How to lose fat for Noobs - Part II

[ReedT]

Its already been stickied once, I hope this one stays a floater and just gets bumped. Maybe people will read it lol.

HOPEFULLY they will, but noobs are noobs for a reason >.>

[jake1224]

epic/10.

[thatboijohn]

Short term fix, Go on a contest prep diet.
Long term, there is no way to directly control how much water weight you're carrying.




I'd advise you ween yourself off of it.



This is more valuable information than whatever a scale will tell you.




See above. There are better, more rational, ways of gauging progress.

alright ill do it once a week, and just control the sodium .

[mralex2]

Wavelength - nice! Thank you for taking your time to write this up.

Question - When you say sipping on WHEY all day. What exactly do you mean? Do you mixup a big batch of water+whey and leave it on your desk? Is it room temp? How's exactly you drinking this?

Sounds like something I'd like to try out...

I also noticed the wording, you mentioned you eat whatever you'd like. However, this is assuming your still under you 500 cal for the day, correct? If that's so, I don't see why this WOULDNT work.

Thanks!

[abitkt7raid]

I've been doing this for 4 months, lost 20lbs of fat while maintaing strength, even gained in some areas.. mostly on isolation type stuff.

The thing that slows me down is the grind of it, after 4 months I would like to get back to eating a little more but I have another 10+ lbs to lose. Adding in the cheat days slows you down but keeps you sane.

I do about 90 minutes of walking on week days too as I can fit it in, that is another 500+ cal / day I can eat or lose.

[BaseJumper]

For future readers:

"READ THE FIRST POST!"

In the first thread 90% of the questions asked could be answered in the first post.

[x31234]

wave is back! nice to see you here again wave!

[nondualism]

Baby epic thread will still grow up to be epic!

And now EVERYTHING'S right on the first page. This should be required Noob reading.

Great to have bulking and recomping advice on the first page too.

Thanks Wave!

[azt3k]

I've never spent so much time reading year old forum posts. Been following the guidelines on here to steady progress

[fatguyinny]

Solid advice. What more could you really ask for?

In on Page 2.

[SEX]

in on great thread

[Kenshinhimora]

Are maintenance calories calculated excluding or including the amount of time you spend in the gym? For example, I am using:

www .freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator .htm

I go to the gym about 4-5 times a week, I am 6" 1' and 168 lbs. Would I leave exercise level at basal metabolic rate? If I do this, I get

1833 Calories/day

Meaning I would have to reduce that to (with your 500 suggestion) 1333 calories a day?

[igglesphan]

Are maintenance calories calculated excluding or including the amount of time you spend in the gym? For example, I am using:

www .freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator .htm

I go to the gym about 4-5 times a week, I am 6" 1' and 168 lbs. Would I leave exercise level at basal metabolic rate? If I do this, I get

1833 Calories/day

Meaning I would have to reduce that to (with your 500 suggestion) 1333 calories a day?

Yes, that number would be excluding any cardio, which would add to your maintenance. I would suggest you just pick a number around 1,700 cals and start from there... those calculators can be extremely inaccurate. The only real way to get your maintenance is to try it for a few weeks and then adjust accordingly.

[Kenshinhimora]

Sounds good, I figured they were inaccurate considering the one at Livestrong told me my maintenance was around 2400 which is completely different. I'll give 1600-1700 a try for a week weeks since I was right around that number yesterday (1615). Thanks!

[jladuke44]

I really think L/MISS cardio prompts fat burning (as opposed to fat burning and catabolism) more than equivalent calorie cutting. I have no proof of this beyond uncontrolled personal experiments and broscience though .

Right now I'm in a bulk & keeping trim w/cardio... I'm finding that longer cardio sessions are prompting fat loss w/o affecting strength. I'm gonna incorporate 2 long cardio sessions (~1-2 hours/session) each week and see if I'm able to burn fat + continue to gain in a caloric surplus. I feel like there is something there.

a couple links to articles below about the reasons why cardio (short of multiple hours a day) doesn't really help with fat loss:

nymag.com/news/sports/38001/

well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/04/phys-ed-why-doesnt-exercise-lead-to-weight-loss/

[weakguy]

a couple links to articles below about the reasons why cardio (short of multiple hours a day) doesn't really help with fat loss:

nymag.com/news/sports/38001/

well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/04/phys-ed-why-doesnt-exercise-lead-to-weight-loss/

sounds like you're looking for a reason not to exercise. I didn't read that article but how can exercise not help weight loss? you're burning more calories so as long as you are eating under maintenance you will be burning even more, and losing more weight. not to mention all the other benefits to cardio.

[jladuke44]

sounds like you're looking for a reason not to exercise. I didn't read that article but how can exercise not help weight loss? you're burning more calories so as long as you are eating under maintenance you will be burning even more, and losing more weight. not to mention all the other benefits to cardio.

i don't enjoy cardio, but have been doing it 5-6 times a week. figure even if it isn't particularly helpful with fat loss, it's definitely healthy. anyway, maybe read one of the articles you're criticizing before you post about them?

[igglesphan]

B-b-b- bump!

[nondualism]

Bump!

If this thread doesn't stay on the first page, there'll be even MORE 'dude, I'm new, what do I do?' threads.

[mosdel]

with regards to creating a calorie deficit, i believe i've read on the form that the cardio machines (treadmill, bike) are extremely inaccurate when telling you how many calories you've burned, is that true?

For example on a lower intensity run i went for today my reading was around 400 calories burned over 30 mins. (i was around the 6mph range)

What would be a more accurate amount of calories burned for that run? 250? 300? or is the 400 calories actually an accurate representation

[defury]

http://www.caloriesperhour.com/index_burn.php

Also most people will burn more then 1800 calories just laying in bed all day, I personally cut on 2100 calories. Move around a bit and your maintenance will be fairly high. I constantly see people cutting at like 1500 and unless you weight like 120lbs it's probably unnecessary.

Yea some people are different but 1500 is a pretty damn low number for anyone so make sure you aren't over doing it before you decide this is all that will work.

[defury]

with regards to creating a calorie deficit, i believe i've read on the form that the cardio machines (treadmill, bike) are extremely inaccurate when telling you how many calories you've burned, is that true?

For example on a lower intensity run i went for today my reading was around 400 calories burned over 30 mins. (i was around the 6mph range)

What would be a more accurate amount of calories burned for that run? 250? 300? or is the 400 calories actually an accurate representation

http://www.healthstatus.com/calculate/cbc

[mosdel]

interesting. both those links you posted show that a 6mph 30min run burns around 400 calories.

which would suggest the treadmill calculator IS accurate?

[defury]

interesting. both those links you posted suggest that 6mph 30min run burn around 400 calories.

which would suggest the treadmill calculator IS accurate?

I usually chop off about 100 calories of all estimates to be safe, better safe then over

[iDrive]

with regards to creating a calorie deficit, i believe i've read on the form that the cardio machines (treadmill, bike) are extremely inaccurate when telling you how many calories you've burned, is that true?

For example on a lower intensity run i went for today my reading was around 400 calories burned over 30 mins. (i was around the 6mph range)

What would be a more accurate amount of calories burned for that run? 250? 300? or is the 400 calories actually an accurate representation

Yes that's true.

The thing is that it doesn't really matter how much you burn off if you keep your deficit the same then the calories burned from exercise are a bonus and act as a buffer for the day.

...But if you must know... if the intensity is high (intensity is different per individual) then you're looking at about 100 cals per mile so 30 mins at 6mph is what? 3miles? I'd say you'd be closer to 200-250cals not 400.

[snooks86]

I have a heart rate monitor to get an exact reading of how many calories I'm burning @ the gym. I still manage to burn off a pound a week on exercise, alone.

[dirtydozen614]

This is an excellent beginners guide and tells you what you really need as a BEGINNER. Great job!

On the topic of cardio, it definitely is not essential for fat loss but is obviously helpful. Not so much for the calorie-burning aspect but for the increase in metabolic function you achieve throughout the day. This is why doing something a program like HIIT is so good. Your body burns more calories for many hours after the workout just as you do after a good, intense weightlifting workout. Androgenic hormone release also promotes retaining your muscle mass, which is always desirable on a cut. From a health/fat-burning aspect you also prime your body to burn more calories by doing cardio. Improving your aerobic capacity allows you to burn fatty-acid more effectively.

With regards to machines telling you how many calories you burnt, they are normally way off. Don't do cardio for the calorie loss. Do it for the metabolic benefits you see during the day.

edit: In my personal opinion, intense cardio can be an excellent way to help break through plateaus by really stressing your body. From my own personal experience when I added a HIIT regime 3x a week to my weights I started losing more fat and I generally just felt better. From a mental and physical aspect I felt better. It's a great tool for people who might be looking for that extra edge to help them out.

[iDrive]

This is an excellent beginners guide and tells you what you really need as a BEGINNER. Great job!

On the topic of cardio, it definitely is not essential for fat loss but is obviously helpful. Not so much for the calorie-burning aspect but for the increase in metabolic function you achieve throughout the day. This is why doing something a program like HIIT is so good. Your body burns more calories for many hours after the workout just as you do after a good, intense weightlifting workout. Androgenic hormone release also promotes retaining your muscle mass, which is always desirable on a cut. From a health/fat-burning aspect you also prime your body to burn more calories by doing cardio. Improving your aerobic capacity allows you to burn fatty-acid more effectively.

Bold is all you need to know.

If we both set out to lose 10lbs and could calculate an exact deficit for each of us then there is no reason why you would get there quicker doing any form of cardio over me. You'd be able to eat a couple hundred calories more than me per day and your VO2 Max would likely be higher than mine but those are about the only added benefits.

Not knocking cardio at all, some people love it and more power to them... but the dogma of "if you wanna lose fat you gotta do cardio" needs to die.

[jladuke44]

caloriesperhour.com/index_burn.php

Also most people will burn more then 1800 calories just laying in bed all day, I personally cut on 2100 calories. Move around a bit and your maintenance will be fairly high. I constantly see people cutting at like 1500 and unless you weight like 120lbs it's probably unnecessary.

Yea some people are different but 1500 is a pretty damn low number for anyone so make sure you aren't over doing it before you decide this is all that will work.

great site--thanks for the link

[jladuke44]

This is an excellent beginners guide and tells you what you really need as a BEGINNER. Great job!

On the topic of cardio, it definitely is not essential for fat loss but is obviously helpful. Not so much for the calorie-burning aspect but for the increase in metabolic function you achieve throughout the day. This is why doing something a program like HIIT is so good. Your body burns more calories for many hours after the workout just as you do after a good, intense weightlifting workout. Androgenic hormone release also promotes retaining your muscle mass, which is always desirable on a cut. From a health/fat-burning aspect you also prime your body to burn more calories by doing cardio. Improving your aerobic capacity allows you to burn fatty-acid more effectively.

With regards to machines telling you how many calories you burnt, they are normally way off. Don't do cardio for the calorie loss. Do it for the metabolic benefits you see during the day.

edit: In my personal opinion, intense cardio can be an excellent way to help break through plateaus by really stressing your body. From my own personal experience when I added a HIIT regime 3x a week to my weights I started losing more fat and I generally just felt better. From a mental and physical aspect I felt better. It's a great tool for people who might be looking for that extra edge to help them out.

i'd just point out that it isn't clear whether cardio increases metabolic function throughout the day. for example:

"The Denver researchers were especially interested in how the athletes’ bodies would apportion and use calories....They wondered, though, if the athletes — or any of the other subjects — would burn extra fat calories after exercising, a phenomenon that some exercisers (and even more diet and fitness books) call “afterburn.”

“Many people believe that you rev up” your metabolism after an exercise session “so that you burn additional body fat throughout the day,” said Edward Melanson, Ph.D., an associate professor in the division of endocrinology at the School of Medicine and the lead author of the study. If afterburn were found to exist, it would suggest that even if you replaced the calories you used during an exercise session, you should lose weight, without gaining weight — the proverbial free lunch.

Each of Melanson’s subjects spent 24 quiet hours in the calorimeter, followed later by another 24 hours that included an hourlong bout of stationary bicycling. The cycling was deliberately performed at a relatively easy intensity (about 55 percent of each person’s predetermined aerobic capacity). It is well known physiologically that, while high-intensity exercise demands mostly carbohydrate calories (since carbohydrates can quickly reach the bloodstream and, from there, laboring muscles), low-intensity exercise prompts the body to burn at least some stored fat. All of the subjects ate three meals a day.

To their surprise, the researchers found that none of the groups, including the athletes, experienced “afterburn.” They did not use additional body fat on the day when they exercised. In fact, most of the subjects burned slightly less fat over the 24-hour study period when they exercised than when they did not."

well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/04/phys-ed-why-doesnt-exercise-lead-to-weight-loss/