Weight loss

[BIXX]

So, I wanna know the fastest ways to burn calories that you guys know, plus some easy vegetarian or vegan diets. Basically, how fast can the fat drop off my body? And how to do it?

Thank you for your time!

[Sinister Intents]

So, I wanna know the fastest ways to burn calories that you guys know, plus some easy vegetarian or vegan diets. Basically, how fast can the fat drop off my body? And how to do it?

Thank you for your time!

Well I personally don't know a whole lot on this subject, but going vegetarian should help out a lot comrade. Perhaps not even full vegetarian at first, and transition your way to it. Manage your portions, what you use, et cetera. As for exercise you could do a lot of walking, do push ups, sit ups and crunches, perhaps you could find like a place for something like martial arts or find a gym. I think this will take time. What's your BMI, or your height and weight if you're willing to share?

[BIXX]

Well I personally don't know a whole lot on this subject, but going vegetarian should help out a lot comrade. Perhaps not even full vegetarian at first, and transition your way to it. Manage your portions, what you use, et cetera. As for exercise you could do a lot of walking, do push ups, sit ups and crunches, perhaps you could find like a place for something like martial arts or find a gym. I think this will take time. What's your BMI, or your height and weight if you're willing to share?


Height: 5'7" or maybe 8"
Weight is: 170 lbs

However, I believe that a good amount of my weight is muscle (prolly not incredibly toned) because I don't look like I weigh 170 to most people.

I have a gym and I am vegetarian (but a pretty terrible one- my eating habits are very unhealthy, but if I had a plan I think I could easily eat healthier), I was just wondering more what I can do extra. I don't care as much about gaining muscle mass as losing fat, however I am not opposed to gaining muscle mass (in fact I would prefer it to increase haha).

[Trap Queen Voxxy]

Height: 5'7" or maybe 8"
Weight is: 170 lbs

However, I believe that a good amount of my weight is muscle (prolly not incredibly toned) because I don't look like I weigh 170 to most people.

I have a gym and I am vegetarian (but a pretty terrible one- my eating habits are very unhealthy, but if I had a plan I think I could easily eat healthier), I was just wondering more what I can do extra. I don't care as much about gaining muscle mass as losing fat, however I am not opposed to gaining muscle mass (in fact I would prefer it to increase haha).

Drink alot of soda? Sugary stuffs? Cut all that shtuff out. Like, only drink water for awhile and you'll lose weight quick for no reason.

[Sinister Intents]

Definitely what Vox said!!! Lot's of walking and light jogging will help, it helped a couple people I know at college.

[BIXX]

How do you guys feel about crossfit? They have them at my school but they seem to be kinda not working (also possibly cause we have limited space to do any work). Should I do them outside of school?

[Sinister Intents]

How do you guys feel about crossfit? They have them at my school but they seem to be kinda not working (also possibly cause we have limited space to do any work). Should I do them outside of school?

Do you mean this crossfit? https://www.crossfit.com (https://www.crossfit.com/)
I put it in spoiler tags cuz of paranoia of it being taken as spam :/

I think it sounds alright, perhaps it'd be best to do this outside of school :)

[Trap Queen Voxxy]

How do you guys feel about crossfit? They have them at my school but they seem to be kinda not working (also possibly cause we have limited space to do any work). Should I do them outside of school?

Idk, I've been doing this interval training T25, 25 min thingy whatevers on the DVD? Holy God!

[IWantToLearn]

Stop or limit your consumption of refined carbs (sugar/white bread) and greasy/oily stuff (even olive oil) and eat your food as whole as possible. Get enough sleep because you grow and expend calories while sleeping.
I would like to recommend you some vegan documentaries like "Fork over knives" (i can pass you a link to this doc), "Fat, sick and nearly dead" and "Simply raw: reversing diabetes in 30 days".

[Os Cangaceiros]

Five eight and one seventy seems like a pretty good weight to me...I'm five ten and about one fifty last time I checked, and I'm a sinewy muscle-stalk lol

[BIXX]

Five eight and one seventy seems like a pretty good weight to me...I'm five ten and about one fifty last time I checked, and I'm a sinewy muscle-stalk lol


It's not about the weight, I wanna lose fat (of which I have enough that people have begun commenting). I used to have a 6-pack and just be like, one of those people who people knew was really fit. Now I'm not. I want that back.

[PhoenixAsh]

roughly said and simplified:

1 pound of weight is an equivalent of 3500 calories.

Adjusting dietary habits and drinking lots of water will decrease your body fat.
This does not necessarily mean you have to eat less. It could also mean to adjust when you eat by distributing the same amount you eat now over more sittings....every 2 hours or so would be optimal....this will increase your metabolic rate which will require more calories. Ergo...you will burn more calories and therefore start losing weight. You also need water to burn fat. All fluids contain water. The less calories the fluids you drink contain...the better it is for burning fat.

Sugar...and other carbs are what provides your body with the quickest source of energy. Eating excess carbs, more than you burn, will result in an increase in BF. Carbs are the major source of fat increase (and not contrary to popular believe...fat itself). So don't drink soda.

Your body is build so that it processes the quickest and most efficient energy source first. Which is carbs....then protein and then fat. So in order to burn more efficiently you need to let the body know you need your muscles...by using them!...and you need to reduce your free carbs.

You can accomplish this in two ways:
1). Do strength training before cardio.
2). Do cardio on an empty stomach.

Protein builds muscle. Muscle burns calories. Increasing muscle volume will increase the amount of calories you will burn.

If you absolutely seriously want to burn fat...look into a ketogenic diet plan. This reduces carbs and this in turn will trigger the body to burn fat. There is a down side....it will take two weeks for your body to adjust and you will feel like shit during those two weeks. Tired and sluggish. Prolonged ketogenic diet is unhealthy. But it does burn fat.

Exercise is important. BUT contrary to popular believe...cardio is not really fast in reducing fat. Generally speaking you start to lose fat after a minimum of 12 minutes cardio. Doing less than 30 minutes cardio is basically useless except for fitness levels. In my experience you burn 300 calories in 20-30 minutes. Which means you need 10 of these sessions to lose 1 pound of weight.

Losing fat quickly....you will need to following combination:

* DIETARY HABITS!!! This...is ultimately the most important factor in reducing fat.
* Strength training to increase muscle size.
* Cardio training to increase fitness and burn more calories.

Anything less will take longer.

[PhoenixAsh]

there is a really good e-book which explains the basics of losing fat. (do NOT pay for this book!! download it from a torrent) "Burn the fat". It is simplified and uses popular language.

It explains the dynamics of body metabolism. It is not always entirely correct in how it describes processes...but the bottom line is...it works.

Knowing the principles will enable you to either lose or gain weight responsibly.



***


There is also a technique which is called intermittent fasting...which is really interesting. Because it is supposed to increase life span by alternating periods of just drinking (fasting) with periods of eating all you can.

[Ele'ill]

Sprints vs long(er) runs, eating healthy greens and a bit of fruits

Getting healthy calories in.

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

Pheonix Ash has covered most things, i'll just add a couple of things they've overlooked/I disagree with.

For fat-burning, shorter cardio sessions are actually superior. In the old days, people used to think that you had to do at least 20 mins cardio to get past your day's carb intake and start burning your fat stores, so they'd say that 'cos of that you need to do 30+ mins to actually burn fat effectively.

However, there's a lot of research that shows that HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) is a far better and more efficient way of burning fat. It's more effective in the long-run because it keeps your metabolism raised for longer (so if you do some interval training at 2pm, your metabolism will be raised and keep burning above-average amounts of fat well into that evening after you've stopped exercising.

Secondly, it's also time efficient, so you're more likely to stick to it (unless you enjoy running for an hour or whatever!). I find it so much easier to bust my nuts for 10-15 minutes than run for an hour.

The premise of HIIT is basically what it says on the tin - you intersperse very high intensity (95-100% effort) bursts with short periods of rest. You might, as a beginner, start on a bike in the gym, or a rowing machine, or even just out running, and do 15 seconds full effort following by 45 seconds low effort (equivalent of walking/slow jogging), and repeat until failure. I started by doing this for 5 reps, with a 10 minute moderate warm up, and then increased this to 10 reps of 20 seconds full effort and 40 seconds low effort.

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

Can't emphasise diet enough, though. If you eat 2,000 calories per day (go on a calorie counting website to work out your exact maintenance needs), you WILL lose fat. Strength training makes you look more toned because, as you lose fat, you are gaining (or at least holding onto existing) muscle, hence changing your body shape. Cardio training and strength training both burn calories, thus speeding up the fat loss process.

Simple stuff really - eat well, follow a strength training programme, and do the occasional cardio session.

[Sentinel]

Most efficient and comfortable way to lose weight for me has easily been the LCHF (Low Carb High Fat) diet. I think it can be a little tricky, but not necessarily impossible for vegetarians/vegans. See this thread (http://www.revleft.com/vb/lchf-t170263/index.html).

I started that thread when on the diet for the first time in 2012, having just lost 12 kg (26,5 lbs) in 2,5 months. I didn't do any excercising, it was purely due to the diet, and I felt really great during the whole time.

Anyway In that linked thread I explain the diet and my experiences with it rather indepth and answer some basic questions. There is also a link to a very good video where swedish Dr Andreas Eehnfeldt, expert and proponent of LCHF explains it even better. This diet is quite big although slighly controversial here in Sweden.

[Thanatos]

Most efficient and comfortable way to lose weight for me has easily been the LCHF (Low Carb High Fat) diet. I think it can be a little tricky, but not necessarily impossible for vegetarians/vegans. See this thread (http://www.revleft.com/vb/lchf-t170263/index.html).

I started that thread when on the diet for the first time in 2012, having just lost 12 kg (26,5 lbs) in 2,5 months. I didn't do any excercising, it was purely due to the diet, and I felt really great during the whole time.

Anyway In that linked thread I explain the diet and my experiences with it rather indepth and answer some basic questions. There is also a link to a very good video where swedish Dr Andreas Eehnfeldt, expert and proponent of LCHF explains it even better. This diet is quite big although slighly controversial here in Sweden.

I can understand low carb like less rice or bread, but what is high fat? will chocolates come in that (fat) category? is it okay to eat them?

[PhoenixAsh]

I can understand low carb like less rice or bread, but what is high fat? will chocolates come in that (fat) category? is it okay to eat them?

Chocolat is quite healthy if done in small doses and especially when they have a high caocao content.

Chocolat has a 61 to 100 gram carb ratio though.

[Sentinel]

I can understand low carb like less rice or bread, but what is high fat?

The idea is that you get your energy from fats instead of carbs, which convert into sugars in the metabolism and cause the body to produce insulin - the hormone that is the main culprit behind storing fat. Things like butter, mayonnaise, fatty cheeses and fatty meat are ideal.

A meat eaters day on strict LCHF could look like this:

Breakfast: bacon and eggs, coffee with lots of cream and NO sugar
Lunch: fish with shrimps & mayo/remoulade
Dinner: steak with sauce bearnaise
Evening meal: cheese & low carb sausages

And vegetables to each meal, to get vitamins etc, but only ones that grow above the ground.

Now for a vegan I don't know, never been one or anything, but soy proteine complemented with vegetables fried in olive oil sound about right. Avocado has lots of fat for example. General rule of thumb with vegetables is that those that grow above the ground contain significantly less carbs than rootfruits, thus the former are ok but the latter to be avoided.

A diet like this makes the body quickly burn all excess bodyfat as energy. The proponents of LCHF argue that it resembles our diet when we were hunter-gatherers, a very long period, and is more natural for us than eating things like potatoes, rice, pasta, bread etc - which were introduced much later and our bodies aren't adapted to, and which thus are only healthy for us combined with heavy physical excercise.

The opponents of LCHF, on the other hand say that there is no evidence of long term effects and that it can cause heart disease etc. One argument against it is also that LCHF makes us eat more meat and is worse for the environment, this I find to be bogus though as one really doesn't eat more, rather one doesn't get hungry nearly as often and eats less in general.

Carbs cause blood sugar levels to go up and down, so you get more hungry the more you eat - while an LCHF diet flatlines them and reduces feelings of hunger. It also results in a calm stomach and less gas etc.

I'm not sure who is right, but I can say that for me it was very efficient and also very comfortable. I don't remember feeling as physically well ever, and I also slept well and felt very harmonius. One big downside though, was that beer isn't allowed, it's the only alcohol I really enjoy drinking..



will chocolates come in that (fat) category? is it okay to eat them?


Nope, they have lots of carbs as PA correctly points out. Basically, nothing with sugar is allowed on LCHF.

[Thanatos]

Thanks, guys.:)

I am addicted to chocolates:( but I have managed to reduce my intake to just ONE WHOLE BAR per week. Is this also too much if trying to lose fat? I can't imagine life without chocolates.:(

[Sentinel]

Nah that little doesn't matter, just remember that every time you eat sugars/carbs your bloodsugar rushes first up and then down, you will become hungry and easily eat more unless you are careful. It's also addictive; and actually causes withdrawals when you cut down on it (that is what causes some to initially feel like shit when starting a low carb diet as described by PhoenixAsh).

[Thanatos]

Thanks.:)

One doubt. Let's say it's a high carb diet but still calorie deficit. Wouldn't that accomplish the same goal?

My question is, at the end of the day it is only the calories that matter, right? Not where the calories come from?

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

My question is, at the end of the day it is only the calories that matter, right? Not where the calories come from?

Yes and no.

If you eat in a calorie deficit, you WILL lose weight. However, if for example you ate cheese and only cheese as your whole diet, you would be pretty ill very quickly, and your weight loss would probably be accompanied by a load of serious health problems. An extreme example, but it helps to illustrate the point.

Ultimately, as someone whose weight has yoyoed up and down for years, I can tell you that the macronutrients (protein/carb/fat ratio) matter a great deal. I don't really believe that a diet high in saturated fat, where you're eating stuff like bacon, cream, steak, cheese on a daily basis, is sustainable nor desirable in the long run. It might achieve results in the short and medium term, but you'll be in trouble 10-20 years down the road.

[Thanatos]

I understand the deal with balanced diet. But it is not easy being veggie/Indian.:(

Also I realized that a few walnuts/cashew, 2 spoons of peanut butter .... these alone account for about 300 calories. Dropping them is like skipping a full meal..... amazing!

[BIXX]

Ultimately, as someone whose weight has yoyoed up and down for years, I can tell you that the macronutrients (protein/carb/fat ratio) matter a great deal. I don't really believe that a diet high in saturated fat, where you're eating stuff like bacon, cream, steak, cheese on a daily basis, is sustainable nor desirable in the long run. It might achieve results in the short and medium term, but you'll be in trouble 10-20 years down the road.


Would it be reasonable to use a diet to drop really fast and another diet to stabilize at that weight?

[TheSocialistMetalhead]

I can understand why you want to lose weight, but isn't this really a result of social conditioning. Just because society tells you every man should be toned and have six pack doesn't you should.

[PhoenixAsh]

The main problem is how people approach a diet.

A diet is not something you do to lose weight for a certain period and then just return to what you always have done....and expect to maintain that weight. Simply crash dieting is one of the unhealthiest things to do and is extremely counter productive because your body will in most cases adapt by adding even more weight....which...is basically the jojo effect mentioned by VIL.

Do a diet is actually: changing your eating habits and consciousness (it is not unlike a revolution ;) )

So a good diet plan covers:
- Your goals. For the short, medium and long term
- What is realistic for you (money, time, outside influences)
- What do you eat...and when do you eat it
- Variation and flexibility
- When do you cheat on your diet (which is vitally important to keep your metabolism going strong)
- A life style change with respect to physical activity
- Continuous monitoring of progress and how your body reacts!!!!!!!!!

The best and most stable diets which will yield the best end result is a diet which you can maintain for longer periods of time without negative side effects. In other words a set of eating habits targeting not only your immediate goals but also includes the maintenance of your goals.



Would it be reasonable to use a diet to drop really fast and another diet to stabilize at that weight?

It would be feasible...but if you change your diet you will probably regain weight.

[BIXX]

It would be feasible...but if you change your diet you will probably regain weight.


Really? Like, not going back to my original diet, but just a stabilizing diet. Or do most diets naturally stabilize?

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

Really? Like, not going back to my original diet, but just a stabilizing diet. Or do most diets naturally stabilize?

Ask yourself this: if you don't intend to put the weight back on, then why won't you commit, psychologically and physically, to a long-term diet?

It's a totally psychological thing, i've done it myself many a time. I've thought that as long as I get down to 'x' desired weight, I can then 'relax' and just hover around that weight. Inevitably, I just end up not stabilising, and putting on some or all of what I lost.

I've done this 2-3 times since I was a teenager. I've now realised (the fucking hard way!) that a diet, even a fat burning diet, needs to be one that you'd be happy to commit to for years, not just weeks or months. You can vary the calories (i'm going to doing <2,500 calories for the next 6-8 weeks, then as I get down 5-6kg drop down to around 2,000 calories or so until I hit my target weight and body shape/fitness etc.

Eating healthily really is a lifestyle choice that has no place in it for crash dieting. Trust me, it really doesn't work. Crash dieting fucks with your psychological state and prevents you from getting off the yo-yo cycle, which is frustrating, counter-productive and in the long-run unhealthy.

[PhoenixAsh]

^ this...and then some!

[Thanatos]

I can understand why you want to lose weight, but isn't this really a result of social conditioning. Just because society tells you every man should be toned and have six pack doesn't you should.

I agree with the six pack thing - it is not proof that one is healthy, just that one has insanely low BF %. But having more muscle and less fat is objectively good, meaning it's good for the body, for one's health. This isn't social conditioning, it is a medical fact.

[BIXX]

I will admit I am a bit ashamed of my body- not having a six pack sucks especially as a few years ago I did. But now people are commenting on how I look and so I decided it can't be that hard to go back, right?

Not fucking true. But at least I'm on that path. Got the last of the ultra-unhealthy food out of my house today, so now it's time to try a good, healthy diet, and if that doesn't work, a more concentrated diet. Plus working out more.

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

^^It's fucking tough to break years of bad habits. I'm feeling it now. My plans for tonight fell through and i'm stuck at home. Could easily reach for the phone and order some food in...!

[BIXX]

^^It's fucking tough to break years of bad habits. I'm feeling it now. My plans for tonight fell through and i'm stuck at home. Could easily reach for the phone and order some food in...!


Bleh. Well at least now I might be able to force myself to eat healthier. I think I'm gonna plan my meals for the week as well as get to the gym every weekday.

I really think doing this with someone would help a lot.

[RealYehuda]

I agree with the six pack thing - it is not proof that one is healthy, just that one has insanely low BF %.

This is absolute nonsense.

A six pack starts to become visible at 12%, that is an average amount of body fat for a male to have.

Someone who is ripped and has heavily defined abs is 8%-10% body fat, and someone who is "insanely low" body fat is 6% or under, these are the world class bodybuilders, not your average joe who has abs

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

This is absolute nonsense.

A six pack starts to become visible at 12%, that is an average amount of body fat for a male to have.

Someone who is ripped and has heavily defined abs is 8%-10% body fat, and someone who is "insanely low" body fat is 6% or under, these are the world class bodybuilders, not your average joe who has abs

Being a bodybuilder is not a sign of good health.

There's a reason wrestlers tend to die young whilst Japanese men and women often live to 100 and over. It has nothing to do with how 'ripped' and 'big' you are.

[RealYehuda]

Being a bodybuilder is not a sign of good health.

There's a reason wrestlers tend to die young whilst Japanese men and women often live to 100 and over. It has nothing to do with how 'ripped' and 'big' you are.

Well, taking steroids long-term and being at very low body fat long-term is dangerous, but I am not disputing that I am simply correcting you about when abs become visible, because you implied that you need to be extremely low body fat to have abs which couldnt be further from the truth, 12% body fat is pretty much ideal for overall health and abs are visible at that level

[Thanatos]

Well, taking steroids long-term and being at very low body fat long-term is dangerous, but I am not disputing that I am simply correcting you about when abs become visible, because you implied that you need to be extremely low body fat to have abs which couldnt be further from the truth, 12% body fat is pretty much ideal for overall health and abs are visible at that level

BF % should be in single digits for six pack to show.

[RealYehuda]

BF % should be in single digits for six pack to show.

According to bodybuilding forums I have been on, 12% is widely used as a benchmark. I have been bulking for a while but before I started lifting I was about 12-13% and my abs were visible, not ripped but visible

[Quail]

Crash diets are never a good idea. If you're looking to lose weight and keep it off you should consider perhaps changing the types of foods that you eat, so that you get the same volume of food with fewer calories and more nutrients. I don't actually have experience with healthy weight loss, but I did spend a while trying to figure out a diet which allowed me to gain/maintain weight without getting too hungry or full. I eat mostly fruit, veg, tofu, beans, lentils, etc. - a lowish fat vegan diet, mostly unprocessed foods, cooked from scratch daily (but I like cooking so that makes things easier). I don't really eat many sweet foods or savoury snacks, but actually I don't mind. I think those foods can be really addictive, and it takes time to adjust to not eating them, but you don't miss them as much as you'd imagine.

[BIXX]

Ok, so I found a scale that measures some extra shit, here they are (plus other info):

Height: 5'7"
Age: 17
Sex: male
Weight: 165.2 lbs
Bf%: 18.8


If I properly understand bf% this means that I will weigh approximately 146lbs when I hit 7% body fat (assuming no muscle gain which is unlikely but whatever).

So, here is my workout plan:
Monday, 7:30pm-9pm MMA class
Tuesday: 6pm-7pm kickboxing
Wednesday: 7:30pm-9pm MMA
Thursday: 6pm-7pm kickboxing
Friday: sometimes a 7:30pm-9pm MMA, might change to every Friday, not sure yet.
Saturday: if I don't make Fridays MMA, boxing 9:30am-10:30am.

Throughout the week I also have weight training classes every other day that don't work me out to hard but they can't hurt. Plus I'm going to try and make it to a few jiu-jitsu classes throughout the week, but not really on any specific schedule.

Any independent workout recommendations?

[RealYehuda]

Any independent workout recommendations?

Your schedule looks pretty tight so just have three days:

Push:
Bench Press
Shoulder Press
Incline Press
Tricep Pushdowns

Pull:
Pull-ups
Deadlifts
Rows
Bicep Curls

Legs:
Squats
Leg Press
Calf Raises



Although you will have a hard time gaining weight with so much physical activity

[Sentinel]

I started a strict LCHF diet again two days ago, to get in shape for the summer. I haven't weighed myself, but I think I have about 10 excess kilos. I'm determined to be at my ideal weight by mayday, so I can look like a handsome champion of the working class, carrying a red flag with a suit jacket and white shirt on. :grin:

It shouldn't be a problem, and I actually feel a lot thinner already. Starting the diet always feels like a balloon had been punctured and the air is wheezing out.

It feels awesome, even though I realise it's mostly excess fluid exiting at this point. I do miss beer terribly already though.

[Le Libérer]

I started a strict LCHF diet again two days ago, to get in shape for the summer. I haven't weighed myself, but I think I have about 10 excess kilos. I'm determined to be at my ideal weight by mayday, so I can lok like a handsome champion of the working class, carrying a red flag with a suit jacket and white shirt on. :grin:


You already got that part down.

[Sentinel]

You already got that part down.

:blushing:

[Ele'ill]

Gonna bump this thread cause interested in how things are working out with OP specifically on the subject of healthy weight loss. When are you doing cardio week to week? I know that most thai boxing/mma gyms do light to moderate calisthenics before or after sessions, fight teams probably incorporate workouts into training differently, but I don't see any (or missed a previous post) long distance runs or interval training in there. For fat loss you could probably do a 20-30 minute interval sprint training twice a week, hill sprints are great. Sprint up, walk or jog down. This also has to do with diet and calorie intake though. If you want to shed everything and aren't concerned with a very specific weight you could check out the diets and diet advice some of Thailand's muay thai camps use. I could link you here but a general search and your own opinion is best.

Also if you feel like you have a cardio/workout/training routine down but want to add something else to it that isn't going to push you into overtraining, I would consider not just walking but hiking. Some of the rough trails might not be a good idea if your ankles or legs are fatigued because its easy to pick up a nasty strain that sticks around doing that but there are cement steps too. Sounds kinda duh-dumb advice but you easily get distracted being in the forest/mountain and you are getting a decent calorie burn without the boredom.