[Sp5]

I recommend this thread, too. The last fitness survivor in the Lifestyle forum.

Anybody got a belly that won't go away?

Many good suggestions.

[speakeasy]

I downloaded the My Fitness Pal app. It allows you to type in everything that goes into your mouth and it will calculate how many calories you ate. You also type in any exercise you did that day so that it subtracts from your gross calories to give you your net calories. I weight 190lbs and my goal is to get to 170lbs with goal of losing 2lbs a week, so it gave me a net caloric allowance of 1400 calories. I've been using the app since monday and I've got 1244, 710 net calories. I'm currently at 726 net calories for today but I haven't had dinner. So all 3 days I've been well under my caloric allowance when you deduct the exercise. My eating habits aren't really that drastically different from what I normally do. I felt pretty sure that most days I don't consume more than 1500 calories, plus I exercise. So that's why my weight is a bit of a mystery and I really think aging and metabolism has a lot to do with your physique. I'm going to continue on this path of recording my diet and see what happens in a month.

[StrikeBack]

You're better off doing it slowly and losing 1lb (of fat) per week or less, if you want to keep all that off once you reach 170lb.

As it is, the daily caloric intake it allows you is stupidly low. When it is already that low, you have no way to go but down, and that's dangerous.

What you want is to boost your BMR as high as possible at the same bodyweight, so when you cut, it's very easy.

Get out of the lose weight fast mindset, as that leads to yo-yo dieting and yo-yo bodyweight.

[CaP7]

Running increases cortisol levels, which cause you to store fat regardless of what you eat.

I started looking way leaner after I stopped my triathlon training 1.5 years ago.

Also, carb cycle.

[WanderingSoul]

I'd bet money that you do indeed eat way more than 1500 calories per day.

You're probably not tracking your calories very accurately.

[Ensam]

There have been numerous studies that show people who 'count' calories routinely under estimate how much they actually eat and overestimate how much they burn off exercising. If you're off by 120 Calories per day (that's slightly less one can of soda or a few splashes of half&half in your coffee, or a dinner roll you absent mindedly eat) at maintenance you'll be gaining a pound a month. To go the calorie counting route you have to basically make all your meals yourself and limit yourself to things like salads or meat without sauces when you go out to eat. And you have to weigh everything that passes your lips. Any oil you cook with, licks off a spoon, creamer in your coffee, etc. all count and will prevent you from losing weight if you don't account for them.

Slow and steady is the trick. One pound a week is a good goal. I like HappyScale for tracking the weightloss because it gives you a moving average. I've been dieting steadily since July and have lost 10 lbs. I have another 30 to go but the difference is already huge. There's no need to rush.

[FretDancer]

(09-27-2014 12:23 AM)speakeasy Wrote:  

This is wayyy above 7%.


Giovonny: I think what he meant by wrestler body is that typically most wrestlers are just big guys, they have muscle but your average wrestler has alot of fat on their arms, legs, and abdominal regions.

[FretDancer]

(10-03-2014 07:29 AM)Ensam Wrote:  

There have been numerous studies that show people who 'count' calories routinely under estimate how much they actually eat and overestimate how much they burn off exercising. If you're off by 120 Calories per day (that's slightly less one can of soda or a few splashes of half&half in your coffee, or a dinner roll you absent mindedly eat) at maintenance you'll be gaining a pound a month. To go the calorie counting route you have to basically make all your meals yourself and limit yourself to things like salads or meat without sauces when you go out to eat. And you have to weigh everything that passes your lips. Any oil you cook with, licks off a spoon, creamer in your coffee, etc. all count and will prevent you from losing weight if you don't account for them.

Slow and steady is the trick. One pound a week is a good goal. I like HappyScale for tracking the weightloss because it gives you a moving average. I've been dieting steadily since July and have lost 10 lbs. I have another 30 to go but the difference is already huge. There's no need to rush.

You are right on the second part, but wrong on the first. The idea is not to count calories to the last decimal point. And you shouldn't rely on how many calories you burn in order to stay in your deficit. In fact, you shouldn't even worry about how many calories you are burning, just make sure you do your workout.

[Ensam]

I have quite a bit of experience cutting and bulking. I wrestled in high school, did crew in college and then did olympic weightlifting after college. All those sports require you to be very in tune with how much mass you're carrying around and how to adjust your mass to maintain strength. It is different when you're in your 20s but I've found now that I'm in my 30s I need to be even more obsessive in order to move the scale. Calorie counting works when done right. I'm not saying it's the only way - but if you're going to use it then you should do it properly and that means weighing everything.

I don't think anybody can get more accurate than +/- 100 Calories per day for a number of reasons but unless you're weighing everything I doubt you'd get better than +/-500 Calories per day. My point about weighing everything that passes your lips is that it's very easy to have 500+ extra Calories a day come from cooking oils, butter, cream, sauces, and unconscious snacking. Also the Calories listed on packaged food only need to be accurate to within +/-20% and local suppliers can be off by several hundred Calories or more. Preparing your own meals from raw ingredients and weighing them is the only way to really know how many Calories you're getting.

In terms of eating back your exercise I think it's a mistake because most often you don't burn as many calories as you think you do but I do think it's important to adjust your food intake to compensate for your total physical activity. Otherwise you're going to have problems maintaining the right intensity in the gym and will lose more muscle mass and strength than you need to during your cut. If you're not lifting 3-4 days a week then it's probably not necessary. Then again if you're not lifting at least 3 days a week you should start.

[Giovonny]

(10-01-2014 08:27 PM)speakeasy Wrote:  

I really think aging and metabolism has a lot to do with your physique.

Yes, of course, aging slows down your metabolism, which in turn makes it harder to burn off excess fat.

That's why it's so important to eat foods that stimulate your metabolism and also to eat more frequently to try and speed up your metabolism.

(10-01-2014 08:27 PM)speakeasy Wrote:  

I downloaded the My Fitness Pal app.

I hope this helps you.

Keep in mind that "calories in vs calories out' will not solve all your weight and bodyfat issues..

The type of food and the quality of the food also matters.

1000 calories of processed, preservative filled, artificially flavored and colored foods will have a different effect than 1000 calories of fresh fruit.

The processed, artificial food is much more difficult for the body to process and thus is more likely to be stored as fat. The fruit is much more likely to be used as energy and will also stimulate digestion, making it far more beneficial.

If you are eating unhealthy foods, you can limit calories and still lose weight, but, it may not be lost in the areas you wish. Your body may burn muscle instead of fat. You are more likely to become "skinny-fat". You can lose weight but your body will still look like shit.

Eating healthy food is much better, in my opinion. You are more likely to lose weight in the areas that you want. Your skin will look better, your digestion will be better, you will have more energy and vitality.

I have seen your body Speakeasy. You don't really need to lose weight anywhere except your belly. This is why I suggest tracking the type of foods you eat as well as total calories.

Just limiting the amount of calories you eat without taking into account the type of foods you are eating could put you in danger of becoming "skinny-fat".

---

If what you are doing does not work, try again.

If this "app" doesn't work, post everything you eat and let us look at it.

We are probably more knowledgeable than some "app".

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The world's greatest athlete -- Lebron James has access to the best trainers, nutritionists, dieticians, etc. in the world.

He lost a lot of weight this summer by avoiding carbs, sugar, and dairy. His diet consisted of mainly meat, fruit and vegetables.

That is a little extreme but I think this would be a great strategy for you to use..

Honestly, when I looked at your body, the first thing I thought was -- "too many useless carbs, too much sugar, too much processed food and not enough fresh fruits and vegetables".

I hope this "app" works for you but if it doesn't, I think the next step is the "Lebron Diet". I really think it would work for you.

(10-03-2014 08:58 AM)FretDancer Wrote:  

Giovonny: I think what he meant by wrestler body is that typically most wrestlers are just big guys, they have muscle but your average wrestler has alot of fat on their arms, legs, and abdominal regions.

Hmmm..

That has not been my experience..

In my experience, wrestlers are usually in great physical shape. (I'm assuming that we are talking about greco-roman type wrestlers and not "professional", fake wrestlers..) If you guys are talking about "professional", fake wrestling than excuse me.

---

Here is my diet for today:

8am -- Oatmeal with berries and protein powder.

10am -- Smoothie of 3 bananas (frozen) and 2 large scoops of peanut butter; blended with water.

1pm -- Grilled chicken, brown rice, salad

4pm -- 2 or 3 peaches and a few handfuls of nuts

7pm -- A big bowl of homemade chicken soup + black rice.

9pm -- Another smaller bowl of soup.

[speakeasy]

Was pushing 195lbs when I started this thread. Now down to mid 180s already!

[StrikeBack]

Quote:

The type of food and the quality of the food also matters.

1000 calories of processed, preservative filled, artificially flavored and colored foods will have a different effect than 1000 calories of fresh fruit.

The processed, artificial food is much more difficult for the body to process and thus is more likely to be stored as fat. The fruit is much more likely to be used as energy and will also stimulate digestion, making it far more beneficial.

The other, perhaps more important, reason is that processed foods are very poor in micro-nutrients and therefore your body doesn't feel satiated with the same 1000 calories, whereas natural foods are richer in micro-nutrients. Which means that you will still feel hungry after eating 1000 calories of processed foods and will want to overeat. This is by design, as processed foods are created to make you wanna eat more and more.