Ask me anything about fat/weight loss....

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Replies

  • What's your thought on intermittent fasting?

    And if you believe in it, when you break the fast, do you eat all the daily calories allowance?

    Thank you.

    Ps. Following the thread with interest. My main question has been answered :wink:
  • I have been told that love handles start in the kitchen. It all depends on what you eat. I see pics like yours with ripped abs and that is my goal. I read others diaries and see that they are taking supplements and eating nothing but chicken. Is that the secret?

    This is what we refer to as "Broscience". If I put you on a diet of one doughnut and NOTHING else every day for the next two months, do you think you'd lose weight?....Of course you would. It's never been about what you eat....it's HOW MUCH you eat. One slice of cake doesn't make a person a hundred pounds overweight....but consistently taking in more calories than you are expending does.

    I like to distinguish with my clients the difference between eating good, and eating for a result. You can gain weight eating the healthiest foods in the world. You can lose weight eating pizza. It's the HOW MUCH factor that is important.

    Chicken is a GREAT protein! But so are eggs, steak, fish, red beans, etc. They're all just options you have. Supplements?.....Take them for what they are: use them as necessary to SUPPLEment what you are already doing in the gym and in the kitchen. Don't be that person who spend $50-200 a month on supplements looking for a quick fix. All the fatburners in the world are not going to help you if you are not consistently working out and keeping yourself in a deficit. I use to be that person! Don't be me.
  • Hey thanks for doing this, I had some questions but you've answered them for others, very helpful :)
  • bethb03
    bethb03 Posts: 96
    bump
  • Tojsmom
    Tojsmom Posts: 51
    Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my question
  • mumof5
    mumof5 Posts: 328 Member
    Overtraining.

    Yes overtraining will severely screw up your efforts. Train smart and make sure you're recovering. If you're overtraining, not only are your workouts getting less and less efficient, but your hormones are getting screwed up too. The body is trying to protect itself and will lower your metabolism to do so. Train hard, but always make sure you're recovering.


    so how do i know if im overtraining?? i get sore, i get tired but...i have an underavtice thyroid and 5 kids. i expect to get sore and tired!! :) i train 6 days a week, 3 heavy weights, 3 1hr+ cardio and 3 fat burning cardio. usually about 1.5hrs a day.

    btw thanks for all the advice, this is a great thread. you look fantastic, then i read that you loved yoga!! the single girls out there are gonna be chasing you ;)
  • I've been very successful at weight loss by maintaining a deficit, eating well, cardio 5/6 times per week and body condiitioning 3 times per week.

    I have about 15 pounds to go to target but retain several problem areas (upper arms, midrift, slight tummy pouch etc).

    Would 'lifting heavy' that everyone on here seems to advocate help me address these or are they inevitable for a 43 year old who was overweight for too long?

    No, you still have time....and lots of it! Lifting heavy is definitely a good idea. You say you have about 15 pounds to go. Imagine 2pounds of fat off of each arm....5 pounds of fat off your tummy, 3 pounds of your midrift.....What do you think you would look like?.....and that is only TEN pounds! Now think to where your 15 pound target would take you. Keep doing what you're doing! YOu're doing it! I think when you hit that 15 pound target you're not going to have this question anymore. :)
  • bytemeeeeee
    bytemeeeeee Posts: 173 Member
    Hey thanks for doing this, I had some questions but you've answered them for others, very helpful :)
    Yes thank you!
  • Good stuff in this thread.

    Thanks, man. Sharin' the love, baby!!
  • 19kat55
    19kat55 Posts: 336 Member
    Thank you for doing this. I am an older female that wants to start strength training. I believe dead weights are better than machines. But since I will not have a spotter, would you recommend I start with machines or just jump in and do what I am able to do with dead weights?
  • rschmmidt
    rschmmidt Posts: 296
    bump. Great Info! Thanks
  • toots99
    toots99 Posts: 3,794 Member
    I'm gonna be on and off here most of the day, so I thought I'd try to be of help to anybody with questions out there. Train hard, and live shredded.

    Nice of you to offer help. :smile:
  • gudiiya
    gudiiya Posts: 116 Member
    Can you take a quick peek at my diary? I start Jan of this year and have lost 25 inches and 16 pounds, but I am still confused as to how to consistantly lost 1-2 pounds a week, but my progress is about 3-4 pounds a month. I have a long way to go, so it would help if I am doing the right thing...I do need to get out the morbidly obese cat.

    Thanks so much!
  • fesse02
    fesse02 Posts: 88 Member
    Thank you for posting! You've got really great advice.
  • MrsPong
    MrsPong Posts: 580 Member
    I lost about 40 lbs and got down to 135 last year about this time... I've gained 25 lbs due to meds... I cant seem to lose anything. I started to take bootcamp classes 3 days a week and hid the scale due to gaining weight. But recently, Ive gained 7-12 lbs in 3 months from meds.

    Is there any way of getting this under-control? (believe me Ive talked to my Dr. they will not change meds yet)....Or should I just focus on TRYING to lose inches instead of weight?
  • I have been trying to lose weight for a few months now. Regular exercise with mainly cardio and some strength training. I started at 128 and got down to 116, my goal is around 107. I recently started incoporating more strength training with free weights and still doing cardio and I gained 3 pounds! Is this normal? How can I get my weight back down?

    Lol. Perfectly normal! You most likely just added some muscle to your frame from the new incorporating of strength training to your routine. That's a good thing! It will plateau very soon though, and you'll go right back to losing. Also keep in mind that the lower you go, the more your body is going to fight you. This is where the real determination and consistency has to be made. You're doing a great job though. Keep it up!
  • NancyNiles
    NancyNiles Posts: 145 Member
    I have been on MFP for a little over a month now and lost the first 10lbs pretty quickly. I am now on my third week of no weight loss. My question is more related to calorie intake than anything.

    I work out 5-6 days a week. Last week I started 2 a day workouts. 30 DS in the morning and swimming for an hour in the afternoon (usually burning between 500 - 700 calories a day).

    I have had my calories set at 1200 and always ate back my exercise calories so I would net 1200 (eating about 1700-1900 calories to reach a net of 1200). On Friday I raised my calories to 1320 becuase I have stopped losing. SH\hould I be eating back all of my exercise calories so my net is 1320? Should I reduce my calories back down to 1200 and not eat back all of my exercise calories? Am I eating to little? SO confused and aggrivated about my lack of weight loss.

    ^^^This! I hope you get your question answered. I can't wait to read the response.

    (Except I'm a bit heftier and am eating at 1,700 cal plus exercise calories after raising it and changing my protein to 40% prior to starting a free weight program. But I've had the same stall. Two weeks, no loss on scale or tape measure. And I swim, ride a bicycle, walk and lift weights ... some combination of those things 6 days a week.)
  • mynika
    mynika Posts: 312 Member
    BUMP {:)
  • HoLLyZ82
    HoLLyZ82 Posts: 467 Member
    bumpies
  • neverstray
    neverstray Posts: 3,845 Member
    I've been plateaued for 6 months at 175 lbs at 22.6% bf. I want to get to 159 at 15% bf. I've been reading up on the eat more to lose more stuff, and I was on about 1800 cals a day plus eating back exercise cals. I currently lift 3 days a week and I am training for a half marathon, so I run for days a week, with having a super long run once every other week. My question is, what do you think about the eat more to lose more. With eating back my exercise cals, it works out to about the same, but I've jumped from 1800 to a consistent 2800. A little scary. Thoughts?
  • jodiex92
    jodiex92 Posts: 56
    What about the lean trying to get leaner?
    I'm 22% bodyfat which is below average for a woman but want to get down to 18% or so to look ripped.
    A few questions I have (as there is so many diff info around, hard to know whats true)
    1. Do you have to go low carb to achieve this? (some have advised restricting fruit, oats etc)
    2. Is it possible to lean out within 6 weeks?(when your already in ok shape)
    3. By eating under the even the 500cal defiet, will this matter much if its is short term? (say 2-3 weeks or so)
    Thanks

    To add to my previous question ^^ - I saw you replied to someone saying it is essentially a calorie defiet. Does this apply to trying to become ripped and wanting to do so within a time period like 6 weeks?
  • EnthusedMeerkat
    EnthusedMeerkat Posts: 23 Member
    Got a few questions...

    Shin splints - I get them whether I run or walk (quicker when I run though). I don't understand why I constantly get them...I've Googled around and done some stretching beforehand, used heating pads / ice, etc...pretty much any suggestions I could find, I used. Any tips on how to avoid them? Am I just destined not to run? I once gave myself three weeks off of running (used elliptical and bike instead) when they got really bad because everything I read pointed to, "give your legs a rest,"...within 3 days of starting back up, they were back.

    Wrist pain...I posted a thread last week about it and got one suggestion that I haven't tried yet. Besides what they suggested, do you have any other tips?
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/585156-wrist-pain
    my original post -
    I have a lot of pain in my wrists when doing bench dips and other exercises on my wrists.

    cb5fb772-0405-43ed-95b4-61b6c1a6a120.jpg

    Any tips?

    Thanks!
  • I have been on MFP for a little over a month now and lost the first 10lbs pretty quickly. I am now on my third week of no weight loss. My question is more related to calorie intake than anything.

    I work out 5-6 days a week. Last week I started 2 a day workouts. 30 DS in the morning and swimming for an hour in the afternoon (usually burning between 500 - 700 calories a day).

    I have had my calories set at 1200 and always ate back my exercise calories so I would net 1200 (eating about 1700-1900 calories to reach a net of 1200). On Friday I raised my calories to 1320 becuase I have stopped losing. SH\hould I be eating back all of my exercise calories so my net is 1320? Should I reduce my calories back down to 1200 and not eat back all of my exercise calories? Am I eating to little? SO confused and aggrivated about my lack of weight loss.

    A deficit is a deficit. Don't eat back your calories. Example: I know on average if I don't do anything throughout the day, I'll burn around 2,500 calories give or take. Say I want to be in a 500 calorie deficit every day and that I am burning 600 calories a day via added activity. Add that 600 to my 2,500 and I have 3,100 calories I've burned for the day. My goal now would be to intake around 2,600 calories for that day to make a 500 calorie deficit. Understand?....If I were to eat back my 600 calories burned from added activity, then I would be just back up to maintenance not losing or gaining.
  • jjean905
    jjean905 Posts: 175
    BUMP
  • maddyg1989
    maddyg1989 Posts: 108 Member
    BUMP! :bigsmile:
  • Cathe
    Cathe Posts: 5 Member
    bump
  • redshoeshelley
    redshoeshelley Posts: 206 Member
    bump!
    Great read, tonnes of great information ... thanks for posting this :bigsmile:
  • rlv2680
    rlv2680 Posts: 289 Member
    where can i go to get my body fat tested?
  • Do you use a heart rate monitor to track calories burned? Do you find them to be accurate?

    No, they can give a decent general, but better in the long run to just learn your body. Cardio equipment for instance is sometimes VERY skewed. One will say I burned 800 calories in an hour, while another says 600. Over the years I've learned to predict my calorie burned via intensity levels. For example, I'll hop of the treadmill and in my mind I'm knowing 'Ok, I've at LEAST burned X amount of calories, but I definitely didn't burn any MORE than Y.
  • kellyj9600
    kellyj9600 Posts: 5
    I would like to know if cardio, whether it be jogging, jumping rope, burpees or jump squats, created equal. I have a friend that feels that jogging is a waste of time. I feel if your heart rate stays in the burning zone no matter what it is you are benefiting from it. I usually burn between 450-600 calories jogging according to HRM. I know weight training is needed and I do weight train 3 days a week. The other 4 days is usually jogging 45-60 minutes. Should I be doing something different?