Weight Lifting: To count or not to count....

desertdude

I started my membership at Golds Gym with a consultation. I told the Personal Trainer that I was using MFP. He literally scoffed at the notion of counting calorie. That was a bit of a let down to me because I have been having success lately and really being diligent. (counting olive oil and other smaller ingredients, etc)

He tells me that the amount of protein and calories I am ingesting are not enough to support a full on fat reduction/body building routine which I would like to start... He also said that as long as I am eating good foods I don't have to worry about the calories.

Does any one have any input on this topic for me?

Should I keep my calories low or just go for food as fuel?

A combination of the two?

Thanks in advance!

trelm249

If your goal is to lose fat, then yes count calories. Even if it was to gain, I would say count calories. It is about being knowledgeable of what your doing and how it is impacting your goals.

Since it looks like you are wanting to lose 8 lbs, set the goal at 1/2 lb loss per week and do a custom goal to set your macros at something like 35% protein, 35% carbohydrates, and 30%fat.

Log everything and eat back your exercise calories. It is critical for the recovery process.

Track that for 6 weeks and see how it works out. Tweak from there.

FoodandFitness

WOW!!! That personal trainer is a complete moron! Just wow.... You only have to have a HS diploma and take a weekend certification course to become a personal trainer, btw...

Personal Trainer and Licensed Dietitian here. Just wanted to say that you are doing the right thing using MFP. I actually require all of my clients to use this program.

Here's some tips. If you want to cut bodyfat, then continue to count calories but you may want to increase your protein intake up to 1g per lb of bodyweight.

Determinednoob

I started my membership at Golds Gym with a consultation. I told the Personal Trainer that I was using MFP. He literally scoffed at the notion of counting calorie. That was a bit of a let down to me because I have been having success lately and really being diligent. (counting olive oil and other smaller ingredients, etc)

He tells me that the amount of protein and calories I am ingesting are not enough to support a full on fat reduction/body building routine which I would like to start... He also said that as long as I am eating good foods I don't have to worry about the calories.

Does any one have any input on this topic for me?

Should I keep my calories low or just go for food as fuel?

A combination of the two?

Thanks in advance!

Trainer sucks mmkay. Get one that will help you learn the big lifts without trying to give you a routine or nutritional advice and check this out http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/686963-large-collection-of-info-for-beginners

DavPul

I'm going to allow room for both the PT and the responses to be correct. Seems like the PT was given your exact calorie intake, and we haven't been. While I DO believe you should continue counting, I bet once you reveal to us your current intake, I'll agree with the PT that it's not enough. And there's a nonzero chance that what he said was you can't restrict calories, not to stop tracking them.

shelbiejo

Golds Gym people don't know what they are talking about........I went there the other day and was blown away at their stupidity.

1- He told me to eat a LARGE meal right before I came in....So I know my weight was higher than it really is since I just ate pounds of food and a couple liters of water......And I knew my body fat % was off because you are supposed to do a three hour food/water/exercise fast before you get it done.

2- He said I need to get to 12% body fat....Ah that is fitness model status for a girl to be that low in body fat. That is not my goal....Sorry. He said 12% is in the average/healthy range ha.

3- I told him I workout 6 days a week and want to hit the gym 3 days a week on top of it (I did not say what workouts I did.) Then he goes "Okay great. If you do that you'll be at 105lbs and 12% body fat in 6 weeks!" Ummm....Based on me doing what workouts and what calorie deflect? He couldn't answer that question......

:indifferent:

desertdude

Thanks for the great responses everyone!

You all pretty much confirmed what I was suspecting...

I think my best bet personally is to kind of split the difference. In other words, up the food/protein/carb intake but continue to count calories. I currently weigh around 230, want to get to 195 to 200 and ripped. My feeling is that I need to lose about 40 lbs of fat and gain 10 lbs of muscle. The gold gym guy said my body fat was about 28% which is way too much.

MFP says I should be around 2100 calories a day to lose 1 lb a week.

This is what I'm going to do:
-up the protein per day to around 250g
-work out 5 days a week cardio/weights
-eat 5 small meals a day
-keep my net calories at current levels and eat extra carbs for the gains I make by exercising.
-eat lean protein and keep the fat levels low

I figure if I can do this, I should be OK.. I am concerned with depriving myself nourishment and getting burned out.

What do you think?

desertdude

p.s. I have no Idea why it says I want to lose 8 lbs... I need to lose closer to 33...lol

clee369

You don't need 250 grams of protein, that is simply too much. The recommendation to eat your body weight in protein is a guideline, and an encouragement for beginners, and especially women, to start upping the protein consumption. I'd say, for you to get about 200 grams of protein, then set your macros from that. And please don't eat a low fat diet, it won't make you burn fat. Think about it, if you're not consuming fat, why would your body burn more of it? It would save the amount it had. You want to eat fewer carbs, and with your level of protein intake, and especially if you eat 5 meals a day, you won't be deprived of energy at all.

Determinednoob

I remember when I though the bf% measurement I was getting was way off. Turns out it wasn't For protein just get a minimum of 1g per lb of LBM instead of total weight. For fat minimum of .45g per lb of LBM. Rest of your cals doesn't matter. How tall are you? If the bf% is right then your lbm would be 166 wich would leave you needing only about 5lbs of muscle added to be 190 at 10%bf

debussyschild

Can he make some suggestions for you as to portion sizes? That would be helpful.

I have a PT now and the nutritional plan he has me on doesn't use calorie counting... and I LOVE IT. It's all about portion size. I'm seeing results and I'm much more motivated to stick to it because I don't have to deal with counting. Counting is what has killed it for me several times. I simply cannot stand it. A lot of the bodybuilders that workout where I do (and own the gym) also don't count calories. EVER. I was baffled when they told me this when I asked, but it's true. Counting does work, no doubt. But there are other ways to make sure you're in a deficit to lose weight. Working out regularly and including strength training will put you in a deficit without you having to count your calories.

Determinednoob

I'm sure it is possible without counting, but once I got a food scale and started using this site, the last 15 lbs went like clockwork.

desertdude

So,

To update this old thread: I have lost about 25 lbs since this post and about 14 since the 1st of the year.

The key for me losing weight has been counting all calories and no drinking alcohol at all...

I work out 4 days a week, cardio at least 4 days a week. You can check my macros but they are working!!!

I have been losing weight and gaining muscle.

Check out my bodyspace on bodybuilding.com it has before and after pics. http://bodyspace.bodybuilding.com/DesertDude11/

In another week or two I am going to snap off another few. I have made even more progress since then.

Keep it up everyone! It can be done!!!

RunDoozer

2- He said I need to get to 12% body fat....Ah that is fitness model status for a girl to be that low in body fat. That is not my goal....Sorry. He said 12% is in the average/healthy range ha.

For men lol.

As a woman you would be having some major health issues if you werent properly managing everything

RunDoozer

So,

To update this old thread: I have lost about 25 lbs since this post and about 14 since the 1st of the year.

The key for me losing weight has been counting all calories and no drinking alcohol at all...

I work out 4 days a week, cardio at least 4 days a week. You can check my macros but they are working!!!

I have been losing weight and gaining muscle.

Check out my bodyspace on bodybuilding.com it has before and after pics. http://bodyspace.bodybuilding.com/DesertDude11/

In another week or two I am going to snap off another few. I have made even more progress since then.

Keep it up everyone! It can be done!!!

Nice job can definitely see it

JNick77

I think it depends on your current weight and bodyfat. If you are grossly overweight then starting simple might the right way to go. I've read many an article from professional trainers that tell their clients not to bother counting calories either. Rather, start by kicking all the junk food, soda's, sugar drinks, make better food choices, and only eat until satisfied rather than gorging yourself. That's true in many cases that simple changes in one's diet and addition of exercise can result in weight loss rather quickly. Personally, I'm too precise about that stuff and need to count but do what feels right for you. I went to a Gold's Gym once and all the trainers were friggin' morons. Take it for what it's worth.

desertdude

Regarding Gold's Gym: The branch I go to is great! The people there are friendly, patrons and staff. I personally love the fact that there are a LOT of really buff men and women there. It inspires me to see people that are in really good shape... even the obviously roided lunkers!

Of the personal trainers, there are 2 that are really good and the rest are just OK. I would only want info from a PT that relates to workout programs and proper form. Let them keep their BroScience nutritional info. I still nod and smile when they tell me something relating to nutrition tho... out of respect and to avoid a possible beat down. lol

For $9.95 a month, it has all the iron I could ever want to pump!

desertdude

So,

To update this old thread: I have lost about 25 lbs since this post and about 14 since the 1st of the year.

The key for me losing weight has been counting all calories and no drinking alcohol at all...

I work out 4 days a week, cardio at least 4 days a week. You can check my macros but they are working!!!

I have been losing weight and gaining muscle.

Check out my bodyspace on bodybuilding.com it has before and after pics. http://bodyspace.bodybuilding.com/DesertDude11/

In another week or two I am going to snap off another few. I have made even more progress since then.

Keep it up everyone! It can be done!!!

Nice job can definitely see it

Thanks man!

EjaneK11

So,

To update this old thread: I have lost about 25 lbs since this post and about 14 since the 1st of the year.

The key for me losing weight has been counting all calories and no drinking alcohol at all...

I work out 4 days a week, cardio at least 4 days a week. You can check my macros but they are working!!!

I have been losing weight and gaining muscle.

Check out my bodyspace on bodybuilding.com it has before and after pics. http://bodyspace.bodybuilding.com/DesertDude11/

In another week or two I am going to snap off another few. I have made even more progress since then.

Keep it up everyone! It can be done!!!

Good job!

tcpwade

I wouldn't go so far as to say that counting calories is completely useless as the trainer did in the beginning, but I will say that focusing only on calories in vs calories out is not the way to go either. There is so much more to getting to a healthy place than just counting calories. You should also be paying attention to other nutritional values and ingredients in your food and learning what those things can do FOR your body or do to harm your body. And I do think he was right that eating good foods is important. I'll never believe that a calorie is just a calorie is just a calorie. 200 Calories of a donut is not going to do the same things for your body as 200 calories of lean protein or fruits and vegetables. I find counting calories to be useful to my weight loss goals- but it's not the ONLY thing I use to measure the things I put into my body

Gallowmere1984

So,

To update this old thread: I have lost about 25 lbs since this post and about 14 since the 1st of the year.

The key for me losing weight has been counting all calories and no drinking alcohol at all...

I work out 4 days a week, cardio at least 4 days a week. You can check my macros but they are working!!!

I have been losing weight and gaining muscle.

Check out my bodyspace on bodybuilding.com it has before and after pics. http://bodyspace.bodybuilding.com/DesertDude11/

In another week or two I am going to snap off another few. I have made even more progress since then.

Keep it up everyone! It can be done!!!

Congratulations man. Your story sounds very much like mine, and hell, we even started near the same time, though I was in late August. The only real difference is that I have been below 1500 calories the whole time. I had a lot of wide *kitten* to get rid of.

I've been at Gold's since then myself, though I avoided the PTs like the plague from the very outset. I just don't trust someone who's known me all of three minutes to know more about my body than I do...yeah, I'm an *kitten* like that.

Again, congratulations, and way to show the naysayers that they know as much about individual anatomy as I do about nuclear physics...almost nothing.