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On the topic of weight loss
flapjack
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So, I've put on some weight recently. Right now, I'm sitting at about 189 lbs, and I'm a 6'0 male in my mid-twenties. As of a year or so ago, I was about 165 lbs. I feel like a big part of the weight gain came from getting a new job; in my prior position, I was on my feet and moving around a decent amount four or five days a week. At this job, I'm at a desk, all day. My activity level has plummeted.
I've never really been one for exercise or even dieting, but I've been trying to turn that around recently. I've been putting in 20 minutes or so a day, five days a week, on an elliptical trainer for the past couple of weeks. Depending on my pace, the console tells me I burn roughly 250 calories per session doing this. I've also started keeping a food diary and have shifted gears and am trying to be more conscious regarding what I'm actually putting into my body.
In researching all this, though, I noticed that there's a lot of information out there and it doesn't always jive. I've always found the PA H/A community to be really on the ball, so I figured I'd pose the question out here. What should I be doing regarding fitness and diet? Right now I've set my goal at losing 1-1.5 lbs a week. As I understand it, to lose a pound of fat requires a 3500 calorie deficit. I set up a MyPlate account and it gives me a daily target of 1650 calories for 1.5 lbs a week, and closer to 1800 for 1 lb a week. Does this sound roughly accurate for someone of my body dimensions? In the same vein, is it a good idea to try and trend to those numbers as close as possible during the week, e.g. not go too much under/over on any given day?
Sorry for what I'm sure are pretty basic questions about this stuff. I've never really had a lot of experience with fitness before. In the end, it'd just be nice to be able to fit into the same clothes I was able to a year ago.
I've never really been one for exercise or even dieting, but I've been trying to turn that around recently. I've been putting in 20 minutes or so a day, five days a week, on an elliptical trainer for the past couple of weeks. Depending on my pace, the console tells me I burn roughly 250 calories per session doing this. I've also started keeping a food diary and have shifted gears and am trying to be more conscious regarding what I'm actually putting into my body.
In researching all this, though, I noticed that there's a lot of information out there and it doesn't always jive. I've always found the PA H/A community to be really on the ball, so I figured I'd pose the question out here. What should I be doing regarding fitness and diet? Right now I've set my goal at losing 1-1.5 lbs a week. As I understand it, to lose a pound of fat requires a 3500 calorie deficit. I set up a MyPlate account and it gives me a daily target of 1650 calories for 1.5 lbs a week, and closer to 1800 for 1 lb a week. Does this sound roughly accurate for someone of my body dimensions? In the same vein, is it a good idea to try and trend to those numbers as close as possible during the week, e.g. not go too much under/over on any given day?
Sorry for what I'm sure are pretty basic questions about this stuff. I've never really had a lot of experience with fitness before. In the end, it'd just be nice to be able to fit into the same clothes I was able to a year ago.
flapjack on
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Currently painting: Slowly [flickr]
On a typical day, what do you eat at work for meals and snacks?
Currently painting: Slowly [flickr]
Eating less will get you there, but doing more will get you there in a happier manner (from what I've seen).
I try and vary it, though with this project's deadline it's been unfortunately static. Sometimes a can of soup, sometimes a sandwich I bring from home, sometimes one of those microwaveable things that are about 300-450 calories a pop you can buy from the store. I don't really snack at work anymore; if I get the urge to snack, I get up and walk to the breakroom and get myself a cup of water. Sometimes I'll bring like, a Kashi peanut bar or other granola-type bar to work with me as a snack though.
I'm sure the bases will get covered, but y'know, snack healthy, do what you can to keep stress levels low and make sure you move around on your breaks. A nice around-the-block with a buddy at breaks or lunchtime instead of catching up on websites does wonders.
For calorie goals, I've read that it's best not to under-intake on calories as well. So I should be aiming between that 1650-1800 I'm guessing? A couple days ago I missed lunch (crunch time) and with exercise after work my daily intake was something like 1050-250=800 calories, which I'm pretty sure is not great for me.
Always overestimate how many calories are burned from exercise. For example, I think the "standard estimate" for bike riding for someone of my height/weight is about 40 cal/mile, but I would count 25 because you don't know if you're really working as hard as you should be and, again, it's better to be under than over.
Finally, the biggest thing most people run into is simply being hungry. If you can not be hungry and be on a diet, it's easy. That's why a lot of people suggest reducing carby foods -- carby foods will make your blood sugar spike and then drop, making you feel hungry (and if you're really on a diet potentially lightheaded or headachey). Not to mention that you tend to not feel full for very long AND carbs have more than twice as many calories compared to protein or fat. 150 calories of eggs and bacon in the morning stick with me a lot longer than 250 calories of oatmeal, bagel, or donut.
I would never recommend dieting or seriously restricting yourself to a certain amount of calories, unless you're a career bodybuilder or something.
If you're lifting weights, you need more food for fuel and will be consuming more calories.
Also, I'm 5'8, 165lbs. Meaning, you were skinny at that weight. Most people who are 6'0, will usually weigh around 190-200lbs, if they are in decent shape.
Anyway, change your workout every few weeks....and perform some abdominal exercises at the end of your workout.
The more muscle you have, the more fat and calories you'll burn.
It all seems so easy when it's written like that.
An elliptical is all well and good if you're getting your cardio in, but you may wish to take a look at HIIT cardio if all you're putting in is 20 minutes a day. You'll see far more results with HIIT than you would "standard" cardio.
Also, are you doing any weight training at all?
Don't get stuck in the all too common mistake of simply controlling your weight by how much food you eat, or what types of food etc.. (dieting). Turn your body into a damn machine that can tear through quality calories by adding an hour of exercise 4-5 days a week.
Honestly, it's best to just try to have an active lifestyle. Make friends who like to be active. Join a team. Do martial arts. Going to the gym and using an elliptical or lifting weights is nice, but it gets boring very quickly and its easy to run out of steam. But you go mountain biking with your friends every weekend and you'll be hooked. Hit a rock climbing gym 2 or 3 days a week with coworkers.
Mixing social events with exercise is the best way to make sure you stick with it. And you even get to have fun too.
Ryan M Long Photography
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The way to lose weight is reducing the calories you consume. It doesn't even matter what calories you put in, as long as there is enough of a reduction. That said, there are obviously some foods that are more filling than others. You can lose weight eating only twinkies but you'd be hungry (and bored) since you could only eat 10 twinkies or so before you hit your calorie limit. Moreover, on a strictly health level, you're better off eating foods you cooked yourself than prepackaged & processed foods.
"I deserve to eat this unhealthy thing cuz I went to the gym" is the easiest trap to fall into. I'm not saying you could never eat indulgent stuff ever again, but when you are in crunch mode, prepare to make sacrifices. Say you dedicate a month to losing _____ amount of weight. At least for that month, lay down the rules w/ an iron fist. At the end of that month, you will be glad you stuck to your plan of eating healthier.
This is even harder for people who used to be skinnier while doing less. You still have memories for eating ice cream cake and yet staying thin. I myself am 5'11'' and used to weight 155 no matter what I ate. 4 burgers at a time from Wendy's didn't make a dent back then. Today, completely different story.
Losing weight is about consuming more calories via activity/daily life than you take in as food. By eating less or more healthily, you reduce one side of the equation; by working out you reduce the other side. If you work on both at the same time, your chances for success are much higher, especially since it's way too easy to snack on something and blow your whole meal plan apart.
Longer moderate intensity cardio sessions burn more calories, so do that when you can, but be efficient with the time you DO have!
bodybuilders eat like hogs, they just have to eat certain things
some suggestions to use more calories and almost never feel hungry:
OP: Lift weights twice a week and get your cardio workout to 30 minutes.
Eat breakfast, preferably a lean one (an egg and two egg whites scrambled, coffee, and a raw veggie, for example).
Take a multivitamin (to reduce cravings triggered by need)
Use a "third of the plate" rule of thumb at dinner - the entree should cover an area of about a third of the plate, and a veggie dish another third, or be about the size of your fist in the absence of plates.
have a microserving of protein or veggies between meals, and one right before bed with a big glass of water.
Sequester large servings of fructose. (IE don't have a giant glass of OJ with a big bowl of cereal)
oh...and accurately track what you eat. That alone will make a difference, I almost guarantee it.
I host a podcast about movies.
All alcoholic drinks have calories (and slow down your metabolism I understand), so take that into account.
it's worth noting that neat alcohol has calories.
You can save some calories by having a skinny bitch instead of a white Russian but not as many as you think.
I host a podcast about movies.
There are around 230 calories in a White Russian vs. around a hundred for a serving of vodka.
my point being many people think the rum without the coke is "diet"
I host a podcast about movies.
Never shop in a grocery store while hungry.
Get rid of any soda or sweets you have laying around the house. If you can imagine an ad aimed at sugar loving kids or has a woman using trigger words like "rich, velvet, luxurious, sensual, creamy, indulge, etc." for a product in your domicile, trash it.
If I remember correctly from my running class in college, when it comes to running (not sprinting), it's not the amount of time or how fast you run, but how far you go. Energy burned = Length. A person that walks a mile burns as much energy as someone that runs a mile. I find this nice to know if you have a set goal to go a certain distance and have ample time to spend.
If possible, perhaps consult someone that knows quite a bit in making behavior modification programs.
Think of changing your weight not so much as a number chart, but a solid change in lifestyle. It's going to be easier to say "avoid this and that" instead of marking down each single damn calorie you stuff into yourself. People tend to burn out from all that number crunching and dive back into bad habits.
If you think it's unhealthy but really like it, save that item for a small weekend treat for doing everything else right during the week.
Antioxidants are bullshit. Don't buy into them.
This is inaccurate.
Intensity of exercise is important. For an off the cuff example, think of running your car and fuel efficiency. In this case, fuel is calories. Running at slow constant speeds will burn less fuel than putting the pedal to the metal and, in the case of interval training, slow constant speeds are going to burn less fuel than sudden bursts of acceleration interspersed in constant slower speeds.
Intensity of exercise has lasting effects aside from just the calories burned during the activity, particularly when considering anaerobic exercise (like the sprint portions of High Intensity Interval Training and weight lifting).
OP: Eat whole foods, cook your own food, learn to recognize when you are satiated, not when you're bloated full. Incorporate both strength training and aerobic exercises into your workout. This will take more time but if you can set an hour aside three days a week to lift and to run then you will be doing more to improve the quality and amount of your lean muscle mass, increasing your base metabolism, and doing more, generally speaking, for your body and weight loss goals than walking 20 minutes every day.
Ryan M Long Photography
Buy my Prints!
It is as simple as this. There is no magic bullet.
Couch to 5K for Cardio and Starting Strength for Strength Training. I happily endorse both programs - they're easy to follow, allow for people who really aren't physically inclined and have plenty of resources available to you.
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Here is Runners World breaking down the old myth. Link.
OP: And workout with someone else. I had a hell of a time keeping a gym schedule by myself, but with the fiancée we keep to a schedule well and are seeing the results.
I've been following the workouts (or trying to) for only a couple of weeks so i can't tell you yet if it works for weight loss or not, but I can say they are really fun and challenging.
She has workouts (usually full body) and challenges (focused on parts of the body) I would recommend you to begin with the workouts and try the challenges when you feel stronger
Ah, I see. Thank you both for shattering my ignorance and providing the correct information in a timely matter