everyne says " eat more to loose weight " bs ??

15681011

Replies

  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    just measured baefoot 5'7"...dam im shrinking :)

    TDEE 2316 thats saying everyday exercise,,,but my everyday exercise is running 5.5 miles EVERY day so would that fall under "intense"

    If so it bumps me to 2440 TDEE...so I should be eating say 2000 cals a day to maintain this weight ??? This is what I dont get...every time I go even cose to that for a few days my weight goes up....maybe im not getting this

    Read up on glycogen storage and water weight. You are always going to gain a little water weight when you increase your calories. It's something you're going to have to get used to but it should level out quickly.
  • Gee_24
    Gee_24 Posts: 359 Member
    I was on 1200 for 50 days. I stalled and stayed there for 3 weeks.

    I then went up to 1400 and can tell you I have lost 2lbs in the past 9 days.

    Yes, its more like 1lb a week now as opposed to the 2-3lbs before. But when you've stalled for 3 weeks after being METICULOUS about your diet, 1lb is a triumph! And I'll bet that's the maximum I will ever be able to lose per week after this point.

    It took upping my calories to move that scale as my body just wasn't burning the way it should have been. It was holding onto everything it could after 50 days on 1200.

    And guess what, I'm enjoying the freedom of 1400 so much I'm going to 1500 next week. And then 1600 the week after. As my TDEE is 2000 I can bet by mid October I'll be eating at 1800 as I'm not fussed about the speed of weight loss any more.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    Ok using online Harris-Benedict for 54 yr old man, 5'8" tall, weight 141 and exercise ( run 45 mins a t8 min mile pace ) everyday.

    It CLAIMS BMR 1446

    TDEE 2368.......so what do BOTH of these mean ????

    Use this for best estimates all around. Just in case you have less LBM than expected by Harris BMR calc.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/961054-spreadsheet-for-bodyfat-bmr-tdee-progress-tracker
  • cvcman
    cvcman Posts: 438 Member
    Holy speadsheet Batman ! I cant figure out what to put in where......thats too complex for my simple brain,,,,from almost everthign I read it says to eat around 2k cals a day for me to maintain....
  • BAMarsh
    BAMarsh Posts: 72 Member
    Holy speadsheet Batman ! I cant figure out what to put in where......thats too complex for my simple brain,,,,from almost everthign I read it says to eat around 2k cals a day for me to maintain....

    Try doing 2000-2300 per day for a week or two. Give your body and water weight time to adjust. If after two weeks you're still gaining (highly doubtful), then you can reevaluate.
  • JanieJack
    JanieJack Posts: 3,831 Member
    Eating more doesn't always mean more calories. It can mean 100 less calories of meat and 100 more calories of veggies which is cups and cups more volume of food. This additional volume provides liquid, nutrients, and fiber which aids in weight loss so just that one switch can be "eating more" but not really "eating more calories" yet still have huge impacts on health and weight.
  • cvcman
    cvcman Posts: 438 Member
    so you are saying try eating this much but STILL doing my cardio, correct ?
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    Holy speadsheet Batman ! I cant figure out what to put in where......thats too complex for my simple brain,,,,from almost everthign I read it says to eat around 2k cals a day for me to maintain....

    4 personal stats you use everywhere and have memorized.
    8 measurements you should really have anyway to see true progress outside the scale.
    1 goal weight you likely have or are at actually in your case.
    2 daily activity levels for hours above a sedentary job you have, may not even apply.
    4 exercise levels for minutes weekly, some may not even apply.

    That's it. You delete the sample data in only the yellow cells. Fill in your own if it applies.

    Usually it helps soothe those that are anxious about gaining by eating at reasonable levels. They can see the estimates are all based on best info available, and very specific.

    Because you still seem to be awful concerned about the normal fluctuations of water weight.
    I dropped 5 lbs from Fri to Sat, and that Fri was actually a 5 lb gain from last weigh in.

    Why the gain and loss?

    Gained because I was still sore and healing from half-ironman on Monday. And was still eating at maintenance to aid repair to get stronger.
    Lost the 5 in a day because the soreness went away and I ate normal sodium levels on Friday all day. Used the bathroom a lot though!
    Up again by 3 lbs on Sun after long Sat bike ride in terrible heat.
    Lost 3 lbs by Monday morning.

    None of those are valid weigh-ins though, so I can separate emotion from my curiosity on false gain/loss. I haven't had a valid weigh in about a month, most because of training. Sometimes because I blew it on the rest day eating Chinese for lunch. That is not normal sodium level for me by a long shot.

    Whatever level of TDEE you pick, you better keep doing your cardio since the TDEE is based on you doing it.
    And weigh 10 x during the day so you can see just how much stuff varies. Overload your system on weigh-ins, then perhaps it won't be so important at valid times.
  • Stage14
    Stage14 Posts: 1,046 Member
    I'm a big fan of the idea that you have to stick to any diet change for a month before you can tell how it works for you. Pretty much any time you mess with your body's fuel, it takes awhile for it to get used to it.

    However, if you are happy with your weight and what you are doing is working for you, why change it at all?
  • cvcman
    cvcman Posts: 438 Member
    well guess would like to loose the belly flab I have and everyone here seems to keep saying " eat more"
  • cvcman
    cvcman Posts: 438 Member
    I will try logging in everyday....and increase my cals. again in the past when I have done that I always see an increase in weight...maybe I have to give it longer than a week to see a chg ???
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    I will try logging in everyday....and increase my cals. again in the past when I have done that I always see an increase in weight...maybe I have to give it longer than a week to see a chg ???

    Good grief yes, that has been stated many times by many different people, 1 week isn't enough data points, especially with you probably weighing on invalid days for actually even having a valid data point.

    Always do the math to know what cannot possibly be going on, and you should probably throw away the scale you are way too tied to.

    If you gained 2 lbs in a week, if you really thought it was fat weight, 2 x 3500 / 7 days = 1000 calories over maintenance daily.

    Now, if you ate a whole 250 more calories daily - is there any way possible for you to now suddenly achieved 1000 calories OVER maintenance or TDEE level daily?
    No, impossible.

    Even if you want to pretend and say your metabolism was slower because of undereating, such you really were eating at maintenance already, then eating 250 calories more daily would only cause 1 lb gain over 2 whole weeks. And that's if your metabolism didn't actually speed up during that whole 2 weeks.
  • Stage14
    Stage14 Posts: 1,046 Member
    I will try logging in everyday....and increase my cals. again in the past when I have done that I always see an increase in weight...maybe I have to give it longer than a week to see a chg ???

    Yes. That's actually exactly what we've been saying. But really, if you want to loose "flab", your best bet might be to back off the cardio and add some more strength training in. Whatever changes you make, give it at least 1 month to start taking effect, and don't weigh yourself daily. Pick one day a week and weigh yourself on that day only, at the same time of day with the same scale and conditions (i.e. in the morning, naked, on your bathroom scale).
  • kr1stadee
    kr1stadee Posts: 1,774 Member
    Put the scale away...
  • cvcman
    cvcman Posts: 438 Member
    Ok relax, I dont want your BP going thru the roof.....
  • cvcman
    cvcman Posts: 438 Member
    Why would the lifting kill the flab ?? And what style of lifting ??? bench press ??? And how often ??? Again my legs are thin and muscle as is everything else except the belly flab...if you see me with my shirt on like in my profile pic I look skinny...without a shirt not so much :)
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    Why would the lifting kill the flab ?? And what style of lifting ??? bench press ??? And how often ??? Again my legs are thin and muscle as is everything else except the belly flab...if you see me with my shirt on like in my profile pic I look skinny...without a shirt not so much :)

    Lifting "heavy" for you. Meaning you try to do 3 sets x 10 reps and by the last rep or 2 you would fail using good form, which should never suffer.
    Should be using biggest muscles first, so legs, chest, back, the arms automatically get worked out doing that.

    Why does it kill flab when eating at maintenance?

    Lifting to overload is asking your body to improve so it can do better next time.
    Improve means get the muscle strong, and then make more of it.
    So your food intake will go to that purpose mainly, meaning your fat is called on to provide energy for other stuff more often than otherwise.

    Now, lifting doesn't burn as much as cardio does for equal amounts of time - during the workout.
    But lifting burns more 24-36 hrs post workout during the recovery/repair process, whereas cardio has some afterburn effects for short time, but much less.

    3 times weekly is prime. Select a Full body workout, push/pull style.

    http://www.exrx.net/WeightTraining/Instructions.html
  • cvcman
    cvcman Posts: 438 Member
    Ok here is what I did tonight...

    1) Bench press 85 pounds ( I know pretty light ) 3 sets of 10

    2) Leg press 130 pounds 3 sets of 10

    3) Pulldowns 130 pounds 3 sets of 10

    this is in addition to my biking this morning of 20 miles at a rate of 18mph in the heat and humidity :)

    Check my diary.....I figure my legs are prety strong from all the running and biking I do....If weather permits I will do my normal 5 mile run in the morning...if not Tabatas HIT on the stationary bike indoors :(
  • cvcman
    cvcman Posts: 438 Member
    are these weights a good start
  • silken555
    silken555 Posts: 478 Member
    You need to challenge your muscles. If they feels too light or if you can finish those reps without trying, the weights are indeed too light.

    Edited to add that form needs to be kept to prevent needless injuries.
  • cvcman
    cvcman Posts: 438 Member
    I will start by doing 3 days a week and increasing by 10 pounds every time if i can
  • danimalkeys
    danimalkeys Posts: 982 Member
    I will start by doing 3 days a week and increasing by 10 pounds every time if i can

    You'll stall by the 2nd week doing that. Find a weight that is hard to get all 10 reps of. If you can't get all 10 reps for all sets, stick with the weight until you can. Then add 5lbs. Repeat. You'd be better off doing a proven program like Stronglifts or another basic program that uses compound lifts like squat, deadlift, row, bench, overhead press.
  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
    I will start by doing 3 days a week and increasing by 10 pounds every time if i can

    You'll stall by the 2nd week doing that. Find a weight that is hard to get all 10 reps of. If you can't get all 10 reps for all sets, stick with the weight until you can. Then add 5lbs. Repeat. You'd be better off doing a proven program like Stronglifts or another basic program that uses compound lifts like squat, deadlift, row, bench, overhead press.

    This is good advice^
  • cvcman
    cvcman Posts: 438 Member
    so when I have the bech press at 110 and I can only do 8 reps...KEEP it there ?? Then when I ca do all 10 resp, 3 sets of each go up 5 pounds ?? I have to go 10 at a time due to my machines weight plates...

    Check my diary my weight is still like a yo-yo...guess thats normal....I may just weigh in on Thursdays as that is always my low day :)
  • danimalkeys
    danimalkeys Posts: 982 Member
    so when I have the bech press at 110 and I can only do 8 reps...KEEP it there ?? Then when I ca do all 10 resp, 3 sets of each go up 5 pounds ?? I have to go 10 at a time due to my machines weight plates...

    Check my diary my weight is still like a yo-yo...guess thats normal....I may just weigh in on Thursdays as that is always my low day :)

    Yes, if you can only do 8, keep working til you get 10. Then add the 10lbs if that's what your machine lets you do, and work back up to getting 3 sets of 10. Maybe you can only get 5-6-7 reps per set when you add the 10lbs, but as you keep working on it the reps will get there.
  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
    so when I have the bech press at 110 and I can only do 8 reps...KEEP it there ?? Then when I ca do all 10 resp, 3 sets of each go up 5 pounds ?? I have to go 10 at a time due to my machines weight plates...

    Check my diary my weight is still like a yo-yo...guess thats normal....I may just weigh in on Thursdays as that is always my low day :)

    Yes, if you can only do 8, keep working til you get 10. Then add the 10lbs if that's what your machine lets you do, and work back up to getting 3 sets of 10. Maybe you can only get 5-6-7 reps per set when you add the 10lbs, but as you keep working on it the reps will get there.

    Also, look around the machine. There is often a small weight that is designed to be stacked on top of the stack that is smaller than the 10lbs. There are lots of ways to measure progress, so increasing reps until you "master" a specific weight still shows the progress and that you're getting stronger. Don't get frustrated if you aren't able to do "complete sets" when you start increasing weight.
  • cvcman
    cvcman Posts: 438 Member
    Yea there are no add on weights, its my machine...Its a Marcy EM1 and 2.....
  • danimalkeys
    danimalkeys Posts: 982 Member
    You could go to a sporting goods store and get a 5lb plate or dumbbell and hook it on there with a rope or bungee cord if you find the 10lb jumps are too much. 10lb jumps can be a lot for upper body work.
  • This content has been removed.