So you want a nice stomach

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Replies

  • Wiseandcurious
    Wiseandcurious Posts: 730 Member
    Bump
  • SteveMFP123
    SteveMFP123 Posts: 298 Member
    I want one, but never going to happen with this loose skin :(
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,219 Member
    SteveMFP123 wrote: »
    I want one, but never going to happen with this loose skin :(

    @SteveMFP123 I have loose skin. I was obese each time I got pregnant and gained 50-60 pounds with each pregnancy. You can still get lean and have loose skin. Loose skin won't keep you from losing the fat.
  • SteveMFP123
    SteveMFP123 Posts: 298 Member
    usmcmp wrote: »
    SteveMFP123 wrote: »
    I want one, but never going to happen with this loose skin :(

    @SteveMFP123 I have loose skin. I was obese each time I got pregnant and gained 50-60 pounds with each pregnancy. You can still get lean and have loose skin. Loose skin won't keep you from losing the fat.

    Looking at your photo I can't see any loose skin at all, obviously you work really hard though for your physique and honestly I'm too lazy to get anywhere close to you. Is the skin on your belly? For me my belly sucks, it's really ugly and feels like dough lol. I know there's still some fat in there as I'm not at my goal yet, but I really can't see my skin ever getting better even when I lose another 10lbs or more. It was just stretched for too long, being obese II (nearly III) for my entire adult life completely wrecked my skin. I would have it removed in a heartbeat if I could afford it as I really hate it. My arms aren't great either, same with my chest, basically I look like I'm melting all over which isn't ideal for a relatively young man.
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,219 Member
    SteveMFP123 wrote: »
    usmcmp wrote: »
    SteveMFP123 wrote: »
    I want one, but never going to happen with this loose skin :(

    @SteveMFP123 I have loose skin. I was obese each time I got pregnant and gained 50-60 pounds with each pregnancy. You can still get lean and have loose skin. Loose skin won't keep you from losing the fat.

    Looking at your photo I can't see any loose skin at all, obviously you work really hard though for your physique and honestly I'm too lazy to get anywhere close to you. Is the skin on your belly? For me my belly sucks, it's really ugly and feels like dough lol. I know there's still some fat in there as I'm not at my goal yet, but I really can't see my skin ever getting better even when I lose another 10lbs or more. It was just stretched for too long, being obese II (nearly III) for my entire adult life completely wrecked my skin. I would have it removed in a heartbeat if I could afford it as I really hate it. My arms aren't great either, same with my chest, basically I look like I'm melting all over which isn't ideal for a relatively young man.

    The skin is on my belly and when I first lost the weight there was a lot of it, but we are about the same age and there is hope that your skin will tighten up. The ugly/dough belly is definitely fat and you can slowly improve that. If you follow a lifting program of some sort you'll improve your body composition, which will also fill in the arms, chest, legs and back. You don't have to go "hard core" to make these improvements, you just have to stick to lifting long term. There is hope for you, but you have to trust the process.
  • SteveMFP123
    SteveMFP123 Posts: 298 Member
    usmcmp wrote: »
    SteveMFP123 wrote: »
    usmcmp wrote: »
    SteveMFP123 wrote: »
    I want one, but never going to happen with this loose skin :(

    @SteveMFP123 I have loose skin. I was obese each time I got pregnant and gained 50-60 pounds with each pregnancy. You can still get lean and have loose skin. Loose skin won't keep you from losing the fat.

    Looking at your photo I can't see any loose skin at all, obviously you work really hard though for your physique and honestly I'm too lazy to get anywhere close to you. Is the skin on your belly? For me my belly sucks, it's really ugly and feels like dough lol. I know there's still some fat in there as I'm not at my goal yet, but I really can't see my skin ever getting better even when I lose another 10lbs or more. It was just stretched for too long, being obese II (nearly III) for my entire adult life completely wrecked my skin. I would have it removed in a heartbeat if I could afford it as I really hate it. My arms aren't great either, same with my chest, basically I look like I'm melting all over which isn't ideal for a relatively young man.

    The skin is on my belly and when I first lost the weight there was a lot of it, but we are about the same age and there is hope that your skin will tighten up. The ugly/dough belly is definitely fat and you can slowly improve that. If you follow a lifting program of some sort you'll improve your body composition, which will also fill in the arms, chest, legs and back. You don't have to go "hard core" to make these improvements, you just have to stick to lifting long term. There is hope for you, but you have to trust the process.

    I actually recently started 5x5 stronglifts, I'm still at the very low weight stage though, and I'm doing it at home so I'm missing things like a squat rack so I'm limited by what I can safely lift over my head, which for now is fine because I'm weak but at some point that will really halt my progress so I'll definitely invest in one. I really hope I keep it up, I've always been really bad with exercise and have lost most of my weight simply by calorie counting. It's encouraging that my dough ball belly has a chance at improving though.
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,219 Member
    SteveMFP123 wrote: »
    usmcmp wrote: »
    SteveMFP123 wrote: »
    usmcmp wrote: »
    SteveMFP123 wrote: »
    I want one, but never going to happen with this loose skin :(

    @SteveMFP123 I have loose skin. I was obese each time I got pregnant and gained 50-60 pounds with each pregnancy. You can still get lean and have loose skin. Loose skin won't keep you from losing the fat.

    Looking at your photo I can't see any loose skin at all, obviously you work really hard though for your physique and honestly I'm too lazy to get anywhere close to you. Is the skin on your belly? For me my belly sucks, it's really ugly and feels like dough lol. I know there's still some fat in there as I'm not at my goal yet, but I really can't see my skin ever getting better even when I lose another 10lbs or more. It was just stretched for too long, being obese II (nearly III) for my entire adult life completely wrecked my skin. I would have it removed in a heartbeat if I could afford it as I really hate it. My arms aren't great either, same with my chest, basically I look like I'm melting all over which isn't ideal for a relatively young man.

    The skin is on my belly and when I first lost the weight there was a lot of it, but we are about the same age and there is hope that your skin will tighten up. The ugly/dough belly is definitely fat and you can slowly improve that. If you follow a lifting program of some sort you'll improve your body composition, which will also fill in the arms, chest, legs and back. You don't have to go "hard core" to make these improvements, you just have to stick to lifting long term. There is hope for you, but you have to trust the process.

    I actually recently started 5x5 stronglifts, I'm still at the very low weight stage though, and I'm doing it at home so I'm missing things like a squat rack so I'm limited by what I can safely lift over my head, which for now is fine because I'm weak but at some point that will really halt my progress so I'll definitely invest in one. I really hope I keep it up, I've always been really bad with exercise and have lost most of my weight simply by calorie counting. It's encouraging that my dough ball belly has a chance at improving though.

    Sounds like you are on the right path! My stomach went through that stage multiple times before I finally got lean. I don't have that firm look to my stomach due to the skin, but I feel so much better. Stick with it, you will get there!
  • louiseshaw88
    louiseshaw88 Posts: 132 Member
    I'm slightly confused so if someone could help me out that would be brilliant.... I followed the link in the original post and it reckons I should be eating 1433 calories ? This seems so low, especially when I see so many posts on here where people get told to ignore the 1600 calorie setting on here ?

    Thanks in advance :)
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,219 Member
    louiseshaw88 wrote: »
    I'm slightly confused so if someone could help me out that would be brilliant.... I followed the link in the original post and it reckons I should be eating 1433 calories ? This seems so low, especially when I see so many posts on here where people get told to ignore the 1600 calorie setting on here ?

    Thanks in advance :)

    @louiseshaw88 It could be how you entered your information into the calculator compared to how you entered it into here. If you are losing weight at 1600 calories you shouldn't drop your calories. Most women end up with their goal at 1200 calories on here and the calculator helps them see they can eat more.
  • brower47
    brower47 Posts: 16,356 Member
    So nice to see such a great thread again.
  • Carlos_421
    Carlos_421 Posts: 5,132 Member
    brower47 wrote: »
    So nice to see such a great thread again.

    Agreed
  • HeidiElijoki
    HeidiElijoki Posts: 5 Member
    :) Very helpful conversation
  • fanncy0626
    fanncy0626 Posts: 7,152 Member
    I wasn't able to get to the calculator using the link from page one.
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
    Does this work?

    http://www.iifym.com/iifym-calculator/
  • retirehappy
    retirehappy Posts: 3,765 Member
    edited January 2016
    fanncy0626 wrote: »
    I wasn't able to get to the calculator using the link from page one.

    Try Heybale's spreadsheet for just TDEE calculations:
    https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1G7FgNzPq3v5WMjDtH0n93LXSMRY_hjmzNTMJb3aZSxM/edit?usp=sharing
  • Carlos_421
    Carlos_421 Posts: 5,132 Member
    Bump
  • lena383
    lena383 Posts: 8 Member
    I'm confused because my calorie limit for the day via MFP is 1210, but the IIFYM calculator gave me a limit of 1976. Am I doing this wrong, or just not understanding?
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,219 Member
    lena383 wrote: »
    I'm confused because my calorie limit for the day via MFP is 1210, but the IIFYM calculator gave me a limit of 1976. Am I doing this wrong, or just not understanding?

    @lena383 MFP's method is different than this one. This method give you a flat intake for the whole week. MFP sets a specific amount daily, then expects you to eat back your exercise calories.
  • Escloflowne
    Escloflowne Posts: 2,038 Member
    lena383 wrote: »
    I'm confused because my calorie limit for the day via MFP is 1210, but the IIFYM calculator gave me a limit of 1976. Am I doing this wrong, or just not understanding?

    1976 would be to maintain your weight so you would -15% so you would be at 1680 to lose weight.

    1210 from MFP + 30 to 60 min of cardio(which would get added to your total) would put you at around 1680 calories a day too.
  • lena383
    lena383 Posts: 8 Member
    Thank you both for the help!
  • JessMason24
    JessMason24 Posts: 38 Member
    motivation...
  • ZBuffBod
    ZBuffBod Posts: 297 Member
    bump
  • cnbbnc
    cnbbnc Posts: 1,267 Member
    This is an awesome thread....thank you. I think I'm on the right track as far as getting enough protein, sticking to my lifting program, and an hour per week of cardio.

    IIFYM says my tdee is 2000, and my maintenance calories here say 1680, so I assume eating around 1600 is ok (that's taking the 20% off tdee).... I never paid much attention to my fats, so I'm just wondering if I only have to avoid saturated (for overall health) and otherwise it doesn't matter where it comes from? Also...getting too much fat isn't good when trying to recomp?
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,219 Member
    cnbbnc wrote: »
    This is an awesome thread....thank you. I think I'm on the right track as far as getting enough protein, sticking to my lifting program, and an hour per week of cardio.

    IIFYM says my tdee is 2000, and my maintenance calories here say 1680, so I assume eating around 1600 is ok (that's taking the 20% off tdee).... I never paid much attention to my fats, so I'm just wondering if I only have to avoid saturated (for overall health) and otherwise it doesn't matter where it comes from? Also...getting too much fat isn't good when trying to recomp?

    @cnbbnc The difference between IIFYM and MFP for maintenance/TDEE is that IIFYM's site adds in your exercise already and MFP does not. MFP is assuming you would exercise and eat another 320 calories per day.

    If you are looking to lose weight you could follow the TDEE method and subtract 20%, which allows you a flat rate intake every day and you don't add in exercise calories. If you are trying for recomposition you'll want to eat fairly close to your estimated TDEE (you will need to track your weigh trend and adjust calories as needed over weeks/months).

    Many people focus on the source of their fats for health reasons and that's fine if you would like to. Getting "too much" fat isn't a bad thing at any point. Ensuring you get adequate protein is important and making sure you get some fat is as well, but whether your fat tends to be higher than another person's or not is purely personal preference. Higher fat isn't going to cause problems during fat loss or recomposition.
  • cnbbnc
    cnbbnc Posts: 1,267 Member
    edited January 2016
    Yeah....I'm not out to lose any more weight. I guess I'm glad I asked this because I thought just eating the 1680 mfp said was ok since I primarily lift weights, and no one seems to "eat back" calories for that. And any other activity I do including the cardio is so minimal....
  • LUHAN27
    LUHAN27 Posts: 211 Member
    According to this, my calorie goal is way too low.
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,219 Member
    @LUHAN27 There are two likely reasons for this:

    1. MyFitnessPal expects you to log your exercise and eat the calories you've earned. The method I talk about counts your exercise in and averages it out across the week for a flat rate intake.
    2. When you set up your goal on here you picked that you wanted to lose 2 pounds per week. This is too aggressive for most people. The deficit suggested in the first post doesn't guarantee a specific amount of weight loss per week, it guarantees a calorie goal that you can sustain while losing weight.
  • bsbprincess
    bsbprincess Posts: 161 Member
    edited January 2016
    I currently have MFP set that I want to lose 35 pounds, and I want to lose 1 pound a week. This gives me 1550 a day and I don't eat exercise calories. On the IIFYM calculator you posted it set me at 1600 for fat loss (I am sedentary, work out moderately 4 days a week for average of 30 minutes. So I guess I'm doing ok! Thanks for all the great advice here!!

    @usmcmp may I ask if you think altering macros a bit to fit preference is ok? Can I have all of my macro targets set at around 30, so they're pretty even. I feel so tired and cranky when I try to cut carbs more. But is it possible to get the same results you had?
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,219 Member
    bsbprincess wrote: »
    I currently have MFP set that I want to lose 35 pounds, and I want to lose 1 pound a week. This gives me 1550 a day and I don't eat exercise calories. On the IIFYM calculator you posted it set me at 1600 for fat loss (I am sedentary, work out moderately 4 days a week for average of 30 minutes. So I guess I'm doing ok! Thanks for all the great advice here!!

    @usmcmp may I ask if you think altering macros a bit to fit preference is ok? Can I have all of my macro targets set at around 30, so they're pretty even. I feel so tired and cranky when I try to cut carbs more. But is it possible to get the same results you had?

    You should be eating back some of your exercise calories. The TDEE method takes into account exercise calories.

    The main macro I would focus on is protein intake. Other than that it should be preference. The IIFYM calculator sometimes sets protein high, but I find most women's protein intake is more than enough at 100-120 grams per day.
  • bsbprincess
    bsbprincess Posts: 161 Member
    Ok, good! Because I've heard it needs to be 1 per pound and I can't manage 185 in a day!! lol I'll try that. Thanks so much!!!

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