GFY bodybuilding & diet experts- a ? re: losing fat with diet alone.
 

over the last 3 months i have lost 21 pounds by dieting only, no exercise. the reason is that i wanted to lose fat prior to gaining muscle on an exercise regiment that i am about to start, instead of gaining muscle and fat 1st, then dropping the fat, i will now add muscle in a more focused nutrition program + weight training.

stats:

45 years old.

phase 1 goal: cut bodyfat% in 1/2

original weight was 182 pounds, 18% body fat, 34" waist

now at 161 and 12.5% body fat 31" waist.

so current 12.5% bodyfat = 20 pounds

if i want to get to 9% bodyfat i have 5 pounds to go, which is about all i believe i have left on my body.

can i lose this last 5 on diet alone? reason i ask is it seems like i have maxed out what i can lose on this ultra low cal (1000-1200 calories/day) diet.

if i move to the weight training phase will it shred this last 5 off asap??


:thumbsup

body weight onfo over the last 5 days

jan 29 159.6 pounds 12.5% 31.25" waist
jan 30 159.6 12.5%
jan 31 159.2 13.2%
feb 1 161.2 13.2%
feb 2 161.0 12.6% 31" waist

how healthy is what you are doing?

me personally i have cut down on portions, and currently im going to the gym daily and going for a bike ride every other day.

ive lost 5 lbs in the past week. my goal is to drop 20 lbs this month. i think i can do it if i stick to the one a day gym kick.

anyways, congrads on your success

161 pounds. how tall are you?

good job so far btw, you seem to have a handle on your goals which is the most important decision to be made.

It's unlikely that you'd lose much of the last weight as you begin to bulk up. You'll more likely begin to add weight up to around 170 mark if you get totally ripped.

What is your body shape goal? toned or ripped?

what i am doing is not healthy in the long term. i am losing ~3 pounds per week, about max for not being in an internment camp.

so i would only need to go another 2 weeks tops to lose the last 5. i figure stay on the train if it's working, np, another 2 weeks but if it's done, then go ahead and move to phase 2 which is strict muscle gain.


i am 5'11.75"

my goal is to be muscular- full muscle bellies and cut enough to see each muscle group.

When you said you first had to lose fat before even thinking about working out, I thought you have 40% body fat. 18% is insane, thats nothing...15% is cool, if you work out. Anything below 10% isn't healty at all, if you have it for a longer period of time.

Good work, keep at it mo!


.

I have around 220lbs, 18-20% body fat and when I look in the mirror, I think I'm still too skinny.

reallY?

i was under the impression most athletes maintain a sub-10% bodyfat due to the lifestyle, and that anything closer to 4% is what is risky.

be sure to eat right around your work out regime, and don't be afraid to blast the carbs when needed. Losing too much weight won't help you in the long term.

this form of weight loss is textbook for the yo-yo affect...

starving yourself, which if you were only eating 1200 calories a day, is only a bandaid solution. So when you start eating 'normally' again... even upping it to 1600 will make you bounce back to your former weight if not higher like a greased freight train...

Why would you take the time to measure your bodyfat percentages and not take 15 to 20 minutes it would take to get some minimal exercise instead? Chances are the bulk of the weight you lost wasn't from fat at all, it was all muscle loss, and if that's true, when you bounce back (inevitable) you will be in worse shape than you were from before.

My advice is to sign up to a gym, today. Get a personal trainer and say you want to build muscle. Change your diet from whatever torture setting you have it to now and increase it to a healthy level at least, weighing heavy on the protein side so you can at least grow some muscle back. Start walking, simplest form of exercise, can do it anywhere and doesn't need to take a long time--20 minutes does wonders.

building muscle turns you into a calorie burning machine, that's the goal, its a common misconception that we are just storage bags of the calories we eat...

i'm with you. i've got a great pre-workout/post workout nutrition plan and have always gotten good results with weight training and gaining muscle but i have always struggled trying to get rid of the flab and maintain the muscle.

so i figufed why not rip that fat off 1st and do a really focused nutrition plan with the weights and not have to lose fat!

i will scale the calories up. yo-yoing back to 18% body fat certainly isn't a catastophe.

and since i've been monitoring my bodyfat %, the fact is the bulk i've lost is fat.

start weight 182 18% = 32.75 pounds fat
149.25 lean pounds
current weight 161 12.5% = 20.1 pounds
140.9 lean pounds

fat lost 20 pounds
muscle lost 10 pounds

i knew this going in, i chose not to spend time exercising in order to keep it simple. i calculated my bmr and based my calories for fat loss on that, exercise would only complicate that.

:thumbsup

i am also counting on muscle memory. i've been A LOT bigger in the past and my musclulature should return to that state after returning to my weight training regiment.

do u really think u lost straight fat from that diet? You basically put your body into a catabolic state for 3 months, starving yourself. Your body goes into fat storage mode feeding off your muscle tissue. thats why you lost so much weight so fast without working out. Get an ACTUAL bodyfat test and youll be surprised by the results. You still could have clean bulked while doing a body recomp, its not that hard especially if you think your not going to gain any fat back while putting muscle back on. whats your diet/supplement protocol/training look like

Here's a good article if you really wanna loose weight permanently
http://yourmomlied.com/?cat=39 (scroll down a bit)

also, i've been at an average of ~3 pounds lost per weeks, according to most, this is within the amount one can lose and not worry about the yo-yo effect.

it is on the cusp though eh!

as per the plan.

you'll do what you are going to do anyway so no point in offering advice
but you should be gaining muscle. thats focus #1.

i've done most of this and agree. my calculations back this up as well. in fact, when i bulk up then lose weight, i lose at a 2:1 ratio that way too. so this is really the same just, losing the fat 1st.

i plan to be just as strict and regimented on my weight training nutrition as i've been with this phase.

i've yet to calculate my training calories but supplements are

testosterone
hq protein
N02(jack3d)
creatine
bcaa
torrent post workout
vitamins


yes, i agree fully with this article and have done things this way before but never dropped the last several pounds of fat this way.

You DO realize that you can lose body fat while gaining some muscle simaltaneously, right? Your first step would be to work out in the morning, before any food. Studies have shown that when one does that, they lose maximum body fat per day. You need to incorporate weight training but not heavy weights. You need light weights, reps of 20-25 and the most important thing is, DO CIRCUIT SETS. Go from 1 exercise to the next without any rest, or at most 15 seconds. You will be drenching with sweat within the first 15-20 minutes. The workout should last no longer than 30-40 minutes, and top it off with 15 minute cardio. You will lose maximum body fat while maintaining or gaining some muscle.

Congrats on the weight loss Dyna Mo!

I'm not an expert on weight loss or body building but it seems to me that you're taking your time and doing research and trying to do things the way you feel is best for you.

The cals seem low but 3lbs a week does not seem unhealthy to me at all. Maybe some extra cals are sneaking in there ;)

Good luck with your program dude!

i am more than confident with my weight training experience and plan.

my question was in regards to continuing the diet for another 2 weeks to lose this last 5 pounds, if that is possible, since i am already on this plan.

or if someone has experience on if a diet alone is not effective on the last 5 pounds of available fat so stop the diet now and switch gears.

interesting, i'm 31yrs old, 16% body fat and i run 5 miles a day, swim, bike, weights, fuck... how is it you're at 12%

If you're losing 3 lbs of bodyfat a week then you are most definitely losing a lot of muscle with it. You shouldn't be losing more than 1 1/2 lbs of body fat a week if you want to maintain the muscle.

Cardio makes you lose minimal body fat but helps the heart. 5 miles a day isn't going to make you lose body fat. 1 mile a day of High Intensity Interval Training will shred your fat in no time.

congratulations on your results. i spend time in the gym, about 4-6 times a week, for the past 10 years. I'm 230lbs hard, 6-0, 35 years old and in pretty decent shape (and never taken any steroids). I get a lot of "do you compete?" and some guys who compete tell me i should compete. So i can probably give a couple tips.

Start working out. diet alone isnt going to help, but it's good that you've gotten that far with dieting. Start eating again, PR Glen had good advice. You should be at least 1600-2000 calories a day. Don't count calories, just remember to eat a fist size piece of meat, vegetables, and non-processed foods. eat clean.
I recommend a protein shake after your workout to feed your muscles.

Then start doing at least 40 minutes of cardio a day, you dont start losing fat until you hit 40 minutes. And then start doing resistance training. When you start building muscle, you'll start burning fat in your sleep.

And as for trainers, they are all the same. They try and juice you of all your money. They dont want you to make gains, and they make you do absurd exercises which they don't even do. It's similar to those commercials of ab machines, or workout apparatus and they have very fit models using them, duh, those models look good prior to using those machines. At my gym in Toronto (and i've been to all types of gyms), trainers are all the same. They either dont look like they are trainers or are juice-head steroid dealers. Your workout should be fun and not boring or a chore, something you can do for the rest of your life. Try making friends with someone you'd like to look like. You'll be surprised how much free good advice you'll get. You may even start working out with them.

hope that helps

you are right, i've done A LOT of research, i'm 45 and when i review my journals and such i can see how i exercise and diet over the years- this plan is based on that info. i've worked with nutritionists and personal trainers and all that. i'm just mixing things up this time as i prepare for summer! i've always worked hard enough to have a 6 pack and look good naked but this year i want to go to a whole nother level.

!

This isn't true unless you're doing low heart rate cardio. With HIIT you start burning fat within the first few minutes.

so your cutting with test and how many cc's week/what kind of test? and are only eating 1600 cals a day and are taking no2 supplements, u might want to be careful man, thats a recipie to pass out in the gym or have a heart attack. no2 supps and gear shouldnt really be used in conjunction u should have enough of a pump from gear alone.

sounds like you are doing well, congrats.

i can tell you that one thing i always hear when peeps ask about how to get ripped abs is "DIET DIET DIET"

you can't get ripped abs without a diet that leads to low bodyfat %. and it's true.

this plan i've done is in regards to that- get my body fat down with diet.

it's worked really well. now i am just not sure if it's maxed out. i suspect it might be.

no, no, sorry. i listed those supplements that i will be taking when i move to the weight training phase, i am currently taking vitamins anti-oxidants.

You probably lost of good bunch of muscle doing it like that. Also whats your rush develop a lifestyle that works for you and your goals.One you can live with it for more than 3 months.

it's a topical test/proge my doctor prescribes. i've got a endless supply.

androgel then, that stuff isnt worth the fat/water gain IMO especially if your cutting. if your taking if for hormone replacement therapy tell ur doc ur worried about it getting on your wife(which is very bad), see if he can give u a 200mg's test-e a week or something.

the numbers were calculated above

i've lost 20+ pounds of fat and 10 pounds of muscle.

this is not a problematic ratio imo. 2:1


i've experienced the effects of muscle memory before and plan on it this time as well in gaining the muscle back

terrible ratio of fat to muscle loss, regardless of muscle memory of not, it will take u over 3 months to build back 10 pounds of muscle mass. why are you putting your body through this for no reason?

i will do that. is there a specific one i should inquire about?

i've got 4 squirt bottles full of this test, didn't want it to go to waste, are all topicals known for water retention/fat gain?

Lack of proper research, obviously. You're right, it's awful.

i calculated that. i figure the 1st 3 months of weights will bring the 10 back, the next 3 will add up to 10. so by summer, goals reached.

that's huge.

i usually gain a lot of muscle this time of year anyways since historically this is the time of year when i get motivated and put these sorts of things in place.

so usually i gain about 20 pounds from jan-may, then cut from may to july 1st and lose fat and a bunch of muscle too.

if you cannot maintain at least a modicum of adult level respect in this conversation then you should be respectful enough to not participate.

as you can tell from my posts, i've poured research into this.

my original question was in regards to dieting being able to shed the last 5 pounds of available fat or not. i cannot find any information about this and inquired.

3 months will bring you 10 lbs of muscle? You better be doing some hardcore lifting and eating the proper nutrition with an optimum protein-carbs-fats ratio, otherwise that's wishful thinking.

how much do you weigh when you are soft?


.

again, i am more than uptodate on my weight training results over the years, i've mentioned more than once that i've looked to my journals i've kept over time showing my plans and results.

i've gained 3 pounds of muscle a month for 2-3 months more than once in my weight training programs.

i find that over the years i go 6 months on, 6 months off, usually due to schedules. summertime i am traveling and on vaca. so i like to look good and don't worry about working out and such consisitently. then during the times of the year when i am home, i am more focused and consistent.

that's me, that's what i've done for many many years now.

wow crazy shit..good luck with it and keep us posted.
where you get the testosterone? injections? or HGH?

demon, if his test levels are above average i dont see why he cant attain this. While it is ass backwards, if it works, they hey why not. Any testosterone will yeild water retention, fat gain, as well as any other side effects testosterone AAS may have. You also may want to get your estrogen levels checked you may experience a rebound from too much test in your system (estrogen rebound) which causes gyno (bitch tits) this can occur with any hormonal/steroid. explain to your doctor your worried about the gel getting on your wife or your kids, its very very bad for females, my dr gave me a run of the gel and my gf couldnt even come on my side of the bed, or even spoon at night. the shots are better/safer IMO, and youll get pretty damn big fast :)

it is certainly assbackwards, by design!

this was short term, no big whoop, it's been fun watching the shit fall off. i've had plenty of holiday meals and drinks while still being consistent.

alot of people who dont body build dont understand there is no particular right or wrong way about gaining/weight loss, its cals in cals out. how u decide to do that or whatever variation is up to you. as for a different NO supp, try USP Labs Jack3d! or Controlled Labs White Flood

exactly.

i just reviewed the last several years of my journals and my fat loss ratio is usu. 3:1 to 4:1 gaining muscle then losing fat BUT i never lost 20+ pounds of fat that way by summer.

i'me with you on the jack3d, i decided on it over the superpump 250. white flood gets me waay too amped, but i do use controlled labs golden finish and purple wrath bcaa mix.

Hey man...

Rapid weight loss + no exercise + testosterone supplements + 45 years old is a seriously dangerous combination for your heart... I really recommend you run this shit by your doctor, i don't want to see you drop here man...

oh, i meant a different test to get to replace the topical eh.