How long should this take?

C

cusimar9

0
I'm just after some ideas of timescale...

I've been exercising 5-6 days for a couple of months now and I'm getting good results, only I'm quickly realising that its no easy task. I'm doing a combination of cardio and weights.

When I started I was 87kgs and 27% bf (63.51kg LBM) and I'm now 83.9 and 24.6% bf (63.26kg LBM) obviously these readings fluctuate quite a bit (I think my bf is lower than than that) but this is the ballpark figure.

I personally think my ideal bodyweight would be around 70-75kgs. Given that its taken me 2 months to lose 3 kgs, would it fair to say that it'll take 8 to 12 months for me to reach my target? Or is this rate likely to slow down?

Also, this seems to me to be quite a slow rate of weight loss... your thoughts?
 
You could, theorectically, lose 2lbs (approx 1kg)/wk safely. However, that is pushing the limit and you may be losing significant amounts of LBM.

Aim for 1/2 kg/week and be happy.
 
Over 20% body fat it would be sensible to aim for around 2lbs or 1kg of fat loss every week.
Under 20% and it will be more like 1lb or 0.5kgs.

How are you measuring your Body fat?
 
With some scales whose accuracy is dubious to say the least, however it seems to be reasonably consistent

I also use AccuMeasure calipers which put my %bf down to around 20%, but its not accurate enough to give day to day measurements.
 
yeah scales are rubbish.
There are scales at my gym and I did it 5 times in a row getting results from 15-25%
With a 7point caliper I was 12% at the time.

Are you doing the calipers yourself? Cos you know thats impossible dont you?
you need one hand to pinch the skin and one on the calipers, so you cant do triceps, and on your sides you'll be twisting and therefore streching the skin.
 
Bah I can't be bothered with the calipers if I'm honest. My scales vary by about 0.5% bf every time, and I take the average of 3 measurements. It may not be accurate but it is consistent, so I can tell if its going up or down. That's all that matters really.

So, I should aim to lose about 0.5kgs per week, and I'm currently losing about 0.39kgs per week... damn this ****'s hard work...
 
consider how many years it took you to get into the shape you're in now. it was the same process....slowly gaining a little every week.

it requires patience and dedication, and not giving into peer pressure when your friend/spouse/whoever is tempting you with cake or other bad 'treats'.
 
cusimar9 said:
So, I should aim to lose about 0.5kgs per week, and I'm currently losing about 0.39kgs per week... damn this ****'s hard work...
Click to expand...

Mate, It has already been said twice that you should be aiming for 2lbs per week.


Try more exercise and keep your diet clean.
 
Did you mean to sound so condescending with that remark? I'll give you the benefit of the doubt.

But in response I'll make the following points:

1. According to Cynic (and various other sources I've read) 2lb loss per week is the recommended MAXIMUM, and at this point I'd be in danger of losing LBM not just fat, which I don't want to do.

2. As I've said above my scales aren't very accurate, I do know that I'm more like 20% bf (from a skinfold test) not 25%. Bearing that in mind and given your own advise, I should be aiming for around 1lb per week.

3. My diet is near enough spot on and I'm exercising 5-6 times per week. As it happens I've just knocked 1m 30 off my 4 mile PB (keeping distance low due to injury) and I'm nearly at my physical peak. If anyone's trying harder than me, they deserve a medal.
 
With that much exercise at your body fat% the weight should be falling off.

Must be your diet.

Switch to HITT, no long runs.
Weight training to speed up metabolism.

Have an extra days rest - that way you'll have more energy to train harder.
It's got nothing to do with how long you run for or how far you run, but how fast your going and the speed your heart is working.

P.S. - Sorry if I sounded condescending. Must have been tired or in a rush.
[Offers hand shake]
 
I havent used a calipur or scale in over a month. They did nothing but made me crazy. "Holy crap, I gained a pound..." check body fat, make sure it was lean mass, but im bloated from salt intake..."holy crap, i gained 3% body fat...!"

IMO just drop all that measuring and making yourself crazy. Just follow the rules and pay close attention to how you feel and how you look in the mirror. You are in this for the long haul. Don't expect to see results as fast as when you first started.... they slow down considerably after a while.

If you are truely working out as much as you say, you may either be gaining muscle, or your diet isnt where it should be. What does your diet look like?
 
cusimar9 said:
Did you mean to sound so condescending with that remark? I'll give you the benefit of the doubt.

But in response I'll make the following points:

1. According to Cynic (and various other sources I've read) 2lb loss per week is the recommended MAXIMUM, and at this point I'd be in danger of losing LBM not just fat, which I don't want to do.

2. As I've said above my scales aren't very accurate, I do know that I'm more like 20% bf (from a skinfold test) not 25%. Bearing that in mind and given your own advise, I should be aiming for around 1lb per week.

3. My diet is near enough spot on and I'm exercising 5-6 times per week. As it happens I've just knocked 1m 30 off my 4 mile PB (keeping distance low due to injury) and I'm nearly at my physical peak. If anyone's trying harder than me, they deserve a medal.
Click to expand...


Yeah, I am on the same workout regime and am losing about 4 lbs a week, Im also somewhere 10-14% BF. I had to up my calories to about 2500 to keep from losing too fast and sacrificing muscle. The weight should be melting off there is something you aren't telling us....
 
OK my exercise regime looks like this:

Exercise 5-6 times per week consisting of a combination of the following:

Day 1: Run (4 miles - 30 minutes)
Day 2: Gym Split 1 (6 x 3 sets on weights, 50 minutes cardio)
Day 3: Gym Split 2
Day 4: Run
Day 5: Gym Split 3
Day 6: Gym Split 1 (very occasionally)
Day 7: Rest

Food wise I'm eating:

7:30am: Wholewheat cereal with skimmed milk and 30g protein powder
10:30am: Protein Shake
12:30pm: Brown Baguette with tuna mayo / chicken / ham
4:00pm: Brown Baguette with tuna mayo / chicken / ham
8:00pm: Evening Meal (Veg, Chicken, Brown Pasta, Ham, Omelettes etc)
10:00pm: Tuna / Ham / Chicken / Cereal + Protein Powder

I've been doing this for about 2 months.

My food is spot on the only thing I can think of is maybe my portions are too big? I'm not going as far as weighing everything I eat but FFS I'm already being so careful I'm bordering on the obsessive.

Weights-wise I'm improving on a lot of the exercises and I can feel I'm putting on some muscle... its just so difficult not to get demotivated by such low weight loss

Just a few weeks ago I was running 8 miles during which I was burning off 1100 calories, but I've had a bit of a hiccup with a knee injury so I've had to cut that down to 4 miles.
 
cusimar9 said:
OK my exercise regime looks like this:

Exercise 5-6 times per week consisting of a combination of the following:

Day 1: Run (4 miles - 30 minutes)
Day 2: Gym Split 1 (6 x 3 sets on weights, 50 minutes cardio)
Day 3: Gym Split 2
Day 4: Run
Day 5: Gym Split 3
Day 6: Gym Split 1 (very occasionally)
Day 7: Rest

Food wise I'm eating:

7:30am: Wholewheat cereal with skimmed milk and 30g protein powder
10:30am: Protein Shake
12:30pm: Brown Baguette with tuna mayo / chicken / ham
4:00pm: Brown Baguette with tuna mayo / chicken / ham
8:00pm: Evening Meal (Veg, Chicken, Brown Pasta, Ham, Omelettes etc)
10:00pm: Tuna / Ham / Chicken / Cereal + Protein Powder

I've been doing this for about 2 months.

My food is spot on the only thing I can think of is maybe my portions are too big? I'm not going as far as weighing everything I eat but FFS I'm already being so careful I'm bordering on the obsessive.

Weights-wise I'm improving on a lot of the exercises and I can feel I'm putting on some muscle... its just so difficult not to get demotivated by such low weight loss

Just a few weeks ago I was running 8 miles during which I was burning off 1100 calories, but I've had a bit of a hiccup with a knee injury so I've had to cut that down to 4 miles.
Click to expand...

It appears you are almost on a bulking routine. Lots of food intake amongst a good workout schedule...no wonder you aren't losing much weight! If you want to tone, you might want to really start counting calories and up your cardio (4-6 days a week)
 
I'll try and keep an eye on my portions... I've definitely noticed I'm not that hungry lately, only really hungry for my evening meal
 
have you ever actually sat down, measured your portions EXACTLY and counted EXACTLY how many calories you were taking in in a day? i know when i first started, i was like "oh thats about a tablespoon of peanut butter" when it was really about 4 tablespoons.

Also, after you lose weight, your caloric needs change because your maintenance changes as well.

Also, make sure you arent snacking in between meals. a handfull of this here, and a handfull of that there, really adds up by the end of the day.

It seems to me that there are some hidden calories in your diet that you arent aware of.
 
No I haven't counted calories like that, I did try but its just not feasable given my routine (ie at lunch we get sandwhiches from local shops, and I'd have to bring scales into work and dissect the sandwhich to see what's inside)

I know I'm eating well, and I would prefer to tailor my diet based on feedback, in this case, I know I'm not losing weight fast enough, so I'll cut it back some more.
 
well you can start by looking up the values of the bread, have brown if its available, and only have lowfat spread on one side.

Have a look at the filling and estimate the weight, look it up when you get home.

What sort of things do you have in your sarnys?
 
Wholewheat bread, no butter, with roast chicken or ham with coleslaw, or tuna mayo, with lettuce and tomato

Could drop the coleslaw and I guess tuna mayo isn't as good for you as just tuna... but FFS
 
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