At 285 I am about 60 lbs overweight. Fortunately at 6'8" it gets spread out.
I'm 36, and my metabolism has over the last 9 years ground to a near halt.
Started doing some mild excercises a couple months ago then on a reccomendation bought NROL. Starting the break in program 2 weeks ago.
Although I want to loose weight, from reading the book it seems like I need to eat a lot and excercise a lot if I want my resting metabolism to speed up. (RMR)
I have completely turned around my diet in the past month. I was eating fast food nearly every meal, and consuming about 10 diet cokes a day.
While I'm not counting calories yet, I do eat 5-7 times a day, and 90+% are on the healthy A list. Since I"m not loosing weight (or gaining) it would appear I'm at maintinence levels.
I'm currently about 2 weeks away from starting FLI. At that point I may start counting calories and a calorie deficit but I don't know how long it takes to speed up your RMR so should I continue maintinence levels for a while?
I'm not looking for a quick fix, I'm in this for the long haul. Since I like to eat I figure my best bet it to speed up my RMR as much as possible so I don't have to eat like a bird the rest of my life.
Thoughts? Am I living in a fantasy that I can speed up my RMR to the point it was when I was 20 and could eat anything and everything and not gain a pound?
Am I living in a fantasy that I can speed up my RMR to the point it was when I was 20 and could eat anything and everything and not gain a pound?
Yes, that is a fantasy.
But here comes the qualifier: your metabolism will speed up (and probably already has since you started working out), but it won't be dramatic. The only way for you to lose weight is to eat at a caloric deficit, so start tracking your calories. (Use Fitday.com or Calorieking.com) If you feel your at maintenance levels now, cut back a meal or the size of the meals and track your calories. You are talking about a dynamic system, so while your metabolism may increase, as you lose weight, your caloric needs will go down. It will be constantly changing, so if you stop losing weight after a few months at a certain caloric level, you may have to cut another 300-500 cals/day.
Very few people's metabolism slows down, relative to the number of people who THINK their metabolism slows down because they sit on their ass more rather than moving about a lot like when they were younger.
Very few people's metabolism slows down, relative to the number of people who THINK their metabolism slows down because they sit on their ass more rather than moving about a lot like when they were younger.
Well I just assumed that a person's metabolism could slow down and speed up. Not true? Since I went from eating a lot, to eating less and my weight gain continued over time I assume it was because my metabolism was slowing down.
From the replys thus far it would seem you're saying I can't speed up my RMR a lot, and that very few people have thier metabolism slow down compared to the number that think they do.
This is a big surpised to me. I thought diets didn't work because people eating less had their metabolism slow down making it that much easier to gain weight.
How much of a deficit can you put your body on without slowing down your metabolism? 500 daily?
As for soda - I went to about 5 a day 2 months ago. Two weeks ago I stopped all soda intake when I started NROL. Haven't had one since.
I am lazy but one thing I do not lack is will power.
there are probably a few things that change your idle speed from 1200 rpm to 1000 rpm but your daily mileage is really more effected by how many actual miles you drive and how fast/hard you drive them than your idle speed
/ silly analogy
In any sort of weight loss program your results will be based on 70% diet and 30% exercise. Fitness begins and ends in the kitchen.
I'm 40 and 6 ft, and I've been hitting the gym for about a year and a half. The first year I was hitting the gym 3-4 sometimes 5 days a week, and I was pretty organized. I was mixing it up every six weeks or so, 2 and 3 day splits etc. However, it was mostly isolation exercises of body parts. I wasn't tracking what I was eating but thought that I was eating healthy. In that year I saw some strength gains, but my weight remained constant at 195.
At the risk of starting a nutrition war (and I realize that this isn't the nutrition forum) this is what worked for me. Right after Christmas of this year I converted to a strict Paleo diet and started in on the NROL eternal beginner program. Since then I've lost 30lbs of fat and I'm down to 165. I'm not going to preach the benefits of Paleo eating (not without an invitation ), but the main thing that works for me is that it's not based on portion control, or calorie counting, but on satiety. Eat until you're satisfied whenever you want, but within the boundaries of the eating plan. I eat 4-5 substantial meals a day with snacks in between and the weight peeled off me. Co-workers started asking me if I was sick. My two workout pals have recently started eating paleo with me. One of them has been doing it for six weeks and has already lost 12 lbs of fat. I could go on and on, but I'll try not too. Honestly, it's changed my life. I recommend it to anyone who asks.
Ok, basically the Paleo or Caveman diet is based on the idea that humans evolved as a hunter gatherer species with an appropriate digestive system. The rise of agriculture introduced a number of foods that the human body can digest, but which are not optimally beneficial. There is a great deal of additional reading you can do, and if you are considering changing the way you eat you should definitely read everything you can to better inform yourself. However, I'll lay out the basics here.
Essentially you want to restrict your eating to lean meats and fish, fruit, nuts and seeds, and most vegetables. That's it.
What you want to avoid are salt and sugar and foods that contain them. Starchy tubers (potatoes, yams, etc), grains and cereals (wheat, corn, rice etc), dairy and legumes (peas, beans, lentils, soy peanuts etc).
So say goodbye to french fries, pasta, cheese, milk and peanut butter. Say hello to juicy steaks, big salads or roasted vegetables and heaps of delicious fruit.
I've got a couple links to online resources you can check out for more information.
As well as a link to the book that I picked up that includes all sorts of information regarding why the diet works, and the health benefits it imparts, as well as the reasons for avoiding the foods that it does. The book also includes a sample meal plan and recipes that make starting out super easy. http://www.amazon.com/Paleo-Diet-Wei...2011425&sr=8-1
The books suggests easing your way into the plan in different stages and allows you to have up to 3 "cheat" meals a week and still reap the benefits of the diet. I usually limit myself to one cheat meal a week (ok, ok, sometimes two), but for the most part I find it incredibly easy not to cheat. I have no cravings for salty or sweet treats anymore. I see a doughnut and cannot even imagine eating it anymore.
It may seem overwhelming at first to remove the grains and cereals and potatoes that make up so much of a North American diet, but I love to discover new vegetables, and spices and ways of preparing them. I'm eating better than ever before. I tell people that I'm eating huge meals all the time, but there is no sense of lethargy after eating.
I know that it may not be for everyone, but I would definitely recommend it to everyone to try for a few weeks and see how you feel. Disregard any immediate weight loss, and just see how you feel eating that way. I suspect that you would see a weight loss as well, but I don't want to make any promises
I wonder if you could chalk up the diet gains to simply eating healthy. If you follow the diet you described you would cut out all fast food and most/all processed foods be default. I only ask because I wonder if you added natural/healthy starches like sweet potatoes or rolled oats would the diet still continue to work.
Do you do whey protein?
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"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit."-- Aristotle
I wonder if you could chalk up the diet gains to simply eating healthy. If you follow the diet you described you would cut out all fast food and most/all processed foods be default. I only ask because I wonder if you added natural/healthy starches like sweet potatoes or rolled oats would the diet still continue to work.
Do you do whey protein?
Certainly, I think that many of the gains have to do with simply eating healthier. I do supplement with both whey and casein shakes. I've also got glutamine and creatine going as well. I justify the whey and casein to myself by assuming that it is heavily processed and has little resemble to the milk products it came from. I continue to follow the Paleo diet because it's working for me, not because I'm allergic to lactose or gluten. That being said, at 165lbs I feel a little on the slim side and wouldn't mind bulking up a bit. If I could put on 5 or 10 lbs of muscle I wouldn't be offended.
I started tracking my food intake and on an example day following the diet I consumed a total of 1844 calories well under the "target" of 2956. My protein intake for the day was 163g or (232% of my daily req). Carbs were 152g (117%) and fat was 28g (43%). By cutting out the starchy vegetables and fats my caloric intake is well under a maintenance level which is going to account for the weight loss, and the bulk of my calories are coming from protein and "clean" fruits and vegetables.
Would it still work if I added some starchy tubers? Maybe, but if it ain't broke, I'm not going to try and fix it.
I'll attest to the paleo diet as a Very Good Thing(tm). I resisted for a good long time, but like SonInLaw said, I worked out and worked out with minimal full-body results. Sure my biceps got juicy but who cares when I was still a fatty.
One day I was at the farmer's market and found myself face to face with a plump fresh baked loaf of kamut bread (I have food allergies and issues to begin with). I promptly lost all control, bought the loaf, drove home, and ate the entire thing. The next day I said f*** it! and called up SonInLaw and said it was time for a change.
I've been doing the Paleo diet ever since and the results are clear. Yes, I'm also doing the New Rules, which is the best workout program I've ever done, but I have seen real changes since the diet and have dropped from 185 to 175ish, with a lot of muscle gains at the same time. I have always been nutritionally conscious, largely because of my food allergies, so I never really ate a lot of treats or junk food. Ultimately, you are what you eat, and I'd much rather look like a lean steak than that plump loaf of bread.
Am I crazy for purposely overeating?
), but the main thing that works for me is that it's not based on portion control, or calorie counting, but on satiety. Eat until you're satisfied whenever you want, but within the boundaries of the eating plan. I eat 4-5 substantial meals a day with snacks in between and the weight peeled off me. Co-workers started asking me if I was sick. My two workout pals have recently started eating paleo with me. One of them has been doing it for six weeks and has already lost 12 lbs of fat. I could go on and on, but I'll try not too. Honestly, it's changed my life. I recommend it to anyone who asks.
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