Weight training and losing weight
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stphnstevey
Posts: 68
I'm trying to lose fat as well as gain muscle, trying to develope traditional six pack and pecs. I currently have fat around my stomach area, which I want to lose to be able to show ab muscles behind it.
I'm maintaining a high protein diet (with some carbs) and working out every other day with weights or cardio (running) for 30 mins. I'm trying to increase this to 1hr every day (although I have twisted my ankle so cardio is suffering)
I work from home, so sat at computer most of the time. BMR is 1500 calories (I'm 70kg and 1m 65cm). I've gone from 1400, 1200 now to 1000 calories/day.
I saw some initial weight loss (9kg) over the last couple of months, not much muscle gain and also NOT alot of loss in the stomach area which is the only area I want to lose weight in. I'm getting frustrated that I can't just alter my diet and exercise routine and get the body shape I want. I'm starting to wonder if I am gentically supposed to be this way.
Any tips and help would be appreciated - particularly if your trying to do the same thing yourself
Feel free to look at my food diary and let me know if doing anything wrong or if you'd recommend anything else. I would be interested to read the food diaries of others trying to do the same to get ideas
I'm maintaining a high protein diet (with some carbs) and working out every other day with weights or cardio (running) for 30 mins. I'm trying to increase this to 1hr every day (although I have twisted my ankle so cardio is suffering)
I work from home, so sat at computer most of the time. BMR is 1500 calories (I'm 70kg and 1m 65cm). I've gone from 1400, 1200 now to 1000 calories/day.
I saw some initial weight loss (9kg) over the last couple of months, not much muscle gain and also NOT alot of loss in the stomach area which is the only area I want to lose weight in. I'm getting frustrated that I can't just alter my diet and exercise routine and get the body shape I want. I'm starting to wonder if I am gentically supposed to be this way.
Any tips and help would be appreciated - particularly if your trying to do the same thing yourself
Feel free to look at my food diary and let me know if doing anything wrong or if you'd recommend anything else. I would be interested to read the food diaries of others trying to do the same to get ideas
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Replies
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I can't see your diary since it's private. However, I will tell you that you are going in the wrong direction with your calories. If your BMR is 1500, then you shouldn't be eating under it. Use your BMR and multiply by one of the following activity factors:
Average activity variables are:
1.2 = Sedentary (Little or no exercise + desk job)
1.3-1.4 = Lightly Active (Little daily activity & light exercise 1-3 days a week)
1.5-1.6 = Moderately Active (Moderately active daily life & Moderate exercise 3-5 days a week)
1.7-1.8 = Very Active (Physically demanding lifestyle & Hard exercise or sports 6-7 days a week)
1.9-2.2 = Extremely Active (Hard daily exercise or sports and physical job)
This will give you your TDEE or Total Daily Energy Expenditure. Deduct 20% from TDEE and that number is what you should be eating.
As far as lifting, I would look at a heavy lifting routine, i.e. Stronglifts 5x5 (www.stronglifts.com).0 -
We have pretty similar goals and I am also starting 5x5 (just finished week 1), though I have been doing some form of weight training for several months now. I also do a couple of days of cardio (steady state at the moment).
I have been wrestling with cutting aggreesively to lose fat more quickly, or eat above my BMR and take a more sustainable long term approach. I think if you are going to eat as little as you are, make sure you cut right back on the cardio and that you are getting most of your calories from protein (see Lyle MacDonald's Rapid Fatloss Handbook for a good guide on this). Only do this for a short period of time (a few weeks at a time max) so your body does not adjust and lower your metabolism.
My approach is going to be to net calories around my BMR range whiuch will still give me a decent caloric defecit but I should be able to keep that up as long as I need to while cutting off this fat!0 -
Woah! Calories way too low!
For starters, you need to focus on one thing a time. Fat loss (weight loss while preserving LBM) or muscle gain (that will also gain some amount of fat).
PICK ONE!
I'd estimate maintenance around 2300cals. A moderate deficit would be about 1800 cal target per day.
Most people seem to pick fat loss.
Fat loss requires:
calorie deficit through diet and exercise
adequate protein (I aim for 1g/lb of LBM minimum)
resistance training (progressively increasing weights to challenge yourself)
These are to promote the preservation of lean body mass.
If you drop enough fat and you're still not happy with you're build then you may need to add muscle. THis involves the same training as dropping fat but eating at a slight cal surplus. I'd recommend 10-15%. You may be better to bulk up now and then drop fat. This is up to you though.
Hope that helps
Chris0 -
Too true Chris, we all want our cake and eat it too!
That's why I chose a strength training program like stronglifts tbh. Knowing that you can not physically build new muscle whilst in a defecit I want to use the fat loss time to build strength as much as possible and retain my lean mass.0 -
I didn't understand BMR and TDEE. I understand now I took BMR to be TDEE and took a percentage cut on BMR thinking it was a cut of TDEE - doh!
I now have calculated my BMR as 1600 and TDEE for a desk job 1950, going upto 2200 as I am now strength training 6 days a wk (so added extra 250/day for workouts).
So if I use a 10% deficit for weight loss this works out approx 2000
I am trying to maintain my protein levels at about 1g/lb, for me about 155g a day and have struggled, but been still been in this ball park. So even at a low calorie level I have maintained the protein to build new muscle.
I don't want to just add calories and put on fat - so I'll still have to ensure the calories are coming mainly from protein. This article makes sense and I don't want to increase the calories with just eating any old junk http://scoobysworkshop.com/gain-muscle-lose-fat/
I just thought I was taking in more calories than I was using (as I had put on fat), so simply just keep reducing calories until it reaches a level whereby I start using up the fat stores.
So I can better make future decisions, I'd like to understand how such a calorie deficit that I had stops you from gaining muscle? Is it because the body goes into starvation mode and stops burning fat and maybe burns the protein your taking in, stopping it from going to the muscles? - I don't believe you burn muscle over fat unless in extreme situations such as when you have very little body fat.
With regards to workouts, I liked this one http://scoobysworkshop.com/advanced-workout-plan/ , but just wanted to concentrate on my upper body. So I am trying to do the Chest, Arms and Abs workouts, one each day for 6 days a week with one day off in the middle.
I read up on the Stronglifts 5x5, but I wanted to concentrate on just my upper body. So I have been doing the the workouts above, but using the progressive loading technique of stronglifts and adding 2.5kgs per workout.
I'm a bit concerned I am not resting enough in between? as stronglifts is only 3 days a week, rather then the 6 day workout I'm doing.
My diary is open to everyone now if anyone wanted to comment0 -
Unless you are going to do cardio, you will see better results from sl 5x5. Im a grl and I lost lots of BF and gained quite a bit of muscle w/out testosterone to help me. You have low BF from your pic, so what I would do is set cals to maint, don't eat back your exercise cals and do sl same weights until you want to do a bulk cycle.... if you do.0
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Firstly, do not take nutrition advice from Scooby. He's a joke.
To BUILD muscle you need a surplus of calories over and above what you're body needs to maintain it's weight. (yes, there are limited circumstances where you can build muscle on a deficit but it's finding a unicorn so best not to worry about it
)
Agree with Iridia on the workouts. THe plan you put up is scooby's "advanced" BB workout. WHich is a generic bb 5 day split. You will have much better results just getting strong in general rather than focussing on isolation movements like the above split. And you only need to do it 3x a week. If you want to do some cardio on off days, you could but it means you need to eat more to make up for it.
PICK YOU're GOAL:
FAT LOSS
or
MUSCLE GAIN
Train the same way for both. Eat 10% below TDEE for option A or 10% above for option B.0 -
Firstly, do not take nutrition advice from Scooby. He's a joke.
To BUILD muscle you need a surplus of calories over and above what you're body needs to maintain it's weight. (yes, there are limited circumstances where you can build muscle on a deficit but it's finding a unicorn so best not to worry about it)
Agree with Iridia on the workouts. THe plan you put up is scooby's "advanced" BB workout. WHich is a generic bb 5 day split. You will have much better results just getting strong in general rather than focussing on isolation movements like the above split. And you only need to do it 3x a week. If you want to do some cardio on off days, you could but it means you need to eat more to make up for it.
PICK YOU're GOAL:
FAT LOSS
or
MUSCLE GAIN
Train the same way for both. Eat 10% below TDEE for option A or 10% above for option B.
Thanks Chris! Yeah IMHO isolations, endless reps and split days are a waste of time... unless you already have the foundation muscle and are looking to refine.0 -
Thanks Chris! Yeah IMHO isolations, endless reps and split days are a waste of time... unless you already have the foundation muscle and are looking to refine.
agreed focus on getting strong & muscles will just happen
Ever seen someone squat double bodyweight that doesn't look like they have muscle!?!?!
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"weight training and losing weight"
There's your problem right there.0 -
"weight training and losing weight"
There's your problem right there.
How so?
This contradicts everything I have been told, as a generalization of your statement.0 -
"weight training and losing weight"
There's your problem right there.
How do you post that... and have that picture in your sig?
Please qualify your statement if you wish to be taken seriously, taken purely on face value, this sounds pretty ignorant.0 -
hmm... that doesn't make much sense at all.
Resistance training all the time - cut or bulk (obviously haha)0 -
"weight training and losing weight"
There's your problem right there.
How do you post that... and have that picture in your sig?
Please qualify your statement if you wish to be taken seriously, taken purely on face value, this sounds pretty ignorant.
I'm saying pick a goal.
What about my sig? I've packed on 5kg of muscle since going heavy & am the same dress size... ?0 -
"weight training and losing weight"
There's your problem right there.
How do you post that... and have that picture in your sig?
Please qualify your statement if you wish to be taken seriously, taken purely on face value, this sounds pretty ignorant.
I'm saying pick a goal.
What about my sig? I've packed on 5kg of muscle since going heavy & am the same dress size... ?
added 11 lbs of muscle? that would take a LONG time0 -
"weight training and losing weight"
There's your problem right there.
How do you post that... and have that picture in your sig?
Please qualify your statement if you wish to be taken seriously, taken purely on face value, this sounds pretty ignorant.
I'm saying pick a goal.
What about my sig? I've packed on 5kg of muscle since going heavy & am the same dress size... ?
added 11 lbs of muscle? that would take a LONG time
Not considering the state I was in when I started lifting, not that it's any of your business anyway.
Not sure what the issue is here, someone has a problem with my sig image? Meh.0 -
"weight training and losing weight"
There's your problem right there.
How do you post that... and have that picture in your sig?
Please qualify your statement if you wish to be taken seriously, taken purely on face value, this sounds pretty ignorant.
I'm saying pick a goal.
What about my sig? I've packed on 5kg of muscle since going heavy & am the same dress size... ?
added 11 lbs of muscle? that would take a LONG time
Not considering the state I was in when I started lifting, not that it's any of your business anyway.
Not sure what the issue is here, someone has a problem with my sig image? Meh.
Flame war or healthy discussion among adults regarding a topic of mutual interest? Stay tuned...0 -
"weight training and losing weight"
There's your problem right there.
Yeah, because taking in less calories than you burn doesn't matter. If you lift anything more than the average sedentary individual, you'll obviously get "bulky."0 -
I think the comment referred to how hard it is to both lose fat and build muscle at the same time. Pick one and make it your priority, then work on the other. Cut and bulk cycles.0
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Exactly0
