I'd like to toss something out.....
TFV, when I first arrived on this forum I found myself answering questions and feeling a bit backed into a corner with Wrangell. He tends to splice-up post and pick 'em apart. I just want to say, he's not a bad guy....he's very scientific, thorough, serious & precise. He's not trying to corner you, humiliate you or debunk you. His interest is sincere and he's not trying to be adversarial in any way. Please don't make the same mistake I did by misinterpretting his questioning what you write. Like others, he's fascinated to learn, understand and figure things out. I don't know if this helps, but he's Canadian....
On another note....I used to feel I wasn't dropping the weight I should be given my efforts. I imagined the problem was that I was working-out at such an intense level that most my fuel was coming from glycogen: I'd run the glycogen down, then replenish it by eating...the process cycling over and over and all along my fat-reserves weren't being tapped (or perhaps just marginally being tapped).
The good news is that it really doesn't work that way. The body is constantly burning a combination/mixture of "fuels". When you increase the intensity of your exercise YOU DON'T BURN LESS FAT then at a lower intensity, you actually start burning fat at a faster rate but glycogen starts coming in to fuel a more demanding rate/need....and so you burn lesser a percentage of fat, but overall more fat then at the lower intensity.
Look....it's human nature to try to figure things out and strive to understand things. Most of us wonder:
Perhaps if I don't eat for one day?
Maybe I should eat in excess for 2 days, and then drop to 800 calories?
What if I eat 500 extra calories one day, then 500 less the next day?
What if I eat grapefruit juice before each meal?
What if I just eat all my meals with a small fork?
How about if I drink 2 gallons of green tea each day?
How can I reprogram my interal thermostat to a lower weight?
Maybe I can reset my metabolism?
Perhaps I can turn my body into fat-burning machine?
What if I exercise at only odd-hours of the day?
Witchcraft, voodoo & wishful thinking.....
Guys....it's calories in vs. calories out. Beyond that, it's just your inherent genetics. Some guys eat like pigs and don't gain weight, others (like myself) eat light and our bodies make the most of each calorie. Some guys stack-on muscle fast & easy....other guys work away in the gym, can't develop abs, build calves or become muscular. It is what it is, accept who you are, make the most of what you have and play the cards you were dealt. In the entire history of mankind, this is probably the best time to be alive....ENJOY!
JW, it's typical....you had a lot of fast weight-loss. Your body has adapted to the lower calories, and your body has adapted & developed to handle your exercise load. Frustrating? HELL YES....but when you really think about it, there really isn't much you can do but stay the course. (Not to suggest you are looking for it)...but there is no magic bullet, combination of foods, special sequence of exercises, particular timing or any weird-science that will unlock the barrier in front of you and allow you to continue dumping weight at your beginning-rate. You're into the deep nasty white stubborn fat. You're not doing anything wrong.
Let me help ya brother...we're on the same path, I'm just a few yards ahead of you. When I hit your wall, I increased my biking from 14 miles to 24 miles (about 3 hours of grueling cardio). I added swimming, went from 1 night of racquetball to 2 nights, pushed heavier weights and started hitting the elliptical. Ya know what....it made a difference; for about one month I saw some good weight-loss...and then my body adapted, totally adapted. I'm right where you are now, again! So go ahead, up the exercise and cut the calories, we'll be having this discussion a couple months from now.
So is it all for not???
NO. And I'll tell you why. Yesteday I ran into a friend, a very cynical guy (he was in the Olmpics some decade ago on the 2-man row dealio)...he's an athlete. He saw me and he couldn't believe how I've changed...he complimented me up & down and marveled at the change in my body. Odd: I still don't see much. The scale doesn't show much either. So the thing is, often you can't see the change. Bone density increases, muscle weighs more then fat, your whole body is changing.
My advice is to stop evaluating yourself in a means & manner that is setting you up for disappointment. Time and again I watched my weight stay the same or go up....but my body-fat% kept dropping. That's all that matters: if you can tell me your body-fat% is stagnant, then we'll talk about hormonal issues and thyroid problems....but my hunch is you don't have a problem and your only issue is with a scale-based assessment & evaluatory measure that isn't fair nor just. Instead of celebrating your success, you're mentally chained to statistics and a scale that is wearing on your sense of accomplishment.
We are what we believe, our reality is what we perceive, only your mind limits what you can achieve. -Chillen
Okay, Chillen didn't actually say that....but it's so Chillen I just had to tag his name to it. The thing we each have to come to terms with the fact that we all have a little bit of Chillen in us....everyone except the Anti-Chillen. There is no Chillen in Derwyddon. :yelrotflmao:
But seriously dude....eat right 90% of the time, keep up the exercise, avoid the scale, find a means to measure body-fat% and remember; what you're doing now is soooo much different then how you used to eat/exercise/live: it's bound to work. It's working, it has worked and it will work.....just be persistent, stay the course and believe!
TFV, when I first arrived on this forum I found myself answering questions and feeling a bit backed into a corner with Wrangell. He tends to splice-up post and pick 'em apart. I just want to say, he's not a bad guy....he's very scientific, thorough, serious & precise. He's not trying to corner you, humiliate you or debunk you. His interest is sincere and he's not trying to be adversarial in any way. Please don't make the same mistake I did by misinterpretting his questioning what you write. Like others, he's fascinated to learn, understand and figure things out. I don't know if this helps, but he's Canadian....
On another note....I used to feel I wasn't dropping the weight I should be given my efforts. I imagined the problem was that I was working-out at such an intense level that most my fuel was coming from glycogen: I'd run the glycogen down, then replenish it by eating...the process cycling over and over and all along my fat-reserves weren't being tapped (or perhaps just marginally being tapped).
The good news is that it really doesn't work that way. The body is constantly burning a combination/mixture of "fuels". When you increase the intensity of your exercise YOU DON'T BURN LESS FAT then at a lower intensity, you actually start burning fat at a faster rate but glycogen starts coming in to fuel a more demanding rate/need....and so you burn lesser a percentage of fat, but overall more fat then at the lower intensity.
Look....it's human nature to try to figure things out and strive to understand things. Most of us wonder:
Perhaps if I don't eat for one day?
Maybe I should eat in excess for 2 days, and then drop to 800 calories?
What if I eat 500 extra calories one day, then 500 less the next day?
What if I eat grapefruit juice before each meal?
What if I just eat all my meals with a small fork?
How about if I drink 2 gallons of green tea each day?
How can I reprogram my interal thermostat to a lower weight?
Maybe I can reset my metabolism?
Perhaps I can turn my body into fat-burning machine?
What if I exercise at only odd-hours of the day?
Witchcraft, voodoo & wishful thinking.....
Guys....it's calories in vs. calories out. Beyond that, it's just your inherent genetics. Some guys eat like pigs and don't gain weight, others (like myself) eat light and our bodies make the most of each calorie. Some guys stack-on muscle fast & easy....other guys work away in the gym, can't develop abs, build calves or become muscular. It is what it is, accept who you are, make the most of what you have and play the cards you were dealt. In the entire history of mankind, this is probably the best time to be alive....ENJOY!
JW, it's typical....you had a lot of fast weight-loss. Your body has adapted to the lower calories, and your body has adapted & developed to handle your exercise load. Frustrating? HELL YES....but when you really think about it, there really isn't much you can do but stay the course. (Not to suggest you are looking for it)...but there is no magic bullet, combination of foods, special sequence of exercises, particular timing or any weird-science that will unlock the barrier in front of you and allow you to continue dumping weight at your beginning-rate. You're into the deep nasty white stubborn fat. You're not doing anything wrong.
Let me help ya brother...we're on the same path, I'm just a few yards ahead of you. When I hit your wall, I increased my biking from 14 miles to 24 miles (about 3 hours of grueling cardio). I added swimming, went from 1 night of racquetball to 2 nights, pushed heavier weights and started hitting the elliptical. Ya know what....it made a difference; for about one month I saw some good weight-loss...and then my body adapted, totally adapted. I'm right where you are now, again! So go ahead, up the exercise and cut the calories, we'll be having this discussion a couple months from now.
So is it all for not???
NO. And I'll tell you why. Yesteday I ran into a friend, a very cynical guy (he was in the Olmpics some decade ago on the 2-man row dealio)...he's an athlete. He saw me and he couldn't believe how I've changed...he complimented me up & down and marveled at the change in my body. Odd: I still don't see much. The scale doesn't show much either. So the thing is, often you can't see the change. Bone density increases, muscle weighs more then fat, your whole body is changing.
My advice is to stop evaluating yourself in a means & manner that is setting you up for disappointment. Time and again I watched my weight stay the same or go up....but my body-fat% kept dropping. That's all that matters: if you can tell me your body-fat% is stagnant, then we'll talk about hormonal issues and thyroid problems....but my hunch is you don't have a problem and your only issue is with a scale-based assessment & evaluatory measure that isn't fair nor just. Instead of celebrating your success, you're mentally chained to statistics and a scale that is wearing on your sense of accomplishment.
We are what we believe, our reality is what we perceive, only your mind limits what you can achieve. -Chillen
Okay, Chillen didn't actually say that....but it's so Chillen I just had to tag his name to it. The thing we each have to come to terms with the fact that we all have a little bit of Chillen in us....everyone except the Anti-Chillen. There is no Chillen in Derwyddon.
:yelrotflmao:But seriously dude....eat right 90% of the time, keep up the exercise, avoid the scale, find a means to measure body-fat% and remember; what you're doing now is soooo much different then how you used to eat/exercise/live: it's bound to work. It's working, it has worked and it will work.....just be persistent, stay the course and believe!