Ready to take the training wheels off? - need advice!

Sarge516
Sarge516 Posts: 256 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Ok, so here's my story.

I started at 285 lbs in April 2011. I am 93 lbs lighter now, currently weighing in at 192 lbs. It took me about 15-16 months to lose the weight.

Here's the old me:
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Here's the new me:
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I exercise about 6-7 times/week. I do walking (pseudo exercise :)), HIIT, Circuit Training, boot camp running class, and resistance training (otherwise known as weight lifting). I do cardio 5 x week, and resistance training 2 - 3 x week right now.

I'm about at my goal weight - my goal was 200 lbs actually when I started. I think I eat pretty healthy, and typically follow a reduced carb diet -- usually 150g or less of carbs, and about the same amount of protein per day - give or take.

I turn 40 years old in a few days, and I'm in about the best shape of my life, except maybe when I was in high school...maybe.

Now that I have the pre-amble out of the way, and you're all up to speed on me.....here's the dilemma. I'm considering trying to put on more muscle, but that generally involves eating more calories. I'm a little, no ... a lot scared to put any weight back on, having vowed to never be a "fat guy" ever again. I am considering switching two workouts/week from cardio to weight lifting.

I've done the research, and what I'm reading is that in order to put on any appreciable amount of muscle, I need to eat more calories. I had my MFP goals set to lose 1.5 lb/week, and that limited me to ~1500 calories a day. I would have a hard time only eating that amount/day. When I was at that level, I always ate ~1700 cal/day, but I usually exercise 500 - 700/day, so I was always "under" my goal according to MFP. I recently switched my settings to "lose 1 lb/week" and now I get ~1730 cal/day, and I often eat 1700 - 1800/day, and exercise 500 - 800/day, so again, I am always under. I am considering setting the goal at "lose 1/2 lb/week" and hopefully putting the extra calories on me as muscle...

Thoughts?

This is REALLY important to me, and I DON'T WANT TO MESS my "new body" up.

Replies

  • quzanne
    quzanne Posts: 15
    I apologize for the fact that I don't have any "advice", but CONGRATULATIONS! You look fantastic! And I bet you just feel great and have incredible energy! Way to go, and good luck :)
  • Sarge516
    Sarge516 Posts: 256 Member
    Thanks. Ummmm....I just looked at the pics closer....some pretty goofy facial expressions....maybe I should have checked those closer before posting :embarassed: :laugh:

    O well, you get the idea.

    Great. never noticed how much salt is in my "salt and pepper" hair either....OY!
  • farmwife3815
    farmwife3815 Posts: 326 Member
    Everything I have read says you need more calories to build muscle. If I were you I would try upping my calories for a week and see how I did. If all goes well, try another week. If you see your weight creeping up and you know it's not muscle gain, then back the calories off. You will have to find your magic mix. Good luck!!!
  • laceyfowler
    laceyfowler Posts: 127 Member
    Hi there :-) I see that you say you're at your goal weight - actually, below it! But yet, you've got your calories set at losing 1 pound a week... I see a conflict there! My hunch is that now that you've lost that weight and are feeling really good about your body (and congratulations, you deserve to feel good about your success!) you're afraid to change up the eating habits that got you there.
    But, remember that now your goals have changed, and so your eating habits need to as well!
    Especially taking into consideration that you want to build muscle, you need to make some changes. I understand the fear of gaining back the weight (fat) that you lost, but I can pretty much assure you that increasing your calories to whatever MFP says for weight maintenance (even though I'm guessing it'll be over 2000 calories a day) won't make you "fat" again... especially considering how much you work out!
    I suggest you slowly increase your calories while monitoring your weight... increase them until you're at a place where you're maintaining - not losing or gaining. Considering how much you're working out, you'll probably end up eating more than you'd think, without gaining fat. Do remember that when you gain muscle you'll probably gain a few pounds... but if you're seeing increases in the gym (of weight lifted, reps completed, etc), and if you tape measure yourself to watch inches, you'll probably be very happy with gaining a few pounds... of muscle!
    Best of luck :-)
  • FabMrFox
    FabMrFox Posts: 259 Member
    This has worked for me but everyone is a bit different and as a disclaimer this worked back when I was 22 - now 36. I would go 2500-3k calories per day for a month while lifting heavy(for me) to bulk up. At the end of the month I evaluated my appearance and kept going with the bulking untill my mid section was exceeding my clothing - then back to maintaining/cutting till a nice tone is achieved. I also did very min cardio while bulking.
  • BlackTimber
    BlackTimber Posts: 230 Member
    With all the stuff you are doing you have nothing to worry about. I'm 5' 10" and weigh ~188. I target 2100 calories a day, do about 1/2 of what you are doing and am slowly losing. I'm just hoping to maintain strength/muscle mass at this point. In order to gain muscle you/I will have to eat a fair amount more than we are now.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    Do you know your BF%?
  • PositivePower
    PositivePower Posts: 976 Member
    WOW!!! Great job! Happy 4 0....Sorry no really expert here either, but I can totally relate to how you feel. I have turning into a work out addict...hiking, biking, kick boxing, boot camp, mud runs etc etc. I have another 20 I would like to lose..but I think because of all the exercise people are suprised at my weight loss thinking I look like I have lost double what I have. I feel like I never have before and that this is a habit and I will never go back!!!!!! Sounds like you are in the same place. If I were you I would change your setting and see what happens..my guess is you will have to up your calories and maybe protein. One of the instructors at my gym had me check out body builders.com. I am thinking of starting to lift. There are some good programs there and great recipes too. I feel like planning ahead is key!

    Good Luck and keep up the healthy lifestyle...what a GREAT example for your kids!
  • Sarge516
    Sarge516 Posts: 256 Member
    Do you know your BF%?
    No I don't.
  • gbellsatx
    gbellsatx Posts: 37 Member
    Congrats on reaching your goal. Most things have already been mentioned. You will need to eat more protein which will make it seem like you’re eating a lot. I would go to the gym or to your health coordinator and get your body fat % and monitor that. At this point it’s less about your overall weight and more about how much of your weight is fat and muscle. If you weigh 100lbs and its all fat you’re still not in good health. Also since you’re reaching the big 40 its time to go to the Dr and get a full physical. Monitor your body fat about every 4-6 weeks. Very impressive keep up the good work!!
  • mustgetmuscles1
    mustgetmuscles1 Posts: 3,346 Member
    I just recently switched from a calorie deficit of around -500 to a surplus around +300. It was a bit of a shock to my body to eat that much more after a year of losing weight but it leveled out fairly quickly.

    For an average person to add muscle mass you will need to eat in a surplus. You cant build something from nothing. It is important to monitor calories if you want to make sure most of your weight gain is new muscle and not more fat than is necessary. It is almost impossible to gain muscle without some fat gains. A lot of body builders find it easier to cut fat later than to monitor calories so closely though.

    I have read/heard that the average male can synthesis about 1 pound of new muscle per month. (cant remember the source so I might be wrong). Might be more for young or new lifters and might be less for women and veteran lifters. If half your weight gain is from fat that would mean you would only want to gain about 2 lbs per month. Very difficult to even see that because of daily fluctuations and inaccuracies in food and exercise.

    I found this video very helpful.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLhtjYoU9aQ
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    Do you know your BF%?
    No I don't.

    I would recommend that you try to get an estimate your BF% - it will give you better data as to when to start/stop a bulk/cut cycle as well as working out how successful it is with regard to adding LBM.
  • anemoneprose
    anemoneprose Posts: 1,805 Member
    First of all, congratulations. I think you look great. (Will come back to this.)

    Not to put you off the effort, but my understanding is: you can't help but gain some fat with any muscle you gain. It will take a fair amount of precision to get to a bigger, cut body. Extreme care with food amount & kind. Probably at least protein supplements. A few cycles of bulk/cut, almost certainly.

    Maybe intermittent fasting, or similar (debatable, but people have claimed good results in the direction you're wanting).

    I'm sort of in the same boat - want to tweak post-weight loss bod; aware it'll take another huge leap in effort and time. The above are things I think about, anyway. My personal take on it, at the moment, is that it's probably not sustainable, if other things are going to be important in life (as is necessarily the case for me*).

    I think you look good as you are :) but of course it's up to you!

    *not that other people can't manage it. It's just I can't.

    OR, maybe I'm totally overestimating what's involved?
  • Sarge516
    Sarge516 Posts: 256 Member
    Bump....
  • mustgetmuscles1
    mustgetmuscles1 Posts: 3,346 Member
    Bump for you.

    http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/

    Here are a couple of rough calculators for body fat and goal weight estimator. No telling how accurate they will be but they should give some idea of where you are, and what your goal weight might be.

    You will need to decide whether you want to continue to cut body fat, maintain weight or start to add muscle.
  • Faericn_Rising
    Faericn_Rising Posts: 235
    No recommendations for you, but you are a fox. Im really happy for you. <3
  • 1Kristine1
    1Kristine1 Posts: 697 Member
    I know this probably isn't constructive advice BUT

    You look super awesome right now
  • crackdmirror
    crackdmirror Posts: 20 Member
    Your transformation is amazing!! Congratulations :). Reading stories like this makes me that much more motivated!

    In addition to what's already been said about changing your calorie goals, maintaining, etc., I wanted to chime in and suggest that this might be a great time to invest in a body composition scale. They run around $100, but one would be very helpful in reassuring you that you are indeed doing the right thing regarding diet/exercise (or, conversely, that you need to adjust your diet/exercise).

    Edited because grammar is hard, even at 0230.
  • wmagoo27
    wmagoo27 Posts: 201 Member
    Start with the calories that you are eating now. You will need to weigh and measure yourself once a week religiously. Now start adding calories about 200 at a time. Add about 200 calories, and eat like that for a week or 2 and see how you respond. Still losing weight, add another 200 calories, and so forth. Everyone is different, and no computer can tell you how many calories you need to maintain or gain weight. Ideally, if you are in a calorie surplus, but keep it to a minimum of what is required, you will gain mostly muscle. The trick is finding just the right numbers.
  • Sarge516
    Sarge516 Posts: 256 Member
    OK, thanks for all the comments (:blushing: ) and suggestions :smile: . I really appreciate you guys.

    I have changed my goal on MFP from "lose 1lb/week" - which gave me a daily allowance of 1730 calories to "lose 0.5 lb/week" which gives me 1970 calories/day.

    I will maintain my current workout regiment, and see where it takes me.

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