Q&A for: 7-Apr-07
2123. Q:
hi mike, I am a 26 years old male and am not new to working out, lately i have put on about an extra 5 to 7 kg of weight (fat), so i decided to lean out and for the past month i have cut my calorie intake to 1600 to 2000 a day, eating very healthy food like fish, salads, crabmeat, lean meat, chicken and fruits. I also take multivatims / fish oil day in day out. I try to eat every 2 to 3 hours. I also have been training 5 to 6 days a week following a bodybuilding programme for 4 days (doing a 20 min warm up run and a 15min cooldown run before adn after) and the other 2 days i do only cardio mainly running on the treadmill for about 30 to 60min at a moderate to intense speed. I have a feeling i am overtraining because for the past two days i have felt exhausted all day long and also lightheaded (flu sypmtoms). i have lost about about 4 to 5 kg in this past month. do you think i should increase my calorie intake a bit? or decrease training activity? or not? thanks Keith
A:
Yes, I would definitely eat a lot more than 1600 calories with that regimen. You didn't mention your weight, but you can get my suggestion on the calories by plugging your weight into Fitness Guide and specifying 'Lose Fat' as your goal. (You can find your weight in pounds by multiplying your weight in kilos by 2.2).
Your training program sounds quite challenging as well, but it need not lead to overtraining. I would start by slowly increasing calories (increase in steps of 300 calories or so, stay at that level for week, then increase again till you get to recommended calorie level. If your overtraining symptons persist, then take a break for at least a week and then come back with a lighter program (you can select from my low- or medium-volume weightraining programs here).
One last thing is that you have been losing weight faster that ideal -- I recommend pace of about 1 kilo weight loss every 2 weeks. Increased calories should take care of that. Good luck!
2125. Q:
Is hunger a good measure of a person’s energy needs? I ask this as a lot of people who are seriously overweight say they never feel hungry. Instead of having to calculate every calorie exactly if a person eats when they they get hungry, should that not keep them slim. Is hunger not a sign that our body needs ‘refuelling’? If a person eats and never feels hungry does that mean that they are eating more than they need?
A:
Hunger certainly is the way your body reminds you that it's time to refuel. Unfortunately, for many people, that is not enough. Some people get hungry for psychological reasons (boredom, stress, depression among others) or because they have unhealthy diets (a meal of sweets or junk will not satisfy hunger for long, despite generous amount of calories). For those people, hunger alone is not the right reason to eat.
2126. Q:
Hi Mike, I have a simple question that I've always wondered about. When somebody says drink 8 glasses of water a day, how much is that? How many mL or L, because it's rather confusing. I'm certain I drink more than that, because from the time I get home from school until bed I always have a large glass of water going, but I'm just curious. Thanks, and good work keeping up with all these questions you get.
A:
Thanks! I try to answer all the questions I get when I get a couple hours to go through them all.
The recommended 8 'glasses' is about 2 liters. Chances are your glasses are actually larger than 250 milliliters, so you may not actually need 8 of your glasses to get the recommended amount.
2127. Q:
Mike, I'm trying to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time. Im taking a creatine supplement, eating a protein bar for breakfast, 7 boiled egg-whites after the gym, and 8oz of chicken a 1 1/4 cup of vegies for dinner, obviously slightly undereating. Is this a good way to gain muscle and lose weight at the same time?
A:
That's VERY significant undereating! A protein bar is around 300 calories, 7 egg-whites is around 200 calories and chicken + veggies is maybe another 300 calories, so you total maybe 800 calories per day, most of which are protein. That is WAY WAY too little. You will certainly lose a ton of weight quickly but you won't build a lot of muscle eating this little and, worst of all, your metabolism will be in dumps after just a few weeks on this diet. I recommend you seriously rethink your diet and fill out Fitness Guide specifying 'Lose Fat' to get an idea of what your diet should be.
The second thing to keep in mind is that unless you are a relative beginner to working out you won't get very far trying to both lose fat and build muscle at the same time. Focus on one or the other and adjust your diet accordingly (losing fat obviously requires undereating, while building muscle requires the opposite). If you are a beginner, then you'll be able to build some muscle even while losing weight and fat but in the long run it's more productive to focus on one or the other. Right now it definitely sounds like you want to focus on losing fat, so check out the link for suggested diet and adjust your diet to eat quite a bit more to make sure that your metabolism stays high and your lost fat doesn't come back, and that you have enough calories to maintain your muscles.
2129. Q:
what is the recommended period to go on a bulk for? is it like a cut where the majority of people stop losing weight and need to take a break, or can we gain weight indefinately on a bulk?
A:
Most people can continue gaining weight almost indefinitely by simply increasing calories every time they hit a plateau. It's not unusual to end up eating 4000 calories even for an average-weight person after a couple months on a bulk. However, as you continue your bulk you will find yourself gaining more and more fat and your body fat percentage going up. Most people don't like that and, of course, excessive fat is not good health-wise. It is up to you to decide when exactly to stop a bulk and start on a cut to lose some of that extra fat. I usually recommend not exceeding 20% body fat percentage when on a bulk and ideally, keeping it under 18%.
2130. Q:
Hiya mike. Im a 16 year old teen looking to tone up. Ive recently lost 2 stones as i was overweight. used to spend all the time on my computer etc till i decided i had had enough. i stuck to a rigorous cardio plan and now im skinny around my body apart from my belly, which still has a rather big fat % but other areas of my body such as my arm/forearm look like they have little or no muscle. I would like to know the best diet to build muscle firstly, such as meal plans and what i can eat as snacks. After ive gained some muscle i will try to lose my gut. Im 125 pounds 5,7 and around 12.7% body fat. I desperately need to build muscle but without so much fat, any nutritional advise would be most appreciated. Thanks in advance
A:
Congrats on your recent weight loss and your low body fat percent now -- 12.7% is very good! I certainly wouldn't recommend losing any more weight, especially since there's a good chance you are not done growing. Your body's natural growth is actually your best ally for losing fat -- if you gain even a couple of inches while staying close to the same weight, you'll have very low fat percentage indeed.
So at this point I would recommend focusing on eating in general more than you have been, eating healthy nutritious foods (read my Nutrition article if you haven't already) and starting to Weight Train with adult supervision. Between those two articles -- Nutrition and Weight Training -- you should have all the information you need to put together a muscle-building program for yourself. Make sure to increase calories very gradually so you gain weight very slowly (no faster than 1 pound gain every two weeks). In your weight training, make sure you have adult supervision and spend the first few weeks really learning the exercises and focusing on proper form and not worrying about weight too much. After you've truly learned how to perform exercises properly, then you can start increasing weight, but even then I would recommend that you don't take your sets to muscular failure till you are 18 or so. Good luck!
2131. Q:
Mike im a 16 year old looking to gain muscle slowly and safely. Is having whey protein supplements as a growing 16 year old good for my health? ive heard stories of muscle stretch marks/loss of hair and even stunting of growth. any advice is greatly appreciated.
A:
Whey protein is probably the safest and most useful musclebuilding supplement out there, so I don't think you need to worry about it. Stretch marks can happen if you gain weight too quickly, but whey protein alone will hardly cause any weight gain by itself -- weight gain comes from overeating on carbs and fats. In any case, you do not want to eat so much that you gain weight quickly -- it'll not only lead to stretch mark but almost certainly will cause you to gain more fat than muscle. Eat healthy nutritious foods, supplement with whey protein if you can't get enough protein from regular foods, and make sure you gain weight no faster than 1 pound every 2 weeks.
And as far as stunted growth from whey protein, that's an urban legend. It is possible to stunt growth through serious injury, or poor diet, or by using steroids but whey protein by does not cause injuries or poor diet (remember you still have to eat regular nutritious foods -- whey protein by itself does not make a complete diet) and whey protein certainly has nothing in common with steroids.
2132. Q:
how long should i wait between working out a specific muscle
A:
Wait at least a couple of days before working out the same muscle again and if you do a lot of heavy to-failure sets (5 or more), then you probably want to wait a full week.
2133. Q:
hello mike. im 18 years old,6ft,and from 12st ive gone to 11st and i want to loose my man boobs, and make my abs visible, however the weight on the scales keep on dropping but it looks to me that i am not losing fat, i do weight training 6 times a week and cardio 4 times a week, my diet seems ok aswel, i take most of my protein from cottage cheese, lentils, peanut butter, soya protein and tuna, the carbs i take are fruits vegetables, oatmeal, chapaties and brown rice. can u plz tell me what i am doing wrong because cant seem to lose the fat
A:
It sounds like you are doing everything right, you just need to be patient. You foods sound good and the fact that your weight is dropping is very good. It is almost certain that you are losing fat if you are losing weight as you said. You just have to keep in mind that some chest fat and stomach fat is perfectly normal and that it would take most guys many many years of dedicated training and good diet to get the 'six-pack' abs. It sounds like you are well on your way -- just keep it going! Make sure to read my Nutrition and Weight Training articles if you haven't already for ideas on how to improve your current program. But most importantly, just keep going and the progress will come. Good luck!
2134. Q:
Have been doing 3 weight sessions /wk, 6 rep sets, not more than 50 minutes - seem to get fatigued and loss of sex drive following day - Am I overdoing it or can I adapt to this? Aim is to get stronger, bit bigger, with more energy for day to day living and other sports.
A:
6 reps to-failure makes for pretty intense sets, but what you described it should not lead to overtraining. I would look at your diet to make sure you are eating enough and eating nutritious foods (including plenty of veggies and fruits) to make sure your body has the fuel to recover from those intense workouts. Fill out my Fitness Guide to get an idea of how many calories you should be eating. If your diet is OK, then it's probably a good idea to take a week off and see if the fatigue goes away.
2135. Q:
CAN MUSLE MAKE YOU OVERWEGHT
A:
Technically, yes, because the medical notion of 'overweight' does not distinguish between muscle and fat. It is very unlikely that an average person engaged in weight training or other muscle-building activities gains so much muscle that it jeopardizes his health. This is, of course, in contrast to fat gain which is very easy and is clearly undesirable.
2136. Q:
I am a woman in pretty good shape...I worked out consistently for a year and have now been training for Triathlons for the past 6 months. I have a workout schedule that includes 2 workouts a day for 5 days a week with 2 full days of rest. My workouts consist of swimming, running, and biking twice a week and a full body weight workout 3 times a week. My diet is very consistent and I rarely cheat. I am happy with my progress in my training, but I feel like I am not reaching the goal of how I want my body to look. I am pretty lean everywhere except for the butt and upper thighs. I read your article on 'how to lose fat' but I can't stop my aerobic training for my Triathlon. I was wondering if you had any other suggestions for someone in my situation.
A:
Sounds like you are already in great shape -- congrats! You don't need to stop your triathlon training... I would recommend increasing the intensity of your whole-body workouts by reaching failure in 15 or fewer reps. This will get you some of the fat-burning benefit discussed in the 'How to Lose Fat' article. Good luck!
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