So you want a nice stomach

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Replies

  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,219 Member
    ilirlena40 wrote: »
    usmcmp wrote: »
    ilirlena40 wrote: »
    I have 2 questions so read carefully OK

    1. Will I build muscle if I workout but NOT get enough protein?
    2. Will I lose muscle if stop working out but GET enough protein?

    Thanks

    @ilirlena40 I always read carefully.

    Are you trying to get by with absolute minimums? Why do your questions seem like you are trying to pick the lesser of two evils (either eat enough protein or do strength training).

    I've read your other posts in my threads and a few others. You aren't interested in resistance training and you don't really care about your macros. That's fine for weight loss. You need both adequate protein and resistance training for optimal muscle retention to make sure you are losing mostly fat. If you skip one or the other it will have an impact. If you want to build lean mass you need adequate protein. If you want to keep your muscle you need resistance training. It's not a matter of choosing which one is more important because they both are.

    @usmcmp‌ All I see here is just that you are showing me your attitude. I ask questions to get success, not to show me that you are crying. You can't tell me what I'm interested in because you're head is empty and it always will be. If you don't want to answer don't alright cause I see you don't know how.

    I understand why you might feel like I'm giving you attitude, but what I am really trying to do is to get you to analyze why you have those questions. I will give you exact answers to them, but I don't think it will answer your real question.

    1. In order to answer this I would need to determine what "enough" protein is for you. Enough protein to build lean mass depends on your training as well as your stats. If your training is adequate you could potentially do well on .6g/lb lbm. If your training isn't adequate then 1g/lb lbm won't be enough.
    2. If you stop progressively overloading your muscles in one form or another you will lose lean mass. It does not matter how much protein you eat (as seen by many who are on ketogenic diets).

    So, as I stated in my original reply to you: If you skip protein intake or resistance training it will have a negative impact on your lean mass. Feel free to not believe me and go read up on a variety of studies on lean mass, protein intake and resistance training. You can draw your own conclusions from the studies.

    ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/
  • giusa
    giusa Posts: 577 Member
    EWJLang wrote: »
    Do people honestly post to this thread without even reading the first post? I'm baffled sometimes....and pretty humbled by how usmcmp keeps her cool.

    :so:):'(
  • cpdemos
    cpdemos Posts: 4 Member
    Good thing to keep in mind!
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,219 Member
    edited February 2015
    Edited since the original post I replied to was removed. Thank you to the moderators for keeping spam at bay!
  • Hoosiermomma
    Hoosiermomma Posts: 877 Member
    So much good stuff! Thanks! I might be inspired to get back to the weights.
  • You've given me some clear things to focus on which is exactly what I needed, thank you @usmcmp‌
  • 00mid
    00mid Posts: 79 Member
    usmcmp wrote: »
    You want to lose belly fat and have a nice flat toned mid section? We see that a lot on this site. Hell, that was my goal for my birthday last year. We all want to be able to take our shirt off at the pool or beach and look great, but how do we do it?

    1. Slight calorie deficit. Eating 800 calories and killing yourself in the gym is not going to get you there any faster. You need to fuel your body appropriately. I suggest the TDEE-20% method. www.1percentedge.com/ifcalc (If you have questions please feel free to ask them here). Make sure to weigh everything you eat! Guessing could put you well over your calories.

    2. Strength training. If you want that toned mid section look you have to put some muscle there. If you just want a nice flat stomach muscle will still help it look tight. You can begin with Strong Lifts, a hypertrophy routine or a strength program from bodybuilding.com (free!). One that includes compound lifts like deadlift, squat, bench press and pull ups will help. Work on increasing the amount of weight you use. When the weight gets heavier you engage your core more and it builds the muscle.

    3. Muscle insurance. There are a variety of studies done on the amount of protein the body needs. I like to think of higher protein as muscle insurance. My suggestion is about 1gram of protein per pound of lean mass. Make sure to get fat in your diet to help joints and metabolic processes. Make sure to get carbs in your diet to fuel workouts.

    4. Cardio. I like cardio once or twice a week for 30 minutes. It's good for the heart and lungs. It doesn't add much to the calorie burn for the week, but it helps even things out in case you haven't been completely accurate weighing food.

    5. Patience! It is not going to happen overnight. If you stick with it you could lose around 1% body fat a month. We aren't going to be perfect all the time. Enjoy birthdays and holidays. It is life and things will happen. Don't stress, learn to love the process.

    FINALLY: Losing fat is like trying to dry out a sponge. You can't dry a corner while the rest of it is still wet. You won't magically lose belly fat or thigh fat or any other fat. It will come off where it wants to. Keep working at it! It is possible!

    Do you need to involve weights in your exercises or can you just do basic home workouts involving plank,crunches etc?
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,219 Member
    00mid wrote: »
    usmcmp wrote: »
    You want to lose belly fat and have a nice flat toned mid section? We see that a lot on this site. Hell, that was my goal for my birthday last year. We all want to be able to take our shirt off at the pool or beach and look great, but how do we do it?

    1. Slight calorie deficit. Eating 800 calories and killing yourself in the gym is not going to get you there any faster. You need to fuel your body appropriately. I suggest the TDEE-20% method. www.1percentedge.com/ifcalc (If you have questions please feel free to ask them here). Make sure to weigh everything you eat! Guessing could put you well over your calories.

    2. Strength training. If you want that toned mid section look you have to put some muscle there. If you just want a nice flat stomach muscle will still help it look tight. You can begin with Strong Lifts, a hypertrophy routine or a strength program from bodybuilding.com (free!). One that includes compound lifts like deadlift, squat, bench press and pull ups will help. Work on increasing the amount of weight you use. When the weight gets heavier you engage your core more and it builds the muscle.

    3. Muscle insurance. There are a variety of studies done on the amount of protein the body needs. I like to think of higher protein as muscle insurance. My suggestion is about 1gram of protein per pound of lean mass. Make sure to get fat in your diet to help joints and metabolic processes. Make sure to get carbs in your diet to fuel workouts.

    4. Cardio. I like cardio once or twice a week for 30 minutes. It's good for the heart and lungs. It doesn't add much to the calorie burn for the week, but it helps even things out in case you haven't been completely accurate weighing food.

    5. Patience! It is not going to happen overnight. If you stick with it you could lose around 1% body fat a month. We aren't going to be perfect all the time. Enjoy birthdays and holidays. It is life and things will happen. Don't stress, learn to love the process.

    FINALLY: Losing fat is like trying to dry out a sponge. You can't dry a corner while the rest of it is still wet. You won't magically lose belly fat or thigh fat or any other fat. It will come off where it wants to. Keep working at it! It is possible!

    Do you need to involve weights in your exercises or can you just do basic home workouts involving plank,crunches etc?

    @00mid You can start with body weight exercises (which is a great starting point for many people who haven't exercised in a while). Eventually it's a good idea to increase resistance or add weight. You can look into You Are Your Own Gym. I believe they give you some ideas on how to progressively make the exercises harder.
  • 00mid
    00mid Posts: 79 Member
    usmcmp wrote: »
    00mid wrote: »
    usmcmp wrote: »
    You want to lose belly fat and have a nice flat toned mid section? We see that a lot on this site. Hell, that was my goal for my birthday last year. We all want to be able to take our shirt off at the pool or beach and look great, but how do we do it?

    1. Slight calorie deficit. Eating 800 calories and killing yourself in the gym is not going to get you there any faster. You need to fuel your body appropriately. I suggest the TDEE-20% method. www.1percentedge.com/ifcalc (If you have questions please feel free to ask them here). Make sure to weigh everything you eat! Guessing could put you well over your calories.

    2. Strength training. If you want that toned mid section look you have to put some muscle there. If you just want a nice flat stomach muscle will still help it look tight. You can begin with Strong Lifts, a hypertrophy routine or a strength program from bodybuilding.com (free!). One that includes compound lifts like deadlift, squat, bench press and pull ups will help. Work on increasing the amount of weight you use. When the weight gets heavier you engage your core more and it builds the muscle.

    3. Muscle insurance. There are a variety of studies done on the amount of protein the body needs. I like to think of higher protein as muscle insurance. My suggestion is about 1gram of protein per pound of lean mass. Make sure to get fat in your diet to help joints and metabolic processes. Make sure to get carbs in your diet to fuel workouts.

    4. Cardio. I like cardio once or twice a week for 30 minutes. It's good for the heart and lungs. It doesn't add much to the calorie burn for the week, but it helps even things out in case you haven't been completely accurate weighing food.

    5. Patience! It is not going to happen overnight. If you stick with it you could lose around 1% body fat a month. We aren't going to be perfect all the time. Enjoy birthdays and holidays. It is life and things will happen. Don't stress, learn to love the process.

    FINALLY: Losing fat is like trying to dry out a sponge. You can't dry a corner while the rest of it is still wet. You won't magically lose belly fat or thigh fat or any other fat. It will come off where it wants to. Keep working at it! It is possible!

    Do you need to involve weights in your exercises or can you just do basic home workouts involving plank,crunches etc?

    @00mid You can start with body weight exercises (which is a great starting point for many people who haven't exercised in a while). Eventually it's a good idea to increase resistance or add weight. You can look into You Are Your Own Gym. I believe they give you some ideas on how to progressively make the exercises harder.
    What body weight exercises would you recommended,I have two Dumbells aswell. Will I see much progress with these body weight exercises?

  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,219 Member
    00mid wrote: »
    usmcmp wrote: »
    00mid wrote: »
    usmcmp wrote: »
    You want to lose belly fat and have a nice flat toned mid section? We see that a lot on this site. Hell, that was my goal for my birthday last year. We all want to be able to take our shirt off at the pool or beach and look great, but how do we do it?

    1. Slight calorie deficit. Eating 800 calories and killing yourself in the gym is not going to get you there any faster. You need to fuel your body appropriately. I suggest the TDEE-20% method. www.1percentedge.com/ifcalc (If you have questions please feel free to ask them here). Make sure to weigh everything you eat! Guessing could put you well over your calories.

    2. Strength training. If you want that toned mid section look you have to put some muscle there. If you just want a nice flat stomach muscle will still help it look tight. You can begin with Strong Lifts, a hypertrophy routine or a strength program from bodybuilding.com (free!). One that includes compound lifts like deadlift, squat, bench press and pull ups will help. Work on increasing the amount of weight you use. When the weight gets heavier you engage your core more and it builds the muscle.

    3. Muscle insurance. There are a variety of studies done on the amount of protein the body needs. I like to think of higher protein as muscle insurance. My suggestion is about 1gram of protein per pound of lean mass. Make sure to get fat in your diet to help joints and metabolic processes. Make sure to get carbs in your diet to fuel workouts.

    4. Cardio. I like cardio once or twice a week for 30 minutes. It's good for the heart and lungs. It doesn't add much to the calorie burn for the week, but it helps even things out in case you haven't been completely accurate weighing food.

    5. Patience! It is not going to happen overnight. If you stick with it you could lose around 1% body fat a month. We aren't going to be perfect all the time. Enjoy birthdays and holidays. It is life and things will happen. Don't stress, learn to love the process.

    FINALLY: Losing fat is like trying to dry out a sponge. You can't dry a corner while the rest of it is still wet. You won't magically lose belly fat or thigh fat or any other fat. It will come off where it wants to. Keep working at it! It is possible!

    Do you need to involve weights in your exercises or can you just do basic home workouts involving plank,crunches etc?

    @00mid You can start with body weight exercises (which is a great starting point for many people who haven't exercised in a while). Eventually it's a good idea to increase resistance or add weight. You can look into You Are Your Own Gym. I believe they give you some ideas on how to progressively make the exercises harder.
    What body weight exercises would you recommended,I have two Dumbells aswell. Will I see much progress with these body weight exercises?

    I suggest looking up full body routines that use body weight. Like the one in my last post. I don't know how much progress you'll make because I don't know your starting point or your goals (other than fat loss). The exercise portion is meant to help you preserve lean mass and the calorie deficit is what you need for weight loss.
  • LiquidSparkle86
    LiquidSparkle86 Posts: 736 Member
    Great post! I love running but need to incorporate more weight lifting for sure. Im not a member of a gym but did have a personal trainer that taught me quite a few ways to use things around the house (i.e: stairs, the floor for things like pushups and situps and crunches, i have 5 & 10 pound weights that she showed me a few things i can do at home with them. Im still trying to flatten my tummy after 2 kids. And im impatient and want results now! Especially when you see those moms that lose it like 4 months after they've had a kid. I have to keep telling myself that type of weight loss isnt for all of us. :0/
  • applejackflower
    applejackflower Posts: 1 Member
    Bump
  • kimzy132124
    kimzy132124 Posts: 75 Member

    3. Muscle insurance. There are a variety of studies done on the amount of protein the body needs. I like to think of higher protein as muscle insurance. My suggestion is about 1gram of protein per pound of lean mass. Make sure to get fat in your diet to help joints and metabolic processes. Make sure to get carbs in your diet to fuel workouts.
    [/quote]
    What do you mean lean mass? How would you figure that out
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,219 Member
    edited March 2015

    What do you mean lean mass? How would you figure that out

    @kimzy132124 If you know what your body fat percentage is you can find out how much lean mass you have. If you don't have any idea, a good starting point for most women is around 100 grams of protein.
  • kimzy132124
    kimzy132124 Posts: 75 Member
    usmcmp wrote: »

    What do you mean lean mass? How would you figure that out

    @kimzy132124 If you know what your body fat percentage is you can find out how much lean mass you have. If you don't have any idea, a good starting point for most women is around 100 grams of protein.
    Wow lol. Ok. I've only been taking in maybe 50, and that's on a good day. I'll look into this.
  • selfranks
    selfranks Posts: 3 Member
    I walk 2 very active dogs for an hour daily and then proceed to head to the gym for weights for it least 30min to 1hr. The struggle is real when all i want to do when i get home is eat eat eat. Ive turned to some awesomeness called "flavor god" it makes all the normal not so tasty food taste fantastic. If you search them youll see all the contents in the spices. No sugar. No gluteen. It really makes a difference when the food tastes fantastic.

    I love going to the gym and weight lifting. My boyfriend and i do it together. Get stress relief and i get to watch my hunk get sweaty.

    I am going away in april so im wanting to jump start my life into better habits. I am a very active person but the scale shows me im obese. I dont feel or look that way. I played basketball my hole life until i finished college. Routines were my life. And now my lifes a tornado.

    Is there any advice on getting back to my routines and a nice stomach?
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,219 Member
    selfranks wrote: »
    I walk 2 very active dogs for an hour daily and then proceed to head to the gym for weights for it least 30min to 1hr. The struggle is real when all i want to do when i get home is eat eat eat. Ive turned to some awesomeness called "flavor god" it makes all the normal not so tasty food taste fantastic. If you search them youll see all the contents in the spices. No sugar. No gluteen. It really makes a difference when the food tastes fantastic.

    I love going to the gym and weight lifting. My boyfriend and i do it together. Get stress relief and i get to watch my hunk get sweaty.

    I am going away in april so im wanting to jump start my life into better habits. I am a very active person but the scale shows me im obese. I dont feel or look that way. I played basketball my hole life until i finished college. Routines were my life. And now my lifes a tornado.

    Is there any advice on getting back to my routines and a nice stomach?

    I don't know what to tell you. The first post gives you all the advice for how to achieve a nice stomach. How you put that into action is going to depend on you. Sounds like you have the activity part down, but you need to focus on calorie intake.
  • Crystal19871
    Crystal19871 Posts: 1 Member
    Great post. Thank you
  • chloecopey7
    chloecopey7 Posts: 21 Member
    please addx