I went from morbidly obese to 6 pack abs! Ask me Anything

Item 3: "lifting heavy weights" -- more details about this please. I find that my overall strength in my upper body is on the weaker side and need to get the muscles growing without injury.

Item 4: "Not listening when people say "you lost enough already" or "you are getting too skinny" -- /ignore others, but ignoring your own thoughts are another matter entirely. "I'm not seeing any progress." "what does it matter if no matter what I do, the weight doesn't come off?" The self-talk is harder than what others have to say.

Item 5: "Learning as much about the science behind nutrition and dieting as possible. There is more pseudoscience and myths in this field then any other on earth! So much BS to cut through to find the truth."

So... what IS the TRUTH about the science behind nutrition and dieting for weight loss? No BS please.

You are an inspiration.

As far as getting into lifting. When I use the term "heavy lifting" it's relative. I consider heavy lifting to be lifting in a lower rep range like a 5x5. The number on the bar to start isn't important so long as that number increases over time. Don't try and lift more than you can, but lift enough that you are sufficiently worked.

Ignoring self talk is hard. There were many times when I felt I didn't look like I wanted too, or that I hadn't made any progress. I find monthly progress pictures to help here. They give you a concrete visual comparison. Try and take the same poses, in the same mirror, from the same distance for objectivity.

The truth behind the science of weight loss, I could literally type for hours about things people think are important that really are not. I'll just name a few of the bigger fitness:

Myth 1: Eating multiple small meals a day rev's the metabolism and helps burn fat. NOT TRUE! There is no scientific data to support this notion at all. In fact, there is plenty of data to disprove this. Total calories for the day/week make the difference, not total number of meals.

Myth 2: You must eat clean in order to lose weight: Again totally false. First off "clean" is a very subjective term. One cannot even adequately define it. Total calories and macro nutrients determine results, not cleanliness of diet. I eat cookies, ice cream, bacon, etc EVERY DAY! Now I'm not saying eat nothing but potarts and meet your calorie goal, you must still get in adequate micro nutrients and fiber from things like fruits and vegetables but restricting foods is not a good idea, especially if you love that food. You must learn to eat what you love in moderation.

Myth 3: Don't eat in or around bedtime. Total net caloric intake for the day is what matters, not timing. Nutrient timing is of VERY LITTLE IMPORTANCE

Myth 4: Skipping breakfast causes weight gain. Again it's totals for the day not timing! Eat when you want.

I could go on for ever...

Thank you for helping us fellow MFP users!

My current workout routine includes running, the elliptical, interval running, stairs, squats, burpees, and a weight machine circuit. Obviously, I don't do ALL of these everyday--my typical workout is an hour to an hour fifteen, and I do 2 or 3 activities per session. I'm good with cardio, but not so much with strength training. Right now, I'm trying to do 30 mins of cardio and 30 of strength (either the machine circuit or squats/burpees, but I definitely can't do a half hour of squats/burpees yet!) Am I doing enough of both? Can you recommend other strength training activities? Should I switch to something like Insanity?

Thank you!

For strength training I really don't think there is a great replacement for barbell training. If you absolutely can't gain access to that type of equipment then something like insanity is okay but it's not going to be as optimal as training with barbells/dumbbells.

I'm 5'1 163 and began walking two weeks ago. I joined a gym last week. I've been wondering if pre-workout and post-workout supplements are needed?

I knew the supplementation question would eventually arrive. Here's my take on it. Most supps are expensive garbage! I take a cheap multivitamin, an additional 5000 units of vitamin D, 1 triple strength fish oil tab, and creatine monohydrate. That is all you need. I do not consider protein bars/powders to be supplements. I treat them as food. That's all they are. The protein in powders and bars is no better or worse then the protein in chicken, beef, dairy, etc. Dollar per gram whey is probably the cheapest way to get in protein. If you have trouble eating enough protein in your diet, whey is a good option. If you can hit your protein goals without it, that's fine too. Don't spend tons of money on supplements! They account for <1% of total results!

Sorry to be asking again, I sat last night and worked out my TDEE and BMR (had no idea what these were)
Taking these in mind, what do you suggest to get the scales moving based on my previous questions?
I had originally thought I was only to have 1200cals per day,
I'm currently 175lbs, so my TDEE 2,100
I then worked out my BMR based on my weight of 79.38kg, height 157.48 my age 33, and that I work out 3times per week.
That then works out at 1,676. This is obviously a lot more than I have been consuming. Could this be affecting my weight loss?
I'm new to all this, the terms used within fitness and nutrition.
Hope this all makes sense?

Please can someone help.

Original post is just above^^

TDEE will always just be an estimate. It's a starting point. If your TDEE is 2100 and you want to lose around a lb a week, set your calories to 1600 (do not eat back exercise calories as they are taken into consideration already in determining your tdee). If after a few weeks you do not lose weight first make sure your tracking is accurate, you are weighing out food not estimate portion sizes, not having cheat days/meals, etc. If you are confident in your tracking and you are still not losing weight, drop down to 1500 then see what happens. Keep slowly reducing calories until weight loss occurs. More often then not stalls are from poor tracking of intake, not too high of a caloric goal.

After 100+ weight loss, Ive been stuck for the past year at the same 150-155 range! Cant seem to drop below 150 and its so frustrating! >.<

How tall are you? Sometimes you simply need a break from dieting. I usually suggest a 1-2 month "diet break" where you eat to maintenance calories and focus more on strength. After the break you can reduce calories back to a deficit and see if that sparks weight loss.

Thanks for accepting my friend request. I've cruised your diary and got a few ideas - especially salmon patties and babybel cheese. I've been cooking salmon the hard way - cedar plank on the grill. It's tasty that way, but I'm not always up for that sort of cook. Salmon patties will be a great alternative, especially if I can cook them sous vide.

I started dieting 3 weeks ago. Low carb for about a week and a half, then switched to a balanced diet after consulting with a nutritionist and having a resting metabolic assessment done. The goal is to eat at a 500 calorie deficit (30% carbs, 30% fats, 40% proteins) but am typically at a deficit of 500-900 calories on a given day. Still working on balancing the macros. I'm very overweight (~40% BMI), so my trainer feels I'm better off doing body weight exercises for now. My regiment is squats, bridge on floor, squat with rotation, cobra, two-arm row with squat, plank, lateral lunge to balance, supine lowering, step-up to balance, and side-lying iso abs. Right now, my goal is 3 sets of 15 reps per exercise except the plank and side-lying abs which are 15 seconds each. A couple of these exercises (supine lowering, step-up to balance) I cannot do to completion due to weakness or lack of coordination. Others, like squats and 2 arm rows with squats, I can do with capacity for more reps. When I'm done with 2-3 sets, I'm drenched with sweat so I feel I'm getting a good workout.

In your opinion, should I press my trainer to add lifting to this regiment?

I appreciate your sharing your experiences.

Sam

I would say if your BMI is that high, what you are doing is okay to start. I would eventually transition in to more traditional lifting once you build a little bit of conditioning. As far as the diet, the nutritionist only has you at a 500 calorie deficit? That surprises me. I would think they would be comfortable with you losing weight a bit faster since you have so much weight to lose. They are the experts though, my degree is in healthcare but not in nutrition so I defer to them. It might be something I mention to them though.

Hey m a girl
I want to loose 40 lbs... I m beginner with this app. I am 19 yrs old n currently I weigh 170lbs. I can't go to gym
But usually.for my exercise I either play 1 hour badminton or 1 hour walk
With 1200 calories a day and this much exercise can I achieve my goal?
If no then plz suggest something

You can do anything you put your mind too. Your current regime is certainly a good starting place. Whether or not you will have to make alterations, time will tell. I would try and find some way to incorporate some lifting. Does your school have a workout room? If not I would at least do some body weight exercises 3 times a week (squats, pushups, sit ups, planks, etc).

Mo I dont have gym at my college...currently I am on 1200 calories pr day. Is it good?
And I am thinking of joining some dance or zumba classes..as I am not into exercise and all.

I would pick something a little bit more strength based then zumba. Body weight exercises, strength based yoga, or even a p90x type workout is going to be more strength focused then zumba.