Quote:

lose at least half of that extra weight before starting weight training.

---

Veritas said:

Quote:

lose at least half of that extra weight before starting weight training.

---

I must disagree. Muscle burns more calories than fat, and the more lean muscle mass you add, the higher your basal metabolic rate will become. For someone who already lifts, it may be difficult to add much mass while consuming a low-calorie diet. However, maintaining lean muscle while losing excess body fat is very important. He should continue with his usual lifting routines, and add at least 6 cardio sessions per week.

---

leftysurprise said:

hmmm. 1 meal a day is not good at all, you throw your body into survival mode when you do that, and your body makes stores(fat) out of as much food as it can.

you should be eating fist sized portions every 3-4 hours. that should help kick your metabolism up a notch.

---

Quote:

Luckily I do the lifting already

---

If he is ALREADY lifting, then stopping his weight training will result in a loss of lean muscle mass.  He is not likely to burn out as a result of continuing his current lifting schedule, and adding some fat-burning cardio sessions.

It's just not good advice to wait to start building muscle, anyway, as even a beginner will be encouraged by the muscle definition & faster weight loss which occur when you weight train.  If someone is just starting out, they can do two strength sessions a week to boost their metabolism & build endurance for more intense training. 

Just lift it!! 

wiggles: 1410 calories per day is NOT enough!!!    Here's a calculator for computing caloric requirements--

http://www.active.com/fitness/calculators/calories.htm

To reduce by 1 lb. per week, subtract 500 calories per day from your maintenance requirement.  Example, my daily caloric requirement to maintain my weight is 2047, so I would eat 1547 calories per day to lose weight.  Your requirements will be much higher, since I am a 5'7" 135 lb. female. 

PyroBurns said:

leftysurprise said:

hmmm. 1 meal a day is not good at all, you throw your body into survival mode when you do that, and your body makes stores(fat) out of as much food as it can.

you should be eating fist sized portions every 3-4 hours. that should help kick your metabolism up a notch.

---

I highly HIGHLY disagree with the lose the weight then lift thing. That's a horrible idea and a good way to become a smaller version of yourself. You want to lift to 1. Maintain your current muscle, 2. Possibly build more, 3. Speed up the weightloss process and get in shape. Especially if you want him to eat meat only once a week. That would be a good farewell to any muscle mass.


Macronutrient ratios are your profile of calorie percentage. If someone ate 1000 calories, and 100 of those calories came from carbs that would be 10% carbs. 300 would be 30%. You know what I mean? It's important to at least have an idea of your macros for body composition.

Also you don't go into starvation mode until 36 or so hours of not eating. Eating once a day is pretty illogical, but you won't go into starvation mode. Nor will eating 15 times a day speed up your metabolism.

---

absolutely not. if you do bodyweight exercises along with cardio, you will not lose any muscle, you will make gains, just not as much as with weight lifting, due to the fact that body weight exercises build mass and density in proportionate ratios. im telling you, i have known a few people who tried to take on too much at once and ended up giving up before they even got started.  which why i say it is wise for him to wait a few weeks and get into the habit of exercising. then he can start out with a small weight lifting routine and work his way up.

most of my muscle has been built with bodyweight exercises(90% or better). to say that you will lose muscle mass by not lifting and just doing cardio and BW exercises is completely false. how could he lose mass if he is ADDING things to his routine?  i dont mean this in an insulting way, but i dont think you know much about building muscle through different diets if you think that eating meat 1-2 times a week will either not allow him to gain mass, or lose it.... there are not only many vegetarian bodybuilders in the world, there are several VEGAN bodybuilders. you do not need meat to gain or maintain muscle, you can get all of the protein you need from plant sources.

i didnt say anything about starvation mode. i said the body goes into survival mode. and it happens within just a few hours after not eating. the body slows the metabolic rate to conserve energy, and it does not take the body long after that to begin storing any energy it can find into fat. you are correct though, the body begins starvation mode and self assimilation after roughly 24-36 hours.

again, i didnt say anything about 15 times, thats just silly if you eat every 3-4 hours, you should be eating 4-5 small meals daily. supposing you eat breakfast at 6-7am, you then eat again at 9-10, 12-1, 4-5 and 7-8 for the final meal. this is the most efficient schedule to eat, especially if you are trying to gain mass. i learned that from a weight lifting friend of mine, and then later read in several books.

IMHO calorie counting and nutrient ratios are not necessary unless you are a highly trained athlete, normal people do not need it. eat well, eat right, exercise, you need nothing more.

Veritas said:

Here's the problem:

Quote:

Luckily I do the lifting already

---

If he is ALREADY lifting, then stopping his weight training will result in a loss of lean muscle mass.  He is not likely to burn out as a result of continuing his current lifting schedule, and adding some fat-burning cardio sessions.

It's just not good advice to wait to start building muscle, anyway, as even a beginner will be encouraged by the muscle definition & faster weight loss which occur when you weight train.  If someone is just starting out, they can do two strength sessions a week to boost their metabolism & build endurance for more intense training. 

Just lift it!! 

wiggles: 1410 calories per day is NOT enough!!!    Here's a calculator for computing caloric requirements--

http://www.active.com/fitness/calculators/calories.htm

To reduce by 1 lb. per week, subtract 500 calories per day from your maintenance requirement.  Example, my daily caloric requirement to maintain my weight is 2047, so I would eat 1547 calories per day to lose weight.  Your requirements will be much higher, since I am a 5'7" 135 lb. female. 

---

i must have missed the part where he said he was already lifting. if thats the case then as you said, he should keep doing what he is doing. i was under the impression that he was just beginning an exercise routine. but what i said should apply to people new to fitness and exercise. when i was a freshman in HS my wrestling coach made us wait 2 weeks before we could start weight lifting, he wanted us to prepare our bodies.

Brainiac said:

About Sodium

Its not the salt you put on food thats bad for you.Its the Sodium that comes in food(ie canned, Pre-made foods) that's really bad for you..

---

leftysurprise said:

PyroBurns said:

leftysurprise said:

hmmm. 1 meal a day is not good at all, you throw your body into survival mode when you do that, and your body makes stores(fat) out of as much food as it can.

you should be eating fist sized portions every 3-4 hours. that should help kick your metabolism up a notch.

---

I highly HIGHLY disagree with the lose the weight then lift thing. That's a horrible idea and a good way to become a smaller version of yourself. You want to lift to 1. Maintain your current muscle, 2. Possibly build more, 3. Speed up the weightloss process and get in shape. Especially if you want him to eat meat only once a week. That would be a good farewell to any muscle mass.


Macronutrient ratios are your profile of calorie percentage. If someone ate 1000 calories, and 100 of those calories came from carbs that would be 10% carbs. 300 would be 30%. You know what I mean? It's important to at least have an idea of your macros for body composition.

Also you don't go into starvation mode until 36 or so hours of not eating. Eating once a day is pretty illogical, but you won't go into starvation mode. Nor will eating 15 times a day speed up your metabolism.

---

absolutely not. if you do bodyweight exercises along with cardio, you will not lose any muscle, you will make gains, just not as much as with weight lifting, due to the fact that body weight exercises build mass and density in proportionate ratios. im telling you, i have known a few people who tried to take on too much at once and ended up giving up before they even got started.  which why i say it is wise for him to wait a few weeks and get into the habit of exercising. then he can start out with a small weight lifting routine and work his way up.

most of my muscle has been built with bodyweight exercises(90% or better). to say that you will lose muscle mass by not lifting and just doing cardio and BW exercises is completely false. how could he lose mass if he is ADDING things to his routine?  i dont mean this in an insulting way, but i dont think you know much about building muscle through different diets if you think that eating meat 1-2 times a week will either not allow him to gain mass, or lose it.... there are not only many vegetarian bodybuilders in the world, there are several VEGAN bodybuilders. you do not need meat to gain or maintain muscle, you can get all of the protein you need from plant sources.

i didnt say anything about starvation mode. i said the body goes into survival mode. and it happens within just a few hours after not eating. the body slows the metabolic rate to conserve energy, and it does not take the body long after that to begin storing any energy it can find into fat. you are correct though, the body begins starvation mode and self assimilation after roughly 24-36 hours.

again, i didnt say anything about 15 times, thats just silly if you eat every 3-4 hours, you should be eating 4-5 small meals daily. supposing you eat breakfast at 6-7am, you then eat again at 9-10, 12-1, 4-5 and 7-8 for the final meal. this is the most efficient schedule to eat, especially if you are trying to gain mass. i learned that from a weight lifting friend of mine, and then later read in several books.

IMHO calorie counting and nutrient ratios are not necessary unless you are a highly trained athlete, normal people do not need it. eat well, eat right, exercise, you need nothing more.

---

Quote:

I saw nothing implying bodyweight exercises. Which are okay, but if he's already lifting it would be pointless to stop.

Sure you can get enough protein on a vegan/terian diet but do you think this guy is ready for that? You better know your shit before you jump into some diet. Especially ones that emphasize excluding very important foods. It's ESSENTIAL to know how to get your missing nutirents on vegetarian diets. It's not something you just do.

Eating five small meals compared to a couple of big meals makes little to no difference.

Counting calories and minding macros is the most consistent way to get results, and to know your body. You can lose weight by guessing, but you will know what's up if you log them. And if you want to reach lower bodyfat levels, you'll know what to do.

---

ahh i did forget to add BWE in my first post, i did put calisthenics though. thought i added BWE.

i never said he was ready for it or not, as with anything diet should be researched well, it just seemed that you were stating that without meat you would lose muscle mass, which i was debating. and actually vegetarian diets are not as hard as one might think to get everything you need, vegans are the ones that have to take alot of extra steps and eat extra certain things to make up for what meat eaters and vegetarians eat that they cannot. i would call my diet mainly vegetarian, sometimes i dont even eat meat once a week. and i have a very physically demanding job. research only goes so far, after that it is all trial and error to see what works best for you.

ask any nutritionist and/or weight trainer, they will tell you that eating smaller and more frequent meals keeps your metabolism in overdrive. eating 3 large meals is less productive than eating 5 smaller meals, your body is able to process the smaller amounts easier and faster than the larger meals.

no doubt that counting and logging give you a better idea of what youre getting, but for many it is bothersome and a waste of time, i have several pretty well physically fit friends such as myself and none of them count or log. but i guess this is a gray area than can never be solved, so well just agree to disagree.

leftysurprise said:

you should not be eating after 7-8pm.

---