Super Fatty Gym Thread

[RichieRich]

a good vindaloo will clear anyone out, right?

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by Macman

Another thing to consider if you’re not doing it already is a cleanse. It could be why you’re gaining a lot of weight cause your system isn’t functioning properly.

Drink a gallon of water for a few days in a row with some greens and a bit of meat like chicken, that will do it if you’ve never done it before.

I do a mixed greens shake and that works for me every 2 months or so or if I have a bad stretch of not great eating for a few days in a row.

I loved your first post for paying attention to calories and macros, and looking at this from a scientific perspective, but this follow-up post really goes against that. 'Your system isn't functioning properly' and a 'cleanse' being the answer doesn't really add up. Their 'system not functioning properly' and causing weight gain would suggest something hormonal, such as hypothyroidism or low testosterone, which you aren't fixing with a cleanse.

And anyway, what you're describing is short-term carb restriction; eating greens, chicken, and drinking a lot of water. A few days of that will result in them drying out which can result in quite a noticeable weight loss and feeling of less 'bloat', but that's water weight as your liver and muscle glycogen deplete. Returning to a normal diet will result in at least some of it coming back (some might very well be holding extra water).

Originally Posted by 81MC

Ho. Le. Fuk.

I wanted to wear some nice clothes for brunch. Turns out I literally do not fit into anything I’ve owned more than 6 months. Closet full of dress pants, shirts, belts, sweaters that my fat ass has ballooned out of wearability. I knew I was really starting to turn into a porker, but pretty embarrassed right now.

I thought I had decent eating habits, but I’ve definitely not getting enough exercise. I guess I need to start a food diary or something, because I apparently have no sense of reality. I’m seriously doubtful of my ability to control my eating and stick to an exercise routine, but at the rate I’ve gained in two years I’m headed for morbid obesity before too long. F me

If you're doubtful of controlling your eating and sticking to exercise simultaneously, can you at least commit to one of those things? Don't try to climb Everest on your first day. If I had to pick, I would recommend adjusting your diet first. Getting your diet in check will just make you feel good mentally and physically; you'll see some positive changes in the mirror and how your clothes fit, and you'll feel like you have more energy from not having to drag so much bodyweight around. From there, you can consider adding small bits of exercise to your routine if you want. But you won't out-exercise a bad diet.

[you&me]

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

I loved your first post for paying attention to calories and macros, and looking at this from a scientific perspective, but this follow-up post really goes against that. 'Your system isn't functioning properly' and a 'cleanse' being the answer doesn't really add up. Their 'system not functioning properly' and causing weight gain would suggest something hormonal, such as hypothyroidism or low testosterone, which you aren't fixing with a cleanse.

And anyway, what you're describing is short-term carb restriction; eating greens, chicken, and drinking a lot of water. A few days of that will result in them drying out which can result in quite a noticeable weight loss and feeling of less 'bloat', but that's water weight as your liver and muscle glycogen deplete. Returning to a normal diet will result in at least some of it coming back (some might very well be holding extra water).

If you're doubtful of controlling your eating and sticking to exercise simultaneously, can you at least commit to one of those things? Don't try to climb Everest on your first day. If I had to pick, I would recommend adjusting your diet first. Getting your diet in check will just make you feel good mentally and physically; you'll see some positive changes in the mirror and how your clothes fit, and you'll feel like you have more energy from not having to drag so much bodyweight around. From there, you can consider adding small bits of exercise to your routine if you want. But you won't out-exercise a bad diet.

Yep, as they say "abs are made in the kitchen".

Something I've found helpful in the past was using a diet tracker. It sounds cumbersome, but I found the one on the MyFitnessPal app to be pretty easy - you can scan barcodes off packaging and most nutritional information is already logged in the app. Even if you don't want to track your nutrients and macros, it can help calibrate your understanding of what a serving size really is, what's in the foods you eat, and what to avoid.

I've found the act of actually tracking my foods and watching what I eat is enough to give me a sense of purpose that's incredibly motivating. A great first step that makes following up with exercise that much easier.

[TorqueDog]

I have a little food scale in the cupboard when I'm cutting weight. Put my plate on the scale, turn it on to make sure the scale with the plate is at 0. Add my protein, log it in MFP. Tare the scale, add my side veggies, and log them in MFP.

[Johnny199r]

I go to a really big gym (space wise, with lots of members) in another city.

The cardio section overlooks the parking lot. I spend a lot of time looking out at the parking lot as a result.

Many gym members will drive around for 10-15 minutes trying to find a "good parking spot" close to the door, rather than walk an extra 60 seconds by parking a little further away (this is not a bad weather or people with kids situation). People literally keep going down the same aisles over and over again.

It blows my mind how lazy people are, even when they're going to the gym.

"How was the gym honey?"

"Terrible, My walk from the parking lot took 2 minutes instead of 30 seconds. Since I spent 15 minutes trawling the lot looking for a spot, I barely had time to workout"

So many lazy people in this country.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Johnny199r

I go to a really big gym (space wise, with lots of members) in another city.

The cardio section overlooks the parking lot. I spend a lot of time looking out at the parking lot as a result.

Many gym members will drive around for 10-15 minutes trying to find a "good parking spot" close to the door, rather than walk an extra 60 seconds by parking a little further away (this is not a bad weather or people with kids situation). People literally keep going down the same aisles over and over again.

It blows my mind how lazy people are, even when they're going to the gym.

"How was the gym honey?"

"Terrible, My walk from the parking lot took 2 minutes instead of 30 seconds. Since I spent 15 minutes trawling the lot looking for a spot, I barely had time to workout"

So many lazy people in this country.

I always thought the Uzbeks were a notoriously hard-working and industrious folk...

[Macman]

You’re right TorqueDog, I was going to mention barring anyone having any health or medical issues. I did the gallon of water a day a couple times previously, it worked but it’s a lot of water and I like my current method which I’ve been doing for a few years now.

It’s actually really hard trying to give advice on this topic and there’s just so much info out there along with many diets.

I think the calorie and macronutrients tracking is essential though because you’re not guessing and know exactly what you’re taking in. It’s basically a different way of eating including scale, tbspoons, tsps, and measuring cups.

When I was doing my spreadsheet for example, I realized how much fat I was taking in from things like butter, oil and margarine alone.

A person has to get in there and figure it out for themselves. Don’t really want to give advice and mislead anybody. But if you’re overweight and otherwise healthy it’s more than likely your food choices have something to do with it.

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by Macman

You’re right TorqueDog, I was going to mention barring anyone having any health or medical issues. I did the gallon of water a day a couple times previously, it worked but it’s a lot of water and I like my current method which I’ve been doing for a few years now.

It’s actually really hard trying to give advice on this topic and there’s just so much info out there along with many diets.

I think the calorie and macronutrients tracking is essential though because you’re not guessing and know exactly what you’re taking in. It’s basically a different way of eating including scale, tbspoons, tsps, and measuring cups.

When I was doing my spreadsheet for example, I realized how much fat I was taking in from things like butter, oil and margarine alone.

A person has to get in there and figure it out for themselves. Don’t really want to give advice and mislead anybody. But if you’re overweight and otherwise healthy it’s more than likely your food choices have something to do with it.

Oh yeah, the 'hidden calories' are a real bitch. After measuring it a few times, I've learned to eyeball a ~10g pad of butter on the end of a knife, so I add that in when I fry up a few eggs for lunch. I know I'm not eating the entire 10g of butter as much of it will end up staying in the pan, but I'd much rather overestimate my intake than underestimate.

It can seem like a lot of work for someone who hasn't started yet -- the whole 'measuring everything you eat' thing -- but it really doesn't take more than a couple minutes. I am a fiend for salmon sashimi, so I get it for lunch quite a bit (Skip), and it takes maybe two minutes to transfer the salmon to a plate and get the amount in grams figured out (plus whatever soy sauce I drizzle over it).

[djsFlames]

Get some quality non-stick pans and forego the butter and oil.

[81MC]

‘Hidden’ calories indeed. For the first time in probably my adult life, I looked at the calories of my normal morning routine.

120-180 calories for cream in my coffee.
200 calories for my delicious seedy bread.
180-270 calories for peanut butter on bread.
100-150 calories for jam on top.

A morning ‘I don’t really eat breakfast’ routine could be worth nearly half of my calorie intake. Crazy how I ‘know’, yet entirely didn’t even think about how much energy I’m truly consuming without even considering it a meal.

[you&me]

Originally Posted by 81MC

‘Hidden’ calories indeed. For the first time in probably my adult life, I looked at the calories of my normal morning routine.

120-180 calories for cream in my coffee.
200 calories for my delicious seedy bread.
180-270 calories for peanut butter on bread.
100-150 calories for jam on top.

A morning ‘I don’t really eat breakfast’ routine could be worth nearly half of my calorie intake. Crazy how I ‘know’, yet entirely didn’t even think about how much energy I’m truly consuming without even considering it a meal.

And that's why "abs are made in the kitchen" is such a perfect way of looking at this. What seems like an otherwise reasonable breakfast amounts to over an hour of intensive cardio to burn those calories. Meanwhile, it's a lot easier to be mindful of these calories and cut back.

[Weitz]

If you work out 2-3 times a week and do a couple other activities a week you can basically eat and drink anything you want and maintain your current body type. At least I can anyway. If I want to slim down I’ll manage the calories a bit, and if I get lazy I can tell.

It’s all basically calories in and calories out.

[The Yen Man]

Originally Posted by Weitz

If you work out 2-3 times a week and do a couple other activities a week you can basically eat and drink anything you want and maintain your current body type. At least I can anyway. If I want to slim down I’ll manage the calories a bit, and if I get lazy I can tell.

It’s all basically calories in and calories out.

For sure it's ultimately calories in calories in (laws of thermodynamics after all), but I'm not sure I agree that just working out 2-3 times a week and you can eat whatever you want. Doesn't work for me at least. A regular session of steady state moderately intense cardio burns about 600 calories per hour. A donut is roughly 270 calories. So that means it would take me 27 minutes to burn off a donut. If I gorge myself and eat 3 (and I easily could), you're looking at an hour and a half of cardio just for those 3 donuts.

If you're weight training, it's even worse as you're really only burning at most like 200 calories in an hour gym session. That's a lot of exercise to burn off just one donut. Like others have said, you can't outrun a bad diet.

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by The Yen Man

For sure it's ultimately calories in calories in (laws of thermodynamics after all), but I'm not sure I agree that just working out 2-3 times a week and you can eat whatever you want. Doesn't work for me at least. A regular session of steady state moderately intense cardio burns about 600 calories per hour. A donut is roughly 270 calories. So that means it would take me 27 minutes to burn off a donut. If I gorge myself and eat 3 (and I easily could), you're looking at an hour and a half of cardio just for those 3 donuts.

If you're weight training, it's even worse as you're really only burning at most like 200 calories in an hour gym session. That's a lot of exercise to burn off just one donut. Like others have said, you can't outrun a bad diet.

More along the lines of the breakfast example that was given. If you took the high end of all the numbers (800 cal) I would still have roughly 2000 calories for the rest of the day to just meet my caloric burn for the day. If you do any exercise you need even more.

I mean yah, I can’t eat 25 donuts a day and think I’ll stay what I am.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by Weitz

If you work out 2-3 times a week and do a couple other activities a week you can basically eat and drink anything you want and maintain your current body type. At least I can anyway. If I want to slim down I’ll manage the calories a bit, and if I get lazy I can tell.

It’s all basically calories in and calories out.

I think it depends on your age to some extent as well. I notice that as I age, my metabolism must be slower than it once was. I exercise a lot, and eat pretty well. The weight just doesn't melt off like it once did though.

[RichieRich]

Yes there are good and bad calories and similarly good and bad fats. Some fats are actually important to the body and moreso brain. Don’t get sucked into the artificial chemical sweeteners either.

For some entertaining enlightenment check out Secret Eaters on YouTube. Some interesting observations and also some discussions around how psychologically so many of us actually consume a lot of cr@p yet somehow don’t account for it when a food diary is kept.

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by Slava

I think it depends on your age to some extent as well. I notice that as I age, my metabolism must be slower than it once was. I exercise a lot, and eat pretty well. The weight just doesn't melt off like it once did though.

Aging can do that. BMR generally drops as we age. For men, testosterone levels tend to drop too and that has a huge impact on lean muscle mass and fat burning. The problem is that the acceptable range is so wide that you can be a 35 year old with the testosterone levels of a 70 year old and still be in the ‘acceptable range’.

[Russic]

Originally Posted by Weitz

If you work out 2-3 times a week and do a couple other activities a week you can basically eat and drink anything you want and maintain your current body type. At least I can anyway. If I want to slim down I’ll manage the calories a bit, and if I get lazy I can tell.

It’s all basically calories in and calories out.

I think where this gets tricky from person to person is in the relationship with food. If you use food for fuel, you can probably step outside your standard eating and be totally fine. If you use it to moderate thoughts, feelings, and emotions, your story is likely very different.

[WhiteTiger]

I've finally been able to put all the pieces together (gym, off-day workouts, better food, better portions, etc) and maintain that.

I tried on some old clothes (after realizing that my current ones looked like tents on me) and I've dropped 4 inches off my waist. Feeling pretty good.

[The Fisher Account]

Just bought a functional trainer for my home gym. Beyond excited.