tandoorichicken

Siege,

It's true that cell membranes are largely sat fat, but they actually function more like liquid films than solids. There's transporter proteins embedded in the cell membranes that let in ions and other molecules that aren't fat soluble, but they also "float" around freely in the membrane and aren't fixed in place with respect to each other. It's kind of like an oil film on the surface of water that separates the water from the air - it's a barrier that's still a liquid.

The fat that is stored in your gut isn't just blocks of solidified sat fat. It's living tissue made up of collections of fat cells which store triglycerides in compartments within them. The triglycerides contain all kinds of fatty acids - sat, mono, poly, trans - depending on your body's fatty acid balance. The cells themselves are active in secreting factors and hormones. Since it's a tissue, like muscle, it's fairly solid and doesn't move around much.

Sorry for hijacking your thread Michael! I'm a sucker for biochemistry

midwestj

Great information but I think you two should butt heads elsewhere. Lets try and help this guy who's asking for help.

I completely agree with Ron about the beer. Alcohol is a fat loss and muscle builders worst enemy.

First alcohol must be burned off before all food calories. So when you are going out to eat on Saturday night having your 3000 calories and downing a sixer this is truely the cause of your slowed progress. All the food calories you just ate are stored so that all the alcohol can be processed out of your system.

Second Alcohol is calorie dense and contains no nutritional value. 7 cals/gram but no actual food value or vitamin/mineral content.

Alcohol lowers protein synthesis.

Alcohol lowers testosterone while increasing estrogen. (YIKES!)

There are many other effects not to mention the loss of motivation the day following a binge.

I am not going to be the one to tell you to stop drinking all together, but I think you should keep it to 2-3 beers once a week at the most.

Ok now for your food. I believe you may be eating too little getting 1500 calories a day. Especially when you are throwing in one day a week of double that amount.

I believe you would benefit from slowly increasing your calorie intake back to 2000. Start doing some resistance training. It doesn't have to be weight lifting simple bodyweight exercises are great.

If you cut down on items like cheese, bacon and hot dogs you could replace those calories with lean choices and be eating a lot more food.

When you say you don't have any cheat foods thats fine. But at a certain point those comfort/non healthy foods aren't going to help you lose weight, even if you are reducing your calories. You could be replacing those with fruits/vegetables and that alone would help you a lot. Start trying some more lean meats. Try replacing your breads with brown rice carbs and black beans. You have come a long way with your current approach. But I think now its time to up the anti.

I'm not gonna say I'm the perfect example, because I'm certainly not. But I think you could get a lot of meal ideas from my logs. My archives go back daily to July 6th and I have divided up each entry by meal. If you want some ideas just take a look at my archives. I think you are doing well, and just some minor improvements will have you right back on track.

Edit: I forgot to mention your nutrient macro could use some improvement. I think your fat needs to be switched with your protein, instead of getting 30% fat and 15-20% protein it should be the other way around. A good figure to aim for is 1.5g/kg of your "IDEAL/GOAL" bodyweight.

midwestj

P.S. Ignore the Protein Powder Gatorade meals, thats my post workout stuff. Unless you start pumpin the iron!

mecompco

Jason, thanks for sharing your food log--I've got some new ideas for the upcoming weeks.

I will be working on reducing fat and increasing protien.

I hear ya' on the beer--will work on keeping that to once a month at the most. I'll be honest, I like a good beer buzz and at 335 it takes a good amount to achieve--I know it's bad, but it's the truth. That being said, I can postpone gratification and will do so.

With all due respect, I don't entirely buy into the whole starvation mode thing. The last time I got serious about losing weight I stayed religiously under 1000 cals a day for 9 months (and under 10 grams of fat total per day). This was after a 30 day water fast . Took off around 200 lbs in that time period (walked at least 2 miles a day, as well as lifting). Got down to 184lbs.

BUT, of course, the weight went back on. That's why I picked 1500 this time--fairly decent weight loss, but not so extreme. I have no doubt that I can do it, then the real test will start as I have never in my 46 years actually maintained a weight--I've always been either losing or gaining (usually gaining).

Thanks again for your insightful posts!

Regards,
Michael

midwestj

Michael I just think that with a lesser restriction, you would learn how to maintain this long term with the idea of it becoming a lifestyle. I know you want it to come off fast, but slower is healthier and more permanent. Like you said you don't want the weight to come back. Maybe 2200 is high, if you can maintain the 1500 and be comfortable and still lose then just stick with what works. I like to eat as much as possible and still lose just because its more comfortable and I can still build a meager amount of muscle.

BTW I think Turbulence Training has a few bodyweight exercise manuals on the web for free or on youtube, try those they are awesome.

mecompco

Jason, thanks, I'll check out the Turbulence Training--sounds interesting.

I appreciate all your knowledge, and perhaps you're right about more calories. I am, though, pretty comfortable at 1500-1600, spread out over the day.

Just to play devil's advocate (and I'll freely admit I'm somewhat ignorant on the topic), how can an extra 200-500 cals a day be good while the occasional one day at week with an extra 1500 cals be bad? I'm no math genius, but it "just don't add up".

I know this whole thing is a big guesstimate and the basal metabolism/lifestyle varies for everyone but it has up until the last few weeks been pretty right on--approx. 4000 cals burned a day to keep breathing, minus 1400 to 1500 a day intake comes out to around 3lbs or so a week loss.

Thanks again--I always learn something new from your posts.

Michael

midwestj

I think at 4000 calories you are over estimating it, because if you were burning 4000 calories you would be able to maintain a 1500 deficit eating 2500 calories and lose 2-3 lbs per week. But you were only eating 1500, and had been losing 2-3 as you say. So I think your calories burned is probably closer to 2500-3000.

The formulas don't take into account fat/lean mass so they are not always accurate.

Its not that 1 day of 1500 extra vs spreading it out over the week is better than the other, but when you put the extra calories and alcohol intake side by side they are a bad combo. Also when you spread it out you are still in a deficit everyday, whereas on the 3000+ calories days you are going into a calorie surplus possibly storing fat, so its counter productive.

Try to reserve the alcohol for special occasions and try not to reward yourself with food or alcohol.

And I also just think you could maintain your losses with a little less of a calorie deficit, if you added in a little more exercise.

rpmcduff

It is not just math, biology plays a big role. Your body needs energy and it needs to store that energy so it is available at any time. To do this your body converts nutrients into glycogen that is stored in your muscles. (Think of it as your gas tank.) As you go about your day your body uses some of the glycogen. When you eat those calories go first to replenish or top off your tank. Any excess gets stored in long term storage as fat. If you are at a caloric deficit then your body has to go to long term storage to convert fat into glycogen to top off your tank.

When you eat a 1500 calorie surplus in one day your glycogen reserves get refilled and then all the rest gets stored as fat. Think of it like this, you go to the gas station and refill your gas tank. Now you drive 50 miles and stop and put 2 more gallons in your tank to refill. But if you try to put in 5 gallons the excess 3 gallons is going to spill over.

This is also why spreading your calories throughout the day is advocated rather than eating a large percentage of your calories in one sitting. Cheat days can be beneficial to resetting your metabolism and your attitude but should not be an excuse to unlimited binging. There are other threads about cheat days and zig-zagging your calories if you are interested.

I believe everyone needs to find a longterm plan that they can live with. I have taken the approach that this is a lifestyle change that I will maintain for the rest of my life. If you approach this as a short term diet to acheive a goal and you plan on returning to your previous eating habits then (as you have experienced in the past) you will bounce right back up the scale.

Good luck on your journey.

midwestj

One thing I forgot to add, and this may sound blunt. But at 335 it has probably taken a lifetime of poor eating habits to get to that weight. I know you want fast results and we all crave that instant gratification. But I think you would benefit from focusing on building a foundation of new healthy habits. It will take more than a year to get to a healthy weight, so you need to be in it for the long haul. Just think after a year how many healthy habits you will make. With all the tools in place to live a healthy lifestyle, you won't let yourself go back to your old ways.

midwestj

Michael I hope I didn't offend you and end our conversation early. Let me know how you are doing with your progress.