Hi Guys,

I've been eating clean, lifting heavy, and doing morning cardio for 4 weeks. There have been a few days where I ate too much, (not a cheat day, probably 300-400 calories too much) but in general I have done well sticking to a 10x(bodyweight in lbs) calories per day.

I have dropped a kilo in that time (thats 2.2 lbs), I am 19% body fat, I weigh 74.5 kilos.

I was kind of hoping that I would see more dramatic results than this - it seems I will have to be on this fat loss program for another 6 months (assuming no plateaus) to reach my goals.

So, my question is - Am I expecting too much? Should I expect to drop fat faster? For my BF %, is this about right?

Maybe I have to just up the intensity and be a lot stricter with the occasional couple 'o hundred calorie overating? Losing the little indulgences (i.e. actually finishing a meal at a restaurant, eating that garlic bread) will be the hardest thing...

If everything is done right, you should loose about 1-3lbs a week... most definitely get rid of those extra calories, especially if they are things like garlic bread….. I know it sucks but the results will come.

Whats your cardio workouts looking like?

If everything is done right, you should loose about 1-3lbs a week... most definitely get rid of those extra calories, especially if they are things like garlic bread….. I know it sucks but the results will come.

Whats your cardio workouts looking like?
I cry for the tasty foods of my past. Still, I've managed to never really be overweight... I just don't have Abs yet.

My Training program is:
Monday : Weights (5:30 pm)
Tues: Cardio 25 Min HIIT bike. (8:00 am).
Wed: RPM bike class 45 mins (~140 bpm heart rate constant). (4:15pm)
Thursday: Cardio 25 Min HIIT (ski/eliptical machine).
Friday: Weights.

Weekend: Well, I'm finding it extremely hard to get excercise done on the weekend. - I'm planning my wedding... It is extremely tough to have time to get to the Gym. In fact, getting there during the week makes me late for work...


So in the end it's 3 fairly tough Cardio's a week, and two weight sessions, that rotate through (biceps, triceps, shoulders) /(quads, calves, hammies) / (chest,back).

Hi Guys,

I've been eating clean, lifting heavy, and doing morning cardio for 4 weeks. There have been a few days where I ate too much, (not a cheat day, probably 300-400 calories too much) but in general I have done well sticking to a 10x(bodyweight in lbs) calories per day.

I have dropped a kilo in that time (thats 2.2 lbs), I am 19% body fat, I weigh 74.5 kilos.

I was kind of hoping that I would see more dramatic results than this - it seems I will have to be on this fat loss program for another 6 months (assuming no plateaus) to reach my goals.

So, my question is - Am I expecting too much? Should I expect to drop fat faster? For my BF %, is this about right?

Maybe I have to just up the intensity and be a lot stricter with the occasional couple 'o hundred calorie overating? Losing the little indulgences (i.e. actually finishing a meal at a restaurant, eating that garlic bread) will be the hardest thing

This is just my personal opinion, but ... you arent eating enough I dont think. Assuming I did the math right I imagine your about 160 Lbs? That would put you at 1600 calories if you do the 10x Body weight thing .. That is no where near enough for what your doing

Put it this way .. My weight goes down unless I break 4000 calories in a day, why? Because people dont seem to realize that the activity level is included in your BMR calculations, sure you may have a 1600 calorie BMR but then when you add the multiplier for walking around some your then at like 2500 calories then lets add the 500 your probaly burning each day on the cardio/weights

3000 calories, your eatting about 1600, which puts you in a deficit of about 1400, your body is probaly in starvation mode. The biggest problem I have been seeing lately is people eat nowhere near enough to lose weight, they think they are susposed to starve themselves which is totally wrong, if you are doing weights and eating clean then you should at least hit the 2500 calorie mark I beleive.

How old are you? Im 15, 5'10 and 200 lbs and have to consume in the mid 3000s range just to plateau weight loss. Personally, try eating more and then see how the results are starvation mode = bad


Second off, Tues: Cardio 25 Min HIIT bike. (8:00 am).

dont wanna burst your bubble but doing HIIT in the morning is the worst time of day you can do HIIT, the goal of HIIT is calories required vs calories used and heart rate elevation. Doing it in the morning or night will not change anything due to the fact that your HIIT is so succesful due to the massive calorie deficit your body is put in due to HIIT because the body tries to recover from the massive intensity while trying to keep up with normal bodily functions.

Now this is not the main reason to do it in the morning, HIIT is treated as though it is a weight lifting session, the biggest problem is, you are getting hardly any benefits from doing the HIIT but in the morning the cortisol levels in your body are at their highest from the previous night, and its a pretty good chance that you will be losing some muscle due to the cortisol level and the digestion of muscle for energy. Now sure, you will be burning carbs/fat but most people do HIIT to hold on to their muscle as much as they can since cardio naturally does burn a bit of muscle as a side effect, however, the fewer cortisols the better, it is the same reason why people say you shouldnt do cardio for more then 40 - 50 minutes because cortisols are released.

Now, this is just what ive read from studys and so on, some people dont even beleive HIIT works but ide advise to try eating more and try HIIT later in the day and see how your results are then.

(good job by the way weight loss is never an easy thing)

dont wanna burst your bubble but doing HIIT in the morning is the worst time of day you can do HIIT, the goal of HIIT is calories required vs calories used and heart rate elevation. Doing it in the morning or night will not change anything due to the fact that your HIIT is so succesful due to the massive calorie deficit your body is put in due to HIIT because the body tries to recover from the massive intensity while trying to keep up with normal bodily functions.

Now this is not the main reason to do it in the morning, HIIT is treated as though it is a weight lifting session, the biggest problem is, you are getting hardly any benefits from doing the HIIT but in the morning the cortisol levels in your body are at their highest from the previous night, and its a pretty good chance that you will be losing some muscle due to the cortisol level and the digestion of muscle for energy. Now sure, you will be burning carbs/fat but most people do HIIT to hold on to their muscle as much as they can since cardio naturally does burn a bit of muscle as a side effect, however, the fewer cortisols the better, it is the same reason why people say you shouldnt do cardio for more then 40 - 50 minutes because cortisols are released.

Now, this is just what ive read from studys and so on, some people dont even beleive HIIT works but ide advise to try eating more and try HIIT later in the day and see how your results are then.

(good job by the way weight loss is never an easy thing)

I would like to read the study that this came from.

This is what I have heard. HIIT should be done in the morning, because it raises your overall metabolism throughout the day. If HIIT is performed at night, your metabolism will be raised but only until you go to bed (when you sleep your metabolism falls.) There has been arguments whether or not carbs should be ingested prior to HIIT, but I haven't been able to find a decent study or argument. Sure, cortisol is at its highest in the morning, but how much does this hurt with a short session of HIIT followed by a decent shake consisting of high GI carbs, and protein? Insulin is cortisols worst enemy, when insulin is released, cortisol levels drop. This is one reason why carbs should be eaten in the morning.

BTW, didn't John perform HIIT in the mornings?

I would try both, and see what works for you. Each body is different, and reacts to different stressors.

Yeah, so I weigh 165.5 pounds. And I'm 26.
/me points up and right.

I should mention I'm a software engineer, so I am quite sedentary with the exception of my Gym routime.

If I eat 10-12x my bodyweight per day, that is between 1650 and 1986 calories.

I think I'm going to beg to differ with you, c8fe, Staying within that calorie range is what John did - and what most of the fat-loss information I am reading is telling me. 3000 calories seems way, way too much. I would probably only eat that much if I was trying to bulk up. Please note, I'm not trying to gain muscle at this point, I am already reasonably muscular, I am just trying to lose say 10% bf to rid myself of the fat over the abs.

The reason I'm doing morning cardio is to elevate the metabolism for the day. Are you telling me that HIIT won't do this? Are you implying that morning cardio eats muscle?

Here are some things to critique
- I have a protein shake before the HIIT, and then I eat breakfast after.
- I honestly think its my little "indiscretions" that are jumping the occasional daily calorie intake to say, 2400 that is the problem. I would say this has been once a week.
- Given that I can do 5 training sessions a week with my timetable, is my current mix not quite right?
- I am finding it hard to get to sleep at night, and I'm probably suriving with 6.5 to 7 hours on average. Maybe this is an issue?
- Given that I'm not really "fat" I'm just trying to lose that last bit... Is this the "hard" stage - the slow going phase?

Oh Forum oracle's, please continue with your opinions.

:)

cooperspale, for problems with sleep try melatonin, and ZMA. I crash hardcore using these two. You can pick up melatonin, and ZMA from any store (Walmart.)

Here is a description of melatonin:

"Melatonin is the all-natural nightcap. It's secreted by the pineal gland, a pea-size structure at the center of the brain, as our eyes register the fall of darkness." At night melatonin is produced to help our bodies regulate our sleep-wake cycles. The amount of it produced by our body seems to lessen as we get older. Scientists believe this may be why young people have less problem sleeping than older people."

I've been eating 10x my weight in calories and i havent dropped in weight at all, look in my sig. You have to experiment for a bit with the amount of calories you take in and see if you're loosing weight or staying at your current weight.
Starting next week im gonna drop 250 calories from my daily intake, i better see some weightloss damint :D
Not that im complaining, at the current rate ill reach my goal but it'll take a while. I rather hit 8-10% bodyfat first and then bulk up.

I've been eating 10x my weight in calories and i havent dropped in weight at all, look in my sig. You have to experiment for a bit with the amount of calories you take in and see if you're loosing weight or staying at your current weight.
Starting next week im gonna drop 250 calories from my daily intake, i better see some weightloss damint :D
Not that im complaining, at the current rate ill reach my goal but it'll take a while. I rather hit 8-10% bodyfat first and then bulk up.
Right!

However, I don't look much different... I'm thinking my BF % is still somewhat similar to what it was when I started.

Yours is going down, you lucky sonofa....

;)

cooperspale,

Did you just weight yourself to guage your progress? Maybe you lost some fat and also put on a bit of muscle so your weight didnt go down as much. This is hard to do, but beginners can achieve this in the early stages of their program.

Also try not eating at all before your morning HIIT. This very much comes down to personal opinion but I'm one of the advocates for HIIT in the mornings on an empty stomach. I wont get into why right now but basically its always worked for me along with Continuous Training for variety. Try it and see if your progress accelerates.

Also, aim for about 0.5kg per week with an absolute maximum of 1kg per week. The slower you lose it the healthier it is and the longer you will be able to sustain it. And I wouldnt worry about training any more, I do more but thats just me. You are doing enough and that coupled with a proper diet will get you results.

You also said you are near the end of your weight loss goals. I'm in the same boat and it sure does get harder, for me its motivation and moving that last little bit of flab. :jumping:

Marcus :tucool: