First post here. I am 5ft 8in and about 200lbs. My goal right now is to lose fat and then later build muscle. I have read the stickies, but honestly none of it makes any sense to me. Could someone help understand what I need to do, to lose fat? How many calories? What is macros? What should I be eating. Please help a newbie out. I want to learn all I can about losing fat.
Thanks
Danny
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Thread: Some beginner questions
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12-11-2017, 05:30 AM #1
Some beginner questions
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12-11-2017, 05:54 AM #2
- Join Date: Sep 2016
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Get yourself a phone app for calorie and macro tracking like myfitnesspal or mynetdiary, eat whatever you like but stay clear of sugary refined stuff as that will quickly blow your allowance. Hit a minimum of 80g fat and 140g protein, fill the rest of your calories how you like. Don’t stress about being a bit under or over each day as long as it averages out. Start around 2400 calories a day see how hat goes for a month and then adjust from there (probably downwards)
I never saw a wild thing
sorry for itself.
A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough
without ever having felt sorry for itself.
54 year old male 6'4
Jan 2016: 315#, May 2017: 185# 15%
Next goal: 185# 12%
#250kchallenge2018
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12-11-2017, 07:18 AM #3
Okay man, so in order to lose fat you need to be in a calorie deficit meaning you need to be burning more calories than your eating. Ideally, you want to maintain a 500 calorie deficit to lose about 1 pound per week. Losing more than 2 pounds per week will put you at risk of some some side effects including loose skin.
You can calculate how many calories your body burns per day by using a TDEE calculator: bodybuilding.com/fun/calculate-your-total-daily-energy-expenditure-tdee.html
You should aim for 500 calories less than whatever your TDEE comes out to. Aside from that, you need to maintain your muscle mass to avoid the "skinny fat" look. You will do this by eating a lot of protein, about 1 gram per pound of body weight daily and engage in resistance training a few times each week. I wouldn't worry too much about tracking carbs and fats, but just make sure not to avoid them completely.
If you don't see the scale drop after a month, reduce daily calories.Last edited by Knight526806; 12-11-2017 at 12:59 PM.
Maybe I'm not who I think I am. Perhaps there are still new plateaus for me to reach. Far greater heights to which I must ascend. Yes. I will ascend. - Vegeta
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12-11-2017, 09:16 AM #4
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12-11-2017, 10:05 AM #5
You will need to look at the protein content in the nutritional facts of everything you eat. You should be checking this anyway for the calorie count. If your eating at a restaurant or something where that info is not available, then you can just google it for a approximate answer.
Maybe I'm not who I think I am. Perhaps there are still new plateaus for me to reach. Far greater heights to which I must ascend. Yes. I will ascend. - Vegeta
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12-11-2017, 10:10 AM #6
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12-11-2017, 12:45 PM #7
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Hey AroundTheHorn2, to lose fat you need to eat less calories than your bodies burns in a given day. Do this for several months consistently and your body will start shedding noticeable amounts of fat.
To do this you need to keep track of the amount of calories you eat, and eat below what your body burns up in a day. If you don't know what your calorie burns a day, use a online calculator and use that as a starting number.
BecomingSmaller suggested 2400 calories, so you can tart there and if you aren't losing weight after 2 weeks, readjust by subtracting ~200 calories and eating 2200 calories. If you're losing more than 1% of your bodyweight a week (for you that will be 2 pounds b/c 200*0.01), consider eating a bit more (add ~100 calories, so 2500 calories). You want to take your cut nice and steady and not too quick because it'll be tougher for you to stick to the plan if you drop your calories too much and you may have an increased chance of muscle loss.
Macros are what your food is made up from. All your foods will be made up of Fats, protein and carbs. 1 g of carbs = 4 calories, 1 g of protein =4 calories, 1 g of fat =9 calories. If you're a nerd like me, you'll enjoy this. Take a look at the nutrition label when you eat a snack bar. If you multiple all the carbs, protein and fats by their calorie amount and sum it all together it should equal or be very close to the total calorie for that bar. (For example 200 calorie bar may have 20g of protein, 20 g of carbs, 5 grams of fat. 20*4 +20*4+5*9 = around 200 calories)
Macros are important because it will affect how your body will lose its weight during your cut and also affect how you feel. For example if you don't eat enough protein, the weight you lose will more likely come from muscle than from fat, and vice versa.
If you don't eat enough carbs you may not have a lot of energy at the gym and throughout the day. If you don't eat enough fats, you may experience constipation :0 Different people need different amounts of carbs/fats/protein to feel healthy. Play around with your carbs/fats and find out what mix makes you feel good, but the golden rule is to keep your protein high and consistent. As Knight526806 mentioned, 1lb per pound of weight is a good rule of thumb.
For what foods you should eat, you can basically eat whatever you want, within reason, as long as you hit your calorie and macro goals for the day.
But please be reasonable and don't have a diet of just protein powder and cupcakes. Fine, you can meet you calorie and macro goals, but you won't feel full and your diet isn't just about macros and calories. You need essential fats, fiber, minerals and other micro-nutrients in order to keep your organs, skin, teeth, bones healthy.
A rule of thumb is to make sure to eat your daily servings of fruits and vegetables, a source of calcium, and get your main protein source from lean meats. This will help make sure you keep your overall health in check when your cutting.
Feel free to add me as a friend and DM if you have more questions. Good luck!Gray Guo
Aspiring Personal Trainer | Amateur Physique Competitor
Feel free to message me if you want to chat!
Email: gg348@cornell.edu
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12-12-2017, 02:16 PM #8
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