Weight Loss Thread

Ossoi_sl said:

1. Body Fat % isn't accurate
2. Personal trainers are stupid and con artists

Just 2 of the pearls of wisdom I've been subjected to by the retards in this thread, fuck them, way to go!

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1. Using calipers to measure body fat % is an inaccurate method, if you're talking about some huge range like 40% down to 15%, sure that's fine, but you keep talking about using them week to week and trying to draw conclusions about the efficacy of your training methods based on a flawed measuring device. About the 10th week in a row that you posted that you lost another 1-2% body fat, we all should have realized that some of your your body mass had been converted into anti-matter or something.

2. Personal trainers, like any other job that has a low barrier to entry, are very diverse. Some are smart, most aren't. I like the MTV show "I used to be fat". All the trainers in that show are educated and seemingly intelligent. But only 1 of the 8ish trainers in that show consistently achieves results with his clients.

Squiggoth's personal trainer is cute, and seeing a hot girl is always good personal motivation to work out that much harder for me.

Anyways, on to my own livejounal-esque update.. I got strep throat about a month ago.. stopped working out, haven't been back to the gym yet. Weight loss stalled, but I'm still, generally eating healthier for the most part, but not at a deficit at all(I'm happy where I am weight wise, but I am not happy with my body image in general, need to get back to increasing muscle.)

Antarius_sl said:

1. Using calipers to measure body fat % is an inaccurate method, if you're talking about some huge range like 40% down to 15%, sure that's fine, but you keep talking about using them week to week and trying to draw conclusions about the efficacy of your training methods based on a flawed measuring device. About the 10th week in a row that you posted that you lost another 1-2% body fat, we all should have realized that some of your your body mass had been converted into anti-matter or something.

2. Personal trainers, like any other job that has a low barrier to entry, are very diverse. Some are smart, most aren't. I like the MTV show "I used to be fat". All the trainers in that show are educated and seemingly intelligent. But only 1 of the 8ish trainers in that show consistently achieves results with his clients.

Squiggoth's personal trainer is cute, and seeing a hot girl is always good personal motivation to work out that much harder for me.

)

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Sigh, as I have said countless times already: I never claimed calipers were scientifically accurate or precise. All I have said is that my trainer takes the measurements at the same time, on the same day, in the same room, with the same tools every single week. So surely this is a reliable tool/method to track the consistency of fat loss. I have asked Arkk 3 times now but he keeps ducking the question - if the calipers are not accurate how else do you explain my weight staying in a range of 78-82kg since February and the caliper % going from 23% to 14.8% WATER LOSS? RIGHT OK

The only information I have given this thread on my trainer, his methods and qualifications is that he has some Charles Poliquin certifications and that he recommended some Poliquin BCAA's. This was enough for "Arkk the great guru and he who must be agreed with at all times" to decide my trainer was a fraud. I could list more of his qualifications, list some examples of competitions he has won, sports and disciplines trains people in etc but I really don't feel the need to respond to some internet douchebag who a) keeps ducking questions and b) ignores requests for credentials.

Arkk also seems to think that I was stupid for paying a personal trainer to put me on a paleo diet and that I could have done that plus designed my program myself or followed one of the intrawebz. Does the moron think I never set foot in a gym before? I lack the motivation to go into a gym and lift weights for an hour by myself, I'm unable to push myself through that pain barrier and get bored for 20 minutes. Paying up front for 3 months of 12 sessions a month provides the motivation to a) turn up to every session b) put in maximum effort - it's all simply to get my moneys worth! And as an inexperienced lifter who is gonna show me and ensure that I'm doing each exercise/movement correctly? Plus where else am I going to get access to some of the equipment that is available at my gym?

Putting aside the calipers, seeing as so many people have issues with them (despite them being a tool that are used by hundreds of thousands of people to measure fat changes - another point I continually raise). I've gone from buying 34" waist trousers to 32", using the third notch of my belt plus clear improvements in strength, eg from not being able to do any chinups unassisted to being able to do 8.

In short, Arkk's criticisms are unfounded and stupid - he's welcome to keep trolling this thread as is anyone else but don't be surprised if I maintain my defensive/antagonistic posture in return

I guarantee that your quality of life will improve if you just stop talking about me. At the end of the day no one cares, except you. I'd bet my life that you told your trainer about me too.

You really aren't equipped mentally to handle Internet forums, it's consuming your life. I barely even say anything and it generates these huge diatribes. Just stop.

Let go and let god.

you're the one that is posting on the weight loss thread about other peoples weight loss.

Shit everyone seems nice to me in this thread.

So if I were to make a shake containing say... something along the lines of 50% kale, 50% mixed fruit (frozen strawberries, mango, peaches, pineapple) with a tablespoon of greek yogurt, would adding casein protein powder and psyllium husks slow down the digestion of the fruit? That's really the only thing I'm worried about -- it's a decent amount of fucking sugar, even if it natural(ish) sugar.

Why so much fruit? Casein protein isn't going to slow down digestion of anything.

Squiggoth_sl said:

Why so much fruit? Casein protein isn't going to slow down digestion of anything.

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What do you mean why so much fruit? It's like a cup lol.

To be fair you said 50% fruit but didn't say what size the shake was. For all we know squiggoth thought you were making a 13gallon shake and wanted to know why you needed 6.5 gallons of fruit.

Just use more yogurt (or milk), full fat. Yogurt, like milk, is about 20% Casein and 80% whey.

Started diet and gym last month after not doing anything but sitting on my ass for the last eight years. Cereal with milk for breakfast, chicken for lunch, fish for dinner and a diet powder whey protein in water drink after gym with some fruit. Lost 10lb in first four weeks, reduced 4% body fat and down from XL to L t-shirt size. Aiming to repeat that over the next four weeks.

Flight_sl said:

Started diet and gym last month after not doing anything but sitting on my ass for the last eight years. Cereal with milk for breakfast, chicken for lunch, fish for dinner and a diet powder whey protein in water drink after gym with some fruit. Lost 10lb in first four weeks, reduced 4% body fat and down from XL to L t-shirt size. Aiming to repeat that over the next four weeks.

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Get rid of the cereal and you'll be golden. Don't expect to lose 10 lbs every four weeks, it's definitely possible, but weight loss in the beginning is always easiest. Stick with it, though.

Also, how out of shape are we talking? Sitting on your ass for eight years doesn't really mean much lol.

Itlan_sl said:

Get rid of the cereal and you'll be golden. Don't expect to lose 10 lbs every four weeks, it's definitely possible, but weight loss in the beginning is always easiest. Stick with it, though.

Also, how out of shape are we talking? Sitting on your ass for eight years doesn't really mean much lol.

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Cereal is only Bran Flakes. No added sugar or anything. That should be okay shouldn't it ? I'm taking in under 1500 calories a day and getting the protein, fats and minerals I need as well as around 200 calories of Carbs in the form of brown/malted bread with the fish and chicken. Two to three bananas or apples a day included in that also, one banana an hour before gym, so energy is not a problem when working out. After gym I'll have a diet whey protein drink which is 170 calories with 34g protein. Open to any and all advice on diet, but low maintenance as possible when it comes to food prep. Also if I try to make it any more fancy than that food tends to disappear to other members of the family.

As for sitting on my ass - I fucked my legs up when I was in the army twenty years ago. Was loaded on Special Forces selection and destroyed my legs running wearing boots with a lot of weight on my back. Gave me anterior compartment syndrome and screwed my knees. Can't run at all. Every four or five years I've tried to do the gym thing and had to stop after a month or two due to excessive pain in my legs.

Trying it different this time - four nights a week 60-90 minutes with a personal trainer. Every night is different, which keeps it fresh, plus everything she assigns is zero impact because of my injuries eg I can do bikes or rowing, but I can't do treadmill, I can do plank hold, partnered sit ups, press ups but I can't do star jumps or burpies.

Personal trainer is outstanding by the way. Right now she trains Blackburn Rovers soccer club and until a year ago had spent two years in the US training the Dallas Cowboys.


Obviously not expecting to lose 10 lb every four week period, but I think I will this time. Last month I started off with almost no muscle all over, so this time I am much fitter. In first four weeks I took 2 minutes off 5km cycle, down from 10 minutes to 8 minutes and increased the number of partned back extensions I could do from 23 to 55 in a minute (everything I do is recorded, especially at start and end of the four week periods there is a set 'test' form with a couple dozen individual records. This time I believe I can work much harder from the off (starting tonight). I don't want to get significantly bigger muscle wise, more just burn the weight off.


On that point that's one thing I'd throw out there from an older guy (I'm 48) - careful how much muscle mass you put on. If I had my time over I'd be much more about pure fitness instead of being tempted to keep upping the weights I was using. More you add muscle mass the more you have to work - consistently for your life - to look good.

Sounds like you've got a good plan and clearly it's working for you.

Regarding the cereal, I dropped it from my diet not because of sugar or carbs or anyting, but simply because even the healthiest cereals had a ton of calories (especially when adding milk calories) but didn't fill me up very long. I switched to stuff like oatmeal or eggs for breakfast which provide about the same amount of calories as my cereal did but helps me feel much fuller for much longer.

But if you enjoy the cereal and you keep making progress I don't see any reason to give it up.

*Edit* Just to give some concrete numbers: My old "healthy" cereal had something like 160 calories per 3/4 cup. I don' tknow about you, but 3/4 of a cup of cereal is hardy anything for me, so I was doubling that and eating it with a cup of skim milk for a total of about 400 calories.

For the past year I've been doing either 1 cup of oatmeal with cinnamon for about 300 calories, or 3 fried eggs with melted cheese on top for about 300 calories. Both of those keep me feeling full for longer and save me 100 calories, which I can use for a mid-morning snack and stave off hunger even longer.

Cheers guys. Breakfast is an interesting one; going to have to look at it McCheese. As you say, it's possibly 100 more calories than I need. Do you have the oats with water ? Any other options for breakfast ? (don't want to eat more eggs, already have them alternating with chicken).

Flight_sl said:

Cheers guys. Breakfast is an interesting one; going to have to look at it McCheese. As you say, it's possibly 100 more calories than I need. Do you have the oats with water ? Any other options for breakfast ? (don't want to eat more eggs, already have them alternating with chicken).

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Yeah, I just boil the oats with water. I know some people can't stand them without milk, but I grew up eating them with water so I guess I'm used to it. Anyway, with cinnamon liberally applied I doubt the taste would change much either way.

I generally alternate between the eggs and oatmeal for breakfast so I don't have many other ideas. One other breakfast I'll occasionally do is a cup of fat free cottage cheese (160 - 180 calories) and some fruit, maybe a grapefruit or a banana. If I'm in a real hurry I do 2 cups of skim milk and a scoop of protein powder (~320 calories) and drink that for breakfast. I actualy find that surprisingly filling.

Those are pretty much the only 4 things I've been eating for breakfast for the past year.

My philosophy on breakfast is that I want to make it as few calories as possible. I think it's important to eat something, but I'm not a believer in making breakfast a big meal like a lot of American do. I treat it more as a snack that staves off hunger as oppose to a real meal. I'd rather save my calories for lunch and dinner which, in my opinion, are much more interesting meals.

I say this almost every time I post here, but one of my favorite parts of breakfast is the oatmeal i eat. 1 minute quick oats (absorbs better than whole oats), with one scoop of Protein powder and boiling water(strawberry tastes the best imo). Cut up one banana (or half if you prefer) and sprinkle a little cinnamon on it.

Celebrindal_sl said:

I say this almost every time I post here, but one of my favorite parts of breakfast is the oatmeal i eat. 1 minute quick oats (absorbs better than whole oats), with one scoop of Protein powder and boiling water(strawberry tastes the best imo). Cut up one banana (or half if you prefer) and sprinkle a little cinnamon on it.

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Sounds solid.

My breakfast is usually 3 egg omelet with pepper jack cheese(fuck it, right?), tomatoes, onions, jalapenos, spinach, and chicken. Shit is BANGIN. And definitely fits in my daily needs.

Oh yeah, chicken > any other meat in an omelet imo. Even better than bacon fellas, but nothing beats a sausage, bacon, egg and cheese on a bagel... but that's like 9000 calories, and I just feel oh so guilty eating a bagel.

I never realized until pretty recently how awful bagels are. Equivalent to 6 slices of bread, wtf. Things you just don't think about, I guess. It always seemed like a pretty solid breakfast to me previously.

chaos_sl said:

I never realized until pretty recently how awful bagels are. Equivalent to 6 slices of bread, wtf. Things you just don't think about, I guess. It always seemed like a pretty solid breakfast to me previously.

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Yeah, in many cases you would actually be better off (calorie-wise, at least) eating a donut instead of a bagel, especially if you factor in cream cheese. But how many people know this? This goes back to why it's a good idea for people to read labels and count calories for a while when attempting to get into shape; it's amazing the stuff you learn.

People love to blame hamburgers and other lunch-type foods for making fatties, but I really think most people--at least anecdotally from my experience--do the most damage to their nutrition at breakfast. Shit like maple syrup, cream cheese, regular cheese, and carbohydrate bombs like pancakes and french toast will absolutely destroy any semblance of a normal, daily calorie intake before 9am.

I posted a few pages back about the blueberry muffin that my coworker was eating, which had something like 400+ calories in it. Foronemuffin. Combine that with cream in the coffee and possibly butter or jam on the muffin and you're already at 500+ calories for a TINY breakfast which will have you eating again before lunch rolls around. And yet people will swing by Starbucks or Dunkin' Donuts and eat this on a daily basis, thinking it's a healthy option.