I think I found a system that works!

[Mguy]

As it stands right now, I am 153.2 lbs. That's a 2.2 lb decrease from last week. With that said, I've done minimal exercising this week. Although it is a weight decrease, part of me thinks that I'm also losing muscle, and if this is the case, I'm willing to deal with that, because it's about losing weight, and I can gain it back later once my fat percentage is low enough. So, what I've been doing:

Breakfast: Bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios, small cup OJ

Lunch: Toasted Cheese Sandwich with garlic salt, 10 or so baby carrots, 80 cal strawberry yogurt.

Snack: V8 Juice and Apple

Dinner: Whatever I please =) (Of course, I don't overdo it, but I don't restrict myself either. Some days I will have chocolate milk and a dessert side, some I won't. So far this has worked well...)

One thing I've done that has made a noticeable change is that I've stopped eating bagels entirely. Usually when I tend to eat bagels, I smother it in cream cheese, often have yogurt, a banana, and funsize chocolate (or even a cookie) as sides. I ruled this as the culprit of my weight gain before. Therefore I'll be consuming bagels on a very occasional basis right now.

As far as my potential muscle decrease is concerned, once I get down to a satisfying weight, I may try to gain as much of it as I can back. I'll probably rejoin Taekwondo and do general pushup and situp exercises to assist me in this. As for now, I want my weight to decline as much as possible.

And if supplements mean much, I take four capsules of bee pollen per day, a superfruit chew with 3 mg resveratrol, and a multivitamin.

 

[Phil1986]

" because it's about losing weight, and I can gain it back later once my fat percentage is low enough."

Are you really losing weight just for the sake of being lighter?
Because if you are trying to reduce your body fat then stopping exercise and thus losing weight by reducing muscle is probably the last thing you want to do.

The healthiest way of reducing fat is healthy dieting together with a good exercise plan. If you want to reduce fat and keep muscle try low carb high protein diets. If you don't eat enough protein your body will feed on your muscle before it starts burning fat.

 

[NedoCTB]

Losing weight means absolutely nothing if you don't have the muscle mass to go along with it. Have you ever seen the people crying due to the Yo-Yo effect? When you lose weight, the whole point is to maintain as much muscle as possible because muscle burns more calories throughout the day then fat. The people who lose weight the wrong way usually gain it back within a year or two.

It takes a lot more dedication to re-gain lost muscle then losing the fat ever took.

 

[Mguy]

What if I just do pushups or something? Will that prevent muscle loss? Also, my dinners are often high protein due to their being meat in my meal. If I were to incorporate more protein, it'd be around dinner. How much protein am I supposed to take in a day, anyway?

Also, it's probably because I do, in fact, have that scale mentality. I'd like to go down to 140 or so.

 

[biggestloser105]

It's so much easier to do resistance exercises while you're losing weight to prevent muscle loss than to put on muscle from a small size.

Not to mention I'm guessing you're male, it's much better for you to be muscular than small. Guys who are just skinny don't look good, the ones with muscle look hot. (Unless you're Asian, where it's good for men to be thin/cute.) How tall are you anyway?

Just do weight exercises 3 times a week for all your muscle groups. Do arms/shoulder Monday, Abs/back/chest Wednesday, and legs on Friday. It shouldn't take you more than 40 minutes per day. Frankly you could even get it done in under 30 minutes.

 

[Mguy]

It's so much easier to do resistance exercises while you're losing weight to prevent muscle loss than to put on muscle from a small size.

Not to mention I'm guessing you're male, it's much better for you to be muscular than small. Guys who are just skinny don't look good, the ones with muscle look hot. (Unless you're Asian, where it's good for men to be thin/cute.) How tall are you anyway?

Just do weight exercises 3 times a week for all your muscle groups. Do arms/shoulder Monday, Abs/back/chest Wednesday, and legs on Friday. It shouldn't take you more than 40 minutes per day. Frankly you could even get it done in under 30 minutes.

I'm about 5'8" - 5'9". I just don't think I look good "beefy" or bulky, hence why I'd like to slim down. I want to be skinny because I don't like being fat, and I don't have the stamina to gain muscle at the moment. I have confidence issues mainly.

 

[biggestloser105]

I'm about 5'8" - 5'9". I just don't think I look good "beefy" or bulky, hence why I'd like to slim down. I want to be skinny because I don't like being fat, and I don't have the stamina to gain muscle at the moment. I have confidence issues mainly.

How big are your bones would you say? Because weighing 153 at your height doesn't sound fat at all. If you think you are fat, it would have to be a body composition issue which you have to work on your muscle to fix. Muscle is half the size of fat per the same weight, so you could weigh more and you'd look smaller.

By the way you don't have to work out like a body builder to retain your muscle. I'm female and my strength training routine is very simple. I have a few free weights and I mostly use 7-10 pound free weights. I do 3 sets of 10 repetition for triceps, biceps, shoulders. On another day I do 3 sets of 10 for back, chest, and I do 3 different exercises for abs (sit ups, crunches and leg raises), and for my legs I do squats, sideways leg raises, calves and lunges).

It doesn't take long at all, maybe half an hour, and I do this 3 times a week. Without even the advantage of being a man and having a lot of testosterone, I have become noticeably stronger while losing 35 pounds. My routine is very easy, I actually get more worn out by doing cardio (for which I walk).


Maybe you are thinking of going to a gym and bench pressing very heavy weights and that overwhelms you? I don't think you have to do that much if your goal is just to prevent muscle loss.

 

[Mguy]

How big are your bones would you say? Because weighing 153 at your height doesn't sound fat at all. If you think you are fat, it would have to be a body composition issue which you have to work on your muscle to fix. Muscle is half the size of fat per the same weight, so you could weigh more and you'd look smaller.

By the way you don't have to work out like a body builder to retain your muscle. I'm female and my strength training routine is very simple. I have a few free weights and I mostly use 7-10 pound free weights. I do 3 sets of 10 repetition for triceps, biceps, shoulders. On another day I do 3 sets of 10 for back, chest, and I do 3 different exercises for abs (sit ups, crunches and leg raises), and for my legs I do squats, sideways leg raises, calves and lunges).

It doesn't take long at all, maybe half an hour, and I do this 3 times a week. Without even the advantage of being a man and having a lot of testosterone, I have become noticeably stronger while losing 35 pounds. My routine is very easy, I actually get more worn out by doing cardio (for which I walk).


Maybe you are thinking of going to a gym and bench pressing very heavy weights and that overwhelms you? I don't think you have to do that much if your goal is just to prevent muscle loss.

I know my weight is within normal range, but with me it's image issues. I'd rather look thinner overall. Why? I just want to. Ideally, I'd like to appear slender, but be "ripped" in terms of definition, not so much bulky.

Also, I do a lot of cardio when my stamina allows me to do so. I don't do a lot of strength exercises, even though I really should. Even if I gain muscle, I'll feel devastated if I see my weight on the scale rise. For the most part, though, I endure fatigue on a regular basis. Trying to get around it, though.

 

[biggestloser105]

I know my weight is within normal range, but with me it's image issues. I'd rather look thinner overall. Why? I just want to. Ideally, I'd like to appear slender, but be "ripped" in terms of definition, not so much bulky.

Also, I do a lot of cardio when my stamina allows me to do so. I don't do a lot of strength exercises, even though I really should. Even if I gain muscle, I'll feel devastated if I see my weight on the scale rise. For the most part, though, I endure fatigue on a regular basis. Trying to get around it, though.

Do you have health issues that affect your stamina? Because if you're healthy working out will make you more energetic and stronger. I had to struggle a lot in the beginning because I have pretty bad asthma and even walking was a struggle for me (now I walk at full speed without issues, and it's because of working out).

By the way, if you're eating less calories than your body needs while doing weight training you won't see your weight rise. You can only gain weight if you exceed your caloric needs (or eat a bunch of salt and gain water weight, but that doesn't count). You'll probably still lose some muscle if you're losing weight overall, but it will be minimal compared to not working out at all.

 

[Tamago]

Some advice from someone who is also 5'9 and approx 153lbs. The look you want is this, right? Nice and lean, not bulky, borderline single digit percent body fat with all your lovely muscles still intact and the fat burned away.

Well if you lose a lot of weight, without doing resistance training, your body uses your muscles for fuel (what reason does it have to hold onto them if you are not using them? muscles cost the body a lot of energy). You will not look like the above then, you will end up looking like this:

The leaner you get, the more your body will use muscle for fuel unless your protein intake is sufficient, you are lifting weights, and your deficit is not stupidly low. Now LIFT!!!!