Fat, Help !!!!

[UK MONK]

i need help to loose weight. I have all ways been BIG since i was little and i have always been on a diet. My friends eat what ever they like ( burgers, chips, chocolate ) and dont do any exersise at all and they are as fin as a stick. But me i dont eat any of that stuff and i train 3 times a week.

tuesdays (kung fu)
45 min run
80 sit ups
30 push ups
stretching 10 mins
sparring 20 mins

wednesdays
weights 3 hours

thursdays (kung fu)
warm up
stretching
sparring 20 mins
forms 20 mins
tai chi 30 mins

what the F**K is going on

any advice welcome
thanks :D :confused:

[Toby]

What's your diet? How much do you weigh?

Ford Prefect posted some good advice in a recent thread in this forum.

[FooFighter]

Dude, dont eat crap and eat more of the right things. Do more work and eat less and be disciplined. There is no secret in losing weight or leading a healthy life style or a magic forumla. The problem of people who are fat is that they lack the will, discipline, and correct knowledge. Find your will, find your discipline, and apply correct knowlege and you will be stud.

[UK MONK]

i weigh 230 lb :o and im 5,10 five foot ten inches tall
and this is what i eat in a normal day.

breakfest:
1 pint of milk

lunch:
1 pint of water
1 ham salad sandwich
1 apple

snack:
1 apple

dinner:
1 pint of milk
1 plate of paster

i have been doing this for years and i stay the same.

I DO NOT eat crap ( fizzy drinks, pizza, burgers, and chips )

:confused:

[fa_jing]

well, it's obviously the milk and the pasta :D

Both are big weight gaining foods

Fat is governed by the laws of thermodynamics - calories in minus calories out is your net weight gain/loss. I think you are doing enough exercise. They say that weight management is 90% diet and 10% exercise.

Why are you only working out on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays?

3 hours of weights? What the heck kind of workout protocol is that? All weight training can be completed in 30 minutes to an hour. 1.5 hours would be pushing it. The only people who work out with weights for longer than that are pro bodybuilders and olympic lifters doing 2 sets an hour to stay fresh and train their nervous system

Are you for real??

[UK MONK]

i only train on tuesdays, wednesdays and thursdays because i go college mon, tue, and half day wednesday and work thursdays and fridays and dont have much time to train on other days.

yes i do train weights for 3 hours because i have half day wednesday and me and my friend go back to his house.

workout:
stretching 10mins

shoulder press=16kg x12
bench press= 40kg x12
curls=16kg x12
dead lift=55kg x4
single arm row=10kg x12
squats=40kg x12
french press=10kg x12

have a drink and rest for 15 mins;)

and do it all again

[fa_jing]

OK, you are doing a variety of exercises which is good, but I have to say that the weights seem low. I don't mean to hurt your ego -- but these are beginner weights. I don't think you can build much muscle this way, it's not the sets and reps, it's just that the weights are too low. Also, lifting only once a week is probably not enough. Since you are busy, I'll give you a piece of advice that I could have definitely used when I was at "Uni" - look into bodyweight exercises. Try this site http://www.trainforstrength.com/exercises.shtml
Since you are a hefty guy, bodyweight alone will work well for you. Squat thrusts will get your heartrate up fast. Keep your workouts from 20-30 minutes and try to tire yourself completely during that time. Putting on muscle will help you too as you will burn more calories while resting.

Milk is high in sugar, and is often used by those seeking to gain weight. Pasta is not going to help you much. You need to focus on protein and vegetables. Never eat an all-starch snack - a piece of cheese and some carrots is much better than a bag of chips.

[UK MONK]

thank for that it is good info (keep it coming):)

[stubbs]

have a bigger breakfast! try tapering your diet i.e. breakfast like a king and so forth. add more protein in there everywhere! for a 230lb guy ur gonna need a lot more protein that what ur having already.

i still don't get how ur weights workout takes 3 hours!!
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[IronFist]

"fin" and "paster?"

Do people really spell words like that in UK? I know they say them like that, but do they spell them that way, too? Just curious.

Alright. Try to drink skim milk if you're not already.

And that doesn't look like much food. But I don't know. If you're eating a small amount of calories, it's possible that since you've been doing it for so long that your metabolism has slowed down a bit to compensate for it. That's why sometimes you get people who all they eat all day long is a salad, but they're still overweight. Their body is kinda freaking out and is in starvation mode, which basically says "I'm gonna hold on to every calorie I get because there's not much coming in." In certain cases, it's possible to eat more and start losing weight.

[Serpent]

Originally posted by IronFist
"fin" and "paster?"

Do people really spell words like that in UK? I know they say them like that, but do they spell them that way, too? Just curious.

No, he's just a bad speller. ;)

UK MONK - also try to do some extra cardio. Like during your 3 hours of weights, warm up with a couple of miles run or 20 minutes skipping, something like that.

Go for simple carbs, not complex like to much pasta. Skim milk is good advice.

Also, try to spread your meals out. Eat four or five smaller meals a day and start with a good breakfast. That'll give your metabolism a better fighting start.

[UK MONK]

no im just a very bad speller:o :D

it takes me 3 hours to do weights because i do my set and my friend spots me (makes sure im doing it right, and to make sure i dont fall over) and when it is his tern i do the same.

[Serpent]

Talking of his bad spelling, check out his sig! :D

[UK MONK]

i know :o

it should be journey

but i dont know how to change it :confused:

[Serpent]

Follow the link at the top marked User Control Panel and follow it through to Amend Signature (or something like that).

:)

[UK MONK]

thanks ;)

[UK MONK]

so what types of food should i eat and what is a good weight for the weights im using.

all advice welcome.:)

[Nick Forrer]

Hi UK monk

Protein- avoid mince meat, burgers, bacon, sausages etc. Stick to chicken, turkey, ham fish etc. Also whey protein powder is good (it has a better amino acid profile than milk/egg or soy protein)- I mix it with milk, yogurt and banana. Eggs whites are another source of protein (avoid the yolks).

Carbs- stick to brown rice, brown bread - its okay to have pasta and potatos- just dont go over the top. Avoid processed, refined 'white' carbs.

Drink skimmed milk and water. Avoid soft drinks. Diet drinks contain Aspartame- which is linked to cancer - so avoid.
Try not to go OTT with fruit juice either-it has high amounts of sugar.

Avoid caffeine.

Eat loads of fresh fruit and vegetables.

Dont eat any of the following- crisps/chips, chocolate, soft drinks/soda, sweets/candy- in fact any fast food or junk food whatsoever.

In short wherever possible try and minimise saturated fat and simple sugars (unfortunately these are the two things that taste good!) as well as processed/prepackaged/frozen/fried foods.
The fresher the better!

Eat small meals throughout the day- liitle and often!

Dont eat a lot late at night.

Do your cardio first thing on an empty stomach. It should be low intensity high duration i.e. about forty minutes- I recommend either cycling or swimming- running may hurt your knees/ankles (especially if you are overweight), skipping is too high intensity to be properly aerobic.

Persevere- Rome wasn't built in a day.

In terms of weight training I think anything from a 6-12 rep range is okay but you must go to failure on every set you do i.e. to the point where you literally cant lift any more. Also less is more- dont do loads of sets- 2 or 3 is sufficient per body part- Ater 10 years of weights I just do 1 work set plus a couple of strip sets when i have reached muscular failure.
Make sure you have good lifting technique- dont rely on momentum or ancilliary muscles to take the work load of the target muscle- lift slowly and under control- emphasis the negative protion of the lift/range of motion as much as the positive portion

As a general rule never work the same body part two days in a row- in fact I would avoid doing weights two days in a row- it will depend on other individual factors though i.e. recovery ability, stress levels, hours of sleep, diet, MA training schedule etc.

keep a training journal of your reps/ sets/ poundages- this will allow you to monitor your progress and measure the effect of any changes you may make.

Keep it simple - avoid fancy routines- stick to bread and butter compound lifts-squat, bench press, dead lift, chin ups and a few isolation excercises - hamstring curls, bicep curls, calf raises.

A good book is 'Brawn' by Stuart McRobert or 'High intensity training' by Mike Mentzer.

[Serpent]

Overall, Nick has given really good advice, but I would disagree on a few points.


Originally posted by Nick Forrer
Hi UK monk

Protein- avoid mince meat, burgers, bacon, sausages etc. Stick to chicken, turkey, ham fish etc. Also whey protein powder is good (it has a better amino acid profile than milk/egg or soy protein)- I mix it with milk, yogurt and banana. Eggs whites are another source of protein (avoid the yolks).

Agree completely on the meat thing, but not the eggs. You need the yolk to get the complete amino acid chain (i.e. full protein). There's a lot of fat in the yolks, so use several egg whites and just one egg yolk - overall this will be much better.


Carbs- stick to brown rice, brown bread - its okay to have pasta and potatos- just dont go over the top. Avoid processed, refined 'white' carbs.

Agree completely. Also, wholegrain breads are even better than brown.


Drink skimmed milk and water. Avoid soft drinks. Diet drinks contain Aspartame- which is linked to cancer - so avoid.
Try not to go OTT with fruit juice either-it has high amounts of sugar.

The sugar in fruit juice is fructose, not refined sucrose, so it's not nearly that bad for you. I know you said don't go OTT, which is good advice, but I just wanted to point out that fruit juice is actually really good for you. Just make sure it's fresh whole fruit juice with no added sugar, preserves, etc. And don't go OTT. ;)


Avoid caffeine.

Actually, caffeine has been proven to help break down fats in the system. I wouldn't recommend more than one cup a day however.


Eat loads of fresh fruit and vegetables.

Amen! The more raw, the better!


Dont eat any of the following- crisps/chips, chocolate, soft drinks/soda, sweets/candy- in fact any fast food or junk food whatsoever.

Can we have another amen!


In short wherever possible try and minimise saturated fat and simple sugars (unfortunately these are the two things that taste good!) as well as processed/prepackaged/frozen/fried foods.
The fresher the better!

AMEN brother, I can feel the love ion here tonight!


Eat small meals throughout the day- liitle and often!

This is what I said.


Dont eat a lot late at night.

Good advice. Anything not digested before you sleep will be stored as fat.


Do your cardio first thing on an empty stomach. It should be low intensity high duration i.e. about forty minutes- I recommend either cycling or swimming- running may hurt your knees/ankles (especially if you are overweight), skipping is too high intensity to be properly aerobic.

Low intensity high duration is not necessarily the best. These days people are leaning a lot more toward higher intensities and intervals. Do a Google on HIIT - High Intensity Interval Training. It's great stuff!


Persevere- Rome wasn't built in a day.

Possibly the best advice so far! ;)


In terms of weight training I think anything from a 6-12 rep range is okay but you must go to failure on every set you do i.e. to the point where you literally cant lift any more. Also less is more- dont do loads of sets- 2 or 3 is sufficient per body part- Ater 10 years of weights I just do 1 work set plus a couple of strip sets when i have reached muscular failure.

I would advise against muscular failure all the time. Use it occasionally, but train up to your pre-established limits.


Make sure you have good lifting technique- dont rely on momentum or ancilliary muscles to take the work load of the target muscle- lift slowly and under control- emphasis the negative protion of the lift/range of motion as much as the positive portion

As a general rule never work the same body part two days in a row- in fact I would avoid doing weights two days in a row- it will depend on other individual factors though i.e. recovery ability, stress levels, hours of sleep, diet, MA training schedule etc.

keep a training journal of your reps/ sets/ poundages- this will allow you to monitor your progress and measure the effect of any changes you may make.

Keep it simple - avoid fancy routines- stick to bread and butter compound lifts-squat, bench press, dead lift, chin ups and a few isolation excercises - hamstring curls, bicep curls, calf raises.

And one final Amen, children!


A good book is 'Brawn' by Stuart McRobert or 'High intensity training' by Mike Mentzer.
Hmmm. Don't know these - might have a look myself.

[Nick Forrer]

serpent

fair points, duly noted!

for anyone interested in HIT training check out

http://www.mikementzer.com/ (http://www.mikementzer.com)

regards

[UK MONK]

thanks for that advice :D

but what is a good weight to train with 10kg, 20kg, 30kg :confused:







P.S Amen :D

[Toby]

150kg

:D

Seriously, what do you mean? What's a good weight for what? Here's an example - benchpress you're doing alright if you can lift your own bodyweight for 10 reps. But bicep curls you are probably struggling to do 1/4 of your bodyweight (per arm). You need to work out what weights are right for each exercise you do. You want to be pushing your limits in whatever exercise protocol you choose, not just going through the motions.

[IronFist]

HIT doesn't work for all people.

Always training to failure is bad. Since you say always go to failure, have you done research on it? On the neurological and muscular effects of training to failure, for example? Do you know to what extent these are multiplied by "always" training to failure? Do you know how the effects of various % of your 1RM taken to failure differ?

The guy is (presumably) a newbie to exercise. He doesn't need things like protein powder and hardcore weight lifting routines. I'm sure he can get more than enough protein from normal food.

[Nick Forrer]

Hi IF

'HIT doesn't work for all people.'

What are you basing this statement on? Your own experience? anecdotal evidence? hearsay? or legitimate scientific studies?
If the latter could you provide links/references

I have been using HIT for 8 years now (i've been lifting for about 10). This literally involves no more than one work set per body part once a week. During those eight years I have made significant gains in size and strength and I haven't had to spend hours in a gym to do it. Just recently I put 40lbs on my bench press over a one month period. Moreover whenever I have trained more than one body part per week I have actually gotten weaker as my body has not had time to recover from my last workout. Because I keep a training journal I can experiment and find this stuff out.

It is true that after a few years your gains will start to taper off and now, for me, whenever they come they are few and far between. But as people reach their genetic limit I think this is inevitable unless of course you opt to take the steroid route (which i haven't and dont intend to).

I train to failure on each and every set I do (which to repeat is not many-in fact its the bare minimum since you cant do less than one set) and have yet to ever be injured lifting weights or suffer any adverse neuromuscular distress.

Granted, high intensity training does place a higher degree of stress on your body (that is the whole point of training to failure-to give your muscles the maximum stimulus and hence provoke the maximum growth as your body tries to miimise the threat to its homeostasis) but this is counterbalanced by the briefness and infrequency of the training.

Exactly how brief and infrequent training should be will depend on the indiviual, since, while the principles of human physiology are more or less universal (if they werent doctors wouldnt be able to diagnose and treat diseases) It is true that recovery ability does vary from person to person owing to a number of individual factors such as tolerance to exercise, general stress levels, hours of sleep, diet, MA training schedule etc. Consequently exactly how many sets you do and how often you do them is something you will need to determine over time through trial and error.

That said The one yardstick of your progress should be whether or not you are getting stronger AND THE ONLY RELIABLE WAY TO MEASURE THIS IS BY TRAINING TO FAILURE EACH AND EVERY TIME- THAT WAY YOU ARE CERTAIN THAT WHEN YOU DO MORE REPS THIS TIME, ITS BECAUSE YOU HAVE BECOME STRONGER SINCE YOUR LAST WORKOUT AND NOT BECAUSE YOU COULD HAVE DONE MORE THE TIME BEFORE BUT OPTED NOT TO.

Hope this explains my reasons for using HIT.

Again I direct people to Mentzers books as they spell this out far better than I can.

[fa_jing]

Not so. You could train to failure once a month, and still gauge your progress that way.

I almost never train to failure and still make gains. The sets/reps/weight still go up. By stopping short of failure, I am able to do more sets.

HIT is good for bodybuilding, it is well established. And that sounds like what the poster wants. But it is not the most efficient or safe way to train for strength. I hurt myself in the past doing sets to failure, and that last rep often goes up with terrible form. I think it is a valuable technique for some people, but I wouldn't recommend it to a beginner.

[stubbs]

oh yeah, and when i want to loose some weight i stick chilli sauce on most of my meals. i love it and i've heard and read (somewhere) it raises your metabolic rate and your immune system. works for me anyway :)
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