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My 7month weight loss Transformation

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Good progress OP. Keep it up!

Hes got a good point.. In order to gain weight you have to consume 500-1000 calories more then you usually eat a day. 3500 calories is a pound. Get a calorie counter.. Its all about when you eat, how you eat, and how much you eat.

It isn't 500 calories more than you normally eat, it is 500 calories above your maintenance amount. Which is the amount of calories you burn in a normal day doing normal activities.

500 is usually the suggested amount so the least amount of fat is gained while also the accepted average excess amount of calories is needed to gain weight is still digested. Generally, 500 is best, but some hardgainers are welcome to extend the range to a 750 excess. The same goes for the opposite. If you find it hard to lose weight, extend the deficit to 750.

Here are some simple calculations to figure out the amount range you need.

to gain =
16-18 x BODYWEIGHT

to maintain =
14-15 x BODYWEIGHT

to lose =
10-12 x BOYWEIGHT

Another method is to take the amount of calories you need to eat daily to maintain your current weight and increase it by 20 percent to gain and decrease it by 20 percent to lose. Which again, is roughly 500 calories +/- your maintenance respectively. There are countless sites online that can do this for you.

Or if you're knowledgeable, and dedicated enough, you can look into programs that focus on intermittent bulking to gain and intermittent fasting to lose. But they are definitely not suggested for beginners.

Cardio is absolutely unnecessary to lose weight. No ifs ands or buts about it. A calorie deficit is the only way to lose weight. The deficit needs to be below your maintenance amount. You are welcome to perform cardio to reach this deficit, but simply eating 500 calories less than your maintenance is a hell of a lot easier than jogging on a treadmill to burn 500 calories. I only suggest someone does cardio if they simply can't handle eating 500 below maintenance and end up starving. But it gets tricky because you have to be dedicated enough to do the cardio to burn the extra calories you took in to stave of hunger pangs.

The best and most efficient way to increase your metabolism is heavy weight training. Cardio has little affect on your metabolism and only for a short period, and eating 6 meals a day has been proven to have zero affect on your metabolism. Where as heavy weight training can in fact increase your metabolism for up to (and in most cases longer than) 24 hours after you train.

Anyways, sorry to hijack this. Fitness is a passion for me and I'm always willing to give any advice I can. Good luck on everyone's journey to get in shape. :hellyeah:
 
Good write up. Few things I don't agree on is the food and cardio part. There are foods that do boost your metabolism, also eating spicy healthy foods any or certain spicys. In my case my metabolism is extremely slow, so I had to cut out bread, cheese, and pasta to get even better results. I was suck at 200lbs for a while, til I cut those things out.

Cardio as in long distance running is not so good for you, as it breaks down muscle. Doing intervals such as, 1min sprints then walk is very good and does keep your metabolism going. Doing a session on a heavy boxing bag, is even better for you. Not so much heavy lifting, but doing circuit weight training is a huge metabolism booster.. Drinking lots of water has a huge impact on your metabolism, as in cold water. Triggers thermogenesis to burn belly fat.

Also there are tons of calculators out there for you to figure out how many calories you need extra or less. I highly recommend a calorie counter on your phone. I use my fitness pal. Keeps me on track. Very helpful.. A
 
Give me an honest run down of what you eat in a typical day, and include approximate (don't have to be exact) times that you eat.

Edit: For example, my typical breakfast is a cup of oatmeal (dry measure), 6 eggs, a sweet potato, and a protein shake.

Usual day:
Around 830am ish. Bowl of cereal/ orange juice to start off the morning with a protein bar like kellogs or granola.

Lunch around 2pm ish due to work. Bowl of white rice, beef brocolli or fish.

Dinner Bowl of white rice and culture food like noodles or sometimes bbq pork.

Now since I broke it down, maybe it is my diet.
Oh and I don't eat eggs. My dad said since I was a baby and he fed it to me, I spit it out all the time. Till this day I dont eat pure eggs.
 
Yeah, you just straight up aren't getting enough calories. Work gets in the way of that for sure, but ideally you should be doing 6 meals a day, all at least the same size as the ones you are doing, if you want to gain weight.

That with good quality weight training and I guarantee you'll put on some size.

Also, definitely don't be afraid of good quality carbs like the ones I mentioned. Carbs help with putting on muscle, while protein's main function is to keep said muscle. Someone who is looking to gain weight needs higher carbs than someone looking to maintain.
 
Make sure there complex carbs, such as veggies, brown rice and fruites.
 
Good write up. Few things I don't agree on is the food and cardio part. There are foods that do boost your metabolism, also eating spicy healthy foods any or certain spicys. In my case my metabolism is extremely slow, so I had to cut out bread, cheese, and pasta to get even better results. I was suck at 200lbs for a while, til I cut those things out.

Cardio as in long distance running is not so good for you, as it breaks down muscle. Doing intervals such as, 1min sprints then walk is very good and does keep your metabolism going. Doing a session on a heavy boxing bag, is even better for you. Not so much heavy lifting, but doing circuit weight training is a huge metabolism booster.. Drinking lots of water has a huge impact on your metabolism, as in cold water. Triggers thermogenesis to burn belly fat.

Also there are tons of calculators out there for you to figure out how many calories you need extra or less. I highly recommend a calorie counter on your phone. I use my fitness pal. Keeps me on track. Very helpful.. A

Some food can boost your metabolism, but when considering losing weight, they should never be a factor in your plan to lose weight if you aren't hitting a calorie deficit. Meaning you can't go out and eat your maintenance calorie amount and then eat a bunch of foods that affect your metabolism expecting to lose weight. Your macro-nutrient numbers and calorie count should be the first concern, then focus on the food you're actually eating.

Something that a lot of diets don't account for is how the body actually digests the food and what you take in. Whole grains and complex carbs are suggested because of how they digest. The food you eat that is more easily turned into glucose to be stored as fat should always be avoided. For example sugary drinks/food, like soda.The body doesn't work hard to digest it, so it's much easier to reach an excess, which is then stored as fat. Then compare it to something like a whole grain tortilla. The body actually has to use more calories to digest the complex carb to turn it into glucose. Leaving much less to be turned into fat. To go further, white bread is a simple carb, much like the soda, it will easily be turned into glucose to be stored as fat.

Which is why calorie counting isn't always perfect and you then need to focus on what you're actually consuming. It would be much better to eat a 400 calorie whole grain granola bar than a 300 calorie soda. There is a lot more that goes into what I just attempted to simplify, but that is the basic reason why low-carb diets work because instead of focusing on eating whole grains, you simply limit all forms of carbs. Some people just simply digest carbs at a much slower rate. I can eat massive amounts of carbs daily, 600-700 grams when I was focused on power lifting seriously and I would barely gain any weight. Even without any form of cardio.

Any sort of drawn out cardio is bad for muscle loss. HIIT, like you alluded to, is much better at conserving muscle mass. Did you also know that a 20 minute HIIT session makes the body react more like weight training than it does long distance cardio? It can even be related to 3-4 sets of heavy squats. Not an exact relation, but you get the point.

Resistance training in general increases metabolism. Circuit training does, but not as much as heavy weight training. Heavy weight training focused on lower reps is the most effective way to maintain muscle mass and strength while on a calorie deficit. If you're attempting to use high reps/circuit training to burn more calories, you're taxing your muscles too much on a deficit. Weight training while on a deficit should be focused on maintaining muscle mass and strength, not building it. Higher reps with light weight will just burn through muscle.

The bit about cold water and thermogenesis to burn belly fat has been proven false many times and simply isn't true. It is a false form of spot reduction. And calories burned drinking cold water is negligible. Maybe 70-80 calories a day if you're drinking 64+ oz. There is no way to target fat loss.

Myfitnesspal is a great ap. I often use it to search food or look up meals while I am out. The calorie estimates can be a bit off at times and it doesn't accurately account for calories burned while exercising, but it is definitely a great guide to start. One of the best I've used.
 
That's a lot of great info. Water is a big play in a diet, and shouldn't be avoided. I just use the app to count my calories and nothing else. Phase 1 of my weight loss was to, loss as much solid fat as I could while packing on lean muscle mass. I lost 30 pounds in 3.5 months. Phase 2 was more cardio, and a why more strict diet, to try and loss that stubborn fat around my sides. I lost another 20 pounds in phase 2.

I'm on phase 3 now. I'm focused now on strictly packing on muscle and getting defined. I'v been consuming around 180-200g of protein a day.
 
Thanks for the tips guys, I'll bump it up a notch. Hoping to see some change soon. After the few previous post dates my wife did say I look fatter so what you guys said is working.
 
I'm glad there are others out there like me who care about their health, and what not.

I applaud your devoted, and motivated, effort. Your present accomplishment is commendable.

2GFWDbeast, is that a present "after" picture of you in your first post? No doubt, you are a "mesomorph/endomorph" body type because you appear powerful, as well as stocky. Not to be callous, but being objective, I would like to know how your body fat had been measured at 15% (assuming that the picture is an "after" one). It is a shame when fitness "professionals" manipulate the numbers to gain better approval by a client, and, from the given picture, I have doubts that the picture represents 15% body fat. Was bioelectrical impedance, or some other current related device, used because these methods are easily manipulated (hydration levels, input statistics)? Calipers can be adequately accurate, yet user error (sadly intentional) can result in manipulated percentages. Honestly, I would be very happy if I am wrong, but the picture portrays someone looking more than 15% body fat (sorry). Possibly, have a friend practice, as well as learn, how to effectively use the calipers, and have that person perform the skin-fold task (making sure to use an accepted "chart" [Jackson and Pollock]). If you had your body percent calculated using hydrodensitometry, the DEXA method, or the air displacement method, then your are indeed 15%, and I regret being wrong. My concern is that when someone underestimates your present percent body fat, it will severely frustrate you in the future while trying extremely hard to reach your intended goal of an even lower body fat level. Too often, someone will loose the motivation of keeping on track to continue losing body fat when a false reading leaves very little room for improvement, and getting another 5% lower, to 10%, would be difficult to accomplish. Someone at 10% body fat is really athletic, and it looks quite lean.

In general, there is a lot of adequate advice offered here. Nonetheless, some of it is either simplified to the point of being inaccurate, or it contains ideas lacking accepted research. Overall, these controversial ideas offered should not really hurt someone, yet they could deter from one's outcome. I always welcome learning additional research proven methods to keep healthy, as well as to eat sensibly.

Some points to consider researching/comprehending (a minimal list)...
-water's role in fat metabolism (biochemical metabolism)
-the role of quality protein drinks (vs. "weight gainers") in reaching higher (or proper) caloric intake
-using the glycemic index to choose appropriate foods
-the efficacy of various methods of balancing protein, carbohydrate, and fat proportions related to an individual's metabolism type (multiple effective choices)
-TEF (thermal effect of food), especially related to eating multiple times a day
-appropriate caloric intake beyond caloric expenditure (weight gain [caloric surplus])
-appropriate caloric intake below caloric expenditure (weight reduction [caloric deficit])
-training the body's different energy systems (ATP, CP, LA, O2 [anaerobic, aerobic]) relative to fat loss (or for performance enhancement)
-cardiovascular activities' role in fat loss through caloric expenditure (fat loss)
-interval training's (different levels of aerobic activities') role in caloric expenditure (fat loss)
-the effects of post exercise metabolism (aerobic) related to multiple sessions per workout period (augmented fat loss)
-challenging/maximal exertion (heavy resistance [anaerobic] training) relative to caloric expenditure (fat loss)
-the physiological impact of endurance training related to muscle loss (the extreme amount of intense aerobic activity necessary to lose ("burn") muscle mass, assuming an appropriate caloric intake)
-the relationship of increased percent muscle mass relative to reducing percent fat mass (fat loss)
-the different types of adipose tissue (brown and white [yellow] fat) relative to metabolism and diet
...and much more to research...

It is always best to gain an understanding about keeping healthy yourself because it is common to get uninformed information from well-meaning people that had not researched the erroneous ideas expressed to them.

Edit: My general point is that you should place more emphasis on how your body progressively looks better (leaner) in the mirror, and how your clothes continue to fit more and more loosely, instead of relying on a body percent fat figure that may be decievingly inaccurate (leading to discouragement).
 
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The last two pics of me in the slide show were 18%. I'm 10lbs lighter now. I went from a size 38 to 32 depending on the brand. The fat% were done my a professional at a gym. The thumb nail picture you see was when I was fat and just start my transformation. If you click on it, it should bring you to a slide show.
 
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Keep up the hard work that you continue to benefit from doing.

Certainly, the dietary components of losing body fat are the most difficult to maintain, as well as being of great importance.

Without intending to emphasize it, what you are expressing makes sense. I am glad that you have a reliable professional providing you correct body fat compositions. Doing the “typical” math, your professional's provided body fat readings have merit (183lbs x 18% = 33lbs fat…a loss of 10 additional pounds where “typically” 6 to 7 should be fat mass loss… 33 - 7 = 26lbs of fat at 173lbs [183 -10]…which equates to 15% body fat). So, your percentages illustrate that the gym professional is suitably providing you accurate information…this is great for your motivation and your success.

I definitely commend you on your continued accomplishments. Going from 238lbs to 173lbs is remarkable, and it involves serious effort.
 
Thank you. It's been a long 7 months haha. The dieting is so easy now. I don't even think about fast food anymore.
 
You can eat whatever you want (within the realm of being food from nature, not this chemical-laden filth in the grocery stores) as long as you supplement your diet with the 90 essential nutrients. I started losing weight even staying on some crap food (no car, can't go to farmers markets and other places to buy real food) just supplementing. It's expensive, though. I eat bread, dairy, red meat, veggies, and some starch. I stay away from whole grain crap (they're meant for birds, not humans) and fruit (sugar).
 
You can eat whatever you want (within the realm of being food from nature, not this chemical-laden filth in the grocery stores) as long as you supplement your diet with the 90 essential nutrients. I started losing weight even staying on some crap food (no car, can't go to farmers markets and other places to buy real food) just supplementing. It's expensive, though. I eat bread, dairy, red meat, veggies, and some starch. I stay away from whole grain crap (they're meant for birds, not humans) and fruit (sugar).

Some people have very fast metabolism, and can eat whatever they want. But as far as eating whatever you want is not good for you.. Even eating "Healthy breads" still isn't good for you, if your trying to cut up. In my case i have to be strict as all hell on my diet, other wise i will pack on pounds.. I avoid bread, pasta, and chesse.
 
Way to go! Great job! Wish I could get the motivation to get off my laszy ass LOL
 
Some people have very fast metabolism, and can eat whatever they want. But as far as eating whatever you want is not good for you.. Even eating "Healthy breads" still isn't good for you, if your trying to cut up. In my case i have to be strict as all hell on my diet, other wise i will pack on pounds.. I avoid bread, pasta, and chesse.

At some point the body is going to just say enough is enough and start storing all of the crap a person like that eats into fat. Fat is to store toxins, not to store excess energy. It does, however, take effort/energy to burn off the fat. The fact that those things go straight to fat is why people eat and eat and eat and never seem full. The body simply isn't getting the nutrients it needs, despite getting plenty of calories, so it never stops sending the hormone for hunger. Metabolism is just an excuse for fat people who switch from fat and sugar to diet drinks and whole wheat and soy garbage who still aren't eating anything remotely nutritious. Getting your essential nutrients also helps the body not store those toxins, anymore, too, and just shit them out as fiber.
 
I've been reading this thread since it started, good job on the transformation.

Toxins? LOL :rolleyes: I can't take anyone seriously once they've used that word.
 
Yes, toxins. You know, stuff like high-fructose corn syrup, [partially] hydrogenated soybean oil, aspartame, sucralose, any artificial sweetener, gluten, Bisphenol A, fluoride, GMO, nitrates, preservatives, etc. Stuff not found in food in nature (minus gluten.) Did you know aspartame is the feces of genetically modified e. coli? It breaks down into methanol and formaldehyde inside of your body. So yes, it's a toxin.
 
ramsack said:
Yes, toxins. You know, stuff like high-fructose corn syrup, [partially] hydrogenated soybean oil, aspartame, sucralose, any artificial sweetener, gluten, Bisphenol A, fluoride, GMO, nitrates, preservatives, etc. Stuff not found in food in nature (minus gluten.) Did you know aspartame is the feces of genetically modified e. coli? It breaks down into methanol and formaldehyde inside of your body. So yes, it's a toxin.

I'm well aware of the properties of those chemicals.

Lol toxins
 
Obviously not, if you scoff at them producing or being toxins.
 
ramsack said:
Obviously not, if you scoff at them producing or being toxins.

I'm not about to get another ####ing 'policy reminder' over this.

EVERYTHING can be toxic, including water.
 
Yeah, except that your body needs water, and not methanol or formaldehyde. The adage about too much of a good thing being bad doesn't have a transitive property to mean a little bit of something bad can be a good thing.
 
ramsack said:
Yeah, except that your body needs water, and not methanol or formaldehyde. The adage about too much of a good thing being bad doesn't have a transitive property to mean a little bit of something bad can be a good thing.

That's fantastic.
 
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