Journey, Not A Destination

Hey you! I forwarded the article to a group of friends that are all trying to lose weight. We are all really active and I got an email from one of them about how to lose the belly weight after a baby. Another girl responded that she should do more cardio and do ab exercises to lose the weight. I had to chime right in and say that she needs to monitor her diet and stop doing so much cardio and add more weights to her lifting routine. she needs to add in some interval training. Also that she can't spot reduce that area. So funny. If it weren't for this forum and your advice I would have told her the same thing my other friend said - more cardio and more abs exercises. I've come a long way! hehe:D
 
mnexercisegirl said:
Hey you! I forwarded the article to a group of friends that are all trying to lose weight. We are all really active and I got an email from one of them about how to lose the belly weight after a baby. Another girl responded that she should do more cardio and do ab exercises to lose the weight. I had to chime right in and say that she needs to monitor her diet and stop doing so much cardio and add more weights to her lifting routine. she needs to add in some interval training. Also that she can't spot reduce that area. So funny. If it weren't for this forum and your advice I would have told her the same thing my other friend said - more cardio and more abs exercises. I've come a long way! hehe:D
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Very glad to hear you are out there passing around sound information!
 
Hey, I know you're not supposed to be able to spot reduce....but I SWEAR, ever since I've been doing those deadlifts, my lower back is getting tighter, and it's starting to get that sexy hour-glass shape that I could never get before due to my bunny chub.

THANKS AGAIN!
 
Howdy Steve,
Lol I swear as many times I have stopped by here
I never noticed the photo album at the bottom maybe it's your avtar
thats so disracting lol,anyway very nice pictures!! Your legs look as great
as the rest of ya and nice car to and color there is a yellow hummer
with black trim that zooms by here everyday and I just drool that color really
sets it off! Hope you have a wonderful day Tammy
 
Curvie Girlie said:
Hey, I know you're not supposed to be able to spot reduce....but I SWEAR, ever since I've been doing those deadlifts, my lower back is getting tighter, and it's starting to get that sexy hour-glass shape that I could never get before due to my bunny chub.

THANKS AGAIN!
Click to expand...

Right, you can't spot reduce. However, you are new to big, compound lifts such as the deadlift, and in the early stages of a properly established resistance training regimen, you can have some concurrent fat loss and muscle gain. ;)

ETA: Pics please. I gave you a leg shot. :p
 
niapage said:
Howdy Steve,
Lol I swear as many times I have stopped by here
I never noticed the photo album at the bottom maybe it's your avtar
thats so disracting lol,anyway very nice pictures!! Your legs look as great
as the rest of ya and nice car to and color there is a yellow hummer
with black trim that zooms by here everyday and I just drool that color really
sets it off! Hope you have a wonderful day Tammy
Click to expand...

Hey, thanks so much Tammy. :) Always nice to hear compliments.
 
Steve said:
Right, you can't spot reduce. However, you are new to big, compound lifts such as the deadlift, and in the early stages of a properly established resistance training regimen, you can have some concurrent fat loss and muscle gain. ;)

ETA: Pics please. I gave you a leg shot. :p
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What kind of pics, hmmm? ;)
 
Question:

Hypothetical:

Girl A; 5'7" 140 lbs age 24 body fat 23%
Girl B; 5'7" 140 lbs age 24 body fat 19% with more muscle

Are their coloric needs going to be the same? Or is Girl B going to need more, and if so, do you know by how much?
 
Calories needed for maintenance do you mean?

If so, more goes into it than that, but know this. How many calories one pound of muscle burns is drastically overstated by many. I believe the most recent numbers I have seen are something like 6 calories per pound of muscle, but anyone who can correct me, please feel free as I am not too sure.

The more muscle you have, theoretically, the more calories you are able to consume and breakeven.
 
Hi Steve. Thanks for your reply yesterday. It's raised more questions, if that's OK.

Steve said:
With regards to number 2, maintenance can be achieved by eating more and exercising more too. It does not have to exclude exercise. Maintenance is simply the theoretical point where you are consuming just enough calories to sustain yourself, this including breathing, digesting, activity, etc. So if one of these variable go up, such as eating or exercising more, technically, you could eat more to retain maintenance.
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So working on this basis, if maintenance without exercise is 2000 (for example), a deficit of 20% and associated weightloss could be achieved by burning 500 calories through exercise while keeping intake at 2000. Is this correct?

Steve said:
With regards to number 4, I mainly avoid very deep deficits (ex. maintenance is 3500 and cutting cals down to 1200) not so much for avoidance of the starvation response, but more-so for long term, lifestyle adherence. 1200 cals just isn't sustainable for most over the long haul, and with such a low cal intake, it becomes difficult to get all of the required nutrients in.
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This makes a lot of sense. I'm in this for the long term. I think I already eat a healthy diet - mostly nutritionally balanced meals cooked from raw ingredients - and I don't want to mess with my body by depriving it of essential nutrients.

Steve said:
With regards to number 9, HIIT is not necessarily better than SS cardio. This comment is very dependent on goal and individual. If your goal is weight loss, yes, energy balance is the ruler of success. And triggering a larger energy expenditure is optimal, which can be accomplished by use of HIIT types of training. However, since it is individual too, it may not be right for you. It depends on your health and fitness level. It is a very energy intensive mode of exercise, and if there are any medical issues (CAD, hypertension, hypercholesteralemia, etc) you should get cleared by a doc first. Also, if you have not previously conditioned yourself, it would be better to gradually work toward such an energy intensive exercise. Start with SS, move to IT, than HIIT. Progression is the name of the game.
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In that case, I will stick to SS for now. I haven't done much in the way of exercise for the last few months, so I'm pretty much starting from scratch. How do you judge when it's time to step up to more intensive exercise?

As far as diet is concerned, is there a reliable way of working out what my maintenance level is? The program I'm using to record my calorie intake has suggested 1844, but that seems a bit low. I'm 5'2", 157lb, 33 years and not working at the moment, so I spend most of my life in front of the pc.

By the way, I also read the article that you linked to. That was very interesting reading, and makes a lot of sense. When I go for my induction at the gym, I shall have to ask about incorporating resistance training into my routine.
 
Alibran said:
So working on this basis, if maintenance without exercise is 2000 (for example), a deficit of 20% and associated weightloss could be achieved by burning 500 calories through exercise while keeping intake at 2000. Is this correct?
Click to expand...

That would be true. A deficit can be created with a decrease in caloric intake, and increase in activity, or any combination of the both. An energy deficit is a deficit any way you slice it.

Remember though, when someone says 15 calories per pound of bodyweight to determine maintenance, that is assuming a certain level of activity into the equation.

Finding maintenance, unless you are hooking your self up to a machine, is based simply on estimations. An easy way to know if you are at maintenance is to eat how you normally eat for 2 weeks or so and see which direction the scale heads. Stays the same, you are maintenance, goes up, you are in a surplus, goes down, you are in a deficit.


Alibran said:
In that case, I will stick to SS for now. I haven't done much in the way of exercise for the last few months, so I'm pretty much starting from scratch. How do you judge when it's time to step up to more intensive exercise?
Click to expand...

I don't think I can give you a concrete answer to this question. If you wanted to be systematic about it, once you can perform a steady state aerobic activiy for 30-60 minutes on a consistent basis at a relatively high intensity (as for as steady state is concerned), then you can start experimenting with interval and high intensity interval training.

In reality, almost ANYONE who is starting a new exercise program should be cleared by a doc IMO. Can never be too safe. This said, if you are generally healthy, as soon as you build a base of conditioning up, you can begin experimenting with some more intense exercise.


Alibran said:
As far as diet is concerned, is there a reliable way of working out what my maintenance level is? The program I'm using to record my calorie intake has suggested 1844, but that seems a bit low. I'm 5'2", 157lb, 33 years and not working at the moment, so I spend most of my life in front of the pc.
Click to expand...

When I used to train, my favorite thing to do with someone in terms of diet was have them track their intake for 2 weeks, as I said above, while monitoring weight. Problem with this is, based on empirical evidence.... MOST people fudge their intakes unfortunately, which only hurts them in the long run.

I really would not spend too much time finding a number that is an estimate anyhow. If 14-16 calories per pound seems really high to you for maintenance, chances are, you have been eating a lot less than this, and because of this, your metabolic rate is actually slower. If it seems about right, just go with it.

I always say: Remember, you are not signing a contract. Everything about nutrition and fitness is a trial and error process. Even I am constantly changing my approach. If you are not getting the desired effects a couple of weeks into it, you make the necessary changes.
 
::sticks head in the door::

::looks around::

wow it got all educational and serious in here again...

:: tickles steve::

:: backs slowly out of the room to maintain the sense of decorum and order that has been established::
 
:(
And think that only yesterday some one here was asking for some leg.. :cool:
I guess I go to bed now and hope that this serious atmosphere is gone by morning. :rolleyes:
Juliette
 
Juliette said:
:(
And think that only yesterday some one here was asking for some leg.. :cool:
I guess I go to bed now and hope that this serious atmosphere is gone by morning. :rolleyes:
Juliette
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They asked and they received too, so whatchu complaining about! :p
 
:skips in to steve's diary:
:sprays the room with silly string:
:adds some colorful crepe paper streamers and fun balloons:
:sets the bar up in the corner early because you can't drink all day if you dont start at breakfast (old irish proverb):

:sends good wishes and playful vibes to all future visitors to this diary:
 
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