Heya,

I lost about 60 pounds by the end of 18 months ago and I've been struggling ever since to lose the rest of the weight. I'm at 217 pounds right now.

I eat pretty healthy. I regulate myself to 2000-2300 calories a day. For my activity level, age and weight my base metabolic need is about 3,000-3,100, according to the online calculator I use. I did starve myself for about a year though so I think I may have fucked up my metabolism.

Most of my carbs are high in fiber like hemp granola, whole wheat bread and tortillas, peanut butter, etc. Most of the time for breakfast I'll have hemp granola with 1/4 cup whole milk yogurt mixed with berries and a bit of honey. Lunch is often a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, or these healthy burritos that are loaded in fiber and protein. Dinner is usually salmon, steak or chicken or really healthy salads. I eat alot of organic stuff and drink water almost exclusively.

I excercise 6-7 days a week.

Two days in a row I do cardio, burning 300 calories on the treadmill with interval training where I walk for 3 minutes at 3mph then run at 7 mph for a minute, repeating this for like 26 minutes with a cool down period.

Every three days I do weight lifting where I bench press as much weight as I can in 15 reps, then do bicep curls for as much weight as I can tolerate in 12 reps, then I do 50 sit ups. I repeat this two more times, and sometimes I mix in a little boxing or some other random lifting.

I'm still not fucking losing weight. I have noticed a better tone to my muscles and my abs, but nothing dramatic. Any advice as to how I could improve my diet and excercise plan?

Reduce your caloric intake to 1500. The weight training you do is useless and will do fuck all to increase your metabolic rate, as it is hypertrophy training, do strength training instead. Start working within 70-100 percent of your 1RM for singles and no more than six reps. Also drop cardio instead of doing that push your car up an inclined road until you feel like dying or something.

Congratulations on the progress so far. Like the poster above said, you seem to be overtraining, and not getting enough strength in there. Also, lifting, etc should be done with a day of rest in between, so like 3 or 4 times a week max. Next, the amount of carbs you eat is probably preventing your body from getting to fat stores and you may be a a biologically preset amount of fat. I'd suggest cutting carbs or even going on a ketogenic diet (it's helped me enormously). Lastly, about 18 months ago, I was at 190 and lost 40 pounds when I also stalled. In the past month or so, I've been off lifting (bad, i know), but been taking ALRI Venom Hyperdrive (thermogenic supp) and have lost another 12 pounds in addition to walking and staying away from long periods sitting down instead of mostly laziness with intense workouts. I'm down to about 11% body fat. ABS HERE I COME, RAWR!

Thanks to both of you. I really appreciate the advice.

I don't really want to limit my calories any further. Why do you think I should? I feel that 2000 is already pretty low for my body's natural calorie requirement.

This strength training stuff would be me doing only one rep with alot of weight and then moving on to a different exercise, then repeating the routine? Do I got that right? I assume I can just google "strength training" and come up with the appropriate excercises? Also, does this strength training really beef up your muscles as I had hoped lifting would? Should I limit my strength trainign to every couple days?



The ketogenic diet sounds interesting. How does that compare to the Atkins diet? I always thought the Atkins diet was bullshit because it was unrealistic to maintain. I'll try to read up on the ketogenic diet and try to get my facts straight. *Sigh* I was really liking my current diet because all my carbo fiber keeps me pretty satisfied Ah well.

Yes, but the one-rep thing would preferebly be done once a week or perhaps once every three weeks, the rest of the days you would do 3x3 or 3x5 or 6x6, whatever you please so as long as you are operating within the anaerobic/glycolytic energy system. You would want to do the following exercises

front squats
stiff legged deadlift
push press
pendlay row

And no strength training will not do anything to increase hypertrophy especially on a low-calorie diet. Muscle mass increase results from lifting within the 60-70 percent range for 8-15 reps, this type of training (strength training) is mostly a neuromusuclar effort.

You can do strength training 3 times a week if you like, just as you are lifting now but without the high reps. When you cut bodyfat you can go back to hypertrophy training if you want muscle mass, eat more, and then cut again, etc. You can still do the stationary bike or whatever it was on the off days, should you decide to do car pushing or hill sprinting or whatever on your lifting days, that would also promote recovery.

You could probably just google "madcow 5x5" or torrent Starting Strength, I think that shit is really gay and a fad but it would certainly work for someone just looking to stress the anaerobic energy system and therefore increase metabolism. Also don't drink a gallon of milk a day like those faggots will suggest, that's a terrible idea. Fat has to be avoided at all costs.

and yea lowcarb is a fad, waste of your time.

Low carb is DEFINITELY NOT a waste of time. It's the natural way to lose weight, just as humans have since... forever. Check out my breakfast today:
Tuna salad (one can + 4 tablespoons regular mayo, seasoned to taste) (0 carbs, 600 cal)
1lb bag of steamed broc and cauliflower (10 net carbs + 10g fiber, 80 cal)
1 oz low sugar dark chocolate (4 carbs, 50 cal)

I usually mix the veggies and tuna salad together, soooo goood. The fiber keeps me full for 5 or 6 hours, while keeping it from dumping into my system. The slow availability of calories means my body burns its own fat while waiting for more calories, meaning not having a blood sugar peaks or crashes.

Low carb is easy to maintain because you never get hungry (body will switch over to its own fat stores naturally) and you get to eat crazy good tasting foods like nuts, cheese, seeds, fatty meat, etc. Not to hype this too much, but it was the best change I've ever made. Constant energy, awesome weight loss with little effort.

Now, people are going bitch that you gain the weight back once you go back to 'normal' eating. Let me tell, 'normal' people aren't fit, 'normal' modern diets are directly responsible for the epidemic of poor health.

@The Return: You're the dumbass, my friend. I'd never drink a gallon of milk, too many carbs. Shows how much (or, rather how little) you know. Low fat diets are horrible for you. There's been alot of research in the last 30 years to support me too.
e.g.
http://articles.latimes.com/2008/jul...nce/sci-diet17
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...020701681.html

Not even so long ago, winter would put people in a natural ketogenic state because carbs were not available (plant-based foods), so fat was necessary. And, hey, if it's good enough for bears? amirite

Anyway, that said, some fats are bad, especially trans fats. Sat fats are ok in moderation, but preferably you'd want monounsat and polyunsat fats.

Anyway, it's not so much that carbs are baaaad, but that we eat too many of them. I eat about a 20/75/5 protein/fats/carb diet, getting most of my carbs from green veggies. Some sugar now and again. The chocolate was a rare treat for studying instead of partyin.

Oh, and best part about this diet. I could drink alcohol to help prime my body for it, and get drunker off less, though I dont drink during the week.

When did I say you would suggest that one should drink a gallon of milk? If you go back and read my post, as no one on this forum chooses to do often, you would notice that I said Rippetoe and the Madcow website, as well as quite a few heathens who post in this very forum were going to recommend it, never once did I mention you.

Neither diet is harmful to one's body, it's not a matter of danger, aside from extreme low-carb induced ketosis. It's a matter of effectiveness. The following is fact.

Protein = 4 calories per gram
Carbs = 4 calories per gram
Fat = 9 calories per gram

More fat = more calories = more energy required to burn that will turn in to fat if not. It's as simple as that. None of this insulin spike myth shit that isn't supported by scientific evidence. Speaking of science, those were a couple of laughable links you gave us there, LAtimes and the Washington Post? What's next, a personal trainer who commandeth it so?

As for my lack of knowledge, it apparently hasn't impeded my results. You've been on low carb for how many months now, and you're still a tubby? Good luck on that six pack endeavor Cuban, come back to this thread when you're get to where I'm at now (six percent) and then we'll talk.

I'd like to take the liberty of adding that the assertion of a "natural weightloss" methodology is quite possibly the funniest thing I have ever heard while browsing this website. Since when have humans cared about weight loss? High bodyfat was valued in civilization until recently and I have a hard time believing that our ancestors from many moons ago had the luxury of being well-fed enough to consider weight loss.

Wow, just, wow. Your ignorance continues to amaze me.

Fat (we're talking white, not brown) primarily serves as a storage place for fat-soluble vitamins, a layer of warmth, and as long-term fuel. Animals fatten up in the summer and fall in preparation for the winter when they undergo natural ketosis, hence ketosis is meant to happen. This isn't mentioning also how a carbohydrate based diet has only been around for 10,000 years, and the human genome hasn't had time to adapt properly. Carbohydrates are more important post-workout because the insulin spike delivers nutrients into the muscle.

You said fat is to be avoided at all costs. Fat is a VERY important part of the diet. Like I said, some vitamins can only be properly absorbed with fat. At all costs would also mean increasing your cholesterol, possibly becoming vitamin deficient, and making losing weight that much harder, and straining your liver and pancreas.

Losing fat on a low fat diet is much harder because you are essentially never depleting your glycogen stores, thus your body is almost always primarily metabolizing carbohydrates and not fat. On a KD, essentially all you have to do is perform activities to keep your metabolism revved. Walking is easy and works well.

On a KD, glycogen stores are depleted, thus fat is primarily metabolized (into ketones). Oh, guess what, then you just pee out any excess ketones! Gaining fat is almost impossible! Also, muscle is protected/gained and testerone levels go up naturally.

Btw, 11% is nowhere near tubby. In fact, we're in same category! However, once again, you show you know nothing and I'm skeptical about your claims.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_fat_percentage

So, the way I see it, you do your running or jump rope or whatever you do to lose fat. I'll keep lifting and walking, eating my fill of delicious fatty foods (all healthy, of course, no junk).

I'd think this guy was a troll if he wasn't so damn dumb and knew more about what he was saying. There's a science to nutrition and exercise.

OP: I don't want to ruin a good thread with anymore of this, but this guy really doesn't know what he's talking about. You can lose fat either way, for sure, but my approach is the easier one for sure. I've taken my weight off healthfully, but it could have been faster if I had been more proactive in the beginning. I taught myself completely and its taken time to refine everything I know. Everything I know is backed up by science if you have questions or would like links to papers.

I have an English paper to finish, so I'll leave you a very helpful link.
http://www.1fast400.com/a81_Fat_Loss_Basics.html

Haha, you say it's nowhere near tubby yet you do not even have six pack. We're not in the same category, visually, I'm afraid. As for your comment on running and jump rope, you must not have read my post which would explain why you just made one of the most laughable posts I have ever read on this website, once more.

It's not like I can power snatch my bodyweight of 85kg or anything.

And I already told you I'm not interested in hearing this low-carb propaganda, science does not agree with you my friend it's laughable that you would ever attempt to counsel me on it.