Weight Loss Thread

Sloshed said:

I've recently started lifting weights again to help try and lose some weight instead of the usual cardio. I'm into week 4 and have only dropped 5 lbs of scale weight. Realistically how much muscle could I have added in 25 days or so? With cardio I can usually drop 3 lbs a week.

Click to expand...

I don't know if "beginner gains" are higher, but 1 lb per week is widely accepted as the ceiling for lean mass gains. When I say ceiling, I mean just that - absolute maximum. A much more realistic number is .25-.5 lbs per week.

Edit: 1 oz per day (or 23 lbs per year) is the absolute maximum for natural (i.e. non-steroid use) muscle gain.

Cad said:

I think you mean per month. Nobody is gaining 25lbs of muscle per year even on the best roids available

Click to expand...

After a little more quick googling, it looks like 1 oz per day (23 lbs per year) is the absolute max for someone not taking steroids. So yeah, don't plan on gaining .25 lbs per week...

How Much Muscle Can You Gain?

The Colgan Institute of Nutritional Sciences (located in San Diego, Calif.) run by Dr Michael Colgan PH.D., a leading sport nutritionist explains that in his extensive experience, the most muscle gain he or any of his colleagues have recorded over a year was 18 1/4 lbs. Dr Colgan goes on to state that "because of the limiting rate of turnover in the muscle cells it is impossible to grow more than an ounce of new muscle each day."

In non-complicated, mathematical terms, this would equate to roughly 23 pounds in a year! Keep in mind that high-level athletes are the subjects of these studies.

Click to expand...

Neranja said:

So if you are on the fat end of the spectrum it is entirely possible to sustain yourself on your bodyfat alone, so the PSMF does work for you - for now. But once you lose a lot of it you can't get enough energy out of your bodyfat and you'll go into starvation mode and will lose muscle.

My advice: use a caliper or a bodyscan scale to get a rough estimate your bodyfat percentage (yes, they suck, but a rough estimate is better than none), calculcate how many pounds of bodyfat your body carries around and calculate what your maximum possible daily deficit is. Good luck.

Click to expand...

This is exactly what my doctor has told me, which is why this diet will change once I hit 32 BMI, it will still be low carb and low calorie, but it won't be what I've been doing. I should be around 1200-1400 cal then instead of the 800-1000 I am now. Any recommendations on a scale? The really good one they use when I weigh in is a Tanita, but I am not sure how reasonable it is for home use.

Then your apprehension is very well warranted.

One thing I've learned that is pretty damn tasty to be honest is to steam cauliflower very much (3-5 minutes over normal steaming time) then blend it in a blender or ninja kind of thing. Throw spices in it, then spray it with something like i cant believe its not butter or something similar. salt it nicely, and boom its like mashed potatoes.

Ossoi said:

He was almost 600lbs and lost over half his body weight BY NOT counting calories.

At 230lbs he lost the last 10lbs by EATING 3000 calories a day.

If that doesn't tell you that you don't need to be literally starving yourself to lose weight then I don't know what will

Click to expand...

Second time now, I don't count calories. No idea where that even came from. ONE day I posted what I ate for that day which worked out to around ~800-1000 calories or so (I don't do stupid shit like weigh my foods so I dont know EXACTLY what was consumed) and said this is usually around what i eat. You instantly assumed that I'm scrutinizing my food labels and counting every single calorie. I've not done that, at all, other than for that one post simply to be as clear as I can with what i ate for the day. And btw, "protein potatoes" are dried potatoes mixed with whey protein steamed grated cauliflower and water. That's all. Also, funny that someone mentioned they didn't eat carrots on their low carb diet because "they contain too much sugar", and you ignored them and have constantly attacked me for saying to not overeat tomatos while on a low-carb diet, and tomatoes have about the same sugar as carrots.

Also notice, he said he was not counting calories, but eating "primarily leafy greens" from 580 to 260. How many calories, if you had to guess, was he intaking while losing weight from 580 to 260? If he ate 5 pounds of "leafy greens" in a day that's about 1000 calories depending on the green (spinach, for example would need to be about 10 pounds).

Gilgamel said:

Also, avocados are bullshit. The fat + fiber is awesome but it tastes like garbage. I can't find anything comparable though.

Click to expand...

Make guacamole! Avocados are delicious.