My (successful) weight loss strategy.

[Kinematic]

I've gone from 214.8 lbs to 202.3 lbs over the past 6 weeks. For reference I'm 6' 1" tall. Allow me to share my process and what keeps me on track.

Before I wanted to lose weight I was only concerned with getting bigger and (mainly) stronger. Last fall I was the strongest I'd ever been but about a glass of water away from 230lbs. I was proud of being big and strong but looked awful. I fell out of my routine during the holidays and lost some strength and weight after being sick. This year I wanted to make some changes.

On to the diet. My plan is more aggressive than what most would recommend but I want to lose weight and get back to getting stronger sooner than later. People always say "aww it's so easy just eat less!" but I've found there's much more to it than that.

Anyway, here's a look at what helped me:

1)Caffeine: Stimulants act as an appetite suppressant. Ill usually have black coffee in the morning and won't eat anything until lunch. It's much easier to save my calorie for later in the day as well.

2)Diet Soda: This is mainly for sanity purposes and makes dinner much more enjoyable. The caffeine is also helpful in keeping hunger at bay.

3)Veggies: I treat veggies as a freebie. They can make a 600 calorie meal leaving you seriously stuffed. On top of that the vitamins and fiber are a nice perk.

Finally and most importantly:

4)A distraction: After the gym I use video games to relax and forget about being hungry. This is key because I've realized that I can eat insurmountable amounts of food after work, constantly grazing. Games coupled with some diet Dr pepper and I'm good until bed. Find your distraction.

That's about it! Don't over think things, trust the deficit, and move on to other activities to keep you occupied while those pounds fall off!

 

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[startinup]

I've gone from 214.8 lbs to 202.3 lbs over the past 6 weeks. For reference I'm 6' 1" tall. Allow me to share my process and what keeps me on track.

Before I wanted to lose weight I was only concerned with getting bigger and (mainly) stronger. Last fall I was the strongest I'd ever been but about a glass of water away from 230lbs. I was proud of being big and strong but looked awful. I fell out of my routine during the holidays and lost some strength and weight after being sick. This year I wanted to make some changes.

On to the diet. My plan is more aggressive than what most would recommend but I want to lose weight and get back to getting stronger sooner than later. People always say "aww it's so easy just eat less!" but I've found there's much more to it than that.

Anyway, here's a look at what helped me:

1)Caffeine: Stimulants act as an appetite suppressant. Ill usually have black coffee in the morning and won't eat anything until lunch. It's much easier to save my calorie for later in the day as well.

2)Diet Soda: This is mainly for sanity purposes and makes dinner much more enjoyable. The caffeine is also helpful in keeping hunger at bay.

3)Veggies: I treat veggies as a freebie. They can make a 600 calorie meal leaving you seriously stuffed. On top of that the vitamins and fiber are a nice perk.

Finally and most importantly:

4)A distraction: After the gym I use video games to relax and forget about being hungry. This is key because I've realized that I can eat insurmountable amounts of food after work, constantly grazing. Games coupled with some diet Dr pepper and I'm good until bed. Find your distraction.

That's about it! Don't over think things, trust the deficit, and move on to other activities to keep you occupied while those pounds fall off!

I agree with some of this, but the basic fundamentals are left out. First, some quick background.

During my first year of college, I was a bit reckless. I drank beer like water and partied all weekend. I went to the school buffet (dining hall) and loaded trays with plates. I did cardio, thinking it would make up for my terrible diet. It didn't...

I gained the freshman 15 in less than a semester and didn't even know how I'd gotten there. I never wanted to be out of shape and unhealthy. So I decided to make a change.

I researched a ton and learned everything I could about diet, weight-loss and muscle gain. By the end of the 2nd semester, I had drudged through the bullshit online about losing weight and figured out what do to. I hadn't made much progress in the gym but learned everything I needed to get in the best shape of my life.

In the first 6 months, I lost all the fat from freshman year and gained 20+ lbs of muscle. I've continued on this fitness journey ever since, gaining muscle and losing fat repeatedly. It's incredibly simple if you do know what to do.

-----

Yes you can drink diet soda if it makes you feel better, but you really don't need it and artificial sweeteners are bad for you.

If you decide to take caffeine, take it before your workout, your lifting will be stronger and you will be able to push harder.

If you are not a vegan/vegetarian/etc eat some protein with your veggies. Protein takes longer to digest so you will feel fuller for longer.

But this is not everything you need, there are 3 fundamental rules to follow if you want to be in great shape.

1) Count calories. It's just that simple. Use the Katch-McCardell equation with an activity multiplier to calculate your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE: how many calories you'll burn with your current amount of activity). It may seem like a distraction, but after a couple months you won't even have to do it, you'll just know how many calories are in the food you commonly eat.

You can lose weight without counting calories, but by being accurate and focussed you'll shed weight quickly.

2) Lift Heavy Weight. Lifting heavy weight with compound exercises is the best way to gain muscle, and increased muscle mass is amazing for you. Research has shown that lean muscle mass is associated with decreased all-cause mortality (aka. chance of dying from anything health-related).

3) Lose or Gain, but not both. Basically, this means, don't try to gain tons of muscle and lose weight at the same time.

When you want to gain muscle you will have to eat more than your TDEE (Not too much, though, you don't just want to get fat, stick to 250-500 calories over your TDEE).

When you want to lose weight you have to eat less than your TDEE. Keep it around 20% less than your TDEE and you'll shed the pounds quickly and easily.

-----

It will take work, but if you follow these 3 steps, you'll be able to lose weight or gain muscle whenever you want to. If you want to feel pride when you look in the mirror or just feel better every day, don't wait up.
Start today!

 

[Kinematic]

Checking in here (I'm making this a progress thread now) and I met my goal weight (200 lbs) on 3/9/2017! I dipped down to 197.6 lbs while I started to add calories back into my diet. I've also been diligent with keeping track of my weight every single day.



I started at 1500 calories in January and have slowly come back up to 2700 calories per day to stick around 200-205. My current goals are to maintain this weight and get stronger.

 

[Miles Hanson]

Congrats! Sounds like you are finding what works for you. I would say one of the biggest things that helped me get to where I wanted to be health wise was accountability. Having someone to check in and to talk to about the struggles and accomplishments made it SO much easier. Before that it was sporadic and inconsistent. Any progress I made would quickly be lost over a week...

I have started doing this for friends (accountibility) and some clients as well. I hope to turn it into a business soon. Let me know if you are at all interested, or even just want to chat on the phone about it, I would love to here what your biggest struggles are.

Cheers!

 

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[lewj24]

In the first 6 months, I lost all the fat from freshman year and gained 20+ lbs of muscle.

3) Lose or Gain, but not both. Basically, this means, don't try to gain tons of muscle and lose weight at the same time.

You can't gain that much muscle in 6 months unless you are on roids and then you contradicted yourself with your 3rd point.

Counting calories only works if you eat the same food every day. And that still isn't very accurate to use as a weight loss tool because if you lower calories in your body will lower calories out and vise versa. Its more about the type of calories you consume that affects your body.
Why I Didn't Get Fat From Eating 5,000 Calories A Day Of A High Fat Diet - Smash The Fat Fitness & Fat Loss Boot Camps

Diet Soda is bad because it (along with all artificial sweeteners) can cause cravings that make you eat. It also raises insulin levels which ultimately causes weight gain.

Also try Intermittent Fasting.

And watch the video and read the thread.
O/T: Health - The one and only fasting video you need to see.

 

[startinup]

You can't gain that much muscle in 6 months unless you are on roids and then you contradicted yourself with your 3rd point.

Funny that you say I can't, because I did...

Newbie gains are a VERY real thing. Because of this, body recomp is actually possible in the very beginning (Especially if you are someone who has put on 15lbs of fat), I didn't mention that fact because this thread is specifically about losing weight.

After losing the weight I'd put on in a little over 2 months, I focussed on muscle gain for the next 4. In the beginning it's surprising how much muscle you can put on by hitting your numbers.

Counting calories only works if you eat the same food every day. And that still isn't very accurate to use as a weight loss tool because if you lower calories in your body will lower calories out and vise versa. Its more about the type of calories you consume that affects your body.

I just create 5-6 meals that have the same amount of calories as my TDEE and same macronutrient content, and eat those every day. It's too much for some people, but works for me.

Also, it really isn't about the type of calories you consume. It is simple physics...

Calories in vs. Calories out for weight-loss

For general health, it's important to eat high quality food with high micronutrient content. However you could lose weight eating pop-tarts, twinkies, and drinking protein shakes. Just need to be disciplined enough to stick to specific amounts of food.

Diet Soda is bad because it (along with all artificial sweeteners) can cause cravings that make you eat. It also raises insulin levels which ultimately causes weight gain.

I don't personally drink it. However, all my friends who compete in bodybuilding competitions use it during the later stretches of a prep. They've been super strict with their diets for months and need a little sweetness to get by.

Also try Intermittent Fasting.

Tried it in the beginning. That was what I thought would help in the beginning. I didn't gain anymore weight at least, but I didn't see any results until I started monitoring calories and using meal planning.

---

In my first post I just tried to distill what were most important things for me in my weight-loss process. It is very literally my experience. I'm not alone in this either, my experience reflects the experience of many people who've used Mike Matthews' website. (Just look at the testimonials and you'll see thousands off people who have lost weight and gained muscle using the fundamentals I described)

 

[JAJT]

3) Lose or Gain, but not both. Basically, this means, don't try to gain tons of muscle and lose weight at the same time.

I've been struggling with this a lot since I both want to lose weight and I want to keep lifting. I've decided I've been overthinking it.

I'm going to continue eating at a deficit AND continue to lift but I'm not going to worry about pushing my body to the limits or increasing my "gains" with regards to the weight lifting. I'll hold my lift numbers right at that "slightly difficult but totally do-able" level and call it a day.

When I get my weight to where I want it, I'll increase my calories and focus on muscle growth.

 

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[startinup]

I'm going to continue eating at a deficit AND continue to lift but I'm not going to worry about pushing my body to the limits or increasing my "gains" with regards to the weight lifting. I'll hold my lift numbers right at that "slightly difficult but totally do-able" level and call it a day.

Sounds like a good plan to me

One thing to keep in mind... Workouts should still feel hard. But don't worry if you don't increase your strength during a deficit. A deficit is really more about maintaining your current strength than growing it.

This will depend on how close you are to your maximal potential.
For example:

A beginner lifter can definitely still increase their strength during a deficit.

An experienced lifter, with a few years under their belt, will just try their best to maintain strength during a deficit. They might even lose a bit of strength, but not dramatically.

 

[lewj24]

Also, it really isn't about the type of calories you consume. It is simple physics...

Calories in vs. Calories out for weight-loss

I'm not here to debate but you clearly didn't check out the links I provided.

Physics and Human Physiology are very different. And we only know a little bit about human physiology, nothing simple about it.

You counted calories and lost weight. Great. But correlation doesn't mean causation. The actual reason you lost weight was because you also lowered your insulin levels.

Calories in vs calories out only works in the short term. The link you posted about the twinkie diet doesn't show the long term effects on his body. The problem with counting calories is your body changes your "calories out" depending on tons of factors we cant control. So that guy was eating 1800 calories of junk food and veggies and they said he used to eat 2600. It doesn't say in the article but I bet he was starting to plateau because his body is trying to lower "calories out" to 1800. This causes yo yo dieting when people go back up to eating more calories. Its hard for people to continue starving themselves to stay skinny so they give up and cave.

 

[startinup]

I'm not here to debate but you clearly didn't check out the links I provided.

Physics and Human Physiology are very different. And we only know a little bit about human physiology, nothing simple about it.

You counted calories and lost weight. Great. But correlation doesn't mean causation. The actual reason you lost weight was because you also lowered your insulin levels.

I actually did look at your links... Clearly he is an ectomorph. For certain people it is very hard to put on weight. One of the same natural bodybuilder friends I was talking about before needs to eat over 4000 calories just to gain weight. During a deficit he can eat 2800 calories.

---

I understand you... I used to think that IF and low-carb dieting were the greatest things on earth. I used both for an entire semester... with little to no results. It's very popular nowadays to talk about hormone levels as the holy grail for weight-loss and diet.

I watched the videos about sugar being evil, I listened while people explained the effect of eating windows on hormone levels, and read about ketones. I ate, slept, and breathed IF and low carb. But without a caloric deficit I didn't see any results.

Humans want to think that something they haven't done is super complicated. (E.i. "I'm not muscular and lean, it must be really hard to get there") But what finally got me the results I wanted was tracking macros, calories, and lifting heavy.

Calories in vs calories out only works in the short term.

I've been using calories in vs. calories out for 3+ years to gain and lose weight...

The twinkies example was only to show you how utterly simple it can be to lose weight. Is it a good long-term strategy to lose weight eating twinkies? Hell no! But it does demonstrate the simplicity of the process. The most important factor for weight loss is how many calories you eat.

---

This is starting to feel like r/fitness... You have your method and I have mine, does it really matter that much? What matters the most is consistent daily action toward our health goals.

 

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[ArcherCarmic]

If anyone reading this is looking for a great book filled with practical information (backed by studies and evidence) to cut through the bullshit and help get results, check out 'Bigger, Leaner, Stronger' by Mike Matthews, or 'Thinner, Leaner, Stronger' for women. I can't speak highly enough about it. It helped get me off my a$$ and going to the gym five days a week to lift heavy compound weights and eat the right way.

 

[lewj24]

You have your method and I have mine, does it really matter that much?

I posted this so people wouldn't read this thread and follow your advice uncontested. I'm trying to explain that all calories are not equal.

That's good that you are counting calories. As long as you realize you are actually tracking insulin. Since insulin has no number on the nutrition labels you have to use calories. The trick is to have similar macros and eat similar food everyday so you can find the right amount of insulin levels through tracking calories.

If you change up your meals every day lets say 2,000 cals of nuts Monday 2,000 cals of chocolate Tuesday 2,000 cals of meat Wednesday etc. you will be very confused on what is happening to your body if you think all calories are the same.

 

[Kinematic]

Hello folks. I have another update coming for you soon. I have been making great progress! New goals have been made and I will go into detail about those in my main update.

As for @startinup and @lewj24, please do your homework before spouting all that bro-science nonsense on my progress thread. It diminishes the value for future readers. I'd be happy to teach you if you'd like help.

 

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[Kinematic]

Update: Since I've met my goal and have learned to eat properly every single day, I've been increasing calories to help with strength gains. I tested my maxes last week and I'm currently at:

Squat: 460 lbs (208 kg)
Bench: 280 lbs (127 kg)
Deadlift: 485 lbs (220 kg)
Overhead Press: 170 lbs (77 kg)

My upper body is quite behind my lower and I'll be doing more work to address that.

My current body weight is floating around 205 and I'm eating 3300 calories per day. If I have to increase calories to meet strength goals then so be it. I want to primarily stay around 205 though.


Fun chart update:




If anyone wants to know more about how I train or my diet feel free to ask!

 

[McFirewavesJr]

I've gone from 214.8 lbs to 202.3 lbs over the past 6 weeks. For reference I'm 6' 1" tall. Allow me to share my process and what keeps me on track.

Before I wanted to lose weight I was only concerned with getting bigger and (mainly) stronger. Last fall I was the strongest I'd ever been but about a glass of water away from 230lbs. I was proud of being big and strong but looked awful. I fell out of my routine during the holidays and lost some strength and weight after being sick. This year I wanted to make some changes.

On to the diet. My plan is more aggressive than what most would recommend but I want to lose weight and get back to getting stronger sooner than later. People always say "aww it's so easy just eat less!" but I've found there's much more to it than that.

Anyway, here's a look at what helped me:

1)Caffeine: Stimulants act as an appetite suppressant. Ill usually have black coffee in the morning and won't eat anything until lunch. It's much easier to save my calorie for later in the day as well.

2)Diet Soda: This is mainly for sanity purposes and makes dinner much more enjoyable. The caffeine is also helpful in keeping hunger at bay.

3)Veggies: I treat veggies as a freebie. They can make a 600 calorie meal leaving you seriously stuffed. On top of that the vitamins and fiber are a nice perk.

Finally and most importantly:

4)A distraction: After the gym I use video games to relax and forget about being hungry. This is key because I've realized that I can eat insurmountable amounts of food after work, constantly grazing. Games coupled with some diet Dr pepper and I'm good until bed. Find your distraction.

That's about it! Don't over think things, trust the deficit, and move on to other activities to keep you occupied while those pounds fall off!

It feels like you're trying to trick yourself into fitness and I've rarely seen this work in the long run. Sacrificing what lead you to getting fat is what will truly reset your internal compass.

Long term physical conditioning happens from inside out, not outside in.

Best of luck still.

 

[lewj24]

As for @startinup and @lewj24, please do your homework before spouting all that bro-science nonsense on my progress thread.

Hmmm... Everything I have said comes from the research of Dr. Fung. He explains his ideas in his book "The Obesity Code" were he references tons of scientific studies on the human body to back up the hormonal theory of weight gain/loss.

Maybe you should do your research and check your broscience before you post in your own thread.

 

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[Kinematic]

@lewj24, maybe I incorrectly lumped you in with @startinup in that I don't think tracking insulin release makes nearly as much of a difference compared to total calories consumed vs burned. That was my bad. One could technically lose weight on twinkies only indefinitely as long as they continued to adjust their intake to remain at a deficit. They would be very malnourished, but still lose weight.

@Fred Chevry, You are correct in that my first post is not maintainable for a long time. It was essentially my way of surviving the huge deficit to cut weight faster. I checked back on my log and only went 4 weeks at my greatest deficit. From there I worked my way back up in 300 calorie jumps. Not claiming it was the optimal way but I met my goal and moved on.

 

[McFirewavesJr]

@lewj24, maybe I incorrectly lumped you in with @startinup in that I don't think tracking insulin release makes nearly as much of a difference compared to total calories consumed vs burned. That was my bad. One could technically lose weight on twinkies only indefinitely as long as they continued to adjust their intake to remain at a deficit. They would be very malnourished, but still lose weight.

@Fred Chevry, You are correct in that my first post is not maintainable for a long time. It was essentially my way of surviving the huge deficit to cut weight faster. I checked back on my log and only went 4 weeks at my greatest deficit. From there I worked my way back up in 300 calorie jumps. Not claiming it was the optimal way but I met my goal and moved on.

Thanks for clarifying. It's OK if it was your first step.