Weight Loss Thread

Dandai

Dandai

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So my weight around Dec 28 floated between 254 and 257. The last few days I've floated between 244 and 246. That's approximately 10-13 lbs in just over 3 weeks. You bros think that's an ok rate?

I'm not zealously counting calories, but I've had more than a few days where I know I barely got 1500 calories (I use MyFitnessPal). When I'm hungry, I eat. I aim for two whey shakes a day (AM and post-workout) and three meals with snacks as needed. I'm not sure what the threshold is, but I've read that if your body thinks its starving it starts pumping out cortisol and holds onto stored body fat. Do you think I should be worried about making sure my caloric deficit isn't too great?

As far as activity for the last 4 weeks I've been doing 2 days of Upper Body HIIT (super set of pushups [40], pull up[10 reps with 40 lbs counterweight], planks + obliques[75 seconds each], butterfly kicks[40], inverted rows [6-10]), 2 days of stationary bike sprints (8 sets of 15-20 seconds of max effort with max resistance), and 1 day of Upper Body HIIT that includes body weight squats. I do that on the following schedule (I've completely stopped lifting free weights):

Day 1: Upper Body HIIT
Day 2: Bike Sprints
Day 3: Upper Body HIIT
Day 4: Bike Sprints
Day 5: Rest
Day 6: Whole Body HIIT
Day 7: Rest

Basically I'm just looking for a co-sign that I'm not fucking myself out of the fastest fat loss possible. I know no matter what it's going to be several months before I'm down to a reasonably healthy weight, but if you think there's something more I can do to speed that up, I'm all ears.
 
McCheese

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Your body doesn't think it's starving. Pretty sure that's been thoroughly debunked and is nothing more than broscience at this point.

If you have enough energy to get through your workouts and you feel good, don't worry about eating too little. If you are really, truly not eating enough, you'll notice it during your workouts (lethargy, loss of strength).
 
Warmuth

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Dandai_sl said:
So my weight around Dec 28 floated between 254 and 257. The last few days I've floated between 244 and 246. That's approximately 10-13 lbs in just over 3 weeks. You bros think that's an ok rate?

I'm not zealously counting calories, but I've had more than a few days where I know I barely got 1500 calories (I use MyFitnessPal). When I'm hungry, I eat. I aim for two whey shakes a day (AM and post-workout) and three meals with snacks as needed. I'm not sure what the threshold is, but I've read that if your body thinks its starving it starts pumping out cortisol and holds onto stored body fat. Do you think I should be worried about making sure my caloric deficit isn't too great?

As far as activity for the last 4 weeks I've been doing 2 days of Upper Body HIIT (super set of pushups [40], pull up[10 reps with 40 lbs counterweight], planks + obliques[75 seconds each], butterfly kicks[40], inverted rows [6-10]), 2 days of stationary bike sprints (8 sets of 15-20 seconds of max effort with max resistance), and 1 day of Upper Body HIIT that includes body weight squats. I do that on the following schedule (I've completely stopped lifting free weights):

Day 1: Upper Body HIIT
Day 2: Bike Sprints
Day 3: Upper Body HIIT
Day 4: Bike Sprints
Day 5: Rest
Day 6: Whole Body HIIT
Day 7: Rest

Basically I'm just looking for a co-sign that I'm not fucking myself out of the fastest fat loss possible. I know no matter what it's going to be several months before I'm down to a reasonably healthy weight, but if you think there's something more I can do to speed that up, I'm all ears.
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So you're losing three pounds a week and worried there's more on the table? You should be way more concerned about burn out than anything else.
 
Cad

Cad

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You're going to lose weight very fast at first. It'll slow down. If you're not getting dizzy while exercising or feeling lethargic or outright starving yourself, then you're fine. Lose that weight bro.

I wouldn't worry about going totally nuts on some diet or cut I'd try to get comfortable thinking of food differently... don't view food as a reward or an enjoyment... view it as a necessity. It's hard for me too because I'm a comfort eater. But once you break yourself of snacks and sweets your diet gets a lot easier.
 
Dandai

Dandai

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That's comforting to hear. I've added several reps/time on my exercises so I'm definitely not experiencing lethargy or loss of strength.
 
Dandai

Dandai

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Warmuth_sl said:
So you're losing three pounds a week and worried there's more on the table? You should be way more concerned about burn out than anything else.
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"Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, Or what's a heaven for?"
 
Khane

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As McCheese said "Starvation mode" is a fool's myth. "Not losing enough weight? Eat more!". It was debunked in the 40s and since I know you like to read about such things just look up the minnesota starvation experiment. That'll be all you need.
 
Eomer

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I've been at about a 500-700 calorie per day deficit for the past 4 weeks or so (down about 5 pounds in that time) and I've definitely noticed that my metabolism has slowed. Mostly in terms of body temperature. I really notice that I'm a lot cooler than I normally am, as generally I run pretty hot. Energy levels etc. seem about the same, although admittedly I haven't been doing any exercise other than a couple ski days and a handful of hockey games.

But yeah, I don't think my body is in "starvation mode" or anything silly like that. But no question my metabolism has slowed noticeably.
 
Eomer

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Heh, I really doubt that a dude at 5'9" going from 193 to 188 is going to suddenly freeze their ass off because of a loss of body fat! That being said, it's surprising how quickly I've been noticing changes in how clothes fit, mostly around the waist/gut. Another 5-10 lbs and none of my jeans will stay above my hips without a tight belt. Just gotta get in the habit of hitting the gym a few times a week to at least do some cardio, if not weights (never really been a weight lifter).
 
Eomer

Eomer

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Khane_sl said:
No, it hasn't. But thanks for your expert opinion. "I feel different than I normally do, therefore... aliens"
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I don't pretend to be an expert on this shit, I'm just relaying my recent anecdotal experience. No need to be a condescending fuckwad about it. I wasn't familiar with the Minnesota Starvation Experiment you mentioned, so I spent a minute briefly skimming the wiki on it, and I wonder what exactly I'm missing:

Minnesota Starvation Experiment - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

There were marked declines in physiological processes indicative of decreases in each subject's basal metabolic rate (the energy required by the body in a state of rest), reflected in reduced body temperature, respiration and heart rate.
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It mentions elsewhere in that article that the 6 month semi-starvation period consisted of a reduced diet of approximately 1,560 calories per day. I'm probably more like 1,800, although admittedly I haven't been actively tracking consumption, just my weight loss. So I'm certainly not as calorie restricted as the study participants were, but it's in the ballpark.

So what are you saying? That I'm not calorie deficient enough for my metabolism to have slowed noticeably? Or are you saying that calorie restriction NEVER results in slowed basal metabolic rate? What am I missing here?

edit: forgot to mention, I occasionally measure my rested heart rate, and for the most part it falls somewhere in the high 50's to low 60's. The past couple weeks it's been low 50's to high 40's. So there's definitely been a noticeable change there as well, which the quote above indicates is to be expected.
 
Khane

Khane

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It's good that you think your 4 week stint at 1800 calories is the same as a 6 month barrage of scientific study at 1500 calories while also:

Throughout the duration of the study each man was assigned specific work tasks, was expected to walk 22 miles (35 km) each week and required to keep a personal diary
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doing that is one in the same. Confirmation bias is a strong thing. Clearly you underwent the same rigors in your month long journey to losing 5 lbs as these men did (they lost 25% of their body weight on average). Are you also going basically insane like they did too because of the stress of the study over that prolonged period of time while they were also forced to work AND exercise at specific intervals and in specific quantities?

They took men who's base caloric intake for maintenance was 3200 k/cal and cut that amount in half while making them maintain the same amount of physical exertion.

Try reading the entire study before you compare yourself to the findings of something far more scientific than your "I feel weird" conclusions.
 
Eomer

Eomer

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Again, not sure why you're being such a cocksucker on this. I'm not making any sweeping claims here or claiming anything ridiculous. I simply posted a personal observation and you're jumping all over me for no apparent reason other than intellectual dick swinging. What the fuck is your problem, exactly?

In doing a five seconds of googling, there are a fair number of scholarly articles that seem to indicate that calorie restriction can indeed cause changes to basal metabolic rates. Here's one of many:Effect of calorie restriction on resting metabolic rate and spontaneous physical activity. - PubMed - NCBI

RESULTS:
Adjusted RMR decreased at Month 3 in the CR group and at Month 6 in the CR+EX and LCD groups. Neither measure of SPA decreased significantly in any group. PAL decreased at Month 3 in the CR and LCD groups, but not in the CR+EX group, who engaged in structured exercise. Changes in SPA in the chamber and free-living PAL were not related.
DISCUSSION:
Body weight is defended in non-obese participants during modest caloric restriction, evidenced by metabolic adaptation of RMR and reduced energy expenditure through physical activity.
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As I already stated, I'm not claiming that I'm in some sort of "starvation mode". All I said is that I've definitely noticed a decrease in my metabolism, indicated by feeling cold a lot more often than I normally would. That might mean a decrease of only a few dozen calories in my BMR, for all I know. It's not impacting my weight loss to any great extent I'm sure. But it's noticeable. And should hardly be controversial.

Another:Effects of dieting and exercise on resting metabolic rate and implications for weight management

Caloric restriction is known to produce a short-term reduction in resting metabolic rate. Issues that have not been resolved regarding such a reduction are as follows: is the reduction proportional to the reduction in body size or the degree of energy deficit, is the reduction permanent or self-limiting, and can exercise prevent the reduction?
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Later down that page they do note the following: "There were also no significant changes in resting metabolic rate (measured in absolute terms or relative to body mass) within groups over time or between groups over time."

edit: but then this:

In addition to losing mass, the following significant changes from baseline measurements were reported in the post-diet assessment period: a 15% decrease in absolute resting metabolic rate (1789.8 ? 80.2 kcal/24 hours, baseline), and an 8% decrease in resting metabolic rate relative to fat-free mass (33.8 ? 0.7 kcal/24 hours/kg fat-free mass, baseline).
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And this:

In the first part of the study, subjects' resting metabolic rate decreased to a greater extent than their weight or fat-free mass. This excessive reduction is most likely attributable to the degree of calorie restriction, and therefore cannot be completely explained by the reduction in fat-free mass. Wadden and colleagues have concluded that short-term changes in resting metabolic rate are best predicted by baseline resting metabolic rate and degree of calorie restriction, whereas long-term changes in resting metabolic rate are best predicted by baseline resting metabolic rate and fat-free mass.4 Therefore, during and immediately after a hypocaloric period, resting metabolic rate is likely to be suppressed.
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So I dunno. Truth be told, I don't have the knowledge or education to actually read these studies and take much away from them. It's not my bag. But the idea that calorie restriction results in a lower BMR doesn't seem to be controversial at all.
 
Ossoi

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Dandai_sl said:
I'm not zealously counting calories, but I've had more than a few days where I know I barely got 1500 calories (I use MyFitnessPal).
Click to expand...
10-11 calories per lb is my recommendation for "fast" fat loss - eg, you give yourself 12 weeks to cut as fast as possible, protein kept high at 3-4g per kg.
 
Agraza

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Finally beat my low watermark after a week long plateau. Fingers crossed I keep descending. Going for 5%. I attribute the plateau to muscle gain fluctuation. I've had a rough two weeks having to carry shit because our equipment isn't suited for the environment. I tried adjusting my calories without sacrificing much protein, and didn't get much traction. I'm trying to minimize muscle loss obviously. I'm actually stronger than I was before I began trying to cut, but just barely. My arms have gained only slightly, but my back and legs are noticeably more capable. I need to work on my abs a lot more, and that's where I'm going once I cut back on the cardio.

Favorite thing about adjusting my weight has been decreased hunger, and a better realization of what my body is hungering for.
 
Cad

Cad

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Eomer I don't think you're wrong I think Khane is just reacting to the fat-guy science of "if I eat less, my body will think its starving, therefore nom nom nom nom" ->> "I can't lose weight!"

It's a very common thing for fat people to say. Your observations are probably spot on and supported by science but reality is the couple hundred calories difference doesn't matter in the long run and will probably go back once you're eating at maintenance. Khane is just overreacting a bit because thats a very common fat-guy thing to think.
 
Rezz

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^

Eomer never said that he was going to pig out (even stated his caloric deficit) because his body was in starvation mode, just that he thinks his metabolism has changed slightly over the last month of exercise/diet. Which uh, it does, so Khane is just tilting at imaginary windmills in this case. Angrily.
 
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