GauchoMark Member

Some of the Polar HRM's have a strength training mode. I think it is considered more accurate, but the number of calories burned during strength training is pretty fuzzy in general due to recovery calories. I usually don't count strength training calories unless I am trying to gain.

I weigh my food most of the time. It is the best way to know how much you are eating. HOWEVER... you shouldn't be obsessive about it. You can still lose weight, but you need a few guidelines. 1) Eat at home as much as possible - This is the ONLY way to even have a chance at controlling what goes in your body. Plus, you can…

Also, I meant to say - if you have been dieting for a while, it probably wouldn't hurt to take a week off and eat a little above maintenance calories. Just for 1 week though!

Like has been said, eating more will not make you lose weight. Your current problem lies in eating too much for your activity level to lose weight. That said, realize that logging your food, using an HRM, calculating your BMR/TDEE are ALL estimations. These estimations are very error prone. So, it doesn't really matter…

for the record... I like my bacon burnt!

so... like with every other food in the database, it is simply an estimate. There is a certain amount of error when you compare actual vs. the printed value. As for logging meat, I ALWAYS try to log the cooked value unless I am eating sushi! Even though it might not be exact, I still think that it is more accurate than the…

Why not just change the names? I don't work odd shifts, but I just renamed all of mine "meal 1"..."meal 6". First meal I eat after I wake up is meal 1, last meal I eat before I go to sleep is meal 6.

just an "in general", those vitamin packs never have enough omega 3 to help anything, no matter what brand you use. If you want to take omega 3, most studies show that you need about 5-10g (yes, that is 5-10 capsules typically) to get any appreciable benefit. Of course, if you eat plenty of omega3 rich foods, you don't…

So, how much has your LBM increased in the last 6 months while in a deficit? Also, how lean are you? There are a few exceptions to the "rule" where people increase LBM, but I think most people agree that gaining muscle in a caloric deficit is not optimal - typically to the point of not worth even mentioning.

oh, and don't mess with carb cycling until later on.

I swear... every time I pop back into the MFP boards there seems to be a new popular acronym! I guess it is LCHF now! Both of the replies you have gotten are dead on, though. I'll expand though. It doesn't matter how you cut calories. To lose fat simply requires you to eat less than you burn. That is the first step. To…

Is carb cycling legit? Yes and no, not really. I'll explain. Yes, for a seasoned lifter that is used to the cut/bulk cycles and is pretty lean already, it can be a great technique. This is the type of person that has been training for some time and has dialed in their diet and is very comfortable lifting. In other words,…

water retention and time (1 week). 1 week isn't long enough to see any significant change in fat loss no matter what you do.

Well, it depends. What are your current stats? What is your goal? What are you currently doing for exercise? In general, get your diet in order first and foremost. Once you get used to sticking to that, you can add in some exercise. I'm a big advocate for balance on all fronts, so I think a good mix of cardio and strength…

I started out at 305 lbs and in the pic to the left I was about 180 lbs. I have been fluctuating between 190 and 200 for about 2.5 years now. I have learned a lot in the past 5 years or so, but the main thing is perseverance. You have to find something that you can stick with and make a life change, not just change habits…

I rarely look at my net calories unless I am just trending data or something. Calories remaining is much more useful in determining how much you can eat.

there is a rule about not eating more than 4oz of chicken? Never heard that one! I'd say to ignore that rule, whatever it is. What you really need to worry about with protein is how many grams you are getting overall for the day. You need to make sure you are getting enough to maintain and rebuild your muscles as you lose…

Also exercise and protein intake helps you retain muscle mass. Overweight people actually have a lot of muscle mass underneath the layer of fat. If you can retain that mass as much as possible, it helps with weight loss and appearance down the road. Just an FYI, I'm 6' tall and started at 305 at somewhere around 35%BF. The…

I recently bought a 15' aluminum canoe and use a 240cm double ended paddle. Even with just me paddling with my wife and daughter on board, I can go all day without getting too tired. Last weekend, I went for 2 hours at a fairly leisurely pace, but a constant speed. Out of curiosity, I wore an HRM and my rate rarely broke…

Its looking better from a protein and salt intake. I'd suggest throwing in a couple of bananas as well just to get the soreness taken care of. That will give you some magnesium and potassium. I really think the soreness is more from a lack of electrolytes/salts.

all food is healthy in the right amounts.

Along with that, you are hardly eating any sodium. If you are going to do that much exercise, you need to eat well, not just hit your calorie goal. Your body NEEDS protein, fat, and electrolytes (aka salts). If you are logging accurately, your sodium is painfully low and as is your protein. Make sure you are getting sodium…

IMO, IBS is a "catch all" diagnosis. In most cases they don't know why you are having issues and they just toss it into the IBS category. I'm not saying your issues are not real, but rather, doctors tend to use IBS as a way to just say "I don't know", so figuring out how to deal with it is very individualized. I wish…

thanks. that is a lot of info to process!

You can always set it manually. Sounds like something is a typo though. As for the fitbit adjustment, as long as you have negative adjustments turned on, it doesn't matter what you set your activity level to. The fitbit will add AND subtract calories based on your activity level. My personal preference is to just set it as…

Geez, is this thread still here? It's been over 24 hours now. We have to let this one die so I don't have to keep looking at the "misspelt" title!

Its not a very realistic goal. You are talking 1.5-1.75 lbs/wk sustained for 6 months. Not that it CAN'T be done, but it will be very difficult to do for that long. As for "healthy", it would really just depend on how you do it, but I would lean towards probably not so much. However, being overweight isn't healthy either,…

I would guess that your routine has changed slightly somehow. It might be water weight, it might be increased activity, it might be something else, but I'd say that this is temporary and it too shall pass, so just try to keep reasonably on track. If you were exercising and now aren't that can cause a big water difference…

There are really no "freebie" foods. However, if you are at the end of the day and want an apple or something, it won't kill you. It will just slow your progress slightly if you make it a habit.

yeah, like SezxyStef said. Set up your macro percentages based on your pre-exercise numbers. That way, if you don't exercise, you still hit your numbers. You just have to remember that exercise will give you more calories, hence more macro allotment, so you just know that your original protein and fat numbers are really…