Why aren't I losing weight? Harsh truth needed.
- Thread starter emilymarie137
- Start date
It's not saying that you weigh as much as me or everyone else weighs as much as me or even you.
I'm saying that if you replaced ALL of your body fat with muscle you will weigh more NOT because muscle weighs more, but for the reason that 1 lb of muscle is smaller than 1 lb of fat so you can fit more muscle into the space where the 1 lb of fat was previously.
If you look back at the photo at how small the 5lbs of muscle is compared to the 5lbs of fat that might help.
I'm saying that if you replaced ALL of your body fat with muscle you will weigh more NOT because muscle weighs more, but for the reason that 1 lb of muscle is smaller than 1 lb of fat so you can fit more muscle into the space where the 1 lb of fat was previously.
If you look back at the photo at how small the 5lbs of muscle is compared to the 5lbs of fat that might help.
Dr Game
0
Exactly what I've been saying.
Look, I've seen both ways since the first post this was brought up... This is a very bad thing to debate, and I hope it doesn't keep coming up.
I suggest leaving it at this
Case 1:
Box A is 1 foot cubed full of fat.
Box B is 1 foot cubed full of muscle.
Same content of each, if Box A Weighed 50 lbs, then Box B Weighs 60 lbs.
Case 2:
Box A is 50 lbs full of fat
Box B is 50 lbs full of fat
Both weigh the same if Box A is 1 cubed foot, then Box B is 9.6 inches cubed
In order for something to be technically be compared as the same weight, it must be the same pound for pound. Not "these things are only the same weight when there are different quantities" type of thing.
LollipopKid
New member
What weighs more... a pound ofgold or a pound of feathers... the answer might surprise you 
You may all now go back to your argument
You may all now go back to your argument
I'm 17, 4'11, and weigh 120. I'm really small boned too. I want to get down to about 105.
I have been eating around 1300 calories a day. I only drink water, tea, and an occasional juice. I eat lots of veggies and fruit. I don't eat red meat. I usually have grilled chicken.
Here are my workouts: I do them at least 4 times a week. Sometimes more.
1000 regular crunches
1000 bicycle crunches
100 situps
20 twist lungest each leg
20 kick lunges each leg
50 plie squats
50 pulsing plie squat things
50-100 back leg lifts each leg
100 sitting glute raise things each leg
100-200 desk dips
30 reverse pushups
I have been doing this for a long time, but haven't lost any weight. Please tell me what I am doing wrong. Thanks so much!!
and back on topic..
as mentioned earlier, you need to conduct more cardio, preferably steady-state movements such as biking or jogging. you also need to incorporate core exercises, plyometrics, and calisthenics. doing HIIT or running up hill increases your VO2 max (oxygen uptake), which increases your ability to burn more fat. fat burn really begins around the 15-20 min mark after an aerobic exercise has begun.
you need to realize that there are two types of energy that makes a muscle move: aerobic (oxygen required) and anaerobic (oxygen not required).
unfortunately, one of the last sources of energy the body uses is fat. however, carbohydrates yield more energy than fat does, which is one reason why you can still get tired aerobically even though you may have lots of fat in you. this is the reason why you need to have an adequate amount of carbohydrates in your diet, vice low-carb.
you are EXTREMELY incorrect with your information here. please read my post above.
theleip
2
This is my last reply in this thread as surely this has scared off the original poster which is a shame.
First let us just ignore the fat/muscle weight thing. Technically it doesn't, I never said though that someone could not be heavier and have a smaller frame. That is that.
Cardio is not the best way to lose fat, period. Best way to lose fat? Clean diet in a healthy caloric deficit. Diet is the most important aspect to any goal be it fat loss, muscle gain, athletic endurance and so forth. You really have a problem agreeing with me on that? I don't think so, I think you just got your fresh at home mail cert (I recognize that methods of HIIT/Plyometrics uses and steady state cardio, what was it IFPA or AFPA?) and want to try and powerhouse your way against my statements.
We are talking about fat loss here and maximizing that fat loss. A girl this size and who has been over training has to do some muscle repair. Resistance training is going to be key to achieving her goal. Did I say cardio wasn't important at all, forget it don't use it ever? No. I said cardio is not the best way to lose fat.
Diet is king over everything, then a solid resistance program set up to build muscle (as much as can in a deficit) and keep it. Then cardio comes in when needed. I believe in HIIT over steady state when it can be used for greater afterburn effect. Not everyone though has the conditioning to so such training. Each case is different, each person is different. I don't believe in guiding by "fat burning zones", I believe in guiding by muscle protection zones and overall caloric expenditures to work in conjunction with the Law of Thermodynamics. Guess what though not all black and white there either.
What happens when hormone dysfunction occurs, starvation modes, so on and so forth. Who plays that biggest role? Diet.
It is really easy to read a manual, memorize the terms from it and start regurgitating that information out into the world. I don't play by those rules, I take it further. I take in daily information form the top trainers, doctors and fitness experts in the country, world even. John Berardi, Lyle McDonald, Alwyn Coscrove, Chad Waterbury, Tom Venuto, Lou Schuler, Craig Ballantyne's, Christian Thibaudeau the list goes on. I read study after study and challenge on a daily basis everything I knew the day before.
I could get science heavy and pass out detailed advice but these people here just want and need some basic guidelines to hit a good starting point. They don't need to be doing 60 mins of cardio a day, they don't need to be doing Jump squats and ATG movements (plyo) You want to tell a 230 pound man with 29% body fat to go and do some burpies? Go ahead be my guest, not going to happen with me.
[Edit - Rude Comment] the best way to lose fat is to combine diet and exercise. exercise will maximize the body's ability to burn fat, among other things. i don't even recommend HIIT as a primary way to burn fat. HIIT will increase your VO2 max, but then you'd have to decrease your target heart rate to about 65% to increase fat burn.
do you even know what aerobic and anaerobic energy means? fat is one source of energy. it has 9 calories per gram. it is an aerobic energy source (just like certain blood glucose), meaning it cannot be used unless oxygen is present. to speed up this process, you need to do something aerobically. why do you think you breathe hard during exercise? the mitochondria in your muscle cells are screaming for oxygen to keep up with the energy demands of the muscles.
Last edited by a moderator:
well what's the difference between the two statements in bold? lol
[edit - snip rude comment]
Last edited by a moderator:
Why dont you recommend HIIT? Because it elevates metabolism for up to two days after the session and can be done in less than 15 minutes? Weight loss is about burning more calories than you take in, so why are you saying "lets burn fat?"
Oops Im sorry, I shouldve have read this.
emilymarie137
New member
What are we in 3rd grade?
emilymarie137
New member
Please don't debate fact.
Im curious to know which fact you're referring to?
You're still comparing paper to paper though. Same thing, different shape. The difference is more like the difference between wood and gold. If you take about a 14"x14"x14" cube of wood, I don't know exactly what it would weight but I could easily pick it up. However, take that same size cube worth of gold, and since gold is much more dense, that same exact size is going to weigh about a ton - 2,000 pounds.
Same thing with fat vs. muscle. People always say that muscle weighs more than fat because you have to take into account your size and stop focusing on weight alone. A fit muscular person could easily weigh even more than an unfit person who has very little muscle, quite a bit of fat, and may even be bigger. It's all about density.
okayy so isnt everyone here meant to be trying to give emily advice on her post?? not arguing, people have different theories and ideas and thats okay.i mean i thought that muscle weighs more than fat but what do i no?
emily marie i had exactly the same problem. i too am 17 and i'm 5 ft 4 weighing 128lbs. i wanted to lose around 10lbs and i wasnt losing anything to begin with and didnt no why. I also did the same sort of exercises as you: squats, sit ups, crunches, kick back etc. these exercises are good but there all toning exercises that build up muscle (girly muscle not like big beasty man muscle!)
It wasnt until i started introducing cardio into my routine that i started losing weight. i no people say cardio doesnt burn fat or whatever but i lost fat from my thighs which i was happy with.
Weight loss is a long process and i only lost about a pound a week which was a bit disheartening considering i was doing exercie nearly everyday! I've since put back on a bit of the weight as my weight loss plateaued (i cant spell btw) and cos ive gotten a little lazy.
Now im hoping to lose the wight and keep it off without being disheartened. if your a scale checker like me then don't think what your doing isnt working and completely stop, it sometimes takes a few weeks (some say even 2 months!) before you start losing weight. I wish that someone had told me this before cos ive been trying to lose weight for years and thought that it would just fall off in a matter of weeks but its a process that takes time.
sorry for the huge essay and i hope some of this helps! good luck
emily marie i had exactly the same problem. i too am 17 and i'm 5 ft 4 weighing 128lbs. i wanted to lose around 10lbs and i wasnt losing anything to begin with and didnt no why. I also did the same sort of exercises as you: squats, sit ups, crunches, kick back etc. these exercises are good but there all toning exercises that build up muscle (girly muscle not like big beasty man muscle!
)It wasnt until i started introducing cardio into my routine that i started losing weight. i no people say cardio doesnt burn fat or whatever but i lost fat from my thighs which i was happy with.
Weight loss is a long process and i only lost about a pound a week which was a bit disheartening considering i was doing exercie nearly everyday! I've since put back on a bit of the weight as my weight loss plateaued (i cant spell btw) and cos ive gotten a little lazy.
Now im hoping to lose the wight and keep it off without being disheartened. if your a scale checker like me then don't think what your doing isnt working and completely stop, it sometimes takes a few weeks (some say even 2 months!) before you start losing weight. I wish that someone had told me this before cos ive been trying to lose weight for years and thought that it would just fall off in a matter of weeks but its a process that takes time.
sorry for the huge essay and i hope some of this helps! good luck
