Looking for some tips

A

Anewme

New member
Hey everyone,
I have been on my weight loss journey since July 07. I really have no set time goal more of a long term goal. I would ideally like to finish at 180.

A little bit of back history. Since starting out last July I have lost a little more then 50lbs. I did this by changing my eating habits as well as giving up sodas completely.

For exercise I would take walks after work on a walk path in a park, usually about 2 miles a day 5 days a week. A few weeks in I started to incorporate running into the walks. This was working great. I stop going for walks once winter hit and it started getting dark at 4pm. I used my treadmill on and off through this time. Doing this I still lost wait slowly which is what I'm looking for.

I have since joined a gym to incorporate weight training as well. I have been going to the gym about 2 weeks now. The scale is now going the other way though. I have gains about 4 lbs since starting at the gym.

I know my eating habits need work. I will usually eat twice a day. Anywhere from 1000-2000 calories a day. Do you guys think I am in starvation mode now due to the added exercise or just gaining muscle mass that weighs more then fat?
Any help you guys might have to help me get the scale going back the right way is highly appreciated.
Thanks,
Cris
 
Spend time reading the stickied threads in nutrition, exercise and on topic... you'll get a lot of really useful good information to aid you on your journey...
 
You're only eating 2 meals a day?

You should increase this to 6

Find how many callories you need to consume to stay at your current weight, then minus 500 or so and consume that many and space you food intake out by 6 meals.(This is important)

When you eat your metabolism either kicks in and starts either burning calories or your body starts storing them for later.

When you only eat two meals a day you body STORES the calories you eat.

By eating 6 small meals a day you will increase your metabolism because it won't be in the "Storage mode" it will be in the "burn mode"

If you have any questions feel free to ask!

Jonathan
 
To answer your question - you are not really kicking into starvation mode - the calories you end up consuming seem to be sufficient.

I would do what loseDaW8masta suggested with the meals. It may be hard to do at first - but with a little perseverance you'll see how your body learns to burn your portions like a clockwork.

It is possible that you are now adding muscle mass, but to be honest, if it has only been 2 weeks on the weight training, it's unlikely. Unless you're doing 2 hrs of intensive training 3 times a week or similar. But it is not impossible.

I'd say stick to your 3 to 4 cardio sessions a week and maybe 1 to 2 weights sessions too. You definitely don't have to do 6 times a week at the gym, but I'm just giving you an indication of the ratio of cardio to strength training.

What is a very good alternative that combines cardio and strength is a compound exercise routine. Your gym instructor should be able to put one together specially for your goals if you ask :)
 
loseDaW8masta said:
You're only eating 2 meals a day?

You should increase this to 6

Find how many callories you need to consume to stay at your current weight, then minus 500 or so and consume that many and space you food intake out by 6 meals.(This is important)

When you eat your metabolism either kicks in and starts either burning calories or your body starts storing them for later.

When you only eat two meals a day you body STORES the calories you eat.

By eating 6 small meals a day you will increase your metabolism because it won't be in the "Storage mode" it will be in the "burn mode"

If you have any questions feel free to ask!

Jonathan
Click to expand...

There is no proof of this... food doesn't stay in the system long enough for have "storage mode", read up on glycogen and fat stores. Putting things in quotes doesn't make it true. Six small meals may be a great way to battle hunger issues and is raved about by some and ignored by others. Show me HARD evidence to support this theory with clinical trials and then I'll shut my mouth.

Anita_123 said:
To answer your question - you are not really kicking into starvation mode - the calories you end up consuming seem to be sufficient.

I would do what loseDaW8masta suggested with the meals. It may be hard to do at first - but with a little perseverance you'll see how your body learns to burn your portions like a clockwork.

It is possible that you are now adding muscle mass, but to be honest, if it has only been 2 weeks on the weight training, it's unlikely. Unless you're doing 2 hrs of intensive training 3 times a week or similar. But it is not impossible.

I'd say stick to your 3 to 4 cardio sessions a week and maybe 1 to 2 weights sessions too. You definitely don't have to do 6 times a week at the gym, but I'm just giving you an indication of the ratio of cardio to strength training.

What is a very good alternative that combines cardio and strength is a compound exercise routine. Your gym instructor should be able to put one together specially for your goals if you ask :)
Click to expand...

Ok, I don't have the stats on this person, but with his ticker information I am going to go with a male around 5'10"... or so. I could be way off... but if he is doing a good amount of cardio and weight training... he needs MORE than 1000 calories a day. Even if he is zig zagging, that is 1500 cals a day... WAY too low. Sir, you need to eat at LEAST 2000 calories a day to lose weight. I know this sounds crazy, but you need to EAT MORE to LOSE MORE, you do sound like you are in a plateau right now. Also, I think you should be taking measurements at least bi-weekly to note any REAL progress in the gym. You did not gain 4lbs of muscle in 2 weeks... probably has something to do with a variation of glycogen and water stores within the body.

*** These are methods that I am suggesting, in no way am I a professional nor do I claim to be. Just some guy on the forums, whose done some reading and has had success with other people using these methods. Good luck. ***
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Like Mal said, read the stickies there is a lot of good information there...you definately need to be eating more than 1000 cals/day, that is entirely too low. If you have any questions, feel free to ask, but do the reading first because many of them have already been answered.
 
Thanks for the replies, I have been reading up and have a better understanding of what I need to do. Hopefully with these changes to my meals and workouts I'll start going the right way again on the scale.

Also, Darth Pooh you were very close I'm 5'9".
 
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