Fat loss with problems!

[Farmingstock]

Hello guys

Come here for advice as I’m in a rut.

I have gained close to 50lb over the last couple of years, I get bad migraines, have very low testosterone and am recovering from pain killer addiction.

After basically messing any relationship I had up, I have seen a few specialists and eliminated as much stress out of my life and also not touched any medication for a few days now.

I want to focus on getting fit and have a wedding to attend in 9 weeks so a short term goal too.

I’m currently 6ft, 250lb and over 30% BF

I have a decent home gym with lots of free weights up to 200kg, dumbells, racks, exercise bike, punch bag etc which I will be using.

I wasn’t working last week and stuck to 2000 cals last week but stayed the same weight. So I am going to drop to 1850cals this week and don’t really want to drop much less.

Is it possible to lose 3lb+ a week?

I’m looking for a basic workout that I enjoy and can keep constant?

How much cardio should I be doing?

I have an addictive personality and will either do something or I won’t.

I feel like walking to the shop is effort atm possibly due to serverely low test but the doctor has said try and lose some weight to improve this before going on TRT for life.

Any advice would be appreciated.

[SuffolkPunch]

I don't think there is anything there which would prevent you from following the standard advice as per the 'basics' sticky thread.

Pick a routine you like the look of from the sticky threads in the Workout Programs forums, take control of calories and you are good to go. Perhaps add 1 or 2 cardio sessions on other days. Or even just go for a 20 min walk every day.

3lbs a week is a bit steep, 2 should be doable.

[DoMoreWeighLess]

Suffolk already gave good advice.

I would say also get a rough estimate of your bmr using an online calculator. Then adjust it based on your exercise. If you exercise hardcore, eat a bit more than recommended, and vice versa.

You may lose weight fast in the beginning, but the best goal is 1% bodyfat a week. Keeps you from losing too fast, while also giving good results. You can definitely drop a lot of weight in 9 weeks following the sticky and proper diet. 3+ a week? That'd probably raise your stress higher than expected.

[snailsrus]

You should most definitely be losing weight on 2000 calories but going down to 1850 is most likely ok unless you are starving or getting light headed

^^^ advice above is good

Things to note:
To track progress weigh yourself everyday at the same time, like after you piss right when you wake up. This can help you see trends because maybe one day your holding more water and you can’t see the weight loss. But, if you look at the total trend for say 2 weeks then it might give you a better picture
EX:
5/1/21 250.4 lbs
5/2/21 250 lbs
5/3/21 250.1 lbs
5/4/21 249.7 lbs
5/5/21 249.3 lbs
5/6/21 249 lbs
5/7/21 250 lbs
5/8/21 248.8 lbs
5/9/21 248.4 lbs
5/10/21 247.8 lbs
5/11/21 248 lbs
5/12/21 247.2 lbs
5/13/21 246.6 lbs
5/15/21 447.4 lbs

See ^^^^ the over all trend, this is realistic

Other thing weigh and track everything including coffee creamer and sauces.

Eat out as little as possible. That chipotle burrito might say 700 calories but inconsistent portion sizes by the staff there it might really be 900 calories because they scooped the fat from the bottom of the meat basket holder thing

[Farmingstock]

Thanks for the advice

I will try a push, pull, legs as far as training goes and see how I am with that, did a session today stayed around 50kg for each exercise light I know but will up it when I’m in the swing of things.

As far as diet goes, I have been weighing everything and logging it on MyFitnessPal

I take my dog for a walk twice a day but need to add to my cardio, I feel like doing anything is effort and hard work, maybe a testosterone thing or maybe because I’m carrying a small child in extra weight.

I say everything is effort but I don’t seem to sweat or get out of breath as such from my workouts, I’m doing 4 sets of 12, with 3-4 second reps. On my last reps I’m struggling for the last couple of sets.

Today did

Flat bench 4x12 50kg
Incline bench 4x12 50kg
Shoulder press 4x12 50kg
Dips 4x12 body weight
Tricep extension 4x12 25kg

Is this satisfactory and should I be sweating/aching/out of breath?

I have very low rest periods, 30 seconds max.

Thanks again

[SuffolkPunch]

Don't try to make your own routine, do one of the ones I mentioned from the sticky threads. They were created by experts so you will benefit from their years of experience and knowledge.

[Farmingstock]

Don't try to make your own routine, do one of the ones I mentioned from the sticky threads. They were created by experts so you will benefit from their years of experience and knowledge.

Yeah will look through them, I don’t have any machines as such so will be limited to free weights dumbells, barbells, have seats and cage etc

[SuffolkPunch]

To answer your other questions - you don't have to be out of breath with upper body exercises but it probably will happen with the big lower body compounds. But that's not the objective and you shouldn't make your rest periods too short. Fat loss comes from calorie deficit not from elevating your pulse rate. Weight training is to prevent muscle loss or grow new muscle, it's not CV training.

Most programs will give you guidelines about choosing load and rest pauses which you should follow.

[Farmingstock]

To answer your other questions - you don't have to be out of breath with upper body exercises but it probably will happen with the big lower body compounds. But that's not the objective and you shouldn't make your rest periods too short. Fat loss comes from calorie deficit not from elevating your pulse rate. Weight training is to prevent muscle loss or grow new muscle, it's not CV training.

Most programs will give you guidelines about choosing load and rest pauses which you should follow.

Any recommendations?? Thanks again

[SuffolkPunch]

All Pros has a slow progression suited to dieting and you only need a barbell

[Farmingstock]

All Pros has a slow progression suited to dieting and you only need a barbell

Where are the routines you mentioned? Thanks

[faithbrah]

Where are the routines you mentioned? Thanks

"workout programs" section

here's the one he was referring to: https://forum.bodybuilding.com/showt...hp?t=179232481

[Farmingstock]

I will give it a try, I can already do 10 x body weight bench but can’t do the same squat due to a knee injury.

I have trained on and off for many years and used to be a professional wrestler and amateur boxer in my teens/early 20’s.

At my fittest I was training 3 times a day but I snapped my knee ruptured the crutiate ligaments and also my cartlidge, which was the start of my downfall.

Heavy squats/running aren’t possible unfortunately but I will try this program.

I am feeling better day by day and fighting the urge to reach for the pain killers.

[faithbrah]

I will give it a try, I can already do 10 x body weight bench

Flat bench 4x12 50kg

i'm a bit confused here. do you mean that you used to be able to bench 10x your bodyweight?

[Farmingstock]

i'm a bit confused here. do you mean that you used to be able to bench 10x your bodyweight?

Ha ha I wish no, in the program it says end goal to be able to bench press your body weight 10 times, I can already do more than my body weight for 10 reps now.

[faithbrah]

Ha ha I wish no, in the program it says end goal to be able to bench press your body weight 10 times, I can already do more than my body weight for 10 reps now.

but you said you were 250 lbs (113 kg) and benched 4x12 50 kg... now you're already benching more than 113 kg for 10 reps?

my brain hurts man

[Farmingstock]

but you said you were 250 lbs (113 kg) and benched 4x12 50 kg... now you're already benching more than 113 kg for 10 reps?

my brain hurts man

I have trained on and off for years and am fairly strong anyway, I just did a light workout so i wasn’t aching.

I have benched 180kg for 6 reps in the past but am a long way off that now.

[Ghawk21]

I have trained on and off for years and am fairly strong anyway, I just did a light workout so i wasn’t aching.

I have benched 180kg for 6 reps in the past but am a long way off that now.

Its hard to take you serious when your asking for help with exercises, claiming to have a (previous) bench press that would win competitions, and then stating your current routine you're doing 4x12 with 50kg.....

[Farmingstock]

Its hard to take you serious when your asking for help with exercises, claiming to have a (previous) bench press that would win competitions, and then stating your current routine you're doing 4x12 with 50kg.....

Sometimes ppl don’t read the full posts, only skim through things they want to see then make conclusions.

**Look at the facts**

I have been a professional athlete in my life, I have been brought up on a farm and am naturally strong, I am a recovering addict, I have trained on and off since I was 12 years old.

Like I said, I haven’t trained for a long time and didn’t want to push myself straight away, but that said doing 115kg bench for 10 reps is hard but doable for me atm.

When I was in my prime training 3 times a day as a wrestler 180kg was the kind of lifts I was doing as I was around 19 stone at the time.

I don’t know what is hard to believe? Most people that have trained for a few years can bench their body weight for 10 reps can’t they?

Also I’m sure bodybuilders don’t life the most they can every single session do they??

Like I said a light session as I haven’t trained for a while, that doesn’t mean I can’t do a lot more weight?

[Ghawk21]

Its more to do with the fact that someone that manages to get a bench press that strong should already know how to train. Throw in being a professional athlete and years of training experience(on and off or whatever) and then asking noobie questions and well here we are.

[Farmingstock]

Its more to do with the fact that someone that manages to get a bench press that strong should already know how to train. Throw in being a professional athlete and years of training experience(on and off or whatever) and then asking noobie questions and well here we are.

Yeah, but there’s always things to learn, I’m far from a noobie but feel like starting off with the basics again would be best and with my issues I wanted a bit of advice that’s all.

I have kept most of my strength even though I haven’t trained properly for a long time.

I don’t think 115kg bench is that much but that’s what I weigh, it might be a lot to someone that weighs 60kg but them doing 60kg is only as hard 🤷🏼‍♂️!

I did a competition at bodypower uk a few years back, I was 100kg at the time and did 32 reps, flat bench of 100kg (body weight) but a guy that was 70kg beat me with 54 reps at his body weight.

Doing body weight bench isn’t difficult, same as a obese girl with big boobs or a skinny guy with a six pack, doesn’t take any real effort.

[Darkius]

The goal of exercise is not to do penance. It is also not possible to burn all the fat with exercise if your muscles are not yet in that kind of shape.

You have to gradually increase the exercise to keep up with your muscles. Aim to create the optimal hormone spikes with each workout, to keep the muscle you have, and to burn some extra calories while you are at it. Time at the gym is also time away from the fridge.

Since you are 6' tall and 250 pounds, you just might be able to lose 2.5 pounds per week, but that is extrapolating from study data to areas that might be outside what was measured by the study. Clearly someone 7 feet tall could lose more than 2 pounds a week. But the studies say 3 pounds per week is a no go. Also, as you lose weight, you need to reduce the calorie definite to never be more than 1% of your weight.



The 1% rule applies when you are lots of fat. As you get leaner, it drops to 0.5%. And you need lots of protein, they found, more so than during maintenance.

[misterblick]

Walking or biking would be good cardio starting out. I made the mistake of jogging and tore my knee while I was still overweight. If you go from no exercise to working out 3+ days a week and eating right you should see a drop. For me, the first two weeks I didn't lose much but then it starting flying off and I ended up 13lbs down the first month...that tapered out to about 1-2lbs a week after first month or two.