90 minute Q&A - All fitness and weight loss related please

missdibs1

I was doing crunches, sit ups, planks, and leg lifts once a day for three weeks (along with other training) and I was seeing results.

Until my tail bone started to get injured (cut/scraped, etc)

I could no longer continue.

I was excited at my progress.

Do you have a suggestion on how to avoid this type of injury?

How much were you doing? Why are you only focusing on abdominal exercises? And if you're rubbing your tailbone against something that's causing injury, why not just use a yoga mat or some other soft surface to avoid irritating the area?

Yoga matt/pillow did not help (but area was already injured at that point)

I was up to 75 sit ups/95 crunches/ 60 leg lifts/ and 2 min plank (as fast as I can)

I was not only doing abs...just trying to work them 5 days a week.

stroutman81

I was doing crunches, sit ups, planks, and leg lifts once a day for three weeks (along with other training) and I was seeing results.

Until my tail bone started to get injured (cut/scraped, etc)

I could no longer continue.

I was excited at my progress.

Do you have a suggestion on how to avoid this type of injury?

How much were you doing? Why are you only focusing on abdominal exercises? And if you're rubbing your tailbone against something that's causing injury, why not just use a yoga mat or some other soft surface to avoid irritating the area?

Yoga matt/pillow did not help (but area was already injured at that point)

I was up to 75 sit ups/95 crunches/ 60 leg lifts/ and 2 min plank (as fast as I can)

I was not only doing abs...just trying to work them 5 days a week.

What are your intentions with all the ab work though? Are you training all of your muscles 5 days per week?

chubby_checkers

for the links

Tamira12

Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Nutrition Facts For Foods

WestCoastJo82

Thank you so much for doing this! I read your "Nutrition 101" after finding this tread, and I appreciate your use of actual peer-reviewed research!
My question is about protein - you recommend a high protein amount, how important is that? I'd like to decrease my body fat % a bit more, and I think protein is the answer, but I'm not really a fan of protein powders. I eat some type of protein with each meal, but those proteins tend to be of the bean/nut variety instead of the meat variety. I eat meat probably 3 times a week. I'm 31, f, 5'5", 135-140, 25% BF, decently muscular for a female. I eat about 1400 calories, but my ratios are closer to 50% carb, 30% fat, 20% protein (usually about 40 g). I walk/bike to work and the grocery store (but then desk job when I get to work), play soccer twice a week, circuit train 2-3 times a week, and do an 8-ish mile hike once a week.
I guess my final question, is will I be able to meet my goal moving forward and I just need to be patient, or do I really need to up the protein. Thanks!

stroutman81

Thank you so much for doing this! I read your "Nutrition 101" after finding this tread, and I appreciate your use of actual peer-reviewed research!

Thanks for reading that manual! It means the world to me when folks tune in for such a long piece.

My question is about protein - you recommend a high protein amount, how important is that?

High relative to what? The protein intake I recommend isn't high relative to the available body of evidence. Keep in mind, if you're comparing it to the RDA recommendations, theirs is based on decades old research. The field has come a long way and there have been plenty of great studies done that demonstrate for the active person, amounts that are higher than what the RDA espouses are indicated.

And let's also keep in mind that muscle preservation is a major concern for anyone who's eating hypocalorically and concerned about looking better naked.

Beyond having a robust set of genetics, the only variables we can control that influence muscle retention in energy shortages is resistance training and eating adequate protein. With the latter, having a pool of aminos floating around your blood stream from dietary consumption of protein gives your body a source to tap into before it turns to its stored protein - muscle.

I'd like to decrease my body fat % a bit more, and I think protein is the answer, but I'm not really a fan of protein powders. I eat some type of protein with each meal, but those proteins tend to be of the bean/nut variety instead of the meat variety. I eat meat probably 3 times a week. I'm 31, f, 5'5", 135-140, 25% BF, decently muscular for a female. I eat about 1400 calories, but my ratios are closer to 50% carb, 30% fat, 20% protein (usually about 40 g). I walk/bike to work and the grocery store (but then desk job when I get to work), play soccer twice a week, circuit train 2-3 times a week, and do an 8-ish mile hike once a week.
I guess my final question, is will I be able to meet my goal moving forward and I just need to be patient, or do I really need to up the protein. Thanks!

Impossible to say. I've encountered some folks who can seemingly eat whatever they want and either maintain or reach lean states - protein be damned. I wouldn't personally go that route with my clients since these fortunate few are an exception to the norm. Like I said above, if you're going to be in an energy shortage, we need to provide as much stimulus for muscle preservation as we can and given the lack of options for accomplishing this, I'd label adequate protein consumption as pretty important.

That being said, if you're overly concerned, you can get semi-monthly or monthly bf% reading in order to calculate your lean body mass. If it seems to be maintaining doing what you're doing, then consider yourself lucky and don't worry about changing anything. If you take the route though, I'd make sure you find someone who's experienced with assessing bf% and have that person do it each and every time. Even then the actual accuracy is likely to be off by a significant degree... but at least you'll be able to see the trend, which is what you'd be interested in in this context.

bspikes86

i know it's way past the deadline, but maybe when you get some free time.... i heard that if you eat too much protein your body stores it as fat. is this true? i have 150 more pounds to lose. how much protein should i be shooting for? i usually try to get in 100g per day. is that too much? thank you

Here's a must read for you:

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/nutrition/excess-protein-and-fat-storage-qa.html

To sum it up though, you're worrying about something that's not worth worrying about in your situation. You could stand to eat even more protein... maybe something in the tune of 1 gram per pound of goal body weight. Why do that? Well it would help with satiety for starters. It would give you a small bump in energy expenditure seeing as how protein as the highest thermic effect out of the nutrients. It would help aid in muscle maintenance as you continue to lose.

Plus, remember, we're only working with protein, carbs, and fats here. Your weight is high, relatively speaking (my respect to you for working towards getting this under control by the way!) If your weight's high, that also means your energy requirements are high, relatively speaking. The bigger the body, the higher the energy need given the fact that there's more tissue to support and it's more energy expensive to move around.

So we have this relatively decent size calorie intake/window. If we keep protein low, what do we fill said calories with? Of course some fat... fat's healthy and we need some of it in our diets. But not THAT much. Carbs? I'm the last person to bash carbs but here's the deal. In obese populations, lowish carbs tends to be optimal, generally speaking. Insulin resistance tends to go hand in hand with obesity. So with carbs, too, we can't go buck wild with them. So that leaves protein... which is why I'm a big fan of building a diet around them. Set that at someplace around 1 - 1.5 grams per pound of goal body weight, eat some fresh fruits and veggies, eat some healthy fats, and let these things stand as your nutritional baseline.

Follow me?

Yes sir I do. Thank you so much for your time. I appreciate it.

WestCoastJo82

Ahh, that's what I figured you would say Thank you for taking the time to answer my question!

tiggersgirl173

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond to me. I truly appreciate it. I realized you are right - I do tend to do extremes and then I can't handle it so I fall off the horse, so to speak. I always get back on because I'm hard headed like that but it's discouraging. I WILL adjust my caloric intake to match something that I can do a little better (for the time being). I was already doing resistance training and I'm using some P90x DVDs at home when I can't get to the gym. I try to aim for five days a week at the gym or working out but I have two kids and just finished my masters degree so timing has been tough. Four a week has worked well for me. I think I just need to keep going. My main aim is to be healthier in my life OVERALL, so I know I can't "diet" because this is a lifestyle change to aim to be healthier.

Thank you again for helping me see I'm too hard on myself. I HAVE lost over the last two years and I've been praised by my doctor and my friends and family but I guess I want to get there FAST and that is not realistic at all.

missdibs1

I was doing crunches, sit ups, planks, and leg lifts once a day for three weeks (along with other training) and I was seeing results.

Until my tail bone started to get injured (cut/scraped, etc)

I could no longer continue.

I was excited at my progress.

Do you have a suggestion on how to avoid this type of injury?

How much were you doing? Why are you only focusing on abdominal exercises? And if you're rubbing your tailbone against something that's causing injury, why not just use a yoga mat or some other soft surface to avoid irritating the area?

Yoga matt/pillow did not help (but area was already injured at that point)

I was up to 75 sit ups/95 crunches/ 60 leg lifts/ and 2 min plank (as fast as I can)

I was not only doing abs...just trying to work them 5 days a week.

What are your intentions with all the ab work though? Are you training all of your muscles 5 days per week?

no.... i was told abs every day

Oneal77

Their consider dry estimates. They have no way of knowing what ingredients or what type of fattening you might add during the cooking process. There is an article you can read, and a video you can watch at www.uncommonwebshop.com. Just click on the weight loss link. There is alos a video on healthy foods to eat. For this, you would need to click on the (bread and bakery link). Good Luck!

REDI4CHANGE60

BUMP TO READ LATER.

marci2lip

Bump!

Topsking2010

Bump

PinkNinjaLaura

I didn't quote it...but the "in the middle" thread is the most sane thing I've read on these forums. Makes total sense. In the past few months I've finally found the middle and now I understand why it's working.

lin7604

just in case you get extra time to answer more here goes one from me:

I hit my weight goal and still need to lose body fat. I am 5.2 ft and 116-117 lbs i am around 23% body fat and my goal was to be around 20-21 % max. I have been told that if i want to get to that i will need to be around 105-110 lbs. is that true?. can i not get to that body fat % being around 115 lbs? I am currently doing clx ( chalean extreme) and i am starting t25 on monday.

Here is the formula for calculating goal weight is: Current Lean Body Mass / (1-Goal Body Fat percentage as a decimal)

Your current lean body mass is approximately 90 lbs calculated by multiplying your weight by your percentage of nonfat tissues, that being .77.

So going back to the formula...

90 / (1 - .21) = 114 lbs

This is all theoretical, mind you. All it's saying is that in order to be 21% body fat, you'd have to drop another 3 lbs while preserving all of your existing muscle, which could be a stretch depending.

All of this begs a question in my mind though... what's so significant to you about being 20-21% body fat? Honestly, none of my clients track bf%. We simply go by feel and reflection/pictures. We're not doing this to be a certain number... we're doing this to look and feel great. Once my clients truly realize this and adopt it, there's an immediate release of anxiety. They're no longer focusing on their proximity to rather nebulous numbers and they're focusing on what actually matters to them... that being building a better body.

You could very well get down to 114 lbs and preserve all the muscle you currently have and think, "Wow, I'm really not that content... I want more improvement." Which is why the numbers are really rather worthless in this context. And by the way, if you wanted more, you'd have to do a cycle of surplus eating and focus on adding some muscle, right? We're only working with those two tissues - fat and muscle - when it comes to altering our physique. Well, unless you found a way to extend your bones or change the insertion points of your muscles, lol.

And we can only lose so much fat until we start looking sickly thin, frail, or worse... unhealthy. So for many folks it's about embarking on this process of fluctuating goals. At times they're working on losing fat and preserving muscle. At other times they're focusing on building muscle while minimizing fat gains. It's a touch concept for some people - especially women - to wrap their heads around. But it's the nature of the beast for many.

Hopefully this helps.

thanks so much for taking the time to answer me. i guess it's not so much about hitting that bf number but really in losing the body fat in general. I am content with my body except my lower belly , where it seems all my last bit of fat wants to stick around. So i need to lose more fat/ weight i guess in order for that last spot to start reducing. I had a flat belly all my life until i gained, so i know it's possible to get it back. Just didn't know the best way to get there..... when i look at pics it seems the 20-21% body fat is what i like and thought if i achieve that, i will have lost that last bit of fat on my lower belly... i am content with my weight but not that darn lower belly!

stroutman81

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond to me. I truly appreciate it. I realized you are right - I do tend to do extremes and then I can't handle it so I fall off the horse, so to speak. I always get back on because I'm hard headed like that but it's discouraging. I WILL adjust my caloric intake to match something that I can do a little better (for the time being). I was already doing resistance training and I'm using some P90x DVDs at home when I can't get to the gym. I try to aim for five days a week at the gym or working out but I have two kids and just finished my masters degree so timing has been tough. Four a week has worked well for me. I think I just need to keep going. My main aim is to be healthier in my life OVERALL, so I know I can't "diet" because this is a lifestyle change to aim to be healthier.

Thank you again for helping me see I'm too hard on myself. I HAVE lost over the last two years and I've been praised by my doctor and my friends and family but I guess I want to get there FAST and that is not realistic at all.

In general, the faster people get there, the shorter they actually stay there.

Really think about that.

I'm glad to hear I was able to help a bit and if you ever have any additional questions, feel free to reach out.

stroutman81

I was doing crunches, sit ups, planks, and leg lifts once a day for three weeks (along with other training) and I was seeing results.

Until my tail bone started to get injured (cut/scraped, etc)

I could no longer continue.

I was excited at my progress.

Do you have a suggestion on how to avoid this type of injury?

How much were you doing? Why are you only focusing on abdominal exercises? And if you're rubbing your tailbone against something that's causing injury, why not just use a yoga mat or some other soft surface to avoid irritating the area?

Yoga matt/pillow did not help (but area was already injured at that point)

I was up to 75 sit ups/95 crunches/ 60 leg lifts/ and 2 min plank (as fast as I can)

I was not only doing abs...just trying to work them 5 days a week.

What are your intentions with all the ab work though? Are you training all of your muscles 5 days per week?

no.... i was told abs every day

Told by who? More importantly, for what reason? What do you believe it's accomplishing? I'm not knocking you or your approach... I'm simply trying to learn if you're doing this for the right reason. I find many people who are blasting away on ab exercises, focusing much of their attention on it, because they want a toned midsection. Then I bring up something about spot reduction and they chime in, "Oh I know how that's not possible blah blah blah." Yet, they're still doing all of this crazy ab work trying to spot tone their midsections.

Follow me?

stroutman81

I didn't quote it...but the "in the middle" thread is the most sane thing I've read on these forums. Makes total sense. In the past few months I've finally found the middle and now I understand why it's working.

Thanks and I'm glad to hear it resonated with you.

stroutman81

just in case you get extra time to answer more here goes one from me:

I hit my weight goal and still need to lose body fat. I am 5.2 ft and 116-117 lbs i am around 23% body fat and my goal was to be around 20-21 % max. I have been told that if i want to get to that i will need to be around 105-110 lbs. is that true?. can i not get to that body fat % being around 115 lbs? I am currently doing clx ( chalean extreme) and i am starting t25 on monday.

Here is the formula for calculating goal weight is: Current Lean Body Mass / (1-Goal Body Fat percentage as a decimal)

Your current lean body mass is approximately 90 lbs calculated by multiplying your weight by your percentage of nonfat tissues, that being .77.

So going back to the formula...

90 / (1 - .21) = 114 lbs

This is all theoretical, mind you. All it's saying is that in order to be 21% body fat, you'd have to drop another 3 lbs while preserving all of your existing muscle, which could be a stretch depending.

All of this begs a question in my mind though... what's so significant to you about being 20-21% body fat? Honestly, none of my clients track bf%. We simply go by feel and reflection/pictures. We're not doing this to be a certain number... we're doing this to look and feel great. Once my clients truly realize this and adopt it, there's an immediate release of anxiety. They're no longer focusing on their proximity to rather nebulous numbers and they're focusing on what actually matters to them... that being building a better body.

You could very well get down to 114 lbs and preserve all the muscle you currently have and think, "Wow, I'm really not that content... I want more improvement." Which is why the numbers are really rather worthless in this context. And by the way, if you wanted more, you'd have to do a cycle of surplus eating and focus on adding some muscle, right? We're only working with those two tissues - fat and muscle - when it comes to altering our physique. Well, unless you found a way to extend your bones or change the insertion points of your muscles, lol.

And we can only lose so much fat until we start looking sickly thin, frail, or worse... unhealthy. So for many folks it's about embarking on this process of fluctuating goals. At times they're working on losing fat and preserving muscle. At other times they're focusing on building muscle while minimizing fat gains. It's a touch concept for some people - especially women - to wrap their heads around. But it's the nature of the beast for many.

Hopefully this helps.

thanks so much for taking the time to answer me. i guess it's not so much about hitting that bf number but really in losing the body fat in general. I am content with my body except my lower belly , where it seems all my last bit of fat wants to stick around. So i need to lose more fat/ weight i guess in order for that last spot to start reducing. I had a flat belly all my life until i gained, so i know it's possible to get it back. Just didn't know the best way to get there..... when i look at pics it seems the 20-21% body fat is what i like and thought if i achieve that, i will have lost that last bit of fat on my lower belly... i am content with my weight but not that darn lower belly!

Fair enough. Couple thoughts...

1) First on, last off. That's generally how fat storage and burning goes. Problem areas are usually the first to start accumulating fat and they're generally the last place to start releasing it.

2) I could show you pictures of a dozen women at 21% body fat and some of them you'd think look great and others you'd think look not so great. It's just a number and everyone will wear it very very differently depending on their base of muscle, the length of their frames, their genetic fat storage patterns, etc.

All in all though, you're correct. If you want to lose more fat, you have to make sure you have things dialed in and from there, you need to be very consistent and very patient.