Poll of the Day > Been going to the gym for a month now, getting discouraged

(+) Yeah! (+)

Ok, so what I get from this topic are

Keep going
Count calories
Actually weigh myself
Drink only water

helIy posted...

SmokeMassTree posted...

You can be fat and have bitches my dude.

It's all about you, not just your appearance.

have you seen his weird nose growth?

Im taking care of that too
---

Go to the gym not because you want to get skinny but because you want to improve yourself. First, get the diet right. Then, go to the gym to chase those improvements. I go for a personal record on at least one exercise every time. That could be one more rep. It could be adding 5 lbs, etc. Winning at the gym builds confidence. Build enough confidence and the women will come. This is a lifestyle change. Never forget that.

Delicinq4 posted...

Keep eating less lol. The gym will help as you lose fat and gain muscle, one day you'll look in the mirror and say GODDAYUM.

The typical progression is:

- 1 month to feel different
- 2 months for you to see a difference
- 4 months for others to see a difference

I'd say others see a difference before you do. You see yourself every day constantly, but others only see you periodically, making them more inclined to notice a change.
---

C7D posted...

Go to the gym not because you want to get skinny but because you want to improve yourself. First, get the diet right. Then, go to the gym to chase those improvements. I go for a personal record on at least one exercise every time. That could be one more rep. It could be adding 5 lbs, etc. Winning at the gym builds confidence. Build enough confidence and the women will come. This is a lifestyle change. Never forget that.

This.
---

Muscles posted...

Ok, so what I get from this topic are

Keep going
Count calories
Actually weigh myself
Drink only water

i recommend actually looking up a workout plan too. maybe a beginner workout plan like livefit to try to ease you into working out. it's a pretty good plan to work you from beginner to intermediate and give you a good idea of the basics. or maybe stronglifts 5x5.
---

gaining muscle causes your body to need more calories. going to the gym absolutely helps you lose weight. but you wont lose weight if your diet includes CARBS and SUGAR. if u really want to lose weight, eat eggs for breakfast, chicken for lunch, beef or pork for dinner. have some bacon with breakfast if u need to. just no carbs, no sugar, for as long as it takes. i lost roughly 50 pounds in less than 6 months this way (plus exercise)

cheat days are ok, but no more than once a week and dont go nuts

jasonborne posted...

gaining muscle causes your body to need more calories. going to the gym absolutely helps you lose weight. but you wont lose weight if your diet includes CARBS and SUGAR. if u really want to lose weight, eat eggs for breakfast, chicken for lunch, beef or pork for dinner. have some bacon with breakfast if u need to. just no carbs, no sugar, for as long as it takes. i lost roughly 50 pounds in less than 6 months this way (plus exercise)

cheat days are ok, but no more than once a week and dont go nuts

You are describing a ketogenic diet. A cheat day on Keto can throw you out of ketosis and can make you feel like crap for a few days.

A more reasonable approach is the classic 40:40:20 diet where 40% comes from protein, 40% from carbs, and 20% comes from fats. I use MyFitnessPal to track.

Keep NET carbs (total carbs-carbs from fiber) extremely low for 10 days, like 20-30g

HIIT 1-2 a week on treadmill for 20 minutes a session (1)walk 5 mins, 2)then 1 minute 10-11MPH, 3)break for 1-2 minutes, repeat steps 2 and 3) you'll be good if you can do 6-8 sets of the above

Lift for ~45 mins to an hour

Guarantee you will see change. Fuck balanced diets, carbs are why people are so slow losing weight, at least the right kinds

Avoid all bread, sugar, sauce with sweetener (ketchup, bbq sauce, honey mustard, tartar, teriyaki, basically any sauce that tastes good - besides hot sauce, that's a-ok and my go to for wings)

After your tenth day, the next time you work out, go all out and get carbs foods again, but potatoes and other good carbs are recommended . Junk food permissible but they add too many calories, and aren't worth it on these carb nites as I call them

The rest ofvthe advice in this thread is ok, but the above is guaranteed to change you quickly just because of how the body works
---

Muscle weighs more than fat. Lifting weights to lose weight is idiotic.

Eat less, move more. Run, walk, stretch.
---

SunWuKung420 posted...

Muscle weighs more than fat. Lifting weights to lose weight is idiotic.

Eat less, move more. Run, walk, stretch.

A pound of fat at rest burns 2-3 calories per day. A pound of muscle burn 6-10 calories per day. Both of these numbers are at rest. The real key is that a pound of muscle is 16% smaller than a pound of fat. Another key is that you generally feel better carrying around that pound of muscle than that pound of fat as the muscle increases your capacity to do work.

C7D posted...

jasonborne posted...

gaining muscle causes your body to need more calories. going to the gym absolutely helps you lose weight. but you wont lose weight if your diet includes CARBS and SUGAR. if u really want to lose weight, eat eggs for breakfast, chicken for lunch, beef or pork for dinner. have some bacon with breakfast if u need to. just no carbs, no sugar, for as long as it takes. i lost roughly 50 pounds in less than 6 months this way (plus exercise)

cheat days are ok, but no more than once a week and dont go nuts

You are describing a ketogenic diet. A cheat day on Keto can throw you out of ketosis and can make you feel like crap for a few days.

A more reasonable approach is the classic 40:40:20 diet where 40% comes from protein, 40% from carbs, and 20% comes from fats. I use MyFitnessPal to track.

that does sound more reasonable. but my semi-keto approach did get the job done. overeating is a real danger once I introduce carbs, personally. i think most of america is the same way. I dont get how the french eat so much bread and stay skinny. cigarettes?

jasonborne posted...

C7D posted...

jasonborne posted...

gaining muscle causes your body to need more calories. going to the gym absolutely helps you lose weight. but you wont lose weight if your diet includes CARBS and SUGAR. if u really want to lose weight, eat eggs for breakfast, chicken for lunch, beef or pork for dinner. have some bacon with breakfast if u need to. just no carbs, no sugar, for as long as it takes. i lost roughly 50 pounds in less than 6 months this way (plus exercise)

cheat days are ok, but no more than once a week and dont go nuts

You are describing a ketogenic diet. A cheat day on Keto can throw you out of ketosis and can make you feel like crap for a few days.

A more reasonable approach is the classic 40:40:20 diet where 40% comes from protein, 40% from carbs, and 20% comes from fats. I use MyFitnessPal to track.

that does sound more reasonable. but my semi-keto approach did get the job done. overeating is a real danger once I introduce carbs, personally. i think most of america is the same way. I dont get how the french eat so much bread and stay skinny. cigarettes?

Have you ever been to Europe? You walk a lot and you buy your food more often. You have to because they use fewer preservatives. Preservation is both the savior and the bane of our existence when it comes to food. Sure, our food lasts longer, but it is less nutritious. Processed carbs are what get you. Whole grains are good carbs and highly recommended.

So much strange information in this topic.

First of all, your body does not compute percentages; those 40-40-20 things are a relic of the past. What you really need to do is look at the empirical research on dieting instead of following some arbitrary number from the Apple II era.

CICO is the name of the game for losing weight. It stands for "Calories In Calories Out." To lose weight, all you have to do is make sure you use more calories than you consume. You can calculate your TDEE and activity level to find how many calories you need a day - just look at any calorie calculator on the internet or the body planner calculator made by the US government (https://www.supertracker.usda.gov/bwp/).

Then, simply cut 100-200 calories, or however much you want to make your goal weight. If you are strict about counting your calories, you will lose weight very quickly.

Remember that your body is not a mathematician and does not work with percentages. I do not know as much about losing weight, but for gaining muscle, the maximum protein intake needed (as researched by real scientists) is 0.6-0.8g per pound of your body weight, and the minimum fat intake is 0.45g per pound of your body weight. That is what you need to hit to build muscle.

Cutting carbs is probably the easiest way to readjust your diet, but don't go crazy and cut them out completely or you will feel poorly and boomerang.

Working out (i.e., building muscle) can absolutely lead to loss of fat because you are raising your activity level and burning more calories.

The most important thing is to track your calories. Even if you are eating cleanly, you might not lose weight because you are eating too much. For example, I maintain my weight by eating chicken, eggs, brown rice, fruit, vegetables, and greek yogurt, and (of course) drinking only water. I could easily add a few more eggs and begin to gain weight. It's all about CICO.


As far as tracking your progress, take pictures of yourself. You may not see a difference because you see yourself every day, but you will if you take a picture and then another picture a month later.
---

Use a calorie counter. I've started doing this and lost 11 pounds in a month. My goal is to lose 30 pounds totals.

@sfgiants

It is easier for most people to do macros in order to maintain adequate health. You can definitely deviate from this according to your body type. You might also lose weight by eating 2000 calories a day of cookies and cake, but you won't get healthy doing so. I am aware of the energy balance, but I am also aware of the reactions your body needs and the nutrition you need to get there. You are oversimplifying. Your approach is a gimmick and will not lead to lifelong health.

Also, the 0.6-0.8 g protein/pound is only when you are trying to bulk. You actually need more than that when trying to lose weight by resistance training 1-1.4 g/pound as the OP seems to want to do.

fettster777 posted...

Use a calorie counter. I've started doing this and lost 11 pounds in a month. My goal is to lose 30 pounds totals.

I hope you're working out a lot and not just relying on cutting calories to lose those 11 pounds
---

mastermix3000 posted...

I hope you're working out a lot and not just relying on cutting calories to lose those 11 pounds

why? literally all you need to do to lose weight is cut calories.
---

Jen0125 posted...

mastermix3000 posted...

I hope you're working out a lot and not just relying on cutting calories to lose those 11 pounds

why? literally all you need to do to lose weight is cut calories.

I think many people use the words weight and fat interchangeably when they should be using the word volume. When people say they want to lose weight, they typically mean they want to reduce their volume. Some misguided efforts attempt to spot reduce that volume. In reality, people want to lose fat. When you lose weight to try to lose fat, you lose some lean muscle too. About 1/3 of the weight you lost when you were only dieting without exercising was muscle. I am not sure if you are familiar with the term skinny-fat, but it applies here. You lose a bunch of fat and your body volume is small but you also become weak. That's why you should exercise while dieting.

if literally all you want to do is lessen the number on the scale and lose fat all you need to do is eat less calories than you burn on a regular basis.

will you look great? probably not. but you don't need to work out to do that.
---

Jen0125 posted...

if literally all you want to do is lessen the number on the scale and lose fat all you need to do is eat less calories than you burn on a regular basis.

will you look great? probably not. but you don't need to work out to do that.

I have no idea why anyone would want to do that.

i have no idea why lots of people do lots of things but they do them anyway.
---