Author somedude81 Posted February 2, 2014 Author Posted February 2, 2014 I'm doing a bit more research and playing with Excel. And I'm wondering, is it feasible to lose two pounds of fat a month while keeping the current amount of muscle or even increasing it? I don't want to drop below 150, yet still get my BF % somehow down to 15%.
Robert Z Posted February 2, 2014 Posted February 2, 2014 (edited) I'm doing a bit more research and playing with Excel. And I'm wondering, is it feasible to lose two pounds of fat a month while keeping the current amount of muscle or even increasing it? I don't want to drop below 150, yet still get my BF % somehow down to 15%. 2 lbs a month is a piece of cake, so to speak. 2 lbs a week is getting tough but still a reasonable pace. At my peak rate of loss I was losing over 5 lbs a week. Of course I was very heavy at that point and I had just started a very strict low-carb diet. PS. Those we net losses. I was adding muscle at the same time and muscle is much denser than fat. So 2 lbs net loss per week may actually represent a 4 lbs per week loss of fat if you are exercising hard and adding muscle. Edited February 2, 2014 by Robert Z
Eau Claire Posted February 2, 2014 Posted February 2, 2014 I'm doing a bit more research and playing with Excel. And I'm wondering, is it feasible to lose two pounds of fat a month while keeping the current amount of muscle or even increasing it? I don't want to drop below 150, yet still get my BF % somehow down to 15%. You don't have to worry. You can eat if you feel you are too light. 150 is at the plus side for your height. Once you get down to the low 150's forget weight and just go with whatever makes you feel good. Re weight loss. 2 lbs a month is fine if you are toning up. You are not 'huge' so no imperative to be concerned about the rate as long as it is going in the right direction. Unlike on the TV shows, when we weigh people we don't care how much they lose a week as long as they are losing weight. It means they have reversed their negative lifestyle.
Author somedude81 Posted February 3, 2014 Author Posted February 3, 2014 Did yoga today. That was.....much harder than I expected. Damn my wrists hurt. 2 lbs a month is a piece of cake, so to speak. 2 lbs a week is getting tough but still a reasonable pace. At my peak rate of loss I was losing over 5 lbs a week. Of course I was very heavy at that point and I had just started a very strict low-carb diet. PS. Those we net losses. I was adding muscle at the same time and muscle is much denser than fat. So 2 lbs net loss per week may actually represent a 4 lbs per week loss of fat if you are exercising hard and adding muscle. You don't have to worry. You can eat if you feel you are too light. 150 is at the plus side for your height. Once you get down to the low 150's forget weight and just go with whatever makes you feel good. Re weight loss. 2 lbs a month is fine if you are toning up. You are not 'huge' so no imperative to be concerned about the rate as long as it is going in the right direction. Unlike on the TV shows, when we weigh people we don't care how much they lose a week as long as they are losing weight. It means they have reversed their negative lifestyle. So I wonder if I should try to lose more pounds a month. What I'd like to do if at all possible is lose fat and gain muscle. I wonder if it's as easy as eating cleaner and using weights.
Els Posted February 3, 2014 Posted February 3, 2014 Is it really possible? If so that would be great. If not, I think I want to to start cutting without losing the muscle I have. If that's the best way to lower my body fat. If you are aiming for a very muscular bodybuilder physique, probably not possible. If you're just aiming to lose some weight and simultaneously build some muscle, then yes possible, from what I've observed. 170 lbs at 5'6" is a lot - I think you would need to be a very hardcore bodybuilder to be at that weight and that height and have all of it be muscle and not belly. You can definitely still be toned at 150 lbs at your height. 1
Mr Scorpio Posted February 3, 2014 Posted February 3, 2014 (edited) Any advice on how I can start? Start researching. There are plenty of people here qualified to answer your questions, but you can get the answers yourself with a dozen google searches. What I'd like to do if at all possible is lose fat and gain muscle. I wonder if it's as easy as eating cleaner and using weights. If by "eating cleaner" you mean using a log to track your diet, including protein, carbs, fats and macro-nutrients, consuming 4000 calories a day with 1.5 - 2.0 grams per protein per pound of bodyweight, while maintaining a particular ratio of calories for each meal, and eating at least seven meals per day and drinking at least a gallon of water, everyday, then yes. This is to say that yes, the individual steps you must take are easy. It is the discipline of it all that is very hard. You might thinking eating seven quality meals per day is easy, but it isn't. It is expensive, time-consuming, inconvenient, and often monotonous. If it were "easy" then everyone would do it. Edited February 3, 2014 by Mr Scorpio 3
tman666 Posted February 3, 2014 Posted February 3, 2014 While it depends somewhat on your body type, my experience has been that the more muscle mass one has, the easier it is to lose fat. In addition, it's much more difficult to put on muscle mass than it is to lose fat. My point with this is that yes, your diet should be tuned in, but it's all for naught if you're not training hard. Most people don't know what training hard means. Unless you have specific health reasons not to, you should be squatting and deadlifting regularly. Pressing and rowing are things that most guys do plenty of, and they are good things. But if you're not doing some sort of heavy leg training, you're missing out on many potential gains. In my experience, the easiest and best way to put on muscle mass is to get stronger in ALL rep ranges. Many guys get hung up on how much weight is on the bar. This is one way to measure strength, but for the purposes of building muscle, you want to get stronger across the spectrum (1-5 reps, 6-10 reps, 10-20 reps). There are many ways to accommodate all of these rep ranges into your training. The other thing to keep in mind is form. Form is not only important for injury prevention and maintaining healthy joints/tissues, but it's also helpful in developing the proper leverages to lift more weight in the long run. You may want to look into something like Starting Strength. It's a traditional 5x5 program that uses linear progression to build strength. Since you're a beginner, you have the benefit of being able to see more linear gains. As far as diet goes, I don't think you need to go nuts with it. I think keeping a food log for a couple of weeks is good to get an idea of what your macros look like right now, but in the long term, you should be focusing on changing your dietary habits for the better so that it doesn't take as much energy and thought on your part. Basically, lift a lot, eat well, sleep well, hydrate well. You'll make mistakes and find things that don't work. The main thing is that you stay consistent with your training and diet. Showing up is sometimes the hardest part. 3
TylerDurdenn Posted February 3, 2014 Posted February 3, 2014 Diet is without a doubt the hardest thing of getting fit/big. Working out is the easy bit!
Mr Scorpio Posted February 3, 2014 Posted February 3, 2014 Unless you have specific health reasons not to, you should be squatting and deadlifting regularly. After you are shown how to do so properly. I'm sure the fine folks here could post some links to videos that they consider proper.
tman666 Posted February 3, 2014 Posted February 3, 2014 (edited) After you are shown how to do so properly. I'm sure the fine folks here could post some links to videos that they consider proper. It's difficult to nail down exactly what "perfect form" is, since individual strengths and leverages come into play. There are a million different cues that can come into play with both squats and deads, but in general, you want to make sure that your knees track properly and that your lumbar spine is neutral. Obviously, there's a lot more to it than that, but those two things will help keep you safer. Good : Good Good Edited February 3, 2014 by tman666 4
Emilia Posted February 4, 2014 Posted February 4, 2014 Good : quite a narrow stance, he explains why of course but still
Author somedude81 Posted February 4, 2014 Author Posted February 4, 2014 When I was talking about eating clean I talking about trying to cut carbs and sugar, having more protein and some vegetables. For example my dinner last night was quinoa and chicken. I'm still working on the vegetable thing. As for working out, does this look like a good plan to start with? Bodybuilding.com - From Here To Weightlifter: Muscle Gain For Beginners
tman666 Posted February 4, 2014 Posted February 4, 2014 When I was talking about eating clean I talking about trying to cut carbs and sugar, having more protein and some vegetables. For example my dinner last night was quinoa and chicken. I'm still working on the vegetable thing. As for working out, does this look like a good plan to start with? Bodybuilding.com - From Here To Weightlifter: Muscle Gain For Beginners Looks like as good of a plan as any for a beginner. A program like this (that uses more bodyweight/dumbbell movements rather than barbell movements) should help you build up your base level of physical preparedness so that you'll be able to train with heavy barbell movements in the future. 1
Author somedude81 Posted February 4, 2014 Author Posted February 4, 2014 Looks like as good of a plan as any for a beginner. A program like this (that uses more bodyweight/dumbbell movements rather than barbell movements) should help you build up your base level of physical preparedness so that you'll be able to train with heavy barbell movements in the future. Cool. That's exactly what I'm looking for.
AnyaNova Posted February 4, 2014 Posted February 4, 2014 When I was talking about eating clean I talking about trying to cut carbs and sugar, having more protein and some vegetables. For example my dinner last night was quinoa and chicken. I'm still working on the vegetable thing. As for working out, does this look like a good plan to start with? Bodybuilding.com - From Here To Weightlifter: Muscle Gain For Beginners You know, I know it is expensive, but I would recommend seeking personal training. They will ensure that you are getting the most out of the workout by using proper technique (or in my case, as close to proper technique as I am physically capable of, which sometimes, isn't very much ), and also you will be much less likely to end up injuring yourself. Also, it will ensure a certain level of discipline and commitment. I know, that is just me, though. And I understand that its not the most easily affordable option.
Author somedude81 Posted February 4, 2014 Author Posted February 4, 2014 You know, I know it is expensive, but I would recommend seeking personal training. They will ensure that you are getting the most out of the workout by using proper technique (or in my case, as close to proper technique as I am physically capable of, which sometimes, isn't very much ), and also you will be much less likely to end up injuring yourself. Also, it will ensure a certain level of discipline and commitment. I know, that is just me, though. And I understand that its not the most easily affordable option. I considered getting a personal trainer, but they wanted to charge me $35 a week. My membership is $30 a month. Though because I'm not working, and living on student loans right now, I simply can't afford that. I've been working out, on and off for years so I have a general idea what to do about form and other stuff so I won't hurt myself. 1
Emilia Posted February 5, 2014 Posted February 5, 2014 Not to dismiss personal trainers completely but the few that know what they are doing charge a fortune. Your run of the mill average gym trainer is often too conservative in my experience and doesn't necessarily know how the body works. How you build overall strength gradually, the importance of mobility and good form. Quite shocking. I remember the advice I got years ago from some of them... That's when I started talking to lifters and military guys about these things. They tend to know more than your average PT who is busy trying to impress the girls with bicep curls. There are good ones but they are expensive.
Grumpybutfun Posted February 5, 2014 Posted February 5, 2014 Hey some dude, how are you feeling? What have been your experiences, thoughts so far with working out and changing your diet a bit? The key is to stick with it. Come back here for support if you need a boost. Here for you. You are getting some good weightlifting advice, just make sure to do some cardio too. Good luck, Grumps
Author somedude81 Posted February 5, 2014 Author Posted February 5, 2014 Hey some dude, how are you feeling? What have been your experiences, thoughts so far with working out and changing your diet a bit? The key is to stick with it. Come back here for support if you need a boost. Here for you. You are getting some good weightlifting advice, just make sure to do some cardio too. Good luck, Grumps My first workout day was yesterday. So right now I'm just feeling sore. How I feel mentally is a whole 'nother issue that I won't get to in this thread. Mr.Castle asked the question, "Do You Work Out For Yourself Or For Them?" It's definitely for them.
Eau Claire Posted February 5, 2014 Posted February 5, 2014 My first workout day was yesterday. So right now I'm just feeling sore. How I feel mentally is a whole 'nother issue that I won't get to in this thread. Mr.Castle asked the question, "Do You Work Out For Yourself Or For Them?" It's definitely for them. Ha! First thing I noticed in my guy was his smile and great body. My guy said my pretty face and big boobs. When you are out for a run, pretend you are chasing a naked hottie and if you catch her, you get to keep her. When I run, I pretend I'm chasing a Prada van full of shoes and handbags. Make yourself laugh when you work out. 1
Tayken Posted February 6, 2014 Posted February 6, 2014 Someone can make this thread more useful to those that need to lose the weight if they : 1. list the type of fruits people should eat instead of the high sugar ones 2. a typical low fat meal for breakfast, lunch and supper 3. the type of exercise to do in the gym with what machine 4. supplements if any to aid in the fat loss 1
tman666 Posted February 6, 2014 Posted February 6, 2014 Someone can make this thread more useful to those that need to lose the weight if they : 1. list the type of fruits people should eat instead of the high sugar ones 2. a typical low fat meal for breakfast, lunch and supper 3. the type of exercise to do in the gym with what machine 4. supplements if any to aid in the fat loss My answers: 1) Avocados and tomatoes 2) low fat isn't necessarily the greatest for fat loss... a caloric deficit is needed. High protein, low to moderate fat, low to moderate carbs. Alternate higher carb days and lower carb days by eating more carbs on training days, less on rest days. Protein is kept high every day (1 gram/day per lb of lean mass). 3) Squats. Any and all kinds. 4) not especially necessary. Supplements won't help much if your diet isn't in check in the first place. Caffeine can be useful, but again, the effects won't amount to anything unless you're already in a caloric deficit. Be careful with stimulants.
BOREDouttaMymind Posted February 6, 2014 Posted February 6, 2014 go to bodybuilding.com (no its not just for muscle heads) create a profile. enter your stats. learn the moves and routines. change your diet. youll be at your goal in 18 months or less. I went from 131 skinny dude to 163 in 2 years.
Author somedude81 Posted February 8, 2014 Author Posted February 8, 2014 Well today was supposed to be the second day of my new program. It was actually supposed to be Thursday, but I kept pushing it back. Anyways I force myself to go to the gym even though I haven't been feeling it at all. I get on the treadmill to do my warm up, I take my headphones out of my pocket and my pen falls out, and instead of falling on the wide moving part of the treadmill which would then make it go to the floor, it manages to fall in the tiny one inch area between the moving belt and where your feet can go. So I kick the pen trying to get it to go to the floor and it somehow manages to go inside the machine. At least I think that's where I went because I couldn't find it anywhere. So my pen vanishes which leaves me with no way to record the workout for the day and my mood just crashes. I walk for two minutes, everything just feels wrong and I go home. I was in the gym for about 7 minute. Amusingly enough, the first day I worked out, my shorts split in the back while I was doing body weight squats at the beginning of the workout and I had to tuck my towel into my shorts to prevent my rear from showing. I wonder what's going to go wrong when I try to work out next
xxoo Posted February 8, 2014 Posted February 8, 2014 Sorry, the split pants made me laugh It's all about perseverance, and learning along the way. It gets easier! Try not to be so easily discouraged. No pen? Oh, well. You can still work out without recording it. Everything doesn't have to be "by the book" to be a step in the right direction. You know those negative voices and feelings and all that crap that clutters the mind and makes it difficult to relax and be productive? I just go hard until all that stuff shuts up.
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