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2003/09/21, 10:49 AM
Im a 26 year old man, about 5' 10" and 200lbs (I was 240 2 months ago and have managed to lose it).
I am totally commited to losing my weight (2-5% body fat goal). But I am afraid I am going about it the wrong way. I have cut my daily meals to 1 per day (dinner) and try to keep the calories to about 800 or less for that one meal.
Is this going to damage my matabolism? Not to mention the fact that my exercise routine is built strictly around freeweights with very little to no cardiovascular activities.
My goal is to find the perfect balance of foods to eat, the ammount to eat and the frequency of which I should eat them.
Any help in this matter would be gratly appreciated.
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2003/09/21, 11:52 AM
Okay, hold the phone!!
Yes, you are doing damage to your metabolism, You will lose muscle and gain fat by eating that way.
at 200 lbs (congrats on losing 40 lbs, by the way) you need a baseline calorie amount of about 2100 calories.That is just the calories neccesary to be alive, add calories for daily expenditure on top of that.
Are you going to compete? 2-5% bodyfat is extremely low, where did you get that number? What is your current level of bodyfat?
Eating 5-6 small, balanced meals a day will give your metabolism a boost and give you the energy neccesary to work out.
Adding some cardio will be healthier for your heart and help you burn some calories to create a deficit (to lose fat). Just don't overdo it. If you haven't been doing any cardio, start with 20 minutes, a few times a week.
Keep it up with th free weights - push yourself hard to keep your lean mass active.
Look throught he posts here, there are a lot of similar questions to yours with lots of good answers.
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Challenge + Consistency = Results
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2003/09/21, 11:57 AM
Welcome to freetrainers clandress.
1 meal a day? You are heading for the pitts.
Follow Asimmers advice and you will do well. 2-5% bf is way to low. You would probably be ill because your resistance to germs would be to low. Most pro's are between 5-8%, just to give you an idea.
Cograts on losing the 40, and keep up your motivation.
If you want more info email me on here.
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Beleive you can, and you are halfway there.
Ivan Montreal Canada (aka SpongeBob Square Pants to some!)
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2003/09/21, 01:44 PM
Ok, I dont understand the baseline calorie thing. If the only way to loose weight is to have a calorie deficet, why would I continue to eat my baseline and additional calories to replace the calories I burn exercising? Just dosn't make sense to me. Will not my body burn its existing fat calories if it has none to process? As far as competing. no, I have no desire whatsoever to compete, I just want to look good naked :)
As for what my current bodyfat level is, I have no idea. I do not want to be Swartzenager sized, I just want the gymnist look, nice and toned with no extra "jigglies" anywhere.
I guess my main question is, If I eat 5 meals a day with an average caloric intake of 300 cals per meal (less in the morning and increasing for my activities) not to exceed 1500 per day, will that keep my metabolism in check? That would give me a 600 calorie deficet while maintaining my metabolic rate??? Ive read that 3600 calories = 1 lb of body fat... is this true? That would mean that I would loose one pound every 4.2 days without taking my weight training into consideration with this diet.
And finally, what are the effects of training during my diet? If 1500 cals is acceptable and I continue to work out daily based on a average of 2 to 3 days rest per major body group, will my body burn muscle tissue instead of body fat?
I am sooo lost, my primary function is to LOSE the fat, and I might as well have a nice set of pecs, abs and arms to go with it.
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2003/09/21, 05:06 PM
If you have too much of a deficit your body will react by breaking down hungry muscle tissue and storing incoming calories as fat. It perceives a famine when you go too low. The most you want to lose a week is 2 lbs, otherwise you are probably losing muscle and lowering your metabolism.
Training will help you keep the muscle youi have built and create a calorie deficit.
Aim for at least 2000 calories a day, you will burn enough calories lifting and in your daily activities to create the deficit necesary to lose fat.
1500 is low, but it also depends on how much muscle you have. If you can get your body composition tested with calipers, do so. Then you can create a more accurate diet based on your lean tissue mass.
Good luck!
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Challenge + Consistency = Results
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2003/09/22, 02:53 AM
Eating more, smaller meals a day like your example of 5 a day will boost your metabolism. Think of it this way. If your body is fed more often a day, then it will not need to store your meals in the form of sugar or fat. Asimmer gave you very good advice. You'd only want to lose around 2 pounds a week. More than that can be dangerous to your health. So continue eating the 5 meals a day, but you'll need more than 1500 calories a day.
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2003/09/22, 04:22 PM
I have said this numerous times, but I'll say it again. Most of us come to this site doing the wrong things. The things we've been told all our lives. Eat less, exercise more. What you find out here is to gain or keep muscle you have to eat more, lift heavier and do less cardio. Your body needs more fuel to support muscle than it does fat. An average one hour session with weights burns about 400 calories. (I found that info on a website and I'm sure it is different from person to person.) So right there, without lowering calories, you have your deficit. I was working out hard, but restricting my calories so much that I was getting nowhere. My body was in starvation mode and wouldn't give up the weight. Once asimmer got me to eat more and more often I started seeing progress. Trust her, she knows what she is talking about. You will see it over and over on this site: EAT MORE and MORE OFTEN!!
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~Victoria~
...There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.--Beverly Sills
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2003/10/07, 01:53 PM
You will see it over and over on this site: EAT MORE and MORE OFTEN!!
Wow! No-one's ever told me to eat MORE! :)
Hello to all of you. I'm trying to lose about 10 lb myself and was wondering: if I eat 5 meals a day, as you advise, and exercise 4 days a week (aerobics, not lifting) for 1 hour +, would that be efficient?
I'm 24 and I am leading a terribly sedentary life.
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2003/10/07, 05:14 PM
That is hard to say. Aerobics only is not going to give you any muscle gains to speak of, and feeding muscle is where the 'eat more' comes in. What are you eating and how often? Can you add in some training sessions with weights?
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~Victoria~
...There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.--Beverly Sills
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2003/10/08, 12:22 PM
@azredhead57:
I'm on one of those diets during which you only eat one kind of food a day: it's fruit, rice, dairy, vegatable, meat etc. I eat three times a day.
I'm not sure it's the best diet, but it worked for me two years ago - I lost about 20 pounds in 3 months doing aerobics and keeping this diet and another one based mainly on protein.
I only gained about 10 pounds back in two years of practically no exercise at all.
I'm not necessarily looking to gain too much muscle, but I want a firm, fit body.
What do you think?
Thanx in advance for answering me, I feel like I'm alone in this getting fit battle and I could use all the support and motivation I can get. :)
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2003/10/08, 04:19 PM
Having some muscle is what will keep your body burning fat in the long run. I have been overwight all my life and done every 'diet' there is and it never lasted. Since finding this website and changing my eating habits and really working out hard with weights I have seen the changes I've spent years trying to achieve. My advice: Eat 5-6 small meals/snacks a day. Eat some protein, good carbs, and good fat each day. And add resistance training to your schedule 3x a week. You can't have a firm body without muscle and it takes more calories to keep the muscle. Try filling out your profile and get one of the freetrainers programs best suited to your needs and schedule, follow it for the allotted time, usually 8-12 weeks, and see how you feel. Good luck.
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~Victoria~
...There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.--Beverly Sills
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2003/10/08, 05:59 PM
Good answers, azredhead!
perfect_elise, you are setting yourself up for some deficiencies by not eating a wide variety if healthy foods every day.
There is no supportive scientific research findings that support the whole food-combining theories and food seperating diets. Our boduies are made to process and digest myriads of nutrients, and combinations of foods containing multiple nutrients actually aide nutrient absorption.
Don't sell yourself short by not wieght training.
It boosts your metabolism
It builds bone density, staving off osteoporosis
it facilitates longer independence in your life
It enhances your good cholesterol and reduces your bad cholesterol
It improves your body's ability to regulate insulin, combatting diabetes
I could keep going and going
But the best way to a firm fit body is a healthy, balanced lifestyle that includes a healthy, balanced eating plan, a good weightlifting routine (twice a week, total body is enough!) and a good cardiovascular program, and don't forget flexibility and stress reduction - even if it is only 5 minutes a day. Add sufficient sleep and you have found the real 'magic bullet' that will bring you to a fit firm body.
Good luck!
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Challenge + Consistency = Results
"You do or you do not. There is no try." - Yoda
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2003/10/09, 04:47 AM
Thank you asredhead and asimmer :)
I already had a program designed for me on this site (the home workout plan, since my schedule does not allow me to go to a gym, not to mention that I am kind of feeling embarassed to go yet - all those fit people will probably make me feel miserable LOL). I have to say that I've started on Tuesday, not on Monday, and my body is still aching from all those pushups :) I didn't even know I had those muscles that are just about to kill me right now :D
So you suggest that I settle for a permanent "diet". I know you're right and I should change my eating habits for good. I took a look at the nutrition plan and am a bit lost - those carbs/ proteins etc are something quite new to me.
But I guess you end up learning how many of each of those can be found in each particular food after a while. For the moment I'll just keep on bringing those pages with me everywhere I go, even though my friends will probably think I've become some kind of freak lol
Anyways guys, I'll keep you up to date with my progress and I hope you'll be around to help me with this and that now and then. Since this is new to me, I have a bunch of stupid questions. Just let me know If I become annoying lol.
Here's a sample of a stupid question: how on earth am I supposed to breathe to keep running for more than 5 minutes? I was trying to do some "cardio" this morning and I ran out of breath in about a second...
Thanx again. :)
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...snow can wait, I forgot my mittens...
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2003/10/09, 02:50 PM
Slow down enough that you can breath, once you are out of oxygen you are no longer doing yourself any good. Ease into the running part, run a little, jog a little, march a little. As your fitness level increases you will be able to do the five minutes running.
There is no such thing as a stupid question, just stupid answers. There is such a thing as repetitive questions, though. Check around the mesage boards for old posts on topics you are questioning before posting the same one. That helps everyone out.
I can't speak for other people here, but I enjoy helpinh those who are willing to do some elbow work themselves.
Good luck! Keep us posted as to how your progress goes, and good job making yourself sore! That is why they call it a WORKout!
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Challenge + Consistency = Results
"You do or you do not. There is no try." - Yoda
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2003/10/24, 10:11 AM
Hey clandress, well I am very new to the world of bodybuilding,(couldnt do it before) and let me tell you why.I am 5'8" and weigh 250lbs not to good you say? well considering i ve lost over 75lbs id say thats DAMN good. And I ll tell you one thing that scares me about your intake. it can send you to the EMERGENCY ROOM. (Been there done that) I had depleated a majority of my muscle tissue and my resistance to infections became increasingly lower (always sick) Last year at the NOC I met the person who changed my life,Jay Cutler. he gave the motivation i needed to get to where i am today. I guess what I m trying to say is that you should listen to what an experienced bodybuilder has to say, If I hadn't who knows where I would be today!!!
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David
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