Question on my lifting/whey combo

[RadioActive]

Well month 2 will be here in about a week and my diet has been going pretty ok. Not amazing but not really all that bad either. I feel amazing but my body has not changed one bit. I was shooting the shit with my sister last night and she mentioned that my whey protein isolate is for bulking up which yes she is right. Hence it prolly shouldn't be taken when one is trying to lose weight and perhaps thats why my process is slowed compared to other people.

She makes a valid point. I don't take the whey to bulk up I take it so that when I lose fat I am not losing muscle mass either. But since it is for bulking up muscle mass perhaps I need to lose fat and then bulk up later. Been taking this whey supplement for over a month now and I will say I have gotten MUCH bigger and MUCH stronger. But my body looks exctaly the same, I think this is playing tricks on my mind lol. Its hard to explain I guess. The real question I have is, could this whey supplement be hindering my full weight loss potential or am I just looking for a problem that isnt really there. Gotta be something, since day one I've floated between 370-378

 

[KaraCooks]

I was shooting the shit with my sister last night and she mentioned that my whey protein isolate is for bulking up which yes she is right.

Nope, sorry, she's actually NOT right at all.

Is your sister a pro or a nutritionist? If she is, she needs to go back to school. If not - well ... !

Hence it prolly shouldn't be taken when one is trying to lose weight and perhaps thats why my process is slowed compared to other people.

Nope again. Sorry.

Whey protein - or protein supplements of any kind are for just that - supplementing protein. It doesn't matter whether you get your protein from whey or from chicken or from fish or from soy or from pork - simply eating additional protein is not going to stall out your weight loss or cause you to bulk up with so much muscle that it offsets your weight loss. I've lost 80 lbs and I use whey protein after every workout .. and have for over a year.

What keeps you from losing weight is eating more calories than you burn - or eating as many as you burn if you're close to maintenance. (Barring any medical reasons you wouldn't lose, like thyroid issues, insulin issues, or medication that might mess with your weight, of course.) Or, if you're eating far too little, you can stall out your metabolism and stall out your weight loss for a good long time as your body struggles to adapt. But either way it's all about amount and calories, not about a couple of scoops of protein or not.

People want a quick fix for why they're not losing weight - they want to say "oh it's this one thing I'm eating" or "oh it's this supplement I'm taking" or whatever ... and it just doesn't work that way. If you're not losing weight it's because you need to adjust your calories ... honestly and truly that's the bottom line.

Examine your daily intake carefully and I'll bet you'll see where the problem is.

 

[KaraCooks]

Ok, I just went back and found your journal and read the highlights. You've lost 7 inches on your stomach, a couple of pant sizes, and a few inches else where. You've also gained muscle, as you can tell by your arms.

Honestly here's my very best advice to you ..

Walk. Away. From. The. Scale.

You're kicking ass and taking names with your progress and yet you're obsessing about a number on the scale. I promise you that eventually the scale will move, if you continue working out and eating healthily.

Now, having said that, I saw quite a few "oops I messed up" days on your journal - so do keep that in mind. If you're eating a lot of sodium (and fast food is loaded with sodium) and not drinking enough water, then you could be retaining all kinds of fluid which will very much skew the scale.

I also think you could be eating MORE than you are - around 3200 calories a day at your current weight. I am willing to bet if you would spend one week eating perfectly on plan and continuing your workout that you'd see a change in the scale. 3200 healthy calories w/out any "oopses" or high sodium meals or sodas or anything like that. I'd actually bet money on it.

 

[RadioActive]

I know I am obsessing! I can't help it haha, perhaps I should fix my mind as well as my body!!

One thing you need to know about me job is that once I arrive at the well I am working on that day I cannot leave. I always have some sort of breakfast but usually in the oil patch nothing ever goes as planned. Like today for instance, I was up at 4 had some ceral and some peaches and went to work. I didn't eat lunch till 3pm (was driving and couldn't find a town with a place to eat) and I just got down with dinner. So today I have had ceral, peaches, burger/fries, and subway. That in a nut shell is a usual day on the job haha. I would bring food with me but I can't. I work with radioactive material and we can't risk contamination. Not much I can do there. But on the day I don't have a job I acutally do really well. I will try my best to take in more cals as well. It's possible like you said maybe I am not eating enough so i will increase it. Just hoping that 40mins to an hour of boxing will be enough cardio everyday.

Thanks again Kara, you have mastered the way of telling someone how it is without making them feel dumb and cheering them up at the same time

 

[Jynus]

whey = food.

telling someone that whey is for bulking is like telling them that chicken is for bulking. basically it's nonsense. Whey is not magical, it's powdered food. it's not even needed, as simply being protein, you're more than capable of eating protein from other food sources.

and i also back fully what kara says. you're losing fat, this is evident by yourself shrinking. stop worrying about the scale. this is perfectly normal..... in another month or 2 when your muscle gains plateau from having a caloric deficit diet meaning your noob gains are over, you'll start to see the pounds coming off the scale. till then, enjoy simultaneous strength/muscle gain with fat loss. it's the only time you're going to see it........

 

[KaraCooks]

So today I have had ceral, peaches, burger/fries, and subway

Ok, a couple of suggestions.

First let me say that I've worked on radio survey teams for oil companies and so I do understand your situation and I realize you're not making excuses. That said ... there are still changes you can make.

The first thing is eat a big breakfast. Seriously - even if you don't think you can or have to force it down. Cereal is a crappy breakfast. Sorry to be blunt but it's the god's honest truth. Cereal is mostly sugar, then some processed crap, and then some more processed crap, and then some added nutrition. Ditch it. It's a waste of money and time and flavor. Eggs. Yogurt. Cottage cheese. Oatmeal (made the night before and reheated in the microwave). A protein shake with powder and whole milk and a banana and some other kind of fruit. Protein pancakes rock and can be made in advance in bulk and then heated in the microwave - I'll dig up my recipe. Then you spread them with pb layer in a few apple slices, roll them up and eat them on the go. Or don't even go with traditional breakfast foods. Have a turkey sandwich on whole grain with a slice of cheese and a piece of fruit (or 2 or 3 pieces of fruit). Get in 500 to 700 calories OR MORE with your breakfast. If you can't eat other times during the day, make this meal count - both in volume and in nutrition.

Next - lunch. I totally understand that when you're driving between rigs sometimes you get one town with a fast food place and a flashing red light. I've been there, believe me. You can still make healthy choices when eating fast food. First of all (yeah I'm gonna yell ) STOP EATING FRIES. Fries are nothing but grease, fat, simple carbs and wasted calories. At any fast food place you can get a burger w/out mayo, a grilled chicken sandwich, some kind of salad, some kind of fruit. Even McDonalds offers apple slices and mandarin oranges. Get two burgers, take the top bun off and eat them open faced. Yes, there's more fat there, but it's healthier and more protein than a burger and fries.

Dinner - Subway is the best option of most fast food places, but make sure you're getting the whole grain bread, not just the "wheat". Make sure you're getting lean meat and LOTS of veggies. Really load the sandwich down with veggies. Skip the chips.

And then drink tons of water. Seriously ... as much water as you possibly can. Because any time you eat fast food, even you make the healthiest possible choices you can, you're going to ingest 4x the recommendation for sodium - at a minimum.

If that's what you eat on a regular basis - say 3 or more days a week, then yeah I'm not surprised the scale isn't moving. It's not that you're not building muscle or reshaping your body, but you are probably retaining enormous amounts of fluid because of sodium and you're probably holding on to some fat because of the lack of nutrients overall.

I think if you can wean out some of the bad food choices - even if you have to resort to "healthy" (ish) fast food - you'll see more progress.

Oh, and I'm glad I can help!

 

[RadioActive]

Ok, a couple of suggestions.

First let me say that I've worked on radio survey teams for oil companies and so I do understand your situation and I realize you're not making excuses. That said ... there are still changes you can make.

The first thing is eat a big breakfast. Seriously - even if you don't think you can or have to force it down. Cereal is a crappy breakfast. Sorry to be blunt but it's the god's honest truth. Cereal is mostly sugar, then some processed crap, and then some more processed crap, and then some added nutrition. Ditch it. It's a waste of money and time and flavor. Eggs. Yogurt. Cottage cheese. Oatmeal (made the night before and reheated in the microwave). A protein shake with powder and whole milk and a banana and some other kind of fruit. Protein pancakes rock and can be made in advance in bulk and then heated in the microwave - I'll dig up my recipe. Then you spread them with pb layer in a few apple slices, roll them up and eat them on the go. Or don't even go with traditional breakfast foods. Have a turkey sandwich on whole grain with a slice of cheese and a piece of fruit (or 2 or 3 pieces of fruit). Get in 500 to 700 calories OR MORE with your breakfast. If you can't eat other times during the day, make this meal count - both in volume and in nutrition.

Next - lunch. I totally understand that when you're driving between rigs sometimes you get one town with a fast food place and a flashing red light. I've been there, believe me. You can still make healthy choices when eating fast food. First of all (yeah I'm gonna yell ) STOP EATING FRIES. Fries are nothing but grease, fat, simple carbs and wasted calories. At any fast food place you can get a burger w/out mayo, a grilled chicken sandwich, some kind of salad, some kind of fruit. Even McDonalds offers apple slices and mandarin oranges. Get two burgers, take the top bun off and eat them open faced. Yes, there's more fat there, but it's healthier and more protein than a burger and fries.

Dinner - Subway is the best option of most fast food places, but make sure you're getting the whole grain bread, not just the "wheat". Make sure you're getting lean meat and LOTS of veggies. Really load the sandwich down with veggies. Skip the chips.

And then drink tons of water. Seriously ... as much water as you possibly can. Because any time you eat fast food, even you make the healthiest possible choices you can, you're going to ingest 4x the recommendation for sodium - at a minimum.

If that's what you eat on a regular basis - say 3 or more days a week, then yeah I'm not surprised the scale isn't moving. It's not that you're not building muscle or reshaping your body, but you are probably retaining enormous amounts of fluid because of sodium and you're probably holding on to some fat because of the lack of nutrients overall.

I think if you can wean out some of the bad food choices - even if you have to resort to "healthy" (ish) fast food - you'll see more progress.

Oh, and I'm glad I can help!

Ya I didnt know I needed to get that many calories in breakfast haha. I will try and cut down on the salt intake and see where that takes me. I am still struggling with my mind vs. stomach fight. For 20 years I over ate. So everytime I go to eat, esp fast food, my mind is telling me oh you need more that wont fill you up. And for the most part when I do eat out I just get a dollar menu burger or two (if I am on the road). It's nice to know that you understand where I am coming from haha. As far as subway goes I always order 9grain wheat turkey/ham or I get a 6' Feast, which has all the meats. Turkey, Roastbeef, ham, etc. And the chips things will have to be removed slowly lol. I gave up cheetos and went to lower fat chip. Hopefully this next week will go a little better. Sorry for the wall of texted lol.

 

[Mr. Love]

Yeah protein doesnt make you bigger. It helps to repair the muscles you damaged during your work outs.