo, etc.) so you can add up total calories like that. Wouldn't be a bad idea to put a way to enter prices of food so you can see what you're spending.

Something probably exists that I don't know of, fitday.com isn't great but it's what I'm going to use for now until I can find or make something better.

Edit: This one looks like what I was talking about, in html. Calorie Counter - Free Online Diet Journal

[Dinthug]

Nope, sucks as bad as the first one

[arkk123]

Originally Posted by Dinthug

I haven't read the entire thing, but is there a better place to monitor your daily food than FitDay - Free Weight Loss and Diet Journal? It seems like that site has a pretty incomplete database of food, and the best suggestions usually don't even have what I'm looking for even though they are popular types of food.

If anyone wants an idea for a website, how about a website like this except with a flash based Grocery store foods /ingredients (icons of bread, cold cuts, burgers, cheese, mayo, etc.) so you can add up total calories like that. Wouldn't be a bad idea to put a way to enter prices of food so you can see what you're spending.

Something probably exists that I don't know of, fitday.com isn't great but it's what I'm going to use for now until I can find or make something better.

Edit: This one looks like what I was talking about, in html. Calorie Counter - Free Online Diet Journal

I've always used an excel sheet. Every food is different from brand to brand, it is better to just read the label and input the info specific to the foods you eat.

[Dinthug]

Yeah I kinda realized that after the second site wasn't what I was looking for. It gives you the option to enter your own foods and I pretty much stick to the same kinds of things/brands so I'll just make my own custom foods.

[ChewieTobbacca]

All I can say is... thank god for protein powder

Whoever said the American diet is too carb filled is correct. Good luck finding food out there that you aren't making yourself that isn't 2x the carbs over protein

edit: also with regard to GI... what's more important is Glycemic Load. It's based on the amount you eat. Carrots are relatively high but you have to eat a shit load of them, which just isn't happening unless you're a rabbit or you pound carrot juice. However, go out and get pasta, and you'll probably get a huge gigantic portion.

[r3probate]

Originally Posted by Dinthug

Yeah I kinda realized that after the second site wasn't what I was looking for. It gives you the option to enter your own foods and I pretty much stick to the same kinds of things/brands so I'll just make my own custom foods.

I think Eomer mentioned it earlier in the thread or elsewhere, but I'm really liking Dailyburn. You can enter your own foods or just search - I haven't found any food that I eat regularly that isn't already listed by someone on the site. 15 lbs off since July 23rd when I saw it mentioned here just by closely monitoring what I eat and walking to and from school every day. I gotta actually start exercising soon to see some real results.