Quick Q&A Thread

Options
SideSteel
SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
Hey!

I figured I would make another Q&A thread as I'll be around for a little while.

Got any general fitness/diet questions that you would like my opinion on? Drop them in this thread.

Mods --- if this sort of thing is frowned upon, feel free to slap me on the wrist. Or the *kitten*.
«13

Replies

  • kgeyser
    kgeyser Posts: 22,505 Member
    Options
    Having seen your coffee mug, I'm staying far away from the second option.
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
    Options
    kgeyser wrote: »
    Having seen your coffee mug, I'm staying far away from the second option.

    LOL
  • pitbullmamaliz
    pitbullmamaliz Posts: 303 Member
    Options
    If you're still hanging around, I'd love some advice. MFP wants to give me 1720 calories to lose 1.5 lbs a week, but according to a TDEE calculator, my BMR is 1800. I've bumped my MFP calories up to 1800, but now I'm overthinking it, LOL. My diary is open, but I've only logged here a couple days. Was using another free app for a few weeks to log food and didn't like it as well, so I switched to MFP. I work 3rd shift which has completely thrown off my eating/appetite, so I'm not hungry even though I'm averaging 1600-1700 calories. My weight is headed in the right direction - almost 10 lbs gone since 8/31. The only reason I'm asking is because I know you shouldn't eat below BMR. Anyway, my stats are:

    Female
    37 years old
    5'9"
    Current weight 232.2
    Goal weight 180
    Right now zero activity due to an injury, though I'm hoping to bump it up to lightly active via swimming if that doesn't exacerbate my injury
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
    Options
    If you're still hanging around, I'd love some advice. MFP wants to give me 1720 calories to lose 1.5 lbs a week, but according to a TDEE calculator, my BMR is 1800. I've bumped my MFP calories up to 1800, but now I'm overthinking it, LOL. My diary is open, but I've only logged here a couple days. Was using another free app for a few weeks to log food and didn't like it as well, so I switched to MFP. I work 3rd shift which has completely thrown off my eating/appetite, so I'm not hungry even though I'm averaging 1600-1700 calories. My weight is headed in the right direction - almost 10 lbs gone since 8/31. The only reason I'm asking is because I know you shouldn't eat below BMR. Anyway, my stats are:

    Female
    37 years old
    5'9"
    Current weight 232.2
    Goal weight 180
    Right now zero activity due to an injury, though I'm hoping to bump it up to lightly active via swimming if that doesn't exacerbate my injury

    A few things to note in your case:

    1) Your RATE of weight loss is pretty much right on. Losing about 10lbs over 9-10 weeks is great.
    2) Eating below BMR isn't automatically bad. I've never seen anything to validate that BMR is some sort of metabolic floor in that you can't eat below it.
    3) We are dealing with estimates and degrees of error. Most people eat much more than they log.

    Given all of this, and given that you're not experiencing hunger, I wouldn't change anything if I were in your circumstance.

    That's my opinion anyway.
  • Darklords
    Darklords Posts: 3,175 Member
    Options
    Just wondered what your opinion is on resistance bands for strength training. I work long hours in an office,so I mostly sit and I am not able to get into a gym, however I do live in the country and get outside as much as possible. My gym is cutting wood and walking(I am trying to start jogging) and things like that however I recently purchased a set of resistance bands I thought I could get some strength training in at home. It would be great if you have any tips on them
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
    Options
    Darklords wrote: »
    Just wondered what your opinion is on resistance bands for strength training. I work long hours in an office,so I mostly sit and I am not able to get into a gym, however I do live in the country and get outside as much as possible. My gym is cutting wood and walking(I am trying to start jogging) and things like that however I recently purchased a set of resistance bands I thought I could get some strength training in at home. It would be great if you have any tips on them

    Conceptually if you think about the muscle building process, you're basically contracting muscles against resistance, and if the resistance is reasonable and your training volume is reasonable, and you have a way of progressing it over time, you'll make great progress.

    So in that regard resistance bands are fine.

    Depending on what your goals are, you could look into some of the better known body-weight training programs and use them in combination with your resistance bands. You Are Your Own Gym, Convict Conditioning are two that come to mind.
  • pitbullmamaliz
    pitbullmamaliz Posts: 303 Member
    Options
    SideSteel wrote: »

    A few things to note in your case:

    1) Your RATE of weight loss is pretty much right on. Losing about 10lbs over 9-10 weeks is great.
    2) Eating below BMR isn't automatically bad. I've never seen anything to validate that BMR is some sort of metabolic floor in that you can't eat below it.
    3) We are dealing with estimates and degrees of error. Most people eat much more than they log.

    Given all of this, and given that you're not experiencing hunger, I wouldn't change anything if I were in your circumstance.

    That's my opinion anyway.

    I appreciate it!
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
    Options
    As usual, you rock SS!
  • PinkPixiexox
    PinkPixiexox Posts: 4,142 Member
    edited November 2015
    Options
    Hi :] Thanks for this.

    I'm currently sloooooooowly losing weight (by choice). I'm 5'2 and I started in April at 157 lbs. I am now weighing in at 124.4. Ideally, I'd like to be around 119 but now I'm a healthy weight, I am focusing primarily on weight lifting and eating to an extremely small daily deficit. My TDEE is around 1830 each day (based on my fitbit results) and I eat 1700 calories. My daily deficit is just over 100 calories (sometimes a little under, depending on the day).

    I know I'm going to be losing extremely slowly - I'm assuming it'll be ounces per month as opposed to pounds and I'm okay with that because this is something I want to keep up for life. I'm in no rush to get to that specific number and I do enjoy eating the amount I am now. My question is, based on me eating to a 100 average daily deficit - how many ounces should I expect to lose in a week? My guess is around 1 to 2 (max 4 per month) - does this sound about right to you? Do you think this is a healthy way to go about getting to my goal? Again, the figure on the scales isn't as important to me now but it would be nice to eventually get there.

    Thank you!
  • ultrahoon
    ultrahoon Posts: 467 Member
    Options
    I'm doing Stronglifts 5x5, and everytime I get up to 65kg on the squats, my abductors start to hurt. I do the de-load the program suggests down to 57.5kg, but as soon as I get up to 65kg the abductors start complaining again. What can I do to strengthen these muscles / the muscles around them with just a free weights setup and no array of res machines (I'm at a fight gym).
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
    Options
    Hi :] Thanks for this.

    I'm currently sloooooooowly losing weight (by choice). I'm 5'2 and I started in April at 157 lbs. I am now weighing in at 124.4. Ideally, I'd like to be around 119 but now I'm a healthy weight, I am focusing primarily on weight lifting and eating to an extremely small daily deficit. My TDEE is around 1830 each day (based on my fitbit results) and I eat 1700 calories. My daily deficit is just over 100 calories (sometimes a little under, depending on the day).

    I know I'm going to be losing extremely slowly - I'm assuming it'll be ounces per month as opposed to pounds and I'm okay with that because this is something I want to keep up for life. I'm in no rush to get to that specific number and I do enjoy eating the amount I am now. My question is, based on me eating to a 100 average daily deficit - how many ounces should I expect to lose in a week? My guess is around 1 to 2 (max 4 per month) - does this sound about right to you? Do you think this is a healthy way to go about getting to my goal? Again, the figure on the scales isn't as important to me now but it would be nice to eventually get there.

    Thank you!

    This is one of those scenarios where we could do the math and try to figure an approximate amount of weekly fat loss but it would likely be a situation where what happens in theory and what happens in practice are entirely different.

    Consider that with both intake and expenditure we are dealing with estimations. Nobody can track perfectly (in fact, most people are nowhere even close) which means there is a considerable error between what is eaten and what is logged. Even food labeling can have some error with it.

    Maintenance is a moving target as well, in that you don't burn the same number of calories daily even when you compare rest day to rest day. Non exercise energy expenditures are going to differ day to day.

    So when you add all of this up, I don't think you would be able to narrow down an estimated range of fat loss to the exact ounce.

    That being said, I think the goal of slowly losing is fine provided that you're also okay with maintaining should you miss the mark slightly.

    Take a look at a weekly average weight (average your body weight over the week) and compare week to week or month to month differences and use that as a basis to make changes and start from there.

  • EvgeniZyntx
    EvgeniZyntx Posts: 24,208 Member
    Options
    In for *kitten* slapping.
    How did the last meet go?
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
    Options
    ultrahoon wrote: »
    I'm doing Stronglifts 5x5, and everytime I get up to 65kg on the squats, my abductors start to hurt. I do the de-load the program suggests down to 57.5kg, but as soon as I get up to 65kg the abductors start complaining again. What can I do to strengthen these muscles / the muscles around them with just a free weights setup and no array of res machines (I'm at a fight gym).

    One thing you could attempt to do would be to add in banded work if you can get your hands on a resistance band/loop.

    I have clients do body-weight squats and very light barbell squats with a band around the knees. Basically what happens is that the band is trying to pull your knees in, and as you squat you actively drive your knees out against the resistance of the band. This can help for strengthening the muscles responsible for femoral/hip abduction and additionally it serves as a good "cue" to get you used to driving the knees out.

    You can also (in addition) do things like banded clams or put the band around your ankles, lay on your side, and abduct the femurs by raising the top leg against the band with the bottom leg remaining on the floor. When I do these I feel my glute medius burn like hell, for what it's worth.

  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
    Options
    In for *kitten* slapping.
    How did the last meet go?

    Hey dude!

    It was disappointing but in hindsight my reduced expectations were still too high. I tore my rectus femoris about 5 weeks out. It was a minor/g1 strain and it only hurt at the very bottom of the squat and at full hip extension on the bench.

    So I remained in the competition with the goal of getting experience, and I thought I'd take my squat down and just try and go big on the bench and/or deadlift.

    For some reason I thought I was going to hit a bench PR or DL PR and when it came to competition time the hip hurt pretty good. I probably set myself back another month or so of recovery, which was foolish.

    Something interesting though --- I squatted 15 days in a row (literally) in a two week stretch using very light loads, only squatted heavy once about 1 week out to see where my pain was at. Loads in the 15 day stretch were only around 185-250 (My 1rm in competition is 446 for perspective sake). I ended up hitting a smooth 407 at the meet, probably 20lbs in the tank based on bar speed but it hurt pretty good and it was dumb on my part. If a client of mine tried to do this I would absolutely not be good with that choice.

    Bench I matched previous meet PR with 292 but every bench felt slow and grindy.
    Deadlift I think I hit a meet PR at 458 and failed at 469, if I recall correctly.

    I went 8/9 and I was really happy with attempt selections (I got everything I could out of bench).

    Fortunately the hip feels 100% now, and I'm planning on Dec 5th as the next competition date.

    No expectations in the squat -- I'd be happy if I can stay around the 425 mark, but I'd really like to see a 300lb competition bench press and get that deadlift up.
  • PinkPixiexox
    PinkPixiexox Posts: 4,142 Member
    Options
    SideSteel wrote: »
    Hi :] Thanks for this.

    I'm currently sloooooooowly losing weight (by choice). I'm 5'2 and I started in April at 157 lbs. I am now weighing in at 124.4. Ideally, I'd like to be around 119 but now I'm a healthy weight, I am focusing primarily on weight lifting and eating to an extremely small daily deficit. My TDEE is around 1830 each day (based on my fitbit results) and I eat 1700 calories. My daily deficit is just over 100 calories (sometimes a little under, depending on the day).

    I know I'm going to be losing extremely slowly - I'm assuming it'll be ounces per month as opposed to pounds and I'm okay with that because this is something I want to keep up for life. I'm in no rush to get to that specific number and I do enjoy eating the amount I am now. My question is, based on me eating to a 100 average daily deficit - how many ounces should I expect to lose in a week? My guess is around 1 to 2 (max 4 per month) - does this sound about right to you? Do you think this is a healthy way to go about getting to my goal? Again, the figure on the scales isn't as important to me now but it would be nice to eventually get there.

    Thank you!

    This is one of those scenarios where we could do the math and try to figure an approximate amount of weekly fat loss but it would likely be a situation where what happens in theory and what happens in practice are entirely different.

    Consider that with both intake and expenditure we are dealing with estimations. Nobody can track perfectly (in fact, most people are nowhere even close) which means there is a considerable error between what is eaten and what is logged. Even food labeling can have some error with it.

    Maintenance is a moving target as well, in that you don't burn the same number of calories daily even when you compare rest day to rest day. Non exercise energy expenditures are going to differ day to day.

    So when you add all of this up, I don't think you would be able to narrow down an estimated range of fat loss to the exact ounce.

    That being said, I think the goal of slowly losing is fine provided that you're also okay with maintaining should you miss the mark slightly.

    Take a look at a weekly average weight (average your body weight over the week) and compare week to week or month to month differences and use that as a basis to make changes and start from there.

    Thank you very much - Great, helpful info :)
  • ultrahoon
    ultrahoon Posts: 467 Member
    Options
    SideSteel wrote: »
    ultrahoon wrote: »
    I'm doing Stronglifts 5x5, and everytime I get up to 65kg on the squats, my abductors start to hurt. I do the de-load the program suggests down to 57.5kg, but as soon as I get up to 65kg the abductors start complaining again. What can I do to strengthen these muscles / the muscles around them with just a free weights setup and no array of res machines (I'm at a fight gym).

    One thing you could attempt to do would be to add in banded work if you can get your hands on a resistance band/loop.

    I have clients do body-weight squats and very light barbell squats with a band around the knees. Basically what happens is that the band is trying to pull your knees in, and as you squat you actively drive your knees out against the resistance of the band. This can help for strengthening the muscles responsible for femoral/hip abduction and additionally it serves as a good "cue" to get you used to driving the knees out.

    You can also (in addition) do things like banded clams or put the band around your ankles, lay on your side, and abduct the femurs by raising the top leg against the band with the bottom leg remaining on the floor. When I do these I feel my glute medius burn like hell, for what it's worth.

    Thanks for the advice. Seems like these bands are pretty cheap, so I shall pick a couple of different ones up and try out those tips.
  • EvgeniZyntx
    EvgeniZyntx Posts: 24,208 Member
    Options
    SideSteel wrote: »
    In for *kitten* slapping.
    How did the last meet go?

    Hey dude!

    It was disappointing but in hindsight my reduced expectations were still too high. I tore my rectus femoris about 5 weeks out. It was a minor/g1 strain and it only hurt at the very bottom of the squat and at full hip extension on the bench.

    So I remained in the competition with the goal of getting experience, and I thought I'd take my squat down and just try and go big on the bench and/or deadlift.

    For some reason I thought I was going to hit a bench PR or DL PR and when it came to competition time the hip hurt pretty good. I probably set myself back another month or so of recovery, which was foolish.

    Something interesting though --- I squatted 15 days in a row (literally) in a two week stretch using very light loads, only squatted heavy once about 1 week out to see where my pain was at. Loads in the 15 day stretch were only around 185-250 (My 1rm in competition is 446 for perspective sake). I ended up hitting a smooth 407 at the meet, probably 20lbs in the tank based on bar speed but it hurt pretty good and it was dumb on my part. If a client of mine tried to do this I would absolutely not be good with that choice.

    Bench I matched previous meet PR with 292 but every bench felt slow and grindy.
    Deadlift I think I hit a meet PR at 458 and failed at 469, if I recall correctly.

    I went 8/9 and I was really happy with attempt selections (I got everything I could out of bench).

    Fortunately the hip feels 100% now, and I'm planning on Dec 5th as the next competition date.

    No expectations in the squat -- I'd be happy if I can stay around the 425 mark, but I'd really like to see a 300lb competition bench press and get that deadlift up.

    Those are damn good numbers injured, I'm glad to hear you didn't tweak it further. Best of luck on the fifth!
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
    Options
    SideSteel wrote: »
    In for *kitten* slapping.
    How did the last meet go?

    Hey dude!

    It was disappointing but in hindsight my reduced expectations were still too high. I tore my rectus femoris about 5 weeks out. It was a minor/g1 strain and it only hurt at the very bottom of the squat and at full hip extension on the bench.

    So I remained in the competition with the goal of getting experience, and I thought I'd take my squat down and just try and go big on the bench and/or deadlift.

    For some reason I thought I was going to hit a bench PR or DL PR and when it came to competition time the hip hurt pretty good. I probably set myself back another month or so of recovery, which was foolish.

    Something interesting though --- I squatted 15 days in a row (literally) in a two week stretch using very light loads, only squatted heavy once about 1 week out to see where my pain was at. Loads in the 15 day stretch were only around 185-250 (My 1rm in competition is 446 for perspective sake). I ended up hitting a smooth 407 at the meet, probably 20lbs in the tank based on bar speed but it hurt pretty good and it was dumb on my part. If a client of mine tried to do this I would absolutely not be good with that choice.

    Bench I matched previous meet PR with 292 but every bench felt slow and grindy.
    Deadlift I think I hit a meet PR at 458 and failed at 469, if I recall correctly.

    I went 8/9 and I was really happy with attempt selections (I got everything I could out of bench).

    Fortunately the hip feels 100% now, and I'm planning on Dec 5th as the next competition date.

    No expectations in the squat -- I'd be happy if I can stay around the 425 mark, but I'd really like to see a 300lb competition bench press and get that deadlift up.

    Those are damn good numbers injured, I'm glad to hear you didn't tweak it further. Best of luck on the fifth!

    Thanks!!
  • Aani15
    Aani15 Posts: 172 Member
    Options
    First of all, thank you@sidesteel for starting this thread, I have 2 questions
    1. How can I access your previous threads (I am sure I will gain something from a read)?
    2. Now it might seem a repeated question but since you have provided an opportunity, I will ask it anyway.

    When is the right time to start thinking of starting cut/ bulk cycle? My fat % is about 22.5 and I am strength training for the last 2 years ( almost). I follow a split program and get a new one every 7-8 weeks. I am meeting my macros daily goal for the last 3 months ( since joining MFP app) and keep a track of calories. Since last month, I am eating all my daily + exercise calories and height 171 cm, currently weigh 74.5 kg ( this has not changed in last 2 weeks). My daily calories allowance is 7650. If I exercise,I often get 1000kj extra. If you have require more information to answer my question, please let me know.

    Thanks again!
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
    Options
    Aani15 wrote: »
    First of all, thank you@sidesteel for starting this thread, I have 2 questions
    1. How can I access your previous threads (I am sure I will gain something from a read)?
    2. Now it might seem a repeated question but since you have provided an opportunity, I will ask it anyway.

    When is the right time to start thinking of starting cut/ bulk cycle? My fat % is about 22.5 and I am strength training for the last 2 years ( almost). I follow a split program and get a new one every 7-8 weeks. I am meeting my macros daily goal for the last 3 months ( since joining MFP app) and keep a track of calories. Since last month, I am eating all my daily + exercise calories and height 171 cm, currently weigh 74.5 kg ( this has not changed in last 2 weeks). My daily calories allowance is 7650. If I exercise,I often get 1000kj extra. If you have require more information to answer my question, please let me know.

    Thanks again!

    1. Unfortunately I have no idea, sorry! I'm not sure if you can do a forum search by user-name or not. One thing you can do is join our Eat, Train, Progress group on here and on facebook if you'd like to read my random musings. Click my profile to see about that or PM me.

    2. Generally you should follow physique based goals and also pay attention to some common sense and combine those two to reach an answer. Lyle McDonald generally recommends a range of body-fat between 10 and 15% in that you cut to 10% and then bulk to 15%. The reason for this has to do with nutrient partitioning. As you get fatter, you generally increase insulin resistance/reduce insulin sensitivity which can then effect nutrient partitioning (basically, where calories go). According to Lyle anyway, the 10-15% range is a reasonable slot for most people to experience reasonably good partitioning.

    Keep in mind the following:
    a) I'm of course repeating Lyle's information on this as I've never seen papers examining this. Of course, I'm ok with that as I consider Lyle to be a great source of info much as I'd also quote Helms, Krieger, Aragon and a few others and call that info good.

    b) There's nothing at all wrong with eating around maintenance. If training is in a good spot you should EXPECT body recomposition to happen. It's just not as noticeable and it MIGHT not be as efficient in that you'll accomplish a little bit of each instead of accomplishing more of one or the other.

    c) Individual variability applies here as with most things. It's unreasonable for EVERYONE to assume they should get down to 10% body-fat. People are going to face differing levels of discomfort as they get leaner and for some people, 10% isn't a reasonable target. Additionally, while it's RARE, I have seen people who can likely get a bit lower than that before they turn around and bulk.

    All of this being said, one question I have for you is this -- Are you currently cutting? You posted your stats and your intake but I don't know what your body-weight is doing at that intake. Are you gaining or losing weight right now and are you gaining strength with your current programming?