JDF9's blog for 1-Oct-09

Browse This Blog:

[ First ]

[ Previous ]

[ Last ]

Alright, so here's my issue for the day:  I work out constantly, usually twice a day. My diet has gotten substantially better in the last few months. I have dropped some weight (I'm 6 ft tall, and I've gone from the 190s to the 170s) since this routine started, but it seems that lately, no matter what I'm doing, my weight is fluctuating like crazy. It's frustrating to put in ridiculous amounts of work just to watch the scale tell me I've gained weight. Discouraging. Is there anything you can do to keep your weight from fluctuating so much? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------Alright... Lets see how much detail I can give you... For starters, I understand that being in the 170s at 6 ft is alright. I'm just in the high 170's and would like to be a little lower. I know BMI isn't the greatest measure, but my BMI is BARELY out of the "overweight" zone, and if I gain like 2 lbs, I am in the overweight zone. It's more of a psychological thing - I'll feel better about myself if I have a little breathing room. My fitness goals, to be quite honest, are pretty shallow. I want to have a visible change that people can see. So far I've dropped a bit of weight (at one point in my life I was 210... dropped down to 190 or so, then recently went back to it - hence the 170s we're at now). Although I'm kind of fighting my genes (Dad is.. lets call him "portly"), I'd love to keep dropping body fat enough to get some visible definition in my core along with the definition I'm working on everywhere else. A friend had mentioned running a half marathon at some time in the future - not sure if I'm up for all that, but being able to put up decent times on some 5Ks would be okay with me. (It sounds like I want to go from zero to hero... maybe I do, but I'm willing to put the work in. I just want to make sure if I'm going to work this hard, I'm doing it correctly.) Over several weeks, I guess there has been a fairly clear trend in my weight, but I think you're right in saying my program needs to be amped up. First off, lifestyle and routine: I have an office job, so I'm behind a desk for about 40 hours a week. I try to get up and move around as often as possible, and sometime walk around the city (Boston) in the afternoons just to do something. I'm away from my apt from 7AM to about 6PM (my gym is also in my apartment complex). I'm usually up by 4:30, in the gym by 5 for cardio and some ab work. When I get home after work, I typically take about an hour to get changed and relax before I'm back at the gym by around 7. After a fairly short workout, I have dinner, then go to sleep between 9:30 and 10 (I live like an old man, not the 23 yr old I am!). I drink occasionally, but never smoke or use any drugs (other than the alcohol..). I've cut soda out of my diet completely, occasionally drink a little juice or milk, and drink a ton of water. Diet: My diet isn't great, but has come a long way since I was eating in a university cafeteria a few months ago. Breakfast usually consists of cereal and skim milk, or perhaps some sort of breakfast bar and juice (and whatever the breakfast, thrown in a couple MegaMen Vitamins). A few hours later, I typically have a serving of nuts of some variety (roasted almonds, or peanuts). Lunch is a sandwich (turkey, or peanut butter) and a piece of fruit (usually an apple). Somewhere between lunch and dinner, I'll sometimes throw in some sort of crackers - not the healthiest option, but it keeps me from shoving a candy bar down my throat. A typical dinner consists of a small chicken breast or other form of lean protein, with a carb of some sort (rice or potato) and a salad. There's typically a protein shake mixed somewhere in there - usually after my PM workout. I'm not much of a cook, and as someone new to living on their own (and paying their way in the real world). In my experience, health food is pretty expensive (and in general, so is living around Boston) so healthy on a budget is my goal. Workout: Morning workouts consist of treadmill time and ab work. I'm usually on the treadmill for about 30 minutes jogging at a 6.5-7.5 mph pace. Ab work varies day to day, depending on what I'm trying to work on. Evening workouts break down to two muscle groups per night typcially. Back/Bis, Chest/Tris, shoulders (I don't really pair anything with shoulders, so I usually end up throwing in random exercises - but not enough for any substantial fatigue for the "extra" exercises), then legs. Day 5 typically translates into "do what you feel" day to try to hit anything harder that I feel I might not have worked hard enough earlier in the week. I take weekends off, then start again on Monday morning.

Comments for this blog entry.

mike on 1-Oct-09

If you mean weight fluctuations during the day, then those are unavoidable. For many people weight can change up to five pounds or even more during the day because of everything we eat and drink. My advice is to always weigh yourself first thing in the morning after using the bathroom and before eating or drinking anything -- that's the most reliable weight measure. Even then it's possible you'll find your weight go up or down a pound or two from day to day. This is just how our bodies work, but over a longer time scale, like several weeks, you should see a clear pattern of weight gain or loss or no change. On the other hand, if you mean that you've gone weeks without any real weight change, that means your diet and maybe your program needs some improvement. When you first start working out and losing weight almost any reasonable program and diet will bring you quick results in the first few months. After that, as you get in better and better shape, progress slows down and you need to really make sure your diet and training are up to par. If you post both (especially your diet) in as much detail as possible here, I'll do my best to suggest improvements. Also, in general working out daily, especially twice a day will be counterproductive in the long run for most people. You can probable do cardio daily if you really enjoy it, but if you do weight training to muscular failure you really need at least a couple of days a week to let your body recover. In the long run it'll get you better results and help avoid injuries. Again, if you can post your detailed training program I'll suggest some possible changes.

mike on 1-Oct-09

I should also add that being 6 feet tall and having your weight in the 170s is perfectly healthy. You may not want to focus on losing more weight but instead on burning fat and building muscle. Post what your personal goals are as far as weight level and physique and I'll suggest the best way to get there.

mike on 2-Oct-09

Thanks for posting your routine. Your workout program is fine. Ideally you wouldn't be weight training 5 days straight but since you take the weekends off it's not a huge deal. Your cardio is fine, especially if you have long distance running goals in mind. Remember to keep increasing speed as your conditioning improves to keep your cardio workouts challenging. What needs improving is your diet. Your individual food choices are OK but overall you are eating way too little. Here's my rough estimate (guessing portion sizes)... Breakfast: around 300 calories, 20 grams protein, 50 grams carbs, 5 grams fats Snack: 200cal, 5g P, 5g C, 20g F  Lunch: 300cal, 15g P, 45g C, 5g F (turkey sandwich) Snack: 200cal, 5g P, 30g C, 5g F Dinner: 400cal, 25g P, 50g C, 10g F Protein shake: 100cal, 20g P, 2g F Total ends up being around 1500 calories with around 90 grams of protein, 180 grams carbs, 50 grams of fats. This is on the low both forcalories and protein. What happens when you eat this little for a long time is your metabolism slows down accordingly and your body becomes "reluctant" to continue burning fat or losing weight, regardless of the exercise routine. I realize that after having lost the excess weight the last thing you want to do is eat more or gain a few pounds, but in the long run you'll be much better served if you slowly start increasing your calories to at least around 2000/day and your protein to at least 150g/day, ideally with better choices in carbs and fats as well. Here's my suggestion: Protein Shake: 100 cal, 20g P, 2g F - cardio  Breakfast: 1/2 cup (dry) plain old-fashioned oatmeal, with 2 cups skim milk, a piece of fruit, and strawberries/blueberries for taste in oatmeal. Plain oatmeal is a great great health food and easily microwaveable. If you can't stand it and need cereal, go for the less sugary kinds like cheerios or bran flakes. 450 cal, 20g P, 80g C, 5g F. If you eat breakfast before cardio, then just have the protein shake after cardio. Snack: nuts, as now. 200 cal, 5g P, 5g C, 20g F Brunch: turkey sandwiches, pile on the turkey, use whole wheat bread, a little mayo OK. 250cal, 20g P, 25g C, 10g F Lunch: repeat brunch. 250cal, 20g P, 25g C, 10g F Snack: nuts, as first snack. Snack: nuts, as now. 200 cal, 5g P, 5g C, 20g F Dinner: as before. Use brown rice instead of white if possible and boiled sweet potato instead of baked plain potato. Pile on more chicken breast. 400cal, 30g P, 50g C, 10g F Protein Shake: as before. 100 cal, 20g P, 2g F This adds up to around 2000 calories,  140 grams protein, 180 grams carbs, 80 grams fats. Don't jump to this right away, but over the course of a couple of weeks, slowly shift to this (or something like it). You probably will gain a little bit of weight when doing this, mainly to extra water retention but in the long run this will serve you much better for burning fat and building muscle. You should see the weight loss restart after a few weeks. Don't worry about your genes or sedentary office routine, both are pretty common and it's definitely still possible to get and stay in great shape. I can't promise you that you'll have the six-pack eventually -- this is harder for people who start out overweight -- but you can definitely get into very very good shape as long as you put in the work training and eating right and give it time. Good luck!