Couple of questions...

danhusssain1516

I am 19. 6ft and weigh 87kg. I want to lose weight, then build muscle so my main priority is losing weight.
I go to the gym 4 times a week, and do cardio and other leg/arm/back/shoulder machines.
Here are the questions:
1. What is the best piece of equipment to use to lose weight and how long should I spend on them to lose weight effectively? i.e. In my gym there are rowing machines, treadmills, cross trainers, bikes and a few others. My personal favourite is the bike/cross trainer but I'm unsure how long to spend on them.
2. In terms of food, This is my normal day; Breakfast in the morning around 11am - Either Weetos/Crunchy Nut. Sometimes I have lunch, sometimes I don't. For dinner I either have any of these things; Chicken Breast and Chips/Parmaesan/Sheapeards Pie/Lasagne/Pasta/Fish and Chips and always drink water with them. My question is esentially should I weigh my food because I don't know how many g of each of these I eat therefore I can't get an accurate calorie reading? Can anyone reccomend any good food scales If I need them and link me a website?
3. I have completely cut out all snacks i.e. Chocolate, Crisps, Fizzy drinks, cakes etc
4. Any other advice? I usually drink 2.5 litres a day of water and want to lose weight

WBB55

(1) I suggest putting your stats into this calculator http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

It's just an estimate, but if your ultimate goal is to keep muscle, you probably would be best served by losing weight slowly to preserve the muscle you have. At 6' and 191 lbs, you're not very overweight. Losing too fast will mean you lose muscle instead of fat.

Do you "eat back" the calories you earn from exercise?

(2) You don't HAVE to do any cardio while you lose weight. Lifting weights will help preserve the muscle you have. But it's hard to add much muscle if you're in a caloric deficit (you're male and young, so you might add a tiny tiny bit of newbie gains).

(3) Make sure to eat enough protein and fat. You need protein to keep muscle and you need fat to keep your hormones functioning.

Liftng4Lis

To lose weight, you need a caloric deficit. You do NOT need to give up anything. I would look into a progressive lifting program.

vismal

First off do not try to lose weight while gaining muscle. They are competing goals. While beginners sometimes can do both, you should still only focus on one or the other. To answer your questions:
1. There is no best piece of equipment. All cardio machines burn calories. You can burn as many calories as you want on any machine you want. I'd pick the one you enjoy (or hate the least).
2. Yes, you should really weigh your food. I find it to be the single biggest distinction between those who succeed with long term weight loss/body recomposition and those who do not. You can eat what you want so long as you meet your calorie and macronutrient goals. Weighing foods ensures accuracy when determining if you are hitting your goals.
3. Not a question. To add, there is no reason to completely cut out anything. You can eat all those things in moderation and still have success. Just weigh them and track them towards your goals. Being overly restrictive can lead to cravings/binges
4. The only way to lose weight is to eat fewer calories per day than you burn. No matter what else you do, if you don't do that, you won't lose weight in the long run.

danhusssain1516

Do you "eat back" the calories you earn from exercise?
Nope
Today I went to the gym for 2 hours then came back and had a plate of sheps pie
other than that today i've just had cereal

Liftng4Lis

danhusssain1516 wrote: »

Do you "eat back" the calories you earn from exercise?
Nope
Today I went to the gym for 2 hours then came back and had a plate of sheps pie
other than that today i've just had cereal

MFP is designed to eat back exercise calories. Most eat a portion to accommodate miscalculations in both logging and overestimations of burns. FUEL the machine!