Best advice for getting to a normal weight

[Ddle]

Hi All,

Before lockdown, I was over 100Kg, so I built a Gym, started working out and eating right.

Currently I'm doing a calorie deficit (eating 1400 calories per day + whatever I burn).. except Friday and Saturday when I have "cheat days"
I alternate between core excersizes and chest/arm excersizes Mon, Tues, Thurs & Fri with a 20min HIIT to round off the workout.
Some days I'll do a 2nd workout which combines core and chest/arm, sometimes also with a jog.
Saturday I spend about 3-4 hours in the Gym doing a 1hour jog + "body building" exercises.
Sunday I go for a 10 mile hike.

I dont have much gym equipment, just a running machine and some kettle bells - so most excersizes I do are equipment free.

The weight is slowly coming off, and I'm down to about 76kg now.

My BMI is still in the overweight range, and I still have a ton of belly fat.

I guess I have multiple questions here...
So I read that if you increase muscle, you burn fat away faster - but then it also seems to build muscle, you need to increase your calorie intake.

Given that I've been in a deficit now for a while, and my BMI still sucks - is it really a good idea to increase my calories now?
Is the program above a good program to get rid of fat and build muscle? Or are there some optimisations I can make?
When I reach my goal of 70Kg (and within the healthy BMI), I'm pretty sure I'll still have a tonne of belly fat - has anyone else achieved this and still had belly fat?
Should I be taking supplements before/after workouts? I think my diet is pretty protein rich anyways (biltong, pork scratchings, eggs, bacon, black pudding, chicken).


Any advice would be hugely appreciated.

[Cammg95]

Hi All,

Before lockdown, I was over 100Kg, so I built a Gym, started working out and eating right.

Currently I'm doing a calorie deficit (eating 1400 calories per day + whatever I burn).. except Friday and Saturday when I have "cheat days"
I alternate between core excersizes and chest/arm excersizes Mon, Tues, Thurs & Fri with a 20min HIIT to round off the workout.
Some days I'll do a 2nd workout which combines core and chest/arm, sometimes also with a jog.
Saturday I spend about 3-4 hours in the Gym doing a 1hour jog + "body building" exercises.
Sunday I go for a 10 mile hike.

I dont have much gym equipment, just a running machine and some kettle bells - so most excersizes I do are equipment free.

The weight is slowly coming off, and I'm down to about 76kg now.

My BMI is still in the overweight range, and I still have a ton of belly fat.

I guess I have multiple questions here...
So I read that if you increase muscle, you burn fat away faster - but then it also seems to build muscle, you need to increase your calorie intake.

Given that I've been in a deficit now for a while, and my BMI still sucks - is it really a good idea to increase my calories now?
Is the program above a good program to get rid of fat and build muscle? Or are there some optimisations I can make?
When I reach my goal of 70Kg (and within the healthy BMI), I'm pretty sure I'll still have a tonne of belly fat - has anyone else achieved this and still had belly fat?
Should I be taking supplements before/after workouts? I think my diet is pretty protein rich anyways (biltong, pork scratchings, eggs, bacon, black pudding, chicken).


Any advice would be hugely appreciated.

Not an expert but I've noticed that lifting less in terms of weight on the bar but with more controlled reps, the weight came off better than lifting as heavy as possible. If I was you I would cut down to what you feel is a good body fat percentage for you, then lean bulk so you keep the bmi down but you are building healthy muscle not fat.

[SuffolkPunch]

Not an expert but I've noticed that lifting less in terms of weight on the bar but with more controlled reps, the weight came off better than lifting as heavy as possible. If I was you I would cut down to what you feel is a good body fat percentage for you, then lean bulk so you keep the bmi down but you are building healthy muscle not fat.

I wouldn't do that... it may even be that you lost more muscle because the stimulus wasn't as good.

[SuffolkPunch]

Hi All,

Before lockdown, I was over 100Kg, so I built a Gym, started working out and eating right.

Currently I'm doing a calorie deficit (eating 1400 calories per day + whatever I burn).. except Friday and Saturday when I have "cheat days"
I alternate between core excersizes and chest/arm excersizes Mon, Tues, Thurs & Fri with a 20min HIIT to round off the workout.
Some days I'll do a 2nd workout which combines core and chest/arm, sometimes also with a jog.
Saturday I spend about 3-4 hours in the Gym doing a 1hour jog + "body building" exercises.
Sunday I go for a 10 mile hike.

I dont have much gym equipment, just a running machine and some kettle bells - so most excersizes I do are equipment free.

The weight is slowly coming off, and I'm down to about 76kg now.

My BMI is still in the overweight range, and I still have a ton of belly fat.

I guess I have multiple questions here...
So I read that if you increase muscle, you burn fat away faster - but then it also seems to build muscle, you need to increase your calorie intake.

Given that I've been in a deficit now for a while, and my BMI still sucks - is it really a good idea to increase my calories now?
Is the program above a good program to get rid of fat and build muscle? Or are there some optimisations I can make?
When I reach my goal of 70Kg (and within the healthy BMI), I'm pretty sure I'll still have a tonne of belly fat - has anyone else achieved this and still had belly fat?
Should I be taking supplements before/after workouts? I think my diet is pretty protein rich anyways (biltong, pork scratchings, eggs, bacon, black pudding, chicken).


Any advice would be hugely appreciated.

It sounds like you are eating too little. How fast are you losing weight? If it's more than about 2-3kg per month, that's too fast and some of that may be muscle.

Yes, you need to increase calories to build muscle (although you don't have to "bulk" necessarily). It's a zig zagging process towards better body composition, there are no shortcuts.

You may need to take a break from fat loss soon to build some muscle because as you discovered, you don't currently have enough muscle to get properly lean without being too skinny.

[ECGordyn]

Hi All,

Before lockdown, I was over 100Kg, so I built a Gym, started working out and eating right.

Currently I'm doing a calorie deficit (eating 1400 calories per day + whatever I burn).. except Friday and Saturday when I have "cheat days"
I alternate between core excersizes and chest/arm excersizes Mon, Tues, Thurs & Fri with a 20min HIIT to round off the workout.
Some days I'll do a 2nd workout which combines core and chest/arm, sometimes also with a jog.
Saturday I spend about 3-4 hours in the Gym doing a 1hour jog + "body building" exercises.
Sunday I go for a 10 mile hike.

I dont have much gym equipment, just a running machine and some kettle bells - so most excersizes I do are equipment free.

The weight is slowly coming off, and I'm down to about 76kg now.

My BMI is still in the overweight range, and I still have a ton of belly fat.

I guess I have multiple questions here...
So I read that if you increase muscle, you burn fat away faster - but then it also seems to build muscle, you need to increase your calorie intake.

Given that I've been in a deficit now for a while, and my BMI still sucks - is it really a good idea to increase my calories now?
Is the program above a good program to get rid of fat and build muscle? Or are there some optimisations I can make?
When I reach my goal of 70Kg (and within the healthy BMI), I'm pretty sure I'll still have a tonne of belly fat - has anyone else achieved this and still had belly fat?
Should I be taking supplements before/after workouts? I think my diet is pretty protein rich anyways (biltong, pork scratchings, eggs, bacon, black pudding, chicken).


Any advice would be hugely appreciated.

Also think about the composition of your food. How much fat do the pork scratchings, bacon, biltong, and black pudding have? Generally when cutting you want to eat more protein than fat and carbs.

How many calories are you eating on "cheat days?" If your total calorie intake during the week is low, but super high on weekends, then you're blowing it on the calorie deficit. You've lost weight, so overall you're in a deficit, but you might do better eating consistently throughout the week rather than having cheat days.

Don't neglect legs. Hiking, HIIT, jogging don't build muscle the way you might hope. Squats, lunges, RDLs, kettlebell swings, are leg exercises that build muscle. You'll build muscle more efficiently with more resistance, i.e. more weight.

Internet BMI calculators aren't something to get attached to. Gauge your progress more by how you feel, look, by your bodyweight, and how weights feel as you're lifting.

[TheResistance]

I wouldn't do that... it may even be that you lost more muscle because the stimulus wasn't as good.

Less weight with control equals less stimulus?

That's an interesting opinion.

[SuffolkPunch]

Less weight with control equals less stimulus?

That's an interesting opinion.

I wouldn't decrease the weight from what I was using before.

But then I wouldn't be lifting any weight 'without control' anyway.

If you are artificially slowing tempo, you are reducing the stimulus, that's not just my opinion, it has been demonstrated in trials.

[Zurisee]

Your weight loss is pretty impressive so well done. I can't / won't advise on the workout side of things but I'd urge you to carefully monitor your calories and "cheat days". I was on keto for a few weeks, and am now low carb (50g per day on average) plus around 1600 calories. But I've plateau-ed for a couple of weeks and am thinking that I'm eating too few cals, not too many. But the bigger danger are those cheat days. Sounds like a great idea, I know, and I've had a couple of slips myself. But I stopped having designated cheat days once I realised that it was taking me several days every week just to get back to where I was before the cheat day. I've also started to religiously log every single thing I eat and drink, which has been quite an eye-opener. I've realised that the usual keto and low-carb eating plans are all very well but they can really pile on mountains of calories. Every individual is different so I won't preach but certainly my own experience is that for me, cheat days are counterproductive. Not only do they make weight loss harder but they chip away at my determination to eat healthily. If your 'cheat' is simply to include a potato or a bit of pasta or rice once a week, then fair enough. But I've seen people really stuff themselves with sugary processed rubbish for a day once a week, and then wonder why they've stopped losing weight.