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Fat loss

post #1 of 12
6/20/07 at 8:03pm
Thread Starter 
I re-started going to the gym after about 3 months leave due to a broken wrist and have been consistent since and now trainfor 5 days per week continuously for 5 months now. Every session I do at least 45 minutes of cardio along with weights and I have noticed no considerable fat loss (though there is muscle gain). I do not balance this out with the best diet. I have cut out all soft drinks and fast food 100% and i try to limit junk. I eat whatever is around.

Am i safe to assume that it is my diet that is keeping me from losing fat?
I have heard countless times about eating 5-6 meals per day including the usual egg whites/oats/protein shakes. I have gone through this and I don't really see myself sticking to something like this, i find it confusing on what diet will achieve what so I decided to avoid it completely.


Is there any way around this?

Advice would be appreciated.

Thanks.
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post #2 of 12
6/20/07 at 8:10pm
Yes, if you're not getting results despite a lot of exercise it's likely your diet that is affecting it, especially if you're just eating random stuff at random times. It's not necessary to stick to a very strict diet but you should at least eat 3 meals a day with healthy ingredients. Also, read sites such as bodybuilding.com that discuss the optimum timing of your diet.
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post #3 of 12
6/20/07 at 8:11pm
Simple answer is yes. Your diet is holding you back. Start counting calories you eat every day. Reduce daily intake by 500 and stick to it for one week. If you don't lose 1+ pound then you didn't count right so you can either recount, or just further reduce intake by 500 to account for your underestimation.

500 calories is nothing, its 2 slices of pizza, its 2 yogurts, its 1.5 pastries, its a bowl of cereal, its a small bag of chips, its 2 bagels with cream cheese, 1 peanut butter sandwich. Prolonged out over one week, thats just about 1 pound of fat though. Its not that hard to do.
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post #4 of 12
6/20/07 at 8:20pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the help.

This might be a stupid question but how do i count the calories of non pre-prepared or easy-to-prepare foods like pretty much anything home cooked?
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post #5 of 12
6/20/07 at 8:22pm
http://www.calorie-count.com/

Don't forget beer, the silent killer... I swear when I don't drink at all or maybe a couple of beers over the course of a week I look noticeably leaner. Unfortunately that includes my face which starts to look kind of gaunt... I think beer is making up some of my necessary calories, actually.
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post #6 of 12
6/20/07 at 8:41pm
define "45 mins of cardio" i know ppl in their 20s who think 45 mins walking on a treadmill is cardio and wonder why they are not losing anything. Its not, unless you are orcafat, it's just timekilling. if you are one of them, I give the same advice I always do - take up boxing.
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post #7 of 12
6/20/07 at 9:06pm
Thread Starter 
lol no I don't just saunter on a treadmill, I do a combination of things (bike,crosstrainer, treadmill etc) on a reasonable resistance for 15 minutes adding up to 45+ minutes. I know the type you are taking about and thats not me.

I used to to boxing and was crazy about it but I had to move so i don't get to do it anymore. I still skip at home and my gym has some bags which noone ever uses. should I take that up? or maybe shadow box?
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post #8 of 12
6/21/07 at 12:19am
as posted over in the 'post your workout' thread - i lost 7 kilos in 2 months (all from the gut too) with...
Quote:
Originally Posted by m@T View Post
I box three times a week. Typical session looks like this (all rounds 3 mins with 1 min rest) 3 rounds jumprope. During the 1 min rest between rounds I do 25 crunches per round. 2 rounds shadow boxing, increasing in speed as I go. Basically start off just loosening the shoulders, end at a speed where it qualifies as aerobic. 3 rounds full speed full power mittwork with coach. 2 rounds floor to ceiling speedball thing 3 rounds heavy bag death. I go during lunchtimes and have private lessons...occassionally if schedules dont line up well, I will go to their normal class, in which case I will spar with a few guys as well. My fighting days are behind me now though, in it more for the exercise and the stress relief, so dont care about the absence of sparring from my standard regime.
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post #9 of 12
6/22/07 at 4:53pm
Don't cut calories. Improve your calories. You can find what's what at http://www.nutritiondata.com. How fat are we talking, here?

Eat more fish, or take a fish oil supplement.

Instead of doing 45 minutes of cardio on 3 different machines, sprint or run hills for 20 minutes. You should feel like you're going to spew, but hey, it's only 20 minutes.

Don't eat anything with enriched flour in it. There's tons of crap with enriched flour. Eliminating it will force you to eat better foods in general.

Lift more weights, do less cardio. Case in point: look at the people on the treadmill or the eliptical at the gym. Now, look at the people in the free weight room. Who's more blob-esque?

Good luck!
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post #10 of 12
6/22/07 at 7:28pm
The full proof way to lose fat:

1. Consume less calories than you spend
2. Weight training to maintain muscle mass
3. Cardio to maintain metabolism

There's all there's to it. Aim at 2 pounds of weight loss every week until you hit around 10% bodyfat. After that it gets a bit harder. But 10% is a good goal if you just want to be fit and healthy and not really ripped.
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post #11 of 12
6/23/07 at 4:28am
Quote:
Originally Posted by notorious View Post
I re-started going to the gym after about 3 months leave due to a broken wrist and have been consistent since and now trainfor 5 days per week continuously for 5 months now. Every session I do at least 45 minutes of cardio along with weights and I have noticed no considerable fat loss (though there is muscle gain). I do not balance this out with the best diet. I have cut out all soft drinks and fast food 100% and i try to limit junk. I eat whatever is around.

Am i safe to assume that it is my diet that is keeping me from losing fat?
I have heard countless times about eating 5-6 meals per day including the usual egg whites/oats/protein shakes. I have gone through this and I don't really see myself sticking to something like this, i find it confusing on what diet will achieve what so I decided to avoid it completely.


Is there any way around this?

Advice would be appreciated.

Thanks.

In addition to your diet (which I recommend you see a dietitian about), your body has also likely adapted to the demands imposed by your training. Try changing things up a bit, do different exercises at varied intensities.
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post #12 of 12
6/23/07 at 8:27am
As M@T said - u need to define your cardio, how intense is it? But that aprt if you are looking to lose weight overall running on the threadmill will ensure overall fat reduction. No target burning, it will burn fat. But if u want to gain muscle, do your cardio after your work out, and then tweak your diet.

Eating what u see, isnt gonna help. Diet is cruicial to muscle building and weight loss. And dont try eating stuff u dont like, find food stuff u like and make them healthy. Like if you like meat, get lean cuts, use a pan spray to cut out the oil etc.

Taking in 500 calories lesser than your body needs you will have weight loss gaurenteed. But then define yo goals in the gym, is it muscle gain or weight loss. Once you get that, then the rest will be easy. If you decide you wanna lose weight then you can afford to restrict your diet, or bulk up for a few months and try a cutting phase.

All the best, i hope i was of some help
Peace be
GK
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