Intros and questions!

[JerseyNorth]

Hey Everyone! Just signed up and wanted to introduce myself and get some feedback as to what the heck i might be doing wrong... or right.. sometimes i get it right also, but rarely

As you can tell by my screen name, i'm based in North Jersey. I am 37 years old male, kids, wife, house, mortgage, full time career, car payments, etc. All the makings of the american dream.
And just like most Americans, I am overweight. I currently weigh 255 pounds and i'd like to drop 55 pounds or better.

Throughout high school and some of college, I was a power lifter, or so i thought. At least that's what i told myself. I learned to lift from an older friend/coworker. It was basically 2 reps for 3 sets of heavy weight for everything. 5 days a week, each day targeting a different muscle group. Standard stuff.
I was a slim 175 pounds and didnt see a whole lot of gains, as i didn't eat enough. After college I would sporadically make my way back to the gym or start cardio in small bursts which lasted a few months, then just gave up for whatever reason i made up at the time. At my heaviest I hit 295 pounds at about 23 i'd say. I went to a weightloss doctor who put me on uppers and I dropped 20 pounds in 3 weeks. I stayed on those drugs for much longer than I should have and without having much success after some time. I totally gave up the drugs and continued to seesaw with my weight going from 230 back to 260 for the next 15 years.

So here I am now. back at 255. I was able to hit 230 about 2 years ago, then my 3rd child was born and again, i gave up on my cardio. 25 pounds in 2 years. It sounds like a lot, but i've done much worse in the past.

My cardio consisted of 4 to 6 hours walking on my treadmill desk while working, with a 1 hour session on my elliptical for 5 days a week. This was great for awhile, and this is when I hit 230. Now it seems regardless of how much walking on the treadmill desk or elliptical I do, i'm unable to drop an ounce.

Last month I joined a gym but I wanted to start following some kind of program instead of just winging what I thought i should be doing. I starting doing the 5x5 as it seemed a great place for me to restart with weight training and didn't require me to be at the gym 5 days a week. My current gym schedule is Mon, Wed, Fri - Takes about an 1 hour or a little longer. Then on Tues, Thurs, Sat, 1 hour on the elliptical in my home. Ive been back in the gym about 1 month. I started very light as i wanted to get proper form down and correct years of form mistakes

I've read a ton of different things about not lifting weights if you want to loose weight. But i really started to enjoy it again. I'm trying to find that mythical place where i'm loosing fat and gaining muscle. I have already seen the scale creep up a bit and I started making gains at the gym, so i'd like to assume the weight increase is muscle mass. I deadlifted 225 for the first time in years this morning. I know... small weight for a deadlift but a small victory for me. Here is where I currently am in lifting and have seen gains in all areas over the month

Deadlift - 225
Bench - 145
Bent Row - 140
Squat - 155
Overhead press - 95

Squats were a real problem for me both in form and the weight I can do. I see some guys at the gym just doing insane amounts of weight, Nope not me. It was an eye opener when i tried to do a squat with Zero weight... I couldn't squat my own body weight. I'd like to believe that as i loose weight (hopefully) then I should be able to take that same weight loss and add it to my squat, but whatever i'm not going to obsess about it.

OK, so i'm rambling a bit. My wife thinks that I am just going to get bigger and gain more weight doing what I am doing. What do you accomplished weightlifters think? Should I stick with the 5x5 or is there something else out there that requires similar gym time that would work better?

Thanks!!

[Plateauplower]

Read the starting over 35 sticky at the top of the page. You need to make your food intake a major priority. There is no need to do that much cardio to lose weight. It comes down to energy balance and you need to eat less. As mentioned in the referenced sticky get on a good beginner strength based program and eat in a calorie deficit while hitting your macros you establish. Consistently making the right choices for your goals will result in success.

[anandagirl]

Yes, you can lose weight faster if you don't lift, but you will retain and maybe even build the muscle you have if you do lift. Losing weight is meh, losing fat is where it's at!

Read the stickies and focus on nutrition/calorie intake. Good luck!

[JerseyNorth]

Thanks for pointing me in that direction. Yea, it looks like I really need to focus in on diet here. The excercise portion of that sticky looks very similar to the 5x5 but seems to focus on minor muscle groups with some major. Is there any issue with the 5x5?

[Plateauplower]

Thanks for pointing me in that direction. Yea, it looks like I really need to focus in on diet here. The excercise portion of that sticky looks very similar to the 5x5 but seems to focus on minor muscle groups with some major. Is there any issue with the 5x5?

There are many good programs. Several use a 5x5 format. If you are using an established program like starting strength with a sensible progression scheme it is fine.

[tommydamic68]

The weight training and cardio sounds great, keep it up, as a member said above, you NEED to cut calories- adjust diet, start with a 200 calorie deficit a day and adjust accordingly. Weight lifting and cardio alone will not do it. Good luck from a fellow New Jersian!

[JerseyNorth]

Thanks everyone! Long road but I’m excited to start. I had a question about protein supplements. I use protein bars and protein powder currently after my weightlifting sessions. I’m drinking 40g of protein powder and I eat a protein bar occasionally when I’m hungry and don’t want to eat garbage.

Is it OK to get a portion of my daily protein macro from whey like this? Should I use whey on my cardio days as well?

Again, thank you all for the input.

[grubman]

protein bars

Is it OK to get a portion of my daily protein macro from whey like this

Well, that’s all just food, so it’s fine if you have a well rounded diet besides that.

However, sugar is your #1 enemy when losing weight...so check out the amount of sugar in that protein bar...it’s often pretty high depending on the brand (if it tastes like a candy bar, it probably has a lot of sugar).

[Gabbar99]

Well, that’s all just food, so it’s fine if you have a well rounded diet besides that.

However, sugar is your #1 enemy when losing weight...so check out the amount of sugar in that protein bar...it’s often pretty high depending on the brand (if it tastes like a candy bar, it probably has a lot of sugar).

True.

Whey protein isolate is just protein, about 4 calories per gram of protein.

Skinless chicken breasts are about 5 calories per gram of protein, skim milk ~10cal/gm, whole egg ~12 cal/gm, greek yoghurt 5 cal/gm, egg white 5 cal/gm.

Protein bars tend to be 12-15 cal/gm of protein. A protein bar that takes a few bites to eat can be 300-400 calories.

[Plateauplower]

You should aim to lose about 1.5 lbs per week for the next few months. Regular food will probably provide ore satiation in a deficit than a protein supplement. When in a deficit satiation is good, because you will probably be hungry.

[Payton1221]

Regular food will probably provide more satiation in a deficit than a protein supplement. When in a deficit satiation is good, because you will probably be hungry.

Agreed. Typically foods higher in protein, fat, and fiber tends to create more satiety. There are actually tables of food that give a "satiety rating," but what really matters is what satisfies YOU. Example, an 80-100 calorie apple is satisfying to me, but it makes my wife hungry in short order. I'm a big eater, and I still like volume so a double can of green beans is often something that I fix, and I can eat a hyooge bowl and it still be less than 150 calories

[Plateauplower]

Agreed. Typically foods higher in protein, fat, and fiber tends to create more satiety. There are actually tables of food that give a "satiety rating," but what really matters is what satisfies YOU. Example, an 80-100 calorie apple is satisfying to me, but it makes my wife hungry in short order. I'm a big eater, and I still like volume so a double can of green beans is often something that I fix, and I can eat a hyooge bowl and it still be less than 150 calories

Apples make me hungrier crew...Especially in pie form . Green beans sound really good, might have to pick some up.

[JerseyNorth]

You guys (and gals) rock. Really REALLY appreciate the quick feedback! I'm going to dive into the threads that you've recommended. Getting a complete meal has always been a challenge for me as i've usually just taken short cuts that left me, exactly how you described, still feeling hungry at the end of the day. Night time eating has been a real problem for me that I am trying to overcome and it really sounds like i'm eating small items with high levels of macros that dont fill me up, when I need to identify foods and do the exact opposite. I've always been horrible at meal planning. and btw, i keep those Quest Bars in the house. I went thru a few different types and found alot are loaded with crap and I want to stay away from soy proteins all together. I've heard some negative stuff on soy. Those quest bars are 20g Protein, 200 cal and less than 1g sugar. Sugar as never really been a problem for me, never really had a sweet tooth but i never met a bag of chips that i couldn't finish in 20 minutes.

Thanks again! I will post my progress as i move along and start using all the features of the site.

[Payton1221]

Apples make me hungrier crew...Especially in pie form . Green beans sound really good, might have to pick some up.

LOL on the pie, but as far as the green beans are concerned, I cook with diced (sometimes dehydrated) onions and only add powdered chicken seasoning . . . it's basically the bouillon cube but already crushed into a powder. Sodium is through the roof but there's very few calories added.

Jersey, we all want you to succeed. Sadly, so many come on here looking for advice and then disappear forever. You can be in the minority that git 'er done and come back to inspire others to do the same. And the nice thing about losing fat is that visible change is noticeable every two months or so if you're doing it right! That might be just the motivation you need to keep the progress going . . . and going . . . and going

[drkelly74]

You need to eat less. You do not need supplements. Eat healthy real food.

[anandagirl]

5x5 is awesome! To maintain muscle mass during cutting, you don't have to do a bunch of accessories - compound movements are #1

[xsquid99]

I'm trying to find that mythical place where i'm loosing fat and gaining muscle. I have already seen the scale creep up a bit and I started making gains at the gym, so i'd like to assume the weight increase is muscle mass.
Thanks!!

And you would be assuming wrong, your rate of fat loss should far outweigh your bodies ability to generate new muscle. You will build up fluid and glycogen in your muscles as you use them again, and possibly see some increased weight from that, but that will only last a week or two.

You're eating too much, get your diet in check.

[blue9steel]

Green beans sound really good, might have to pick some up.

Green beans are amazing cutting food, really filling for very few calories. Personally, I also find potatoes very filling, much more so than rice or bread, my guess is that it's the fiber.

[JerseyNorth]

Is it normal to feel like you’ve been eating non stop all day trying to hit macros? I don’t think I’ve eaten this much quantity in a long time. Not second guessing the science here, but yeesh.

Also, instead of doing my normal steady pace 1 hour elliptical cardio this evening, i tried doing intervals. I lasted 15 minutes and almost puked! I had a serving of kodiac protein pancakes for dinner trying to hit macros , had to force down the last few bites which tried to come back.

[OldFartTom]

If for some reason you only pickup 2 things from this thread (which would be terrible as there's lots of good advice above) I hope it will be

1) Weight gain and weight loss is about being in an calorie surplus or deficit for extended time -- *not* whether you do cardio or whether you lift (both are great activities BTW..). Please end any old ideas you might have that gain and loss when standing on scales are determined by the type of exercise you do, the calories are the main driver. See https://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/macronutcal.htm Don't think for a moment that it's a necessity to do an hour on the elliptical to control weight. "Yes" if you enjoy it, but for weight control? "No".

2) Protein supplements etc are really helpful, whey is a great way of increasing protein in reasonably few calories to keep macros up when cutting, but supplements should be exactly that... supplemental.
Your main source of macros should be from real food as far as practical. There is a lot to be said for quantity and variety of fresh vegetables and eating things like eggs, milk, fish etc (if you are OK with these)

Good luck. Enjoy...