General Advice, please

willyzification

Thanks again for all the advice. I'm going to increase my daily target to 1600 and see how I get on. If I start gaining weight then I can always drop it back down again

Even 1600 is a bit low I reckon. Normally maintenance calories value is how much you should be eating if you want to remain as you are. So if you want to lose weight then you take off 10-20% off your maintenance value to get a deficit in calories. I would suggest 15% at the highest, cause any higher and you are kind of pushing your body too much in terms of not eating enough. (hence the EXTREME fat loss).

Also with gaining weight when you eat more. The reason this is the case is, as I previously stated your body is in starvation mode. This means whatever food you put in your mouth your body wants to transform that into fat instantly to store for future starvation times. NOW what you need to do is get your body to stop thinking its starving and get out of that mode, and the only way to do that is to eat more.

INITIALLY when you eat more your body will go yes food I will need to store it into fat for later, but if you keep feeding your body the right amount of calories CONSISTENTLY instead of dropping it to an unhealthy level again (below 1600 calories just because you dont see instant progress {as your suggesting you will do "If I start gaining weight then I can always drop it back down again"}) Then your body will realise your not starving yourself, and continue to function as normal. Meaning the body wont transform all your food into fat cause it knows your going to feed it regularly.

mfpcopine

1200 is definitely too low just because you are male let alone any other reason.

Given his height and weight I don't think this level of calories as a net balance is a problem

Neither do I. He also says he's been consistently losing weight.

willyzification

1200 is definitely too low just because you are male let alone any other reason.

Given his height and weight I don't think this level of calories as a net balance is a problem

Neither do I. He also says he's been consistently losing weight.

Oh yes there is! So your saying as long as you lose weight you can eat as little as you need to? So all those kids in different countries all over Africa are healthy? They are skinny, they weigh little, they eat very little calories. Is that the right method? Sure those kids dont have a choice, but YOU do. You dont need to eat like your from Africa to lose weight. Eat healthy, eat ENOUGH and exercise reguarily will always trump any fad diets and all this eat extremely low calories to lose weight crap. Encouraging anyone to eat below 1500 calories (male), and 1200 calories (female) has some serious research to do in the benefits and costs of doing so. I'ill give an example:

Benefits: 1. You may INITIALLY lose SOME WEIGHT
Costs: 1. You will almost always gain whatever you lost from this method back and more
2. Your body will not be at its 100% potential
3. You will eventually reach a plateau and you will not be able to break it without eating more
4. When you do eat more because of the plateau you will gain weight because your body was starving and turning all the food into fat
5. This is not a lifestyle change, it is a short-term method where failure is almost always inevitable in the long run. Do you want to lose some weight now, then be 10 pounds, 20 pounds heavier than you were initially later on, or do you want to remain at a healthy weight range for the rest of your life?
6. this list is endless

Sarauk2sf

1200 is definitely too low just because you are male let alone any other reason.

Given his height and weight I don't think this level of calories as a net balance is a problem

Neither do I. He also says he's been consistently losing weight.

So? That has nothing to do with whether he is eating enough to provide him with the necessary nutrients to lose weight healthily.

willyzification

1200 is definitely too low just because you are male let alone any other reason.

Given his height and weight I don't think this level of calories as a net balance is a problem

Neither do I. He also says he's been consistently losing weight.

So? That has nothing to do with whether he is eating enough to provide him with the necessary nutrients to lose weight healthily.

^ this. honestly its like my posts are purposefully ignored. I can pass more knowledge through to a rock than some people around here.

Becky1971

I have been "listening" ! I'm feeling encouraged to try and increase higher.

1200 is definitely too low just because you are male let alone any other reason.

Given his height and weight I don't think this level of calories as a net balance is a problem

Neither do I. He also says he's been consistently losing weight.

So? That has nothing to do with whether he is eating enough to provide him with the necessary nutrients to lose weight healthily.

^ this. honestly its like my posts are purposefully ignored. I can pass more knowledge through to a rock than some people around here.

sowhatisit

.....

Rumik

Thanks for all the feedback guys. Thought I'd just post an update.

So I've been eating just below my daily target of 1570 since I last posted. And I've seen barely any weight loss at all. However, that doesn't mean I'm not slimming down. I don't know if I am, honestly, my next review at the gym won't be for a few more weeks, so I'll stick with the current target and see if I've lost any inches then. I'm certainly seeing muscles I've never seen before, so I expect it's partially due to weight loss in those areas.

So, so, so many sites and people say completely different things about the "right" way to lose weight. Some say eat more calories regardless of my age, weight and height. Others say eat fewer calories because of my age, weight and height. I wish I could get a straight answer, a guaranteed solution that I can have 100% faith will work, but I guess that's not going to happen.

Anyway, I'll update here once I find out my measurements.

Thanks

AlphamaleBAMF

Hi all,

I need some general advice, as I think there are some fundamentals about weight loss that I just don't know.

http://youtu.be/85wujdlSSYI

fitpilatesqueen

I don´t know much about those things but I know one thing. The more exercise the heavier your muscles become so don´t worry about it if you don´t lose weight as much if you are doing more than before.
The more exercise the more you need to eat, you eat too little it slows down your system and your body holding on to fat to have for later to burn.

My english isn´t all that good but I hope I could make myself understandable

fitpilatesqueen

Don´t go back to your current status of 1200. Give your body a chance to adapt and balance, it will come and you will start losing weight again, it takes time for your body to balance your intake

Rumik

Finally, an update

I am slowly losing weight. Not only that, but I'm losing cm too - 2cm around my waist and hips since my last gym review, and I've lost fat on my arms and legs but gained muscle.

While it's slow going, I am seeing results, so I'll keep going at 1600 calories a day for another month and see how I'm doing then.