Time for a change!

jecaf88063 · May 2022

Hi there,

My first post so go easy on me!

I am 35 years old, weighing 17 stone at 5’ 7” resulting in a horrible BMI.

I have decided enough is enough and time to turn my life round and get back in shape.

So the goal is to cut my body fat down, and gain some muscle to leave me with a body that resembles what it used to be.

When I was younger I was slim so going gym a few times per week and doing some basic workouts (bicep curls, squats, bench press etc) gave me some definition.

Now I have so much body fat I appreciate I have a long road ahead to get back to that level.

Do I need to focus on diet and cardio to shred the fat and once I am at goal weight then focus on toning up and building muscle?
Or should I be doing both at the same time?

Are there any recommended supplements for cutting fat and building muscle at same time?
Assume the diet should be focused on high protein and cut out carbs, fats and sugars where possible?

Also interested to see if anyone has walked in similar shoes with a success story and progress pics for a bit of inspiration?
Even better if it has any insights on diet / workout to show how said results were achieved?

emmamcgarity · May 2022

In my opinion start with just tracking your food. As accurately and consistently as possible, even when over your calorie goal. Once you have a couple weeks of tracking, add another small goal (example exercise 2 times per week, or add a new vegetable this week, etc) I find that small changes over time add up. But for me, changing too many things at once makes it harder for me to focus on my goals.

asellitti6523 · May 2022

jecaf88063 wrote: »

Do I need to focus on diet and cardio to shred the fat and once I am at goal weight then focus on toning up and building muscle?
Or should I be doing both at the same time?

Are there any recommended supplements for cutting fat and building muscle at same time?
Assume the diet should be focused on high protein and cut out carbs, fats and sugars where possible?

It's mostly diet. Exercise is great for overall wellness but you can't out exercise a poor diet. I started at a similar weight, am 5'6", and 36 years old and I've found success getting my weight down eating at a caloric deficit (2000 - 2200 kcals) daily and just walking about 30 mins for exercise. In the past when I would try to lose weight I would cut my calories to the extreme (~1700 kcals) and work real hard in the gym (cardio, weight training) but I would quickly fall off the wagon because my approach wasn't sustainable. Eventually I plan on going back to the gym to weight train and build more muscle but I have to prove to myself I can stick to this lifestyle change permanently and not use my calories burned from exercising to justify questionable food choices. This is just my experience and I'm definitely not suggesting you shouldn't exercise beyond walking but it's more to show you that you don't have to go crazy in the gym right away to steadily lose weight.

The only supplements I would recommend at this early stage of fat loss would be a once a day multivitamin (if you don't take one already), CoQ10, and if you need additional protein to hit your macros, a protein shake. Thermogenic fat burner supplements are kind of a waste this early on because you have plenty to lose and consistently hitting a calorie deficit alone will lead to steady fat loss. Wait until you hit a plateau (a period of at least a month) where you see little to no fat loss before considering fat burner supplements.

As far as macros I'm really only concerned with hitting my calorie deficit and consuming high protein to keep me feeling full longer and to make sure that most of the weight I am losing is body fat as opposed to muscle. I've found that by staying within a calorie deficit my carb/fat consumption pretty much takes care of itself.

sijomial · May 2022

"Do I need to focus on diet and cardio to shred the fat and once I am at goal weight then focus on toning up and building muscle?
Or should I be doing both at the same time?"
It's your diet / calorie deficit from eating a bit less that is the driving force in you losing fat.
Cardio isn't for fat loss - it's for health, fitness and enjoyment. It's a really poor strategy to try to use exercise to drive your weight loss hence why this site intends you to add exercise calories burned to your base calorie level (which doesn't take exercise into account until you have actually done it).
Absolutely do not wait to add in weight training - when losing you are at risk of muscle loss and training your muscles is the strongest signal for your body to keep as much as possible (or even add some if returning to training and keeping deficit sensible).

"Are there any recommended supplements for cutting fat and building muscle at same time?"
The recommendation are either illegal or useless. Remember you didn't need supplements to gain weight and you don't need supplements to reverse the process.

"Assume the diet should be focused on high protein and cut out carbs, fats and sugars where possible?"
High protein is a good idea (for muscle retention) but there is no need to cut out carbs, fats and sugars. That wouldn't actually leave anything except protein and alcohol! You can lose weight perfectly well with just a smaller diet of normal food. It's not types of food that makes you gain or lose, it's the amount of food. That's smaller in terms of calories than your weight maintenance needs. Don't make a long and hard journey even harder than it has to be by making meal times hateful.

"Also interested to see if anyone has walked in similar shoes with a success story and progress pics for a bit of inspiration?
Even better if it has any insights on diet / workout to show how said results were achieved?"
There is a whole forum called Success Stories to browse.
Honestly I think you are in danger of making the process far more complicated than it has to be. Losing weight is simple (but not easy!).
Eat in a sensible and sustainable calorie deficit, train towards your fitness and body composition goals.

tedtaffe · May 2022

I would do strength and cardio if u could.. 30mins cardio.. 30mins of strength.. I tried hydroxycut and it made me very sweaty and my metabolism to go up.. I’d use it again..

Kiwi2mfp · May 2022

I am 5'7", 38 year old female and started this process weighing 217 with a likely BMI of 34. I have been at this 26 days and have dropped 13 pounds. The first thing I did was cut out the tons of cream and sugar I took in every day drinking coffee like a fish. I cut my coffee intake back to 2-4 cups a day. Drink only water, coffee, and almondmilk for the most part. I've cut out processed foods as much as possible also. I haven't really started exercising yet. Just keeping my calories within my moderately active calories range by eating a lot more fruits and veggies. I am now down to the 203-204 pound range now. At 191pounds I will be in the over weight category instead of obese. I have bad knees so I'm waiting a bit to start the exercising part. I usually try to get down to within 10 pounds of goal weight before starting any weight training but cardio I will do as soon as I feel my knees can handle it. BTW I am prior military so this isn't my first rodeo with weight loss 😆

Time for a change!

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