General Q and A thread
Options
Replies
-
snickerscharlie wrote: »No specific question for you, Side Steel, but just wanted to say that I have learned an amazing amount from reading your posts on here on MFP.
Thank you for continuing to share your wealth of knowledge. It's appreciated more than you'll ever know.
^ Just wanted to second this. I lurk and read a lot more than I ask questions, but I've been reading/following your advice for four years here and find that you're always on the mark. Good science/evidence based stuff with plenty of personal experience to back it up - both your own personal progress and the people you've trained. Glad to have you here and glad that you're still gracious enough to do threads like this and entertain questions from the forum at large. Thanks!
Me too - loving your work Sidesteel!0 -
What successful method have you suggested to your clients to break a plateau? Have you seen clients who tend to plateau easily begin to lose weight with IF or carb cycling? Any ideas are appreciated. Thank you.0
-
I am 50 80ish Lbs overweight and have a bad knee and lower back issues probably due to a weak core (has hurt since childbirth of my son 30 years ago).
I just started walking 2 months ago and am walking 2 miles 4 times a week.
I would love to start lifting however I have no clue what to do as there are so many youtube's. I live too far away from a gym so it would need to be home equipment. Where do I start?
ETA - 1250 daily average calories (zig zagging).
There's many ways to do it. Some people would tell you to buy a power cage and adjustable bench, a barbell, and hundreds of pounds of plates because obviously if you're not squatting with a barbell, you're not lifting.
And while training with a barbell is certainly fun and effective, not everyone has the budget or the space or the desire to do that.
Here are some ideas though -- you could buy adjustable dumbbells and using those combined with some body-weight exercises you could effectively train your entire body.
This is an older thread in our group but it may give a few ideas.
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/902569/barbell-routines-when-you-only-have-dumbbells/p1
You Are Your Own Gym is a book on bodyweight training and you may be able to find a pdf somewhere on it.
Finally, start easy and start with things you either enjoy the most or hate the least.
2 -
frankiesgirlie wrote: »ummijaaz560 wrote: »Whats the min time frame to see results for a female client begining strength training, while eating at a deficit? Carries most of her fat in her belly.
6 months, a year 2 years?
Or is it all in your genetics?
Sorry, I missed this one!
This is tough to answer because it depends on a ton of factors such as how well you can adhere to the diet and how much fat you have to lose.
And then it also depends hugely on how the individual defines and perceives results.
For example I've had clients who strictly define progress as the number on the scale. Which generally isn't a good outlook.
But having said all that I would tend to think you should perceive results every 3-4 weeks at least.
Again though, really hard to nail down an answer without many specifics.
Thank you Steel,
I'm new to lifting. I just started in April. Before that I did a year of body weight HIIT and saw great results and then stalled. I'm still 10 lbs over what I want to weigh. Thing is, it's all in my stomach and hips. Otherwise. I'd stay at the weight I am and continue to lift. I think I won't see my hard work until I get rid of more fat??
I also know I could improve on my protein intake.
I'm 55, 5'9" and currently 150ish with a goal of 140, or whatever weight I no longer have a muffin top in jeans.
Yeah again it depends on how you define "seeing your hard work". If you are defining your progress in terms of how your stomach looks then it's possible that you need to lose more.
But I would try to expand your definition of progress.1 -
snickerscharlie wrote: »No specific question for you, Side Steel, but just wanted to say that I have learned an amazing amount from reading your posts on here on MFP.
Thank you for continuing to share your wealth of knowledge. It's appreciated more than you'll ever know.
^ Just wanted to second this. I lurk and read a lot more than I ask questions, but I've been reading/following your advice for four years here and find that you're always on the mark. Good science/evidence based stuff with plenty of personal experience to back it up - both your own personal progress and the people you've trained. Glad to have you here and glad that you're still gracious enough to do threads like this and entertain questions from the forum at large. Thanks!
Thanks Anvilhead!0 -
icemaiden37 wrote: »snickerscharlie wrote: »No specific question for you, Side Steel, but just wanted to say that I have learned an amazing amount from reading your posts on here on MFP.
Thank you for continuing to share your wealth of knowledge. It's appreciated more than you'll ever know.
^ Just wanted to second this. I lurk and read a lot more than I ask questions, but I've been reading/following your advice for four years here and find that you're always on the mark. Good science/evidence based stuff with plenty of personal experience to back it up - both your own personal progress and the people you've trained. Glad to have you here and glad that you're still gracious enough to do threads like this and entertain questions from the forum at large. Thanks!
Me too - loving your work Sidesteel!
Thank you!0 -
What successful method have you suggested to your clients to break a plateau? Have you seen clients who tend to plateau easily begin to lose weight with IF or carb cycling? Any ideas are appreciated. Thank you.
Great question @DebSozo
I may ramble a bit here.
So first of all with my clients, I'm meeting with them at regular intervals on Skype and I'm following their trends by closely managing their data. And so because of that I'm likely in a position to have a much better idea of what's potentially going on vs making a diagnosis (for lack of a better term) for someone where I don't have any of that information. Additionally, having a trusting relationship with a client matters a great deal as well because they may need to embrace an idea that they'd be otherwise unwilling to do.
With that said, here are things that I tend to look at as primary adjustments. I'm going to make the assumption here that I'm addressing a plateau in someone who logs their intake. I also have clients who don't log their food and so those are handled a bit differently.
1) Calories need to come down. This one is simple and straight-forward.
2) Logging accuracy needs to improve. This is indirectly the same as 1) however it's not exactly the same in terms of perception (which matters a ton) and it's not the same in terms of creating the awareness about logging.
3) We implement a diet break. This is typically a 1 to 2 week period at maintenance calories. I tend to do this roughly every 6 to 10 weeks with most clients.
4) We increase activity significantly. We may also increase activity in conjunction with a slight adjustment in calories as a way to attempt to not pull calories down as far.
The diet break likely improves adherence and mood significantly. It's possible there are some physiological things going on but I'd suspect those are secondary to the psychological stuff especially in clients who are not already lean, but either way I've had great overall success with diet breaks and I'm pretty sold on them as being a standard practice in most of my clients.
Finally to your questions about IF and carb cycling:
I don't tend to suggest IF to anyone but if they are already doing it, or it's their preference to skip breakfast I'm also not opposed to it under most circumstances. I don't think IF is going to improve fat loss unless it causes an improvement to adherence.
Carb cycling --- I have to be brutally honest here -- I HAVE seen unexpected results (faster losses than I expected) in a very limited number of lean clients where we see what appears to be more rapid weight loss however I'm referring to a scenario where we use back to back refeed days. So it would be structured like 5 low 2 high with the 2 high days being at maintenance and the 5 low days basically being awful, lol.
5 -
frankiesgirlie wrote: »ummijaaz560 wrote: »Whats the min time frame to see results for a female client begining strength training, while eating at a deficit? Carries most of her fat in her belly.
6 months, a year 2 years?
Or is it all in your genetics?
Sorry, I missed this one!
This is tough to answer because it depends on a ton of factors such as how well you can adhere to the diet and how much fat you have to lose.
And then it also depends hugely on how the individual defines and perceives results.
For example I've had clients who strictly define progress as the number on the scale. Which generally isn't a good outlook.
But having said all that I would tend to think you should perceive results every 3-4 weeks at least.
Again though, really hard to nail down an answer without many specifics.
Thank you Steel,
I'm new to lifting. I just started in April. Before that I did a year of body weight HIIT and saw great results and then stalled. I'm still 10 lbs over what I want to weigh. Thing is, it's all in my stomach and hips. Otherwise. I'd stay at the weight I am and continue to lift. I think I won't see my hard work until I get rid of more fat??
I also know I could improve on my protein intake.
I'm 55, 5'9" and currently 150ish with a goal of 140, or whatever weight I no longer have a muffin top in jeans.
Yeah again it depends on how you define "seeing your hard work". If you are defining your progress in terms of how your stomach looks then it's possible that you need to lose more.
But I would try to expand your definition of progress.
Thank you!!
0 -
Friendly bumpage -- also going to post a few podcasts I've been on recently in case the info is useful to anyone:
I was on Jay Scott's full disclosure fitness podcast several months ago but he took a hiatus before publishing it. It was just posted a few days ago and you can find it here:
http://fulldisclosurefitness.com/fdf-117-patrick-umphrey-on-weight-loss-success/
I'm now the co-host of the shredded by science podcast for a segment we call "Fireside Chats". The following is a dual-segment where we take questions from a Q and A thread in my facebook group:
http://shreddedbyscience.com/fireside-chats-facebook-qa/
2 -
Moving this up one more time since I'll be cranking out programs in front of my computer again today.0
-
Hi,
I'm on a 1200 calorie controlled diet and I exercise about 4 times a week. I've recently started going ham in the gym (going hard). & my motivation has just began to dip.
What do you consider the best way/s to keep you accountable? Thanks0 -
LyiannaTameka wrote: »Hi,
I'm on a 1200 calorie controlled diet and I exercise about 4 times a week. I've recently started going ham in the gym (going hard). & my motivation has just began to dip.
What do you consider the best way/s to keep you accountable? Thanks
Have you tried going turkey?1 -
LyiannaTameka wrote: »Hi,
I'm on a 1200 calorie controlled diet and I exercise about 4 times a week. I've recently started going ham in the gym (going hard). & my motivation has just began to dip.
What do you consider the best way/s to keep you accountable? Thanks
I don't necessarily think accountability is a bad thing, but instead of looking at ways to stay accountable I'd look at reasons why motivation is dropping.
Some main things I tend to look at under these scenarios would be as follows and in no particular order:
1) Adequate sleep.
2) Assessment of life stress and I'd include stress caused by training and diet
3) General enjoyment of training program (or lack of)
4) Proper use of metrics to receive positive feedback
5) Proper program design (should be enjoyable but should ALSO provide and show progress)0 -
Follow-up question to the carb-cycling just because it peaked my interest. You mentioned seeing interesting results in lean individuals; everyone mentions majoring in the minors, and I assume you feel the same way. Things with small effects are only going to be seen in people really close to their goal. But, what is the cut-off? Does it (nutrient timing, carb cycling, micro-intake, insert whatever small effect thing here) not matter until you're 90% there and trying to lose the last few pounds, or is it even smaller and when you're pretty much at goal with a decent physique and you're trying to get to the world's most amazing physique*?
*This is purely a curiosity question as I have a long way to go before I'm to a point where this would affect me.0 -
Have you ever looked at Candito's 6 Week Strength Program? If so, what do you think about it? After 13 cycles of 531 I'm wondering about trying it once I go back to surplus in October.0
-
Any general tips for training with osteoarthritis? I am dealing with more and more problematic joints within the last couple of years. The only useful strategy I have found so far is reduced frequency and/or volume, which obviously is not ideal. Most of the OA strength training info I have found online appears to be written for people who have never seen a dumbbell.0
-
Follow-up question to the carb-cycling just because it peaked my interest. You mentioned seeing interesting results in lean individuals; everyone mentions majoring in the minors, and I assume you feel the same way. Things with small effects are only going to be seen in people really close to their goal. But, what is the cut-off? Does it (nutrient timing, carb cycling, micro-intake, insert whatever small effect thing here) not matter until you're 90% there and trying to lose the last few pounds, or is it even smaller and when you're pretty much at goal with a decent physique and you're trying to get to the world's most amazing physique*?
*This is purely a curiosity question as I have a long way to go before I'm to a point where this would affect me.
Great question and I'm not sure how accurately I'd be able to answer but here goes:
I think that it's probably worth some trial and error provided that the individual isn't viewing the trial as a complication. So for example I am not opposed to someone with obesity to go on a cyclical intake as an experiment UNLESS doing so is a barrier to adherence.
Physiologically I don't think cyclical vs steady intakes are going to make a blip on the radar for the majority of people since we are likely talking about microscopic differences in nutrient partitioning. However it COULD make a big difference to adherence (positively OR negatively).
Regarding lean people, I only have a few limited examples in which case the SCALE showed slightly faster than expected progress. I highlight the scale because I'm not claiming differences in tissue mass, only differences in total bodyweight which could be due to differences in non tissue mass like water/glycogen/etc.
But these differences can still matter in terms of how it may effect the individual. Some people see the scale go down and they get fired up and have better adherence because of it.
Finally regarding the whole idea of how much the "small effects" matter, I have a few overarching thoughts but part of this could be biases/frustrations of mine:
1) It is usually incorrect to say that "X" doesn't matter at all or is completely irrelevant. Obviously that depends on what "X" is but my point is that people often swing the pendulum too far in the other direction when it comes to dispelling fitness dogma. Nutrient timing for example, matters a great deal for some people. It just doesn't seem to "boost your metabolism" in ways previously thought.
And so the "minor" things typically do still have some effect. As a coach it boils down to understanding the relative importance of those effects and whether or not it's worth it to bring those effects to the client as a viable strategy.
2) The biggest issues on this topic would be people majoring in the minors, or placing an emphasis on things that are of low impact while ignoring or neglecting things that are much higher impact. For example if you're concerned with the leucine content of meal #2 so that you can maximize protein synthesis and you don't have any idea how many calories you're eating, or your training program is horrible, you're majoring in the minors.
The secondary issue is understanding the effect that changes to your plan have on adherence.
Here's an example: If I had a client with obesity who wanted to know about nutrient timing pre and post workout, and through conversation and experimentation we believe that this client would NOT have any negative effect to utilizing some degree of nutrient timing around training, I would absolutely favor this approach over saying "it doesn't matter, don't worry about it". Now, I would still make it abundantly clear where I think this ranks in general importance in comparison to big ticket items, but I would still endorse the idea provided that the big things are taken care of.
Holy crap I rambled. Let me know if this in any way answers your question or if I just tapdanced around it, LMAO.1 -
piperdown44 wrote: »Have you ever looked at Candito's 6 Week Strength Program? If so, what do you think about it? After 13 cycles of 531 I'm wondering about trying it once I go back to surplus in October.
Hard to say whether or not it's a good fit without knowing your goals and training history.
I'll say two things though:
1) I just took a look at the program and at first glance it looks like a good program for developing strength in the main lifts and there's a nice variety of accessories at slightly higher volumes.
Looks like a decent way to do things.
2) I do like Candito quite a bit as far as his video content.1 -
Any general tips for training with osteoarthritis? I am dealing with more and more problematic joints within the last couple of years. The only useful strategy I have found so far is reduced frequency and/or volume, which obviously is not ideal. Most of the OA strength training info I have found online appears to be written for people who have never seen a dumbbell.
So i have fairly bad tendinitis but i will tell you what has helped me and hopefully it can be applicable to your situation; if not please ignore me, lol.
Largely i tend to stick in the 8 to 12 rep range and use free weight, ezbar or light barbell. Where there are moves that would naturally require more load than i have equipment for or that would flare my tendinitis i increase time under tension (ranges from 2 seconds to 4 seconds (down and up)). These techniques are utilized by charles poliquin with his GVT and GBC training.
Another thing that has relieve some of the pressure is foam rolling with a medium or high density roller.1 -
Any general tips for training with osteoarthritis? I am dealing with more and more problematic joints within the last couple of years. The only useful strategy I have found so far is reduced frequency and/or volume, which obviously is not ideal. Most of the OA strength training info I have found online appears to be written for people who have never seen a dumbbell.
I don't have any experience personally with this.
I would tend to think that you'd be better off with slightly lower loads and higher volumes as a way to reduce joint stress but maintain a training stimulus.2
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 392.1K Introduce Yourself
- 43.6K Getting Started
- 259.9K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.7K Food and Nutrition
- 47.4K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 403 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.8K Motivation and Support
- 7.9K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.4K MyFitnessPal Information
- 23 News and Announcements
- 998 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.4K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions