Ask me anything about fat/weight loss....

TheOfficialEpic

I'm gonna be on and off here most of the day, so I thought I'd try to be of help to anybody with questions out there. Train hard, and live shredded.

yarwell

is it a good idea to eat before going to the gym in the morning, or should I wait till after ?

TheOfficialEpic

That is completely up to you. Me personally, I like to workout on a pretty empty stomach, but I do encourage my clients to put something solid in them about two hours before they come. Not too much though, or you might throw it up of course. Nothing wrong either way. There is a lot going on in the supplement industry about pre-workout this and post-workout that....that's only like 5% of the bigger picture which is ARE YOU GETTING YOUR NUTRITION?! Keep it simple, if you want a little something before the workout, that's fine. Vice versa is fine too. The big picture is a consistent daily caloric deficit, increasingly intense workouts, meeting your macros met, and proper recovery. Hope this helps yeh. Hit me back if ya have more. Cheers

aj_31

What's the best way for women to lose body fat? I've been doing a lot of strength training and even though I'm getting stronger I don't seem to be losing any inches or weight. Thoughts on this?

ZombieChaser

Hey Thanks for doing this!

I've got a running question - I'm trying to increase my running distance from 5k onward, but I seem to be capping out (lungs are okay, it's my legs!) just past the 5k mark...Is this a question of not enough protien, or just a matter of giving myself more time for my legs to catch up to my lungs?

Thanks!

txbutterfly69

What can I do to loose when I've hit a plateau? Was loosing and now it went in reverse?? Still exercising, changing as to not do the same everyday. Eating the same as well.

cmurray234

I've read that if you lift weights, that your metabolism stays elevated for some period of time after you work out. I often save my "treat" eating for after I've lifted.

I also read that cardio doesn't boost metabolism as well. True or false?

970Mikaela1

To look like you do how much do you workout?

Squidgeypaws007

Hey, thanks for offering your help!!

What's the deal with overtraining? I've been told it impedes weight loss, but is there any way to work out hard and not have it affect the loss?

And if I have my calorie total set to my TDEE do I eat back my exercise calories? I've recently realised that I've been netting below my BMR (on average) over a period of a week, I assume you eat till you hit BMR or above? And could this be related to my recent gain in weight (which I've assumed is water)?

So many questions xD lol

Shfiftyfive

Why are we asking you questions?

TheOfficialEpic

Same way for women as men: A consistent caloric deficit. Take the stress out and make it black and white. COUNT EVERYTHING. Whenever I go on a cut, I just slowly start reducing my calories on a weekly basis until I hit my desired rate of fatloss. You WILL eventually plateau, but this is when you simply increase the cardio a bit and or reduce the calories a little bit more. Throwing in a refeed once a week is good too. If you're in a 500 calorie deficit for six days out of the week and day seven you go 500 over maintenance as a refeed day, you're still in a huge net deficit for the week. You don't necessarily have to weight train or do cardio to lose weight, but I definitely would say it helps tremendously. More muscle means higher resting metabolic rate. And who is going to burn more calories doing 20 minutes on the treadmill, somebody in poor cardiovascular shape, or somebody in great cardiovascular shape?....Exactly.

Lastly I would say make sure you're hitting your protein needs daily to give you the best chance at sparing the most amount of muscle while in your deficit. Also keep track of your water and salt intake. Lots of people freak and think that they're not losing when in fact, they are, but they're just retaining water from a salty meal. Easier to grasp is this: Weight yourself, and then go drink a quart of water and weigh yourself again. Did the scale go up?....Of course. But is this real weight gain?....Of course not!

Countrybride2b

Good morning! Maybe you could help me?? I started a thread this morning after waking up and getting some bad news on the scale I've copy and pasted my post below.. I'd really appreciate some insight. Thanks so much!!!

Today I had to weigh in for the lose 5 lbs in May Challenge. I was soooo good this week! In addition to my regular workouts at the gym, I've also started doing 2 Jillian DVDs as well... So that's 2 workouts a day. I'm always under my calories for the day, and I eat well! Today I stepped on the scale and saw I went up 2 pounds!!! I seriously wanted to cry... Ok, maybe I did actually cry a little... Lol. I'm getting married in August and I'm really wanting to look my best. I feel like these last 10 pounds are never going to come off. I feel like I'm running out of time I know there's theories about having to eat more to lose weight, but I feel I don't have enough time to experiment with this- incase I just keep gaining!! My daily cals are 1480... When I workout a lot, I usually will eat closer to 1600 calories, while still having a large deficit. ANY advice I could get from MFP peeps would be much appreciated!!!!

tryinghard71

Bump

prov31jd

What's the best way for women to lose body fat? I've been doing a lot of strength training and even though I'm getting stronger I don't seem to be losing any inches or weight. Thoughts on this?

^^^THIS. Same question here. Stubborn fat around thighs and belly. Ugh.

TheOfficialEpic

Not exactly a fatloss question but here you go: Running just like any other sport, the better you get, the harder it is to get to the next level. Make sure your nutrition is good, make sure you're progressively overloading your body with harder run workouts, be consistent, and you'll eventually get there.

TheOfficialEpic

You may have gone too low for too long. The body is HIGHLY adaptive. When this happens you basically have one or two options to start losing again: 1) Give yourself a day or two break, and bring your calories up to maintenance(a refeed basically). Or 2) Cut the calories again and or decrease the calories again slightly. You'll always be hitting plateaus, and they are usually just the body's way of saying 'Gimme a little break.' Also pay attention to WHAT you're eating as for instance hidden calories that are not being accounted for, and salts which make you retain water weight. Hope this helps yeh.

FabulousKP

Why is it recommended to drink a protein shake after a workout?

thebigcb

Am I eating enough?

TheOfficialEpic

Cardio boosts metabolism, but this boost ends light years before the boost of a good weight training session would end. For the best results you really need to be doing both. You don't have to do necessarily either to lose fat, but they do make it a lot easier for most. What's most important is the consistent caloric deficit. The weight training will also determine how you're going to look after the body fat has come off.

Tojsmom

My question is this: I can't afford a gym membership so I have to do everything at home, without it costing me alot of money what do you recommend I start with to have in my home to help me try to loose some weight as far as exercise. I have a problem with one of my legs where right now all I can do is walk.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, my goal is to eventually build myself up to where I can run so that I can do some type of race with my sisters.

thebigcb

Cardio boosts metabolism, but this boost ends light years before the boost of a good weight training session would end. For the best results you really need to be doing both. You don't have to do necessarily either to lose fat, but they do make it a lot easier for most. What's most important is the consistent caloric deficit. The weight training will also determine how you're going to look after the body fat has come off.

That was for me right?

Thank you Sir

insyweensy

bump

TheOfficialEpic

Oh no!.....The ultimate question: How much do I work out?....Hmmm, a better question would probably be 'how long have you been doing this?' I'll answer both. I've been in the "fit" game all my life since elementary school recess really. Right now though, I can say I get anywhere from 30 minutes to four hours of activity a day depending on the day. Notice I said 'activity' and not workouts. I lift weights, I ballroom dance, I practice yoga, and I kickbox. These are my loves and passions. Some days I will only have time for thirty minutes of yoga. Other days I'm blessed to have time for all. It varies. Bodyfat percentage wise, for most of my clients who have wanted to get lean, depending on their start and assuming their consistency, usually about 1-3 years to get them where they want the right way.

autumnk921

Is there anyway that you can use the 'quote' when answering questions? I have a couple of the same questions as others & can't tell who is being answered....

But thank you so much for your advice it is much appreciated... :happy:

naveej

bump

TheOfficialEpic

Overtraining.

Yes overtraining will severely screw up your efforts. Train smart and make sure you're recovering. If you're overtraining, not only are your workouts getting less and less efficient, but your hormones are getting screwed up too. The body is trying to protect itself and will lower your metabolism to do so. Train hard, but always make sure you're recovering.

As far as TDEE and BMR. These are good things to know of, but easier still is just slowly reducing the calories on a weekly basis till you begin losing at the rate you want. Back in the day, I would go to aggressively with the caloric deficit someone else told me to do, and I'd notice myself losing fat very fast, but muscle mass just as fast! And when I would bulk, I would take in too many calories. Yeh I would add muscle good, but I also just added a ton of body fat! Take it slow and steady and your body will reward you a lot better.

TheOfficialEpic

Relax. It WILL come off. The leaner you get, the more the body is going to fight you. Be consistent. Keep to your deficit, maybe reduce the calories by 100 more a day or increase the cardio a little throughout the week. Also, what most likely got you on that 2pound gain was water weight. How do fighters lose weight fast for a weigh-in?....They sweat it out in a sauna! I've seen people drop 8 pounds in a day by water weight alone. And if you have a salty meal that makes you retain a lot of water, on top of that you take in more carbs(carboHYDRATE), then yeh...you could easily add two pounds to the scale. But it's not fat gain, it's water. Reduce the carbs, watch the sodium, and you'll be back to normal.

sdav1997

I have an apple shaped body. I am exercising and decreasing my calories to decrease my waistline. In the process, I am losing from areas I do not want to lose such as my thighs and butt. What can I do so that i do not end up with a flat butt when I get to my desired weight and waistline?

slyder432

I have been told that love handles start in the kitchen. It all depends on what you eat. I see pics like yours with ripped abs and that is my goal. I read others diaries and see that they are taking supplements and eating nothing but chicken. Is that the secret?

dizzydi1968

I've been very successful at weight loss by maintaining a deficit, eating well, cardio 5/6 times per week and body condiitioning 3 times per week.

I have about 15 pounds to go to target but retain several problem areas (upper arms, midrift, slight tummy pouch etc).

Would 'lifting heavy' that everyone on here seems to advocate help me address these or are they inevitable for a 43 year old who was overweight for too long?

TheOfficialEpic

Stubborn fat.

Stubborn fat is basically the areas of your body you're prone to holding the MOST fat. Obviously these places will be the last to lean out because they hold the most. For men, its their stomachs. For most women, the back of the arms, the butt, and the thighs. It CAN come off though. But this is where the consistency and determination matter the most. When you first start exercising, the body rewards you with a quick increase in muscle and some fat loss....But as you go along, this is going to be harder and harder. You've basically gotta get two things across to your body: 1) this is the new me and I'm not going back up to the weight I was before, and 2) don't worry, everything is fine. Try reducing the calories a little more throughout the week, and or increasing the cardio a little more. Also, as I've said before, adding a refeed once a week where you bring your calories up to maintenance can help because it will not only make your workouts better, but will also give your mind a bit of a break from the lowered calories. YOu'll still net a deficit for the the week. You're almost there, just stay serious, and keep fighting.