So you want a nice stomach
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First I'd like to thank you, usmcmp, both for your original post and the time you've put in since. The world is a better place because of the generosity of people like you.
After years of trial and error (and some trial and success!), I started another trial with a routine that is based on exactly the principles laid out in the original post. I have been getting good results. These techniques work.
The biggest challenge I've faced with this method is that my scale is now of no use as a tracking tool. My weight hasn't changed in well over a month, although my appearance has. Since this has never been about what the scale says, this doesn't bother me except that it's hard to track progress for me now. Not seeing measurable progress can get me discouraged and I think that can happen to a lot of us. I wanted to share what I'm doing to combat my natural tendency to get discouraged and quit.
I've just been measuring other things. Which things exactly probably doesn't mater. In my case, I've been watching the amount of weight and reps I can do go up. On the cardio side, I'm running faster for less heart rate. While this journey was 100% about my physical appearance to start, it's now much more about fitness. So I'm tracking the stuff I can track on the fitness side. I have faith that improved fitness will result in improved appearance.
I'm not saying you have to change what your journey is about like I have. That was just one way. The idea is to find something you can track that parallels what you can't track.
The second biggest challenge I've had and I'm still struggling with is eating enough to support this. For several months up until about a month ago I had been eating 1500 cal/day, which was to be a 700 cal deficit off my estimated TDEE of 2200. That worked for a while, and I got used to that amount of food. I wasn't factoring in exercise at that time. I figured, hell, bigger deficit, right? Well, it didn't really work out that way and I eventually stalled, at least scale-wise. Lucky for me I had been taking in enough "muscle insurance" (200g/day of protein) and it seemed I started re-comping a little bit (I can't say this with certainty; the evidence was I was getting stronger and staying the same weight). More research led me to understand I wasn't getting enough nutrition to support my exercise, and I was adding more exercise (progressing from 2 strength days to 3). I have arrived at a figure of 2850 cal/day (175g p, 105g f, 310g c) that factors in the amount of strength and cardio in my plan.
Every day I struggle to shovel that much food in. Part of it is psychological. I'm very worried about getting fatter. I understand that's not the reality; try telling that to my emotions. So that's making me just want to eat less to start with. Beyond that it just comes down to not being that hungry most of the time. I feel full and I still have calories to go.
My question is this: how much of a disservice am I doing to my progress on the days when I fail to eat enough?
--Rich
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seiffertrk wrote: »For several months up until about a month ago I had been eating 1500 cal/day, which was to be a 700 cal deficit off my estimated TDEE of 2200. That worked for a while, and I got used to that amount of food. I wasn't factoring in exercise at that time. I figured, hell, bigger deficit, right?
I have arrived at a figure of 2850 cal/day (175g p, 105g f, 310g c) that factors in the amount of strength and cardio in my plan.
My question is this: how much of a disservice am I doing to my progress on the days when I fail to eat enough?
You said your TDEE was estimated at 2200, but now you are eating 2850? I'm guessing you either estimated your original TDEE without exercise, which would be inaccurate since TDEE includes exercise calories, or you are bulking. Without knowing your stats I'm not sure what your approximate TDEE is. I'm also not sure if you are bulking, cutting or attempting a recomposition.
For your question:
A few days here and there are not going to create a very big impact no matter what your goals are. Consistently being low on a bulk means it will take longer to build the lean mass, on a cut means you could start losing lean mass, on a recomp means you'll lose fat faster and build lean mass slower.
If you want more specific help I'll need your stats and goals. I'd also need to know what kind of lifting program you are doing.0 -
Great thread0
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seiffertrk wrote: »For several months up until about a month ago I had been eating 1500 cal/day, which was to be a 700 cal deficit off my estimated TDEE of 2200. That worked for a while, and I got used to that amount of food. I wasn't factoring in exercise at that time. I figured, hell, bigger deficit, right?
I have arrived at a figure of 2850 cal/day (175g p, 105g f, 310g c) that factors in the amount of strength and cardio in my plan.
My question is this: how much of a disservice am I doing to my progress on the days when I fail to eat enough?
You said your TDEE was estimated at 2200, but now you are eating 2850? I'm guessing you either estimated your original TDEE without exercise, which would be inaccurate since TDEE includes exercise calories, or you are bulking. Without knowing your stats I'm not sure what your approximate TDEE is. I'm also not sure if you are bulking, cutting or attempting a recomposition.
For your question:
A few days here and there are not going to create a very big impact no matter what your goals are. Consistently being low on a bulk means it will take longer to build the lean mass, on a cut means you could start losing lean mass, on a recomp means you'll lose fat faster and build lean mass slower.
If you want more specific help I'll need your stats and goals. I'd also need to know what kind of lifting program you are doing.
The original TDEE was calculated without factoring in exercise. The exercise ramped up slowly and I never went back to recalculate it. Anyway, in the past now.
I'm a 45 year old 5'-8" male currently averaging 200 lbs (+/- 3-5 lbs) at an estimated 32% body fat. I came to the current figures using the math from the book "The Lean Muscle Diet" by Men's Health guys Lou Schuler and Alan Aragon. The book and your 5-point bullet list say the same thing. Their math factors in exercise, daily activity level (a multiplier), current lean mass and target lean mass and body fat percentage. Also factored in are two rates: the rate at which you're trying to lose body fat % and the rate at which you're trying to add lean mass. I chose conservative rates from their ranges (although they sound aggressive to me): 1.5 lb of lean mass per month, 2.5% BF reduction per month. Clearly those goals fall under recomposition.
Turning the crank on all that yields 2850 cals with 175g of protein minimum. There is wiggle room on how much of the remainder comes from fat and carbs. I took a middle of the road approach. As long as I get enough protein I don't sweat the exact breakdown of the other two. According to the book and the math, if I eat right and do the exercise, in 6 months I will have added 9 lbs of lean mass, lost 33 lbs of fat, and will be 175 lbs at 17.5% BF. I'm not expecting it to be that exact obviously, but that's the target. It still seems aggressive.
For exercise I factored in 3 hours of strength and 2.5 hours of cardio weekly. Cardio used to be just elliptical, 30 mins x 5 days. I'm getting into running a little now that the weather is nice, but it's still working out to about the same amount of time, but a lot more random day to day depending on where and how far I run.
I'm following the strength program from the book. Each of the 3 workout days are broken down into core, primary and complementary exercises. Core includes plank, side plank, dead bug, mcgill curlup. Primary exercises: day 1: squat, bench, dumbbell 3-point row (all 4 sets x 6 reps), day 2: deadlift, shoulder press, inverted row (all 3 sets x 8-10 reps), day 3: step up (2 sets x 10-12 reps), T pushup (max), inverted row (max). Complementary exercises: day 1: glute bridge, pike pushup, pulldown, day 2: lunge, pushup, cable row, day 3: farmer's walk, biceps curl, triceps extension. All the complementaries are less sets with higher reps.
I'm in the third week of that program (MWF). So far I have progressed on almost every exercise each week.
During that time I've been trying to hit the calorie goal. I just looked back over my diary, and some (not most) days I hit it. Most days I ended up shorting by 200-750 calories. The important thing is that during this time my clothes have not gotten any tighter, so the extra food is not causing me to gain fat. That makes me feel good about the calorie goal being reasonably on point. Perhaps my body is trying to tell me the right number is more like 2400 or so.
I should add that I have a smoothie before and after each strength session. These consist of whey powder, milk, and fruit which always includes banana. They're around 400 cals and provide at least 24g of protein. These seem to be helping a lot.
Before this I completed a 3 month strength program (from another book) which had similar exercises and a full body focus but with less exercises and volume. It was only 2 workout days per week (but I was fatter and weaker then!).
Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my question!
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seiffertrk wrote: »seiffertrk wrote: »For several months up until about a month ago I had been eating 1500 cal/day, which was to be a 700 cal deficit off my estimated TDEE of 2200. That worked for a while, and I got used to that amount of food. I wasn't factoring in exercise at that time. I figured, hell, bigger deficit, right?
I have arrived at a figure of 2850 cal/day (175g p, 105g f, 310g c) that factors in the amount of strength and cardio in my plan.
My question is this: how much of a disservice am I doing to my progress on the days when I fail to eat enough?
You said your TDEE was estimated at 2200, but now you are eating 2850? I'm guessing you either estimated your original TDEE without exercise, which would be inaccurate since TDEE includes exercise calories, or you are bulking. Without knowing your stats I'm not sure what your approximate TDEE is. I'm also not sure if you are bulking, cutting or attempting a recomposition.
For your question:
A few days here and there are not going to create a very big impact no matter what your goals are. Consistently being low on a bulk means it will take longer to build the lean mass, on a cut means you could start losing lean mass, on a recomp means you'll lose fat faster and build lean mass slower.
If you want more specific help I'll need your stats and goals. I'd also need to know what kind of lifting program you are doing.
The original TDEE was calculated without factoring in exercise. The exercise ramped up slowly and I never went back to recalculate it. Anyway, in the past now.
I'm a 45 year old 5'-8" male currently averaging 200 lbs (+/- 3-5 lbs) at an estimated 32% body fat. I came to the current figures using the math from the book "The Lean Muscle Diet" by Men's Health guys Lou Schuler and Alan Aragon. The book and your 5-point bullet list say the same thing. Their math factors in exercise, daily activity level (a multiplier), current lean mass and target lean mass and body fat percentage. Also factored in are two rates: the rate at which you're trying to lose body fat % and the rate at which you're trying to add lean mass. I chose conservative rates from their ranges (although they sound aggressive to me): 1.5 lb of lean mass per month, 2.5% BF reduction per month. Clearly those goals fall under recomposition.
Turning the crank on all that yields 2850 cals with 175g of protein minimum. There is wiggle room on how much of the remainder comes from fat and carbs. I took a middle of the road approach. As long as I get enough protein I don't sweat the exact breakdown of the other two. According to the book and the math, if I eat right and do the exercise, in 6 months I will have added 9 lbs of lean mass, lost 33 lbs of fat, and will be 175 lbs at 17.5% BF. I'm not expecting it to be that exact obviously, but that's the target. It still seems aggressive.
For exercise I factored in 3 hours of strength and 2.5 hours of cardio weekly. Cardio used to be just elliptical, 30 mins x 5 days. I'm getting into running a little now that the weather is nice, but it's still working out to about the same amount of time, but a lot more random day to day depending on where and how far I run.
I'm following the strength program from the book. Each of the 3 workout days are broken down into core, primary and complementary exercises. Core includes plank, side plank, dead bug, mcgill curlup. Primary exercises: day 1: squat, bench, dumbbell 3-point row (all 4 sets x 6 reps), day 2: deadlift, shoulder press, inverted row (all 3 sets x 8-10 reps), day 3: step up (2 sets x 10-12 reps), T pushup (max), inverted row (max). Complementary exercises: day 1: glute bridge, pike pushup, pulldown, day 2: lunge, pushup, cable row, day 3: farmer's walk, biceps curl, triceps extension. All the complementaries are less sets with higher reps.
I'm in the third week of that program (MWF). So far I have progressed on almost every exercise each week.
During that time I've been trying to hit the calorie goal. I just looked back over my diary, and some (not most) days I hit it. Most days I ended up shorting by 200-750 calories. The important thing is that during this time my clothes have not gotten any tighter, so the extra food is not causing me to gain fat. That makes me feel good about the calorie goal being reasonably on point. Perhaps my body is trying to tell me the right number is more like 2400 or so.
I should add that I have a smoothie before and after each strength session. These consist of whey powder, milk, and fruit which always includes banana. They're around 400 cals and provide at least 24g of protein. These seem to be helping a lot.
Before this I completed a 3 month strength program (from another book) which had similar exercises and a full body focus but with less exercises and volume. It was only 2 workout days per week (but I was fatter and weaker then!).
Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my question!
I've calculated your TDEE at about 2400. You've only been at it three weeks and you aren't hitting the 2800, so you might be averaging around what your TDEE is. I know that Alan is very knowledgeable and provides solid information, but my guess is that you some how picked the wrong multiplier (he usually has multiple formulas to accommodate for age and general activity level outside of workouts).
The good news is that you probably haven't gained fat, the bad news is if you ate 2800 calories consistently you would not reach the fat loss and muscle gain projections you calculated at the end of 6 months. Seeing that you are newer to lifting you can gain lean mass in a deficit, but a projected 9 pound lean mass gain in 6 months is just not going to happen. Losing 33 pounds in 6 months would require an intake of about 700 calories less than your TDEE.
There is nothing wrong with eating at about your TDEE while lifting. You will lose some fat and gain some lean mass. This is a fairly slow process, but it allows you a decent number of calories and capitalizes on new lifter gains.0 -
seiffertrk wrote: »seiffertrk wrote: »For several months up until about a month ago I had been eating 1500 cal/day, which was to be a 700 cal deficit off my estimated TDEE of 2200. That worked for a while, and I got used to that amount of food. I wasn't factoring in exercise at that time. I figured, hell, bigger deficit, right?
I have arrived at a figure of 2850 cal/day (175g p, 105g f, 310g c) that factors in the amount of strength and cardio in my plan.
My question is this: how much of a disservice am I doing to my progress on the days when I fail to eat enough?
You said your TDEE was estimated at 2200, but now you are eating 2850? I'm guessing you either estimated your original TDEE without exercise, which would be inaccurate since TDEE includes exercise calories, or you are bulking. Without knowing your stats I'm not sure what your approximate TDEE is. I'm also not sure if you are bulking, cutting or attempting a recomposition.
For your question:
A few days here and there are not going to create a very big impact no matter what your goals are. Consistently being low on a bulk means it will take longer to build the lean mass, on a cut means you could start losing lean mass, on a recomp means you'll lose fat faster and build lean mass slower.
If you want more specific help I'll need your stats and goals. I'd also need to know what kind of lifting program you are doing.
The original TDEE was calculated without factoring in exercise. The exercise ramped up slowly and I never went back to recalculate it. Anyway, in the past now.
I'm a 45 year old 5'-8" male currently averaging 200 lbs (+/- 3-5 lbs) at an estimated 32% body fat. I came to the current figures using the math from the book "The Lean Muscle Diet" by Men's Health guys Lou Schuler and Alan Aragon. The book and your 5-point bullet list say the same thing. Their math factors in exercise, daily activity level (a multiplier), current lean mass and target lean mass and body fat percentage. Also factored in are two rates: the rate at which you're trying to lose body fat % and the rate at which you're trying to add lean mass. I chose conservative rates from their ranges (although they sound aggressive to me): 1.5 lb of lean mass per month, 2.5% BF reduction per month. Clearly those goals fall under recomposition.
Turning the crank on all that yields 2850 cals with 175g of protein minimum. There is wiggle room on how much of the remainder comes from fat and carbs. I took a middle of the road approach. As long as I get enough protein I don't sweat the exact breakdown of the other two. According to the book and the math, if I eat right and do the exercise, in 6 months I will have added 9 lbs of lean mass, lost 33 lbs of fat, and will be 175 lbs at 17.5% BF. I'm not expecting it to be that exact obviously, but that's the target. It still seems aggressive.
For exercise I factored in 3 hours of strength and 2.5 hours of cardio weekly. Cardio used to be just elliptical, 30 mins x 5 days. I'm getting into running a little now that the weather is nice, but it's still working out to about the same amount of time, but a lot more random day to day depending on where and how far I run.
I'm following the strength program from the book. Each of the 3 workout days are broken down into core, primary and complementary exercises. Core includes plank, side plank, dead bug, mcgill curlup. Primary exercises: day 1: squat, bench, dumbbell 3-point row (all 4 sets x 6 reps), day 2: deadlift, shoulder press, inverted row (all 3 sets x 8-10 reps), day 3: step up (2 sets x 10-12 reps), T pushup (max), inverted row (max). Complementary exercises: day 1: glute bridge, pike pushup, pulldown, day 2: lunge, pushup, cable row, day 3: farmer's walk, biceps curl, triceps extension. All the complementaries are less sets with higher reps.
I'm in the third week of that program (MWF). So far I have progressed on almost every exercise each week.
During that time I've been trying to hit the calorie goal. I just looked back over my diary, and some (not most) days I hit it. Most days I ended up shorting by 200-750 calories. The important thing is that during this time my clothes have not gotten any tighter, so the extra food is not causing me to gain fat. That makes me feel good about the calorie goal being reasonably on point. Perhaps my body is trying to tell me the right number is more like 2400 or so.
I should add that I have a smoothie before and after each strength session. These consist of whey powder, milk, and fruit which always includes banana. They're around 400 cals and provide at least 24g of protein. These seem to be helping a lot.
Before this I completed a 3 month strength program (from another book) which had similar exercises and a full body focus but with less exercises and volume. It was only 2 workout days per week (but I was fatter and weaker then!).
Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my question!
I've calculated your TDEE at about 2400. You've only been at it three weeks and you aren't hitting the 2800, so you might be averaging around what your TDEE is. I know that Alan is very knowledgeable and provides solid information, but my guess is that you some how picked the wrong multiplier (he usually has multiple formulas to accommodate for age and general activity level outside of workouts).
The good news is that you probably haven't gained fat, the bad news is if you ate 2800 calories consistently you would not reach the fat loss and muscle gain projections you calculated at the end of 6 months. Seeing that you are newer to lifting you can gain lean mass in a deficit, but a projected 9 pound lean mass gain in 6 months is just not going to happen. Losing 33 pounds in 6 months would require an intake of about 700 calories less than your TDEE.
There is nothing wrong with eating at about your TDEE while lifting. You will lose some fat and gain some lean mass. This is a fairly slow process, but it allows you a decent number of calories and capitalizes on new lifter gains.
Is the 9 lb lean mass gain in 6 months not going to happen because I'm targeting a deficit, or it's just not reasonable for anyone to expect?
I reworked the numbers using Alan's lowest multiplier and dropped the lean mass gain to 0.5 lb/month. It still comes up with 2400 calories. It has always seemed high to me.
Dropping the fat is my main goal. It would be great to add some muscle at the same time. Put a better way, it would be great to target some muscle gain as insurance against losing any muscle if things don't go perfectly. If you were me, what would you target for calories?0 -
seiffertrk wrote: »seiffertrk wrote: »seiffertrk wrote: »For several months up until about a month ago I had been eating 1500 cal/day, which was to be a 700 cal deficit off my estimated TDEE of 2200. That worked for a while, and I got used to that amount of food. I wasn't factoring in exercise at that time. I figured, hell, bigger deficit, right?
I have arrived at a figure of 2850 cal/day (175g p, 105g f, 310g c) that factors in the amount of strength and cardio in my plan.
My question is this: how much of a disservice am I doing to my progress on the days when I fail to eat enough?
You said your TDEE was estimated at 2200, but now you are eating 2850? I'm guessing you either estimated your original TDEE without exercise, which would be inaccurate since TDEE includes exercise calories, or you are bulking. Without knowing your stats I'm not sure what your approximate TDEE is. I'm also not sure if you are bulking, cutting or attempting a recomposition.
For your question:
A few days here and there are not going to create a very big impact no matter what your goals are. Consistently being low on a bulk means it will take longer to build the lean mass, on a cut means you could start losing lean mass, on a recomp means you'll lose fat faster and build lean mass slower.
If you want more specific help I'll need your stats and goals. I'd also need to know what kind of lifting program you are doing.
The original TDEE was calculated without factoring in exercise. The exercise ramped up slowly and I never went back to recalculate it. Anyway, in the past now.
I'm a 45 year old 5'-8" male currently averaging 200 lbs (+/- 3-5 lbs) at an estimated 32% body fat. I came to the current figures using the math from the book "The Lean Muscle Diet" by Men's Health guys Lou Schuler and Alan Aragon. The book and your 5-point bullet list say the same thing. Their math factors in exercise, daily activity level (a multiplier), current lean mass and target lean mass and body fat percentage. Also factored in are two rates: the rate at which you're trying to lose body fat % and the rate at which you're trying to add lean mass. I chose conservative rates from their ranges (although they sound aggressive to me): 1.5 lb of lean mass per month, 2.5% BF reduction per month. Clearly those goals fall under recomposition.
Turning the crank on all that yields 2850 cals with 175g of protein minimum. There is wiggle room on how much of the remainder comes from fat and carbs. I took a middle of the road approach. As long as I get enough protein I don't sweat the exact breakdown of the other two. According to the book and the math, if I eat right and do the exercise, in 6 months I will have added 9 lbs of lean mass, lost 33 lbs of fat, and will be 175 lbs at 17.5% BF. I'm not expecting it to be that exact obviously, but that's the target. It still seems aggressive.
For exercise I factored in 3 hours of strength and 2.5 hours of cardio weekly. Cardio used to be just elliptical, 30 mins x 5 days. I'm getting into running a little now that the weather is nice, but it's still working out to about the same amount of time, but a lot more random day to day depending on where and how far I run.
I'm following the strength program from the book. Each of the 3 workout days are broken down into core, primary and complementary exercises. Core includes plank, side plank, dead bug, mcgill curlup. Primary exercises: day 1: squat, bench, dumbbell 3-point row (all 4 sets x 6 reps), day 2: deadlift, shoulder press, inverted row (all 3 sets x 8-10 reps), day 3: step up (2 sets x 10-12 reps), T pushup (max), inverted row (max). Complementary exercises: day 1: glute bridge, pike pushup, pulldown, day 2: lunge, pushup, cable row, day 3: farmer's walk, biceps curl, triceps extension. All the complementaries are less sets with higher reps.
I'm in the third week of that program (MWF). So far I have progressed on almost every exercise each week.
During that time I've been trying to hit the calorie goal. I just looked back over my diary, and some (not most) days I hit it. Most days I ended up shorting by 200-750 calories. The important thing is that during this time my clothes have not gotten any tighter, so the extra food is not causing me to gain fat. That makes me feel good about the calorie goal being reasonably on point. Perhaps my body is trying to tell me the right number is more like 2400 or so.
I should add that I have a smoothie before and after each strength session. These consist of whey powder, milk, and fruit which always includes banana. They're around 400 cals and provide at least 24g of protein. These seem to be helping a lot.
Before this I completed a 3 month strength program (from another book) which had similar exercises and a full body focus but with less exercises and volume. It was only 2 workout days per week (but I was fatter and weaker then!).
Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my question!
I've calculated your TDEE at about 2400. You've only been at it three weeks and you aren't hitting the 2800, so you might be averaging around what your TDEE is. I know that Alan is very knowledgeable and provides solid information, but my guess is that you some how picked the wrong multiplier (he usually has multiple formulas to accommodate for age and general activity level outside of workouts).
The good news is that you probably haven't gained fat, the bad news is if you ate 2800 calories consistently you would not reach the fat loss and muscle gain projections you calculated at the end of 6 months. Seeing that you are newer to lifting you can gain lean mass in a deficit, but a projected 9 pound lean mass gain in 6 months is just not going to happen. Losing 33 pounds in 6 months would require an intake of about 700 calories less than your TDEE.
There is nothing wrong with eating at about your TDEE while lifting. You will lose some fat and gain some lean mass. This is a fairly slow process, but it allows you a decent number of calories and capitalizes on new lifter gains.
Is the 9 lb lean mass gain in 6 months not going to happen because I'm targeting a deficit, or it's just not reasonable for anyone to expect?
I reworked the numbers using Alan's lowest multiplier and dropped the lean mass gain to 0.5 lb/month. It still comes up with 2400 calories. It has always seemed high to me.
Dropping the fat is my main goal. It would be great to add some muscle at the same time. Put a better way, it would be great to target some muscle gain as insurance against losing any muscle if things don't go perfectly. If you were me, what would you target for calories?
The average male at the peak of testosterone and a year or so into training will gain about 2 pounds of lean mass while bulking every month. If you are not bulking and considering your age, you will not gain 1.5 pounds of lean mass per month. No matter how spot on your nutrition and lifting are. Also, gaining strength does not mean you are gaining lean mass.0 -
What I find more funny than anything is the fact you have the usmc title in your name and you know damn well you wouldn't have anywhere close to the body you have now without all the fun cardio they made you do.
Other than that, two thumbs up.
LOL. Wrong dude is wrong.
Haha it's okay. It's easy to assume that someone who is a veteran stayed in great shape. Nope, I got fat and I hate running. I'll blame breaking my pelvis and ankle, but I just really like eating.
This - When I got injured and left the service I continued eating a 5k calorie diet, but skipped the exercise and became a fatty. I forgot how much I love running and swimming.0 -
What is the best workout for Tummy toning?!0
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There is none.0
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To all the naysayers about cardio, I have found that doing 10-15 minutes or cardio everyday is just as good as doing 40 min to 2 hours everyday. This has been a lifesaver for me when I am going to school because I also have a full time job. I have lost nearly just as much weight doing a small amount of cardio everyday (and even sometimes skipping the weekend) as I did when I did more aerobic activity before school. It works! You HAVE to keep track of your food intake and the quality of what you are eating. I haven't tried weighing yet, but I'd like to. I've lost 2% body fat in a few months. The fat comes off little by little all around. It's amazing. I even lost 1.5 pounds during this past week when I was sick and not doing any kind of cardio or strength training, but I was still watching my food intake, and I was still eating the amount necessary for my body everyday.0
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Thank you so much for your advice and for sharing your experience.0
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What about stretch marks on the stomach, will those become less noticeable as you loose weight?0
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soldiergrl_101 wrote: »What about stretch marks on the stomach, will those become less noticeable as you loose weight?
Stretch marks become less noticeable over time no matter what. Mine are still visible in person and they will be there forever. I still wear bikinis in public because I know that most people have stretch marks and I'm not ashamed of them anymore.1 -
Excellent advice!! Thank you so much for posting this! =D0
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What about alcohol? Is it ok to have as long as I stay in my caloric deficit or should I give it up completely? Thanks!0
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What about alcohol? Is it ok to have as long as I stay in my caloric deficit or should I give it up completely? Thanks!
Alcohol is fine. Just like cake or ice cream. Also, like other calorie dense foods, they aren't very filling. You may find that to stay on track week in and week out that giving up certain things or limiting them is necessary, especially if they cause you to go over (for instance, you plan on having one drink, but you end up having four every time).0
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