New member asking for help

[Texan]

Hello… nice forum you have here. I’m a 42 years man and about 5’10”, 197lbs (today). I quit smoking in January and gained about 20 pounds so I started the Atkins thing about 2 months ago and dropped to 192 from about 205. At that point, about two and a half weeks ago, I started back at the gym and have been doing at least 30 minutes of cardio and and 30 minutes of weights about 5 times a week and I’m gaining a pound every couple of days. The last time I worked out this intense was about 4 years ago and I dropped to 170lbs at that time and was skinny as a bone. What do I need to do to get some weight off. I’m not really on Atkins at this point since I figured I needed the carbs to work out, but I’m still not eating bread, pasta or potatoes. Any suggestins? According to my measurements, I’m at about 23 percent body fat.

Any help or suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks,
John

 

[fitski]

Heya Texan

Since your working out alot, i dont think the atkins diet is right for you, because your gonna need the carbs for your muscles. And if you ever seen one of those people that have done atkins for a while they look really soft and pudgey..kinda like a skinny fat guy kind of like dr. atkins himself.

I read this book called burn the fat and feed the muscle and they suggest 40% carbs 40% protein 20% fat as your diet for losing fat and building muscle. Thats what i'm aiming for in my diet and I'm currently 221 with 25% body fat 5'11''. Also I would also do a little longer cardio routine your just starting to fire up your body at 30 minutes, 45 minutes at 75% of you maximum heart rate would probably be better for you since you probably dont have any problems working out. Well good luck to you and good job so far!

 

[Lisa3]

HI Texan,

welcome to the forum.

One suggestion...don't only go by weight, look at yourself in the mirror. If you are gaining weight, it could also mean that you are gaining muscle, which is heavier than fat. In order to lose weight while gaining muscle, you have to make sure that you are burning more calories than you are consuming. You mentioned adding carbs to your diet...if you consume them right before you workout, your body will use them as fuel, instead of burning fat ... so if you give your body enough fuel for the whole workout, you won't burn any fat.

Don't get me wrong, I am not saying don't eat any carbs, just make sure you eat them at the right times (not at night and not right before your workout) or in combination with protein and fat.

Congratulations on your results so far and

Keep up the Good Work

 

[Texan]

Interesting...

To Fitski - "Kind of a skinny fat guy" describes me. I've never thought of this before.

To Lisa - You are correct too... I'll eat a granola bar (or something smilar) before working out, but I burn like four times the calories during the work out. Could that be leading me down the wrong energy buring path?

I really don't think i've gained that much muscle so far. My clothes are no loser than they were when i started working out. Thanks for the responses.

John

 

[allcdnboy1]

Lisa is bang-on. Becase you haven't worked out for awhile, you will gain muscle mass fairly quickly, espcially if you are trainging hard, so the scale won't be indicitive of your your progress. As for as the Atkins diet goes, you can still use that diet, but slightly modified for working out because of your bodies energy requirements. You just have to be careful because if you follow the atkins diet to the T and then have have too many carbs, it will be counter-productive because it will immediately be stored as fat. Basically, I just reduce my carbs as the day goes on ... quite a bit in the morning to get me going and then each meal contains less & less until I reach dinner, where I try to have 0. Good luck!