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2006/07/24, 03:37 PM
hey im in a situation that im not sure what to do. i have been going to the gym 4 times a week for the past month and a half running about 2 miles and then lifting each day(different muscles each day) this is my second attempt at working out, my other one lasted about 6 months with very similar results.
I weigh about 165lbs and am not particularly weak nor strong pretty average for my age/size yet i have a low muscle mass. I am working out not to necessarily gain or lose weight im fine at 165 or 175 or 155 but i am looking to lose some fat and maybe tone up a little pretty much what everyone else is looking to do. It seems like no matter what i do, if i eat a lot of unhealthy food and dont do anything, or if i eat very healthy and limited calories while working out nothing changes. i just want to decrease body fat maybe 3% yes nothing seems to work. what should i do? ive tried a combination of everything i could think of between last year and this year.
O yea im about 6 feet and i eat about 1300-1400 calories a day, not because i dont eat but just because whatever i eat is very plain so i wind up eating pretty often but not too high in calories.
thanx
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2006/07/24, 04:44 PM
Have you looked into medical issues? You may have for instance hypothyroid. If you are a male you may have low test levels, bordering on hypogonadism.
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Maximus from Gladiator....Strength and Honor!
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2006/07/24, 04:46 PM
How old are you, and are you male or female?
1300-1400 sounds way too low to me.
You don't want a huge caloric deficit, or it stunts your metabolism and kills your progress. I would guess you should be eating around 2500 calories, but there are calorie calculators that can give you a more accurate estimate.
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2006/07/24, 04:59 PM
If you have been excessively under maintenance for long periods of time, metabolic slowdown is an issue.
If I recall right the biggest metabolic drop in any study I have seen is something like 30-40% but that was in men who were bascially, or semi-starved at around 50% of maintenance calories for 6 months.
However, the good news is there is basically no evidence that metabolism can be permanently messed up other than in young growing children.
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Maximus from Gladiator....Strength and Honor!
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2006/07/24, 05:35 PM
i highly doubt any medical issues...i have always been healthy and do not have any age appearence issues either. and as far as eating many more calories it would mean i would essentially have to eat most of the day because like i said whatever i eat is usually pretty low in calories because of how plain i eat. i actually get stronger because i lift more weight but i visually see no results. i feel like i could double the weight i lift and it would not change my appearance at all yet i would get stronger. idk i guess ill keep trying
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2006/07/24, 10:47 PM
You need to eat all day more smallish meals than nibbling. Think about it. You run 2miles a day that eats up about 400 cals then work out on top of that another 400 or so. You now have to sustain your life and lifestyle on 700 cals. not nearly enough, the average person needs about 1000 just to breath and have the blood pumped around their body. you should be eating at least 2000 a day. You are not seeing any changes because your body is starving and can't afford any extra cals to be used to build you up or burn off fat. Starvation mode.
Maybe try more protien intake in your diet for the extra cals. Chicken breast or a protien shake.
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2006/07/24, 11:06 PM
Well, if what you eat is so low in calories, what makes you think you are getting enough calories to support muscle gain? You must have the available nutrients, carbs, fats and protein. A bunch of low calorie foods will not support adequate muscle growth. And if you do not increase your weights, there will be no overload of the muscle taking place, thus no growth. Heavier weight and adequate diet are essential to grow muscle. This is not something the body does with ease, and won't if you don't provide it the grounds to do so.
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Quoting from lampark44:
i highly doubt any medical issues...i have always been healthy and do not have any age appearence issues either. and as far as eating many more calories it would mean i would essentially have to eat most of the day because like i said whatever i eat is usually pretty low in calories because of how plain i eat. i actually get stronger because i lift more weight but i visually see no results. i feel like i could double the weight i lift and it would not change my appearance at all yet i would get stronger. idk i guess ill keep trying
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Maximus from Gladiator....Strength and Honor!
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2006/07/24, 11:22 PM
so i should try to increase my intake with only complex type foods? im a fairly picky eater that will probably be hard to find; maybe just a protein shake or something will do me better.
thanx
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2006/07/25, 08:21 AM
No, jsut a protein shake will not do you better to see muscle growth. One more time, you have to supply your body the nutrients it needs....i.e...force muscle growth. Even moreso if you are an ecto. You can keep posting and trying it "your" way if you want, but apparantely it is not working or you wouldn't be posting.
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Quoting from lampark44:
so i should try to increase my intake with only complex type foods? im a fairly picky eater that will probably be hard to find; maybe just a protein shake or something will do me better.
thanx
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Maximus from Gladiator....Strength and Honor!
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2006/07/25, 08:35 AM
I'm a picky eater too.
Here are some ways I manage to get protein,
whey protein shakes, natural peanut butter on a rice cake (not too much, has lots of fat), turkey sausage, turkey bacon, canned white chicken (it's not that bad, force yourself to eat it), low fat milk, lean steaks, turkey ham
things like this don't taste too bad, but have pretty high protein. I also add some flax seed oil or olive oil to meals to get the essential fatty acids.
also, eating raw vegetables isn't that bad. i hate cooked vegetables, but raw veggies really have no taste and I can stand. try it out.. especially raw spinach (very healthy and just tastes like leaves).
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2006/07/25, 10:32 AM
Bb1 is giving you good advice....suck it up and do it....if you want results then do what you must to achieve them...otherwise you can go back to doing whatever you were or were not doing ....
You must realize that changes take YEARS....I have changed drastically in the last 5 years but if you met me every 6 months you may not even know I changed...because changes dont happen all at once, they dont necessarily happen every specific amount of time either...6 months is nothing...this is what drives me nuts when people 'try' something for couple of months or 'even' 6 months...strength happens first almost always...so thats good because structural adaptations...ie extra muscle is just around the corner...if you can double your strength and not gain 1 lb of muscle than I would like you to tell me your secret...because I would love to know it...
I would also try HIIT instead of 2 mile runs
Also what exercises do u do for weights? unless you plan on competing in bodybuilding...I would focus more total body exercises and not so much on which muscles you are using....freeweights over cables and machines...barbells over DBs..
Deadlifts
Squats
Dips
Chin Ups
Military Presses
Bench Presses
Bent Over Rows
are your friends learn to love these exercises...if you want results..
Also remember just because your body fat drops 3% doesnt mean it will be from your 'trouble' areas....it may come from areas where you dont really notice...or from all around the body....
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