Hey all, new to all this and have a few questions.

Vengepool
Vengepool Posts: 5
in Health and Weight Loss
Im probably going to give you guys a huge wall of text here, because I always go into more detail then I should.
Keep in mind Im not bragging about anything, but I have a few questions and appreciate all the help I can get.

So I started my fitnesspal about 4 weeks ago, and Ive set everything up as accurately as I could, with the weight loss goal of 2lbs a week, I didnt know how well I would do considering Im a 30 year old man, but I stuck with it.

My goal is just to get rid of my body fat, especially around my stomach. So I looked up some pretty intense exercise programs, for free online and Ive been sticking to it for the last month. Its 4x a week if that matters usually a 45 minute workout of bodyweight exercises, some weight is added too, followed by 20 minutes of cardio.

Ive lost 19lbs total since Ive started, which seems like a lot to me, but I really am hitting the exercises hard, and Im drinking a lot more water now too. I figure the harder I exercise the faster the results will be.

A few days ago I looked in the mirror and I felt disgusted, I am losing a lot of mass but it seems to be like I might be losing muscle too, which is horrible for my goal of bulking up after I lose the fat, its just not motivating seeing that.

Is there another way I can go about losing the fat and gaining muscle mass? I would try weightlifting sites, but theres a lot of bro science over there and a bunch of information thats just lost on me since Im a beginner. I dont want to consume a bunch of supplements and vitamins or anything like that.

I guess I want to see my abs at least once before I die. And build more muscle mass, I do eat a little healthier now, and drink more water, I also drink a protein shake after workouts, and take multivitamins in the morning when I wake up. Ive also made an exercise log, and I have been improving on it every week, is it possible that maybe the mass im losing (mainly my arms) is just fat I really never thought was there?

I just feel lost, like everything I read theres something else out there proving it wrong, or contradicts everything I thought I knew about all of this. Ive spent a lot of time looking things up, making small adjustments to notes Ive taken, but its really hard to know whats right.

Thank you guys for the help, I know its a lot to read, but any advice is very very appreciated.

Forgot to mention, my goal was losing fat as much as I could, then changing my settings to gain a half a lb a week and keep with the exercise so that it could all go to muscle rather than putting the fat back on. Is that realistic at all?

Replies

  • jessica182517
    jessica182517 Posts: 390 Member
    Strength training/lifting. Try the book New rues of weight lifting for women, I just ordered mine.
  • Vengepool
    Vengepool Posts: 5
    I seemed to have forgotten to mention I am a guy too haha. I always leave out the most important information.
    Thank you for the reply though
  • jessica182517
    jessica182517 Posts: 390 Member
    lol ok well they have the other new rules of weight lifting there is a whole series you can look into :) sorry to just assume LOL

    http://www.thenewrulesoflifting.com/
  • 55in13
    55in13 Posts: 1,091 Member
    The business about losing muscle instead of fat only applies once you have a very low % of body fat. There is unsupported junk science that says it can happen sooner, but in medically sound studies people who are overweight consistently lose fat before muscle. IMO, the loss of fat is just revealing that you have less muscle mass than you hoped. I have the same issue to some degree. I have lost a lot of weight and my primary exercise is running, which is not building much muscle. Lean is healthy; I want some tone but don't care about bulking up.
  • rhall9058
    rhall9058 Posts: 270 Member
    lol ok well they have the other new rules of weight lifting there is a whole series you can look into :) sorry to just assume LOL

    http://www.thenewrulesoflifting.com/

    ^^^This. I use this as just a general basics guide to the primary muscle uses. The authors are a little witty and makes the reading very easy to understand.
  • astrampe
    astrampe Posts: 2,169 Member
    The business about losing muscle instead of fat only applies once you have a very low % of body fat. There is unsupported junk science that says it can happen sooner, but in medically sound studies people who are overweight consistently lose fat before muscle. IMO, the loss of fat is just revealing that you have less muscle mass than you hoped. I have the same issue to some degree. I have lost a lot of weight and my primary exercise is running, which is not building much muscle. Lean is healthy; I want some tone but don't care about bulking up.
    SOOOO MUCH WRONG WITH THIS......please provide the "medical studies" that you are referring to - because losing muscle before fat is NOT unsupported junk...

    To the OP - can't see your diary, how much and what are you eating?
  • jim9097
    jim9097 Posts: 341 Member
    Yea, break down your cardio. When you do long bouts of cardio especially right after another workout your body will eventually turn to destroying muscle tissue to use as fuel. (This is because you have used your available source of glucose) So try this. One a chest and back day.

    Do whatever chest exercise you want: Bench Press, Pushups, etc.
    Follow that with 1 min of intense cardio: Burpee/Box Jump Combo, or some other plyometric move

    Keep this up for your entire workout which should only be 20-40 minutes depending on your fitness level. This will wear you out much faster than just doing bench, rest, more bench, rest, bench, rest curls, etc...

    There are also added side benefits to doing cardio integrated with weight training. It makes your muscle endurance longer do to the increased blood flow and increased nutrients getting to the muscles because of the increased blood flow. The increased nutrients also aids in faster recovery.

    Good Luck.
  • karamevans
    karamevans Posts: 16
    Hey! Awww it must be horrible to feel so deflated after such hard work!

    All I can recommend is maybe seeing a personal trainer a few times to get some advice then once you understand the basics start looking at online videos ect?

    I'm in a similar boat where I want to lose fat so my muscle is more defined but have certain imitations!

    If you want some support or someone to rant to feel free to message me!
  • Vengepool
    Vengepool Posts: 5
    lol ok well they have the other new rules of weight lifting there is a whole series you can look into :) sorry to just assume LOL

    http://www.thenewrulesoflifting.com/

    Lol its fine, I will definitely check them out. Thank you.
    SOOOO MUCH WRONG WITH THIS......please provide the "medical studies" that you are referring to - because losing muscle before fat is NOT unsupported junk...

    To the OP - can't see your diary, how much and what are you eating?

    I started eating about 1430 calories a day, when I lost my first ten lbs it asked me if I wanted it adjusted so I did and now Im allowed 1370 a day. On days I dont work out I can reach 1370 pretty easily, and unfortunately go way above it some days.
    I am eating way healthier than I used to, a lot more vegetables, usually a salad with dinner, lots of grilled chicken, oatmeal. Keep in mind this isnt an every day occurrence, sometimes I dont have time in the morning so ill eat some fruit or a granola bar on the way to work, sometimes I fast through lunch and breakfast so I can enjoy a better dinner.

    On days I work out I struggle to hit my 1370 calories, which is why Ive added the protein shakes. I havent got the "body starvation mode" warning since I have started doing that. I do eat some junk food still, mainly when I know I have a lot of calories to make up, totinos pizza and the like :( its definitely not every day and a pretty hard habit to break.

    I track my exercises with this program too, I have read that people say its a bit off, so if I exercise for 20 minutes, Ill just put 15 minutes to compensate, at least until I get a HRM.
  • Vengepool
    Vengepool Posts: 5
    Yea, break down your cardio. When you do long bouts of cardio especially right after another workout your body will eventually turn to destroying muscle tissue to use as fuel. (This is because you have used your available source of glucose) So try this. One a chest and back day.

    Do whatever chest exercise you want: Bench Press, Pushups, etc.
    Follow that with 1 min of intense cardio: Burpee/Box Jump Combo, or some other plyometric move

    Keep this up for your entire workout which should only be 20-40 minutes depending on your fitness level. This will wear you out much faster than just doing bench, rest, more bench, rest, bench, rest curls, etc...

    There are also added side benefits to doing cardio integrated with weight training. It makes your muscle endurance longer do to the increased blood flow and increased nutrients getting to the muscles because of the increased blood flow. The increased nutrients also aids in faster recovery.

    Good Luck.

    Thanks for the tip, I will definitely try this and see where it gets me.
  • 55in13
    55in13 Posts: 1,091 Member
    ....please provide the "medical studies" that you are referring to - because losing muscle before fat is NOT unsupported junk...

    NIH document:

    http://www.nih.gov/news/health/oct2012/niddk-15.htm

    "diet alone was calculated to be responsible for more weight loss than exercise, with 65 percent of the weight loss consisting of body fat and 35 percent consisting of lean mass like muscle. In contrast, the model calculated that exercise alone resulted in participants losing only fat, and no muscle"

    So with no exercise, the fat loss is almost twice the "lean mass like muscle" (note that means not only muscle) loss. With exercise you lose no muscle. The OP is doing more exercise than the study refers to, so I believe that muscle loss is not his issue; not having the muscle mass to start with is.

    So where is your evidence to the contrary?
  • Vengepool
    Vengepool Posts: 5
    ....please provide the "medical studies" that you are referring to - because losing muscle before fat is NOT unsupported junk...

    NIH document:

    http://www.nih.gov/news/health/oct2012/niddk-15.htm

    "diet alone was calculated to be responsible for more weight loss than exercise, with 65 percent of the weight loss consisting of body fat and 35 percent consisting of lean mass like muscle. In contrast, the model calculated that exercise alone resulted in participants losing only fat, and no muscle"

    So with no exercise, the fat loss is almost twice the "lean mass like muscle" (note that means not only muscle) loss. With exercise you lose no muscle. The OP is doing more exercise than the study refers to, so I believe that muscle loss is not his issue; not having the muscle mass to start with is.

    So where is your evidence to the contrary?

    Thank you very much, for finding this. Maybe it is a possibility, its kind of too early to tell for me I know, because I dont know how to track muscle gains and loss, but its very nice that this could just be my problem.
  • 55in13
    55in13 Posts: 1,091 Member
    If you can accurately track it, then that is the best answer. Find out what is right for you. I am just some guy on the internet that has found some seemingly reliable info to back up what I believe. The other guy may come back with a conflicting study that also seems legit. I doubt it, but it could happen. I truly think we (cause I am in the same boat) lost muscle mass by being largely sedentary for a while and losing the fat is revealing that. Personally, I am not planning to bulk up. I can be lean and healthy. Anyway, start tracking and if it is fat loss keep it up...

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