Well, I'll just get big bulky man muscles then!
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Until someone more knowledgeable than I chimes in ....
I believe if you eat at slightly (200 calories) below maintenance and lift heavy, you will lose fat and gain muscle. I've been trying to figure this out myself for when I hit my goal and that's where I'm coming out. Should work when you're above goal too.
Good luck!
I'm 6 ft 208 now, I don't have problems dropping weight until I hit the 200 mark. I eat 2000, but always mark 1 on any cardio that I do. It puts me at a deficit and mentally I don't see those calories as replaceable and go om nom nom. Look into your macros too...that'll help.
I did that last year, ate the same every day and logged exercise as 1 calorie. But then my routine became "not so routine". It has become much more stable now, so maybe I could go back to doing things that way again. Thanks for mentioning it.
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You might already be doing this, but I find that if I log the food before I eat it (instead of after when it's too late) I can choose to either have less of it, or I can substitute something healthier. Example: lots of veggies = a few nuts or other calorie dense choice. That helps me to stay in a deficit. Maybe it will help you too.0
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If you're maintaining your weight where you are, then just keep exercising and don't eat any more. You don't have to eat less, you just have to move more. Your run and walk routine sounds good. Are you doing that? You should be. Or maybe intervals, but you might hate them and honestly I don't want to tell anyone to do anything that they hate... because that's not sustainable, you know?
Instead of just telling yourself to "eat less" why not develop little simple habits that might help you eat less? Like drink a glass of water before every meal, or a small salad (or both!)
The walking routine is what I'm just now sorting out in my head for the next 3mos. I'm just ending ~3mos of weights 5days/wk (with run to/from gym), 1 medium/long ("long" for me) run per week, and 1 rest day. I'm thinking of going to: weights 2days/wk, metabolic conditioning at home mornings 2days/wk + run/walk afternoon those days, and probably 2 days/wk rest. Oh, and my long run still 1day/wk.
Yes, I usually have a bit of salad before dinner. Could definitely drink more water. I'm all about developing habits, so I just have to get on that.
Thanks!0 -
I did a full bulking phase 2+ years ago. It took me a good 2 years to get back into a deficit frame of mine. I was stressed, busy, over whelmed and just couldn't stick to a deficit for more than 2 or 3 weeks. Then I was able to remove one of my major stressors (I finished grad school) and suddenly something just clicked, I could focus on it again. So I definitely know where you are coming from.
How much are you eating now? If you can maintain it really shouldn't take much more discipline to decrease that by 100 or 200 calories, right? The easiest way for me to eat at a deficit is to simply not eat breakfast. Once I've had my lunch I don't find that I am any more hungry for the rest of the day than I would be if I had breakfast. So really, it's only the first few hours of the day that I'm "uncomfortable".0 -
oh youre very very lucky...came in looking for lots of derp but leaving unsatisfied
props to you, though :flowerforyou:0 -
Also, I'm 5'9", 155lbs and diet at 2000 calories a day plus I eat exercise calories.0
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You might already be doing this, but I find that if I log the food before I eat it (instead of after when it's too late) I can choose to either have less of it, or I can substitute something healthier. Example: lots of veggies = a few nuts or other calorie dense choice. That helps me to stay in a deficit. Maybe it will help you too.
YES! I do this and it absolutely helps. It's the extracurricular eating that I do at night that usually blows it for me. It starts with hunger, but turns into boredom eating, etc.
Like I said, it's totally mental/psychological. Maybe even some sort of weird psychological self-sabatoge for all I know. ugh.0 -
The problem is that I can't eat at 20% below (or anything below) for even 1 day, much less 4 weeks. sigh. I expect to hear someone say, "man up and just stop stuffing your face so much" and I deserve that, but every good day that I have, I either ruin it at night or the very next day or two. I'm happy with the muscles I've built (I can see them a little bit, under the fat), because I used to have twig arms and I love my biceps, etc nowadays. I just want to melt some of the fat away. It sounds like this might be one of those cases where it's advisable that I become a cardio queen, to spend lots of time burnburnburning all the calories I eat
as long as I continue with my weight training for keeping my muscles. Sound right?
A few quick thoughts on what might help:
In the Gym:
1) don't think LONG cardio sessions, think Intervals. HIIT training. This ramps up your metabolism for hours.
2) for weights - use the same thought process. Think circuit training, or super-sets. Minimize or eliminate rest time (you can rest AFTER your workout)
Eating:
1) Plan your attack - break your days into meals (4-6) + snacks. Divide your target calories across those meals.
2) Hit the grocery store to get everything you need for those meals for the week
3) Prepare tomorrow's meals today. Then everything is set, and you just eat the right meal at the right time.
It's work, yes, but if it makes achieving your goals easier, then it's the RIGHT kind of work.
Right now, my main antagonist is late night eating. If I need to work late, it's VERY hard not to eat late too. I try to hit-it and quit-it, get the essential work done, and drink soda water if I'm hungry. Then I go to bed. It's harder for me to eat when I'm sleeping.
Encountering challenges is what this is all about. Facing the challenges and finding a way around them is what brings success!!!0 -
I think this group might be very beneficial to you.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/10118-eat-train-progress0 -
I think this group might be very beneficial to you.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/10118-eat-train-progress
Thank you. I'm a member and was torn between posting there or posting here. Posted here for greater exposure, but would be thrilled if Sara or SS offered advice too.0 -
Interesting...are you sabotaging yourself with a specific bad food (potato chips, sweets, or some other impossible to resist item)? Or, like a smoker, do you find that are in the habit of having something at a certain time/place?0
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The problem is that I can't eat at 20% below (or anything below) for even 1 day, much less 4 weeks. sigh. I expect to hear someone say, "man up and just stop stuffing your face so much" and I deserve that, but every good day that I have, I either ruin it at night or the very next day or two. I'm happy with the muscles I've built (I can see them a little bit, under the fat), because I used to have twig arms and I love my biceps, etc nowadays. I just want to melt some of the fat away. It sounds like this might be one of those cases where it's advisable that I become a cardio queen, to spend lots of time burnburnburning all the calories I eat
as long as I continue with my weight training for keeping my muscles. Sound right?
A few quick thoughts on what might help:
In the Gym:
1) don't think LONG cardio sessions, think Intervals. HIIT training. This ramps up your metabolism for hours.
2) for weights - use the same thought process. Think circuit training, or super-sets. Minimize or eliminate rest time (you can rest AFTER your workout)
Eating:
1) Plan your attack - break your days into meals (4-6) + snacks. Divide your target calories across those meals.
2) Hit the grocery store to get everything you need for those meals for the week
3) Prepare tomorrow's meals today. Then everything is set, and you just eat the right meal at the right time.
It's work, yes, but if it makes achieving your goals easier, then it's the RIGHT kind of work.
Right now, my main antagonist is late night eating. If I need to work late, it's VERY hard not to eat late too. I try to hit-it and quit-it, get the essential work done, and drink soda water if I'm hungry. Then I go to bed. It's harder for me to eat when I'm sleeping.
Encountering challenges is what this is all about. Facing the challenges and finding a way around them is what brings success!!!
Thank you.
Re: the gym. I don't do cardio at the gym. I rather like cardio. I LOVE running and I LOVE walking. (I also love cycling and swimming, but don't have the set-up for those at the moment.) As for circuits, I go to a VERY busy gym. I've seen a few times guys trying to do that and they always seem to fall into a fit of bitterness and frustration because it's so hard to work around all the other people.
Meal planning is a much more difficult proposition for me. I've flirted with the idea for years now, but for various reasons that i won't go into, it doesn't fit well with my family. But anyway, my ACTUAL meals are usually pretty well balanced.0 -
Interesting...are you sabotaging yourself with a specific bad food (potato chips, sweets, or some other impossible to resist item)? Or, like a smoker, do you find that are in the habit of having something at a certain time/place?
It changes. For awhile it was a Greek yogurt addiction. So I switched to 2% solely to be able to eat more of it, but I'd still end up having a few pieces of toast afterwards. Sometimes it's my kids fonzies (cheetos). Normally, I do ruin a perfectly good eating day at night after the kids go to bed, so that might be a "time/place", but it's not always that way. Sometimes I blew it long before nightfall. :frown:0 -
So is it that you've done well all day & after the kids are in bed you need to give yourself a treat?0
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Well, since your diary isn't public I can't do this myself but my advice is:All I can say is, exercise keeps my mind off food. I am lucky because I have to bring food into work, so can't eat there, I don't have anything really exciting to eat at home, I'm constantly busy and don't have much eating time going on.
I still find it extremely difficult to not overeat.
Good point. I'm a SAHM and have apportioned my workout time to one time per day in the afternoon (the only 2hrs per day that I am childless). Because I have a family, there will always be food at home (all food is exciting to me, lol), but maybe if I tried a squat challenge or some nonsense like that, that would have me squatting or doing situps in my "spare time" at home. I agree, exercise is good for keeping my mind off of food. My main problem is night, after the kids go to bed, when I "decompress" and end up polishing off the salad from dinner and a big bowl of yogurt and maybe some toast with a little jam, etc etc. Maybe if I did some situps or something, I might eat half that much.
1)Look at every day in your diary for a month where you're over goal on calories. See if there are any "common" food showing up late at night (i.e. trigger foods) that you have problems controlling yourself with.
2)Then make it a goal to either: get those out of the house, replace with a less calorie-expensive version (lower-fat, reduced sugar, baked vs. fried, etc.)
3)OR You could engineer your days in reverse by planning your night-time snacking FIRST...then making sure the rest of the day allows for that expenditure.
4)I would also continue to do any lifting you are currently doing as maintaining your lean muscle will mean your body uses more fuel just "existing" and will make it harder for you to over-consume.0 -
PERSONALLY I find that I want to continue eating once I've started,
Exactly! But for me it's on a much larger scale than just a meal. It's the reason that I can easily diet on 400cal/day (and did, in the past), but if I allow myself 1700, I find myself actually eating 2400. It's a slippery slope.
Have you tried some of the intermittent fasting protocols? Seems I remember one of them being a day at just a couple hundred cals, then a day well above TDEE for an average mild net loss. I wonder if that kind of plan would suit your natural tendencies. Sometimes it's best to work with your psyche rather than against it.0 -
If you are eating as a treat, or reward, you might consider doing something else instead. I a massage a possibility? Maybe a relaxing bubble bath, or trying on new (smaller) clothes that you know you'll be wearing soon? After all, you are pretty close to your goal. You can do this!0
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Sorry I didn't read through all the responses so maybe someone brought this up.
You say you have a problem not being able to eat at a deficit and at x amount of calories or x % below deficit. Have you tried slowly working down to that? It sounds like your major problem is the eating part which is totally mental, but if say you started at say a 5% deficit for 4 weeks and then went down to 7% or 10% or whatever until you got to where you needed to be. Maybe that will take a mental strain off of you since it is slowly working down instead of jumping in and out all the time.
The other thing that you can do is not buy those bad foods. I personally don't keep crap at my house because I know that if I am bored I will probably eat it. if its not there you can't eat it. Instead I keep good foods there and end up snacking on those. Just two ideas for ya. Good luck!0 -
If you are eating as a treat, or reward,
Possibly that is the case. I'm fairly active for half the day and I eat for hunger & to fuel workouts, but I rarely *enjoy* my food, even dinner, because I have kids right in my face all while I'm eating (they literally ONLY want to eat MY food). So at night, I get to EAT IN PEACE.
It's a good point and maybe I need to re-allocate calories in some way so I can still enjoy my EAT IN PEACE time at night, because I'm certain that a bubblebath, etc is no substitution for really SAVORING and ENJOYING food at least one time per day.
Thanks for the vote of confidence!0 -
I fully support building muscle and running (although difficult to do both at the same time), but I would strongly recommend against designing your own program and using a program like Starting Strength, or New Rules of Lifting for Women, or Stronglifts instead. (There are multitudes, those are just examples) Unless you're very well versed and educated in the realm of weights, you're in danger of missing something within self design. On the other hand, if self experimentation works for you - and if that's what gets you in the gym, then go for it. Either way, good luck!0
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