Posts by kylefsu

Original Post by sybil878:

Original Post by kylefsu:

But as far as your concerned, and as other people have said, you need to burn more calories. Like someone said they are estimates, but there's no subsitute for exercising. Diet is only part of the battle, you need to increase your energy expenditure. Someone said that they think there's more to the calories in/calories out thing, but when it comes to strictly losing lbs there isn't. 

This is bull ... sorry for the language, but it simply isn't always the case. I've been training for a half ironman for the past 4 months. On average I run/cycle/swim with a heart rate between 130 - 175 depending on the activity (average 130 for swimming, 150 for cycling, 170 for running) for about 9 - 12 hours per week - sometimes more.  I eat on average 1800 calories per day, 2000 if I have a 2+ hr run or cycle that day. I don't have cheat days. I don't drink. I measure and weigh everything that goes into my mouth. I don't eat out ever. According to the math I should be losing weight like crazy. I'm not. I never do. It just isn't that simple for everyone. Even if the 'estimates' for burn and metabolism are off significantly I should be losing substantial weight every week with my level of activity - I don't.

You are right in that individuals do vary, genetics plays a big part of it. I didn't mean to come off so "all or nothing" because nothing is and it's just the most consistent thing based on tons of research. I'm sure part of whats happening with your is replacing fat with more dense muscle, but if your not losing any weight after 4 months of training and eating right, you honestly might want to see a Doctor because it just doesn't add up.

It's a pretty good ratio but I wouldn't kill yourself over maintaing it. Generally try to eat Carbs earlier in the day and taper them off as the day goes on. Increasing your protein will help preventing muscle loss, generally aim for as many g's of protein for how much you want to weigh (so around 150 g) for you. Try to spread your meals out, It's hard working 50 hours a week im sure, but 6 meals a day keeps your metabolism revved and working alot better than 3 large meals.

First thing though about your workout plan, you gotta increase your weight exercise. I don't know where the myth came from that cardio burns more calories but a total body weight exercise 3 days a week (with a day in between) is what you should aim for right now. It will raise your metabolism for the rest of the day increasing the calories you burn, and replace fat with lean tissue (which requires more calories to maintain).

Your young so try not to be too concerned with strictly weight loss but gaining muslce and improving your overall health. Keep note of how much better you feel after exercising and always keep that in mind when you feel like your not seeing immediate results.

I wouldn't be so quick to point out faults in others when you don't know what they are experiencing. It might sound like attention seeking behavior but many girls have psychological issues with this and actually imagine themselves as larger than they are. For every person that is looking for attention is someone who is seriously struggling with it.

Alright man, first things first you notice that you feel alot better, which is evidence that what your doing is working to an extent. I know losing weight/improving our physique is what most people aim for but feeling better is very important and always keep in mind how much better you feel on the days that your not feeling it.

Like others said you might not be losing straight pounds, but you are losing fat and replacing it with muscle. Fat (0.9 g/cm^3) is less dense than muscle (1.1 g/cm^3). This is a very common frustration, eventually the pounds will start to come off, but its much healthier to not lose alot of weight immediately because you won't be wasting away and it allows your body to adjust.

You also said that digesting food is where most of our metabolism is expended, but that's not true. Most of our metabolism is based on our BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) which is the energy required to maintain your functioning body. The energy to break down foods is only 10% (can range, but depends on the type of food your eating...IE Protein requires the most energy to breakdown). The energy you burn during exercise is also a very small percentage of your total caloric expenditure.

So your main goal should be raising your BMR which accounts for 80-85% of the total calories burned by your body. And the very simple way to do this is by replacing fat with muscle. Lean Tissue (muscle) requires much more energy to maintain than fat does.

A few things with your workout plan, do more weight workout. Don't think about the calories that your burn in the gym as important, which is what you'll notice more when you do cardio. But when you do a weight workout, it raises your whole body's metabolism for up to 12 hours afterwards, increasing the calories you burn throughout the day. While Cardio doesn't do this to nearly the extent. And since it seems like your goal is to mainly lose weight, do a whole body workout (including your Legs!) keeping your rest times down to a minute between sets as this will activate your metabolism the greatest amount.

I don't want to get too specific with your workout plan because I can't work with you or look at any of your medical history but try to focus on the major big muscle exercises like Bench, Squat, Deadlift, Pullups (you can use the assistance machine if you need) as they activate the largest muscle groups which burns more calories (more muscle = more calories). People get caught up in doing bicep curls but the bicep is 2% of your muscle, it's not going to burn a whole lot of calories.

And you just have to watch what you eat, Nutrition is a huge part of the battle and only increases as you get older. Since you've been overweight in the past you have an increased number of fat cells and are more susceptible to putting the weight back on. I don't want to go too in depth on nutrition but read labels, you don't have to maticulously (sp) count calories but be aware and look up nutrition facts before you go out to eat (it really only takes like 2 minutes) as restaurants are very tricky and their huge portion sizes are a major reason why so many people struggle. Its a good habit to ask for a to go box with your meal and cut it in half before you even eat. Be very aware of your liquid calories too, Soda and sugary drinks are another one of the biggest reasons for the obesity crisis. Also don't worry about drinking so much water, we get most of our liquid from foods we eat, the 8 glasses a day thing is a bit of a myth. Drink when your thirsty and throughout the day but don't worry about guzzling large amounts of h20.

Good Luck!