General vs. Specific Training and the Fat White Dude Syndrome

[Drake]

I agree
Last year I was doing over 75 a day as part of a much larger routine and still had the same love handles. 10 or 20lbs lighter, yes, but still belly.

ps
i'm built similarly to shi guolin - maybe skinnier wrists & ankles, longer legs, and a little more muscle in certain places; but definitely comparable.
Obese by bf%age is 25.
I'd say Guolin and I probably have in the low to mid 20s.

Love handles are a pain to get rid of. That's usually the absolute last place to lose fat when you are losing weight. So, while your composition was likely favorably muscular and you were generally in good health, you probably still couldn't shake those things. They are the last holdouts.

[SPJ]

SPJ,
Absolutely incorrect. Genetic can determine your body type, but obesity is self inflicted, unless you have an actual thyroid problem. I am going to call BS on your friend who drinks water and only eats bread, yet is obese (something I HIGHLY doubt, as he'd be either dead or suffering from nutritional diseases by now). That fails even the scientific aspect. If he burns 700 calories running, and takes in only 400 calories eating, then pray tell how is possible to be obese? If anything, he'd be a medical risk due to lack of nutrition. Simply put... I don't believe it, because it isn't possible.

maybe my friend also eats something else. or some how he is overweight.

my point is that for some people it may be easier to gain weight, for some people it may not be as easy or prone to.

may be due to working more or more rigorous daily activities--

in a similar vein, it may be easier for some people to lose weight

it may be more difficult for some people to lose weight--

genetic or not are all pieces of the puzzles.

I am simply pointing out there are more factors than just eating (gaining calorie) and working out (burning calories)

---

[Pork Chop]

Love handles are a pain to get rid of. That's usually the absolute last place to lose fat when you are losing weight. So, while your composition was likely favorably muscular and you were generally in good health, you probably still couldn't shake those things. They are the last holdouts.

Well, my problem was not quite limited to love handles.
Lowest I got down to was 220 and I really shouldn't be over 200; but working out like a maniac, not drinking, and eating somewhat healthy weren't getting me there.

That's why this year i'm re-prioritizing it. I also have time constraints this year that don't let me hit the gym as often (let alone 3 different gyms a day).

Diet comes first and whatever exercise I can manage comes after that.

I know it's possible to eventually drop to the weight I'm looking for.
I just can't quite burn the candle from both ends anymore; at least not to the same extent that I once did.

Weight loss is not going to happen without a proper calorie deficit and I can't get there from working out alone, especially considering how quick my body breaks down these days.
So food's gotta come first.
I'll find my way back to the gym as my energy levels allow.

Went to the zoo today and nearly passed out.
My eating's been geared towards weight loss based on a sedentary lifestyle.
The diet actually hasn't been bothering me much - I haven't felt all that hungry.
But even something as simple as lugging my kid around the zoo in beautiful weather was a lot more than my body was ready for, given the amount of calories I've been eating.

Can't imagine surviving my old marathon workouts given my current intake.
I'm sure in time I'll adjust.

If you define physical fitness by what you're capable of in the gym, then I can definitely say that while I'm losing weight & eating "healthy", I was a lot more fit when I was fat and eating what I wanted.

[Drake]

Sounds like neither. Being sedentary and eating next to nothing is a dangerous way to lose weight, as you discovered at the Zoo. It certainly isn't healthy. You should have worked in a plan that changed your diet to cause a GRADUAL weight loss while maintaining your muscle mass. Too many people want to nosedive with their weight loss, when the best solution is a slow, controlled loss of fat while retaining muscle. You know, swapping out Twinkies for bananas, cheeseburgers for roasted chicken, etc etc.

[Pork Chop]

Actually, if you saw what I'm doing right now, you probably wouldn't think it was crazy. I'm on something that's well established, proven, and supervised.

And yes, I have to eat like I'm sedentary. I work 10 to 13 hour days lately, with nightly studying to do at home, while trying desperately to see my kid every once in a while.

The last week or so, if I was hungry I just ate, I have not been dying of hunger pains like I do on starvation diets, and my nutrients are pretty well covered. Believe me, if I was starving myself, my wife would be throwing a sh!t fit and I wouldn't stick to it for more than a day or two.

I just wasn't quite ready for walking around for hours, while carrying a 20lb kid, on a bright, sunny day, with a nice sprint at the end to make it to the parking garage before my car was towed. It was the first time I've been light headed since starting what I'm doing. I'll make sure I bring an apple next time.

[KC Elbows]

One thing that made a huge difference for me as far as getting rid of love handles was swimming, I'm not certain why. I had been losing weight gradually for a couple years, healthy weight loss, slowly improving and gradually diversified diet, this sort of thing.

Anyhoo, I was deathly afraid of water, so I took a swim class and a water polo class at the university. For the most part, until the end of the class, I was mostly practicing treading water in the water polo claqss, pretty quickly getting to the point where 15 minutes was perfectly comfortable to tread for, then taking part a bit more. In water polo, you have to really drive with your legs for taking shots, so that your throwing arm rises above the water.

That was in September, now I swim twice a week for 800 meters each. This was mostly a way to workout more without straining my knee too much. Anyway, the kicks come off the core and at many different angles even through one kick, so it's pretty good for hitting the core.

[David Jamieson]

I took those love handles and I threw it on the ground!!

[SPJ]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzifVRyMkMs

just wanted to point out

you would lose a lot of cal on the dance floor.

make sure the place is very well ventilated and bring along lots of water.

since you would be sweating in no time.

[kfson]

Besides genetic influence, doesn't fat accumulate on certain parts of the body because of weakness or imbalance of certain organs and/or glands?

[Drake]

Besides genetic influence, doesn't fat accumulate on certain parts of the body because of weakness or imbalance of certain organs and/or glands?

Yes, but it does strike a remarkably low percentage of the population.

[sanjuro_ronin]

Every one has a natural 'sweet zone" when it comes to weight.
Some guys are naturally thin and other naturally stocky.
But of course you can change that through consistent exercise and diet, the issue is when you do so you are not being "natural".
If you naturally are a 180 pounder ( that means you weight in and around 180 without exercise and without diet), but you stay at 165 with diet and exercise ( or at 200 with diet and exercise),the moment you stop the diet and exercise you will go back up ( or down) to 180+_.
You need to be comfortable with your natural weight and realize that depending on your activity level and diet, it will change.
I am 172lbs right now, at a height of 5'-6", I am short and stocky.
I can also run the 100 in less than 11 seconds, deadlift 360lbs for reps, Dips with 100lbs for reps and chins with 35lbs for reps.
I am not ripped ( though it doesn't take much to lose 10lbs or more if I want) and I have a nice "power belly", LOL !
But I also can take full force kicks and punches there with out much effort.

When I am doing a cycle in which I am doing more cardio and I am far more active, I go down to a ripped 160 without much effort.

Of course when I was younger my natural walking weight was around 155-160, as we get older, unless kept in place by consistent "fat burning", our natural weight tends to increase.

It is scientifically know as the "pizza factor".

[David Jamieson]

Ok, let's take a critical look at fat black dudes, fat yellow dudes and fat red dudes.

No shortage on any of those. And for the fat yellow dudes, throw in enthusiastic smoker as well. lol

quit baggin on white folks. lol