Frustrated with fat

[Uberdude77]

So I'm new to this site and looking for some advice. I've been on and off with my fitness all my life. Now 38 years old trying to lose weight has never been harder. I'm participating in a weight loss competition through my job and I started dieting like I always have when wanting to cut down... Cut the carbs. I did great the first 4 weeks dropping 13 lbs but now I'm starting to put it back on. Some one recommended doubling my carb intake one day a week and I've gained more weight. My normal routine at the gym is 10 minutes on the treadmill for a warm-up, 10 minutes of stretching, about a 20 minute circuit training with weights, and I finish with 20 minutes of lap swimming. Any diet plans, supplements or recommendations would so be appreciated.

I used to be a part of this site years ago and I need to get my profile setup again. Used to be a great tool for me.

Thanks in advance!

[rleatfitness]

So I'm new to this site and looking for some advice. I've been on and off with my fitness all my life. Now 38 years old trying to lose weight has never been harder. I'm participating in a weight loss competition through my job and I started dieting like I always have when wanting to cut down... Cut the carbs. I did great the first 4 weeks dropping 13 lbs but now I'm starting to put it back on. Some one recommended doubling my carb intake one day a week and I've gained more weight. My normal routine at the gym is 10 minutes on the treadmill for a warm-up, 10 minutes of stretching, about a 20 minute circuit training with weights, and I finish with 20 minutes of lap swimming. Any diet plans, supplements or recommendations would so be appreciated.

I used to be a part of this site years ago and I need to get my profile setup again. Used to be a great tool for me.

Thanks in advance!

Change to doing HIIT cardio, e.g. 1 min fast 1 slow for 15 mins. Make sure you are in a calorie deficit and use my fitness pal to track macros, also train for at least 40 mins 20 mins of weights is too short.

[Uberdude77]

Thank you I'll give that a try

[MrM27]

You didn't mention what your TDEE is or how many calories you are actually eating.

[Uberdude77]

Honestly didn't even know what TDEE was until I just looked it up. I'm eating 2500-3000 calories a day

[rbjames74]

Honestly didn't even know what TDEE was until I just looked it up. I'm eating 2500-3000 calories a day

Good lord man, 3k calories a day? How much do you weigh to be eating that much daily and still expecting to drop weight? Reduce your calories a bit more man and you should see better results

[NoFeels]

Lowering carbs will always lead to a drastic initial drop in "weight". Increase carbs and you will put this back on. That is water weight and it constantly changes based on your carb intake the last few days/weeks.

If you don't continue losing weight at a rate of 1-2 pounds per week after losing the water weight then lower calories.

I tend not to eat many carbs Sunday to Friday but have a couple of carb heavy meals Friday and Saturday. I weigh myself daily and I typically add 5 - 7 pounds every weekend and lose 7 - 9 pounds through the week. I'm roughly losing 1 - 2 pounds per week but my varying carb intake sends the actual scale weight all over the place.

MMA fighters can dehydrate by up to 20 pounds for a weigh in the day before a fight, then gain it all back within the 24 hour period before the actual bout. That should tell you everything you need to know about how wildly scale weight can fluctuate

[Uberdude77]

I'm hungry!!! Lol I usually only consume 50-75 grams of carbs a day and one day a week I'll spike my carbs to 150 then back to 50-75. I guess I haven't done enough homework... I thought cutting carbs cut fat

[ryantrek]

A ketogenic diet can aid fat loss. Cutting carbs doesn't necessarily make you lose fat. The easiest diet you can do though is a caloric deficit. There is no reason to overcomplicate things with diets. Just find you TDEE, and eat less than that. 500 less will result in losing 1 lb a week, 1000 less will result in losing 2 lbs a week. You can lose the 1 to 2 lbs a week from your couch if you're hitting your calories right. I lost my first 20 on a keto diet, but dropped that, and just started living in a caloric deficit, and dropped another 20 in the same amount of time it took the original 20 to come off on the keto diet.

[Uberdude77]

I'll have to try that. Can you recommend any supplements that curve hunger?

[NoFeels]

I'll have to try that. Can you recommend any supplements that curve hunger?

Honestly your best bet is to thoroughly read the sticky threads in this section before doing anything else.

As far as appetite is concerned, if you can push yourself and get through a week or two of reduced food, the hunger will subside a lot.

[ryantrek]

NoFeels is right, just read up on the info posted in this forum. Supping for weight loss is not something that is required. Most of them are snake oil wastes of money anyway. What does curb hunger though is eating plenty of lean proteins.

[Maverick2015]

The stickies are great. Here is a good start on the subject though:

Basic Fat Loss Process

1. Calculate your calories and macros
2. Eat about 20% less calories than you burn each day while still meeting minimum protein and fat. Get the remainder of cals from carbs.
3. Buy a kitchen scale and weigh everything that you eat.
4. Count calories using a site like MyFitnessPal. Here's how to count accurately.
5. Lift heavy weights to preserve muscle mass, on a structured program developed by an expert. You are probably not an expert.
6. Cardio is optional; do it if you like to increase your calorie deficit. Do it on off days from lifting and don't let it interfere with recovery.
7. Still not losing weight? Stuck on a plateau? Read this. And remember, you are not special.

Beginner Workout Programs:
All Pro's Beginner Routine
Stronglifts 5x5
Fierce 5
Starting Strength
Push/Pull/Legs

How to lift properly

Counting calories accurately requires precision. Read these:
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=148418313
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=154981223
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/13/op...tive.html?_r=0
http://www.weightlossresources.co.uk...d-calories.htm
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1454084

And watch this informative video with terrible music: http://youtu.be/JVjWPclrWVY

Important Stuff To Know
- Weight loss is not linear and predictable. Weigh yourself every day and track the average. Ignore short term fluctuations.
- No specific food has a fat loss advantage over any other food. Eat foods you enjoy that deliver adequate macros and micros.
- Cardio is not necessary to lose fat. It's just a tool to increase your net calorie deficit.
- Muscle loss is not an issue if you get adequate protein and train properly, even on a big deficit (unless perhaps you are already quite lean).
- Don't train on a bro-split from a magazine. Unless you've been training for a year or two, you will probably do better on a full body strength program designed by an expert. You are probably not an expert.
- Keto offers no fat loss advantage over any other caloric deficit, except perhaps for very obese, sedentary folks.
- Eating fat does not make you fat. Low fat diets screw up your body. Adequate dietary fat is crucially important.
- The only bad fat is trans fat. Saturated fat is fine unless you eat stupid amounts of it.
- Protein powder is a processed convenience food and offers no advantage over protein from whole foods. Use it if you like, it's fine. Remember to count the calories in it.
- Sugar & simple carbs are irrelevant for fat loss as long as you hit your macros within a calorie deficit.
- You cannot, in any way, change where your body chooses to burn fat from. There is no spot reduction.
- Eat 1 meal/day or 10, there is no measurable effect on fat loss.
- Eating carbs before bed is irrelevant within a calorie deficit and adequate macros.
- You do not have metabolic damage unless you've been eating starvation level calories for a very long time AND have lost a lot of weight.