colors_fade Member

There is a synergy at work here, and this is what I've found too. I'm more mindful of my diet on the days I workout. This is a big reason why I think it's so important to exercise while losing weight (and also so you'll lose more fat and less lean tissue). It's not just the fitness benefit of working out that is important:…

I've been in exactly that situation: lifting hard with high intensity and being very hungry on a deficit. It's a difficult thing to exercise with high intensity several days per week and maintain a calorie deficit. I've made changes in the past three months that have really helped with this, and have allowed me to not only…

As a general statement of fact, sure, diet matters more than exercise for the purposes of losing weight. But that's really the tip of the iceberg when it comes to weight loss. "have you had success with low intensity training?" Walking, yes. "Always looking for a balance right?" I think it's more about finding out what…

You asked where to start. My advice: Begin by buying a digital food scale and start weighing and measuring all of your food - every last morsel, including the chocolate, - and track your calories in MyFitnessPal. That's the starting point. Because you cannot set and reach weight loss goals if you do not know how much food…

My wife and I rarely share the same food. She has a preference for salads and I prefer other foods. She doesn't need to cut any body fat off her already rock-hard bod; I am in for a very long sit with the calorie deficit. So it doesn't make any sense for us to try and share the same foods. On top of that, when we do go…

I've read studies that link red wine to health benefits, but never just blanket "alcohol". There's a lot of valid reasons to cut alcohol out of your diet when trying to drop weight, and they have nothing to do with the calories in the alcohol. Many people struggle with self-control when they drink, and end up eating more…

Going to the gym on Saturday, even for a light workout, really helps me stay focused and mindful of my eating.

Every morning. It's part of how I create my personal accountability. I weigh the same time every morning, right when I get up, after first urination. From day-to-day, this is fairly consistent, and I can see the slight fluctuations happen, and I know, "Okay, we're up a little bit because we had the extra beers yesterday",…

Yes... Paleo.. the king of all baloney diets. Paleo is the Donald Trump of diets. Complete nonsense. There is no greater diet of pure B.S. in the fitness industry. But hey, do your own research on it and form your own conclusions.

Low carb is just a simplified way for some people to get into a caloric deficit. For some people, it is too easy to overeat carbs, or not track accurately. They go low-carb, cutting out a huge portion of calories because they are no longer eating calorie-dense foods like pasta and bread, and they lose weight. I think…

I sit longer than you. Programmer for a call center. I work out 5x a week and manage my calories and macros. That's all you have to do. If you're in a calorie deficit, you'll lose. If you're working out and in a calorie deficit, and managing macros and hunger, you're probably going to lose only fat. So keep at it. It does…

In addition to the protein suggestion: low Glycemic carbs. They won't spike your blood-sugar the way high GI carbs do. Low GI carbs are filling, digest slower, and provide satiation. And because they help keep your insulin levels lower, your body will stay in fat-burning mode longer and more consistently. Your insulin is…

I've heard good things about about Chris Aceto's book.

And in my experience, this should NOT be underestimated. This is an incredibly important part of anyone's dieting plan, and I think it is given way too little consideration. Figuring out what to eat so you aren't hungry, while maintaining a deficit, is so important... it prevents all those bad things from happening…

Bingo. Good results too. Keep going.

What's my opinion on Paleo? I think James Fell said it best.

In my experience, this is the best option. Keep the deficit small and consistent. The change takes more time, but it's worth it, IMO, because you'll retain most, if not all, of your lean muscle mass. You'll end up with the aesthetic you want.

We should just sticky this answer right here.

Choose low GI carbs so your blood sugar doesn't elevate/spike. Then your diet doesn't have to be weighted so heavily toward one macro or another.

Same. Four to six meals per day for me. I can't imagine fasting. I'd die. Fasting would lead me to binge, or at the very least, make some really fattening food choices.

+1 for this. At your current weight/bodyfat, a recomp would probably be idea. The scale isn't the ideal measuring device... I'll just leave this here:

Starting Strength or Stronglifts. Google. They can be adapted to home environments if all you have access to is dumbbells. But you're better off going to a gym and hitting the olympic bar and doing it right, the way it is programmed, from the beginning. You won't regret it.

This is why it's a good idea to go light at first. Take the first week back and lift lighter weights. If you start from where you stopped last time, you're going to hurt, and that's only going to slow things down.

So... I plateaued a couple years ago. Then I got some great advice: Bench technique is about engaging your lats. It's not just an arm/chest exercise. The lats are huge muscles, and you have to learn how to engage them to really push your bench up. That was REALLY difficult for me to do, and it took nearly a year of…

I was paranoid about going to the gym for the first time three years ago. Turns out, the people at the gym have been some of the nicest, most helpful people I've ever encountered. And very encouraging. We celebrate each other's successes. I like that. The gym is a very positive place to be. You just have to convince…

I'm just going to leave this here...

I'm going to sound like a broken record on these boards, so this will be my last post on this for a while. I love carbs, like you. And I get really hungry on a high-protein, low-carb diet. It took me a long time before I figured out insulin's role in my diet. Not all carbs are created the same. I have switched to mostly…

You just started MFP. 2 lbs. per week is *aggressive*. It's the highest weight loss that is recommended safely. You're just starting out. You're trying to run before you learn how to walk. Adjust your goals to 1 lb. per week maybe? And also, really go over your food choices. What kind of flatbread was it? High Glycemic…

Precisely. Listen: a calorie = calorie in terms of unit of measurement for energy. But when it comes to satiation, think about it this way: I'd like someone to do the following and tell me how they feel after two weeks spent following two different diets, consuming the EXACT SAME AMOUNT OF CALORIES EVERY DAY: 1) Diet A)…

Fiber. Slow digesting foods. Win.