Weights vs Cardio?

[Ace Modder]

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?

 

[Ace Modder]

As for the actual weight, I don't care what I weigh. I just want the belly fat gone. 40" waist isn't good. So if I turn my weight from fat to muscle that is fine by me.


Just want to get into a 34" waist pair of jeans.

 

[Ace Modder]

You can't spot reduce fat, you just have to lose weight until your belly is gone. Depending on your genetics it could be the first thing to go or the last.

I know this, but the point is, most of my excess body fat is on my belly. My arms and legs are still quite thin and lean. So naturalluy I expect the fat to go from where it is in excess first.

As for weights and cardio. I find cardio extremely boring, and I know that many of you will say I need to do it, if I can get away without cardio by doing other things I will try.

As for my arms, they are rather heavy this morning

 

[Ace Modder]

This is what I mean by my arms and legs are not massively bulked with fat. And yes I have very skinny hands.

 

[Ace Modder]

Diet is going ok, I have the odd treat day though.

But for example yesterday I had porridge and a coffee for brekkie, apple around 11am, for lunch I had cheese (low fat) and onion toastie and for dinner I had Chicken breast, new potatoes, carrots and broccohi. Then around 9pm I had a 70cal healthy fruit bar.

Today I've had porridge and coffee for brekkie, lunch I'm having lettuce, Tomato, Cucumber, Sliced Ham, Onions and beetroot, and for dinner tonight I will have spaghetti bologase using low fat mince and wholegrain spaghetti.


Also 18kg per arm.... LOL... thats not right. 10kg per arm, not 18kg lol.

 

[Ace Modder]

Can I over do weights? For example my arms are tight and heavy due to what I did yesterday. Should I push through that and do more today or stop and let my muscles "recover" a little first?

 

[Ace Modder]

well I'm going to go with a lower cal intake, aim for 1800 so I'm at around my TDEE or slightly less and ensure I eat fairly decent levels of protein foods. Continue doing weights. Gaining strenght in my arms isn't a bad thing either.

 

[Ace Modder]

remind me, what is a dead lift?

EDIT : google told me

 

[Ace Modder]

Also who does curls for 1hr? Even if it's 10kg, your arm would be in tatters. Was it 1 rep per minute?

I did 20 curls on one arm, then swapped to other arm. Then had a 1min break., Then was doing arm at my side then straight out to the side... 20 on each arm (one side at a time)... then a 2min break and back to start and rinse and repeat. And yeah my arms are aching like hell still.

What is your diet?

I went from 36-38" waist (105 kg) to 32-34" (90 kg now) in less than a year, and 95% of that was diet. Not only do I fit into smaller clothes, people who have not seen my for months always comment about how good I look now compared to before.

Sure I cycled a lot in the summer, but I attribute my weight loss mainly to eating healthy. It's not as if I don't eat crap food, as I'm always having pizzas and out boozing at weekends. I realise if I cut this I could lose more but that's my lifestyle and my choice.

I've started going to the gym now doing weights & cardio.

I think healthy diet and just walking more each day will do wonders. If your local gym has a pool then do that.

If you dive into weight training without adjusting diet then you'll most likely bulk up. Worse still you may injure yourself and you'll just get annoyed.

I don't have ANY idea if my diet is health or not, I just tried different things and this is what works for me:

Breakfast: 2 slices of brown toast with cheese and ham
Mid morning: Kiwi fruit & orange
Lunch: 600g soup (I get the ones from Waitrose/Ocado)
Mid afternoon: Apple & banana
Dinner: Chicken breast or salmon, veg, rice
Supper: 600ml diet whey
Lots and lots of water, min 1.5l per day.

I know I should probably see a nutritionist as I don't think I'm taking in enough calories but meh, it seems to be working although I appear to be stuck between 88-91 kg recently, but I think that is diet.

I've had 1 x slice of brown bread toast, with cheese and ham for brekkie myself today.
I will have a uncle bens chilli pot for lunch (250 cals-ish)
And for dinner tonight is chicken breat, with mashed potato, carrots, broccohi, and sprouts.
I have apples and bananas in fridge for when I'm peckish.

So I'm doing similiar to you, but I got slated for this type of food intake (see my thread in the food forum section) - cannot win. eh?

 

[Ace Modder]

All I want to do is lose weight at a fairly decent rate.

You know what is crazy though, my wife has this tea.
It is one big teabag (not normal tea, but various herbs etc) she boils it in 250ml of water and leaves it over nightm then adds that water and the teabag to a 5litre bottle of water and keeps it in the fridge, she has 1 glass with every meal.

In 7 days she lost 8lb on this. Which is crazy.
Her mother did it too, and lost similiar levels and her sister lost 4lb but her sister is slimmer anyway, so has less body fat to get rid of % wise.

 

[Ace Modder]

Yes, and this is why I am not using that tea, it's complete BS.

 

[Ace Modder]

OK, can you give me a 7 day food plan that would be suitable for me?
I'm lost!

I'm 17stone 3lb now.
5ft 11"
35 years old.

 

[Ace Modder]

There's so many variables that make just giving you a food plan pretty difficult. Such as what your training is like now and times you train, when can you eat (some people have jobs that don't allow them to eat all except once on their lunch), what's your budget, any allergies etc

If you want to send me a trust with answers to those then I'll be happy to throw up something

done

 

[Ace Modder]

Considering all the advice you have received over your diet threads there is absolutely no reason for you to be lost if you actually sat down and thought about it and done some research over an evening.

No one is going to hand you that on a plate simply because it takes time and effort to write up and then it's infuriating if you just end up ignoring it anyway.

People will be more than happy to provide advice if you have a go at coming up with something sensible yourself as we already have done.

Edit: You've obviously caught Stoodles on his happy time

the other thread had many people giving different opinions and answers. So it didn't make much sense to me.

 

[Ace Modder]

Sent you a diet Chris, Ace I'll reply to you after lunch when I get some more time to look

Thanks, no rush. You are doing me the favour, so whenever you get chance.

 

[Ace Modder]

You were given, and had an understanding of, suitable macros in your other thread

All Steedie, very kindly, is going to do is work to something along similar lines.

cool, the point im trying to make is i was eating good/healthy foods (3 full meals per day and snakcs in between as and when i was feeling peckish), and being full and contented with the foods i was eating, but then that wasnt enough cals.

What should I do? just eat more for the sake of it and feel bloated? or to ensure I'm eating more calories... have a kabeb or a pizza just because unhealthy foods is full of cals.

 

[Ace Modder]

You were given, and had an understanding of, suitable macros in your other thread

All Steedie, very kindly, is going to do is work to something along similar lines.

These are the types of meals I was having and I got critised for not eating enough calories etc.

Evening meals

Breakfast

Lunch

 

[Ace Modder]

The trick is to eat a small amount under maintenance calories, and lose weight slowly. You drop too low on cals your body will give you the finger - it's very good at adapting.

What you think looks like a decent amount of calories, probably isn't anymore than 2k. Add in exercise on top of this you could be in a 7-800 cal deficit each day.

Steedie will hook you up, but you will need to readjust your thinking on what is eating enough.

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.

 

[Ace Modder]

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.

 

[Ace Modder]

well the only nut i can eat is pischaccio nuts, but only the ones in chilli powder - however I have not seen them in ASDA, Morrisions or Sainsburys for ages, I look everytime I go there.