hamlet1222 Member

You say you're just doing flat bench press and push ups (I assume without your feet elevated)? This did lead to my upper chest lagging behind too. It was incline bench press (30-45 degree) that made a difference to me - I can totally feel it hitting my upper chest. Don't worry about your age ;-)

The people that do have kids and also find the time are those with a supportive partner, or extended family on hand to help. I can understand why it would be impossible to get to the gym if you don't have either. At the opposite extreme, I know guys with kids who spend most of their leisure time in the gym or doing some…

Great point, I guess we're all evangelists of our own preferences - just some more vocal than others.

Diet will always trump anything you can do in the gym for fat loss.

Tuna, about as convenient, low calorie, and cost effective as you can get.

yes, I think doing the leg curl is overkill, can't think of any reason to just do the hamstring curl unless to correct a specific imbalance.

whatever your calorie intake at the moment - reduce it by 10%. You're either under-logging calories consumed, or over-logging calories burned.

Interesting that the PT has given you this, and not also the opposing leg extension machine. I would ask them why, and make sure they check you doing them (perhaps you haven't set the distances quite right).

yeah, I'm not an expert on the metabolic impact of different foods, but I gave up a long time ago worrying about what things might boost or not boost my metabolism, what things take more calories to digest, etc. It's less complicated to simply eat less calories.

Yeah, intermittent fasting works well for a lot of people. I know two powple who've been doing it for several years (since the 5:2 craze started), they've dropped down to 1 day now and are maintaining. It's just another way of getting a calorie deficit - but weekly rather than daily. Personally I found the discipline of…

As above. The main benefit I find from it (and any tea) is holding off hunger.

I have it as a mid-afternoon snack - allows me to have a later supper and not go to bed hungry.

I'd suggest just tracking your calories for a week - eating as you are now, don't change anything. This will give you an idea of where you're really at and you should be able to spot some easy targets that you an cut back on that'll really cut the calories. After that just focus on mini goals, don't worry about 20lb for…

Thanks, I already do chin-ups, and my calves I'm happy with. I'm thinking of adding some weighted abs work for the rectus abdominis because I was also feeling sl wasn't quite hitting that. But really it's the traps that I feel look poor, I'll look to add in some reverse flies and shrugs, and may ease up on the chest a bit…

Sounds like you're doing all the right things, well done on your progress so far! I don't even have a target weight, instead I have a target body fat %. I'm lifting weights and building a bit of muscle, so can't wait to find out what my actual weight settles on when I reach 15%

The article kept advising people to see a nutritionist - not to learn about nutrition themselves. I did identify with a few of the issues mentioned though, and it did conclude that it's worth doing for a week just to get a better feel for what you're eating.

If you're trying to work out what the equivalent barbell weight is, it's usually slightly more than double the dumbbell weight. However, there is no magic formula I know of to work it out, so I would just log the dumbbell weight. I can bench about 10-15% more on a barbell than I can on dumbbells. I'm sure others will come…

Well done! Can I ask, what did you drink instead? I managed to cut back on wine by having a nice bottle of chilled San Pellegrino (Italian naturally sparkling water), it's expensive for water, but certainly a lot cheaper than wine, and you feel like you're enjoying a bit of luxury while drinking it (especially in a nice…

do you use barbells or dumbbells? If using barbells then switch to dumbbells for a bit. The stronger side might stagnate, but the weaker should catch up. Get someone to check your form too - as you suggest, it could be that.

yeah, it is weird, for some foods I can include them in reduced amounts and stick to my diet (I'm particularly good with beer), but others like popcorn and crisps (potato chips in USA) I can't even have any or I won't be able to stop - so total prohibition of some things works better for me.

Yeah, I can feel these hitting my traps, but they're not the first point of failure. On the rows it's the little squeeze in middle of the back at the top that I fail on first, and for deadlifts everything else seems to fail at the same time (before traps) - I'm hoping once these weaker muscles have strengthened then I'll…

Have you looked up durian rider and freelee on youtube? They do a high carb vegan diet, and appear to be in great shape.

Beer, marshmallows, skittles - all zero fat. But fruit would be better for micronutrients - most have negligible fat content.

Whichever has the menu you prefer and are likely to stick to. would you find it easier to cut back on bread and cereals, or cheese and bacon? As everyone above me has said, just get your calorie deficit planned and stick to it.

In fact fat has over double the calories per gram of protein or carbs. Dr Atkins claimed it was possible to eat 5000 calories of fat a day, lie in bed, and not gain weight (so long as you had no carbs) - he never proved this though (because it's bunk).

Can't really put if better than that! I have skimmed because I drink a lot of it - cereal and two protein shakes a day. If it was just a drop in my tea/coffee I'd have full fat.

I just happened to be discussing this on another thread: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10269444/training-frequency-less-is-more#latest In my experience, a resounding YES!

Frozen banana blended with a bit of cinnamon or nutmeg - beautiful!

I think I'd better stay out of this one.

How did you extrapolate ariana's statement about drinking sensibly in a calorie controlled diet to her suggesting weight was all that mattered?