Weights vs Cardio?

Soldato
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I know I'm eating < 2000 cals roughly, the point is... with these type of foods,which are healthy im struggling to get it up over 2000 cals, unless i swap a meal of steak and veg and boiled potatoes for a kebab or chips. I'm finding the right food a pain in the ass to do, so instead of everybody saying "eat more cals" suggest me a food plan which has the right numbers for me. Cos I'm struggling.

For example - if I'm feeling a little hungry mid morning, I have been having an apple and an orange for example, but thats too low. Should I just find a chocolate bar or a bag of crisps or something that is higher cals? I could eat 4 apples and 4 oranges to boost the cal numbers, but then that has a knock on effect that for lunch I don't want as much.
It's a balance. Does everything you eat need to be super healthy? No. Should you just eat junk food and chocolate? No.

Eating over 2000 cals of reasonably healthy food isn't difficult. Eating 3500 is. Been there done that and it gets boring quick.
 

LiE

LiE

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Indeed healthy fats are your friend. It's quite easy to make a healthy salad over 1k cals. Lots of virgin olive oil, whole avocado handful of walnuts.

Top up every meal with some nuts. Fruit is nice, but they aren't very calorie dense.

You can add in a shake of whey and oats with full fat milk, easy cals.

Lastly, add in some tea spoons of coconut oil.
 
Soldato
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Indeed healthy fats are your friend. It's quite easy to make a healthy salad over 1k cals. Lots of virgin olive oil, whole avocado handful of walnuts.

Top up every meal with some nuts. Fruit is nice, but they aren't very calorie dense.

You can add in a shake of whey and oats with full fat milk, easy cals.

Lastly, add in some tea spoons of coconut oil.

I hate nuts, cannot stand them, and same with coconut oil. Coconut tastes rank - I hate bountys. But I get your point.
 

LiE

LiE

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I hate nuts, cannot stand them, and same with coconut oil. Coconut tastes rank - I hate bountys. But I get your point.

All of them?! I've never met someone who doesn't at least like one type of nut.

I don't like eating coconut oil, but on a tea spoon washed down with some water is fine. Like taking a pill.
 
Soldato
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What should I do? just eat more for the sake of it and feel bloated?

add some healthy fat if you are struggling. makes everything tastier and boosts calories without dding much bulk to the meal.
add in an avocado to the salad meals that's like 240ish calories on its own, plenty of fat and minerals/vitamins, more olive oil(2 tablespoons a day has been shown to increase a number of health markers), butter etc.

just make it fit your macros.

This, if you struggle to eat your calories then drink them instead.

Food volume and energy density are not linked. If the majority of your food sources are from wholefood sources then boosting calories with something processed that you enjoy is nothing to feel guilty about. Largely it will make no difference to composition or the rate of weight-loss and actually helps adherence.
 

LiE

LiE

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This, if you struggle to eat your calories then drink them instead.

Food volume and energy density are not linked. If the majority of your food sources are from wholefood sources then boosting calories with something processed that you enjoy is nothing to feel guilty about. Largely it will make no difference to composition or the rate of weight-loss and actually helps adherence.

Getting lean on dat Krispy Kreme diet yo.
 
Man of Honour
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You can also replace the lean meats with fattier meats, tastier, cheaper and easily ups your calories, just remember to pour any rendered fat over your veg.
Ie replace chicken breasts for thigh, skin on or off depending on your macros/calories.
 
Caporegime
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Hi

I'm still trying to lose weight, but I feel that doing cardio (execrise bike) hasn't been bnurnt much weight off.

I have started doing weights this week, just free weights and last night I did aprox one hour of bicep curls at 18kg per arm.
Will this help burn belly fat better than cardio?

why not do both... it isn't what the gym queen/bodybuilder types will recommend - some are quite anti-cardio tbh.. but if you're not trying to go for that look and are just trying to get into shape then just get more active and cut the crap from your diet

go for a run regularly, take a yoga class, try circuit training... in fact do lots of circuit training - check out British Military Fitness or similar in a park near you

if you're just trying to get into shape and not bulk up then you don't even need to go anywhere near a gym
 
Associate
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I'm not going to a gym, I bought some free weights to use at home, CBA with public places.

I think that's a shame - with other people to help spur you on, staff to offer advice and personal trainers if you want it, I am certain you will make more progress going to a gym as opposed to staying at home - assuming of course you actually go to the gym, as opposed to just having the membership :)
 
OcUK Staff
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Weights to build muscle and increase metabolic rate Cardio to burn the fat.

I would structure your routine with free weights to do all over body each session. Compound movements three sets of each but keep rests to like 50 seconds between sets. One day on, one day off schedule. Then 20 mins cardio.

Peanut butter is pretty good mate.
 
Soldato
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I'm not going to a gym, I bought some free weights to use at home, CBA with public places.

Aldi have a pretty cheap barbell set in atm, in a nice plastic box - seemed heavy enough. They've got a cheap bench too (£20), be useful for some light barbell moves (dumbell press, dumbell row, dumbell fly etc).
 

V F

V F

Soldato
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I have lost loads of weight under the Euro Training programme.


LOL! Never seen this before.


Weights to build muscle and increase metabolic rate Cardio to burn the fat.

I would structure your routine with free weights to do all over body each session. Compound movements three sets of each but keep rests to like 50 seconds between sets. One day on, one day off schedule. Then 20 mins cardio.

Peanut butter is pretty good mate.


Mmm, peanut butter!
 
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