Q&A for: 4-Oct-05
630. Q:
how to lose butt weight
A:
Same as any other weight. You can't lose just the butt fat, but if you lose fat overall, you'll lose it on your butt too. Learn the most effective way to lose fat here.
631. Q:
I dont think its fair to classify someone as 'overweight' if they weigh just one more pound than their ideal weight.That is the standard that is used when you hear statistics which say that 62% of americans are overweight. its blown way out of proportion.
A:
Overweight is defined as weighing more than the upper limit of acceptable weight range, not just more than the ideal weight. For example, for a six-foot person (man or woman) overweight is being 185 pounds or more. For a five-foot-six person, it's being above 155 pounds.
I do agree that this definition, which is based entirely on height and weight is imperfect. One that's based on body fat percentage would be far more appropriate. Unfortunately measuring body fat accurately is not easy (those scales and electronic devices that claim to measure body fat can easily be off by 5% or more). Because of that we're stuck with the old height-weight definition for being overweight and going by it many or most weightlifters, football players, wrestlers, gymnasts, sprinters, and other power and strength atheletes are classified as overweight even though their extra weight is mostly or all muscle and they're far healthier and more fit than an average person.
But even though I disagree with the method, I do completely agree that majority of Americans ARE in fact overweight. I think that the ever-increasing healthcare costs and incidences of the heart disease, various cancers, diabetes, and many other illnesses are an excellent proof that many Americans lifestyles, diets, and lack of exercise are leading to serious health issues. It is a real problem, probably one of the most serious ones facing our nation, and it's being largely ignored.
632. Q:
calories burnt doing pushups
A:
Not a lot, but more importantly you need to understand that counting calories is a very poor way to lose extra weight. See Q&A #197.
633. Q:
how many calories can you burn jumproping?
A:
About ten calories a minute. Remember that while cardio like jumproping is great for you healthwise, it alone is NOT the best way to lose extra weight. Read this article to learn the most efficient way to lose fat and keep it off afterwards.
634. Q:
Hey Mike, in 623 i commented about how crappy my day at the gym was., im on a new diet which i posteed on 591 along with my workout sched., i believe. lately the last week ive been real tired, liike today right when i got home from school i fell asleep for an hour and a half.., also, normally im about 203 lbs, and i dropped down to 198, then today im like 200(measured right when i woke up)
A:
Sounds like you need to eat still more. I don't think you ever posted what you used to eat before, but the fact that you're losing weight now and feeling low on energy tells me that it was much heavier in carbs than your new plan, so your body is responding by losing some weight quickly. So you'll need to increase serving sizes of all your meal and it would be a good idea to have an extra piece of fruit or an extra starchy carb like sweet potato or brown rice in some of your pre-workout meals. So, for example, another piece of fruit for breakfast and a serving of rice (preferably brown rice) in meal 4 before your workout.
Here's my rough estimate of what you're eating now:
Meal 1. 1 orange, 1 egg, 1 egg white, whey Meal + 1 extra piece of fruit I recommended: 350-400 calories.
Meal 2. Sandwich with turkey, swiss, mayo, apple, carrots: 500 calories, assuming generous sandwich.
Meal 3. Repeat of meal 2: 500 calories.
Meal 4. Chicken, green beans, whey: 350-400 calories.
Meal 5. Steak, cauliflower, fruit: 400-500 calories.
So you're eating 2300 calories now. This is a good starting point, but we already learned that it's not enough for you, so it's time to ramp up. An extra banana (or oatmeal or Cheerios/Wheeties) for breakfast will add 150 calories and extra rice in Meal 4, another 250 or so. Do that, stay with that diet for a week, track your weight. I'm guessing you'll stop losing weight, but there's no way to know for sure unless you track your weight closely. Assuming your weight stabilizes with this new diet (verify that it's the case by keeping track for 2 weeks), then another 300 extra calories on top of that will put you on perfect track to gain muscle.
So here's what you should do now:
1. Follow my advice above to make your breakfast and meal 4 bigger with fruit/cereal/rice/etc.
2. Do NOT skip meals! This is important -- if you skip just one meal a day on average the whole point of a careful diet goes to waste.
3. Track your weight closely for 1-2 weeks.
4a. After 1-2 weeks if you're still losing weight, add still more carbs (300 calories worth -- 300 calories is, for example, 2 medium sweet potatos) to meals 4 and 5. Go to step 3.
4b. After 1-2 weeks if your weight is stable, add still more carbs (300 calories) to meals 4 and 5. Go to step 5.
5. Monitor your weight and whenever more than 2 weeks go by without weight gain, add 200-300 calories to your diet. This could be another meal or distributed among current meals. Try to keep them all roughly even in size.
So it's a hassle but by following this for a few weeks, you'll find EXACTLY the perfect diet range for effective muscle gain without too much (or even any) fat gain.
635. Q:
Mike I have recently started a fat loss program and had a question about my diet. Along with recommended cardio and weight training from your site, I am consuming 4 protein shakes a day ( shakes consist of 46 grams of whey protein with limited fat and carbs, skim milk, a banana and a few fresh strawberries per shake) and either grilled chicken or a lean steak for dinner. I drink a good amount of water per day (80-100oz), but otherwise am a pretty finicky eater. I know you suggested vegetables, but I usually detest vegetables (unless a salad is smothered in dressing, bacon bits and croutons...which I know is a NO-NO). Will the limited repertoire of food be condusive to fat loss? I appreciate any input.
A:
Yes, that's a very limited diet and I have to advise against it. Though you'll certainly be consuming plenty of protein and probably will be in the right ballpark for total calories, following a diet like that for a long time is certain to produce deficiencies in some vitamins and minerals which sooner or later will have adverse affect both on your health and on your fat loss. I do not believe that synthetic vitamins are a substitute for real food, so taking vitamin pills is not a good answer.
Good news is that it's quite easy to transform this into an excellent fat loss diet! What you'll need to do is to replace 2 of the 4 shakes with green salads with olive oil and have just whey in water (without any fruits or milk) on the side. So your goal is to learn to like salad with olive oil instead of commercial dressings. Use 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil, the same amount of whey you'd normally use for the shake, and all the veggies and herb you want.
Your day would then look like this:
Meal 1. Shake. Feel free to add extra fruit here.
Meal 2. Salad. 1-2 tbsp of olive oil and a ton of veggies and herbs to taste, 46g whey protein in water.
Meal 3. Shake.
Meal 4. Dinner. Chicken/steak. Hopefully some veggies here too.
Meal 5. Salad, repeat of Meal 2.
Shuffle these around as you like. I would recommend keeping the shake + extra fruit for breakfast and make sure the last meal of the day is either your regular dinner or the salad. Hope that gives you some ideas. If you can pull this off, you would have a diet I would 100% endorse :)
636. Q:
also for 634, instead of ANOTHER fruit in the morning, can i have a piece of toast w/ peanut butter. or is 4 slices for both my sammiches+1 more for toast in the morning to much bread? plus, do you think 2600 calories or whatever you think the new estimate is, is still too little for 6'3 200?
A:
Sure, go for the toast + PB in the morning. It'll bump up the calories a little more to around 2800 total (along with extra rice in meal 4). It may still not be enough. I have no way of knowing that for sure without knowing what your diet used to be like before (which is what your body is used to) as well as your body composition and overall activity level. That's why I recommend tracking your weight closely and ramping up gradually. It's a trial and error process, but it guarantees you find your optimum diet within a few weeks which will serve you for years of consistent muscle gain! From that point on you'll just track your weight and add 300 or so calories to the diet every time you go for a couple of weeks without weight gain.
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