New fitness convert needs guidance!

[viky49]

Hi friends,

I am 35years old male, vegetarian, 166cm, and weighed 182 lbs with 31% body fat when I joined a local Gym (for the first time in my life) a little over 4 months back.

For the first 2 months, I worked hard and concentrated on Cardio (moderate to hard intesity interval training) six days a week, as my primary goal was loosing weight (fat). At the end of 2months, I was very pleased as I had lost about 15 lbs and dropped my fat percentage to 27%.

Then, on the advice of the instructor at the Gym, I got myself a Personal Trainer; and for the last two months, have been following below routine at the Gym (about an hour each day):

Mon - Resistance Training - Back & Biceps
Tue - Cardio & Abs
Wed - Resistance Training - Shoulder & Triceps
Thu - Tabata / Circuit Training
Frid - Resistance Training - Chest & Legs
Sat - Boxing Training followed by cardio

After following the above routine for the last two months, I've more than doubled my overall body strength, as well as stamina, lost some inches, even got some visible muscle gains, and dropped body fat to 25%. However, I've almost stopped loosing weight! I lost only 2 lbs in two months! Why?

My ultimate goal was to have a well shaped body around 155~160 lbs.... but with the above routine, do you think I'll ever be able to reach my goal. What should I do different? Is it not possible to continue loosing weight while gaining muscle mass??

On the recommendation of my trainer, I've recently start taking a Whey Protien shake with cold water post workouts which provides me with 117 calories & 24gms of protien (isolate + concentrate) per serving. But, I'm concerned as I've heard people say that protien supplements are not recommended for individuals with high body fat percentage like me. How true is this?

Also, my protien shake tastes really bad, so would it be ok if I added a teaspoon for sugar to make it more palatable?

Looking forward to your guidance..

[BalhamBeast]

Some people say it's OK to have some sugar after a workout as it will be used to replenish glycogen rather than stored as fat. However, given your bodyfat levels I'd say no. Get a shake that tastes good. There's a lot of variation between brands - some taste great, others not so much. I can recommend a UK company that makes really good tasting protein but if you're based in the US then that's not going to help much (if you're based in UK/Europe, drop me a PM and I'll tell you).

As far as weight loss goes, you are adding muscle, hopefully, so go by inches rather than the scale at this point. But, having said that, you haven't listed your diet. Vegetarian diets tend to be high in carbs and at 25% fat you may well be insulin resistant. I would recommend going low carb. Cut out grains if you eat them - replace with lots of leafy green veg. Soy is estrogenic so avoid it and eat more eggs. If you're pescetarian then eat a lot of fish. If not, you'll have to make up your protein with the whey - vegetable proteins are not complete proteins and are generally inferior.

[ironwill2008]

However, I've almost stopped loosing weight! I lost only 2 lbs in two months! Why?

More importantly than what the scale says, what does your mirror tell you about your progress to-date?

My ultimate goal was to have a well shaped body around 155~160 lbs.... but with the above routine, do you think I'll ever be able to reach my goal. What should I do different?

It's not what I believe about your ability to reach your goal; it's what you believe. Trite, I know, but true.




Any reasonable routine will provide about as much benefit as the amount of effort you put into it.

Is it not possible to continue loosing weight while gaining muscle mass??

No. At some point, you'll need to decide on one goal or the other and then target your nutrition to that singular goal.

By "weight," I'm assuming you actually mean "body fat."

But, I'm concerned as I've heard people say that protien supplements are not recommended for individuals with high body fat percentage like me. How true is this?

That's a new one on me. Overweight or otherwise, you still have a requirement for a certain amount of protein each day. You're free to meet that requirement however you choose--either from regular food sources or powder. Just realize that all protein contains 4 calories per gram, and it must be figured into your daily calorie total.

Also, my protien shake tastes really bad, so would it be ok if I added a teaspoon for sugar to make it more palatable?

Sure. Just make certain to enter the calories into your daily totals.

[michail71]

On the recommendation of my trainer, I've recently start taking a Whey Protien shake with cold water post workouts which provides me with 117 calories & 24gms of protien (isolate + concentrate) per serving. But, I'm concerned as I've heard people say that protien supplements are not recommended for individuals with high body fat percentage like me. How true is this?

Also, my protien shake tastes really bad, so would it be ok if I added a teaspoon for sugar to make it more palatable?

Looking forward to your guidance..

Not getting enough protein is bad and too many calories are bad so there is a balance to be found there. Protein shakes are just like any other food.

I'd recommend getting a protein blend as there really isn't a need to go with strictly whey. Blends tend to taste a little better. I also add heavy cream to mine to get some extra fat calories in as needed. It makes it taste much better.