Any advice would be brilliant

danrich221 · December 2020

Hi I am a 26 year old scaffolder 6ft 1inch and 16.10 stone. 6 weeks ago I started calorie counting at a weight of 18.5 stone so it’s working. But I am ready to start the gym and I just want to know if total cardio ie, treadmill,rower,biking,cross trainer including chest press to get rid of man boobs lol will be enough for me to keep loosing weight at a good rate? I’m not interested in weight training as being a scaffolder I do all of that at work every day so there is no need for it. I have always been very active in general. But I just want to know if this is the right way to go about it. My plan is to visit the gym 4-5 times a week doing 1 hour sessions at least. Thank in advance

Dogmom1978 · December 2020

You can’t spot reduce. You can build muscle which will help with overall physique, but everyone has tough spots for fat and you just have to patiently keep losing until you lose that fat. For me, it’s my middle. I WANTED to keep the fat on my chest and it was the first place I lost fat.

That is a VERY rapid rate of loss if I calculated that correctly. In the US, so I converted to lbs and if I didn’t mess up, you lost over 30 lbs in 6 weeks. I wouldn’t add in ANY cardio at all and caution you to make sure you are eating enough calories.

The goal shouldn’t be to lose weight as fast as possible. You want to maintain energy levels, lean muscle, and health. At that rate of loss, a lot of what you lost is going to be muscle mass which you should be trying to keep.

FYI a sustainable rate of loss is maximum 2 lbs a week unless you are very overweight and then maybe more would be ok, but at your height and male, you aren’t too far from a healthy weight range now. Again lbs, but 166-202 is listed as a healthy weight range for a 6’1” male. So if you lose 23 more lbs you would be at the top range of a healthy weight.

You should probably aim to lose 1 lb a week and lift some weights to try to maintain whatever muscle you have left.

danrich221 · December 2020

Thanks for your reply, my bmi in the UK is currently 30 and 6 weeks ago it was formally 33, both of these class me as obese and I didn’t and still don’t look like I’m at a healthy weight so I have no idea what to believe hahaha, but I am eating close to my calculated calorie intake 2510, I am usually near that figure or I hit not much less than 2000, with my job being so active and my diet drastically changed I’m thinking that could be the reason for the rapid early loss? I have noticed myself that my face neck arms and legs have lost fat but my mid section is still carrying way too much hence why I want to go to the gym and tone up, and genuinely get as fit as possible. I have heard and read that rapid weight loss is bad but I honestly have done everything properly and it seemed to have just fallen off me, I do carry plenty of muscle (I presume because of my job) on the UK NHS website it says my healthy weight is 10 stone but I don’t believe that for one moment I’m aiming to get down to 14 stone.

sijomial · December 2020

"But I am ready to start the gym and I just want to know if total cardio ie, treadmill,rower,biking,cross trainer including chest press to get rid of man boobs lol will be enough for me to keep loosing weight at a good rate?"

It should be totally irrelevant for your weight loss if you are using this tool as designed by eating back your exercise calories.
Cardio exercise is for heart health, fitness and enjoyment - it really should NOT be used to boost what is already a too rapid rate of weight loss. If you are thinking of going from zero cardio to 5 days a week you should build up to that over time.
Chest press is for making your chest (and arms) stronger and has zero to do with burning fat in that area. Fat loss comes from your calorie deficit over an extended period of time and you don't get to choose which areas get leaner first or retain fat the longest.

Yes it's a great idea to get fitter and can see cardio being a great compliment to your job, but it's not for weight loss. Eat more and slow your rate of loss - as you get leaner it gets harder to preserve muscle and keep up good energy levels. 1% of your bodyweight a week is a decent guide but TBH there's good reasons to lose the last bit slower than that.

Lietchi · December 2020

danrich221 wrote: »

Thanks for your reply, my bmi in the UK is currently 30 and 6 weeks ago it was formally 33, both of these class me as obese and I didn’t and still don’t look like I’m at a healthy weight so I have no idea what to believe hahaha, but I am eating close to my calculated calorie intake 2510, I am usually near that figure or I hit not much less than 2000, with my job being so active and my diet drastically changed I’m thinking that could be the reason for the rapid early loss? I have noticed myself that my face neck arms and legs have lost fat but my mid section is still carrying way too much hence why I want to go to the gym and tone up, and genuinely get as fit as possible. I have heard and read that rapid weight loss is bad but I honestly have done everything properly and it seemed to have just fallen off me, I do carry plenty of muscle (I presume because of my job) on the UK NHS website it says my healthy weight is 10 stone but I don’t believe that for one moment I’m aiming to get down to 14 stone.

Your calorie goal of 2510 calories per day is based on the settings you chose. So I'm wondering: what weight loss rate did you select and what activity level?

Secondly, 'not much less than 2000 kcal' is waaay below 2510 calories, not close to it at all 😉

lesdarts180 · December 2020

Hi, I'm a little old lady (5 ft 1 inch, 70 years old and only 48 kg (106 lb or 7 stone 8) so I won't attempt any advice to you about exercise. I'm just impressed that you are thinking of going to the gym after a days work in such a physical job.

But I am a Brit so I will attempt the maths for our American readers. If you started at 18 stone and 5 lbs (257 lbs) and are now 16 stone and 10 lbs (234 lbs) you would appear to have lost 23 lbs in 6 weeks. This is a rapid loss but I would guess that you lost several pounds very quickly in week 1 and 2 and are now losing more gradually. Is this why you are looking to use the gym to boost the weight loss again?

The received wisdom here on MFP is to aim for 2 lbs a week max, and more realistically perhaps just 1 lb per week.

Weight loss is primarily all about calories - eat less than you burn and you will lose weight. Calories in v calories out. You may have difficulty estimating your calories out as you have such a physical job but you do now have 6 weeks data (assuming you have been logging your food) to work with.

Cardio exercise burns more calories than weightlifting or strength work and as you say, you are doing those at work all day.
Just don't try to lose weight too quickly - you need energy to work.

sijomial · December 2020

danrich221 wrote: »

I do carry plenty of muscle (I presume because of my job) on the UK NHS website it says my healthy weight is 10 stone but I don’t believe that for one moment I’m aiming to get down to 14 stone.

That's not how BMI works, it's not saying that the bottom of the normal range is best - it's simply saying that most (not all) humans your height will fit somewhere in that very wide range.
It gives a very wide healthy range with 10st right at the very lowest point - which might be suitable for someone with a very light build, leggy perhaps and low muscle mass. A jockey perhaps?!
As you are young, male and a scaffolder (with higher than normal muscle mass) it's very likely that the top end and even quite a decent amount above the 13st 7lbs upper part of the range would be your personal best weight.

Keep reassessing as you get closer would be my advice. In reality I'm sure there's a look that you aspire to and your weight is just part of that picture.

Any advice would be brilliant

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