Next Step?

alienws1998

My main question is when to add in exercise, and what type to add, but I felt I needed to explain the situation first. I'm guy, 35 years old and 6 foot tall. I started my weight loss journey at 193ish pounds. There was decimal but I don't remember what it was and I was embarrassed by how out of shape I'd gotten so I rounded down. I started by dropping down to 50g of carbs and 1200 calories. That was fairly successful so I cut the carb level further after a month so that now I'm getting 30g per day. 44 Days total and I've lost 17.4 pounds. My target weight is 137, which is the bottom of the healthy BMI for my height. I am thinking that it may be time to add in some exercise to my routine, but I'm unsure. I understand that muscle does weigh more than fat and I do not want the muscle gain to set back the loss. Also, I have 3 broken vertebrae in my back, 50% compression. So I'd like to know when to add in exercise and what exercises I can do that will be effective without leaving me in bed popping vicodin all day. I have no dillusions of being a Venice Beach Muscle Man, I'd just like to be skinny with a little bit of definition. I call them "skinny-abs" you've probably seen guys like I'm talking about around. So any suggestions?

sweetbug0130

Muscle doesn't weigh more than fat, it just takes up less space. You will get smaller if you build some muscle because muscle burns fat even while at rest. I would suggest getting some expertise from a trainer (planet fitness has free training) and tell them your limitations so they can show you some safe strength training. I would definitely recommend some strength training for sure. Don't forget cardio for your heart. Also, figure out your fat burn target heart rate zone and exercise 20 minutes per day in that zone. There are calculators online for that.

stephaniej2888

1st.
I would suggest talking to your doctor about working out because he/she would know better about what your body can handle.
But as far as just easy working out (treadmill/walks, light hand weights, etc.) My thoughts would be that you should be doing that from the start so yes, you need to be working out.

2nd.
That seems like a VERY low weight to me. Now please know I don't have any kind of chart infront of me but every man in my family is a minimum of 6ft tall. My brother is 6'1" and is one of those guys who literally gains no weight, he is skin and bones, he literally couldn't pinch a roll on his stomach if he bent over and pulled at his stomach lol and he's still 165'ish pounds. My dad is 6' in good health and around 170 pounds, I also have an uncle who is built like my brother and around the same weight...so 137 just seems really low.

3.
Where did you get your target calories and carbs from? That also seems fairly low for a man your height and weight. I agree you could probably use to lose a little weight, but you could probably get in shape and healthy with just eating a little better, tracking and working out.

TeaBea

sweetbug0130 wrote: »

Muscle doesn't weigh more than fat, it just takes up less space. You will get smaller if you build some muscle because muscle burns fat even while at rest. I would suggest getting some expertise from a trainer (planet fitness has free training) and tell them your limitations so they can show you some safe strength training. I would definitely recommend some strength training for sure. Don't forget cardio for your heart. Also, figure out your fat burn target heart rate zone and exercise 20 minutes per day in that zone. There are calculators online for that.

OP would get smaller with more muscle, less fat. However, he's a 6' tall guy eating 1200 calories-the minimum number of calories for WOMEN. OP is more likely shredding lean muscle at this point.

Strength training is great while trying to lose weight because it's one of the things that protects existing lean muscle mass. Enough protein and enough calories are two more. Fast weight loss doesn't lower your body fat % as effectively as moderate paced weight loss.

OP - with back issues you want to talk to a medical professional. Body weight exercises are a good place to start. Google convict conditioning, or You Are Your Own Gym. But eating enough calories (and protein).....reducing lean muscle loss is going to go a long ways.

alienws1998

The target weight comes from bmi calculators I found online. Not just one either, I put my age and height into 3 or 4 of them and keep moving the weight down til the bmi number was at the bottom of the healthy category, I think it was like 18 BMI or something. The calories came from this app and the carb level was from the top of my head, I wanted a reasonable place to start and 50 seemed like a good number. Before the diet I was probably getting 250-300 carbs based off all the soda, energy drinks, sugar in tea and coffee, french fries and donuts (I'm the son of a policeman, donuts are a food group too me). After a month of adjusting and letting my body get used to burning fat instead of sugars I lowered it a little more. I'm a computer nerd and writing a novel so my life style is pretty sedentary.

stephaniej2888

alienws1998 wrote: »

The target weight comes from bmi calculators I found online. Not just one either, I put my age and height into 3 or 4 of them and keep moving the weight down til the bmi number was at the bottom of the healthy category, I think it was like 18 BMI or something. The calories came from this app and the carb level was from the top of my head, I wanted a reasonable place to start and 50 seemed like a good number. Before the diet I was probably getting 250-300 carbs based off all the soda, energy drinks, sugar in tea and coffee, french fries and donuts (I'm the son of a policeman, donuts are a food group too me). After a month of adjusting and letting my body get used to burning fat instead of sugars I lowered it a little more. I'm a computer nerd and writing a novel so my life style is pretty sedentary.

Like another poster said, 1,200 is the bare minimum for a woman, not a man. Also the amount of carbs still just seems way off to me. My doctor has been helping me with my weight loss and he set me at 40 g or less of fat per day, 90 g or more of protein per day and 120 g or less of carbs per day(in a few months i have lost 25 lbs and still have about 50 to go).
I work on computers every day but I workout for a min of 45 min a day.

Your intake shouldn't be a guess, if you are guessing and not giving your body enough nutrition then yes your dropping weight but your probably loosing muscle as well, which you don't want. Plus, as soon as your done with this diet and start eating a little more then your going to start gaining back because your body has been starved of what it needs.

stephaniej2888

Also, what is the need to be at the bare minimum of the bmi calculator?

I'm not trying to be rude or mean or anything so please don't take it that way..just curious.

alienws1998

stephaniej2888 wrote: »

Also, what is the need to be at the bare minimum of the bmi calculator?

I'm not trying to be rude or mean or anything so please don't take it that way..just curious.

You're not being rude, and I will answer you but would you Dm me? There's only so much info I want public.

sllm1

I'm not sure why a 6' tall man would want to weigh 137. A 6' tall woman at 137 would be super skinny, and men just naturally have more muscle mass.

I'm a 5'8" woman and when I weighed 137, people regularly told me I needed to stop losing weight.

I just don't think your goal is a healthy one.

stephaniej2888

sllm1 wrote: »

I'm not sure why a 6' tall man would want to weigh 137. A 6' tall woman at 137 would be super skinny, and men just naturally have more muscle mass.

I'm a 5'8" woman and when I weighed 137, people regularly told me I needed to stop losing weight.

I just don't think your goal is a healthy one.

I'm 5'8 as well and my lowest was in high school I was 160 lbs. I was on the weight lifting team and played soccer and was totally tone from head to toe....no jiggle what so ever lol. If I weighed that little I would probably look very sick. At 160 you could see my hip bones lol