How I lost 100 lbs

[grimslade]

It is an inspirational story, and I appreciate you taking the time to detail your regimen.

I have a question on HIIT though: I've read in some places that it should be done first thing in the morning; you wrote the opposite above. Is this one of these things where there are differing schools of thought?

 

[razuel]

Originally Posted by grimslade

It is an inspirational story, and I appreciate you taking the time to detail your regimen. I have a question on HIIT though: I've read in some places that it should be done first thing in the morning; you wrote the opposite above. Is this one of these things where there are differing schools of thought?
There will always be people that have different opinions on everything. Some people think meat shouldn't be eaten at all! But from the most credible sources I've read and from my own personal experience; the way I described is the best. Cardio in the morning can be detrimental to your muscle gains-- even more so if it's very taxing like HIIT. Cardio in the morning does have it's benefits though and I have done quite a bit of it. Your body is more likely to burn fat rather than use food for energy (seeing as that you haven't eaten for up to 8 hours). If you have a lot of fat to spare; you can probably get away with morning cardio. But in the long run it's best to have some food in your stomach before any form of cardio. You're not trying to burn calories directly with HIIT so it's really a waste to do it in the morning when you don't have very much energy. If any cardio is going to be done in the morning, it should be aerobic. I'm going to go find this great writeup from a very knowledgable trainer and post it here..

 

[razuel]

Resistance training should always take priority over cardio. Here's why....

The long term gains of increased LBM (lean body mass) and increased secretion of hormones like GH and test far outweigh the calories burnt during a cardio session..

By doing cardio before weights you are simply reducing the amount of glycogen available that could have been used more effectively to fuel your muscles throughout the weight training session...This point cannot be stressed enough.

Here are the top 3 scenarios for doing weights and cardio in order of importance:

#1 - On non-weight training days
#2 - weights in the am and cardio in the pm
#3 - light-cardio after weights


Now, that being said, here are a couple scenarios that are most proposed/asked about by folks, so different protocols need/can be effective. For the person who is lean and wanting to save muscle mass while burning fat, then the above scenarios cannot be altered in any way! You are asking for loss of lean tissue if you do cardio on an empty stomach or any such nonsense. You are already into a catabolic state from the overnight fast, and you are compounding this by doing cardio without fuel. Cortisol will be running rampant, and eating at your lean tissue for fuel. The body is very adept at breaking down amino acids for glucose, and will greedily do so. Cortisol will liberate amino acids to produce glucose (glucose cannot be synthesized from fats) and can lead to muscle loss. I would propose the best scenario here would be to treat your cardio session as you do your resistance training session. Albeit a different PWO formula (protein/fiber/fats will fit the bill here, no impact on insulin, thus keep any lypololysis induced during your cardio session intact)), but still with the same intensity and purpose. You would not dream of working out on an empty stomach, would you? Never work out on an empty stomach. True, you will burn a buttload of calories, but they will be as much lean tissue as fat. Never sacrifice lean tissue (long term results) for a short term fix.

It is also perfectly fine to do a ?warm up? session of cardio before your weight training session if you are mid range, not real lean but not lots of fat stores either. But, here you are on that borderline of getting a lean hard body, and building lean tissue should be your number one priority. But make sure this is no more than a warm up, just to get blood flowing. 5 minutes at most should suffice. I personally prefer to warm up with the exercise I am going to do?i.e?weights.

Now, on the other hand, if you have plenty of fat to spare, it can really become a non issue. I believe this is/should be obvious. You can do your cardio even before if you like, or even on an empty stomach, as in this case total calorie burn is your issue and not saving lean mass, for you probably don?t have enough to save or you have as stated plenty of fat stores to give up. Your body will freely give up fat stores in this case, but still, make your weight session your priority as per the long term benefits.

But, no matter what your physique may be at the time, do not center your workout around cardio. Make certain you incorporate resistance training, as this will in the long run be your best friend in the battle of the bulge. Lean tissue is a fat burner 24 hrs. per day, a cardio session ends when you stop doing it. (A little different with HIIT, but this is another whole subject.)

-Ron from freetrainers.com

 

[whacked]

Originally Posted by razuel

But from the most credible sources I've read and from my own personal experience; the way I described is the best.

Cardio in the morning can be detrimental to your muscle gains-- even more so if it's very taxing like HIIT. Cardio in the morning does have it's benefits though and I have done quite a bit of morning cardio. In the morning your glycogen stores are virtually depleted so any activity you do will burn pure fat rather than carbs from food (and pure muscle in this case). If you have a lot of fat to spare; you can probably get away with morning cardio. But in the long run it's best to have some food in your stomach before any form of cardio.

It's great that you succeeded w/ your goals and acquired a good amount of knowledge about exercise and nutrition. That said, please avoid the mistake of considering yourself as an authority on the subject matter. There exists certain points on your first post that would benefit from correction, but they're relatively minor. However, I'd like to point out the statement in bold is factually incorrect.

The amount of glycogen in muscle changes substantially between the fed state and following heavy exercise. The amount of glycogen stored in the liver is more constant and only falls substantially after prolonged starvation.

http://www.unisanet.unisa.edu.au/083...tm#glyc_stores (scroll down to the "Glycogen and glucose inverconversion" chapter)


Glycogen are stored in liver and muscle cells. The former (containing ~100g of glucose) only kicks into play when all glycogen stored in muscle cell (~400g, or 1600 calorie) gets utilized. And it would take a massive amount of exercise for glycogen depletion to occur. In fact:

Due to the body's inability to hold more than around 2,000 kcal of glycogen[citation needed], long-distance athletes such as marathon runners, cross-country skiers, and cyclists go into glycogen debt, where almost all of the athlete's glycogen stores are depleted after long periods of exertion without enough energy consumption. This phenomenon is referred to as "hitting the wall" or "bonking". In marathon runners it normally happens around the 20 mile (32 km) point of a marathon, where around 100 kcal are spent per mile[citation needed], depending on the size of the runner and the race course. However, it can be delayed by a carbohydrate loading before the task.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glycogen
Note: 2,000 kcal = 500 g of glucose. This is consistent w/ the facts I stated above, hence we cannot discount this example solely because marathon runners are concerned.


I'd like to see some sound arguments against morning cardio's benefits. Till then, I'd have to disagree. Pre-workout meal is another thing though, and I'd agree that you should never exercise on an empty stomach.

 

[razuel]

Well, all of my opinions on morning cardio as I said; come from what I consider credible sources. And, of course, from personal experience. By no means do I think I'm an expert or have 'authority' on the subject, I'm only relaying what I've learned and been through myself. I'm sure everyone listening to me understands that. You very well may be right.

Oh, and when I say morning cardio isn't the best idea-- I mean on an empty stomach. If you eat breakfast then workout, that's great.

P.S. I edited that line.

 

[thirteenth]

But then again.... how many of these scientists have lost 100 lbs?

 

[Eason]

Whether they have or not doesn't matter, since exercise and sport science, like other science fields, is governed by studies and review.

 

[sloaney]

good job

 

[grimslade]

Originally Posted by thirteenth

But then again.... how many of these scientists have lost 100 lbs?

This only sounds like a reasonable rebuttal. Razuel lost 100 lbs., which is awesome and commendable. But all that tells us is that _some_ of what he did was effective. It doesn't tell us: 1.) which parts of his regimen did the most good; 2.) which parts might have been counterproductive, unbeknownst to him; 3.) whether he (or anyone else) has any idea why what worked worked, etc.

That's where the science comes in--to transform anecdote and experience into knowledge. That said, the science of metabolsim is full of unknowns in its own right. It is only indirectly observable and extremely complex.

 

[razuel]

Originally Posted by grimslade

This only sounds like a reasonable rebuttal. Razuel lost 100 lbs., which is awesome and commendable. But all that tells us is that _some_ of what he did was effective. It doesn't tell us: 1.) which parts of his regimen did the most good; 2.) which parts might have been counterproductive, unbeknownst to him; 3.) whether he (or anyone else) has any idea why what worked worked, etc. That's where the science comes in--to transform anecdote and experience into knowledge. That said, the science of metabolsim is full of unknowns in its own right. It is only indirectly observable and extremely complex.
Exactly, maybe I should put a disclaimer that says :I am not a scientist, but this is what I THINK worked for me: I hope everyone realizes that I'm not trying to prove anything here, merely relaying what I've been through because I genuinely want to help; I know how hard losing weight is. Of course, none of what I did is original. All of my methods, diet, workout is a combination of what I've read in magazines, articles, trainers, etc. Everyone here could find the same information by doing their own research. BUT-- lots of what I'm contributing is FACT. HIIT has been studied and proven to boost a person's metabolism greatly, as well as caffeine. Most of what I've proposed about diet is also fact. Now that I think about it, none of what I've contributed is opinion really-- other than maybe when workouts should be done. Even those opinions are well informed opinions. If you spot something else that can't be supported in your opinion, point it out; I'll remove it, revise it, or provide you with evidence. There are several who support morning, fasted cardio too. For the sake of showing both sides, in this article Tom Venuto favors morning cardio-- http://www.naturalphysiques.com/cms/index.php?itemid=43 Like he said, results are your best answer. I've had great results both ways, but from the RESEARCH I've done along with my personal experience; I don't want to take the chance of burning lean body mass. I have noticed feeling weaker and unable to push as much weight after doing morning, fasted cardio for a few weeks. So, in turn, I recommned the same thing to others. Of course, testing your own results is always the best option. In the end, any cardio is always better than no cardio (when cutting).

 

[TurboTropic]

Originally Posted by thirteenth

I am very inspired.

I PMed the original poster asking for advice but thought I'd post it here as well.

Here is what I've been doing for about a year now, with painfully slow progress:

DIET
===

7:00am Pre-workout Maximuscle cyclone (creatine + protein shake) - 250 cals

7:30-8:30am (Tue, Thu and Sat only) - one hour at the gym with personal trainer (10 min cardio, 40 min weights, 10 min stretching). Minimal gain in strength or size.

8:30am Post-workout Maximuscle cyclone (creatine + protein shake) - 250 cals

9:30am Breakfast at office (fruit smoothie - mixed berries, banana, mango blended with orange juice), scrambled eggs, one piece of fried sausage

12:00pm Japanese food (raw salmon and tuna over a bed of rice), probably 700 calories

3:00pm A slice of cake, or a croissant, a multivitamin, omega 3/6/9

6:00pm Noodle soup or beef w/rice dinner

I am 5' 9", weighing 75kg (165 pounds). Have a gut, high body fat, no definition. In other words, a miserable failure!

Something is wrong? Life is unfair?

1. Drop the personal trainer. You should know by now how to use the weights/machines. If a PT let you eat this diet they don't know what they're doing.

2. Eat some vegetables, especially dark green ones - romaine lettuce, spinach, arugala etc. Also, add berries to your diet.

3. Lose the sausage, cake and croissant. Replace with raw almonds (max. 1 handful/day), yogurt or fat-free cottage cheese.

4. Replace the white rice with brown rice.

5. Eat more low fat protein - chicken breast or turkey breast are the best choices.

6. You don't need creatine.

 

[Tarmac]

Personally, I would drop the creatine and protein shakes. By your own admission they don't seem to be doing much. They are just calories.

I agree you should drop the cake+ croissant afternoon snack, just doesn't make sense if you are trying to cut back. Or replace your full-on breakfast with coffee and a croissant. The breakfast seems a little excessive.

 

[razuel]

If he's lifting weights protein shakes can be drastically helpful. Skim milk + whey + very little fruit can do wonders. The problem is when one begins putting lots of fruit in-- adding several high GI carbs to the diet.

Creatine too, is very beneficial when lifting weights; even when cutting. It helps maintain muscle mass drastically if a good program is being followed. Just make sure to get lots of water. Of course, both of these are supplements and should only be added after your diet is under control.

 

[whacked]

Originally Posted by Tarmac

Personally, I would drop the creatine and protein shakes. By your own admission they don't seem to be doing much. They are just calories.

I agree you should drop the cake+ croissant afternoon snack, just doesn't make sense if you are trying to cut back. Or replace your full-on breakfast with coffee and a croissant. The breakfast seems a little excessive.

Sorry, but this is exactly the type of pedestrian advices that the guy, I'd imagine, gets from his PT and, if remarkable gains are to be had, need to stay away from. Protein shakes (creatine or not) are great for post-workout consumption. Breakfast IS the most important meal of the day and calls for a fair share of calories; just that the choices are horrible (too much simple carbs + unnecessary fats while low in protein).

He said progress has been painfully slow for a year; hence drastic changes are needed. What TurboTropic said is a good start, I'll chime in more when I have time.

 

[Tarmac]

haha okay sorry. I take it back.

whats his problem then?