So i am fairly new to this site, only been here around 6 months on adv asking things around and figured this is a rather useful board where people actually put in effort to come up with reasonable advice so i decided to finally ask you people if one of my biggest problems can be solved.
For the past 2 months i have been burning 400 calories at the gym every 2nd day for and kept a journal explaining how it all went that very same day. I have had to put off going to the gym due to me finishing my security training course which i have been studying for due to an exam but i figured it was time to actively put some effort back into hitting the gym and doing it better this time
My experience of following this pattern of 400 calories on the treadmill every 2nd day has been slightly effective but not enough that i could call it progress since sometimes i would only burn very little every week. I have been trying to eat less and i am working on that but it seems that only time will help me adapt to it. I want to know if burning 400 calories is a good ammount or if i should aim much higher like 700? an overweight guy can lose much more weight much faster than a skinny individual i know but i cant help feel i would be overdoing it? any good advice on how to burn this fat from my body within a year's time? i want to follow a pattern that works much better than the one i am experimenting with now.
Also i am 18 years old.
More information on the gym i go to.
It literally is 3 minutes away walking, right in front of my apartment.
The gym offers a very wide range of tools and has many rows of treadmills and other cardiovascular related machines.
There is a section dedicated to weight lifting ranging from a bench press and lat pull down all the good upper body related machines are there to work with.
I have been using the leg-press at a high intensity after every 400 calories i burn to make sure my legs are spent for the day.
i usually spend only about 50 to 60 minutes at the gym each time i am there due to not aiming for much more than burning calories and working on my legs.
It's not just about the calories, the the kind of food you're eating and its effects on your blood sugar levels also affect your weight loss. If you're eating simple carbohydrates like bread and potato, you need to replace them with veggies like broccoli, asparagus and anything else with fiber. Fruits should also be kept to the minimum.
So basically, avoid carbs and anything else that spikes your sugar blood levels and your body will use fatty tissue as energy
>>16995145
Will try adjusting to this from now on, this sounds like solid advice thanks.
>>16995131
Stop doing stupid cardio and lift instead. Burning calories through exercise is an almost futile thing to do. The trick is to get your body to burn more calories all of the time, and this is done by adding muscle. Just sitting there muscle burns more calories than fat. Think of your body like a furnace: would you rather have a small fire burning for a short a period of time (cardio) or a larger fire burning all of the time (added muscle)?
>>16995161
I see your point but how would you do it? if i had to put myself in the upper body training regime how should i go about it? do you have any suggestions as to what to do to start it off? why not burn calories doing cardio while still doing upper body training and lifting weights?
>>16995167
Because cardio signals your body that you are in trouble and turns off hypertrophic growth. Evolutionarily your body would not tell itself to add muscle in times when food supplies (calories) were scarce. There's a bunch of biology and chemistry I could talk about, but too long won't type. Note that there is a difference between what is called 'cardio' and actually exercising your heart and lungs. Any decent lifting will exercise these things as well.
If you are just starting do three sets of 7-11 reps, where applicable, of the five basic whole body exercises:
Push-ups/bench pressing
Squats
Deadlifts
Pull-ups
Farmer carries
Do these every second day so that you get enough rest.
As you get stronger and add muscle you'll be able to expand and split your workouts if you want. But for almost everyone these five exercises are all you need.
You don't need a gym membership to lose weight, go running outside with some music and you're good.
The best part about running is seeing the improvements first-hand, you notice you can get a little farther or a little faster over time, before you know it you're running 2-3 hours in a row and covering over 20 miles.
I run everyday for an hour and burn about 750 cals, I don't really need to lose weight either...my system is a machine and food just doesn't get stored anymore which is the kind of situation you want to be in, you need to enjoy your workouts.
Running outside is visually and mechanically interesting compared to running on a treadmill, and you'll get a tan.
>>16995131
Personal trainer here
Watch your calorie intake, if your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR - how many calories you need to maintain your weight per day) is 2000 calories, and you eat 2400, then burn 400, you are still not going to lose weight.
As you consume less/burn more, you lose weight and in turn your BMR gets lower.
If someone (sedentary) eats 1700 calories a day, their weight will drop until they are a weight that needs 1700 calories to be maintained
If someone (sedentary) eats 3000 calories a day, their weight will increase until they are a weight that needs 1700 calories to be maintained
Losing weight can be difficult if you struggle with self control in regards to what you consume, or if you lack the motivation to get to the gym.
An action plan for you
Use a BMR calculator (PROTIP google is your friend) to find your BMR (5 minutes work)
Use an app like myfitnesspal and log EVERYTHING that you consume, from glasses of water to snacks (5 minutes to set up, log food every time you consume something)
Don't overestimate your calories burnt, apps will do this, minus 50 - 100 calories burned per day from exercise
BONUS TIPS FOR LOSING WEIGHT
NO ALCOHOL it just adds up to empty calories
NO FIZZY DRINKS they are full of sugar
NO PACKAGED MEALS they are packed with extra shit to bulk them out
BUY SOME VEGGIES fresh or frozen, 5 minutes in boiling water and you have a low calorie portion for your plate, they also count towards your 5 a day
HOLY SHIT FROZEN FRUIT IS GOOD make your own (or buy) frozen banana slices, it also keeps your sugar cravings away, also counts towards your 5 a day
INCREASE THE INTENSITY OR DURATION OF YOUR EXERCISE if you aren't running faster/for longer or lifting heavier/more reps, you are not going to improve your physical condition if you do the same shit every week
GET ENOUGH SLEEP no screens an hour before bed, no sweets in the evening
>>16995131
just to point you out of the box a bit, in my personal experience just cutting down on empty calories leads far more effectively to weight loss than exercising. (Exercise is good for your healh though, ofc.)
just as this guy said: >>16995145 , although I would personally still recommend eating whole grains such as rolled oats etc.
Carbs aren't your enemy. Not eating enough carbs is even straight up unhealthy for an 18y.o.'s brain development.
BAD carbs are your enemy. Stupid white-bread refined crap which contains no vitamins and minerals. Not to mention industrial sweets, kek.
Even fruits are good for you in reasonable-sized portions. Cuz they have V I T A M I N S. Think of them as your healthy candy.
You can be overweight and malnourished at the same time. More V I T A M I N S and minerals and a larger intake of human-body-usable protein (meat, eggs, dairy) and good fats (rich in omega 3 EFAs) = you'll cut your food cravings in half.
4chan.org/fit/
Look at the sticky
There is no better beginner's guide anywhere
If it's not there the link is [spoiler] http://liamrosen.com/fitness.html [/spoiler]
>>16995131
Fat guy here.
Lost 60 or so pounds in the last year.
Wasn't as fat as you, but I have spent years and years of my life being overweight and doing the exact same thing you're doing with no progress and tons of frustration around failure. Started counting calories and lifting (hardly any cardio) and immediately saw results. Continued this and am now close to my desired weight.
TLDR cardio and the "calorie burn" estimates machines give you are bullshit. It's about diet and muscle building.
When it comes to losing weight, the importance of eating less far outweighs (heh) the importance of exercise (though both are vital). Make sure you count calories and eat less than your body needs to maintain its weight.
>>16995161
>cardio is bad
Oh /fit/
download Calorie Counter, its a free app, and you will be able to see if you are overeating and if your diet is balanced or not.
Listen to >>16995264, good stuff there.
>>16995131
>burning 400 calories at the gym every 2nd day
Gonna be honest, doesn't sound like much. Probably has a pretty negligible effect on your caloric budget.
Like >>16995218 i'd suggest running for pure calorie-burning.
>i cant help feel i would be overdoing it?
Can't tell that from your routine, only from your results. Make sure you're tracking your daily/weekly weight, determine from that how you like the rate of change.
>>16995145
>>16995297
Good advice, but keep in mind that it's possible to lose weight even while eating only empty carbs: if all you intake is 2 glasses of soda or a pack of gummy bears every day, you'll lose weight.
Obviously not the best idea for your health though. The main reason to cut them out of your diet first isn't that they're inherently bad, but that everything else is providing you with more nutritional value and thus should be cut out after them.
>>16995192
OP is fat and his main goal is losing weight right now, i'd suggest focusing on that. Because of the way most metabolic processes work, it's harder to lose weight and build muscle at the same time versus doing them one after the other (bulk/cut)
