Maintaining Muscle, Phentermine, and Calories...

likitisplit

Have you tried printing out the MFP logs and bringing them in with you?

Wouldnt really have a benefit... Its a doctor like a GP, not a dietitian right?

It might help to demonstrate his commitment to eating right and working out.

wheird

Hey buddy, congrats on your succes thus far! I personally would not take the phentermine, especially as you are doing just fine so far.

You -could- reduce your calories by another 300-500 with few adverse effects. And at this point I would not worry too much about muscle loss beyond anything reasonable.

And continue doing what you are doing for now.

drwaddy

I have almost no appetite like I use to, once I started taking 220 + grams of protein a day, I basically don't feel hungry anymore. I actually struggle to eat that much food, which is why I was wondering if I could cut it down. I'm not sure I could maintain 1800 but it'd be fun to try for a little bit.

If I eat 3 relatively large meals and drink 2 shakes a day I can easily hit those macros and be just fine, I was mostly worried about if that would wreck my system. 3100 just feels so well for a lack of better word fat... There are days I struggle to stay under 3100 but those are the days I am tired and lazy and just want to eat out for 3 meals... Since I found Fiber One, even though I know it has a lot of carbs and gluten, I haven't had a problem with the high protein diet like I use to before I had the appropriate amount of fiber. I honestly really enjoy eating meat, and I'm not a huge fan of greens so the fiber is perfect.

The truth is I'm epicly huge, and 3100 is still a 500 deficit, my expectations of myself and weight loss were way out of reality when I started, but since then I've accepted this is going to be a few year process.

GoPhil04

I'm pretty sure everyone knows what it is, however, if the OP doesn't want to take it, then he shouldn't take it.

Second response mentioned googling it...

Hes obviously on the fence about it if he made a thread about it.

Just letting him know it WILL help him accelerate his results.

He needs to have a high tolerance for stimulants though as thats really the biggest concern to worry about.

_HeartsOnFire_

High five on your progress so far. You're doing great! You seem to have the right attitude and desire that I don't think you'll have any problem reaching your goal!

GoPhil04

You sound like my brother in law...

Dudes 6'5 and 310lbs. BEAST with alot of muscle.

Hes recently cut down to 275 and says he feels amazing.

(he takes phentramine lol)

kgeyser

Well it may be a case of wanting my cake and eating it too... I want to do the low weight high rep workout, it makes me feel good, probably because of the hormone release and it makes me sweat and pant like crazy, something I could only match on a bike cause I can't run at my size. I just don't want to lose muscle.

I'm 390 lbs so yes I am lifting at least 140 maybe more every time I get up, and I do the following workout, which means I'm doing 90 reps of that every tue - thur - sat...

I lift for 1 hour a day, 6 days a week, and here is my circuit:

Monday - Wednesday - Friday:

Bicep Curl = 90 Reps at 50lbs
Back Extension = 90 Reps at 170lbs
Calf Raises = 90 Reps at 230lbs
Pull Downs = 90 Reps at 90lbs
Row = 90 Reps at 90lbs
Ab Press = 90 Reps at 130lbs

Tuesday - Thursday - Saturday:

Tricep Extensions = 90 Reps at 50lbs
Hamstring Curls = 90 Reps at 110lbs
Fly = 90 Reps at 90lbs
Delts = 90 Reps at 50lbs
Squats = 90 Reps at 390lbs
Overhead Press = 90 Reps at 20lbs
Chest Press = 90 Reps at 50lbs

All of the reps are in 15 rep sets 3 sets per machine in a loop of 6 machines on the m - w - f and 7 on t - th - sa and I repeat that after I finish 1 circuit.

I'm not an expert, personal trainer, or anything like that! But... some thoughts to consider and maybe others with more knowledge can chime in:

1) Everything I've read suggests that doing that many reps isn't necessarily productive. How did you settle on 15 as the number? What about doing 5 sets of 5 reps?

2) Is your workout always the same? Do you ever increase the weight? You have to increase the weight you're lifting if you want to progress and be able to lift more. So if you do 50 lb bicep curls one day, but the next time try to do 55 lbs, then 60 lbs, etc.

No, that's the weight I started with and I haven't increased it since. The point was the maintain or even build a small amount of newbie muscle while burning as much calories as possible. I would do it over a bike any day. The high reps with the relatively low weight, I could easily curl way more, was just designed to make me sweat and get my heart rate up for an extended period of time. The weight if anything has been a little harder to lift as I continue, but I think that's just due to fatigue with how often I'm lifting. Most days I feel SO good after going to the gym.

I'll be honest, I think you are doing yourself a disservice with this routine. Low weight high reps is for muscle endurance, not increasing strength, and is really not effective for weight loss. LWHR is what women were told to do for years to get that "toned" look.*eyeroll* It's pretty much useless imo, unless you are participating in some sport or activity where muscle endurance like this would be needed.

I think you would be much better off with a progressive loading program for your goal of maintaining muscle, gaining strength and burning fat.

likitisplit

I have almost no appetite like I use to, once I started taking 220 + grams of protein a day, I basically don't feel hungry anymore. I actually struggle to eat that much food, which is why I was wondering if I could cut it down. I'm not sure I could maintain 1800 but it'd be fun to try for a little bit.

If I eat 3 relatively large meals and drink 2 shakes a day I can easily hit those macros and be just fine, I was mostly worried about if that would wreck my system. 3100 just feels so well for a lack of better word fat... There are days I struggle to stay under 3100 but those are the days I am tired and lazy and just want to eat out for 3 meals... Since I found Fiber One, even though I know it has a lot of carbs and gluten, I haven't had a problem with the high protein diet like I use to before I had the appropriate amount of fiber. I honestly really enjoy eating meat, and I'm not a huge fan of greens so the fiber is perfect.

The truth is I'm epicly huge, and 3100 is still a 500 deficit, my expectations of myself and weight loss were way out of reality when I started, but since then I've accepted this is going to be a few year process.

1800 calories will suck. I maintain at 2050 and 1800 sucks for me.

I was really surprised at the number of calories I needed in the beginning as well. The thing is, I'd tried to lose the weight for two years, only to binge and give up because I kept trying to eat too little. Once I was eating, and losing, at a sustainable rate it all became do-able for me.

You aren't going to get to your goal weight for more than a year, but you'll be surprised at how soon you notice a difference. A 10% loss will be a big deal. Your half-way point will feel like a transformation. It's a process.

_HeartsOnFire_

I'll be honest, I think you are doing yourself a disservice with this routine. Low weight high reps is for muscle endurance, not increasing strength, and is really not effective for weight loss. LWHR is what women were told to do for years to get that "toned" look.*eyeroll* It's pretty much useless imo, unless you are participating in some sport or activity where muscle endurance like this would be needed.

I think you would be much better off with a progressive loading program for your goal of maintaining muscle, gaining strength and burning fat.

I was thinking this, just wasn't 100% positive.

A couple progressive strength programs you could look into - stronglifts 5x5 and starting strength.

drwaddy

So in essence I'd be removing the extra 500 calories from my diet by changing my workout to not really burn calories but instead build muscles? Seems counter productive... Are you saying I'll actually burn MORE calories by lifting heavier weight fewer times?

likitisplit

So in essence I'd be removing the extra 500 calories from my diet by changing my workout to not really burn calories but instead build muscles? Seems counter productive... Are you saying I'll actually burn MORE calories by lifting heavier weight fewer times?

Well, it seems like you have a couple of goals:

- burn 500 calories

- preserve muscle mass

Preserving muscle mass is best done with a progressive lifting program. You will burn a fair number of calories doing this as well, though not as many as doing more intense cardio activity.

drwaddy

Only problem with all this 5x5 stuff that I can see is it's a lot of dead lifting and rowing, both of which would put a lot of pressure on my umbilical hernia, which the doc has told me to avoid surgery on till I lose the said weight, and my brother also does this with me and he's torn his ACL like 8 years ago and never got surgery so his knee is crap... I doubt either of us could actually do this...

kgeyser

Only problem with all this 5x5 stuff that I can see is it's a lot of dead lifting and rowing, both of which would put a lot of pressure on my umbilical hernia, which the doc has told me to avoid surgery on till I lose the said weight, and my brother also does this with me and he's torn his ACL like 8 years ago and never got surgery so his knee is crap... I doubt either of us could actually do this...

If you don't feel like you can do some of the exercises, then don't do them. You can still follow the idea of progressive loading with the machines if you are comfortable with that right now. So rather than doing all those reps at the same weight, you would do fewer reps but increase the weight each week (I think this is how the Stronglifts model works, I don't have it in front of me).

You could also do a hypertrophy program, in which the goal is generally to get huge, but obviously that would not happen when you are eating at a deficit. In that case you would do three sets, increasing the weight and decreasing the reps with each set. For example:

Set 1: Lowest weight, 15 reps
Set 2: Add weight, 12 reps
Set 3: Add weight (heaviest weight), 8 reps, aim to fail by 8th rep

This would be easy to do with the machines because it would just be a matter of moving the pin, but you wouldn't rotate between machines after each set. You would complete all three sets, then move on to the next machine.

Ls1273

The only I don't know from your post is are there any dangerous signals coming from your bloodwork. This pill was like 10$ for a month for me so not a huge cash cow for doctors. I have fatty liver and he thinks the gains outweigh the risk even though I was already making progress on my own. Up to you sounds like you are doing great! So no pressure. I just wanted to jump on here and say doctors arent evil and mine had a full on discussion with me, checks my emails and responds quickly.. and has monthly check-in set up to make sure im progressing. He cares about my health.

quiksylver296

listckli71 wrote: »

The only I don't know from your post is are there any dangerous signals coming from your bloodwork. This pill was like 10$ for a month for me so not a huge cash cow for doctors. I have fatty liver and he thinks the gains outweigh the risk even though I was already making progress on my own. Up to you sounds like you are doing great! So no pressure. I just wanted to jump on here and say doctors arent evil and mine had a full on discussion with me, checks my emails and responds quickly.. and has monthly check-in set up to make sure im progressing. He cares about my health.

This thread is seven years old. I doubt the OP is still even around...

ndj1979

quiksylver296 wrote: »

listckli71 wrote: »

The only I don't know from your post is are there any dangerous signals coming from your bloodwork. This pill was like 10$ for a month for me so not a huge cash cow for doctors. I have fatty liver and he thinks the gains outweigh the risk even though I was already making progress on my own. Up to you sounds like you are doing great! So no pressure. I just wanted to jump on here and say doctors arent evil and mine had a full on discussion with me, checks my emails and responds quickly.. and has monthly check-in set up to make sure im progressing. He cares about my health.

This thread is seven years old. I doubt the OP is still even around...

zombie thread..