weight help

[_Jimlad_]

I have now lost almost 8 stone in 4/5 years, it was and still is hard work and missing out on a heck of nice food - but can't shift my jelly gut, i have lost more weight than the amount I’m now, but my face goes gaunt and i look ill -

I struggle with food real bad and lost all my weight following slimming world 'green days' which is pretty much carbs only… much different to these modern diets I guess, I do find that food controls me though, just want to break free of it

I have tree trunk legs that most body builders would like! but my top half is saggy and slack, so working on my arms with dumbells until my gym card comes in, any advice is welcome on any of the above

 

[GordyR]

I have now lost almost 8 stone in 4/5 years, it was and still is hard work and missing out on a heck of nice food - but can't shift my jelly gut, i have lost more weight than the amount I’m now, but my face goes gaunt and i look ill -

I struggle with food real bad and lost all my weight following slimming world 'green days' which is pretty much carbs only… much different to these modern diets I guess, I do find that food controls me though, just want to break free of it

I have tree trunk legs that most body builders would like! but my top half is saggy and slack, so working on my arms with dumbells until my gym card comes in, any advice is welcome on any of the above

Sorry mate I remember seeing you ask this in another thread and I was meaning to get back to you but forgot!

First off congratulations on your magnificent fat loss!

Now with regards to your 'saggy' gut there is nothing you can do other than lower your bodyfat levels further. Most men are genetically predisposed to accumulating fat around the mid section. It is normally the first place that fat is stored and thus it is also the last place for it to come off. The only way to get rid of it is through dieting and cardio. You cannot 'spot reduce' fat. If you look 'ill' when you are at that low a bodyfat percentage then in all likelyhood you are probably lacking lean muscle mass.

Well done on getting a gym membership! It really is the most positive thing you could be doing. You need to be working on the compound exercises (squat, bench, deadlift etc) to put some lean mass on to your frame. Doing this will help you dramatically in the long run. Not only will you be burning a lot of calories by doing those compound exercises but your increase in lean mass will eventually result in more calories being burned in a resting state. Muscle takes a lot of energy to maintain. This will allow you to eat more food day after day without getting fat. The best way to have a low but maintainable bodyfat level is to build more muscle.

So to summarise, build more lean mass and lose bodyfat. It sounds stupidly simple but there really is no other way around it. My only concern is that you may have some excess skin due to your extreme weight loss. Hopefully that isn't the case but if it is then this will be a problem. Unfortunately not having been in this position I am not too sure on the remedies for such situations. I know that loose skin can be removed surgically but I would like to think that there are other options out there. Hopefully someone else has some more direct experience with regards to that.

 

[zain]

Gordy I have a question for you if you can answer it please

Its with concern to fat loss. How I understand it, is that when you burn fat its done by the body requiring energy and if it cannot find it, it uses the fat on you as energy. Dont remember the terms as such. Although this isnt applicable to someone like you, I am curious on the fat loss.
You said that if your body doesnt have enough energy to meet its needs it begins to eat into the muscle and you lose muscle? Is this mainly applicable to someone with low body fat and not someone with a fair bit of body fat? Does the body eat into fat then muscle or muscle first or theres no order?

I hope you understand what im saying, its a bit hard to grasp but im stuck on it.

I was 19 1/2 stone when I entered OCUK and didnt know much about weights, diets, etc and since Oct 2005 I started properly training and I am 17 stone and wanting to reach 15 or 16 stone (dunno yet ). I didnt want to say this as I usually dont tell anyone like but I have been having between 1 and 2 meals a day with cardio and weights in each session I do. I used to go a day miss a day but for 1 month have been 3-4-5 days a week in a row then miss one day and go back. So im a tad confused, is this a short term thing? I think it is, though im unsure. Ive also gained muscle.

 

[GordyR]

You said that if your body doesnt have enough energy to meet its needs it begins to eat into the muscle and you lose muscle? Is this mainly applicable to someone with low body fat and not someone with a fair bit of body fat? Does the body eat into fat then muscle or muscle first or theres no order?

The truth is any time you lose fat, you run the risk of cutting in to muscle as well whether you are at 8% or 35% bodyfat. Although obviously, at a high bodyfat percentage your fat loss to muscle loss ratio should be far better.

There is an order with regards to energy burn within the body but it is not too necessary to concern yourself with it. Overall the body is not particularly selective in its needs. I'll keep this very simple.... Once it has burned up all available glucose it will turn to your carbohydrate stores (bodyfat) and convert those in to usable energy. During this period of negative energy, the body's insulin production also is much lower. Thus, the body releases glucagon and other glucocorticoids such as cortisol. These catabolic hormones quickly go to work by breaking down the whole body tissue and converting it into usable energy. My girlfriend could explain this far better than I but hopefully that gives you a basic idea.

But anyway, the trick when dieting is to induce a calorie deficit so that fat is being burned while at the same time preventing the body from using muscle for energy. To do this it is important to eat frequently (6 times a day) and to not cut calories too drastically.

I was 19 1/2 stone when I entered OCUK and didnt know much about weights, diets, etc and since Oct 2005 I started properly training and I am 17 stone and wanting to reach 15 or 16 stone (dunno yet ). I didnt want to say this as I usually dont tell anyone like but I have been having between 1 and 2 meals a day with cardio and weights in each session I do. I used to go a day miss a day but for 1 month have been 3-4-5 days a week in a row then miss one day and go back. So im a tad confused, is this a short term thing? I think it is, though im unsure. Ive also gained muscle.

Firstly you really need to be eating more frequently. I don't know how many calories you were having over those two meals but it is likely nowhere near enough. Your body is probably in starvation mode and you will find yourself hitting a plateau with regards to your fat loss since your metabolism has likely dropped considerably.

You say that you have gained muscle? Well, while it is common for beginners to be able to gain muscle at the same time as losing fat I doubt you really have. On two meals a day i would hazard a guess that you aren't eating much more than 1200 calories daily. If I am correct then for a 19.5 stone man that is crazily low. You will likely have lost a little muscle for the reasons given above. Your fatloss may have improved the definition of your muscles which will give them a larger appearance and the weight training you have been doing may have given them a more 'trained' look but as for gaining true lean mass, I doubt it. Unless of course you are being conservative with the description of your calorific intake.

Eat frequently and up your calories to kick start your metabolism and prevent any further muscle catabolism and then start lowering your calories gradually. Not only will you lose more fat in the long run but you will spare more of the muscle that you already have.

 

[zain]

Honestly, thats great advice and has helped a lot. As always, thank you. I will try the 6 meals a day thing for metabolism but atm it still seems quite fast but this wont last I know. Its hard for me to do the 6 meals a day, I could try a brief snack 3 or 4 times a day like a sandwhich or a fruit? then my meals?

I will try this for a month, cant be that bad can it?

 

[GordyR]

Honestly, thats great advice and has helped a lot. As always, thank you. I will try the 6 meals a day thing for metabolism but atm it still seems quite fast but this wont last I know. Its hard for me to do the 6 meals a day, I could try a brief snack 3 or 4 times a day like a sandwhich or a fruit? then my meals?

I will try this for a month, cant be that bad can it?

Your welcome matey.

A brief snack is fine, thats all it takes to keep your metabolism ticking over. However if you really wanted to "do it right" I would consider the following:

Shoot straight up to 3000 calories per day for a week, spread throughout 5-6 meals a day. This should get your body out of starvation mode and kickstart your metabolism nicely. Then at the end of that week drop to 2500 per day (all clean foods we aren't talking 2500 calories worth of McDonalds here). Expect a small weight gain at the end of the first week, it will mostly be water but a little could be fat since your metabolism is probably very low right now.

Weigh yourself two weeks later and if you haven't lost much weight then drop your calories further. Keep doing this until you find a nice steady pace of little more than 2lb's weight loss per week and keep your daily calorific intake at that level. Only lower it further as you lose weight in order to keep the fatloss the same rate. For a man of your weight You really shouldn't be on anything less than 2000 calories per day, and that really is the low end of the scale.

Too many people cut their calories too much to start with and this really hinders fat loss in the long run. Of course it looks lovely when you see a drop of 6 lb or more in that first week but you will plateau far earlier than if you had done it properly. Reduce calories slowly and eat good foods frequently.

 

[zain]

Yeah thats why I kept thinking about these things, I knew a heavy fat loss doesnt last forever. Ive had a Quakers Oats before gym and a sandwich after and having soup with some bread later then last meal. I will get it in to a more routine after, gets a lot of getting used to I think