Losing Bodyfat

[rokdog49]

About three weeks ago I embarked on my journey to lose fat.
I am 5’6 and I weighed a bit over 188. That is somewhat deceiving because I have been lifting free weights for two years now and have gained a around 5 lbs of muscle. That being said, I am down to 180.5.
I have totally eliminated sweets outside of occasional real fruit and limited my carbs. I have also stopped eating after the evening meal.
My pot gut is almost gone and I would like to get down to 175.
I’ve been doing abs three times a week as well.
I definitely feel and look better.
Anybody else getting ready for the warmer weather and looking and feeling better?

[blue]

This is an explanation of the PE diet. I have added muscle and lost fat over the last month of following it strictly. Down 6 lbs on the scale.

I have mostly followed it for a while, but never committed to cutting out the fat, or eating all the protein. This last month I really did. Cut out the full fat cheese. Used fat free greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise for salad dressing (yogurt, vineagre, a little chicken stock to get the consistency I want, and herbs). Dessert? A cup of nut milk, 10 frozen strawberries, and a scoop of chocolate protein powder blended into a delicious frozen dessert! Yes you need to start with a tasty low carb protein powder.

Anyway it has worked wonderfully. 1 gram of lower fat protein (Lean meat, fish, protein, eggs, fat free "fermented" dairy like yogurt, cottage cheese, etc.) for each pound of "desired" body weight. Not "I would like to get to down to 175" but "ideal" body weight.

Add low carb fruit (cucumber, tomatoes, some berries, etc) and greens.

Do your normal workout.

Be super strict on fat (new york strip steak, chickent breast) for weight loss, eat rib-eyes and eggs for maintenance The beauty of that is you can instantly stop a slide upward by just varying the "quality" of your protein. And you can maintain your weight at any point by just upping the fat content in your protein.

Anywhere here's the vid.

[rokdog49]

Originally Posted by blue

This is an explanation of the PE diet. I have added muscle and lost fat over the last month of following it strictly. Down 6 lbs on the scale.

I have mostly followed it for a while, but never committed to cutting out the fat, or eating all the protein. This last month I really did. Cut out the full fat cheese. Used fat free greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise for salad dressing (yogurt, vineagre, a little chicken stock to get the consistency I want, and herbs). Dessert? A cup of nut milk, 10 frozen strawberries, and a scoop of chocolate protein powder blended into a delicious frozen dessert! Yes you need to start with a tasty low carb protein powder.

Anyway it has worked wonderfully. 1 gram of lower fat protein (Lean meat, fish, protein, eggs, fat free "fermented" dairy like yogurt, cottage cheese, etc.) for each pound of "desired" body weight. Not "I would like to get to down to 175" but "ideal" body weight.

Add low carb fruit (cucumber, tomatoes, some berries, etc) and greens.

Do your normal workout.

Be super strict on fat (new york strip steak, chickent breast) for weight loss, eat rib-eyes and eggs for maintenance The beauty of that is you can instantly stop a slide upward by just varying the "quality" of your protein. And you can maintain your weight at any point by just upping the fat content in your protein.

Anywhere here's the vid.

I’m doing what you suggest. Eating one gram of protein per pound of desired bodyfat is much more difficult than people think..
I can usually get about 80% there.
My calorie intake is 1800-2000 per day, down from 2500-3000.
I eat three eggs a day, and a variety of chicken breasts, tuna, salmon, cottage cheese, yogurt and some protein powder. I also take 5-10 grams of Creatine, one fish oil capsule (1000mg) and 2000 I.U. of Vitamin D3.
Many nutritionists do not recommend eating low-fat yogurt or cottage cheese BTW.
Also...I beg your pardon, 175 lbs would put me around 18-20% bodyfat...that would be ideal.
Ultimately, I would like to get down to 15%, but that’s ver difficult to do and increase muscle.

[buddyhu]

I am 6’1”. A year ago I weighed 183, and stayed close to that until September, when sugary indulgences became a nightly occurrence, and when the occasional glass of wine or cocktail became rather routine. Weight peaked at 197 around New Year’s.

In the past 6 weeks, I’ve almost eliminated processed sugar, reduced alcohol to 2 nights a week, and have increased my activity level. I’m probably eating better protein...more fish.

Im down to 193 this morning.

I am not a fan of most diets...i know so many people who get on diets and lose weight quickly, but then yo-yo up and down. Ive also know some folks who have done their own “modified” high protein diets who had serious health consequences.

I tend to lose weight any time i stay away from sugar, especially if i also stop alcohol, as long as I am at least modestly active. Maybe other folks aren’t so lucky.

[blue]

Originally Posted by rokdog49

Also...I beg your pardon, 175 lbs would put me around 18-20% bodyfat...that would be ideal.
Ultimately, I would like to get down to 15%, but that’s ver difficult to do and increase muscle.

No offense intended! Almost everybody I know says things like "If I could get down to 185 I'd be happy". I didn't know if your goal was "ideal" or "settling for pretty darned good". Settling for pretty darn good is probably a great goal for at least 65% of North Americans!

Again not to be a jerk, but according to the BMI scale, which I am not a fan of, 175 would put you at 28%. Again, the BMI doesn't take bone structure and musculature into account. The old saw famous example is that Tom Cruise is "obese" according to BMI.

15% is crazy low IMO. At 6'3" I've been at 20 percent according to the BMI chart, which again is not a universally awesome tool. Everybody, including my doctor suggested "you should put on a few" when I was in the low 170s

Personal goal is to fluctuate between 180 and 185. Which according to the BMI chart is around 22.5%. That would be drop of 1.5% from my current 192. Supposedly down .5 percent already from my starting weight of 199. Yes 199 is significant.

But I currently have significantly more muscle than I had at 175.

[blue]

Originally Posted by rokdog49

Many nutritionists do not recommend eating low-fat yogurt or cottage cheese BTW..

I understand that. A lot of that has to do with processing dairy. A lot more of that has to do with people tending to replace a reduction in fat in the diet with sugar or fat in another form. Not intentionally. It just seems to happen. We like things to be numy-numy! I am no exception.

I have no dairy issues, so I don't sweat it.

Most "play it safe" nutritionists, by the way, including our Government recommendations are pushing between 250 and 325 grams of carbs a day. That's on a "healthy" diet. Don't even think about what a bad diet looks like in terms of carbs.

You pays your money, you takes your chances...

[Dirk Hofman]

Originally Posted by buddyhu

I am not a fan of most diets...i know so many people who get on diets and lose weight quickly, but then yo-yo up and down. Ive also know some folks who have done their own “modified” high protein diets who had serious health consequences.

Yup, it's not that complicated as it turns out. As the man said, "Eat real food, mostly plants, not too much". I mean, if the goal is to be healthy. Also turns out to be really good for athletic performance and weight control. What that means is not to eat processed food of any kind, including stuff like yogurt.

Nice side effect is that you lose a bunch of fat and extra weight if you eat this way. Cutting out fruits because they're too high on the glycemic scale is to my way of thinking, cutting off your nose to spite your face. They're among the healthiest foods you can eat.

[leew3]

Beware of BMI based purely on weight and height in the case of those lifting to gain muscle mass. It's bound to be inaccurate as the calculation alone doesn't account for composition.

[rokdog49]

Originally Posted by blue

No offense intended! Almost everybody I know says things like "If I could get down to 185 I'd be happy". I didn't know if your goal was "ideal" or "settling for pretty darned good". Settling for pretty darn good is probably a great goal for at least 65% of North Americans!

Again not to be a jerk, but according to the BMI scale, which I am not a fan of, 175 would put you at 28%. Again, the BMI doesn't take bone structure and musculature into account. The old saw famous example is that Tom Cruise is "obese" according to BMI.

15% is crazy low IMO. At 6'3" I've been at 20 percent according to the BMI chart, which again is not a universally awesome tool. Everybody, including my doctor suggested "you should put on a few" when I was in the low 170s

Personal goal is to fluctuate between 180 and 185. Which according to the BMI chart is around 22.5%. That would be drop of 1.5% from my current 192. Supposedly down .5 percent already from my starting weight of 199. Yes 199 is significant.

But I currently have significantly more muscle than I had at 175.

Just a personal opinion, the BMI chart is at best, a “proximity to reality”.
I have significantly more muscle than the average guy at 5’6 at 180.
No way I am at 28% body fat
In my mid thirties, when I was bodybuilding (all natural), I weighed around 165 at 15% bodyfat and I was definitely more muscular and lean.
I don’t think 15% is crazy low. My nephew was right at 12% this summer and he wasn’t “ripped”, just lean.
He was also 215 pounds of pure muscle at 5’11.

[thomasinaz]

Look for the book "The Obesity Code" by Dr Jason Fung. It's a little tough to read with all the studies and data, but has a lot of useful information on losing weight permanently. The basic idea is limiting the times you eat and the types of foods that are healthy and not so healthy. Spoiler alert: All the processed foods and sweeteners we eat make us fat and unhealthy. But also we don't give our bodies enough time to process what we take in, so it turns to fat.

For about the last 20 years I put on a couple pounds a year and developed high blood pressure, along with a big butt and gut. I'm 6' tall and was at 240 about a 1 1/2 years ago. I'm now at 190-195 consistently. And based on my family history, no more BP meds is a huge bonus. For me reading this book, and using the information, was a life changer.

[Brucebubs]

Diagnosed as diabetes type 2 last December - weighed in at 93.6 kilos - my fault, really did eat & drink crap all my life - totally changed diet, cut out all sugar except 2 cups of coffee per day - weigh in at 86.9 this morning.

[emtsteve]

I've nearly always been a big guy, but I hit my max last fall, when I peaked at 313 and that's on a 5' 11" frame. Finally got disciplined with my eating and started walking 2-3 miles everyday. So since October, I am down 43 lbs to 270. My goal is to get under 200. I know that's going to take a while but that's OK cause it took me a while to get that heavy.

No real magic on the diet. Like someone said earlier - real food, mostly plant based, and less of it. I am doing a version of intermittent fasting as I have my first meal about 11am and dinner at about 6. Nothing else for the rest of the day. Very little sugar, no processed food, limited grains/starches. Mostly clean proteins, low glycemic veggies, occasional fresh fruit. I've never drank sweetened sodas so that's not an issue. I do miss beer though. Once I get down to goal I should be able to have the occasional beer or 2.

I'm starting to hit the weights again and that feels good. My belly is nearly gone and my energy levels are greatly increased. I'm committed to making this a long-term lifestyle change because at 55, if I don't, it's going to really take a toll. I'd like the last period of my life to be active and healthy and this is the best chance of that happening.

[rokdog49]

Originally Posted by leew3

Beware of BMI based purely on weight and height in the case of those lifting to gain muscle mass. It's bound to be inaccurate as the calculation alone doesn't account for composition.

Ah yes, an enlightened comment.
I expected nothing less.

[rokdog49]

Originally Posted by Dirk Hofman

Yup, it's not that complicated as it turns out. As the man said, "Eat real food, mostly plants, not too much". I mean, if the goal is to be healthy. Also turns out to be really good for athletic performance and weight control. What that means is not to eat processed food of any kind, including stuff like yogurt.
.

Not all yogurt is processed the same way.
Whole milk Greek Yogurt with nothing added is extremely beneficial, high in nutrients, digestive aids and very high in protein. Many nutritionists have changed their tune on the need for low fat yogurt.
Plant-based diets are very healthy, but you can’t build the kind of muscle I want on them...at least not practically.
Milk products such as whole milk, plain Greek yogurt, whole milk cottage cheese and protein powder supplements are important contributors to my higher protein needs. It’s my life choice for nutrition and it works for me. No, I’m not a purist and don’t wish to be.
I try to keep the processed food outside my nutritional needs to a minimum.
I am 71 and pretty muscular. I train with free weights and machines three times per week. Now I’m working on the bodyfat reduction.
Most people guess me to be mid to late fifties.

[rsay777]

Dr. Mark Hyman is an excellent medical professional to take advice from. He has many books but he also has Podcasts, interviews on YT etc. Free.