ITT: Ask me anything about losing weight..

Sublog
Sublog Posts: 1,296 Member
edited December 17 in Health and Weight Loss
So - I've lost a ton of weight, spent a lot of time learning about nutrition and fat loss. I've decided that I would start a thread to answer questions about weight loss.

Please expect science based answers mixed with a little of my own personal experience.

So ask away and I'll try to help answer. I obviously don't have all of the answers, but I will try to help those who don't want to start their own threads.

(can't believe I am doing this - I'll likely regret it, lol ) :) -
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Replies

  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,454 Member
    ((hug))
  • skinnylion
    skinnylion Posts: 213
    I read an article today in a local magazine about how low-intensity workouts can result in storing fat instead of burning it. I'm wondering how credible that information actually is... the author claimed that doing cardio exercise on a treadmill or similar machine 20-60 minutes a day for 5 days reduces blood sugar levels but isn't intense enough to burn fat, and doing it regularly makes your body store fat. The whole point of the story was that the author wanted to advocate interval training, which I understand is healthy, but don't see how it can be so much better or how calorie deficits regardless of exercise duration would make you store more body fat.

    No idea if you can answer this or not but I was skeptical and was wondering if you had any thoughts to share. :D
  • Sublog
    Sublog Posts: 1,296 Member
    I read an article today in a local magazine about how low-intensity workouts can result in storing fat instead of burning it. I'm wondering how credible that information actually is... the author claimed that doing cardio exercise on a treadmill or similar machine 20-60 minutes a day for 5 days reduces blood sugar levels but isn't intense enough to burn fat, and doing it regularly makes your body store fat. The whole point of the story was that the author wanted to advocate interval training, which I understand is healthy, but don't see how it can be so much better or how calorie deficits regardless of exercise duration would make you store more body fat.

    No idea if you can answer this or not but I was skeptical and was wondering if you had any thoughts to share. :D

    Well, low intensity cardio is a great tool to add into a well balanced diet and does aid in fat loss. Matter of fact, if you lift weights, interval training could be interfering with your weight lifting recovery. I like walking and low intensity elliptical on my non lifting days.

    With that being said, yes, low intensity cardio does increase energy expenditures so it does lead to increased fat loss. The whole fat burning zone myth has been debunked.

    http://alanaragon.com/myths-under-the-microscope-the-fat-burning-zone-fasted-cardio.html
  • theartichoke
    theartichoke Posts: 816 Member
    My ultimate goal is to lift heavy. I'm going to start with the Angry Bird Workout to build strength, balance and learn how to do everything the right way. Currently I'm losing anywhere from .5 to 2.5 lbs a day. I hear that's too fast but I have a lot to lose so I'm not sure if that's normal considering my current weight. I'm not sure if what I'm doing will be okay once I start training and I don't want to set myself up to fail. Here's where I stand currently:
    SW:263
    CW:236...lost in less than a month
    Calorie goal:1420
    5'6".
    35 yrs
    Macros set at 40/30/30. C.P.F
    I currently use Body Revolution and walk. I've been eating back most of my exercise cals.
    Thank you so much for your time!
  • marbly
    marbly Posts: 103
    I read an article today in a local magazine about how low-intensity workouts can result in storing fat instead of burning it. I'm wondering how credible that information actually is... the author claimed that doing cardio exercise on a treadmill or similar machine 20-60 minutes a day for 5 days reduces blood sugar levels but isn't intense enough to burn fat, and doing it regularly makes your body store fat. The whole point of the story was that the author wanted to advocate interval training, which I understand is healthy, but don't see how it can be so much better or how calorie deficits regardless of exercise duration would make you store more body fat.

    No idea if you can answer this or not but I was skeptical and was wondering if you had any thoughts to share. :D

    Well, low intensity cardio is a great tool to add into a well balanced diet and does aid in fat loss. Matter of fact, if you lift weights, interval training could be interfering with your weight lifting recovery. I like walking and low intensity elliptical on my non lifting days.

    With that being said, yes, low intensity cardio does increase energy expenditures so it does lead to increased fat loss. The whole fat burning zone myth has been debunked.

    http://alanaragon.com/myths-under-the-microscope-the-fat-burning-zone-fasted-cardio.html


    Does this mean that the article is not correct?

    In other words, doing low intensity cardio will NOT result in storing fat but will result in burning fat instead?
  • Sublog
    Sublog Posts: 1,296 Member
    My ultimate goal is to lift heavy. I'm going to start with the Angry Bird Workout to build strength, balance and learn how to do everything the right way. Currently I'm losing anywhere from .5 to 2.5 lbs a day. I hear that's too fast but I have a lot to lose so I'm not sure if that's normal considering my current weight. I'm not sure if what I'm doing will be okay once I start training and I don't want to set myself up to fail. Here's where I stand currently:
    SW:263
    CW:236...lost in less than a month
    Calorie goal:1420
    5'6".
    35 yrs
    Macros set at 40/30/30. C.P.F
    I currently use Body Revolution and walk. I've been eating back most of my exercise cals.
    Thank you so much for your time!

    I personally believe about a 1% body weight per week loss is okay - When you first start dieting, you'll likely lose a lot of water weight in the first few weeks, so expect a slow down of your weight loss. Sounds like you're off to a great start and keep up the good work!

    Macros seem pretty good as well. As long as you're doing some sort of resistance training + eating a diet high in protein, you should be in pretty good shape.
  • PrncessBre
    PrncessBre Posts: 444 Member
    How do I calculate how many calories I should be eating a day to lose weight. There are so many different methods out there and I have been coming up with so many different numbers.
  • Sublog
    Sublog Posts: 1,296 Member
    I read an article today in a local magazine about how low-intensity workouts can result in storing fat instead of burning it. I'm wondering how credible that information actually is... the author claimed that doing cardio exercise on a treadmill or similar machine 20-60 minutes a day for 5 days reduces blood sugar levels but isn't intense enough to burn fat, and doing it regularly makes your body store fat. The whole point of the story was that the author wanted to advocate interval training, which I understand is healthy, but don't see how it can be so much better or how calorie deficits regardless of exercise duration would make you store more body fat.

    No idea if you can answer this or not but I was skeptical and was wondering if you had any thoughts to share. :D

    Well, low intensity cardio is a great tool to add into a well balanced diet and does aid in fat loss. Matter of fact, if you lift weights, interval training could be interfering with your weight lifting recovery. I like walking and low intensity elliptical on my non lifting days.

    With that being said, yes, low intensity cardio does increase energy expenditures so it does lead to increased fat loss. The whole fat burning zone myth has been debunked.

    http://alanaragon.com/myths-under-the-microscope-the-fat-burning-zone-fasted-cardio.html


    Does this mean that the article is not correct?

    In other words, doing low intensity cardio will NOT result in storing fat but will result in burning fat instead?

    Did you check out the link?
  • theartichoke
    theartichoke Posts: 816 Member
    WooHoo! Thank you!
  • Sublog
    Sublog Posts: 1,296 Member
    How do I calculate how many calories I should be eating a day to lose weight. There are so many different methods out there and I have been coming up with so many different numbers.

    Remember, calculators can only give you estimates. Ultimately, you should adjust based on your results. I always advocate eating at a calorie level for a couple of weeks before deciding its too many or two few. Just try to keep as many variables static as possible. (Intake, exercise, etc)
  • cincymomof3
    cincymomof3 Posts: 329 Member
    Bump... I want to follow along... Hope you don't mind... :)

    Edited: I forgot to say CONGRATULATIONS! I cannot imagine the dedication and mental toughness it took to accomplish such an amazing transformation. Truly inspiring!
  • skinnylion
    skinnylion Posts: 213
    How do I calculate how many calories I should be eating a day to lose weight. There are so many different methods out there and I have been coming up with so many different numbers.

    The basic way is to calculate your BMR, then calculate your Daily Calorie Needs, then subtract about 500 calories from your Daily Calorie Needs number to lose 1 lb per week. (7 days in a week, and 3500 calories in a pound) MyFitnessPal usually does this pretty accurately but you need to remember never to eat below your BMR number, and if you exercise, to eat the calories you burned during the exercise so that you don't accidentally burn too many in a day.

    Use these links if you need help:
    http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/
    http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/harris-benedict-equation/
  • kristarablue
    kristarablue Posts: 702 Member
    Bump cause I like your style;-)
  • bebreli
    bebreli Posts: 227 Member
    Bump... I want to follow along... Hope you don't mind... :)

    Edited: I forgot to say CONGRATULATIONS! I cannot imagine the dedication and mental toughness it took to accomplish such an amazing transformation. Truly inspiring!
    Yep!
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    cool thread. so far i'm very happy with my weight loss plan. i've lost 22 pounds and have another 48-58 to go. i'm 5'5 202 pounds and 40.

    at the moment i'm eating at the maintenance level of my goal weight (about 700 less than my current maintenance calories). My goal for calories is 1850 a day but I eat anywhere from 1500-2000 cals a day depending on my hunger levels. i'm losing an average of 1-2 pounds a week and lots of inches. M

    my exercise plan is as follows

    Sun/Tues/Thurs : 15 minutes versaclimber + 30-45 minutes of NROL4W + 15 minutes treadmill (i go as intense as i can, some days it's walking other days it's anaerobic HIIT but usually it's somewhere in the middle)

    Mon/Wed/Frid : 60 minutes cardio - the intensity of the cardio depends on my energy level. but mainly i go for intervals and HIIT where my average heart rate is 160. other days (usually fridays) i only have the energy to muster an average of 135 heart rate

    Sat: 30 minute run : once again how much i push myself depends on my energy and how willing my lower body is to go along with moving faster than a 13 minute mile.

    Oh and i know what i wrote above doesnt include a day off, but i take them. i just leave it up to my body to tell me when to do it. when i do take a day off it's on a cardio day because i love love love my lifting days...

    so after all of that, my question in.. how likely am i to plateau sometimes in the future? if i am likely to plateau with the fat loss, then is there anything i can start doing now to avoid it? basically i dont want to plateau :laugh:
  • marbly
    marbly Posts: 103
    I read an article today in a local magazine about how low-intensity workouts can result in storing fat instead of burning it. I'm wondering how credible that information actually is... the author claimed that doing cardio exercise on a treadmill or similar machine 20-60 minutes a day for 5 days reduces blood sugar levels but isn't intense enough to burn fat, and doing it regularly makes your body store fat. The whole point of the story was that the author wanted to advocate interval training, which I understand is healthy, but don't see how it can be so much better or how calorie deficits regardless of exercise duration would make you store more body fat.

    No idea if you can answer this or not but I was skeptical and was wondering if you had any thoughts to share. :D

    Well, low intensity cardio is a great tool to add into a well balanced diet and does aid in fat loss. Matter of fact, if you lift weights, interval training could be interfering with your weight lifting recovery. I like walking and low intensity elliptical on my non lifting days.

    With that being said, yes, low intensity cardio does increase energy expenditures so it does lead to increased fat loss. The whole fat burning zone myth has been debunked.

    http://alanaragon.com/myths-under-the-microscope-the-fat-burning-zone-fasted-cardio.html


    Does this mean that the article is not correct?

    In other words, doing low intensity cardio will NOT result in storing fat but will result in burning fat instead?

    Did you check out the link?

    Lol, no I did not before you asked but yes, I read the article in the link after that!

    Well, okay, bottom line in relation to the question is that AA's article implies that the conclusion drawn by this article the PP has summarised above is not correct then.

    PS. Thanks for taking the time to reply.
  • Sublog
    Sublog Posts: 1,296 Member


    so after all of that, my question in.. how likely am i to plateau sometimes in the future? if i am likely to plateau with the fat loss, then is there anything i can start doing now to avoid it? basically i dont want to plateau :laugh:
    I can honestly say, my weight loss was linear. Never stalled, never plateaued.

    Remember, your body must get calories from somewhere. But at the same time, weight loss will slow down at some point. Just keep pushing yourself to tighten up everything you can control as time goes on. Basically, staying one step ahead is the key.

    Keep up the great work and patience and consistency is the key!
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member


    so after all of that, my question in.. how likely am i to plateau sometimes in the future? if i am likely to plateau with the fat loss, then is there anything i can start doing now to avoid it? basically i dont want to plateau :laugh:
    I can honestly say, my weight loss was linear. Never stalled, never plateaued.

    Remember, your body must get calories from somewhere. But at the same time, weight loss will slow down at some point. Just keep pushing yourself to tighten up everything you can control as time goes on. Basically, staying one step ahead is the key.

    Keep up the great work and patience and consistency is the key!

    i'm just hoping that plateauing will mean i'm close to my goal or reached it :smile:

    Thanks for answering! you rock.
  • Spanaval
    Spanaval Posts: 1,200 Member
    This is really generous of you. I asked this earlier, with no responses. Would love to hear your thoughts.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/561287-am-i-doing-this-right?page=1#posts-7926087
  • Sublog
    Sublog Posts: 1,296 Member
    This is really generous of you. I asked this earlier, with no responses. Would love to hear your thoughts.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/561287-am-i-doing-this-right?page=1#posts-7926087

    I replied to your thread. -
  • Iamjulez
    Iamjulez Posts: 48 Member
    You are overweight by 19.9 kilograms (43.8 pounds)
    You need to exercise at least 30 minutes every day.
    Minimum caloric requirements: 1955 Calories per day
    Limit your food intake to 1661 calories per day.
    to lose 2.2 pounds per month.
    Your diet should contain at least 61 grams of protein per day.


    So is 1200 calories a good place to be for me? Or am I eating too little? I don't want to crap on myself before I even get started with this whole ordeal and lose my stamina for it... I'm about 5 days into it. But I also don't want to ruin my healthy by trying to lose weight.

    Any advice would be great. Thanks!
  • Spanaval
    Spanaval Posts: 1,200 Member
    I replied to your thread. -

    Thank you! That just brings up more questions, however.
  • Sublog
    Sublog Posts: 1,296 Member
    You are overweight by 19.9 kilograms (43.8 pounds)
    You need to exercise at least 30 minutes every day.
    Minimum caloric requirements: 1955 Calories per day
    Limit your food intake to 1661 calories per day.
    to lose 2.2 pounds per month.
    Your diet should contain at least 61 grams of protein per day.


    So is 1200 calories a good place to be for me? Or am I eating too little? I don't want to crap on myself before I even get started with this whole ordeal and lose my stamina for it... I'm about 5 days into it. But I also don't want to ruin my healthy by trying to lose weight.

    Any advice would be great. Thanks!

    Start a bit higher? If you start at 1200, you have no where to really go if you stop losing. Unless you eat back your exercise calories - which I don't personally believe in, but is a whole can of worms I really don't want to get into.

    Most women can lose weight just fine eating 1500 calories per day.
  • babareeba
    babareeba Posts: 74 Member
    thank you for this, and bump for later
  • BeautyFromPain
    BeautyFromPain Posts: 4,952 Member
    bump
  • lisakyle_11
    lisakyle_11 Posts: 420 Member
    bump - curious
  • papastu
    papastu Posts: 737 Member
    did you suffer with any saggy skin as your frame must of changed so much ?

    Congrats btw :drinker:
  • Sublog
    Sublog Posts: 1,296 Member
    Yes, I have a bit of pannus in my lower abdomen region - my waist was over 60" around at my heaviest. It's not bad, and I have not given up up I can get it to almost completely go away with time and getting low enough body fat.

    There's still fat in there so until it's thin I won't give up to resort to surgery.
  • Anyaaaa11
    Anyaaaa11 Posts: 242 Member
    Wow, I could ask so many questions(: not many people are willing to put themselves out there to help others like that. Your a good man! & GREAT job on the weight loss..
    So I have a ton of questions I could ask but lol I'll just ask a few .

    I would like some advice on my intake/routine.
    I only have about 10-13 lbs to lose.. I upped my cals to maintenance which is around 2000 and that's when I was only exercising 3x a week. Then, I dropped it down to 1600 and have been consistenly losing a pound per week. My original goal was to be losing 1/2 lb per week but I'm just wondering if I'm losing to fast? I'm currently netting 1500 and I work out burning about 150-300 cals per day (6-7days) and I eat back exercise calories. Should I stay with my current intake for a while or bump it up?
  • prettygirlhoward
    prettygirlhoward Posts: 338 Member
    bump for later! :)
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