Anyone want to critique my journal?

mkeller234

This isn't my first time to lose weight, i've tried several times over the past 7 years. Each time I feel like i've learned a little bit more. Now I have a 16 month old daughter to feed. I'm not just looking to lose weight, I want to serve meals that are nutritious.

I've filled out a months worth of weekdays. Any comments, constructive criticism would be much appreciated.

Thanks you.

astronomicals

whats your weight and BF% and how many calories do you burn a week via exercise

axialmeow

your protein intake seems realllllly low

longtimeterp

you need to eat a LOTTTT more, and more protein too

astronomicals

if youve only eaten like a bird for a month id jump your calories up to maiteneance levels which is probably about 14* your weight (with exercise included) and stay there for 2 weeks.. then slowly drop 100 calories a week until you find a rate of steady fatloss.... it make take a month to find that sweet spot but youll be much better off..


let me simplify..

if u weigh 200... start eating 2800 calories a day..... eat ~160 (1*LBM) grams of protein and ~80 grams of fat ( 0.4*BW).. and fill in the rest with whatever.. keep eating your fruits and salads to fill in the blanks.... Do this for 2 weeks then drop to 2700 for a week then 2600 for a week and just keep going til u find an acceptable sweet spot.... no drastic jumps..

this is just advice.. Do whatever the F you wanna do .. :P TMW hahhahahahah

mkeller234

I weigh 205lbs, and I am 6ft tall. I do not know my body fat %, but it is probably pretty high. I work at a desk and do not currently exercise. I ride a bicycle to work daily, but that is only 4 miles round trip. When the weather warms up I ride my bicycle about 20 miles, 2-3 per week.

FWIW, I have lost 11lbs this past month.

mkeller234

Wow, 2800 sounds like a lot of calories? I've been following the calories that MFP set for me, why is that not enough? I haven't felt like I was eating very little.... actually i've felt pretty good and full. This is coming from someone who loves to stuff his face.

Not saying your wrong at all, I just don't understand. That's why we're all here right?

mkeller234

I haven't had any meat this week, but you are right, I should probably find another source. Beans I guess?

astronomicals

add some sort of weight training and do what i already suggested.... those numbers will work just fine.... or take someone elses advice....


weight training is imperative for muscle retention....


its great that you lost 11 pounds, but, you should try a more conventional approach that is easier to sustain... im sick of hearing people tell me that they dont feel hunger.... it means nothing.. the body gets used to torture. ive done this diet in the past weh i didnt count calories.. i was mostly eating chicken breasts and rice... i lost all my musculature.. it was horrible... but hey,, i wasnt hungry and i lost weight, so yayyyyyyy (see what im sayin?)

astronomicals

no 2800 isnt a lot for someone your size... im 511 and a year younger than you and my maitenance is 2700 @ 192#.. i lost all my weight eating around 2100 a day....

youll probably gain a bit back, but, thats just how it goes.... stick with it.. add weigth training and drop the calories slowly

mkeller234

add some sort of weight training and do what i already suggested.... those numbers will work just fine.... or take someone elses advice....


weight training is imperative for muscle retention....


its great that you lost 11 pounds, but, you should try a more conventional approach that is easier to sustain... im sick of hearing people tell me that they dont feel hunger.... it means nothing.. the body gets used to torture. ive done this diet in the past weh i didnt count calories.. i was mostly eating chicken breasts and rice... i lost all my musculature.. it was horrible... but hey,, i wasnt hungry and i lost weight, so yayyyyyyy (see what im sayin?)

Whoa man, no need to get aggressive. I never said that you were wrong, i'm only asking questions.

As far as muscle goes, it is not a goal of mine to be muscular. Are you suggesting that I could deteriorate the muscle that I do have and cause damage?

mkeller234

no 2800 isnt a lot for someone your size... im 511 and a year younger than you and my maitenance is 2700 @ 192#.. i lost all my weight eating around 2100 a day....

youll probably gain a bit back, but, thats just how it goes.... stick with it.. add weigth training and drop the calories slowly

I'm going to be honest here, I don't have a plan to weight train. Maybe in the future, but not at the moment.

astronomicals

not aggressive... maybe slightly passive aggressive i guess..... i cant prove anything to you.. i believe this will help.... im sure some low calorie people will be here shortly to tell you to just stick with it.. that why i said "or take someone elses advice"

ive done it and it destroyed my muclulature

astronomicals

at the very least do a calisthenics program of chins, pushups, pullups, lunges, bodyweight squats, milk jug squats, curls, and rows...


u dont need to go to a gym and get buff, but, do something to not turn into a scrawny twig...

bodyweight exercises and lighter weight training can give you a rock climber sorta physique

if u wanna do advanced calisthenics you can actually build decent mass working towarsd one armed pushups and pullups... its easier than you may think


ever hear people say "use it or lose it"? its more than just a rhyme.... while dieting your body is going to default to conserving energy (fat) and the calorie partitioning ratio is going to be garbage... well, it will be if you dont remind your body that you need that muscle..

mkeller234

no 2800 isnt a lot for someone your size... im 511 and a year younger than you and my maitenance is 2700 @ 192#.. i lost all my weight eating around 2100 a day....

youll probably gain a bit back, but, thats just how it goes.... stick with it.. add weigth training and drop the calories slowly

Ok. Let's see if I understand. You are saying that 2800 calories is correct, but only with weight training added, right? I suppose I could get some weights to use at home. What about if I wasn't weight training, or exercising at all? Would I still eat that many calories? I am learning, so please try not to get so defensive.

mkeller234

at the very least do a calisthenics program of chins, pushups, pullups, lunges, bodyweight squats, milk jug squats, curls, and rows...


u dont need to go to a gym and get buff, but, do something to not turn into a scrawny twig...

bodyweight exercises and lighter weight training can give you a rock climber sorta physique

if u wanna do advanced calisthenics you can actually build decent mass working towarsd one armed pushups and pullups... its easier than you may think


ever hear people say "use it or lose it"? its more than just a rhyme.... while dieting your body is going to default to conserving energy (fat) and the calorie partitioning ratio is going to be garbage... well, it will be if you dont remind your body that you need that muscle..

That's a good idea, I can see adding calisthenics. I like the no equipment needed, no travel needed part.

astronomicals

im saying 2800 is somewhere in the vicinity of where you should be staying at the same weight.. due to your month of low calorie eating it may be lower.... im saying stay there (2800) for a few weeks in the hopes that your metabolism rises a bit and then move downwards into a deficit.... and yes, 2800 is assuming you're burning ~2000 a week doing exercise (regardless of the exercise.. though i suggest some sort of resistance training 3 times a week for 30-60 minutes)..... with zero exercise youd probably maintain weight ~2500.... and youd lose a lot of muscle becau u are not nearly fat enough for your body to proimarily burn fat... only obese people can do that (usually)


im sure these numbers are not too far from reality.... this needs to be a lifestyle change.... make it easier on yourself and do as little restriction and traiing necessary to get effective results

thats the key.. leave yourself wiggle room... if your weight loss stops youll still be able to add 30 more minutes of exercise and cut 50 calories or so and itll probably cut through a plateau...

all too often you have people who do 12-14 hours of training a week and eat like 1200 calories.. theres nowhere to go from there... when things stall you cant really add anything.... in training less is more.. in eating, eat as much as you can while seeing good results

i think were done

mkeller234

Ok, I think I will give that a shot. I'll add some basic exercises through my week and up my calorie intake accordingly. I have plenty of time in the evenings to do 30-60 minutes of exercise at home.

I agree with the lifestyle change. I thought that's what I was doing, but can see that I should make some adjustments.

Markguns

I'm 56 yo, 6' 1" and weight 230 at the moment. I have been losing about 2 lbs a week on 5-6 days cardio n weight training with about 18-2000 cal. If my weight loss slows I will start increasing cal and see how that goes, but for now I'm fine at 2lb a week. BF % is about 28 for me. I have a slim frame, and you're only 30, so I'd say your BF% is less than mine.

I agree you need to eat more protein. Try Tuna fish and grilled chicken, Greek yogurt. Low in cal and high in protein. Also lean meats, any seafood and lentils. The fruits n vegetables are great. Just be careful on portion size of fruits, high in natural sugars, (calories).

If you don't like weight training do 30 mins of light cardio 5-6 days a week. (walking, or slow jog) If you do more intensive cardio for 40 mins each session, you can do less of it 3-4 times a week. Also If you don't like weights, do body weight exercises as suggested. Pushups are a great! Do some searches for body weight exercises/ body weight routines/morning routines/light cardio, etc... There are a lot of routines on the Men's health site. I'm sure you can find something to suit you. :bigsmile: Livestrong is also another good source for info and other links.

Also some more info here:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/912920-in-place-of-a-road-map-3-2013

astronomicals

in a perfect world id have you jump to 2000 calories now and then add 200 a week until you hit 2800 then stay there for a week or so before decending and finding a sweet spot of around 2 pounds lost a week..... the reasoning would be to minimize the fat gain of the drastic change.... in any case, dont be surprised to see some pretty big fluctuation in weight on the scale... most of it wont be fat.... a bit might...

mkeller234

in a perfect world id have you jump to 2000 calories now and then add 200 a week until you hit 2800 then stay there for a week or so before decending and finding a sweet spot of around 2 pounds lost a week..... the reasoning would be to minimize the fat gain of the drastic change.... in any case, dont be surprised to see some pretty big fluctuation in weight on the scale... most of it wont be fat.... a bit might...

I'm going to give this a shot. I'm going to try some body weight exercises tonight, actually looking forward to it. Although I do like to see myself losing weight, really I am more concerned about fat and appearance. I'm a-ok with gaining some muscle weight, I just didn't want it to become a second job. I think your suggestion of simple exercise at home was right on the money for me. Thank you.

baptiste565

in a perfect world id have you jump to 2000 calories now and then add 200 a week until you hit 2800 then stay there for a week or so before decending and finding a sweet spot of around 2 pounds lost a week..... the reasoning would be to minimize the fat gain of the drastic change.... in any case, dont be surprised to see some pretty big fluctuation in weight on the scale... most of it wont be fat.... a bit might...

I'm going to give this a shot. I'm going to try some body weight exercises tonight, actually looking forward to it. Although I do like to see myself losing weight, really I am more concerned about fat and appearance. I'm a-ok with gaining some muscle weight, I just didn't want it to become a second job. I think your suggestion of simple exercise at home was right on the money for me. Thank you.

bro, u dont have to lift weights to be healthy. it helps but is not mandatory. just lead an active life style. if u r not worried about muscle growth dont stress on protein.

mkeller234

I thought I would follow up with a reply.

Yesterday I completed my first night of bodyweight exercise. I followed this begginers routine: http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2009/12/09/beginner-body-weight-workout-burn-fat-build-muscle/

1x practice circuits, where I learned proper form, not full intensity.
2x regular circuit. Done with no rest between exercise, rest between sets.

20 body weight squats
10 push ups (on knees)
20 walking lunges
10 dumbbell rows (using a gallon milk jug)
15 second plank
30 Jumping Jacks

I made sure to eat back my calories, with was nearly 2000 today. Granted, my food was not perfect, I had eaten all of my fat allowance and still needed a few hundred calories... so I ate a ton of fruit. Either way, still a learning process.