Weight Loss Thread

AladainAF said:

I lost some muscle, but what I was getting at was that I didn't lose all that much relative to my body. I started with almost 208lb of muscle.

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Wat? You lost 40lbs of muscle which is almost 25% of your total muscle mass. Of the 87lbs you lost almost half of that was muscle, for every pound of fat you lost you almost lost a pound of muscle to go with it.

You lost so much muscle because you were severely undereating and your body cannibalised your muscle mass for energy, which is exactly what I said would happen.

AladainAF said:

I bet a 600 lb guy with 400lb of muscle will lose a lot of muscle too. Maybe hes better off at 600lb.

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LOL yes, that's exactly what I'm saying.

I think I posted this picture before as an example of what's possible with a SENSIBLE diet and a decent workout program - admittedly this was under the supervision of the head/CEO of Personal Trainer in London City and Mayfair - Ultimate Performance (chain of personal training only body transformation gyms), but that doesn't change the fact that the feedback here on your 800 calorie diet was that it was a bad idea. I mean honestly, I've probably taken shits that have been worth more calories than that.

You went full steam ahead and tried to drop the scale number as quickly as possible, there's nothing wrong with a large deficit (as I said above 10-12 calories per lb) is currently getting me to drop over 1lb a week which is more than is recommended for someone my weight, but I'm certainly not losing 1lb of muscle to go with it. In fact my wifi scales give me weight, lean mass and body fat data which goes back to the start of December 16 - admittedly these are bioimpedance and not as accurate as a DEXA but the results are consistent - my lean mass has fluctuated between 61-64kg and some of that lean mass will be water weight depending on whether I've been lower carb or not).

The point was always that a healthier deficit would have been better from a health and body composition perspective, I mean - you only dropped 10% actual body fat.

Lmao look at the difference between week 1 and 6. Yeah that seems like totally reasonable results that was obtained naturally

Bruuce said:

Lmao look at the difference between week 1 and 6. Yeah that seems like totally reasonable results that was obtained naturally

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What -- you don't think ~30% body fat to ~15% body fat in 6 weeks is reasonable? But BRUH, THE CEO HIMSELF OF THIS COOL GYM PERSONALLY TOLD HIM HOW TO DO IT.

Ossoi believes the dumbest shit.

Yeah Ossoi I try to defend you as much as I can, but that's genuinely the dumbest fucking thing you've ever said, and you've shared a lot of dumb shit.

Eidal said:

What -- you don't think ~30% body fat to ~15% body fat in 6 weeks is reasonable? But BRUH, THE CEO HIMSELF OF THIS COOL GYM PERSONALLY TOLD HIM HOW TO DO IT.

Ossoi believes the dumbest shit.

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You have a point - their official site says the middle picture was 7 weeks. The Ultimate Real Result: Glenn - a 3 month radical transformation - Ultimate Performance

There's plenty of information online about what that transformation took - training twice a day, eating mostly white fish, having your workout designed and supervised by a leader in the field, plus UP have plenty of other results to show off, hence why they have PT only gyms that charge ridiculous rates in the UK, EU, Asia and soon the US https://upfitness.co.uk/results/male-results/

Right, in the fifteen weeks, how did we do it? Throughout the fifteen weeks first thing in the morning was a handful of nuts. Then for the first five weeks it was white, lean meat, with fish and no carbohydrates. Zilch! No carbs at all! The only carbs I was taking, the small amount, was in my green vegetables. Then from week five to fifteen I just eat fish and greens only, for ten weeks. In the de-load week I talked to you about I had a very, very minute amount of carbs in my post-workout shake and a small amount of sweet potato in my post-workout meal. That was just over the three days in my de-load week, but that was about it.

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The programme itself was 15 weeks long. It was four days on and one day off, and on that day off I swum for 40 minutes. It was twice a day training, with strength training in the morning and hypertrophy or volume training in the evening or afternoon.

And every 15 days I had a de-load week where I trained for about 30-40 minutes with high intensity training with certain body parts three times a week.

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he weighed 98.2kg, with body fat of 23.9 percent. After just over three months of following Mitchell’s fitness plan, he had lost 13kg of fat, added 7kg of muscle

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Do you really think such results when training 2x a day with someone to supervise/motivate you and force out the extra reps, and with 99% diet adherence is impossible?

And yes, I'm aware of all the tricks that are used to generate before/afters - the trainer associated with the above transformation has several books out detailing such methods, you can see in the pic he's shaved his chest and in the colour ones online also had fake tan applied. Factor in water and carb loading before a shoot also

Regardless, congrats on missing the point - I'm not saying Aladdin could have emulated that - but it is possible for a beginner, even an obese one, to gain muscle and burn fat simultaenously, or even burn fat and preserve muscle.

He could have dropped the weight without losing 25% of his muscle mass, that is undeniable.

Alright and to put some more sensible talk back into the thread. Down 45 pounds (272.5 -> 227.5). Slowed down the last 2-3 weeks. Initial fat% was easier to lose so as I get down lower I expected a slower pace. I can see my ribs. Don't laugh, I haven't seen them since my 20s. When I started I was wearing pants with a 38 waist. I bought a pair of 36 jeans about 6 weeks ago. It was a bit loose so I decided to go belt shopping this weekend. On a whim I said to myself let's see if a 34 fits. Sure enough fits amazingly well. First time in my 4 month weight loss that I actually got a little emotional (just a little!) after realizing I dropped 4 pants sizes.

Does anyone have experience using resistance bands? Are we talking about a gimmick or actually a respectable replacement for weights? I live in a small condo so I don't have a lot of room. I would love to get a weight set or one of those adjustable weights but there isn't a lot of room to store it.

I've never liked resistance bands. They have tons of them at the gym and I've tried using them now and then, but I don't see how they can replace free weights. Granted it's very possible I didn't know how to use the bands correctly.

Plus I have this horrible fear that they're going to snap and slash my face or something.

If you live in a condo, I'd just get a gym membership and take advantage of dumbbells and barbells.

Resistance bands don't really replace weights, more of a supplement. I use them more for rehabbing/stretching. They do strengthen, but not on the same scale as lifting weights. More for strengthening weaker support muscles. I suppose you could get away with using them up to a certain point though.

I second just getting a gym membership. I've done the home workout thing in the past, and results weren't that great. Limitations of exercises and space really.

McCheese said:

I've never liked resistance bands. They have tons of them at the gym and I've tried using them now and then, but I don't see how they can replace free weights. Granted it's very possible I didn't know how to use the bands correctly.

Plus I have this horrible fear that they're going to snap and slash my face or something.

If you live in a condo, I'd just get a gym membership and take advantage of dumbbells and barbells.

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Bands are generally used for rehab/prehab purposes. Things like rotator cuffs, rear delts, adductors/abductors etc get overlooked and can become a major pain in the ass if you don't actively work to keep them healthy and strong. Bands hit these areas perfectly.

Bands can also add a ton of weight when incorporated to the main lifts, mainly by making a certain portion of the lift that much more difficult (or easier). Powerlifters use them actively as a way to create tension.

Well that settles that issue. Thanks folks.

PatrickStar said:

Does anyone have experience using resistance bands? Are we talking about a gimmick or actually a respectable replacement for weights? I live in a small condo so I don't have a lot of room. I would love to get a weight set or one of those adjustable weights but there isn't a lot of room to store it.

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Not sure of space or size, but you could always get a mat and some kettlebells. I keep a 20 kg. and 24 kg. kettlbell at home for days I cannot make it to the gym. You could take a shot at Simple & Sinister in a fairly small foot print (Swings / Turkish Get Up). Kind of depends on ceiling height for the get ups. This is my go to when I cannot make it to the gym.

I make sure I exercise everyday now. Even if it's going for a walk and some jogging instead of yoga. I ride my bike for an hour on a trail either on Friday or Saturday mornings. I like the kettle bell idea though, but I should just suck it up and get a gym membership.

Some exercises are far more effective and efficient then others. but, the exercise you will actually do is always more effective then the one you get bored with and stop doing.

Weights, hiit, swimming are best.
Biking, running, hiking, etc less so.

But, you do have to keep doing them, either way. So, the question is, which do you enjoy more? And which will you actually do consistently. That answer varies from person to person.

Well it took a year or so longer than I planned, but I jumped on the scales 2 days ago: 78.4kg. Finally got below my goal of 80kg.

I peaked at 109kg back in 2014, so I'm pretty fucking stoked. I hovered at 85kg for months, then kicked up the exercise another notch to 40min on the treadmill every day and got over the hump.

Fuck being fat. Never doing that shit again.

Now for phase 2: lift weights, cut the rest of the BS out of my diet and escape the skinnyfat zone.

Now what is that in a real weight? <Grins>
Grats!