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Hi, and a little advice needed. ;-)

Old 04-08-2011, 04:18 AM
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Default Hi, and a little advice needed. ;-)

I'm Tommy. 30 years old, 5'5", 188lbs. I've never been able to go under 175 since 10 years ago, which is where I was last summer. I put on some pounds after not exercising for a while due to some injuries that needed to heal. But I started up again 7 weeks ago.

Anyway, I would like to get down at least into the 160 range. Where I am now, my BMI is "obese" even though I don't feel it, and my doc is on my butt about losing the extra pounds. And even at 175, I'm carrying a lot of belly fat that I want to get rid of. Anyway, I'm very active. Monday-Friday I'm working out. I hit weights on Mon, Weds, Fri, and HIIT cardio Tues and Thurs. On Tues & Weds, I also take Tae Kwon Do. Right now, I'm off Saturdays and Sundays, but with the weather warming up, my friends and I will be back to playing Baseball on Sundays for a few hours. So I'm very active. I keep my caloric intake around 2000-2200 calories a day. So I should be steadily losing weight. When I first started exercising again 7 weeks ago, I lost 7 pounds (I was 195, the heaviest I ever been) in the first 4 weeks. But since then, I've lost nothing. I just changed my weight routine so I'm doing different exercises, and I always make sure I'm pushing myself to do better than the last time, even if just by a little bit. According to the calorie calculators, I'm burning around 3900 calories a day. So with a 1700-1900 calorie deficit, shouldn't I see the fat just melting off? I try to keep my calorie balance to 40/30/30 (carb/protein/fat) and I drink a TON of water... And even with only 30% of my calories coming from protein, I'm getting at least 1g per "lean" body weight.

Now, on the other side of things, even though I'm not losing weight, I AM feeling better. I'm feeling stronger, and I swear I'm starting to look more muscular. My cardio is also NOTICEABLY better. So is it possible that I'm maintaining the same weight while losing fat and adding muscle?

Anyway, any tips on how to keep the fat burning off is appreciated. :-) Or maybe I'm doing things right, and just need to stick with it? lol...

Thanks!
::Tommy
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Old 04-08-2011, 07:00 AM
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Tommy, welcome!

That's a great amount of exercise--good for you!

I think that part of the problem may be that calorie burn calculators are, at best, a somewhat informed guess. And, how accurate are you being in your calorie intake? Intake and/or burn off to some extent can be the difference between losing and maintaining (or even worse, gaining).

From what I've learned, muscle weight comes on really slowly, though you could be retaining fluid due to your exercise.

I might consider cutting the cals back just a bit, and/or perhaps adding a little more protein (though I, too, like the 40/30/30 mix pretty well).

Regards,
Michael
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Old 04-08-2011, 07:27 AM
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Thanks Michael for the welcome, and the response.

I'm enjoying the 2000-2200 calorie diet... I'm satisfied, and always full of energy. I really can't sit still... I love being active. Lol...

So if I cut the calories back a little bit, what would be a good starting point? Cut 250? 500? If I go down to a 1500 calorie diet, would I feel less energetic or even feel lethargic? What about hunger? Would I feel hungry more often? I don't like feeling hungry as it usually causes me to stray from any meal plan that I've set out for myself.

As far as keeping track, I was using an application on my Blackberry to track what I ate and calories, before switching over to FitDay. But I'm very good at tracking everything... even a light beer every once in a while gets tracked. I've found that when I track things as I eat, I make better decisions because I know where I stand in my daily allowance at all times. It's almost like a game to me, and I actually find it mildly entertaining.

One last thing. I noticed your weight loss stats in your signature, and wow! That's really great!

::Tommy
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Old 04-08-2011, 08:26 AM
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Well, that's the rub in this game--everybody and every body is different. I feel pretty good at 1500-1600 cals but then, I don't exercise to the extent you do.

Of course you want to feel good, and you want to have enough fuel for your muscle building efforts and (most importantly?) you don't want to be overly hungry on a regular basis.

Many people have found better success being a little more protein heavy, even temporarily. I try to keep my pie chart, on average (I don't do The Zone thing where every single meal is supposed to be 40/30/30) around 40/30/30 but if I err, I try to make it on the protein and/or fat side rather than the carb side.

Really, if you are keeping a decent calorie deficit, you WILL lose. Perhaps you are just on a little plateau--they do happen to all of use along this journey.

Just some thoughts to mull over. Generally, if what you're doing isn't working, it's time to try something else--often only a small change can have a big effect.

Regards,
Michael

PS Thanks for the nice comments--I've sort of taken the weight loss fairly slow this time around as I intend for it to be my last time. Of course, that remains to be seen but I am optimistic!
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Old 04-09-2011, 02:12 AM
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Thanks for the advice.

I'm going to start taking in more protein, and try to cut 250 calories to start. We'll see how that goes I figured if I replace my after workout snack (usually a turkey sandwich on all natural 14 grain bread) with a scoop of protein powder in a glass of water, I can increase protein and cut a couple hundred calories. Im thinking the 18g of protein in that should help keep me satisfied until my next meal (usually about 2.5 hours after my workout).
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Old 04-09-2011, 03:34 AM
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Thumbs up You are awesome

Originally Posted by mecompco
Tommy, welcome!

That's a great amount of exercise--good for you!

I think that part of the problem may be that calorie burn calculators are, at best, a somewhat informed guess. And, how accurate are you being in your calorie intake? Intake and/or burn off to some extent can be the difference between losing and maintaining (or even worse, gaining).

From what I've learned, muscle weight comes on really slowly, though you could be retaining fluid due to your exercise.

I might consider cutting the cals back just a bit, and/or perhaps adding a little more protein (though I, too, like the 40/30/30 mix pretty well).

Regards,
Michael
I'm fairly new here and I just read this and your weight loss so far. I was amazed, how are you doing it? I've been on and off diets life most and I am ready to try again. Any pointers or hints would be wonderful. Once again you are doing awesome.
Ramona
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Old 04-09-2011, 07:09 AM
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Originally Posted by grannyluvs4
I'm fairly new here and I just read this and your weight loss so far. I was amazed, how are you doing it? I've been on and off diets life most and I am ready to try again. Any pointers or hints would be wonderful. Once again you are doing awesome.
Ramona
Ramona, welcome!

This is my third time to the Major weight-loss rodeo (there have been plenty of other 10, 50, 75 lb. losses here and there over the years).

I really don't do anything special--eat 1500-1600 cals a day (actual average around 1580 if one includes my monthly "day off". I don't eat ANY candy/bakery items/sweets, even on my day off. I do enjoy too much beer on those days--call it a weakness. Most days I try to average around a 40/30/30 carb/protein/fat calorie mix.

I take one "day off" per month if I want to (and I usually do ) for something to look foward to and as a way to remind myself that I needn't be "perfect" (the old "all or nothing" thinking trap that I used to fall into).

I exercise most every day (I walk EVERY weekday but have occasionally skipped a weekend). Once summer vacation rolls around, the exercise is going to get ramped up to include muscle building and not just cardio.

I drink at least one gallon of water a day.

I log every single solitary thing that goes down my pie hole into FitDay--the good, the bad and the ugly, every single day w/o fail.

That's pretty much it--nothing earth-shattering.

Regards,
Michael
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Old 04-10-2011, 10:35 AM
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Default Been to the same rodeo

Hi Michael,
Thanks Michael for the info. I know what you mean about the 10, 20, and 50, lbs here and there. I lost 70lbs about 3 years ago but I found it again plus a few of it's friends. I will be 55 this year and I know I've got to do something so I'm trying this. I have done the calorie counting thing before but never the carbs/protein/fat so I'm going to try that. I like the idea of taking 1 day a month off, think I'll try it too. I don't drink beer but if I did I'd join you. lol It's kind of hard to do this weight loss thing on your own sometimes, my family is supportive but sometimes they just don't understand. You may be getting messages from me from time to time, you've been where I am now. Thanks for your help.
Ramona
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Old 04-10-2011, 11:12 AM
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Originally Posted by grannyluvs4
Hi Michael,
Thanks Michael for the info. I know what you mean about the 10, 20, and 50, lbs here and there. I lost 70lbs about 3 years ago but I found it again plus a few of it's friends. I will be 55 this year and I know I've got to do something so I'm trying this. I have done the calorie counting thing before but never the carbs/protein/fat so I'm going to try that. I like the idea of taking 1 day a month off, think I'll try it too. I don't drink beer but if I did I'd join you. lol It's kind of hard to do this weight loss thing on your own sometimes, my family is supportive but sometimes they just don't understand. You may be getting messages from me from time to time, you've been where I am now. Thanks for your help.
Ramona
Ramona, please contact me any time--I'm happy to help, if I can.

I can't promise my plan will work for everyone, but it's worked pretty well for me. I have tweaked it since I started--I used to be more carb-heavy. I also started out with one "day off" per week. Things kind of slowed down, so I made the changes and I've had pretty consistant weekly losses since.

As to the day off, I still find myself not going totally crazy--no eat-till-you-burst binges, no all meat calzones, no eating a dozen Dunkin' Donuts at one sitting (yup, done it in the past) and so forth. Even "up to camp", I strive to not exceed by daily burn. If I do go over a bit, it is with "real" food and as long as it's not a habit that seems to be fine.

Anyway, I think if you come up with a plan you can live with and work it with FitDay's help that you WILL succeed.

Regards,
Michael
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Old 04-11-2011, 03:15 AM
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Smile It's Official

Originally Posted by mecompco
Ramona, please contact me any time--I'm happy to help, if I can.

I can't promise my plan will work for everyone, but it's worked pretty well for me. I have tweaked it since I started--I used to be more carb-heavy. I also started out with one "day off" per week. Things kind of slowed down, so I made the changes and I've had pretty consistant weekly losses since.

As to the day off, I still find myself not going totally crazy--no eat-till-you-burst binges, no all meat calzones, no eating a dozen Dunkin' Donuts at one sitting (yup, done it in the past) and so forth. Even "up to camp", I strive to not exceed by daily burn. If I do go over a bit, it is with "real" food and as long as it's not a habit that seems to be fine.

Anyway, I think if you come up with a plan you can live with and work it with FitDay's help that you WILL succeed.

Regards,
Michael
Good Morning Michael,
Well it's official, I started my very own plan today. I've put my food in and have even written in my fitday journal. I'll keep you posted as to how this goes. I CAN do this.
Ramona
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