Weight Loss Inspiration Project #1

[ExiledFlamesFan]

Originally Posted by bcsoda

It's your body, so you're welcome to do whatever you want with it. If you think it works for you then that's great. But I think it's really irresponsible for people who (likely) have no real education/training in health etc to advocate starving yourself for 2/3 of the day to other people, especially people you know nothing about. Even if you did have training in it, it's irresponsible to recommend it to people who's health/lives you know nothing about.

There is actually a lot of research behind intermittent fasting. Everytime I'm back home my father goes on and on about it, all the scientific studies supporting it. I don't have time to call him and listen to him gab on for an hour about it but I'm sure you can find some studies for yourself.

Intermittent fasting makes complete sense in from an evolutionary view. Hunter gatherers, going long periods of time between kills. Humans have been fasting for as long as there have been humans on this earth.

You talk about being irresponsible. Equating intermittent fasting with anorexia is very irresponsible.

If you'd like to use your education and training to tell us why intermittent fasting is so harmful I'd be happy to listen.

[Devils'Advocate]

Whenever I need the low-down on whether something is a gimmick or whether there is some truth to it, there are VERY, VERY, VERY few people that I trust. One is Dr. Yoni Freedhoff. His take on intermittent fasting:
"There is indeed some young science, much of it still theoretical, behind fasting as a means to improve health, and some studies too suggesting it may be useful in weight management. That said, I've yet to see any long term studies which given the fact that fasting is in and of itself, for many (though certainly not all), a form of suffering, I wonder about the attrition rate over time for fasting approaches."

And that is what it is to me. Suffering. It has taken me YEARS to find ways of tricking my body into feeling satiated. It doesn't take much for rumblings to turn into ravaging hunger and into binging large sums of calories. It sounds like Dr. Freedhoff is saying that if you can do it, and you are happy with what you are doing, fill your boots. The fledgling research thus far shown IF to be promising. But if you can't stick with it, it's useless to you.

Actually, Dr. Freedhoff and I had a brief exchange two months ago. I told him how I have completely given up added sugar. (Added sugar means fruit does not count). Usually Dr. Freedhoff is against giving up foods entirely. He's very strong on moderation rather than abstinence. He asked if I was healthy and felt strong with lots of energy. I replied that I was. He asked if I was happy eating the foods that I do. I replied that I am. "Then keep doing what you are doing. And if someone tells you that you are doing it wrong, feel free to tell them to F-off."

But I *NEVER* tell people what my food plan is because I don't think there is one right way. If IF works for you, fantastic. It doesn't work for me. People just see the success I had and assume that if they follow my meal plan that they too will lose whatever weight they need.

[ExiledFlamesFan]

Originally Posted by Devils'Advocate

Whenever I need the low-down on whether something is a gimmick or whether there is some truth to it, there are VERY, VERY, VERY few people that I trust. One is Dr. Yoni Freedhoff. His take on intermittent fasting:
"There is indeed some young science, much of it still theoretical, behind fasting as a means to improve health, and some studies too suggesting it may be useful in weight management. That said, I've yet to see any long term studies which given the fact that fasting is in and of itself, for many (though certainly not all), a form of suffering, I wonder about the attrition rate over time for fasting approaches."

And that is what it is to me. Suffering. It has taken me YEARS to find ways of tricking my body into feeling satiated. It doesn't take much for rumblings to turn into ravaging hunger and into binging large sums of calories. It sounds like Dr. Freedhoff is saying that if you can do it, and you are happy with what you are doing, fill your boots. The fledgling research thus far shown IF to be promising. But if you can't stick with it, it's useless to you.

This is a very first world attitude. How many people are intermittent fasting in the world today not by choice? My guess is billions.

Calling not eating for half a day suffering is over dramatic.

You have a food addiction. You've admitted so. You've done great things trying to control your addiction. However, if your biggest problem in life is suffering from not being able to eat for a few hours, chances are you've got a pretty great life. Sounds like the "suffering" you feel is 99% mental.

[Devils'Advocate]

And I'm sure you have plenty of science to back you up on that? Calgary's own Dr. Arya Sharma has documented plenty of scientific studies showing that body hormones shift in the body as people lose weight, causing increased hunger/cravings.

Again, you are stuck in the "my solution is right and everyone else is wrong", which is the first thing that makes me think something is total crap. I, like Dr. Freedhoff, would love to see some studies done to see who can stick with IF over the long term. I doubt very many. Hunger = suffering = people will not stick to it.

Do you think those people who IF not by choice don't feel hungry often? Do you think that if they had a choice, they would choose different?

[ExiledFlamesFan]

Originally Posted by Devils'Advocate

And I'm sure you have plenty of science to back you up on that? Calgary's own Dr. Arya Sharma has documented plenty of scientific studies showing that body hormones shift in the body as people lose weight, causing increased hunger/cravings.

Again, you are stuck in the "my solution is right and everyone else is wrong", which is the first thing that makes me think something is total crap. I, like Dr. Freedhoff, would love to see some studies done to see who can stick with IF over the long term. I doubt very many. Hunger = suffering = people will not stick to it.

Do you think those people who IF not by choice don't feel hungry often? Do you think that if they had a choice, they would choose different?

I am simply questioning your reasoning. It wasn't supposed to be mean spirited

I thought about this today and I see where you are coming from. If you are a food addict, not eating probably is suffering. Just like a heroin addict not having heroin is probably suffering. Or a smoker not being able to smoke is suffering.

My point was you may be suffering when you are not eating, but not everyone is like you. So intermittent fasting may not work for you, but it very well (and has) worked well for others.

[AcGold]

I find it's counter intuitive to fast. Lots of energy, lots of nutrients, lots of strength are what I go for. Eat when hungry, don't binge, burn the calories intelligently and you won't need to skip breakfast. I see the merit in it, Ronda Rousey (female mma champ) doesn't eat anything until dinner and she's strong as an oxe so it works for her, I tried it and I'm just way too groggy around 10:30

[Hemi-Cuda]

So after hearing so much talk about deadlifts and squats I decided to give them a try last night at the gym. After 3 sets of each at a decent weight I felt a little exerted but nothing major and was wondering what all the fuss was about. But today, now that I have muscles hurting that I wasn't even aware I had, I'm beginning to understand

[Devils'Advocate]

Originally Posted by ExiledFlamesFan

I thought about this today and I see where you are coming from. If you are a food addict, not eating probably is suffering. Just like a heroin addict not having heroin is probably suffering. Or a smoker not being able to smoke is suffering.

I wouldn't have exactly put it that way.

http://health.usnews.com/health-news...il-their-diets

Dr. Freedhoff claims that "people don't fail at dieting" but that "diets fails their people". In that feeling hungry is uncomfortable and, in his words, a form of suffering. And people don't suffer in perpetuity. Anything that will consistantly make you feel hungry is eventually going to fail.

Hemi: I know that feeling. Any day I do goblet squats I know I am going to have a hard time getting out of bed the next day.

[V]

I agree to a point, but it's the same as your discussion about discipline in a different thread.

Yes, some diets are just terrible, and obviously unsustainable. I wouldn't be surprised if there were zero documented cases of someone sticking to those diets long term, because they're just stupid.

However, it is a form of suffering to work out. It's also a form of suffering to deny yourself of excessive sugar or fats, especially if you're used to them. That doesn't mean that these regimens have to fail. If it was easy to stay in shape a lot more people would be in shape.

[ExiledFlamesFan]

Originally Posted by V

However, it is a form of suffering to work out. It's also a form of suffering to deny yourself of excessive sugar or fats, especially if you're used to them. That doesn't mean that these regimens have to fail. If it was easy to stay in shape a lot more people would be in shape.

Exactly. What addicts call suffering others call self control and delaying instant gratification

[Tron_fdc]

Read this today and thought it was a pretty interesting article on weight loss that puts a lot of things into perspective. Body image is a pretty ridiculous thing these days with all the photoshopping that goes on, and this article more or less explains what people go through to achieve that muscular, ripped look.

http://www.precisionnutrition.com/cost-of-getting-lean

There are exceptions to the rule of course, but the vast majority of ultrafit looking people got there with some MAJOR sacrifices in their daily lives.

[Devils'Advocate]

Interesting. We were reading that exact article tonight in one of my support groups. It must have gone viral today or something.

My friend Heather wrote:
"I really like this because it shows the difference in habits necessary to maintain different levels of leanness. I think if more people thought about the habits instead of the number on the scale or body fat percentage they want to possibly achieve then they would be happier. It always comes down to what are you willing to give up to get where you think you want to end up. For example I am around 25% body fat. For me to maintain that level of body fat you could eat dessert 3-5 times a week but if I want to drop down to 20-22% I would only be having 1-2 desserts per week. Could I do that? Sure. But will I be happy with that change of habit for a 2-3% difference in my body fat percentage? Not really. This post helped me realize that it is possible to be leaner but looking at the habits that are required to stay there may not be what I want long term. What are you willing to live with based on the habits?"

BTW - that chart is horribly misleading. I'm at 20.3% and I just ran a 1:42 half marathon. I feel fantastic and am not on any medication and my doctor told me that if they gave gold stars for health he would give me one. I am working with my personal trainer to get back under 20% just for personal reasons. Physically I feel fantastic. This precision nutrition are selling a service so they want people to think that 20.3 is just absolutely atrocious.

[Flabbibulin]

After some hesitation to post shirtless pics on here, I thought I would share my before/after pics. Around 2 years ago, I dramatically changed my lifestyle and lost 60lbs in 6 months- a little fast maybe, but it was honestly the product of a healthy diet of 1700-2000 calories and A LOT of exercise. Once I reached my ideal weight, I went from a low calorie diet/exercise program to a muscle building diet/exercise program. And not to make myself look overly amazing, but I have been able to do this while dealing with a heart condition that has me on permanent meds that are supposed to make it very difficult to take part in vigorous exercise.

Hope its no big deal, but I did blur out my face a little to preserve my anonymity- pretty sure I have coworkers on CP, people from the gym, and would rather remain unrecognized. For the record, I am not one of those guys that posts shirtless photos all over Facebook. In fact, I am still quite self conscious after years of being flabby. Before and after is basically 2 years apart, the second pic being a couple weeks ago. I have the after 6 months pic, but won't post though. Was basically just really skinny. Went from a 38 to a 30 or 32.

Spoiler!

[Righteous1]

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

So after hearing so much talk about deadlifts and squats I decided to give them a try last night at the gym. After 3 sets of each at a decent weight I felt a little exerted but nothing major and was wondering what all the fuss was about. But today, now that I have muscles hurting that I wasn't even aware I had, I'm beginning to understand

I'm no trainer but, compound lifts should be a staple to any workout plan in my opinion. I had a pretty big imbalance with my squats/deads/bench for a while, took me a while to get it up to par. Bench was almost as much as deads/squats at one point Not anymore though.

[Tron_fdc]

Originally Posted by Flabbibulin

After some hesitation to post shirtless pics on here, I thought I would share my before/after pics. Around 2 years ago, I dramatically changed my lifestyle and lost 60lbs in 6 months- a little fast maybe, but it was honestly the product of a healthy diet of 1700-2000 calories and A LOT of exercise. Once I reached my ideal weight, I went from a low calorie diet/exercise program to a muscle building diet/exercise program. And not to make myself look overly amazing, but I have been able to do this while dealing with a heart condition that has me on permanent meds that are supposed to make it very difficult to take part in vigorous exercise.

Hope its no big deal, but I did blur out my face a little to preserve my anonymity- pretty sure I have coworkers on CP, people from the gym, and would rather remain unrecognized. For the record, I am not one of those guys that posts shirtless photos all over Facebook. In fact, I am still quite self conscious after years of being flabby. Before and after is basically 2 years apart, the second pic being a couple weeks ago. I have the after 6 months pic, but won't post though. Was basically just really skinny. Went from a 38 to a 30 or 32.

Spoiler!

That's awesome. I love seeing stuff like this.

Do you mind me asking a few questions?

-How old are you?
-what kind of diet did you use?
-what kind of fitness program were you on to lean out/build muscle?

Do you think you can sustain where you are?

I usually hover right around 12-14% body fat, but every few years I cut down to about 8-10%. When that happens it's shirts off for Kipprusoff, any excuse I have to peel the clothes off I use it. Be proud of what you accomplished, you got jacked. Show it off, ladies love looking at it.

[Flabbibulin]

Originally Posted by Tron_fdc

That's awesome. I love seeing stuff like this.

Do you mind me asking a few questions?

-How old are you?
-what kind of diet did you use?
-what kind of fitness program were you on to lean out/build muscle?

Do you think you can sustain where you are?

With regards to the last question, the disclaimer I should have mentioned is that I was fit and in shape through most of my late teens and early 20s- probably even more so than I am now. Sort of gave up on it all around 2007/08 and put on those 60lbs. All that to say, it was a little quicker getting back in shape the second time around because of muscle memory and previous fitness/diet knowledge. Don't get me wrong, certainly wasn't easy this time- in fact, there is no doubt that it is harder to stay lean in early 30s than early 20s. The winning formula for staying lean has been to consistently include around around 4 sessions of cardio a week- was doing 45 minutes each time, but scaled back to 30 minutes in a recent attempt to put on some muscle mass.

I have always used the old school "Arnold" approach to weights- 1 muscle group per workout, usually 4 exercises/4sets/8-12 reps. Certainly focus on free weights with the fundamental compound exercises coming first in my workout. Always do legs on saturday to allow for the most rest and recovery.

As far as diet, my protein levels have been pretty consistent over the last couple years- try to get in 1 gram/pound of body weight. Carbs are what I fluctuate depending on my current goals (leaning out vs putting on size). Usually like to lean out in the spring and limit carbs to around 200g/day- structured as much as possible around workouts, with a good number of non workout carbs coming from quality fiber sources. A lot more flexibility in my carbs when trying to put on muscle mass- increasing to maybe 300 or 350 grams a day.

And although I am throwing around ideas like cutting and bulking, I have never truly done a classic bulking phase where you eat insane amounts of "bro" food to put on muscle. I certainly have thrown around the idea, but have too much psychological scar tissue so to speak from the fear of going back to being hefty. I am sort of doing a cautious and very slow bulk right now.