Weightlifting & Fitness - Everything old is new again!

[MacReady]

2 hours ago, JohnChimpo said:

How did you lose 19 lbs in a month?

I’m not sure what to make of those kinds of scales. Mine is an Eros, and it’s saying I lost two lbs of muscle mass overnight.

That’s why I’m asking. Just doesn’t seem very possible to me. My measurements date back to February 13th.

I have been doing some pretty extreme intermittent fasting and I’m at a pretty extreme deficit right now.

I cut out beer and wine and dropped from about 6-8 beers a night down to two shots of vodka with carbonated water.

Went from snacking on sunflower seeds, nuts, jerky, all sorts of high protein late nights snacks to only celery or cucumber and onion in vinegar.

I cut out lunch and more days than not I switched my supper to a protein shake.

A banana for breakfast.

All while keeping my same workouts.

Like if somebody told me they lost 19 pounds in a month I’d pull the whole, “Yeah, sure, mhmm,” thing, too, but that’s what my scale says. Black and white. So I don’t know if the scale is crap or what.

For what it’s worth, it’s always been significantly easier for me to lose weight than it has been to gain weight.

[MWil23]

6 hours ago, Outpost31 said:

That’s why I’m asking. Just doesn’t seem very possible to me. My measurements date back to February 13th.

I have been doing some pretty extreme intermittent fasting and I’m at a pretty extreme deficit right now.

I cut out beer and wine and dropped from about 6-8 beers a night down to two shots of vodka with carbonated water.

Went from snacking on sunflower seeds, nuts, jerky, all sorts of high protein late nights snacks to only celery or cucumber and onion in vinegar.

I cut out lunch and more days than not I switched my supper to a protein shake.

A banana for breakfast.

All while keeping my same workouts.

Like if somebody told me they lost 19 pounds in a month I’d pull the whole, “Yeah, sure, mhmm,” thing, too, but that’s what my scale says. Black and white. So I don’t know if the scale is crap or what.

For what it’s worth, it’s always been significantly easier for me to lose weight than it has been to gain weight.

6-8 beers a night? My guy, that’s an entirely different conversation altogether.

And how many calories are you eating a day? First glance says you are at an incredible deficit with potential malnutrition. Be careful dude.

Edited March 22, 2023 by MWil23

[JohnChimpo]

1 minute ago, MWil23 said:

6-8 beers a night? My guy, that’s an entirely different conversation altogether.

Ans how many calories are you eating a day? First glance says you are at an incredible deficit with potential malnutrition. Be careful dude.

This.

I did believe the 19 lb weight loss, but it doesn’t seem healthy unless you’re morbidly obese.

 

[MWil23]

1 minute ago, JohnChimpo said:

This.

I did believe the 19 lb weight loss, but it doesn’t seem healthy unless you’re morbidly obese.

 

Given the starting point is around 195, I’d say that’s a relatively too much too fast loss. You’re either looking at your body going into starvation mode and burning muscle and storing fat or a massive rebound at some point.

1-2 lbs a week is my recommendation…I’m not the poster child here but I went from 185 to 170 over the course of 2-3 months and have been able to stay between 170-173 for 6 months or so utilizing intermittent fasting with regular exercise and a healthy diet with 1-2 massive cheat meals a week.

[ramssuperbowl99]

25 minutes ago, Outpost31 said:

I cut out beer and wine and dropped from about 6-8 beers a night down to two shots of vodka with carbonated water.

Went from snacking on sunflower seeds, nuts, jerky, all sorts of high protein late nights snacks to only celery or cucumber and onion in vinegar.

I cut out lunch and more days than not I switched my supper to a protein shake.

A banana for breakfast.

All while keeping my same workouts.

Hey, so admittedly, I read this and got a little concerned. If this is my bias from my own life, feel free to completely ignore it or call me a know-it-all and tell me to shut my mouth.

My read is that you've prioritized daily drinking pretty high up the food list; late night snacks are basically calorie-free, no lunch, limited breakfast, protein shake at dinner. And two shots instead of 6-8 is awesome, but drinking daily and switching to lower calorie booze are two pretty big red flags.

I'd consider cutting it out for a bit, if only to see how you respond, and then go from there.

[Hunter2_1]

54 minutes ago, Outpost31 said:

 

I cut out beer and wine and dropped from about 6-8 beers a night

[Hunter2_1]

Yeah, just, maybe one beer every two nights, then starting eating 3 balanced meals a day. Don't worry about the jerky at night, if your day-time meals are satisfying and nutritious   

 

I find it's a habit. Eating disciplined is harder at the start, but gets enjoyable and easier the more days and weeks you put in. Then comes the the increased mood and looking better!

Edited March 22, 2023 by Hunter2_1

[MacReady]

Don’t think I’ve got a drinking problem, I just like to drink at night. Isn’t always alcohol. It probably was a problem when I drank beer because I love beer. It got to a point where I couldn’t drink as much as I wanted without getting drunk, so I switched to non-alcoholic beer, but then I was drinking 10 to 12 of them a night and was getting fat.

So in a way, the alcohol keeps me from drinking too much alcohol. I do not like being drunk, I have been drunk probably a dozen times in my life.

As far as the 19 pounds, I’m questioning but not convinced. Like I said, it’s always been easy for me to lose weight and when I’m not trying to cut fat, I have to force myself to eat just to maintain. I seem to have leveled out on dropping weight the past week and I’ve been fluctuating between 173 and 178, so…

I don’t know. I just wish I knew if the body fat percentage was accurate or close to accurate.

[Hunter2_1]

2 minutes ago, Outpost31 said:

Don’t think I’ve got a drinking problem, I just like to drink at night. Isn’t always alcohol. It probably was a problem when I drank beer because I love beer. It got to a point where I couldn’t drink as much as I wanted without getting drunk, so I switched to non-alcoholic beer, but then I was drinking 10 to 12 of them a night and was getting fat.

So in a way, the alcohol keeps me from drinking too much alcohol. I do not like being drunk, I have been drunk probably a dozen times in my life.

As far as the 19 pounds, I’m questioning but not convinced. Like I said, it’s always been easy for me to lose weight and when I’m not trying to cut fat, I have to force myself to eat just to maintain. I seem to have leveled out on dropping weight the past week and I’ve been fluctuating between 173 and 178, so…

I don’t know. I just wish I knew if the body fat percentage was accurate or close to accurate.

I get that. I need to smash diet sodas at night. Not good for you, but at least no sugar. And I choose the caffeine free ones otherwise I won't sleep

Edited March 22, 2023 by Hunter2_1

[MWil23]

7 minutes ago, Outpost31 said:

Don’t think I’ve got a drinking problem, I just like to drink at night. Isn’t always alcohol. It probably was a problem when I drank beer because I love beer. It got to a point where I couldn’t drink as much as I wanted without getting drunk, so I switched to non-alcoholic beer, but then I was drinking 10 to 12 of them a night and was getting fat.

So in a way, the alcohol keeps me from drinking too much alcohol. I do not like being drunk, I have been drunk probably a dozen times in my life.

As far as the 19 pounds, I’m questioning but not convinced. Like I said, it’s always been easy for me to lose weight and when I’m not trying to cut fat, I have to force myself to eat just to maintain. I seem to have leveled out on dropping weight the past week and I’ve been fluctuating between 173 and 178, so…

I don’t know. I just wish I knew if the body fat percentage was accurate or close to accurate.

For what it’s worth, to “scratch that itch” I started making tea with honey. Peppermint is a natural appetite suppressant and honey is a nice touch to take the edge off. It forces me to sip it and take my time as well. 

[ramssuperbowl99]

14 minutes ago, Hunter2_1 said:

I get that. I need to smash diet sodas at night. Not good for you, but at least no sugar. And I choose the caffeine free ones otherwise I won't sleep

I still do this as a stress response. Bad day at work, I'm definitely chugging a diet soda at some point.

 

[naptownskinsfan]

Third half-marathon down after completing the Rock N Roll race in DC.  Finished top 20-25% in Overall, Male and Age Group.  Finished at 8:10/mile, but would have been below 8 if not for a crazy hill on Mile 7.  The weekend before, finished 33 out of 850 in a 10k race in Annapolis with a 7:40/mile time. 

As I am doing a couple other half marathons and some Spartans, as well as preparing for a full marathon in October, does anyone here have suggestions on energy gels?  It is not something I’ve looked into, but definitely need to, so if anyone has any leads on what works for them, I’m all ears.  

[MWil23]

22 minutes ago, ramssuperbowl99 said:

43 minutes ago, Hunter2_1 said:

I get that. I need to smash diet sodas at night. Not good for you, but at least no sugar. And I choose the caffeine free ones otherwise I won't sleep

I still do this as a stress response. Bad day at work, I'm definitely chugging a diet soda at some point.

 

I gave up diet soda/pop for lent about 12 years ago. I’m a Protestant but Avery devout Roman Catholic kid on my team whose confirmation I went to asked me what I was giving up, so I decided to do it more or less in solidarity with him. Here we are now and I can’t handle the taste anymore, tastes like cough syrup minus the occasional ginger ale/ginger beer.

[jetsfan4life51]

1 hour ago, Outpost31 said:

I cut out beer and wine and dropped from about 6-8 beers a night down to two shots of vodka with carbonated water.

Went from snacking on sunflower seeds, nuts, jerky, all sorts of high protein late nights snacks to only celery or cucumber and onion in vinegar.

I cut out lunch and more days than not I switched my supper to a protein shake.

A banana for breakfast.

1) the alcohol explains why visceral fat is high

2) eat some damn protein! Shouldn’t be starving yourself like that

I know IF is the rage but it’s not great for everyone. Especially someone who is stressed. Everyone should be having big breakfasts, heavy on the protein and fats then taper down. 

[MWil23]

1 minute ago, jetsfan4life51 said:

1) the alcohol explains why visceral fat is high

2) eat some damn protein! Shouldn’t be starving yourself like that

I know IF is the rage but it’s not great for everyone. Especially someone who is stressed. Everyone should be having big breakfasts, heavy on the protein and fats then taper down. 

My breakfasts are heavy on the proteins and fats, I just eat it at 10-11AM.