DivineCL

I had no idea the gym relly worked.















Some people are just lazy. :shakehead

Whiskers

Why? Why would someone rather be a healthy 210 pound person then a 180 pound????

Crazy Bimmer

again everyone, stop weighing yourself!

Minch00

How many calories a day should I be eating? I thought it was burn more than you take in, and it's hard for me to burn many calories while working out What should I do?



Edit: 10,000 PEOPLE!

Adam_Schwartz

Dude, I always say it is not WHEN you eat but WHAT you eat. Do not starve yourself after a workout, because that is when you REALLY need to replenish glycogen, which means eat carbs, as well as protein for muscle recovery. Don't sweat it when it comes to eating at 9:00 or 10:00.

Good job BTW - it's good to hear about successes!

Whiskers

95gt

1500 at least. You are starving yourself. Eventually your body will start losing again but right now it is going into defensive mode and holding on to everything you put in.

How is it hard for yout to burn calories while working out? Burning 1500 calories is a shitload of calories. At 300 pounds you should burn a hell of a lot of calories per minute.

edit: congrats on 10k

95gt

depends on your size. If you can carry 210 without looking like a jacked out monster (unless that is your thing) why does it matter?


I would personally rather be larger and just as fit. All that matters is that you are healthy.

Doc.Booty

What you're forgetting is that you burn calories just sitting there. On a very sedentary day i probably burn well over 2000 calories. You could very well be overextending yourself with your hour and a half of cardio. Keep it between 30 and 45 minutes.

Here's a good page on losing fat - http://www.abcbodybuilding.com/13wee...urningdiet.php

From there: That's a rough estimate for how many calories you need to not gain or lose weight. You'll drop a percentage of those calories in order to lose fat. Read that article, its FULL of great information.

Oh and please ignore calorie counters on exercise equipment, they're junk.

Whiskers

I read that the body burns 1800 calories a day naturally. Add in daily activity (walking around, stairs, jerking off, etc.) adds more. Then about a 1/2 hour of walking / jogging / running burns around 200-400. The goal is to burn more calories per day then you eat???

Whiskers

Im coming from 250 pounds. I think skinny people want to get bigger and in shape at around 200-210 pounds (I guess thats why they sell all that bulk up crap). Fat people want to be skinny at 160-180 and in shape.

Doc.Booty

It can vary wildly for everyone. You know the guys who can eat three pizzas a day and never put on a pound? They burn way more calories than the guy who has one cheeseburger and gains 2 inches on his waist.

The real question is how tall are you. If you're 7'4, you'll look ridiculous at 160-180. That would be an excellent weight if you're 5'7.

Whiskers

5'8

Minch00

What's a good weight at 6'4" with a 52 inch chest

Adam_Schwartz

You need to eat WAY more than 1000 cal/day.

You may have hit a wall and need to start a more specific fat loss program. One thing to consider is to slowly reduce calories over an 8-12 week period so your body is not shocked and you retain muscle mass. You might start at 3500 cal/day and reduce it 200 cal/day every other week (i.e go from 3500 to 3300 to 3100, etc every 2 weeks.)

95gt

damn baby lets see a picture of those knockers














j.k. I bet if you were down to 220 or so you would look good. Of course not sure of what kind of muscle mass you have on you as that makes a big difference.

As has been said before. THROW OUT THE FUCKING SCALE. look in a mirror and when you think you are looking good than be happy. Don't focus on some stupid number.

Adam_Schwartz

This brings up a good point. One big part of the fat loss program I am on has to do with WHAT I eat, as well as how much and how often I eat. I eat lots of quality carbs, proteins and veggies right now. If I were to eat bread and pasta rather than sweet taters and brown rice, for instance, my body would not have to work nearly as hard to break this food down into glucose, amino acids, etc. So you have to make your body work as hard as possible, whenever possible.

Adam_Schwartz

Yes and no. People who weight themselves daily are doing a dis-service. If you are trying to lose fat, then weighing yourself every 2-4 weeks is fine. Seeing it is damn hard to lose fat AND gain significant muscle mass at the same time, then someone trying to lose fat will weight less. But I like to combine actual weight with caliper readings to determine success, as well as plain old looks and how clothes fit.

Minch00

It was measured right below my armpits, therefore the man boobs were not factored into the number

95gt

well now you are just getting me all hot and bothered.

Minch00

Funny, the females of the forum say the same thing

Whiskers

I am just confused on how carb and fat content of food factor into all of this.

Doc.Booty

The article i linked for minch should have some good info on that.

Adam_Schwartz

Well, people are different, so there is not one set rule.

As for me, my current fat-loss diet is 60% carbs, ~25% protein and 15% fat. Keep in mind that my carbs are complex, whole carbs. Nothing processed. Proteins are lean proteins, like fish and poultry. I have a steak sometimes, but not too often. My main fat intake comes from flax seed oil to get those EFAs.

See, carbs get a bad rap and in actuality carbs are important in fat loss and muscle gain. It's just that most people eat the WRONG types of carbs and eat TOO MUCH of them. That is precisely why 6-7 small meals is so important. Your body can utilize food better in smaller doses.

Also, fat from flax seed oil helps your body function correctly, as you cannot make Omega 3/6/9 on your own. You need it from food and most people do not eat cold water fish to get the necessary EFAs.

On any program, whther weight loss or gain, you need to write down what you eat, lift, etc so you can see what works and what does not. Let's say you gained 5 lbs of muscle in 2 weeks (which would be a great gain). You might want to see what you ate and how you lifted to get such gains. So keep a log. In the same manner, if you are trying to lose fat and you are not seeing the results you want, you can tell what needs to be changed if you have a log.

Whiskers

Kewl.

youngTL

So what's the thing to do when you just can't gain weight? In grade 7 I was 96lbs, then by the end of grade 8 I was 132lbs. Then, from there, its been SLOW gains. In grade 8 I was 5'8", and since then I've gained about half an inch (just a little less). Now I'm 155, and I can't seem to put on any more weight. I'd love to be 180, but it feels like its not going to happen because I have a small shoulder span. I'm hovering at an esitmated 12.5% bodyfat, according to the electric resistance fat measuring machine, and 12% according to calipers. I work out 3 times a week, but is that not enough to gain any more?

Doc.Booty

Only a small fraction of bodybuilding (which is what all of this thread relates to, whether you like it or not has to do with the gym. What really counts is your diet. If you're a hard gainer, you need to eat like a pig. Stuff yourself full with high quality protein and carbohydrates at every opportunity. I know some guys that have to eat until they feel sick.

Sleep is also a huge factor. If you aren't getting 8 hours or more a night you're hurting yourself.

That's not to discount the workout. If you go in and toss around a few weights with shitty form and then slam some POS GNC supplement you aren't going to see any gains.

There's a saying i hear used by a lot of bodybuilders: "Eat big, lift big, sleep big, get big." It's 100% true.

Check out that abcbodybuilding site, it's full of awesome info.

ric

about all you can do is buff the muscles you've got, unless you want to get into serious bodysculpting.................. If you have a light bone structure/narrow ribcage, you're never going to be something that your frame can't carry. You might talk with a professional trainer or three to see what they might recommend by way of specific exercise programs, and I note that my trainer changes my regimen about every two months, as the muscles become habituated to a specific regimen, and you cease seeing improvement.

You might try a careful use of a protein shake as a dietary supplement, which, combined with a strong workout regimen has packed about 10 pounds of additional muscle on my frail frame over a period of about a year. I also use a regimen of six weeks on/six weeks off of a regimen using about two grams a day of creatine; used carefully in an expansionist mode, it will help build muscle. However, it is hardly dramatic, just a boost, and continuous nonstop use is not all that healthy.

A body is not a lump of clay, and you arrive, genetically, with certain predispositions in terms of metabolism, bone structure, etc. Trying to deny that in order to create an Adonis figure is just going to be frustrating. Conversely, keeping up a decent exercise program that has some depth to it will buff what you've got, make you feel good, and be a decent platform for continued health.

If you want to get into serious weightlifting in an effort to sculpt or craft your body, do that with a trainer who works with bodybuilders,a nd be prepared for it to become a major focus of time, diet and exercise.

ric

For whatever it's worth, I am 6'-2", and graduated from college weighing 140 pounds, stayed at that weight through Infantry Officer's Basic, although there was a certain shift of fat to muscle. I "bulked up" to about 160 at the end of my '20's, and have added about 10 pounds of muscle over the last year. Not something that has caused me to rush out and buy a new wardrobe. You may find that your body will add weight as you complete growing up, which, for men, does not necessarily stop at 20. Whether that will be via muscle or fat will be driven by diet and exercise.

actually, seeing what ABreece has said, I think he and I are probably coming from pretty much the same place.

ric

I agree completely, but would throw in their innate metabolism (which you reference) and their bone structure.

I'm one of those guys that can eat huge quantities of food and, in some cases, loose weight............... pisses my wife and stepson off no end. My wife can look at a Philly Cheesesteak and gain weight. I've essentially been skinny most of my life, exercise regimen or not, great shape or out of shape.

youngTL

Thanks guys, both you and ric. I think the sleep is my problem (thanks to school). I do do effective workouts though, I was trained on proper form wayy back and I've kept it up. I do eat a lot, but it's probably not enough. I eat 4 or 5 meals a day, but I feel hungry usually 2 hours after I eat. I'll check out the site.

Adam_Schwartz

I am the opposite of ric - I began growing after college (when I began to workout) and have to really watch what I eat. I have been blessed in that I can add mass fairly easily but I hold onto fat. So I have to work harder to lose fat. It is rare that you meet someone who can add muscle easily and lose fat easily. I have a friend like that and he has the best genes on the planet.

Adam_Schwartz

if you feel hungry 2 hours after you eat, then you need to eat. Sounds too simple right? In your case, you need to listen to these signals and feed your body. If you are lifting correctly (as in lifts that are proven muscle builders) then you need to incorporate more rest and more food. It can be done, but it may take many months or years to achieve your goals.

Adam_Schwartz

Werd x 1 billion.

ric

Both ABreece and Adam Schwartz are advocates of the multiple meals during the day, which is great in theory, but I rarely am able to do. However, that really is the best way to consistently "fuel" the factory, and evens out your metabolic functions, evens out your pancreatic function, and results in a more consistent function. I have reached the point of having a large breakfast, medium lunch, small dinner. I do snack mid-morning, and mid-afternoon, usually those crummy peanuntbutter cracker things that I can carry around easily, but that is partially a result of the decision of my pancreas to take a hike; I use insulin, which causes me to be pretty faschist about my dining habits, to the point that I force my clients to feed me lunch if we have a noontime meeting, not unusual in my field.

Sleep varies from person to person, and also varies through your life. I now need 6.5 hours, pretty exactly, and if I oversleep, I am sluggish, undersleep, I drag. When I was in college, I could survive on 3 hours, but really needed five to six, alhtough the trend is presumably that as you get older, you need less. Some folks need eight to nine. Others are advocates of a conventional or even scant sleep time at night, but a quick nap in the early afternoon.

And you may well have a proper exercise regimen set up, but I would suggest that you look to vary the exercises on a cycle of about every two or three months. Your body becomes habituated to one set of muscle stressors, and eventually becomes very economical in response to the regimen, and thus stops growing. I'm also a fanatic about spacing my exercise by two day increments to give my muscle structre time to respond; bodybuilders and athletes do more than that, but they vary the muscle groups being worked with.....

Adam_Schwartz

ric, you are right that eating 6-7 times a day can be difficult. I work in a place that allows me to do this much easier, but I am lucky. Even 5 meals a day is better if one can wing it.

And you have a great point about cycling lifting routines. I have to change every 6-8 weeks only because I have been lifting for a number of years. But 12 weeks is the max IMO. I have even seen some 12 week regimens that are basically four 3-week mini programs.