dreamsignals Member

Do you eat enough to support your exercising? If you're on the big caloric deficit, it could be partly responsible for low-energy workouts, slow recovery, etc. I don't love exercising, but I love climbing. I end up doing lots other exercises in support of my climbing. I don't like low-intensity cardio in general , and the…

@corazombie, what are you concerned about regarding recovery and cardio on non-weight days? The idea that cardio can exacerbate catabolism? The idea of overtraining? Whether you should eat more or less on rest vs workout days? Do you favor a full body work out every time you go to the gym? Or do you go by push /pulls,…

I echo @Anvil_Head words. At 1200cal daily I can't imagine you're eating more than 1g per pound of body weight, which, though probably overkill, is very common among lifters, with no liver damage. What do you mean when you say you don't feel you're making the progress you should? Weight loss? Waist size? Weights you lift?…

It's like @seska422 said. It's not about burning, it's about the difference. A pound of fat 'costs' 3500 calories, to lose or gain. However you achieve that deficit (or surplus) throughout your week is really up to you. Exercising is cool though.

From the pictures, I'm guessing the confusion is between supplements that contain isolate, concentrate, a mix, and so on. I recommend this read: bodybuilding.com/content/the-whey-it-is-the-truth-about-whey-protein.html

I recommend checking out https://youtube.com/watch?v=SV7l1sfEmO0 ...and basically anything else in this guys channel.

Deathspell Omega, Paracletus. But just got done with another spin of The Album Leaf's last album, Between Waves.

Perhaps also worth mentioning is that the caloric deficit and surplus that we talk about so often is also arbitrary. We count daily calories, but measure fat loss at the end of the week, plan our cuts and bulks in months, and are proud of transformations from year to year. Our bodies are in a constant flux between deficit…

Yep, correlation.

That is indeed what I think - both are super valid - but the immediate course of action could vary depending on priorities. Are you more interested in making more room in your calorie count to maintain your drinking? Does that mean you'll try to exercise more or eat less? Or maybe you prefer reducing the drinking to eat…

This conversation is going back and forth between drinking less for fewer calories and drinking less as a lifestyle choice. Obviously both are super valid, but perhaps figuring out where your immediate priorities lie may help you figure out next steps.

@Wheelhouse15 and @Aaron_K123 are my new favorite posters.

That is what I meant, which I think is the widely accepted definition. Thanks for writing it out when I failed to do it. I'm also working under the assumption that OP would indeed make "newbie gains" by reducing his caloric deficit to near maintenance (he's at 1000cal daily deficit right now). I do share some of you…

Though it all depends on your macro goals, how much you exercise, your weight loss/gain goals, etc, I'm going to assume you're way overboard in carbs. If you're cooking the pasta at home, look at the nutritional info on the box and see how many times the suggested portion you're eating at a time (usually 2oz or 56g of dry…

@Wheelhouse15 and @StealthHealth bring very good points (not that you need my corroboration :)). My comment was trying to target another mental game, which is the waiting until you've reached the generally-recommended low levels of body fat before a bulk, which can be long and put a dent in your motivation, especially that…

I didn't mean to discredit your efforts. Since you mentioned being unsure about your current logging, I suggested you test it out by having a very strict logging week, with foods and portions you can very reliabily account for, and see if you notice a difference. It may be that you are already are very good at logging, in…

I tend to go by individuals ingredients, prioritizing the more calorie-dense ones. For example, I'm more interested in learning how much coconut milk or heavy cream went into the pot than I am in how many cups of spinach. If you're not losing consistently, you're not at caloric deficit. You could be underestimating…

Which macros are giving you trouble? What do you tend to eat to much of and too little of? Ideally, you would balance every meal so that you get all the macros at the levels you need. But you could try to top it off at the end of the day with more macro-dense foods, i.e., foods that have more grams of one particular macro…

Note that I wrote "micronutrients." For example, there is evidence that heavy drinking is linked to low uptake of vitamin B and D (though D could be also because of the more nocturnal habits). I'm not sure it has any impact on macronutrient metabolization.

@Aaron_K123 beat me to it again. Calories are calories, consumed and burnt. If you eat nothing but whey protein to the point of a caloric surplus, your body will store fat. One thing alcohol can do is irritate the GI tract, which in turn can inhibit the adequate absorption of micronutrients, minerals, etc.

Awesome job @Tsartele! Keep checking in with updates. If I were to leave a suggestion, reassess after you've shed the next 10lbs of fat. From the pictures and your avatar goal, it looks like you could be ready for a legit bulk at that point. All the best.

I would like to echo every one of @Aaron_K123 words. But, to restate them: 1) Take supplements if you can't hit you macro goals with food; or if circumstances prevent you from eating for a while (e.g. gotta drive an hour to work straight from the gym, at which point you'll have been without food for 3-4 hours). 2)…

Welcome! Good job getting here! Track everything you eat, even the occasional binge. I find that the exercise tracker overestimates calories burnt, so double check. We're here to help and support. Feel free to share your goals and talk specifics.

You seem to be covering all of your bases hitting all the big muscle groups. That's great. Are you logging your lifts - sets, reps, weights - so that you can progressively overload your muscles? Do you have a routine you follow, or you more or less wander toward the machines that happen to be available? I'm asking this…

One more thing. The strictness of your nutrition and workout plan will vary with your goals. There's absolutely nothing wrong with starting with a bit more of wiggle room, seeing how your body responds, and then adjusting along the way. Let's say your priority is sliming down. Would you be happy with shedding 1lbs of fat a…

This. Just like we talked about in the other threat. Be realistic, build cheat days into your nutrition, and plan your workout accordingly. Regarding consistency, my main suggestion is to build a nutrition and workout plan that motivate you. If to you nutrition and exercise is suffering, and is only offset by the pleasure…

A calorie range of 1500-2300 is really wide. First, I'd suggest you look at your nutrition and figure out where that big gap in coming from. If you can eat 2300 daily calories half of the time, you can probably eat them all of the time. What calories-dense foods are you leaving out on the days you only hit 1500? If you're…

Try rock climbing. That's what did it for me. Nowadays I get antsy if I don't at least make it to the climbing gym three times a week. I never travel without a pair of climbing shoes. I've even started doing weights to help improve my climbing. There seems to be a climbing gym near you: http://www.boulderdashclimbing.com/

Welcome to the club! I may be preaching to the choir, but log everything you eat, especially the stuff you're not proud of. Take time to understand your eating habits before drastically changing them. Get a baseline, and work from there. You can do this!

I kinda have a similar issue with alcoholic drinks. My workaround is trying to save them for workout days, when I have a few more calories to spare. Obviously alcohol isn't the best post-workout supplement, but a beer or a glass of wine at night won't kill your hard work. Remember, you need to consume 3500 calories beyond…