Fat Loss FAQ

[Mighty Mouse]

I continually gain weight while dieting..thats why I don't bother judging the numbers anymore, but the looks....if I start to see cuts appearing, then I know I am doing ok...if not...then I adjust. I like to look at the scales to see how it bounces around....kinda funny. Been dieting a bit last 3 weeks (not hardcore) and I am noticing some cutting in shoulders and some of the man boobs are gone...but I weigh 226 now....up from 220 ish...LOL

[Zealock]

wow thx ! helped me alot , i trough running was the best way to lose fat lol

[Tech2]

A lot of people,women and men, at my gym are super concerned about exactly how much they weigh. Tell someone you're 80KGs and they automatically say "You're fat!" without ever looking at the person. I think it's important to pay attention to what you look and feel like, not what the scale says. If you want a goal to work for, maybe a tape measure would be better.

[tenacity]

I'm gaining, weight, however the upper body looks bigger and the midsection is slowly but surely shrinking =) Woot!

[motorhead446]

All of this dieting stuff is making me hungry!lol I've only been back at the gym for 2 months and find 20 mins on the stepper gets me revvedfor my lift routine. Maybe I should cut it in half just for a warm up. I'm trying to improve my stamina mostly, I used to smoke a pack of cowboy killers a day and i'm trying to regain that lung capcity. I've noticed my pants are getting loose and i'm on the last hole of my 42" belt so something is happening. I know that lifting will burn the fat, I just need a sensable diet to feed the muscle without enlarging the belly.

[Poobah]

Just wanted to say I have dropped 80 pounds on Atkins since I started this diet on Feb 16/2004.

Was 410 now am 330. I have been doing 45 minutes of cardio with an average heart rate of 150 - 155. I now have to jog alot to keep it there.

Your right, I have experienced gout since starting atkins, and am now taking allopurinol, and I'm good now... Was taking a bit of indomethican(sp) for the swelling.

My bmr was a ridiculous 3500 or so before exercise. But I'm pretty sure I gained weight mostly do to a really slowed up and messed up metobolism from years of not eating breakfast and lunch.. and only eating supper and late night stacks.. Basically starved all day, and everything I hate at night went to my hips.

Believe it or not though, the latest studies are showing that people on a low carb diet vs a low fat diet... manage to get better blood results. And I'm living proof of that (although cardio has alot to do with it).

My LDL is like 1.07(the one you want low) My HDL is in the middle of normal (that's the one you want).. my total cholesterol is right off the chart on the good spectrum.. and like my doctor said is something some of his patients would kill to have. Others on the board I'm a part of, are all experiencing the same thing... So don't believe everything you here.

As far as gout though, and liver damage I suppose it's possible... But that's why it is so important to drink ALOT of water every day... I'm currently drinking 5 - 6 litres a day. But then I think the same thing can be said of creatine... Drink your water, drink your water, drink yoru water.

Oh, as far as loosing muscle mass.... I have more then doubled my lifting capablities all across the board.. and have visibly changed... No muscle loss here what so ever.. how could there be?

So I just want you all to know it works.. but get the book and read it.. don't try to do it by word of mouth. It's not all you can meat and fat and cheese. I eat flax meal regularly, and salads and vegitables.... and butter and meat and cheese.. lol

Anyway.. still got a 100 pounds or more to go... Could be less. my muscles are growing fast... I can make my pecs bounce all over the place now. lol

[chuck_starchaser]

Have I told you you may gain weight if you lose fat and gain weight?
Yes, I have. Why do we bother....

People get blinders, and can only think 'lose weight', 'lose weight'... Had a girlfriend, anorexic, bolemic; took me months of repeating to her that "muscle sinks in water, fat floats" before she started to get the idea thal lean is heavy, yet slim.
I also had to tell her a million times that muscles look sexy in a woman; she was convinced that men were attracted to twigs and toothpicks. Had to take her to a strip joint to convince her the ladies there were no weaklings.
Finally I got her into body-building, and eventually she got into eating "like a guy" --hamburgers and so on, whenever she felt like it. And got the shape she wanted (and I wanted, knock-out)

[fadi]

Originally Posted by chuck_starchaser

People get blinders, and can only think 'lose weight', 'lose weight'... Had a girlfriend, anorexic, bolemic; took me months of repeating to her that "muscle sinks in water, fat floats" before she started to get the idea thal lean is heavy, yet slim.I also had to tell her a million times that muscles look sexy in a woman; she was convinced that men were attracted to twigs and toothpicks. Had to take her to a strip joint to convince her the ladies there were no weaklings.
Finally I got her into body-building, and eventually she got into eating "like a guy" --hamburgers and so on, whenever she felt like it. And got the shape she wanted (and I wanted, knock-out)

That is pretty good point and I agree, people get caught up with the number on the scale not their shape. I was 185lbs with a belly and now I'm 193lbs looking slimmer.

Oh and btw, welcome to the site.

[RoaringMad Mac]

Originally Posted by Poobah

Just wanted to say I have dropped 80 pounds on Atkins since I started this diet on Feb 16/2004.

Was 410 now am 330. I have been doing 45 minutes of cardio with an average heart rate of 150 - 155. I now have to jog alot to keep it there.

Your right, I have experienced gout since starting atkins, and am now taking allopurinol, and I'm good now... Was taking a bit of indomethican(sp) for the swelling.

My bmr was a ridiculous 3500 or so before exercise. But I'm pretty sure I gained weight mostly do to a really slowed up and messed up metobolism from years of not eating breakfast and lunch.. and only eating supper and late night stacks.. Basically starved all day, and everything I hate at night went to my hips.




Believe it or not though, the latest studies are showing that people on a low carb diet vs a low fat diet... manage to get better blood results. And I'm living proof of that (although cardio has alot to do with it).

My LDL is like 1.07(the one you want low) My HDL is in the middle of normal (that's the one you want).. my total cholesterol is right off the chart on the good spectrum.. and like my doctor said is something some of his patients would kill to have. Others on the board I'm a part of, are all experiencing the same thing... So don't believe everything you here.

As far as gout though, and liver damage I suppose it's possible... But that's why it is so important to drink ALOT of water every day... I'm currently drinking 5 - 6 litres a day. But then I think the same thing can be said of creatine... Drink your water, drink your water, drink yoru water.

Oh, as far as loosing muscle mass.... I have more then doubled my lifting capablities all across the board.. and have visibly changed... No muscle loss here what so ever.. how could there be?

So I just want you all to know it works.. but get the book and read it.. don't try to do it by word of mouth. It's not all you can meat and fat and cheese. I eat flax meal regularly, and salads and vegitables.... and butter and meat and cheese.. lol

Anyway.. still got a 100 pounds or more to go... Could be less. my muscles are growing fast... I can make my pecs bounce all over the place now. lol

Man I am glad I saw your response . I am 394 lbs and I finally joined a gym that had a scale that actually weighed me. I was really disappointed at first when I saw the scale jump that High. I am not now. See I used to competition Powerlift at around 320 lbs and did pretty well. I got away from lifting and exercising for about 2 years and it really hurt me bad . I am back doing my Cardio and lifting ( not near as heavy as before but still more than most do). I am feeling great and I swear this time I will get down below 300 . When you weigh that much it does feel different on your joints and overall feeling. Just before I went to the Police Academy about 6 years ago I got down to 300 lbs but picked up 20 lbs in the Academy do to I was training so hard to get ready for it, that it was easy for me and actually got out of shape in a sense. This time around I want to be able to keep this weight off and stick with my program being as I am not moving and changing jobs.

So with that said I am stoked at reading some of the responses you guys have placed here.

I also have a regular lifting schedule that I also do about 20 minutes of cardion after that lifting session keeping my heart rate in the 150 range. I also have 2 off days in my cycle that I do nothing but cardio for an Hour .

[dude323]

hey dr.kazu u said cla is a safe fat burner what is that? i mean what does cla stand for and also i heard fat burners r bad for teenagers and i am one so would it be safe for me to take cla whatever it is?

[vassille]

Originally Posted by dude323

hey dr.kazu u said cla is a safe fat burner what is that? i mean what does cla stand for and also i heard fat burners r bad for teenagers and i am one so would it be safe for me to take cla whatever it is?

Conjugated Linoleic Acid, and it accelerates the fat loss when exercising. It is also a powerful antioxidant as well. I do not believe is bad for you at all.

[Christi]

What do you all think about phentermine. I am 31 5'6 137lbs. I am a runner but haven't been running as much as i use to and i feel like no matter what i do i cannot shed and pounds. I am in the process of working on eating 6 times a day but for now i can't seem to get past 3 very small meals....
i do crunches and everything and i'm just not happy with how i look.
I've been considering Phentermine what do you all think? Any suggestion on a good diet supplement?

[boparker]

... I'm 6'3 295lbs with the look of a pro football player (people always confuse me with Shaq though) anyways... I'm interested in losing Fat. I want what 90% of the world wants... a gorgeous body to show off at the beach, with the abs, chest shoulders and backside. (Oh yea and feeling healthy, I guess that's important). Quit trying to lose weight and try to lose fat and gain lean muscles is what I'm hearing a lot on BB4u and I like it.

[runner25]

i don't know why i am gaining weight. i have been trying to lose wieght for the last couple of months now but i got on the scale the other day and actually gained 10 lbs. now i have to lose 20 instead of only 10. I run 2 miles every morning and do some auxillary lifts. then in the afternoon i run 3-5 miles, 6 days a week, and 4 of them days i follow the running with a heavy weight lifting session followed by 30 minutes on the elliptical. i also play softball so i have a 2-3 hour practice 6 days a week. i eat cereal or oatmeal or usually just have a couple cups of coffeefor breakfast, a salad for lunch, and some veges for supper, my snacks include 94% fat free popcorn and lifesavers. i never eat more than 1200 calories. why do i keep gaining weight? I am thinking about taking a week off from the morning workouts and cutting back on the afternoon workouts to see if that will help. is this a good idea or what is my problem?

[LongboardLuLu]

Originally Posted by runner25

i never eat more than 1200 calories.

This is why you are not losing weight. Your body is mostly likely in starvation mode, meaning it is storing everything you eat at this point because you've deprived it of what it needs. You need to eat MORE. In order to lose weight (fat) you must eat. At this point, any exercise you are doing is burning off muscle and that's not what you want. You have to find your TCB (total calorie burn) for an average day, drop it by about 500 cals and continue with cardio and lifting. Eat things like eggs, chicken, lean beef, fresh fruits and veggies and drink plenty of water (at least a gallon a day). Cut back on sodas and juices (or cut them out completely) and definitely watch the junk food in-take. Remember, you can do all the exercise you want, but if you diet is not in check, you will not achieve the results you desire.

[Slushpup2]

SORRY FOR THE LONG POST!!

I started my diet/excersize routine in the Summer of 2004. I started at 279/280lbs.
When I first started, I was doing straight aerobics and I began to lose weight pretty quickly. Then I joined a gym and started a weight lifting program and I still lost weight steadily. But then, I began to notice that I wasn't losing as fast as I was before (this was at 235lbs.). So, my wife mentioned that a coworker of hers did "split training". That worked...for a while. Now I fluctuated between 225 and 223lbs. Then the holiday season of 2005(Thanksgiving and Christmas) came around and I ballooned up between 230 and 238lbs. After the holidays had come and gone, I had trouble getting back in the groove of things.
Well, I've finally started back to my old routine, but it seems as if I'm not losing as fast as before. I started at 238lbs and within a couple of days I dropped down to 234lbs (water weight) and haven't budged an inch.
Its only been about a week and a half, but before, I was dropping weight steadily within that time period.
How can I speed up my metabolism? I'm drinking "energy" drinks during the day, eating smaller meals (I've dropped from 6 meals to 4, though. I go to the gym on an empty stomach), I walk/run on the treadmill for 35 to 40 minutes then I work on my abs and depending on what day it is, I lift weights. Does age have anything to do with my metabolic slow down? I'm 39yrs old.

HELP!!!

[hmmm]

Find your BMR first.

Sinc eyour going to the gym on empty stomach your probably of a catabolic nature do to lack of carbs. This will reduce muscle mass in which will reduce your metabolism.

Yes your metabolism slows down with age. But you can speed it up by lifting weights and eating smaller meals throughout the day.

To stop yourself getting into plateaus you need to have refeeds maybe every 2 weeks. this will get you out of that starvation mode and increase you metabolism. It also helps to restabilize your leptin levels.

As you lose weight your BMR becomes lower, so first things first-- get it checked.

[Slushpup2]

What are "refeeds"?

[mo3taz]

what is stanazol? is it harmful or what i heard that it is good for fat loss i just wanna know if it has any side effects?

[sb]

Originally Posted by Tech2

A lot of people,women and men, at my gym are super concerned about exactly how much they weigh. Tell someone you're 80KGs and they automatically say "You're fat!" without ever looking at the person. I think it's important to pay attention to what you look and feel like, not what the scale says. If you want a goal to work for, maybe a tape measure would be better.

I agree. I am 6' 2" 260 lbs. Most people would who never say me would say I am fat. But I am far from being fat.