Weight loss experiment with possibly unrealistic expectations lol
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snowflake954 wrote: »Update: 3/3/2023
I'm down another .8lbs since i posted this. Weight loss has slowed a little bit. Largely, because I haven't made my steps in a while. I'll be increasing my steps to at least 10K a day and keep my diet the same. Thank you bubble poppers. I'm strange and enjoy using my body for research and experimentation. Hunger is not a big deal. It has turned into background noise...like my tinnitus lol. I'm not worried about binge eating. It doesn't happen.
And come on guys! 1600 calories a day isn't THAT bad. I mean, it sucks, but it's not horrible. I will keep everyone posted as time goes on. Does anyone want to see what my diet consists of?
I took a look at what your diet consists of. Mostly protein shakes. I couldn't do it. Crazy. I cook for 4 men--3 your age, all in great physical condition. They eat pasta, bread, cheese, risotto, vegetables. salads, fish, meats, ...... plus deserts. I am sorry for you.
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Still going strong. Did a mini-fast today. 2:30 pm rolled around and I got a little hungry. Had some collagen and daily greens and that lasted me until dinner. My ghrelin has mellowed out substantially. Starting fasting cardio in the morning and will be increasing calories by 100. I feel good (no saggy skin). Energy levels and moral are high. Still pushing forward. Thank you all for your words of encouragement. Your constructive criticisms are priceless.1
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Of course no saggy skin yet - you have been doing this less than 2 weeks.
have a look in the success stories forum - I doubt any of the long termers did any extreme sprint methods
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Ignore the naysayers OP. You might be able to do it. Okay, the chances are really low, maybe 1 in 100 or less but if you have willpower, no injuries, no paying job to take away your exercise time you could theoretically achieve that.0
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Ignore the naysayers OP. You might be able to do it. Okay, the chances are really low, maybe 1 in 100 or less but if you have willpower, no injuries, no paying job to take away your exercise time you could theoretically achieve that.
Oh....I believe the OP will do it. All those protein shakes...... BUT, I doubt he can keep consuming these shakes for the rest of his life. Maintaining can be tough. Once you quit the shakes and start eating real food and haven't set up any good habits--it's yo-yo time. Does this mean I hope he'll fail? Nope. I wish him the best. I think we could save him a lot of future grief with our advice.
For the lurkers--you don't have to suffer to lose, shakes have their place, but not as the principal of your diet plan (nutrients will be missing and constipation is not fun). Set up your habits to keep the weight off. Amen.5 -
Dudes and Dudettes,
This is a short term experiment. 1600 calories isn't too low. My energy levels are great. Not starving, just a little hungry at times. My macros, vitamins/minerals, photonutrients, fiber (no constipation here), and water consumption are on point.
Has anyone checked out the Bowflex diet before? I have. I've done it. There's is a bit extreme, but it does work (you'll lose muscle in the process. Guaranteed). Men start with 1500 calories and gradually work down to 1200!!! Talk about not sustainable and being hungry. My current diet isn't as bad as what I've went through in the past. I strategically bulk, maintain, and cut based on how I feel. I've been doing this for 24 years now. Experimenting, researching, listening to gym rats, magazines, online forums.
The yo-yo effect has never been an issue for me. When this experiment is over I will increase calories by 200 a day for the 1st week, reassess, another 100-200 the 2nd week, reassess, and so on until I reach maintenance.0 -
I think I am missing the point of this exercise - especially if you say you have been doing this for 24 years? What is your desired outcome long term?3
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lol your attitude towards this is awesome. Good luck! Looking forward to following along, hope you keep this thread updated as you go.0
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Sinisterbarbie1 wrote: »I think I am missing the point of this exercise - especially if you say you have been doing this for 24 years? What is your desired outcome long term?
Finally. Something constructive. Thank you!
Honestly, at this point in my life I think I'm as big as I want to be. Recent blood work has me worried and I need to lower my triglycerides, raise my available testosterone (the leaner you are, the more that is available to use) dramatically lower my LDL and dramatically raise my HDL. Even though my cholesterol is 201, my HDL is less than 19 and my LDL is the rest. Horrible.
Overall, I want to be healthier and look good naked for the rest of my life.0 -
Totally forgot to mention this. As of this morning. I'm down to 200.8lbs0
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Overall, I want to be healthier and look good naked for the rest of my life.
That is a noble goal! And one shared by many of us. If this is the case, what is your rush to get this done as fast as possible? Aside from making a "game" of it? I ask, because if you really want this to be "for the rest of [your] life," what plans have you made or thought have you given to how you will keep the weight off?
In my experience, when I have tried to lose weight quickly just to get to my goal, without a plan for how to keep that weight off, I have just gone back to the habits that lead to me being overweight in the first place. As a few others have said - the true turning point for me was realizing there is no finish line. Maintenance is really the same as losing but with a couple hundred more calories a day. I am proud to have maintained my approx 50 pound weight loss for about 8 years.
Do you know what your maintenance calories are? Are you planning on still drinking shakes and supplements to keep the weight off once you get to goal? Are you able to fit this "experiment" into a lifestyle after you do lose the weight you want?
I know you have been pushing back against much of the wise advice from people on the forums who have actually lost weight and kept it off, but maybe there are a few things to learn from us. If this is for the rest of your life, there is no rush - better to develop habits that will allow you to keep the weight off. After all, if you lose this weight really quickly by pushing your body as far as you can, and then gain it all back over the next six months, did you really win? Maintaining weight loss is as much work as losing. The time to figure that out is while you are losing, not once you get there.
Best of luck to you!3 -
Shyt. Most of that loss was muscle. No more fasting days on this reduced calorie diet. Gaining previously obtained muscle isn't that difficult though. After this is over, I'll do a heavy negative routine and the muscle will shoot back up. The fibers are there, they just atrophied a bit.
Experiment, see what works and what doesn't, and adjust accordingly. Don't just take the advice that has been regurgitated time and time again by the, "experts." Most of it is a lie. Experiment, yourself.
It is true, however, that there is no, one-size-fits-all answer to weight loss. Perseverance, dedication, and will-power are the only constants.
On a positive note; Upper abs are popping and my lower abs are getting flatter. 👌.
Time for some fasted cardio.0 -
Experiment, see what works and what doesn't, and adjust accordingly. Don't just take the advice that has been regurgitated time and time again by the, "experts." Most of it is a lie. Experiment, yourself. It is true, however, that there is no, one-size-fits-all answer to weight loss. Perseverance, dedication, and will-power are the only constants.
As to your first point - totally agree that successful weight loss and maintenance will involve experimentation that will find what works for you and your body. May I suggest, however, that experimenting in how fast you can lose weight, or how much you can push your body, isn't really giving you the data you need.
Have you tried experimenting by logging your food and recording your calories, while weighing yourself regularly, so you can first determine your maintenance calories? If you take 4-6 weeks to simply figure out how many calories you need to eat to keep your weight stable (not gain or lose), then you can start by taking a small deficit from that. This is all an experiment to see how many calories your body needs to maintain weight because from there you have the knowledge to lose effectively. You can experiment with seeing how different foods nourish you, make you feel full, make you feel boated, make you feel energetic. This will all be critical information when figuring out how to maintain your weight loss for the rest of you life.
As far as your comment "Perseverance, dedication, and will-power are the only constraints" I would have to disagree. You are going to hit times in your weight loss journey where you have no will-power. Believe me, it fades. There will be times where your you cannot draw upon your perseverance and dedication because you are too tired, or you have a family emergency, or you are sick, or your work schedule is too demanding, or you just don't feel like it.
When perseverance, dedication, and will-power fade, what carries me are my HABITS. They kick in automatically when I'm tired. If I am swamped at work and my husband is sick and I just don't want to think about "eating healthy," the work I have done over the past decade developing habits is what carries me and keeps me from gaining the weight back. I can go on auto-pilot because the habits are my lifestyle - I took the time to change my habits so they support me, not will-power. This is why so many of us who have lost weight and kept it off are not "regurgitating advice" but letting you know what has worked for us after our own years of experimentation.
Again, best of luck to you!4 -
what are these lies you speak of?Shyt. Most of that loss was muscle. No more fasting days on this reduced calorie diet. Gaining previously obtained muscle isn't that difficult though. After this is over, I'll do a heavy negative routine and the muscle will shoot back up. The fibers are there, they just atrophied a bit.
Experiment, see what works and what doesn't, and adjust accordingly. Don't just take the advice that has been regurgitated time and time again by the, "experts." Most of it is a lie.Experiment, yourself.
It is true, however, that there is no, one-size-fits-all answer to weight loss. Perseverance, dedication, and will-power are the only constants.
On a positive note; Upper abs are popping and my lower abs are getting flatter. 👌.
Time for some fasted cardio.
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snowflake954 wrote: »Ignore the naysayers OP. You might be able to do it. Okay, the chances are really low, maybe 1 in 100 or less but if you have willpower, no injuries, no paying job to take away your exercise time you could theoretically achieve that.
Oh....I believe the OP will do it. All those protein shakes...... BUT, I doubt he can keep consuming these shakes for the rest of his life. Maintaining can be tough. Once you quit the shakes and start eating real food and haven't set up any good habits--it's yo-yo time. Does this mean I hope he'll fail? Nope. I wish him the best. I think we could save him a lot of future grief with our advice.
For the lurkers--you don't have to suffer to lose, shakes have their place, but not as the principal of your diet plan (nutrients will be missing and constipation is not fun). Set up your habits to keep the weight off. Amen.
Your post made me think me of my effortless 60 pound loss while taking Phen/Fen...and then the 50 pound regain after Fen was taken off the market, Phen alone didn't give me the same results, and I hadn't set up any good habits.4 -
It may well be that you won’t fix your cholesterol numbers with weight loss if your HDL is so low and your triglycerides and LDL are so high. You say you are as “big” as you want to be - I assume by that you mean muscular - but then you keep talking about losing and bulking and whatever experimentation it is you are now doing so I guess I am still not getting it. If you are as muscular as you want to be, why not continue to lift/do cardio and reduce more slowly to get to a final maintenance number and stay there. Rather than doing the rapid cut/bulk stuff? If you are worried about your testosterone levels, never mind looking good naked, then adding weight in the form of fat during a bulk messes with your hormones. More fat=more estrogen production even in males. And I don’t know how much you are bulking and cutting over those 24 years but scarred livers produce high triglyceride and cholesterol numbers overall. Liver disease also raises estrogen levels in men.1
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5.5lbs of fat loss is a calorie use of FAT ONLY of 19, 250. You're the same height as me and just a little heavier. That's an average of 2700+ calories deficit a day. So unless you didn't eat a week, it didn't happen. However you're getting your numbers, is quite inaccurate.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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Chickenkillerpuppy - before my 1600 calorie diet, and before my gradual weight loss since December 8th, I maintained at 2200-2300 calories a day. I keep a food journal when I'm trying something new (bulking or cutting). My eating habits are almost habitually predictable and constant.
Tomcustombuilder -Dude, don't play coy. There is so much misinformation out there. It's the same stuff that has been around for decades. Largely based around the, "health and fitness," industry to drum up business. Then their gullible customers go out and preach. The placebo effect is a real thing.
Kshama2001 - What the heck is Phen? Never heard of that.
For fun, I would like everyone reading this to check out scholar.google. Life changing. There is a plethora of research on there that is free to read. I'll trust controlled scholary research over nearly anyone else. I may even look up what Phen is on there.
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5.5lbs of fat loss is a calorie use of FAT ONLY of 19, 250. You're the same height as me and just a little heavier. That's an average of 2700+ calories deficit a day. So unless you didn't eat a week, it didn't happen. However you're getting your numbers, is quite inaccurate.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
I know. It's off my Galaxy watch. We talked about it way earlier in this thread.0 -
This thread has been most entertaining. Almost thinking a trolling situation.5.5lbs of fat loss is a calorie use of FAT ONLY of 19, 250. You're the same height as me and just a little heavier. That's an average of 2700+ calories deficit a day. So unless you didn't eat a week, it didn't happen. However you're getting your numbers, is quite inaccurate.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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Chickenkillerpuppy - before my 1600 calorie diet, and before my gradual weight loss since December 8th, I maintained at 2200-2300 calories a day. I keep a food journal when I'm trying something new (bulking or cutting). My eating habits are almost habitually predictable and constant.
Fantastic! I'm guessing your "habitual, predictable, and constant" eating habits that allow you to maintain at 2200-2300 are not made up of protein shakes and green drinks, but actual real food that you enjoy and allows you to live a normal life.
Why not just cut your calories based on habits that are already "habitual, predictable, and constant"? In other words, why not take that 2200-2300, and try to average 1800 calories a day by looking at your habitual, predictable, and constant eating habits, and making small adjustments that you can sustain?
A piece of free advice: If you can fit weight loss into your life plan, rather than trying to fit your life into your weight loss plan, your chances of success (meaning keeping the weight off for good) will go up! Not sure why your instinct is to do something radical and new, rather than tweak what is "habitual, predictable, and constant."
Also - you have been silent so far on your plan to keep the weight off once you get to your goal weight. Any thoughts on that?
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Tomcustombuilder - Funny, I was thinking the same thing. But not from me. I'm literally sharing my UNREALISTIC GOAL and am hoping for the best. I've received very little constructive comments, and mostly trolls that have the general message of, "nope. Fake news. You're wrong. Can't be happening."
I tell you what though. This discussion is continuously motivating me to continue with my progressive weight loss. Regardless of the naysayers, the scale is dropping consistently. I am thinking that another 15-20lbs from now I should reach my ideal weight. That's 180-185lb. I'll be there in about a month +/- a week.
Not as unreasonably unrealistic as the original post, but that was all in good fun.0 -
Tomcustombuilder - Funny, I was thinking the same thing. But not from me. I'm literally sharing my UNREALISTIC GOAL and am hoping for the best. I've received very little constructive comments, and mostly trolls that have the general message of, "nope. Fake news. You're wrong. Can't be happening."
I tell you what though. This discussion is continuously motivating me to continue with my progressive weight loss. Regardless of the naysayers, the scale is dropping consistently. I am thinking that another 15-20lbs from now I should reach my ideal weight. That's 180-185lb. I'll be there in about a month +/- a week.
Not as unreasonably unrealistic as the original post, but that was all in good fun.
You really have no idea what trolling is, do you?
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Well if OP wants to kick it up a notch he can always add this to his smoothies
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tomcustombuilder wrote: »Well if OP wants to kick it up a notch he can always add this to his smoothies
Black coffee, 81mg aspirin, and 5mg yohimbine. Followed closely by #2. Then it's time for fasted cardio. I could probably use a little extra caffeine before 1pm though. I like the staker2 bottles for that. It's like a cup of coffee mixed with vitamins b, and some taurine, but it tastes better and only costs about $0.88.
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Dude: venting is fine and if you're doing that... that's perfectly ok. Something tells me, though, that you truly think it is ok to push till you reach "goal". And i'll honestly tell you something: I think you (as do many other people) WILL reach "goal" on *kitten*, vinegar, and pure willpower as long as that is even remotely possible within say six to nine months.
But goal weight is NOT the goal.
Goal weight while making yourself sick (which is sometimes a corollary of getting to goal on willpower) is also not the goal. But, even more importantly, by itself goal weight is not the goal unless you think you are getting a prize for tattooing a number on your forehead.
You said it yourself that HEALTH is your goal.
Where the *kitten* are your google scholar articles that suggest, remotely, that your 24 years of increasing and decreasing and increasing your weight, in a nice roller coaster, AS YOU DECIDED**, is remotely health promoting?
**as you decided: think of a teenage boy yearning for targets of "affection" -- lots of level headed sober decision making taking place there while hormones are in control, right?
Oh, I am not doubting one bit that there are very real reasons to do a controlled bulk. But isn't it beautiful when the timing of the bulk dovetails nicely with the rebound regain your hormones are pushing on you?
Is health your goal? Maybe it is time to TRY to get out of the loss-regain treadmill instead of trying to prove to everyone including yourself how well you will do on it.
The same, by the way, applies to @GrumpyHubby. Congrats to him for the new baby by the way. But what is there to say to his "Deflated" post? All the stuff about weight loss strategies that make sense was already covered in various threads with him just about two or three years ago--and he wasn't willing to consider any of it at that time.
But, there really is nothing new to say to him! All he has to do is go back to his old threads and re-read what people were discussing with him back then, and see whether there is a different path he may want to follow this go-around. Since he is already discussing his goals in association with specific dates... well--date related goals were already discussed in his previous go around.
For 24 years, according to you, you've been dialing in your weight as you wanted. Yet you did not choose to target simple 24 years of maintenance of a weight that is healthy for you.
Give it a try. It is challenging in a way more different way than wildly shooting for the moon hoping to land on some snow covered peak somewhere.
Can't say that I've been 24 years at a healthy weight, and there is a non zero chance I may never hit that mark... but I'm a good eight years into it. It's quite nice and I consider the effort to stay there to be a very good investment. Truly? Wish I had tried it sooner.7 -
Sincere questions, since I don't have much exposure to the topic: Would having around 40 pounds of fat to lose be considered normal/advisable when defining the "bulk" phase of "bulk and cut"? I get that controlled gain is part of the process (and not the whole of it, since program is key, and nutrition important, too). But how would the weight increase piece be done, according to mainstream experts?3
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If it's done incorrectly or if the person is on steroids. For natural lifters the proper way is to have a small surplus and if the fat begins to gain much traction, diet it back off and come back with lower surplus calories next time. And no, if you're coming off a cut and you're lean and wanting to add muscle, maintenance calories won't work There is no reason to put on much fat if you know what you're doing.
Newer lifters are under the impression that more food equals more muscle and that isn't the case, it doesn't take much over maintenance. They watch these youtube videos of pro bodybuilders on ridiculous amounts of test eating 6-7,000 calories a day and think that's how its done.
Cutting and bulking when done properly is done with finesse and not the stereotypical crazy amount of fat gain then a horrendously terrible cutting diet. Most people attempting recomps would do better with a proper, correct muscle building and fatloss program.5 -
@PAV8888 you're right. The Rollercoaster needs to come to an end. Attaining and maintaining a healthy weight is the goal. I'm happy with the muscle I put on over the years. I'm close to 40 and just want to live healthy and maintain a healthy BF% of <30%. This is my last gauntlet. Once it's done, I will do a gradual calorie increase, until I get to maintenance. Lean and healthy. That's the goal.
For the record though: since 2017 -2023 my weight has varied by 28lbs. On average, I spend about 3-4 months at a time gaining, maintaining, or cutting.
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snowflake954 wrote: »Update: 3/3/2023
I'm down another .8lbs since i posted this. Weight loss has slowed a little bit. Largely, because I haven't made my steps in a while. I'll be increasing my steps to at least 10K a day and keep my diet the same. Thank you bubble poppers. I'm strange and enjoy using my body for research and experimentation. Hunger is not a big deal. It has turned into background noise...like my tinnitus lol. I'm not worried about binge eating. It doesn't happen.
And come on guys! 1600 calories a day isn't THAT bad. I mean, it sucks, but it's not horrible. I will keep everyone posted as time goes on. Does anyone want to see what my diet consists of?
I took a look at what your diet consists of. Mostly protein shakes. I couldn't do it. Crazy. I cook for 4 men--3 your age, all in great physical condition. They eat pasta, bread, cheese, risotto, vegetables. salads, fish, meats, ...... plus deserts. I am sorry for you.
It's one of the more highly-processed-foods-centric ways of eating that I've ever seen here.
That's not particularly a criticism, because I'm a strong believer that it's nutrition that counts, not dietary style. I'm sure that the makers of those supplements make it a point to include all the essential nutrients currently known to science.
It's just an observation.
I admit it's quite different from what I'd personally choose to eat, but I'm sure what I eat is quirky in its own way, too.1
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