[Elec]

Tony Hawk?

I've lost about 40 pounds in the last year and a few months. I started after New Year's '04 and was into low-carb pretty hardcore. To my amazement, it worked out well for me. Eating mainly low-carb stuff kept me feeling more full which kept me from eating so much (calories!). I lost most of the weight within 4-5 months. Went from 215 to 180, and I'm now sneaking down to 175, though I'm not really on a strict low-carb diet anymore. Maintaining a good weight is a lot easier than losing weight, and I find that if I occasionally want pizza or a real Coke or whatever, I can have it, just not all the time. You don't get fat by what you eat today, you get fat by eating that way over and over again. I was eating just a little over my balance point and the weight just kept creeping up. The change in eating habits made it fall off quickly as a result. The biggest change was that I just don't really eat as much as I used to. I used to eat till I was stuffed (and sometimes eat some more). Now I'll eat a little something, think about what I want next, and realize I'm not really hungry anymore. If you can stop at that point, you'll do just fine

 

[electic]

forum.bodybuilding.com

check out the fat loss section.
google HIIT - High Intensity Interval Training

 

[EyeAmEye]

Today's diet consisted of Hunan Beef, BBQ Boneless Chicken & Fried Wontons for lunch, some Pringles White Cheddar chips for a mid-day snack, Grilled Cheese on Wheat for dinner, and some Ben & Jerry's Brownie Batter ice cream for desert. Tomorrow I'm on to some pepperoni pizza, and topping it off with Entenmann's Soft Baked Chocolate Chip Cookies

The key I believe is consistency. I've been terribly sick for the past week and a half, but haven't skipped the 1 & 1/2 to 2 hr. "hellride" on the stationary bike (alternating between mid-level resistance for 5 min. and 20 min. on max) once this week. Followed by some light weight lifting, max reps instead of repeated sets. My calf muscle has always bulged through the layers and layers and layers

of fat, but it has really tightened over the past 6 months. The light weights and fat loss have resulted in some of the muscle tone to begin the long road back on my upper body. Now if only the triplets would grow tired of their warm, watery womb...

 

[Tyson]

Oh, I forgot to mention, I lost all my weight doing no aerobics. That's right, not a single step or single pedal. I wanted to prove a point (to myself), that it was possible to be "in shape", ie - lean and muscular - without spending hours of your week running, walking, biking, etc. I simply cut my calories and worked out once a week (very intensely) with weights. I'm not posting this as a rebuttal to anyone else's post, just simply wanted to share my (probably unique) experience.

A few other things I learned - Coffee is a great appetite supressant. Drink it right after breakfast and you can make it through to a late lunch pretty easily.

Water makes you hungry. Yeah, you need to drink a lot of it for health reasons, but that stuff always gives me the feeling of needing to eat some food.

Break up your meals. I ate 3 main meals a day, with 2 "snack" meals a day. Each meal was about 350 calories, each snack was 200 to 250 caloris. I usually came in at about 1500 calories from food. The other 200 usually came from a glass or 2 of scotch

Scotch (and other whisky) is a great appetite supressant. And they say that a small ammount of alcohol each day is not bad for you, so drink up!

Learn to cook - it's a lot easier than you think, and the recipe's tell you how many calories there are per serving, so you can keep an eye on how many calories you are taking in. Eating out you have no idea how many calories are in a serving, and you tend to want to "fill up" in order to justify paying for the food.

If you don't want to cook, buy microwave dinners. Yeah, some of them suck and taste terrible, but some are pretty good. And the ones from Lean Cuisine, Healthy Choice, etc.. all usually have between 250 to 350 calories, so it makes it very easy to get your meal in exactly the right portions.

 

[pigmode]

Lots of good advice. My workout vehicle is viewable in the "Surf Ski" link of my sig. At least 1.5 hr., 4 times a week. Again, I'm not in the least overweight, but am looking to reduce the last couple percentage points.

At the stage I'm at, the other concern is the burning of muscle tissue. Need to learn more about how and when the body metaboizes carbs, fat, and muscle, especially in relationship to a workout schedule. Popular wisdom seems to indicate that metabolism can be manipulated to a certain degree.

 

[Jeff Guidry]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elec Eating mainly low-carb stuff kept me feeling more full which kept me from eating so much (calories!).

This is precisely the caveat I was going to give to the 'calories is calories' argument. Some people like Elec and I may have unstable blood sugar levels caused by excess insulin which results in hunger. Eating low carbs helps to maintain insulin and glucose levels in a more normal range, reducing hunger. Saturated fat is a major player in making you feel full, so ironically, you can eat more fat and lose weight (and be healthy).

For those of you that don't know the details behind low carb diets, get the Atkins New Diet Revolution book. Lots of good info. I don't think low carb is for everyone, but everyone who has been fat for a long time could probably benefit from understanding the basic principles behind insulin resistance, which is discussed in the book.

 

[TWIFOSP]

Well back when I was 6'1, 165ish and 9% BF I maintained it by doing the basics:

Fat production = calories in - calories burned. If calories burned > calories in; fat ++
Low body fat is made in the kitchen, not the gym.
Excluding fat from a diet won't help much. Eat the right amount fat, the right amount of carbs for your energy level and the right amount of protien for your fitness level.
LIFT LIFT LIFT. Cardio is great, for every oz of muscle mass, it makes it that much easier to burn calories while you sit, and that much more calories burned when you excercise. Lifting and gaining muscle mass is the most often overlooked and easiest way to burn off those last few pesky pounds.
Cardio, I put cardio last because it's a no brainer. Jumping rope will definitely carve you into stone. I did a mix of sprints and jumping rope... almost like a boxers routine.

If you aren't blessed with a certain body type you gotta keep up everything to maintain super low body fat. Take me for instance, I just stopped eating right (went for more mass so consumed as many calories as I could) and my abs disapeared in a hurry. But when I go to cut this extra fat off, it should be easier than last time since I'll have more muscle mass. Or at least, that's the theory. My recent insomnia has pretty much ruined my fitness goals

 

[gsferrari]

Run in the morning
Lift in the evening


I typically run 4 miles every morning and follow a lifting routine in the evenings which changes every day to target different muscle groups. I started out with heavy weights and then taper it off to more repetitions. This way I dont look more bulky than I already am. I am a pretty BIG guy and bulk is not what I am looking for...

But there is truth about mixing aerobic and anerobic workouts during the week. More muscle mass = faster fat burn.

remember - none of this necessarily translates to weight loss. My weight has been a steady 190 lbs since I dropped down from 240 to 190

 

[TWIFOSP]

Guru -- I think you were trying to make this point, but just to stress it:

Weight loss doesn't matter. Aim for body fat % drops ect. Weight is just a number, without LBM or BF% to go on, it means nothing.

Also, unless you've been at the physical fitness thing for a while, cardio in the morning, weights in the evening will be counter productive for a newbie, or even someone who's been at it for 4-6 months.

For someone just starting out, I would recommend running or cardio in the morning only on your off days of weight training. Lift 3 times a week, cardio 2 times a week (yes that few if you do it very intensive) and rest completely.

I'd also recommend starting on high rep, low weight for the first month, and then switch to a periodization lifting (google that term) schedule. Basically you switch between low weight high rep and high weight low rep. LW HP makes mass for more muscle, LW HP rips it apart and makes it denser and stronger.

Also, be sure to ADD more calories to your diet if you start along this path. With this new change in fitness, you'll want to add calories. Your goal is to drop BF, so this might be counter intiuative but adding calories several times a day (eat 5-6 smaller meals) will kick your metabolism into high gear. Soon you'll be a lean calorie burning machine without even having to try.

Since you only want to lose a few pounds of BF, then definitely keep the calories up while you redo your metabolism and the central nervous shock of working out.

 

[gsferrari]

if youve never lifted before then the first week will be hell...every muscle will ache...you will not be able to lift your arms over your head...sleeping in the night will be a nightmare...

But you can feel good that you are working yourself...getting those muscles something to worry about and therefore regroup...rebuild...

I love pain...not in the weird way but when I feel the throb in the muscle which is a warm, pain (not the pain associated with injury) then I feel good...job well done.

But running is my passion...In Erie we have a nice 13 mile loop called Presque Isle...BEAUTIFUL but cold on occasion...

lovely.

gs