How to lose

[PugslyCat]

I am morbidly obese and suffer the same problem. In my case, once the doctors ruled out liver problems, steroid use and prolific marijuana consumption, weight loss was the answer.

[Deltaboy]

Get a dr to look at them. They told me I should go the knife route.

[TheShaun]

we're not talking heidi klum here. BMI scale only has me 0.7 into the overweight category.

[Doc4]

So ... you're overweight then.

You should get fit (that is, more than just dropping 0.8 on your BMI score) through some combination of diet & exercise, and you should check with your doctor before starting any serious exercise. Heck, you should see your doctor on a regular basis anyhow.

If, as seems to be the case, you are otherwise "not too bad" and the man-boobs are disproportionately large, I'd be more worried about some underlying hormone issue ... if it's just a case of being a bit fat and flabby, the doc will likely clear you for exercise and away you go.

[noahpictures]

we're not talking heidi klum here. BMI scale only has me 0.7 into the overweight category.

BMI can be misleading. I'd recommend exercising daily for at least twenty minutes. The best thing to do is resistance traing: pushups, squats, pull ups, and lift weights working the big muscles, chest, shoulders, back and legs. If you can't do pushups because of your wrist then do elbow planks.
Reduce carbs and increase lean protein. I recommend a food journal; there are great free apps and online resources.

The key is to start exercising (and build muscles) even if it's only for twenty minutes.

There is a workout accountability thread that should help consistency.

[merkur59]

I've been exercising for about 2 months, and my slight moobs have turned to solid muscle

That's impressive!

IMO weight loss (per se) is only one side of the coin. The other - weight training (or, in his case, use machine). Combine both types (cardio and weight training) for a nice shapely body.

[Ruston]

Cardio and clean up your diet. Do a bit of resistance training so you don't lose muscle a well as fat, but focus on food above all else.

This.

[rajagra]

Also you might want to consider changing your avatar. It has taken on a whole new meaning.

[Slash McCoy]

What is the nature of your wrist injury, and what is the prognosis? When will it be back to normal?

Male breast enlargement (gynecomastia) is caused by high estrogen levels. All men have some estrogen. All women have some testosterone. A healthy balance is, well, healthy. Gyno results from this balance getting way out of kilter. Blood work will spot anything out of whack, so go see your GP first. If indicated, he can refer you to an endocrinologist, or possibly just prescribe an estrogen blocker or aromatase inhibitor. The former bonds to the estrogen receptors on the affected cells, preventing real estrogen from attaching and causing changes. An aromatase inhibitor prevents aromatization of testosterone into estrogens, chiefly estradiol. This is the most common reason for elevated estrogen in men. Often this is the result of excessively high testosterone levels, which is why athletes using steroids are often afflicted by gyno if they are not also using the proper ancilliary drugs to prevent it. There are some homeopathic anti-estrogens that may be of some benefit at your local GNC or health food store.

Male breast cancer can also cause breast growth in men.

Either of the two conditions will show up as definite firm lumps behind the nipple, as well as sensitive nipples. Occasionally a discharge may be present. A manual self examination will tell you if it is only just fat, actually.

Just fat? Well, you know what you got to do. When you start seeing veins making ridges in your skin that can be felt, you should find your man boobs pretty much gone. I don't mean just a few veins in your forearms, either. We are talking serious fat loss.

It takes 6 miles of running to run off one Big Mac. Easier to simply not eat the Big Mac, right? When you think you are eating right but you still are not losing fat, well, you are not eating right, yet. For every person there is a level of total caloric intake that results in neither weight gain nor weight loss, but keeps it where it is. This is called your maintenance level. It can increase or decrease with changes in physical activity or from starving yourself or binging, or from lack of sleep or increased sleep, stress levels, etc. But what I am getting at is that if you consume less than your maintenance level, whatever it might be, you will lose total bodyweight. If you don't lose weight, cut back still more. Don't fall into self deception and say "Well, I am already barely eating, and I still can't lose weight!" That is total BS. Reduce still more. And more, if necessary. This works for EVERYBODY, even socalled thyroid problem people. There is no excuse. Simply eat less and then less until you see your body weight decreasing.

Rather than count calories, instead, measure your food intake by fist size portions. A fist of fat counts as two fists. Monitor your daily portion intake and reduce as necessary. Avoid ALL processed sugars to begin with, except for one exception that I will get into in a bit. Sugar causes a spike in insulin levels that packs the pounds on. Natural sugar sources should be taken only in moderation. Fruits contain lots of sugars but in small portions the benefits outweigh the cons.

Diet of course is only one side of the equation. You also need exercise. Ordinary cardio is a terribly inefficient way to lose weight. The heightened metabolic rate from cardio lasts pretty much only during the actual exercise period. The stress can elevate cortisol levels, which can make your body retain fat and break down muscle instead. A certain amount of cardio is a good thing, but the benefit is not fat loss. The benefit is improved cardiovascular health. This of course is for ordinary steady state cardio. Somewhat better is a type of cardio called interval training. Instead of jogging at a steady pace, maybe you sprint as far as you can manage, going absolutely all out as if a pack of extremely hungry wolves was chomping at your behind. Then you slow down to a fast heel-and-toe or a slow trot. DON'T STOP! This reduced output is your rest period. When you have your breath back somewhat, sprint again and then again slow down. Keep this up for a half hour and you're done. It will feel like it is killing you at first, but you will get used to it. Use the same technique when bicycling, punching the heavy bag, whatever. Or circuit training with light weights.

Muscle consumes energy, even at rest. It is living tissue with fixed minimum nutritional demands. So more muscle means you can matabolize more calories, meaning that you don't have to starve yourself quite as much, and you are more able to utilize existing bodyfat as energy. Also, the metabolic boost from heavy progressive resistance training (lifting weights) lasts for hours after exercise. Plus, more muscle always looks better, when the fat is gone. So definitely, when your injury has healed, start lifting!

If you had to do only ONE exercise with weights, I would have to say it should be squats. Squatting activates more and bigger muscles than any other. You should, if possible, get a knowledgeable person to help you get started right, so you don't learn any bad habits that will slow your progress or cause injury. Don't get all worked up about how much you can bench. Irrelevant. IT is all about how much stress you can apply to the targeted muscle. And actually I think for the most part, upper body work with dumbbells is superior to upper body work with barbells, anyway. Dumbbells force you to use more stabilizing muscles and prevent arms and bar from stabilizing into a triangle at the top of the lift.

Probably the biggest mistake I see in the gym is doing too many sets. For instance. on your shoulders day... Deltoids are a fairly small muscle. Quite sufficient to do two sets of Arnolds, a set of laterals, a set of bentover laterals, and a set of front raises. How long does this take? 20 minutes! Yet, a lot of guys will spend 45 minutes beating their delts to death and wonder why they never get cannonball shoulders. Then on chest day they REALLY go crazy. And absolutely trash triceps, forgetting that triceps were already fully activated on both shoulder and chest day. Less is more, assuming you are training absolutely to the point of muscular failure. Weight and form (lean heavily to form rather than automatically piling more iron on) are adjusted so that you cannot quite complete your final rep, even if you had a gun to your head. This is the level of stress that you want your muscles to adapt to. They adapt by getting stronger and BIGGER.

Next most common mistake I see is taking a movement through the entire range of motion to a rest position. For instance, when dumbbell bench pressing, if your arms are straight up and down at the top of the lift, your arms are functioning as columns. The weight is skeletally supported. You are RESTING! Instead of going all the way up, only go up about 3/4 of the way so that there is stress applied to the target muscle through the entire duration of the set. You must not have a rest after each repetition. Rest after the set. Same for exercises where the rest point is at the lowered position, such as dumbbell rows. Instead of going all the way down so that the weight is simply hanging, and your arm is functioning as a rope, only go down about 3/4 the way.

You must think about what your muscles are doing, and which muscles you are using, as you train. Back to the dumbbell bench presses. If you are concentrating on getting the weights up, you are using poor form. If you are concentrating on raising the elbows, and only balancing the forearms and dumbbells on top of the elbows as they go up, you are using good form. Why? Because when you turn it into a raise-the-elbows movement, you are placing more stress directly on the pectoral muscles. This is just one example. Your brain is your most important muscle. Train it, and use it when you lift.

Not knowing the nature of yoru wrist injury, I would guess that if you taped your wrists and you used a proper squat rack or cage, or even a Smith machine, you should be able to squat. Start out with a bare bar, concentrating on form. Don't toss the weight up. Come up smoothly, stopping near the top, and slowly go back down, under control. Don't let your back round over. Eyes should be straight ahead. Don't let your head hang down. The bar should be supported by your traps and delts, not way up on your neck. Go down nice and low, with feet flat on the deck. Your buttocks should just about touch the back of your ankles. Four sets of a dozen is a good way to start. Each session add some weight, keeping your form good. A good goal is to squat your body weight after about 3 months, and 1-1/2 x bodyweight after a year. Just remember, it isn't the numbers that are important. The numbers just tell you how much to put on the bar next time. They are not your actual goal. Your actual goal is to look in the mirror and totally like what you see. The intermediate goal is to force the muscle to adapt to increasing stress, so that it grows bigger, as well as expending energy and burnign fat. Be sure your safeties are set so that they will catch the bar if you reach failure and fold up. Think how badly you could injure yourself if there is nothing to take the weight of the bar when you fold up! No big deal with just a couple of plates, but when you start playing with a half dozen 45 pound plates on a 45 pound bar, you are getting serious and serious injuries can result from carelessness. So always squat in a properly set up cage or rack or Smith machine.

Good form and less weight is better than poor form and more weight. The main reason is you are less prone to injury, especially chronic joint trouble. Your muscles will grow a lot faster than tendons, ligaments and cartilage.

Oh I mentioned sugar. One time when processed sugar is of some possible benefit is immediately after training, along with some protein. This is the time when an insulin spike is beneficial. It speeds the uptake of nutrients into the muscle just when it is crying out for nutrients. Over simplification yes, but essentially that is it. Protein and sugar right after training. No fat at this time... it slows down the digestion.

Now I might add that gyno is usually addressed by surgery. It is a relatively minor procedure. Fat can also be removed by liposuction but this procedure comes with a rather painful recovery. Even gyno is reduced somewhat by a massive reduction in body fat. So LOSE THE FAT, and lose if not all, at least most of your boobies. You will look better and feel better too.

My opinions are worth every bit of what you paid for them. Your doctor's opinions are probably worth quite a bit more, since he actually sees you and knows your medical condition and history and went to school and stuff. Maybe he isn't hip to serious weight training methodology but he can check your hormone levels, refer you to a specialist, possibly render an opinion regarding your wrist injury and lifting, and probably think of something I have missed. A session or two with a personal trainer MIGHT be a good idea, but be aware that a lot of these trainers are idiots. The trainer who has all natural clients looking like they could compete in local bodybuilding shows is the guy you want. If all of his clients look like crap and he looks like crap, well, that is a reflection of his knowledge and methods.

[merkur59]

wow.

I like your take on squat - Its one of the very few barbell exercise that makes me pant heavily. Almost HIIT-like.

Using fist to measure food - fist instead of the typical 4g (carb/protein) and 9g (fat) - its so much simpler...

[rajagra]

Common advice is to use the palm of the hand as a useful measure. Imagine your hand, missing the fingers and thumb. That is the volume of a food serving you should use, e.g. the amount of meat you should have in one meal.
The advantage is that this way of measuring is already adjusted to your own build.
Of course a (whole) fist unit works similarly, but would be too large as an actual serving size for most people. Maybe you meant the same thing as me but were referring to area rather than volume?

[RichieRich3902]

Lots of great advice here. I started running and dieting and I lots mine. Fat in the body produces estrogen, too much of either and you know what happens.

[Slash McCoy]

Common advice is to use the palm of the hand as a useful measure. Imagine your hand, missing the fingers and thumb. That is the volume of a food serving you should use, e.g. the amount of meat you should have in one meal.
The advantage is that this way of measuring is already adjusted to your own build.
Of course a (whole) fist unit works similarly, but would be too large as an actual serving size for most people. Maybe you meant the same thing as me but were referring to area rather than volume?

No, but your way is equally valid. But I didn't mean that one fist size was one portion, no matter what... of course you must adjust your food intake and no arbitrary allowance will work for all the people all the time. What I meant was to use it as a way of tracking consumption and tailoring daily consumption. A fist-worth here, a half fist there... and just wing it on the percentage from protein, etc. A fat guy should generally be trimming as much carbs as possible from his diet, as well as excessive fat, but sparing the protein. A really lean guy wanting to add lots of mass would of course be trying to get his gram per pound of protein, and making up any caloric deficit with carbs and maybe some extra animal fats. I typically have about 5 fistfuls of meat poultry and seafood in a day, for instance, and maybe 2 fists of starchy foods, maybe a half fist of fat which calorifically equals about a full fist. Most vegetables I simply don't count unless I have seasoned them heavily with bacon or bacon fat, which I love. Sugars I don't even count because I might go days and days without any sugars. Alcohol I simply pretend I didn't have any LOL! I am not that hardcore that I will ration my beer and bourbon and tawny port! BTW a fist of steak I automatically count as about a fist and a quarter due to the fat content. It really is a simpler system than counting grams of this and that and converting to calories. It works well enough for all but the most hardcore guys. You could do the same thing using palm size units of measurement. But generally the average person would do well to ADJUST food intake, and not simply have a palm or a fist three times a day. Just my two cents and my opinion is worth what you paid for it.

[merkur59]

When you think you are eating right but you still are not losing fat, well, you are not eating right, yet.

This statement hits me squarely in the face.

It is not trying to figure out a magical formula or tweak the exercise regime to lose fat. This was what I has been doing, trying to break a sticking point in fat loss. Its like an epiphany, and so very true in my case (casual weight trainer) who has not (and will never) reach the level where micro managing diet is necessary.

I typically have about 5 fistfuls of meat poultry and seafood in a day, for instance, and maybe 2 fists of starchy foods

I looked at my fists - that is really a lot of food (protein)!

I can only surmise that you are above 200lbs and a "lean and mean" bodybuilder. Any pics?

[Slash McCoy]

This statement hits me squarely in the face.

It is not trying to figure out a magical formula or tweak the exercise regime to lose fat. This was what I has been doing, trying to break a sticking point in fat loss. Its like an epiphany, and so very true in my case (casual weight trainer) who has not (and will never) reach the level where micro managing diet is necessary.



I looked at my fists - that is really a lot of food (protein)!

I can only surmise that you are above 200lbs and a "lean and mean" bodybuilder. Any pics?

Well over 200 but definitely not lean and mean right now. Actually I have touched weights maybe 30 times since Katrina but a couple of weeks ago I got back on the wagon in spite of having hardly anything to work with on this ship. But I have lost over 10 lbs in the last 3 weeks so I have definitely committed. The first pic is me just before Katrina. I think I was about 205 then. Not all that lean but at least not porky and more definition than the average man on the street. The second pic is about two years ago, probably 230 or so and definitely not ready to have my picture taken. I was about 245 three weeks ago and I am about 235 now.



I know that sounds like a lot of protein but really it isn't. It is still well under a gram per pound per day, the most commonly tossed-around benchmark. When you figure a steak is only about 15% protein, the rest being water, fat, fiber, etc, it isn't much. But remember, in New Orleans, we don't eat to live... we live to eat. Also in my job there is a lot of physical activity. Enough that I retained quite a bit of muscle in spite of not training. It seems I am always the guy that gets nominated to move the immovable stuff and lift the unliftable and carry... well, heavy stuff. I don't mind all that much because at least I get to look down my nose at the can'ts.

[merkur59]

But remember, in New Orleans, we don't eat to live... we live to eat.

Lol

Great bod! Big enough (and not fatty big) to intimate most but the beasts! You certainly live what you preach...

[AndreasDK]

Cardio and clean up your diet. Do a bit of resistance training so you don't lose muscle a well as fat, but focus on food above all else.

+1

[Slash McCoy]

Lol

Great bod! Big enough (and not fatty big) to intimate most but the beasts! You certainly live what you preach...

Well, I haven't been living what I preach, until recently. I only started really trying to train again a couple weeks ago. At my disposal I have one of those standard (1-1/8" holes in the plates, as opposed to olympic) bars and a kiddie bench press bench/rack which I don't use, about 100 lbs of plates, a 20 and 30 lb pair of chrome dumbbells, and two homemade pairs at 43 and 27 lbs each pair. That's it. No chin bar. No power cage. Nothing. I have to radically modify my form to get anything out of those flea weights. My dumbbell bench press is more like flys. My bentover rows by necessity hit triceps because to fully activate lats, teres and rhomboids, I have to extend the elbow with such light weight. And so on and so forth. But excuses won't do me any good. I had a lot of excuses after Katrina. Everybody had plenty of excuse for pretty much anything at all. Everythign was messed up. Everybody, every mind and heart and spirit was messed up. Well, it is what it is and now it isn't that way any more and excuses just don't hold much water.

Thanks for the compliment, though I don't feel I deserve any since I know I could have done better if I had trained harder, ate better, got more sleep, stopped drinking, etc. I just wanted everyone especially the OP to see I wasn't just blowing crazy ideas out my behind, and that my way works. A lot of proper sounding but totally fallacious advice comes from guys with totally underwhelming physiques, which should tell you something about that advice. Everybody KNOWS, but not everybody gets results.

Oh, and FWIW, I almost NEVER did ANY cardio. I just never saw it being very effective, and I still don't. Some of the biggest, slackest bellies and skinniest arms and calves and boniest shoulders belong to treadmill and bicycle-to-nowhere junkies. I used to train with a couple of regularly and successfully competing bodybuilders and they never did a lick of cardio other than a token jumprope session or a mad dash to the toilet when consuming too much cheap protein powder. Yeah, there are fat guys who lift heavy and still stay fat, but the percentage of lifters with great physiques is substantial, and the percentage of cardio addicts with great physiques is abyssmal. Serious weight training combined with proper diet and rest are hands down the way to go. Stair steppers are for old ladies. Norditrac and ellipticals are for bubblebrained lycra bunnies. Soloflex makes a nice clothes rack but that's about it. It takes IRON to do the job. Diet alone won't do much other than help you get skinny. Cardio = already sufficiently debunked. IRON. Simple, direct, durable, efficient. The only moving parts is YOU.

Uh-oh... I almost got into one of those RAAAAARRRRRGH moods again!

[Illadelphia]

Soy actually promotes estrogen production in men.

.

Broscience. Alan Aragon disproved this. You would need an outrageous amount to do such. People also claimed tea tree oil is attributed to an estrogenic rise in cellular tissue, which again is false.

[ronwell]

Burpees are pretty much the only exercise anyone ever needs to do. You can do them at home, and you don't need to join a gym. Might not be good, though, with your wrist problem.