NEW YEARS RESOLUTION WEIGHT LOSS THREAD 2013

[Speedy1975]

What's happening in here? Everyone fall off the wagon? Lookin' good BB!

I'm up to 175lbs and 10.4% BF now. Put on about 20lbs or so since last fall when I think I was at 8% BF and about 155lbs. I may shoot for 180 and call it good. Clothes are starting to not fit well around my shoulders/biceps and I'd rather not replace my wardrobe.

Lots of heavy lifting, tilapia twice week, healthy fats, lots of green veggies, and boat loads of protein. Started taking creatine about 6 weeks ago as well.

[CFD]

Originally Posted by Speedy1975

What's happening in here? Everyone fall off the wagon? Lookin' good BB!

I'm up to 175lbs and 10.4% BF now. Put on about 20lbs or so since last fall when I think I was at 8% BF and about 155lbs. I may shoot for 180 and call it good. Clothes are starting to not fit well around my shoulders/biceps and I'd rather not replace my wardrobe.

Lots of heavy lifting, tilapia twice week, healthy fats, lots of green veggies, and boat loads of protein. Started taking creatine about 6 weeks ago as well.

Sill here and still at it.

I remember when I was shooting for low body fat, then started eating again to build muscle and I can tell you from my own experience maintaining single digit body fat is counter productive when trying to build muscle. I personally feel much better in the 10-12% range.

Something else I can tell you from my own experience, it gets much harder with age. lol.

[Speedy1975]

Man, I gotta be honest, I'm in MUCH better shape now than when I was in my 20s. By shape, I mean muscularity. I was bone thin when I was younger and couldn't put on muscle to save my life. That is one thing that has gotten better with age for me. Maybe I had a fast metab when I was younger and it slowed a bit as I've aged? Dunno. Now the joint aches and what not I could do without LOL

I do agree and feel MUCH better and 8-10% BF than I did at 6-8%. That's just too hard to maintain and your body freaks out. As long as I can see a 6 pack I'm happy.

[CFD]

Originally Posted by Speedy1975

Man, I gotta be honest, I'm in MUCH better shape now than when I was in my 20s. By shape, I mean muscularity. I was bone thin when I was younger and couldn't put on muscle to save my life. That is one thing that has gotten better with age for me. Maybe I had a fast metab when I was younger and it slowed a bit as I've aged? Dunno. Now the joint aches and what not I could do without LOL

I do agree and feel MUCH better and 8-10% BF than I did at 6-8%. That's just too hard to maintain and your body freaks out. As long as I can see a 6 pack I'm happy.

I'm in better shape as well. I was 160-165 at 6'2" most of my life and I used to eat outrageous amounts of food, now I'm at 180 and feel much better.

Wait till your my age lol.

Even pro body builders don't maintain real low body fat except when competing, the body wasn't designed for it. Once you know how you can drop body fat when desired but again, it's a bit harder when you get older.

[2nd/5th Gen]

It's been officially one year at la fitness. So far I have gone from 248 down to 202 with nothing other than hard work. I can now bench press 180 compared to 60 when I started. I have also dropped from size 42 down to 36. My goal is to get down to 190. I still don't have a flat stomach, but I am working the core 3 times a week. My path has been 5 nights a week with one of those night cardio with 3 of the mornings I go do my cardio before weights. I do two max out sessions in these 5 days. I have stamina now at 37 I didn't have 10 years ago. I feel great....and I am getting looks (according to the wife)

[RubyCamaro]

I'm still at it. Still losing a little along but slowly. I still have stubborn belly fat I want gone. I am about ready to do someting drastic & give one last push to get the last of the belly gone so I can shift to building muscle. To me my legs are too skinny & need some muscle but I need the belly gone first. I know I can build muscle in my legs. Been there done that. Okay coaches....................help.

[CFD]

Originally Posted by 2nd/5th Gen

It's been officially one year at la fitness. So far I have gone from 248 down to 202 with nothing other than hard work. I can now bench press 180 compared to 60 when I started. I have also dropped from size 42 down to 36. My goal is to get down to 190. I still don't have a flat stomach, but I am working the core 3 times a week. My path has been 5 nights a week with one of those night cardio with 3 of the mornings I go do my cardio before weights. I do two max out sessions in these 5 days. I have stamina now at 37 I didn't have 10 years ago. I feel great....and I am getting looks (according to the wife)

Originally Posted by RubyCamaro

I'm still at it. Still losing a little along but slowly. I still have stubborn belly fat I want gone. I am about ready to do someting drastic & give one last push to get the last of the belly gone so I can shift to building muscle. To me my legs are too skinny & need some muscle but I need the belly gone first. I know I can build muscle in my legs. Been there done that. Okay coaches....................help.

You've both done really well and are now faced with the most difficult task, LOOSING THE BELLY.

Belly fat is the easiest and fastest to gain but the last and hardest to get rid of. Providing there are no medical conditions, loosing belly fat is very easily said but not done, usually if not always, if you are exercising regularly , both resistance(weight) training and cardio it comes down to diet.

To touch on exercise, cardio burns fat, no doubt but excessive cardio can do the opposite. Cardio sessions are better off as some sort of HIIT. Doing marathon cardio releases stress hormones (cortisol) which shuts down fat loss so you must do enough cardio at an intensity that will burn significant calories without spending enough time to produce stress hormones. You can also do cardio in multiple sessions, for example 20-30 min in the am and the same in the pm. Doing 60 min of cardio in one session is borderline for causing stress.

Doing excessive core work IS NOT the solution. Core strength is VERY important but the exercises that build core strength are pretty much useless for reducing belly fat. A significant caloric deficit is needed to reduce fat, there are two ways to do it, restricting calories, and calorie burning exercises, core work burns relatively no calories. The best weight training exercise for burning calories are also the best for adding muscle, heavy compound lifts such as deadlifts, squats etc. Also, ab work can make your belly look bigger, how's this? If you have a layer (or two) of belly fat and build the muscles under it, it can make your belly appear to be bigger. By no means stop doing core work, core strength can directly affect progress in other lifts but don't rely on core work for reducing belly fat. You should train your abs as yo would any other muscle group. Always approach weight training as a muscle builder not a fat burner. Use maximal weight loads and compound lifts. This will also burn more calories and add muscle which is beneficial in two ways, one, the obvious calorie burn and secondly it requires more calories to sustain muscle as it does fat so you naturally burn more calories as you build muscle. So Ruby, in your case, you can work on building muscle in your legs as you loose belly fat, the only real difference between gaining large amounts of muscle and loosing fat is caloric intake.

Diet is of the most importance. You can exercise your brains out but if diet is off it will not result in fat loss. The basic rules for fat loss are the same for belly fat you just have to be more strict in food choices and when and how much you eat. You may think you are eating clean and making food choices that promote fat loss but if you posted up a COMPLETE list of everything that goes in your mouth and when you would be surprised.

So in a nut shell it is the same as it has always been, eat clean and exercise, it will come.

For those that are no longer considered spring chickens it becomes even harder, as you age healthy body fat levels actually increase so you are not only fighting bad habits but nature as well.

[Batman302]

Im a certified trainer and certified in nutrition. I have programs diets and works free. I love what I do but as of right now Im over seas making money

[CFD]

Originally Posted by Batman302

Im a certified trainer and certified in nutrition. I have programs diets and works free. I love what I do but as of right now Im over seas making money

Diets and programs do not work if you don't follow them and most people don't. I think one of the biggest problems is that people have no idea what is what. I blame the government and food industry more than anyone. Food labels are so deceptive and misleading its ridiculous. Boxes of garbage are labeled no added sugars or reduced far or "HEALTHY CHOICE" but if people would learn to read the ingredient list the truth is revealed but even then it's complicated because the industry tries to avoid words like sugar and fat.

[Mydivorcegift]

Originally Posted by CFD

Diets and programs do not work if you don't follow them and most people don't. I think one of the biggest problems is that people have no idea what is what. I blame the government and food industry more than anyone. Food labels are so deceptive and misleading its ridiculous. Boxes of garbage are labeled no added sugars or reduced far or "HEALTHY CHOICE" but if people would learn to read the ingredient list the truth is revealed but even then it's complicated because the industry tries to avoid words like sugar and fat.

And I think tied with your one of the biggest problems is....

People don't want it bad enough....

[CFD]

Originally Posted by Mydivorcegift

And I think tied with your one of the biggest problems is....

People don't want it bad enough....

You're right in that it is most likely the biggest problem of all but it's understandable. I think people have good intensions and are faced with so many tough choices complicated by misleading info and the thought of a complete lifestyle change is not easy to get a handle on, many attempt it but are overwhelmed or just don't think it's worth the effort. There are also those that think, mainly due to tv and adds that there is an easy fix or some magical pill that will allow them to sit on their asses and eat what they want while shedding fat and getting ripped. That is why the weight loss industry is a multi billion dollar business. those that venture out of their comfort zone and truly put the effort in , will in most cases, succeed.

I'm by no means saying that is the case with the people who have been following along here and have been making great progress, it's obvious that they are putting in the effort but to achieve low body fat percentages and transform their physiques you must take it to the next level which is a huge task and takes much dedication. This in addition to the above complications makes it a never ending challenge but as you said, if you want it bad enough, it is not out of reach.

[RubyCamaro]

Good morning. Okay, you guys & gals in this thread have been after me to eat a real breakfast for a long time. I'm trying a new morning routine starting today. No more protien shake in the mornings. This morning I had 2 eggs (sauteed in olive oil & patted dry w/paper towel), oatmeal (1 pkg plain instant) with 1 tbsp flax seed meal, 1/2 banana & 1/3 C strawberries, 16 oz water & coffee with 2 tbsp powdered milk & 2 tsp cocoa. We'll see if it makes a difference. I cooked myself a lunch recipe for this week that has 4 servings quiona, 1 sm pkg frozen green peas & carrots, 1 green pepper sliced, 1 onion sliced, 2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce, 4 servings popcorn size shrimp & 5 tbsp gluten free sweet/sour sauce (25 cal per tbsp - I needed some flavor in my lunch). I divided it into 5 lunches for this work week. Between meal snacks will be greek yougurt w/fruit, dark chocolate silk milk, the gluten free protien bars I found or the fruit/oatmeal gluten free bars I found. (I'll post up pics of the nutrition info when I get a chance). I chose 3 recipes from the "Tasty Fat Loss & Muscle Gaining Recipes" cook book for suppers this week. I have tried the snack bars in that recipe book but am not crazy about them & just don't have time to cook ahead all my snacks too. We shall see if these changes make a difference for me or not. I also found a good recipe I want to try that is pancakes made with just eggs & smashed bananas & a couple other snack ideas for weekends/evenings that are easy & sound good. HAGD all.

[2012-1822]

I estimate I lost about 50lbs when I swapped headers and high flow cats in for the factory get up.


Seriously though, I need to lose a few myself. I've seen some documentaries, which you always have to take with a grain of salt(no pun intended) talking about whole food, plant based diets.

It's not veganism, vegans I've seen do it to save animals and whatever, blah(plus a lot of "vegan food" is loaded with fats and still unhealthy). Just that I was feeling that I was eating too much meat anyway. So I stumbled onto a film called Forks Over Knives. It's worth a look. Was on Netflix, maybe it still is.

I went whole food, plant based for the bulk of September and lost 20 lbs. I felt much better, was able to spend less time in bed and have more energy all day. That's important, I'm a full time student and not a young buck anymore, so being able to concentrate more during studying is huge.

I kind of maintained during October, and here I am again going whole food, plant based for the first half of November. I'll be traveling and getting with family off and on for the rest of the month, so I'll eat normal food when I'm with them, no fast food, and then go back to the veggies at home. So far this is serving me well.


Anyone that needs a jump start, look up Forks Over Knives and there are a couple of companion films like the Engine 2 Diet or something. And then a fellow named Joe Cross did a film about Juicing. It might be called Reboot My Life or something. I didn't juice, because I didn't have an extra $150 for a juicer, but I took inspiration from these sources, especially Joe Cross, he's really up beat. I'll probably watch his film again any time I need a little extra motivation.

[midnighter]

Aw this thread. It's a dreaded reminder of how much daily work has to be put in and "continued for life" in order to maintain a proper physique.

In 2012 I lost 83 lbs putting me at 155 lbs, I am 5'10". That was how I liked being. As 2013 moved along I started losing interest in diet and exercise and gaining weight.

Today I stepped on my scale and I saw 192 lbs. This means I have gained back almost half of what I lost last year. With the holidays near I can only imagine what I will weigh by new years.

Anyway, my hat is off to all of you who have lost a lot of weight and have managed to keep it off for over a year.

With that I'm out.