This no longer makes sense to me...HELP PLEASE

[Londoner123]

Ok, I?ll try to keep this as short/simply as possible so u don?t get bored.


?Im 27yrs old, male, 6ft and weight 98kg/ 216lbs.

Main goal is to lose body fat/ get ripped.

I am overweight and on 28th December 08 decided to join a gyn. I weighted 106kg/233Lbs.

I?ve been going to the gym every other day and do pure cardio and burn approx 800 calories each session. I spend approx 80mins in the gym. Bike, rowing machine, cross trainer, and then treadmill.

I eat very little. Typical day would be.

Wake up at 9am. Have 2 x weetabix with milk.

Go gym at 10am. Train till midday (including shower)

Have an apple,

Then have a light meal (pasta, rice)

I have about 2L of water a day/

And that all I?ve been doing.

I?ve lost 8kg/17Lbs in a short space of time.

BUT?here?s where the problem comes in, I?ve been looking on the internet and it states I?m not eating enough to lose weight, BUT I am losing weight, and doing it very quick.


So today I?ve started to reduce my amount of time spent doing cardio, just going to do cross trainer, and treadmill so this will be 45mins, and 500 calories, and then do weights training. 12 reps x 3 sets every other day.

My diet will also change and below is what I propose.


Breakfast 2 x weetabix with milk and protein shake


Gym


After gym????? protein and carbs shake mixed together.



2hours after gym?..pasta with chicken



6pm meal??mixed veg, salad with chicken


And before I go to sleep I will have some form of slow releasing carbs.


What my main question is cant I just stick to my first routine of lots of cario and very little food as it seems to work for me, (but the problem is I don?t know how much of my weight loss is fat, or muscle). I will be buying a body fat scales in the next few days.

I would be grateful for any help as im really confused.

P.S Be as harsh as u like, im option to all suggestions, and willing to change anything that u feel would be best

Sorry for the long post?.

Thanks in advance.

[k_delaplain60]

I know it sounds like a quick fix just eating very little and doing and abundant amount of cardio, and you will lose weight. Most of it will be muscle if you don't life while your trying to lose weight. That would mess up your whole goal of getting ripped. Something I have found is that you can lift weights hard with little rest between sets/reps and keep your heart rate up and be able to cut back on the boring treadmill cardio. I still do the post lift cardio, but I can cut it down from 45/30 minutes down to around 20-25.

On the diet portion, I too struggle with that part but i can tell you what little I know. You have to feed the body to get it to work. You gotta find your BMR and see how many calories you need to maintain body weight. Take about 400-500 off that amount and you should be able to lose weight safely. Also try to keep the protein up since that will help with muscle loss.

[Djin]

A) Too much will sometimes be an enemy
B) How much is "eatting a little" do you eat?

You eat pasta and rice. Carbs and carbs... perhaps you should also knock some carbs out, eat more lean protein...

What does your diet look like first of all?

[BasilExposition]

For overweight males, it is very typical to lose a lot of weight the first couple of weeks of going on a restricted calorie diet and exercise. I wouldn't worry about it as long as you are getting close the your calorie needs. If you are still losing more than 2 pounds a week after the first month, adjust up and try to get it to 1 pound or less a week.

[Londoner123]

Thanks for your reply.

Typically my diet was 2x weetabix for breakfast, an apple after gym (cardio), and some rich pasta for dinner at about 6pm.

But since ive started to do weigh aswell as cardio as of today i plan on eating

Breakfast 2 x weetabix with milk and protein shake

After gym…………… protein and carbs shake mixed together.

2hours after gym…..pasta with chicken

6pm meal……mixed veg, salad with chicken


And before I go to sleep I will have some form of slow releasing carbs.


Does it make sense, or am i still on the wrong diet.

Thanks

[SKooT1027]

Thanks for your reply.

Typically my diet was 2x weetabix for breakfast, an apple after gym (cardio), and some rich pasta for dinner at about 6pm.

But since ive started to do weigh aswell as cardio as of today i plan on eating

Breakfast 2 x weetabix with milk and protein shake

After gym????? protein and carbs shake mixed together.

2hours after gym?..pasta with chicken

6pm meal??mixed veg, salad with chicken


And before I go to sleep I will have some form of slow releasing carbs.


Does it make sense, or am i still on the wrong diet.

Thanks

Try ditching pasta. If youre going to have it, dont do it every day and make sure its whole wheat pasta. Try a chicken sandwich on whole wheat bread instead maybe.

Also, try 6 smaller meals rather than just 3 larger ones.

[belairdfence99]

By upping your calories you will:
1)spare some of your muscle so you won't be "skinny-fat"
-By upping your protein to about 1g per pound of bodyweight
2)Not eat basically only carbs
-Your body is craving carbs because you eat so little

Find an online calculator-->thedailyplate.com works well
Find your maintenance calories and subtract about 500
Then you will healthily lose weight, that is more likely not to be added back on soon after


Also make sure you take an off day every once and a while since you are new. Once every 1-2 weeks?
And make sure to drink plenty of water
Good luck

[BasilExposition]

Thanks for your reply.

Typically my diet was 2x weetabix for breakfast, an apple after gym (cardio), and some rich pasta for dinner at about 6pm.

But since ive started to do weigh aswell as cardio as of today i plan on eating

Breakfast 2 x weetabix with milk and protein shake

After gym????? protein and carbs shake mixed together.

2hours after gym?..pasta with chicken

6pm meal??mixed veg, salad with chicken


And before I go to sleep I will have some form of slow releasing carbs.


Does it make sense, or am i still on the wrong diet.

Thanks

It sounds good in principle, but it really matters how many calories you are getting per meal and the quality of food. Especially with things like pasta, you really need to measure to figure out what you are getting.

[Flair4TheGold]

A) Too much will sometimes be an enemy
B) How much is "eatting a little" do you eat?

You eat pasta and rice. Carbs and carbs... perhaps you should also knock some carbs out, eat more lean protein...

What does your diet look like first of all?

Are you saying whole wheat pasta and brown rice are bad carbs? Just wondering if you know what you're talking about (the answer is both are complex carbs and necessary to a diet).

[Djin]

Are you saying whole wheat pasta and brown rice are bad carbs? Just wondering if you know what you're talking about (the answer is both are complex carbs and necessary to a diet).

No, but if this is all he's eating... and from the sounds of it, he doesn't eat whole wheat pasta or brown rice.

I mean... to me it sounds like mainly carbs for food...???

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/issa64.htm

Go there and figure out what your BMR is, report back. We're here to help. But you need to give us more information so we can give you more advice.

[Londoner123]

Thanks for all your advice and help. Im unable to correctly work out my BMR as I dont know my body fat %. I have ordered some scales which should be with me within 5 days. I'll get back to you with my results.

Thanks once again.

[Djin]

Thanks for all your advice and help. Im unable to correctly work out my BMR as I dont know my body fat %. I have ordered some scales which should be with me within 5 days. I'll get back to you with my results.

Thanks once again.

Save your money and don't buy those scales. Take a guess at your bodyfat %. Or get a $15 calipar.

[Londoner123]

Body fat, i know is way to much, about 2 stones over weight...

Correct me if im wrong but i hear the calipar is difficult to get an accurate reading becuase you have to measure in the exact same place everytime.

Is this right??

Thanks

[gbone74]

Thanks for all your advice and help. Im unable to correctly work out my BMR as I dont know my body fat %. I have ordered some scales which should be with me within 5 days. I'll get back to you with my results.

Thanks once again.

I didnt realise you needed bodyfat % to work out your BMR,all the ones I see involve weight age and height I think

[Londoner123]

Sorry for the delay. My scales came in today. Nice and new. Lol

My weight is 98kg, 6ft tall, 27yrs of age, and my bf% = 30%.

This is cleary way to high. What i plan on doing now is to stop checking my weight, but to check my bf% every week or two to see if this improves.

Any other suggestions?

Oh yeah, what should i be eatting before bed, i believe it is slow releasing protein, is this correct? At the moment im eating a handful of Almonds.

Thanks,

[solarmist]

By upping your calories you will:
1)spare some of your muscle so you won't be "skinny-fat"
-By upping your protein to about 1g per pound of bodyweight
2)Not eat basically only carbs
-Your body is craving carbs because you eat so little

Find an online calculator-->thedailyplate.com works well
Find your maintenance calories and subtract about 500
Then you will healthily lose weight, that is more likely not to be added back on soon after


Also make sure you take an off day every once and a while since you are new. Once every 1-2 weeks?
And make sure to drink plenty of water
Good luck

This is pretty good advise, and I agree with him. You can lose weight much faster (like you're currently doing, but its hard to keep off because eventually you'll stop "dieting", instead of just permanently eating less). Lots of protein is good too.

Eating less than BMR - 500 gets harder and harder the longer you do it or the bigger the gap is (You body hates it, thus you will also hate it). And once you reach a decent body fat % it starts to takes its toll and you start getting skinny-fat or just scrawny, both of which are much worse looks than being a little fat (like 16-18% -ish) and having lots of muscle, but remember DIET is what's going to take the fat off, and lifting is what's going to make you look good. Believe it or not THEY ARE SEPARATE THINGS, but they can be done concurrently. And SHOULD be.

If you want specific recommendations
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...#post264066141
this post has all the detail you could possibly want.

[solarmist]

Sorry for the delay. My scales came in today. Nice and new. Lol

My weight is 98kg, 6ft tall, 27yrs of age, and my bf% = 30%.

This is cleary way to high. What i plan on doing now is to stop checking my weight, but to check my bf% every week or two to see if this improves.

Any other suggestions?

Oh yeah, what should i be eatting before bed, i believe it is slow releasing protein, is this correct? At the moment im eating a handful of Almonds.

Thanks,

You've got it backwards. The bf% on those scales is notoriously wrong and will give you different results everyday depending on how hydrated you are and how dirty your feet are.

I'd say weighing yourself once a week and tracking it is better. I'd also take various body shots once a month to see the progress you've been making. Try and keep the same poses from month to month though.

[solarmist]

Oh yeah, what should i be eatting before bed, i believe it is slow releasing protein, is this correct? At the moment im eating a handful of Almonds.

Thanks,

I'd eat some low-fat cottage cheese or have some casin before bed rather than almonds. They're a decent protein source, but they're pretty high in fat.

[solarmist]

I didnt realise you needed bodyfat % to work out your BMR,all the ones I see involve weight age and height I think

There are much more accurate formulas that use your lean mass vs fat mass, but in general you'll get a good idea with just height and weight

[cbrowns21]

What you're doing will cut weight, but it will be in the form of muscle and water and SOME fat. but you will end up skinny-fat. Not ripped.

What to do (as others have probably already stated)

-Eat more
-Specifically, eat more protein
-Aim to keep your daily intake at 500 cals below maintenance
-Get serious about resistance (weight) training
-Do less cardio, try H.I.I.T. for your cardio

You won't lose weight as quickly, but you can rest easier knowing that the weight you are losing is fat and not muscle. It is worth the extra time to the body composition you want.

[Xform1]

Some good information from the other posters above. I would like to add that you need to eat to loose, your metabolism is probably running slow from the lack of nutrition, and if your burning up 800 calories you're burning muscle. You need to change your ways, focus on eating maintenance calories minus 300, and lift heavy weights. Try HIIT instead of long cardio sessions, mix it up.

[Londoner123]

Thanks for the above advice.

Something ok bit confused about. Why would my 800 calorie cardio make me burn muscle. At what point do I burn bf and what point do I burn muscle.

Should I do a long slow jog. Or a short fast one?

Thanks