[Article] Noob dietary help

[Harrop.senator]

Hey guys I've been to the doctor I've been to the dietician etc. Im struggling at the moment with getting fat again. I was very much obese when I did my shoulder in two years and i had to stop lifting so i decided to pull some weight.

Long story short i went from 140kgs down to 81. Went up to 85 on holiday came home planning to cut like a mother. Been trying to and no success im now 105.....

Ive just got this my fitness pal app to try and help count calories. I dont know if its way to lenient on calories or what because i dont understand what i need to eat to hit so many!

I work 9 hours a day as a light vehicle mechanic. Isnt the hardest physical job but im not behind a desk.

Im 176 cms tall with 16.5" biceps so im largish built but im not jacked or anything.

My breakfast usually ranges from the following.

4 weetbix + skim or
2 eggs , mushroom, chilli , half cup of skim , quarter cup of cheese no toast

Smoko is a no added sugar yoghurt, half cup of oats and a banana sliced up a mixed through.

Lunch is either a small left overs bowl or a salad and meat sandwich on wholemeal.

Dinner is usually fairly clean last night was a cup of rice and butter chicken with mushrooms, beans , peas and corn.

I did two small scoops of light ice cream last night not going to lie so theirs probably 20 30 frams of sugar in that.

I work out 5 days a week. 30 minutes cardio on the cross trainer with an average bpm of 154-159 spikes up to 171. The machine usually quotes 600-700 calories burnt.

I then do an hour to hour and a half of weights. Last night was

1x 10 60kg bench warm up
3 x 10 80kg

1 x 10 warm up 140kg hex dead
3 x 10 180kg

4 x 10 100kg lat pull downs

3 x 10 close grip preachers 42kgs

3 x 10 wide grip preachers 42 kgs.

From what i understand i need 2000 to maintain before counting the gym. My app keeps telling me im averaging 1300 -1700 a day.

I dont drink booze , flavoured milk , soft drink or juice. Its water water and sometimes anchor no added sugar lemon barley.

Am i in such a deficit my body has hit survival mode? Ive gone from a 32 to 36-38 nothing fits me and i refuse to buy any more clothes especially fat clothes!

Im sorry if the post is long winded but i thought to much info beats not enough.

Thanks , hayden.

 

[Shrek]

If you count cals and are putting on weight then drop cals by 200. Weigh in weekly until you find the sweet spot (about 500-750 gems weekly loss). Once weight loss stalls drop 100 cals or increase energy expenditure.

 

[Big Mick]

If you are putting on weight you are eating too much, no such thing as survival mode and putting on weight because you don't eat enough, otherwise all kids in Africa would be obese.

it's a simple equation, eat more than you need put on weight eat less than you need drop weight.

 

[Harrop.senator]

It may not be as easy as it sounds about the bringing the weight down dude. The dietician is the one who told me that the calories being to low can ruin the metabolism as its in to higher deficit as everything the body brings in it tries to turn in to "long term energy storage" (fat) as the body think its best for it.

I've been eating the same diet as what i ate to lose 60kgs last year and im training a lot harder then how i originally lost all the weight yet I've put 24 back on. Ive been on an exetremely similar dietary intake for 19 months. Lost weight for 12 then started going back up. This is why i dont understand why my bfi has gone up when my diet hasnt.

Can anyone work out the cals from what i ate yesterday to know how close the app is and whether its worth continuing with or if i have to buy a book to learn how to calculate all my own calories?

 

[onslaught]

Had your thyroid checked?

I'd be seeing a doctor and getting bloods done.

No one puts on 20+kg without lying about food intake or having a medical issue. I'm not suggesting you are lying and I don't hate on your theory of wrecked metabolism either.

Low cals for extended periods can fuck up BMR very easily.

 

[Harrop.senator]

Ive got the appointment this arvo with the results. To lose all the weight i walked dog an hour and then once i was allowed to just did tv dumbell curls and 50 sit ups a day.

Now back at work all day on my feet and turning spanners and training harder and going backwards . Thats why i started keeping a food diary as i think the dietician thought i was cheating.

One of the trainers at the gym reckons metabolism might be shot from sustained vlcd. He reckons just train bullshit hard for 3 months with a non defecit intake and try cutting again in a few months but i dno aye. Was finally allowed to workout properly after my shoulder re stabilization and was looking forward to packing muscle back on and its there again but so unnoticeable due to such high bf. Its quite unmotivational in all honesty. I looked better when i couldn't lift a plate with that arm then now back working n doing 20kg iso curls lol.

 

[Big Mick]

Dieticians have to justify their fees with interesting stories.

There is just no way on the planet you can put on weight without being in calorie surplus, that is, you are eating more than you need, if you did you would be a scientific sensation and studied the world over by the top scientists.

You can't create something from nothing.

 

[Bazza20]

The wrecked metabolism theory is bullshit. If it was the case it would have been an a massive evolutionary advantage for humans and be present in basically all of us.

People in general either lie about what they eat even in food diaries or just do less movement overtime often as you get more efficient in your general life. I had the latter happen. I couldn't lose weight on my normal weight loss calories. Thought it may have been because I was getting older. Looked on my iPhone and noticed my steps had averaged a lot less than 12 + months earlier. So I upped my activity and weight came off just like before.

Most people have such low activity in our modern lives they barely need any food to maintain weight. Then they like to blame everything from health problems to them being a special unicorn.

 

[Harrop.senator]

Rogie mate only lost 61kgs in the 12 months before it. Obviously not commit to this at all..

Well test came back vitamin d deffecient.
My thyroid is just within the lower scale of average. Average is .4 - 4.0 im coming in at .5
My testosterone is in the lower end again testosterone general average is 10.0-35.0 im 15.1 free testo average is 225-725 im 371
Cholesterol is 2.7 average 4.5 im unsure if thats to low or really good .

Doctors saying that because its in the averages theirs not much really that he wants to do with it says everybodies fifferent and i just have a slow metabolism and I'll have to work around it and keep a food diary and go to the dieticians in a month and experiment til they find what works for me.

I'll be doing some research on beinging the lower numbers up and just maybe adding another 15 minutes to my cross train each night.

 

[Bazza20]

Rogie mate only lost 61kgs in the 12 months before it. Obviously not commit to this at all..

Well test came back vitamin d deffecient.
My thyroid is just within the lower scale of average. Average is .4 - 4.0 im coming in at .5
My testosterone is in the lower end again testosterone general average is 10.0-35.0 im 15.1 free testo average is 225-725 im 371
Cholesterol is 2.7 average 4.5 im unsure if thats to low or really good .

Doctors saying that because its in the averages theirs not much really that he wants to do with it says everybodies fifferent and i just have a slow metabolism and I'll have to work around it and keep a food diary and go to the dieticians in a month and experiment til they find what works for me.

I'll be doing some research on beinging the lower numbers up and just maybe adding another 15 minutes to my cross train each night.

Its an average. It's absolutely normal for people to be below average in hormone levels. It's like saying any male below 5'10 should have got on growth hormone at 12 so they ended up over 6ft. Don't focus on his shit, it's not going to help anything. It's like you are trying to set up an easy excuse if you don't succeed with the hard work.

People dont have slow metabolisms. They have lower activity and eat too much for their activity. The high metablism theory has been shown that some people just do more unintentional movement. Fidgeting, always doing stuff, up and down rather than just sitting for example.

With all these people with slow metabolisms. Why don't we see fatties in third world countries with bugger all food and they have to work hard to get that food.

 

[Harrop.senator]

Fair enough mate. I work 9 hours a day as a mechanic swinging spanners and doing a lot of work i mean i rotated 2 cars with 35" muddies today and removed and refitted a 90kg transmission and then go and work out for 2.5 hours a day.

I leave the house at 7 am. I get home from the gym at 830. If someone could kindly help count calories out of any of my days i can supply a full accurate diary and maybe just because the calories are low doesnt mean shit. Maybe theyre all the wrong calories i dont know . Hence why asking for help if anybody else just wants to whinge about how im to inactive and dont exercise enough feel free but you'll be falling on deaf ears.


Anyone actually wanna help and give me some guidance on some meal planning my attentions all yours.

 

[Shrek]

Fair enough mate. I work 9 hours a day as a mechanic swinging spanners and doing a lot of work i mean i rotated 2 cars with 35" muddies today and removed and refitted a 90kg transmission and then go and work out for 2.5 hours a day.

I leave the house at 7 am. I get home from the gym at 830. If someone could kindly help count calories out of any of my days i can supply a full accurate diary and maybe just because the calories are low doesnt mean shit. Maybe theyre all the wrong calories i dont know . Hence why asking for help if anybody else just wants to whinge about how im to inactive and dont exercise enough feel free but you'll be falling on deaf ears.


Anyone actually wanna help and give me some guidance on some meal planning my attentions all yours.

We can't tell you what to eat. We don't know what you like.
40:30:30 C:F is a good start.
Count the cals on My Fitness Pal. Don't start on too low cals. Maybe 3000. Weigh yourself once per week. Adjust cals up or down as necessary aiming at around 1kg or slightly less of weight loss per week.

 

[Bazza20]

Fair enough mate. I work 9 hours a day as a mechanic swinging spanners and doing a lot of work i mean i rotated 2 cars with 35" muddies today and removed and refitted a 90kg transmission and then go and work out for 2.5 hours a day.

I leave the house at 7 am. I get home from the gym at 830. If someone could kindly help count calories out of any of my days i can supply a full accurate diary and maybe just because the calories are low doesnt mean shit. Maybe theyre all the wrong calories i dont know . Hence why asking for help if anybody else just wants to whinge about how im to inactive and dont exercise enough feel free but you'll be falling on deaf ears.


Anyone actually wanna help and give me some guidance on some meal planning my attentions all yours.

I work 14 hours a day as a dairy farmer and I managed to slip into low activity days. Not because I was being lazy, infact just getting more efficient. My steps on my iPhone per week had halved and I was doing just as much if not more work. That included lifting weights every day. Most jobs even physical ones are not that physical anymore.

 

[Harrop.senator]

According to my fitness pal my fat karnt days are 2000 calories n average is 1500 man.

 

[Harrop.senator]

I work 14 hours a day as a dairy farmer and I managed to slip into low activity days. Not because I was being lazy, infact just getting more efficient. My steps on my iPhone per week had halved and I was doing just as much if not more work. That included lifting weights every day. Most jobs even physical ones are not that physical anymore.

Fair call mate that would have been a confusing one to work out. Ive been researching step and calorie counters. I havent found anything thats theirs no innacuracy when worn on the ankle yet. I'm not allowed to wear a watch at work and the phones are toolbox only so i can't do one of the android pocket step counting things. I think one would really help me with the working out calories burnt to counter act the diet but all the fitbits aren't reccomended on your ankle because it exagerates the calories burnt and well, no use having a gauge that reads wrong is there.

 

[Bazza20]

Fair call mate that would have been a confusing one to work out. Ive been researching step and calorie counters. I havent found anything thats theirs no innacuracy when worn on the ankle yet. I'm not allowed to wear a watch at work and the phones are toolbox only so i can't do one of the android pocket step counting things. I think one would really help me with the working out calories burnt to counter act the diet but all the fitbits aren't reccomended on your ankle because it exagerates the calories burnt and well, no use having a gauge that reads wrong is there.

I'm not using it for any perfect accuracy. It's just my phone in my pocket but it gives a reasonable picture of what's going on activity wise even if it's not perfectly accurate.

 

[White_Lie]

Ensure you're being accurate/honest with portion sizes as it's easy to under estimate. Weigh and log shit for a week if you have to.

If 2000 is maintenance and you're hitting that regularly, then you're not going to drop weight. Originally you said you were averaging 1300-1700, that's a pretty big range. It sounds to me like you just need to be more consistent.

I wouldn't believe the machine when it says you burnt 700cals in half an hour. It's probably more like 1/3 that amount. If you're taking that in to account and still eating 2000 cals, you may be as high as 2700 or something and well above maintenance, hence the weight gain.

Get back to basics. Eat consistently and log accurately for a week. Aim for ~2000/day not accounting for cardio and see what happens.

 

[Bazza20]

Don't actually worry about what you exactly burn. Is a bit of a guide but not worth focusing on.

Get your intakes accurate. Weigh your food and log calories. Start at around 2000. Give it two weeks minimum. If you don't lose weight drop 200 calories and give it another 2 or 3 weeks. If you lose more than half a kg up it by 200. Repeat until you hit your goal weight.

 

[Harrop.senator]

Sorry hectic weekend . Will start this fortnight by measuring n weighing individual ingredients for each meal and see how it goes.

1400-1700 had been about average and its a bit of a difference as until a fortnight or so again had never contemplated counting calories so never really knew what their was to it.

Also the machines calories being so incorrect when i use the bpm calculators its saying around 500 calories just on my 157-162bpm average I hold over half an hour and i have bursts up to 175 bpm . I dont understand the theory on it burning a third of what its claiming if my bpm alone 90% verifies it am i missing something here?

Todays been 2 wholemeal ham cheese tomato sandwiches and a no added sugar yoghurt struggling to eat today hopefully gym changes that after work.

 

[White_Lie]

How old are you? And how are you measuring your heart rate?

But track the cals and see exactly where you're at. A break down % of protein/carbs/fats would also be good but not essential at this point in time. Just focus on cals in/out