Maintaining Weight while Lowering Body Fat %

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Replies

  • itodd4019
    itodd4019 Posts: 340 Member
    lol my parting advice--- your ab workout is not to spot reduce fat, it is to spot build muscle
  • MrTolerable
    MrTolerable Posts: 1,593 Member
    [/quote]


    Just parting advice.
    Put more emphasis on your diet and your workouts.
    Not so much on your ab workout. :wink:
    You cannot spot reduce fat, and the quickest way you will burn fat is by diet and incorporating full body workout routines.
    [/quote]

    Believe me, my entire body agree's with you after I'm done my workout. I spent months wasted just doing ab workouts, and of course saw no results. - this has been a goal, having a six pack, for about 10 months now, however I am new to using MyFitnessPal because I never had to record all my calories before-these last few pounds of body fat are the toughest to shed

    all in all- I went from 178lbs, 34" waist to 146lbs 28"waist. - so progress has clearly been there.

    Take away:
    Diet
    move to advised protein levels
    continue full body workouts
    cut down on the cardio
    add weighted ab workouts to routine
  • MrTolerable
    MrTolerable Posts: 1,593 Member
    edit fail.
  • autotek
    autotek Posts: 66 Member
    in for the info

    trying to do the same thing

    Cytosport - Chocolate Monster Milk, 20 fl. oz. but that stuff is expensive for me
    love the protein numbers tho

    to bad i'm not rich:sad:
  • MityMax96
    MityMax96 Posts: 5,778 Member
    in for the info

    trying to do the same thing

    Cytosport - Chocolate Monster Milk, 20 fl. oz. but that stuff is expensive for me
    love the protein numbers tho

    to bad i'm not rich:sad:

    Go with whole foods primarily before you start drinking your calories.
    Just my opinion
  • TriLifter
    TriLifter Posts: 1,283 Member
    in for the info

    trying to do the same thing

    Cytosport - Chocolate Monster Milk, 20 fl. oz. but that stuff is expensive for me
    love the protein numbers tho

    to bad i'm not rich:sad:

    Go with whole foods primarily before you start drinking your calories.
    Just my opinion

    Absolutely! Only time I drink my calories is when I'm 1. short on time or 2. short on cals and need to get there any way I can.
  • itodd4019
    itodd4019 Posts: 340 Member
    AGREED bigtime
    the only time I drink my calories is my vegatable smoothie in the morning. To get all my veggies, I am not willing to do all the chewing, so I blend them up.
  • MityMax96
    MityMax96 Posts: 5,778 Member
    in for the info

    trying to do the same thing

    Cytosport - Chocolate Monster Milk, 20 fl. oz. but that stuff is expensive for me
    love the protein numbers tho

    to bad i'm not rich:sad:

    Go with whole foods primarily before you start drinking your calories.
    Just my opinion

    Absolutely! Only time I drink my calories is when I'm 1. short on time or 2. short on cals and need to get there any way I can.

    Yep, same here....
    Or I know what the rest of my eating will look like for the day, so I have it planned out
  • autotek
    autotek Posts: 66 Member
    in for the info

    trying to do the same thing

    Cytosport - Chocolate Monster Milk, 20 fl. oz. but that stuff is expensive for me
    love the protein numbers tho

    to bad i'm not rich:sad:

    Go with whole foods primarily before you start drinking your calories.
    Just my opinion

    Absolutely! Only time I drink my calories is when I'm 1. short on time or 2. short on cals and need to get there any way I can.

    Yep, same here....
    Or I know what the rest of my eating will look like for the day, so I have it planned out

    ty all

    but it's hard for me to get my protein since i dont eat fish"yuck"
    i have to watch what i eat with crohn's disease
    so whole foods is almost out besides nuts chicken and a few vegs i eat
  • Pamela_in_Progress
    Pamela_in_Progress Posts: 197 Member
    In for the info.
  • _Terrapin_
    _Terrapin_ Posts: 4,301 Member
    Scales work fine, just need to read the instructions, calipers work too, and then you could always use a Bod Pod. Or google search body fat for images and see where you come out. None are perfect, and none are better then the other. Bod Pod exams run about $40 to $60. A guy on here last year used all methods and they were all very close to each other. Best of luck.
  • FunkyTobias
    FunkyTobias Posts: 1,776 Member
    You can cut body fat while maintaining body weight. In order to do this, you need to burn the fat and grow the muscle.


    Not going to happen simultaneously

    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/adding-muscle-while-losing-fat-qa.html
  • FatFreeFrolicking
    FatFreeFrolicking Posts: 4,252 Member
    Well obviously I am doing some things wrong here... can you guys elaborate a little? .. should I cut and then work lean gains like you?

    6 pack abs are my main goal.. last time I was there though I weighed 138 lbs and I felt too tiny for being 5'10" ..

    You are NOT eating enough for a 24 year old male who is 5'10.
  • FatFreeFrolicking
    FatFreeFrolicking Posts: 4,252 Member
    in for the info

    trying to do the same thing

    Cytosport - Chocolate Monster Milk, 20 fl. oz. but that stuff is expensive for me
    love the protein numbers tho

    to bad i'm not rich:sad:

    Go with whole foods primarily before you start drinking your calories.
    Just my opinion

    Absolutely! Only time I drink my calories is when I'm 1. short on time or 2. short on cals and need to get there any way I can.

    Yep, same here....
    Or I know what the rest of my eating will look like for the day, so I have it planned out

    ty all

    but it's hard for me to get my protein since i dont eat fish"yuck"
    i have to watch what i eat with crohn's disease
    so whole foods is almost out besides nuts chicken and a few vegs i eat

    I also have Crohn's.

    Have you ever tried salmon? I find every kind of fish disgusting besides salmon. It's not "fishy" at all. If you bake it with lemon slices, it's even better. I personally love turkey burgers and eat them frequently. I'm not sure if they give you GI issues though.

    It's not hard to eat a whole foods diet with Crohn's. I do it for the most part… with the exception of when I'm having a flareup. I eat gluten free and dairy free (with the exception of greek yogurt once in a while). Bananas, papaya, mango, and cantaloupe are fruits that are great for those with Crohn's because they promote healthy digestion. I don't know about you but I'm able to tolerate watermelon, blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries in small amounts too. Vegetables give me the biggest problem. I can only eat mushrooms, asparagus, and iceberg lettuce/butter lettuce without discomfort. I've heard that juicing is great for those with Crohn's and most tolerate it surprisingly well.
  • mike_ny
    mike_ny Posts: 351 Member
    Buy a pair of body fat calipers. I got a pair of the Accu-measure ones on eBay a while back for about five bucks. Using the scale as a daily guide for a rough reference is fine, but the calipers will give you a more accurate number. The problem with scales and the handheld units is even if they were totally accurate (and they're not), they still only measure the shortest path thorough your body, so the scale measures your legs and hips and maybe part of your midsection and the handheld units measure your arms and chest.

    Thanks, I like this suggestion - I will check for some on Amazon or Ebay. Do you find them pretty accurate and reproducible? Do you measure every couple of weeks or less frequently?

    They take some practice to use correctly and get accurate measurements, but they are still more accurate than the scales. Scooby has a three point calculator on his site so you can measure yourself along with hints on how to use them. The seven point measurement is much more accurate, but you need someone else to do it since you can't reach and read the places on your back by yourself. I find the calipers are always lower than the scale numbers are for me, but more importantly the caliper is more consistent and not fooled by hydration levels like the scales are.
  • MrTolerable
    MrTolerable Posts: 1,593 Member
    Calipers are a little more complicated to use then I thought initially upon purchasing them. Luckily, I have a family member familiar with them who was able to use them, but she advised there is a margin of error in using them, not as bad as the scale but substantial - regardless I'm actually closer to 12.4% - which stinks, but I have a more exact answer on that.

    I've been able to slightly maintain my weight better by increasing my calories daily, while decreasing the amount of daily cardio - however I am still loosing weight.

    as for the exercise.. floor sweepers and power cleaners... -_- wayyy harder than I thought.. I'm doing them with hardly any weight just to make sure I get the motion and posture correct first... recommend them.
    And medicine ball for leg lifts... *sigh*, bit embarrassing at the gym.. I can only get only 8-10 real legliftsin each set instead of the usual amount and this is only an 8lb medicine ball... - incredibly harder than I thought

    And to be quite blunt, the family member told me that the best bet for me in acquiring the six pack is by going with a slower cut then I initially was doing - which she said would actually be easier and more of an overall continued lifestyle change. And to use weighted situps and leg - lifts because it's possible for the abs to be visible at a higher body fate %.

    Once the goal is met I will worry about lean/clean bulking... focusing on one at a time and not worrying so much about maintaining the weight is the best idea.

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