10 weeks 20 pounds.

[houseofpainhulk]

Ok, So I have 10 weeks to diet down 20 pounds. It doesn't have to be exactly 20 pounds, just close.

I thought I had my diet in check, but I see no difference on the scale or with waist measurents. I also don't see any difference in muscle size, it's all stagnant.

I guess my main question is how many calories do I need to be eating to lose say 1.5-2 pounds a week. Do I figure my bmr/rmr and then subtract calories from this. Say for demonstration purposes I need to eat 2000c a day for bmr, and I subtract 200 calories which would put me at 1800. So I eat 1800 for some wight loss, but I also do fasted cardio and burn 600c in the morning, and weights for 45 minutes in the evening, so about 360c there. So I am thinking I am not eating near enought calories compared to my caloric deficit and expenditure. I just cannot wrap my head around this.

I'm sure it's a really simple answer and I'll smack myself for not realizing it.
Height 5'9"
Weight 203-205
Age 29

Pics are me 2 months ago at 202, and 206. Got a little out of shape from these, and I actual look more in shape in the pics than I really am.

Bodyfat? Around 15-18

 

[Mrodz]

Well the basics say calculate BMR add ur normal expenditure or activity level, and with exercise + diet create at least a 500 cal deficit to lose 1lb per week, for 1.5 though I guess it maybe closer to 700 or 750.

 

[Mrodz]

out of curiosity I used my ipod app with ur stats.
BMR 2066
x light moderate 1-3 days a week= 2685 (harris benedict equation whoever he is)


any help? LOL

 

[EasyEJL]

your caloric math seems more or less in range, putting you at something roughly like a 1000 calorie deficit, which in theory is good for close to 2lbs a week. But I think you should share more about your diet details to see if there is some gaping hole in there you aren't catching.

One of the simplest things that I see hits a LOT of people who are more or less just starting their first try at serious weightloss is that you think you are eating a lot less calories than you really are. Although its a royal pain to accurately measure and weigh everything, doing it for a while can make a huge difference. I knew one guy who was off by over 1000 calories a day because his 6 oz piece of chicken was really 10oz, and his 1 cup of rice estimate was just shy of 2 cups.... and all his meals were like that.

Maybe post your workout structure as well.

 

[Rodja]

BMR is only part of the metabolic equation.

TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) consists of:
BMR
General Activity (~BMR x .2)
Thermic Effect of Food (energy burned from digestion; TDEI x .1)
Exercise

When you add all of these up, then you have the amount of calories you burn in a given day. If you're eating 1800 kcals, then you're in a severe deficit and are probably sabotaging your efforts.

 

[Mrodz]

your caloric math seems more or less in range, putting you at something roughly like a 1000 calorie deficit, which in theory is good for close to 2lbs a week. But I think you should share more about your diet details to see if there is some gaping hole in there you aren't catching.

One of the simplest things that I see hits a LOT of people who are more or less just starting their first try at serious weightloss is that you think you are eating a lot less calories than you really are. Although its a royal pain to accurately measure and weigh everything, doing it for a while can make a huge difference. I knew one guy who was off by over 1000 calories a day because his 6 oz piece of chicken was really 10oz, and his 1 cup of rice estimate was just shy of 2 cups.... and all his meals were like that.

Maybe post your workout structure as well.

Even when i've done this a few times and get a good visual understanding of amounts and stuff I find that after awhile i need to do it again to refresh. Measuring and honestly writing down everything u eat can be veeery surprising. this great advice.

 

[houseofpainhulk]

So my usual diet or close to it is.

Post Cardio: BCAA Drink 30 cal/scoop 2 scoops

Meal 1: 6am-7am
6 Egg Whites
1/2 Cup cooked Steel Cut Oatmeal
1 Banana

Meal 2:
4tbsp Peanut Butter
1 apple

Meal 3:
1 Skinless Chicken Breast
2 cups of Mixed Green Salad
1 slice of Wheat Bread

Meal 4: Pre Workout
1 scoop of Whey Protein mixed in Water

Meal 5:
1 Skinless Chicken Breast
1 cup of Mixed Green Salad with Low Calorie Oil Based Salad Dressing
1 mid size Sweet Potato/ 1cup Brown Rice

Meal 6: Bedtime Snack
1 scoop of Whey Protein in Water


Workout:

Every Excercise is 4sets 10-12 reps.

Chest/Bicep
Incline DB
Flat DB
Flat DB Flye
Standing DB Curl
Alternating Db Curl
One arm Iso DB Curl

Back/Tricep
DB Deadlift
One Arm Row
Shrugs
DB Kickback
Military Pushup
Dips

Shoulders/Abs
Overhead DB Press
Side Lat Raise
Front Delt Raise
Rear Delt Raise
Shrugs (love my traps)
Any ab exercise I feel like doing 8 sets of

Legs
One Leg Dumbell Squat
One Leg 24in high DB step up
(I keep the leg lifting low b/c they grow like weeds, and then my pants don't fit.)

 

[EasyEJL]

ok problem 1 that sticks out like a sore thumb, your total daily fat intake is maybe 30g? from the 4tbsp peanut butter. I'm going to assume (hope) its all natural peanut butter, but even so your normal daily essential fatty acid needs are 2-3x that amount.

Outside of that, not too bad. i'd definitely add more healthy fats though. Avocado in your salad, nuts as part of a snack, maybe sub in wild alaskan salmon on and off for a chicken breast.

 

[EasyEJL]

Just for giggles, the reference value used by the USDA for a 2000 calorie intake is 65g of fat total, 20g of saturated fats....

 

[houseofpainhulk]

Thanks for the info from everyone, It seems less confusing now. I do think I may need to up my calories a bit, or keep cals the same and do less cardio?

The peanut butter is definitely the all natural kind. Can't handle the normal kind, way to sweet.

Forgot to mention I do fasted cardio in the mornings 5 days a week, 15-30 minutes on 30deg incline at 3 mph. Burns 350-700cals or thats what it tells me.

 

[Mrodz]

BMR is only part of the metabolic equation.

TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) consists of:
BMR
General Activity (~BMR x .2)
Thermic Effect of Food (energy burned from digestion; TDEI x .1)
Exercise

When you add all of these up, then you have the amount of calories you burn in a given day. If you're eating 1800 kcals, then you're in a severe deficit and are probably sabotaging your efforts.

sooo let's use OP as a learning guide

that would be
2066 x .2 = 413
2479 I suppose that would be TDEI

2479 x .1 = 247.9
2726
2726 x exercise- what would be the chart range
I've seen
1. If you are sedentary (little or no exercise) : 1.2
2. If you are lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week) : 1.375
3. If you are moderatetely active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week) :1.55
4. If you are very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week) :1.725
5. If you are extra active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training) :1.9

So lets say
2726 x 1.5 = 4090 Oh! yeah that's a lot more

So most bmr formulas don't take into account food digestion or general activity. The ones I've seen always stat basic calories needed to "stay alive" u know breathing, blood circulation and stuff. Is there a way to include lean body mass into the equation?

 

[Mrodz]

ugh!! like three posts while I wrote all that :/

 

[houseofpainhulk]

So if I add a protein shake (whey in water) in addition to everythig i have for breakfast, and then have a serving of almond butter with lunch and supper meals then that should be a 500cal addition to what I eat now and it would take care of adding more of the healthy fats to my diet at the same time. Would this then keep me/get me on track for around 2lbs fat loss a week?

Mrodz: What ipod app did you use?

 

[Mrodz]

Shop to lose

but it sux for ipod because u need internet connection for the other tools to work, blah!
there are some better apps out there tho I just need to replenish my itunes to get something better. there should be one or two for free if all u want is the BMR part of it

i don't think the shop to lose is very accurate specially compared with the equation rodja put up :/
the activity level I looked it up because the shop to lose seemed hinky to me

 

[houseofpainhulk]

Ok I think I got it.

If I don't take into consideration General activity or the thermo effect of food.
Then my BMR is 3100cal, and if I want to lose 2lbs a week that is roughly 1000cals/day deficit. Take into consideration exercise, which would be 600cals/day, and that means I need to eat 2500cals/day to make my 2lbs a week weight loss and not fall into starvation mode right?

 

[EasyEJL]

its all estimation. Start there, and adjust as you go.

 

[houseofpainhulk]

Well at least I know I am on the right track now. No wonder I had not been seeing much change, I had been eating about 700cals less than I probably should have been.

Thanks for all the help. I finally understand it, and with all this new information my head feels like it's going to explode.

 

[houseofpainhulk]

Update:

So I went with 2500 cals for awhile and gained weight no movement on the waist just the numbers, so I guess I know how many cals will build muscle for me. I dropped down to 2100 and upped the cardio a bit. Started dropping weight, but after 3 weeks it was only about 4lbs. I decided to go lower on cals and do 1700. Seems like I could reach 2lbs a week fat loss by doing that, lost about 1.75lbs. So 1600-1700cal is my number.

Then I got injured, tore my lower back and rib muscles. Went to the doc to see if I broke my ribs, nope just skeletal muscle tearing. They gave me flexeril for a muscle relaxer to stop spasms. Terrible **** that flexeril is. I gained 8lbs in a week on it. Thought it was water weight, maybe 2lbs was, the rest fat. So I dumped it in the toilet, used bengay and saran wrap, good to go now. Now I have 5 weeks, and starting at 202. so I guess my goal now is 190-192. Update in a few weeks.

 

[MakaveliThaDon]

Update:

So I went with 2500 cals for awhile and gained weight no movement on the waist just the numbers, so I guess I know how many cals will build muscle for me. I dropped down to 2100 and upped the cardio a bit. Started dropping weight, but after 3 weeks it was only about 4lbs. I decided to go lower on cals and do 1700. Seems like I could reach 2lbs a week fat loss by doing that, lost about 1.75lbs. So 1600-1700cal is my number.

Then I got injured, tore my lower back and rib muscles. Went to the doc to see if I broke my ribs, nope just skeletal muscle tearing. They gave me flexeril for a muscle relaxer to stop spasms. Terrible **** that flexeril is. I gained 8lbs in a week on it. Thought it was water weight, maybe 2lbs was, the rest fat. So I dumped it in the toilet, used bengay and saran wrap, good to go now. Now I have 5 weeks, and starting at 202. so I guess my goal now is 190-192. Update in a few weeks.

so at 200 pounds you need to eat well under 2k cals a day to lose weight? Something about that just doesn't seem right to me....

 

[houseofpainhulk]

To lose 2lbs a week at 200lbs I need to eat under 2k cals. I was losing weight eating 2100 cals a day, just wasn't hitting my goal of 2lbs a week. I will keep this updated to track the progress of this lower calorie diet.

 

[MakaveliThaDon]

are you not doing any exercise or something?

 

[houseofpainhulk]

I am doing exercise, but I think I overestimate the amount of calories I actually burn doing my workout. If I were working out more I would eat more and therefore calories would be higher. I do morning cardio, and evening weights.

As I posted, I was losing weight when I was eating 2100cals. I was even losing weight when I was eating 2300 although it was .25lbs/wk if I was lucky. The important part of my post was that I was not hitting my 2lbs a week goal. I am trying to drop 2lbs a week. What would work for you, may not work for myself. As anyone who is cutting knows caloric numbers are estimation and not exact, drop calories or increase exercise until you see your waist or scale move. I choose the former route.

 

[bla55]

Mind if I ask why 20lbs?

And what the goal is?

Because even if you are losing 2lb / week by going under 2k, you will most likely be losing a fair amount of muscle along with that, will that not be counterproductive?

 

[houseofpainhulk]

20lbs was a number set for the goal of reaching 180-185. 20lbs wasn't set in stone, it was for 2lbs a week and 10 weeks so 20lbs. It was more for motivational purposes. The goal now is 10lbs in 5 weeks. I don't plan on making this a long-term deficit. I am taking excess amounts of BCAA's and protein to help combat the loss of muscle. If I do happen to lose muscle in the process of losing fat, to me that's acceptable. My goal is to lose fat, not gain muscle at the moment.

 

[cahosu]

bump!

 

[houseofpainhulk]

WWW

 

[thu_hobbit]

So my usual diet or close to it is.

Post Cardio: BCAA Drink 30 cal/scoop 2 scoops

Meal 1: 6am-7am
6 Egg Whites
1/2 Cup cooked Steel Cut Oatmeal
1 Banana

Meal 2:
4tbsp Peanut Butter
1 apple

Meal 3:
1 Skinless Chicken Breast
2 cups of Mixed Green Salad
1 slice of Wheat Bread

Meal 4: Pre Workout
1 scoop of Whey Protein mixed in Water

Meal 5:
1 Skinless Chicken Breast
1 cup of Mixed Green Salad with Low Calorie Oil Based Salad Dressing
1 mid size Sweet Potato/ 1cup Brown Rice

Meal 6: Bedtime Snack
1 scoop of Whey Protein in Water


Workout:

Every Excercise is 4sets 10-12 reps.

Chest/Bicep
Incline DB
Flat DB
Flat DB Flye
Standing DB Curl
Alternating Db Curl
One arm Iso DB Curl

Back/Tricep
DB Deadlift
One Arm Row
Shrugs
DB Kickback
Military Pushup
Dips

Shoulders/Abs
Overhead DB Press
Side Lat Raise
Front Delt Raise
Rear Delt Raise
Shrugs (love my traps)
Any ab exercise I feel like doing 8 sets of

Legs
One Leg Dumbell Squat
One Leg 24in high DB step up
(I keep the leg lifting low b/c they grow like weeds, and then my pants don't fit.)

in regards to what EasyEJL said about upping your healthy fat intake, try cooking your eggs and topping some other foods (salads) with extra virgin olive oil and pure organic coconut oit