Retroguy2000 Member

It sounds like you're doing everything right. Four possibilities I can think of: Is the exercise regimen new? If so, that will add water weight. Is the creatine new? Thar can add 3-5 pounds of water weight. Is your scale definitely moving? Hold an extra weight if in doubt, see if it changes. Or have your wife test it.…

The anabolic window is a myth. You should scarf down that protein late if you need it to hit your daily target, not because you had a late workout.

The drugs may inhibit other compulsive behaviors like gambling and online shopping. Depending on your perspective, you may find it a good or a bad thing that behaviors unrelated to food may be influenced. And it makes me wonder what other decisions might be influenced by them.

I partially agree with your methodology, OP. You're right to be tracking your CI and your weight change, and from there estimating your TDEE. That's more valuable than any online calculator plus whatever devices estimate your workout calories. So long as your CO remains fairly consistent, this is the way. I also…

I always recommend getting a set of adjustable db's or loadable db's which will last your progression for the foreseeable future. Otherwise you have the problem of essentially repurchasing weight N times, .e.g if you buy another pair of db's at 30 lb you're kind of rebuying the 25's, then after that another pair at 40 lb…

It sounds like you're training is going well. You're tracking, and doing progressive overload. You probably are making some beginner gains. As well as water retention for recovery. Are you sure you need to be in a calorie deficit and losing weight? Maybe some recomp is good for you, I don't know, you didn't mention your…

Whey protein powder. Add water. 25g protein 120-130 calories.

You should get whey powder with calories from protein at least 70% of total. Any reputable brand is fine. Then be mindful of the calories of what you add to it when making a serving. Note if you have any gastro issues with whey (dairy) you may need whey isolate (more expensive) or vegan instead.

Thanks!

What is the comparison to? Because I see on the pages for each exercise (I haven't made an account), I can see where I stand (with my estimated 1RM via their calculator) vs men of my bw, and also men of my age.

Up to 5-6 reps is more strength/skill focused. Any rep range 5+ can build muscle well. I'd recommend 10-15 rep range for you for several reasons: Lower injury risk than much higher weight for a few reps. Easier to progress by adding a rep from 12 to 13 to 14 say, then adding weight. Easier to gauge where your failure is…

Is your bf% really 18%? There is a lot of error in many methods of estimating it. To lose weight you need to be in a calorie deficit. If you are in a calorie deficit without lifting weights, you will lose about 25% of that lost mass from your lean mass. To mitigate this, frequent lifting. I don't know about your stats or…

All of these options are good. My personal preference: Barbell row pronated grip, or T-bar row (with a double D handle, so that's a neutral grip). I want my main row to be two handed, to save time. Chest supported DB row on a 30 degree bench, so that's two DB's and neutral grip. I use this option for more volume with less…

@ShowPoodleGirl Those are all very good choices. Two things I'd suggest if you don't mind: Not enough quad focus. As you probably know, the Bulgarian can be more quad dominant with foot placement closer to the body and keeping upper body more vertical, and it will still work the glutes too. Or switch the Sumo squat to…

Variety is fine, to a point. The average person doesn't need too much variety for one muscle group in one session (I realize you didn't ask about that), but across multiple sessions in the week, sure that's alright. Or as Tom said, same exercise with different rep range. Don't go adding variety for the sake of adding…

This surprises me. With more muscle than average, your RMR should be higher than average. Is your exercise input skewing the results a lot? As you maybe recall, I've long maintained the assumed 1:1 correlation of exercise calories == can eat them all back, just does not work like that. For me, using sailrabbit's…

There are simple systems like the Navy method which has iirc three tape measurements, however there's still the issue of who is doing the measuring and how consistent it is. Skin caliper methods are better, but again the possibility of user error. Most home scales are useless. Possibly of limited value for trends only.…

If you feel you need a 1RM, you do you. I've personally never seen the need. I'm fine with estimating it via a 1RM calculator. You do need to be properly warmed up for it, with many ascending weight sets with fewer reps each time. Do you need 10 reps with an empty bar to start? Probably not, if you're suitably warmed up,…

I used to use Google Sheets with my own custom spreadsheet, and that was fine. Recently I've been using FitNotes and I like it. It's just a tracker, with history, nothing fancy, but also no ads, no fees, etc.

The coffee creamer is potentially far fewer calories than you think. I use the Nestle creamer and while the stated calories per serving sound like a lot, I once counted the number of cups I was getting from the bottle, and it was about 3x as many servings as the label said. So the total calories is just 1/3rd of what the…

More specifics needed. What equipment? How much experience do you have? You talking cardio or weights?

Here's what I'd suggest for 25 mins: Compound exercises with super-sets, three total exercises for an upper-lower and antagonist super-set as follows: Row. Seated cable row with a double D handle probably, or lat pulldown machine. In the future if you're capable, pullups. Romanian deadlift. Using db's would be faster for…

You say you "put on a few kg" and that you've lost 2kg presumably in the last 10 weeks. That's about 0.5 pounds per week, which if you are close to lean (you don't say, but you imply it) sounds quite reasonable. Slow and steady progress is obviously working. You're already doing a decent amount of activity, so your next…

@xMidox Yeah I probably mentioned RP. I mean your chicken is 120g with 7g fat and 210 calories. Those two numbers seem high. Is that because of how it's prepared, or is that an incorrect data entry?

I'm glad to see you took the advice and that it's been working for you. What are your current reps? Because in a deficit, it's safer to go higher reps, say 10+, rather than say 2-3 reps. Although you probably won't be in a big deficit so maybe that's not critical for you. Try to do the same volume as before. As the weeks…

Kind of. It's really about what you do the majority of the time.

Is that total calories or additional?

MFP suggests 311 for me for an hour. I log it as 250, which is an MET around 2.5 (technically 3.5, minus 1 MET if I were doing nothing instead of working out). My session may be closer to 70 mins anyway, but I just log it as 60 mins 250 cals. @yirara Did you tell the watch that you're lifting? I thought you had to tell…

MET of around 2.5 is a reasonable estimate for additional calories vs doing nothing instead. That's for session time. Also here when adding exercise, look under Cardiovascular → Strength Training for a reasonable estimate.

You're right to keep working around it. Warm up the area a bit more than usual too. Try to look for alternatives. Maybe bicep curl is out, but preacher curl may be OK. Maybe bench press is out, but close grip press might be OK. Pullups are out for you, but maybe T-bar row or similar is OK. Etc. Whatever you can do without…