Newbie looking for advice

[yeahfairly]

First of all, I like what you have done with the place (lol)! Site looks great and very informative.

Question! I worked out religiously up until a few years ago but wasn't overly concerned with supplements or special diets. I have been hobbled for two years with a torn bicep and a bum knee. I am just easing back into the gym. My gene puddle is polluted with Diabetes! I was border line as a young kid but when I hit my teens, the gym, and ever sport possible, all problems went away. I consider myself Carb Intolerant, but my blood sugar is great. I am in my early 40's needing to drop 30 lbs. I don't trust all the calculators you see out there for BMI and such because they don't take muscle mass into consideration. I am roughly 190 lean body mass and looking for daily calorie intake and suggestions on a protein based diet. I would like to drop 2+ lbs a week, diet only, and be able to burn additional fat through sweat and tears! I like HIIT and also plan on incorporating some of the old cybergenics supersets into my gym routine. Any and all help appreciated and again, site is awesome!

 

[ozarkaBRAND]

I pretty much always suggest some modified form of the Paleo Diet. It's simple and easy to do.

• Don't eat grains (Quinoa is a legit replacement, along with mass quantities of fibrous green veggies).
• No lactose.
• No sugar (unless it's in fruit, but keep it minimal).
• Emphasize lean protein sources & high omega-3 content of most of the fat you take in (olive oil, flax oil, fish oil, etc...)

Follow the above and I can pretty much guarantee you will drop fat and your health will improve dramatically... even without counting calories. About those calories, start by taking a log of the calories you currently consume to maintain, and then make adjustments to that based on your new diet / new goals.

 

[heavypieces]

The following is a post in the weight loss section of bodybuilding.com by Wavelength. See weight loss for noobies.

"You only have to follow three simple rules:

- Workout 3 times a week with weights.
- Eat 1g protein / lb lean body mass.
- Reduce calories to lose 1-2 lbs / week.

Success is 100% guaranteed. There's really not much more to it."

I've been following this for 2 months now. I've lost 25 lbs and added muscle.

The key for me so far is keeping a record of all my food. I do this with my iphone (Lose It!) but if you don't have an iphone you can use fitday.

For my body weight I started by dropping my calories down to 2000 per day and stayed there for 3 weeks to measure my weight loss. One I figured out what my delta weight was I started tweaking my diet. For example 3 weeks ago I hit a wall and lowered another 100 calories and dropped my cho by 70 g per day.

For more details check out my log.

Good luck!!

 

[Nitrox]

- Reduce calories to lose 1-2 lbs / week.

The key for me so far is keeping a record of all my food. I do this with my iphone (Lose It!) but if you don't have an iphone you can use fitday.

There, pared down to the essentials.

 

[CROWLER]

I agree the online calculators give a rough idea. Better than nothing but there are better ways out there if you are willing to do the work. 2 + lbs a week is quite a big IMO

You say you are maintaining your weight with your current eating. Calculate the calories you eat over the next three days and find the average. Subtract 1000 from that amount and you have the correct number of calories for you to take in per day to lose approx 2lbs per week.

BTW GOOD news. I have seen a recent report stating that diet and exercise are far better techniques to controlling diabetes than prescription medication.

Best of luck!

 

[heavypieces]

There, pared down to the essentials.

Yes but keeping muscle is important. If one just drops calories the loss is something like 3:2 lbs muscle to fat loss. The idea is to keep muscle and drop fat. This will allow faster fat loss over time and once it's off presumably if one eats right, easier maintenance. That's why it's suggested to lift 3x a week and eat 1 g of protein per lean body lb.

At the same time you have to figure out what works for you. I did and it's working.

HP

 

[MM11]

I like to use carb cycling. I cannot do low carb diets for more than a few days or I feel awful. But with carb cycling you can still get good results and have carbs most of the time. Cardio on an empty stomach, works. Also casein Protein is great for maintaining muscle.

 

[yeahfairly]

Thanks a lot for the responses folks. So far, and it's only been a few days, I have stopped eating anything other than chicken breast and veggies. I use olive oil and vinegar on the veggies. I am overseas so my food choices are limited a bit. I know my calories should all come from natural sources, but what percentage of my protein can safely come from shakes, without hurting my weightloss goals? I failed to mention earlier, I am 240lbs. the lightest I have been since 10th grade was 195lbs when I finished basic training and that was many moons ago (lol). I looked emaciated in the face at 195. 205 to 210 is a good weight for me and is my goal. I am currently going semi light with the weights and going to failure. Heavy weights are out of the question for me. I Tore my left bicep two years ago and it won't tolerate heavy weight and probably never will. I have enough mass so bulking or strength gains are not in my priorities right now. Maintaining the mass and strenghth I have and losing fat are my goals. Looking forward to a healthy stroll into old age so I can play tackle football with the grand kids (Haha)! Thanks again!

 

[charley]

yeahfairly............lifting heavy wieght and looking good don't have anything to do with each other.......in fact....the strong guys [power lifters]... for the most part ..wiegh more .....and don't worry about being cut................................

i don't use a scale.........i just look in the mirror.................

 

[yeahfairly]

Alright folks, first of all I am in the Middle East and so far, the hardest part is counting calories and setting up the food log. I eat in a chow hall and have a number of good selections, but I don't have any labels to read (lol)! The Fitday log works well, it's much faster on my network than any others I have found. So far sticking to chicken (main source of protein) and some beef and pork. I am eating some veggies, but mostly just green salad with olive oil and vinegar. I am eating a lot of Olives as well. I am not a breakfast eater and I know that is probably stupid. I need to force myself to eat 4 times a day and eat smaller meals. Today my intake was 1,903 calories (I weigh 240 and know this is probably too low) 196 grm Protein, 80 grm fat, and 89 grm carbs. I am going to have to experiment with the diet a bit. I am trying to cut back on my 10 cups of coffee a day. I have a kilo bag of fresh green tea in my room that would make a Narc get a woody (lol)! I am trying to drink 4 - 6 cups of tea a day and will cut back the coffee to just a couple of cups. I did 40 min cardio on the treadmill and will start lifting tomorrow. Joints are sore from age and abuse but hopefully this will ease up once I get back to lifting. Any reccomendations on the above will be appreciated!

 

[CROWLER]

I think you have analyzed your situation very well. Start eating breakfast. Just a TINY bit at first with your coffee. Say something that sounds appetizing to you, maybe a banana to get started. (yes I understand a banana is not that great BUT it is better than what he is currently eating )

Slowly work your way up to eggs and oatmeal.

Slowly cut back on the coffee. Maybe 1st cup full strength. The next 9 (did I just say 9 WOW that is a lot of freaking coffee lol) 3/4 full strength 1/4 decaff.

 

[yeahfairly]

Yeah, Green Tea will be my crutch while weining off the coffee. I haven't had much of an appetite and for now, I am blaming it on all the caffiene. I feel like I need to work on jumping starting my metabolism. I know breakfast will help a lot. I know my metabolism is slow right now. I have been eating below maintenance for a month and my weight has stayed pretty close to the same.

 

[heavypieces]

Alright folks, first of all I am in the Middle East and so far, the hardest part is counting calories and setting up the food log. I eat in a chow hall and have a number of good selections, but I don't have any labels to read (lol)! The Fitday log works well, it's much faster on my network than any others I have found. So far sticking to chicken (main source of protein) and some beef and pork. I am eating some veggies, but mostly just green salad with olive oil and vinegar. I am eating a lot of Olives as well. I am not a breakfast eater and I know that is probably stupid. I need to force myself to eat 4 times a day and eat smaller meals. Today my intake was 1,903 calories (I weigh 240 and know this is probably too low) 196 grm Protein, 80 grm fat, and 89 grm carbs. I am going to have to experiment with the diet a bit. I am trying to cut back on my 10 cups of coffee a day. I have a kilo bag of fresh green tea in my room that would make a Narc get a woody (lol)! I am trying to drink 4 - 6 cups of tea a day and will cut back the coffee to just a couple of cups. I did 40 min cardio on the treadmill and will start lifting tomorrow. Joints are sore from age and abuse but hopefully this will ease up once I get back to lifting. Any reccomendations on the above will be appreciated!

Good start! Drink lots of water! And I suggest starting a log using this thread. Log workout and diet for a few weeks so others can make suggestions and help you tweak you workout and diet.

HP

 

[yeahfairly]

Week 1 / Day 4

Hey folks! I'll start logging my food and hopefully you can give me some pointers. Today I, once again, skipped breakfast. I knew I shoulda, but was busy right out of the gate this morning. As far as excercise I managed to get 35 min cardio on the treadmill today.

Lunch:
12 ounce chicken (breast w/ no skin)
2 oz Feta Cheese
4 oz green olives
1 cup broccoli

Dinner
12 oz chicken breast (no skin)
2 oz feta cheese
2 oz green olives
1 cup lettuce
2 tbls olive oil
2 tbls vinegar

The program I use puts me at 1964 cals, 109 grm fat, 28 grm carb, & 212 grm protein.

Question: I know I need to spread those cals out over 3 to 5 meals instead of 2. I have heard that you hurt fat loss if you eat over 500 cals per meal. Is there any truth to this? Tomorrow I will at least get a muscle milk in for breakfast. Additionally, the program I am using puts me at 3500 cals for maintenance ( 240 body weight / approx 190 LBM). I am at roughly 1600 below that but I am not hungry. How bad am I killing my metabolism if I maintain at around 2000 cals!

 

[heavypieces]

Week 1 / Day 4

Hey folks! I'll start logging my food and hopefully you can give me some pointers. Today I, once again, skipped breakfast. I knew I shoulda, but was busy right out of the gate this morning. As far as excercise I managed to get 35 min cardio on the treadmill today.

Lunch:
12 ounce chicken (breast w/ no skin)
2 oz Feta Cheese
4 oz green olives
1 cup broccoli

Dinner
12 oz chicken breast (no skin)
2 oz feta cheese
2 oz green olives
1 cup lettuce
2 tbls olive oil
2 tbls vinegar

The program I use puts me at 1964 cals, 109 grm fat, 28 grm carb, & 212 grm protein.

Question: I know I need to spread those cals out over 3 to 5 meals instead of 2. I have heard that you hurt fat loss if you eat over 500 cals per meal. Is there any truth to this? Tomorrow I will at least get a muscle milk in for breakfast. Additionally, the program I am using puts me at 3500 cals for maintenance ( 240 body weight / approx 190 LBM). I am at roughly 1600 below that but I am not hungry. How bad am I killing my metabolism if I maintain at around 2000 cals!

I believe prolonged ketolysis can damage your kidneys. You may want to research this before an extended ultra low carb diet.

 

[yeahfairly]

Roger that... I am having a difficult time getting quality carbs, so I have been skipping for the most part. The chow hall I am eating in has lettuce, usually carrots or broccoli, and Rice..... lots of freakin rice! The rest of the carbs are sugar filled or bread, pasta, and potatoes. I try and stay away from them. My wife is sending me some oatmeal (weight Control) and various other items, but it takes a couple of weeks to get anything here. Diet will improve in a week or two, once the care package arrives (lol)!

 

[Big C]

i have a bottle of M1T 20mg and its been in my brothers car for about a year. I want to know if it could still be good after sitting in a hot car for a year??? Oviously i dont know about it. So if it is good then im goin to take a cycle. I do know that i need to get PCT and liver support but i dont know wat products i need to buy or what there called.

 

[charley]

hey.........i love green tea........i use it every day......4 tea bags.....16oz.'s of water.... 5grams of arginine and 10 grams glutamine.............

 

[yeahfairly]

Week 1 / Day 5

Yes, it's breakfast time for you and I just finished super! My day is done. I added alot of carbs today and kind of feel guilty. My three meals for the day are as follows:

Breakfast: 5 pieces very lean Bacon (all meat), 2 scrambled eggs 1 cup oatmeal w/ artificial sweetner.

Lunch: 1 1/4 cup chili, 1 cup lettuce, 1 cup rice, 1/2 cup green peas, 3 slices tomatoe

Dinner: 10 oz lean sirloin (fat removed), 1 cup fried rice, 2 oz feta cheese, tbls olive oil.

1967 Calories, 162 gr Protein, 148 gr Carb, 78 gr fat

I feel good and have no hungar or craving issues yet. I did 35 min on the treadmill and will start lifting tomorrow. I am looking forward to stepping on the scales in a couple of days. I am more interested in getting the diet right at the moment. You can't screw up the exercise portion unless you just don't do it! I need to get a before pic so I can compare in a few months. I would appreciate any imput on the diet entries I have posted so far!

Thanks!

 

[charley]

i don't obsess over the 'scale'...........we all know whats going on.....most of us have eyes..... just look in the mirror......scales can mess up your head... at first, after two weeks of weight loss[mostly water] you hit a wall...........no scale changes and you start to feel down.........anyway, to obtain a nice looking skin and to avoid a lot of muscle loss.......go slow......one or two pounds a week is perfect......cardio.....but always lift.......lifting gives your body shape and tone..................

 

[yeahfairly]

Hey Folks! Just an update and looking for feedback. It's been about 9days and I refuse to step on the scales at this point. I feel good and don't want to bum myself out by seeing only a slight drop in weight. I figure I will wait a few more weeks before I step on the scales.

I am staying between 1900 and 2200 cals a day, spread out over 4 or 5 meals. I am approx 190 lbm and I am consuming 200-210 grms Protein, 90-100 grms Carb, and 90 grms of Fat. My fat intake is 75% Poly and Mono and comes from Olives, olive oil, almonds, and walnuts (plus I picked up a bottle of EFAs at the PX). Can someone chime in and let me know what you think about the carb and fat ratio. Any feedback will be greatly appreciated!

 

[charley]

if your trying to lose weight.....carbs in the a.m.......no carbs 4 hours before bed...
and always complex carbs[if possible].....in order to absorb protein after a hard workout..a workout where you break down muscle...a 3 to 1 carb[simple] to protein ratio is the norm.....

.......keep it simple.....don't bite off more than you can chew.......................lol