[DamienStevenson]

Hi all. I decided to join this forum to talk about some related to my health and fitness. I'm new to the whole foruming thing, so bear with me

In August, I became disgusted when I ordered $150 of XXL shirts, and they were all too tight. I knew I had to do something; at 6'1'' and 330.5 pounds, things were getting a bit ridiculous. Since August 7th, 2011 to this morning, I've lost 82 pounds (down to 248.5). Now my XXL stuff is mostly too big, and I've went from size 42 pants to size 38.

Basically I've only done cardio, some random weights here and there. I've also extremely cut back on calories, taking in generally no more than 1500. I've been drinking a lot of green tea (Bigelow brand- and I heard green tea was amazing for fat oxidation but it may just be correlation and not causation to my weight loss), and eating Atkins meal bars often for lunch in my busy college lifestyle. I also do my best to eat at least every four hours. I also go by a "BMR" calculator, and I take that number, subtract from it the calories I take in, and then add what I burn according to my pedometer or treadmill/elliptical numbers to calculate my deficit. On a regular weekday, with campus walking and a daily cardio room visit, this deficit can be anywhere from 1750 to 2500.


The only problem so far with my weight loss that I see so far is the sort of "frumpiness" that is still going on. I want to really hit the weights to build some shape into my slowly-but-surely-thinning body.

I heard that whey protein is good, so I bought a tub of "Body Fortress" brand, the cheapest stuff at Walmart. I heard it worked decently, and it doesn't seem like a bad investment. I understand one should have it right after lifting, but I also usually do about 15 minutes of HIIT running (30 seconds sprint, 1 minute walk) after I lift. Would the optimal timing for my workout be to lift, drink a protein shake, and then run? Or does the running sabotage any sort of muscular gain? I heard that the latter is true, but many say that after lifting is the best time for cardio.


Sorry for the tl;dr quality schpiel, so i'll do some sort of conclusion/summing up stuff.
1. Do you guys think I'm going about it correctly? Is 82 pounds in 7 months too much?
2. Do you include a "BMR" number when considering calorie deficits? And is a deficit of 2000ish by this method too much?
3. Does anyone else find green tea to be useful, or am I buying and drinking it in vain?
4. What is the proper sequence for lifting, taking whey protein, and running?
5. Any other general critiques or suggestions?


Thanks, guys. I look forward to being a member here!

[Justwant2Bhealthy]

DAMIEN ~ first of all, congrats on your amazing WL successes so far; actually, 82 lbs in 7 months is a lot. The first 20 lbs may have been largely water-weight though, then mostly fat after that (becuz you started high). As for your questions ...

I want to really hit the weights to build some shape into my slowly-but-surely-thinning body.

-- Your weight-loss isn't slow; that would average about 11.7 lbs per month; a bit less if you took off 20 lbs possible water-weight first ~ but still almost 10 lbs per month, which is fairly fast. Many recommend 1-2 lbs a week for a safe & sustainable weightloss.

-- And, I would suggest that you add in some toning exercises into your program each day or EOD, such as Stretches, Situps, Pushups, Squats, Knee-lifts, Calf-lifts, Thigh presses, Butterfly Pulls (for shoulder definition), along with the smaller hand weights to tone your shape more as you go along. Start it now; don't wait.

1. Do you guys think I'm going about it correctly? Is 82 pounds in 7 months too much?

-- I wouldn't say it was too much, but I would be more concerned about sustainability down the road. Maintenance will need some planning; maybe slowly upping your calorie intake up to 1800 for a trial period when you get there to see what happens. Plus, continue to maintain some exercise each week as well.

2. Do you include a "BMR" number when considering calorie deficits? And is a deficit of 2000ish by this method too much?

-- I calculate my deficit this way: CW (248) x 12 (Mod/active) = 2976 - DCI (1500) = 1476 + xtra exercise (ie cardio) = daily deficit

You probably would have lost weight well at 1800 calories a day, but it would have been a bit slower.

3. Does anyone else find green tea to be useful, or am I buying and drinking it in vain?

-- well, the jury is still out on that one; I drink both regular and green tea, simply becuz it takes hunger pangs away in between meals, and adds to my daily water intake. Can't hurt you to drink it, but you can just get good quality green tea at your local grocery or department store for a decent price.

4. What is the proper sequence for lifting, taking whey protein, and running?

-- Not sure there is a "proper" sequence, but when I went to a gym and the Master Personal Trainer made up my program, I did walking (speed walking) on a track before and after doing my weight lifting. Bike riding before too. I had a whole routine (2 streams that were alternated each time I went). I always heard that lifting heavy weights should only be done 2-3 times a week or EOD (every other day); leaning towards 2 times a week these days.

As for the protein drink, many here take it after they are finished. I only drank water after mine, then had my meals at normal times; but our goals may not have been the same. I trimmed down and did build muscle while I was there too.

5. Any other general critiques or suggestions?

My food intake was good, so he said leave it the same, however I did gain 9 lbs in muscle weight over a year, although I was 2-3 sizes smaller than when I started. I was OK with that.

My routine was walking (speed), situps, biking, weight-lifting (bench presses), butterfly pulls & arm presses, thigh presses, and more walking (alternately Wed/Sat); with some toning & stretches once a week (Monday).

The first time I went to college, I walked to & from school plus did gym & sports (racketball, cross-country skiing, and bowling) which was required at that time. The second time I went to college, I just walked everywhere (to & from school) to keep from gaining weight.

Hope this all helps you some ...

[JohnP]

Ideally you would have spent all the time you were doing cardio lifting weights instead but we can't go back in time.

Since you're in college I have to assume you're in your early 20's or younger. Thus you're ideally poised to recomp your body.

My suggestion would be to go with something like Starting Strength. Plenty of resources online including a fantastic wiki so you most likely don't even need to buy the book.

Spend some time learning how to correctly do the big compound movements and follow the program. In a short period (3 month or less) you'll see a remarkable difference in how you look.

As for diet, I would suggest you try get 200g of protein a day and up your calories to around 2500 on lifting days and 2000 on off days. Yes you'll lose fat slower this way but too big a deficit and you won't be able to build muscle. Only as a beginner to lifting can you put on muscle and lose fat at the same time so you need to take advantage of this brief window of opportunity.

In 3 months you can reassess where you're at.

Great job so far! Keep it up!!