Finally starting to see fat loss again since I hit a plateau or so I thought.

So this begs the question...At about 15-20% body fat..do I focus on adding the muscle back that I've lost first and then weight loss down to 5% or get to 5% and then add muscle?

3/20/2016 3:17:15 PM

You aren't going to get to 5%

Back to realistic goals, I would not start bulking until you are under 15% and then I would do it slowly.

3/20/2016 3:18:35 PM

diet until you are as lean as you want to get and then focus on adding muscle. like skywalkr said though, 5% is unrealistic.

3/21/2016 12:03:46 AM

sub 10% then.

So lean then build. got it

[Edited on March 21, 2016 at 8:08 PM. Reason : f]

3/21/2016 8:08:43 PM

Technically yes you should get to 10% first then start building muscle until you're about 15% bodyfat.

Once you're over 15% your body puts on fat easier so bulking is slightly less efficient.

There's no reason to go under 10% bodyfat. You'll lose entirely too much muscle doing it. And realistically you'll never get there anyway because it takes way too much specialized diet and exercise.

I actually quit drinking recently so interested to see how my results differ from past tries to get in shape.

However, I tore my pectoral about two years ago and I'm almost 34 years old so not expecting HUGE results since I'm kinda old and benching is out.

3/25/2016 5:05:09 AM

RIP Girlfriend?

3/25/2016 7:49:46 AM

So after one month of recording my weight once a week - three full pounds of weight loss. Currently 175 and would like to get down to 168. It doesn't help I just discovered individually wrapped belgian waffles last week at Costco.

3/29/2016 7:54:49 AM

Bulk over - cutting fat. After the bulk (which was way too fast) I got up to about 16% body fat. Current body fat is ~9%. Trying to get it to at least 7-8%. Planning to do a men's physique bodybuilding competition in the next year or so. Once I get my body fat down, plan is to maintain through the summer, then a sloooowww bulk through the fall/winter before cutting in the spring again.

3/29/2016 4:31:19 PM

yeah my bulk probably went a little bit overboard. hit some really good numbers lifting though. gonna start the cut after this weekend with the aim to be under 12% again by Memorial Day weekend.

3/29/2016 4:42:42 PM

Here is a good read on "culking" = clean bulking, a compromise between the two extremes of lean bulking and GFH (Get Fucking Huge). The writer is an NYU professor, German Olympian, fitness trainer, and model (with a body to die for)... he knows what he is talking about.

https://www.quora.com/Whats-clean-bulking/answer/Maik-Wiedenbach

3/30/2016 2:46:05 AM

Going from bulking to cutting or vice versa without eating at a maintenance caloric level for 2 weeks in between is a mistake. You'll lose muscle or add fat too quickly

3/30/2016 6:35:28 AM

first race of 2016 saturday... running the charlottesville marathon. goal is a sub 5 hour time... we'll see how i do on the hills

3/30/2016 12:29:54 PM

A marathon in under 5 hours? Geez.

I ran 5 miles in just under an hour yesterday and about died.

BTW, anyone on here a sports nutritionist? anyone do any body building shows? pro body models etc etc?



[Edited on March 30, 2016 at 4:34 PM. Reason : d]

3/30/2016 4:30:57 PM

i've been seeing a sports nutritionist... but i'm not one i have to say, it was life changing... reason i lost all the weight i did (along with my pure stubborn attitude)

3/30/2016 5:13:22 PM

I do know that you should always see a dietitian and not a nutritionist as a dietitian is the only one qualified to provide medical nutrition therapy or clinical nutrition consultations. Anyone can call themselves a nutritionist whereas a dietitian is an actual accredited occupation. There are qualified nutritionists but they still aren't dietitians. My trainer in Charlotte who is a natural pro bodybuilder always pointed out the difference.

3/30/2016 5:29:47 PM

this girl I went to school with is a "nutritionist" and she's completely obese.

3/31/2016 9:38:46 AM

luckily my lady is "M.S., R.D., CSSD, L.D. is a registered dietitian, exercise physiologist, and a board certified sports dietitian "

3/31/2016 10:48:10 AM

sounds legit

3/31/2016 11:30:22 AM

^^Legit! Then you should call her a dietitian. A friend of my girlfriend is going to night school to become a nutritionist and was trying to tell me how bad using a microwave was for the food.

3/31/2016 12:04:20 PM

Finally scored one of these bad boys

4/1/2016 9:56:14 AM

if i had the room i would get one of those... i hate them, but it's a solid work out.

4/1/2016 10:12:52 AM

Don't blame ya. We still have items to get rid of in the room it's in (as you can see), but they do come apart fairly easy so you can store them more efficiently than just tilting it.

4/1/2016 10:20:06 AM

You can get a row machine that will stand on its end and take up almost no space compared to other cardio equipment. The only more efficient piece of cardio equipment I could think of would be a bicycle trainer for the bike you probably already own.

4/1/2016 10:21:22 AM

yea i have my indoor trainer... and two bikes.. living in a 700 sq foot condo, with two bikes, one on a trainer + a rowing machine.. might be a bit much

4/1/2016 10:23:13 AM

I will own a Concept 2 one day. One of the sweet black ones.

4/1/2016 4:53:56 PM

Quote :

"first race of 2016 saturday... running the charlottesville marathon. goal is a sub 5 hour time... we'll see how i do on the hills "

SUCCESS!!! 4:49 chip time... Last marathon time was 6:14... So slight improvement

4/2/2016 1:55:52 PM

that's amazing. good job!

4/2/2016 5:29:57 PM

That's pretty fucking awesome, good job

4/3/2016 8:16:01 PM

Ran my first 5k post-left knee microfracture surgery. Started my first running in late Jan. Finished 9th overall at 23:36!

4/16/2016 9:45:25 PM

So down five pounds after almost two months of tracking weight. Ran yesterday and it was the first time in a long time that I didn't feel like I was just plodding along.

Decided I want to attempt my second half-marathon this December. First one was years ago, time wasn't great due to not fueling properly - I have never been so hungry in my life as I was near the end of that race. Any recommendations on when to seriously begin my training regimen for a half? And any tips on what to eat before/during a half so my body doesn't shut down again?

4/18/2016 6:29:02 AM

Does anybody have suggestions to help kill/reduce the hunger feeling? I'm trying to do portion control and cut back and the biggest problem that I have is never feeling full and staying hungry, which leads to some serious cravings at times. I've dialed back the carb intake and most of my meals are fairly high (proportionally) in protein which (I thought) should help with this but it's not.

Pretty sure I've tried all the basic/easy "solutions" to this without any luck. Shit's pretty annoying

Any advice would be appreciated.

4/19/2016 12:46:38 PM

Coffee and water always works for me. They don't completely get rid of the hunger, but they definitely lower it. Pretty sure coffee is a known appetite suppressant.

If it gets bad, then I'll just eat a small amount of what I have planned for a later meal. For example, I sometimes pack a sandwich and chips for lunch. If I'm really hungry and don't think I can make it to lunch, then I'll just eat the chips and just have the sandwich for lunch. You're eating the same amount, just spreading out the time you eat it over.

4/19/2016 1:55:28 PM

the biggest thing for me on staying full throughout the day was packing a lot more protein first thing in the morning.

4/19/2016 3:28:13 PM

How much fat are you getting in your meals/snacks? Protein isn't enough to keep you sated.

I used to chew on sugarless gum all day to fight hunger but recently listened to someone explain this actually makes you hungry by activating enzymes in your mouth that tricks your stomach into thinking it's meal time. I've recently cut back on the gum chewing and I think it's helped.

4/19/2016 4:19:07 PM

I don't really like the taste of coffee and only use it as a device to stay alert in the morning while at work. I don't let myself have more than 2 cups because I have trouble sleeping at night (not b/c of the caffeine per se, but it can't help).

Typical week day breakfast for me is 2 eggs scrambled with some hash browns mixed in, with just a touch of cheese. Turkey sausage patty on the side and some fresh fruit (usually banana or strawberries) and a glass of OJ.

Typical week day lunch for me is a container of baby carrots (late morning - not immediately before lunch), main lunch can be a variety of things, and then mid afternoon snack is an apple. And during the day I try to drink around 2 liters of water. So really not a lot of fat here in the snacks.

Dinner meals are again all over the place, but usually a fair amount of carbs. Been cutting back to "reasonable" size portions (but seriously, still considered large by the average person). But then around 930-10 I get noticeably hungry. Shit's annoying. Recently when I've gotten hungry at home I've either put together a small salad or just eat 1-2 pickle spears.



[Edited on April 19, 2016 at 4:42 PM. Reason : k ]

4/19/2016 4:30:04 PM

I would definitely substitute/supplement one of your snacks, carrots or the apple, with some nuts, olives, or sardines - something with more fat to tide you over until dinner. But there are people in this thread with way more of a nutritional background who may be better suited to address your question.

4/19/2016 4:32:49 PM

I'd be open to nuts, but not the other two - gross

4/19/2016 4:42:46 PM

Yea, not my thing either, but alternative sources of good fats if you get bored with nuts.

4/19/2016 4:45:53 PM

You could try cutting back on your breakfast Calories and instead slam those calories as a second dinner like 2 hrs before you go to bed. Having a full stomach helps me sleep, whereas having an empty stomach in the morning just speeds up my coffee high and I'm all wired and getting stuff done at work (well some days)

4/19/2016 5:26:51 PM

i do way too much coffee, a protein bar and that hasn't been enough calorie wise. so now adding in almond milk with protein powder.

gets me about 40 grams of protein first thing in the morning, and i swear it's great.

the problem with eating food that close to bed is that you're not going to burn off as much of it while you sleep. if you load in the am, then you're using it all day.

4/19/2016 7:22:49 PM

Protein fluff is the best for staying full. There are a lot of ways to make it and it takes some experimenting. Been a while since I made any but I used xantham gum, Greek yogurt, almond milk, fruit or sugar free chocolate sauce (insert any flavoring), and protein powder. Can't remember the amounts but you should be able to find a basic recipe and adapt it.

4/19/2016 10:43:29 PM

Yeah i tend to do 1 cup of nonfat Greek yogurt, scoop of ON chocolate protein powder, and a little bit of almond milk to make it slightly soupy. Occasionally I add some sliced bananas. Oddly enough my cat LOVES the stuff and is always at full attention once I start to mix it up.

4/20/2016 7:42:06 AM

So seems like I should mix nuts, Greek yogurt and some protein shakes into my diet? That's easy enough.

4/20/2016 10:56:58 AM

earlier in the day is important

4/20/2016 1:28:36 PM

This has been my favorite snack lately. Despite the sodium content, the entire bag has 7g of fat and 33g *protein.
* Why isn't this considered a 'significant' source of protein?

4/20/2016 9:44:30 PM

So ^ is one of those joke posts TWW is famous for? I was born in this state and have never and would never eat pork skins that had the word microwave on the bag. You should just suffer with unsalted almonds for a snack like the rest of us.

4/21/2016 6:22:50 AM

Since January 26th this year, I switched my daily breakfast to a cup of greek yogurt, some granola, chia seeds and honey, and started being more conscious of what I eat. It's been truly amazing to see how the diet change is significantly more impactful than the amount of working out. I am down about 15 pounds in that timeframe without altering my workout schedule. Most people are already aware of this impact, but just another testimony to the power of being aware of what you're putting in your body.

4/21/2016 9:30:41 AM

Quote :

"* Why isn't this considered a 'significant' source of protein? "

it's an incomplete protein, as in it doesn't have all of the essential amino acids present. If you eat them in conjunction with another protein source, your body will use the amino acids available in them. The only reason they wouldn't be a significant source of protein is if they were all you were eating.

It's similar to why rice and beans are often eaten together, as rice lacks lysine and beans lack methionine, but together they make the protein content of each other more useable.

[Edited on April 22, 2016 at 7:32 PM. Reason : and I love those things. They taste so much better than regular pork rinds]

4/22/2016 7:31:35 PM

^ good post.

I work out first thing in the morning and about 30 min afterwards I have a BCAA drink, then 30 min later have a ~25g protein shake and a breakfast sandwich. The Jimmy Dean one's with either ham or turkey sausage, cheese, egg white, on an English muffin. Anyway that shit holds me over the whole day and all I supplement with is some nuts/apples/greek yogurt and I can make it to dinner without feeling starved. Not a great diet for consuming protein, but helps me control calories.

4/22/2016 8:07:38 PM

It's so salty I have to chase it with water 1L usually. Forces me to drink more water because I don't. And keeps the stomach feeling full. I also do my own jerky. I like to make spicy teriyaki or honey chipotle. I like cottage cheese over yogurt. Always keep granny smith apples around. Like to chew on carrots and bell peppers throughout the day.

4/23/2016 3:21:57 PM