advertisement


pfm Health Club

well, I started training 5 nights a week (hate the term 'exercise' as it sounds so generic) 5 weeks ago, but with having a cold did it 4 days a week twice...but all good and still progressing as a 48 year old..

current routine is -
mon - kettlebell class, 24kg kettlebell for 55 minutes with a mixture of that and cardio
tues - legs, typically 10xlegpress (145kg currently) with lunges (and 2x20kg dumbells), and a 2-4km run on the treadmill
wed - push, typically 5x5 benchpress @ 85kg, cable flyes, shoulder work of side cable raises (and cable behind me), crossover cable facepulls, then 10 sets of pressups supersetted with bar dips, then kettlebell press (each arm) @ 20kg, then sometimes so tricep cable work
thurs - pull - currently 10x10 cable rows, then 10x5 assisted pullups, 5x20 kettlebell swing, supersetted with 5xleft clean, then right clean, around the body to the left, then 5 to the right, 5 left shrugs, and 5 right shrugs, then 10x10 kettlebell swings...all @ 28kg
friday - 90 minutes of yoga, and boy, some of the women are fit as..!
 
JTC said:
greater ability to regulate my temperature and reduce sweating for mild and medium exertion. I do find that I sweat more than I'd like, which I attribute to fitness and physiology equally, but over longer runs - say, 15 miles and up - I lose so much fluid that it starts to be tricky to replenish without risk of electrolyte imbalance.
Click to expand...

I’m not convinced that this is something that will be entirely possible. Different people sweat different amounts, and this can also change at different points of your life.

All I can say is that getting your heart rate and temperature up is good for weight loss!
 
lordsummit said:
Also, how do you calculate base calorie rate? I’m sort of stable around 165lbs? I’m fairly active run about 20km a week, slowly building that up, quite a sedentary job. I’m terrified that 5 stone I’ve lost could come back, I’m read the tales on the web about how metabolism slows and you still need to eat much less after doing what I did. I’m not being as careful, and am maintaining it fairly easily, but it would be good to know what is allowed. Losing another 10lbs probably wouldn’t go amiss either. I’m 5 ft 9” if that matters. Body fat is 18% according to my scales.
Click to expand...

There are tons of online calculators that you can input a few figures in and they will spit out your BMR cals and various cal points based on activity levels.

The trick to keeping your 5 stone off is to eat at the level that maintains your body weight at the level you want it, sustainably and without feeling hungry.

Do not fall into the trap of requiring consistently high levels of exercise to regulate your weight. You cannot out train your diet (anything other than short term).
 
matt j said:
I think not enough people realise this.
Click to expand...

Yes it’s a simple but inescapable concept. I keep repeating it in the hope that it will change mindsets.

The smart approach is to feed up to your activity level, not try to exercise your way down to a calorie level/ diet.
 
My issue is not being able to get out of my lifelong routine of one meal a day, which is usually a BIG meal. I don't do breakfast as I can't face anything at 4-5am and I don't have a lunch break so apart from drinks I've always just had an evening meal and that's it.

The only times I'll eat more is at weekends and I think this is also a problem as I'll eat a huge meal, every meal, try as I might I can't cut down portion sizes. I've never been one for crap so there's never cakes, chocolate, biscuits etc. in my cupboards and I only drink on weekend evenings, it's just portion sizes and probably lots of carbs that is my downfall.
 
If anyone is interested in some motivation and examples of what calisthenics can do for you, take a look at the Thenx videos on you tube.
 
Last edited:
The highly-trained, lean, Diesel engine really outdid itself last week.

Biggest week on the bike since my comeback last April. Over 500kms and almost 20 hours in the saddle. I also ate pretty healthily all week apart from Saturday night.

Lost about a pound on the week. 70.2kg.

The physics of calories in v calories out certainly don't work for me :)

I wanted to be under 70kg by April after revising my initial target of 75kg. I've pretty much accepted that I can't do it without really cutting back further on food.

Good news is that my cycling is going brilliantly which was the whole point. Losing almost 13kg of fat is bound to help ;-)
 
matt j said:
My issue is not being able to get out of my lifelong routine of one meal a day, which is usually a BIG meal. I don't do breakfast as I can't face anything at 4-5am and I don't have a lunch break so apart from drinks I've always just had an evening meal and that's it.

The only times I'll eat more is at weekends and I think this is also a problem as I'll eat a huge meal, every meal, try as I might I can't cut down portion sizes. I've never been one for crap so there's never cakes, chocolate, biscuits etc. in my cupboards and I only drink on weekend evenings, it's just portion sizes and probably lots of carbs that is my downfall.
Click to expand...

Despite all the on line bullsh!t and nonsense, there really is very little between eating once or twice versus 5-6 times a day. The important thing is getting the total calories right and a good macro nutrient (carbs, fat and protein) balance.

Do you really eat all your daily calories in one meal :eek:. I would think the trick to this would be to ensure you have lots of fibre, and really really chew your food to aid digestion. As for your weekend meals then the best advice I can give is 1. Buy smaller plates (seriously, it works), and 2. Load up on green vegetables - low calorie but again will fill the plate and fool your eyes.

On carbs you could try replacing your white carbs (white bread, pasta, potatoes) with brown bread, sweet potato, grains like quinoa, spelt etc.
 
This -

HarryB said:
The physics of calories in v calories out certainly don't work for me :)
Click to expand...

And this -

HarryB said:
I've pretty much accepted that I can't do it without really cutting back further on food
Click to expand...

Aren't consistent.

But I do agree with the second one!

You probably don't need much of an adjustment, probably smaller than you think and no reason to think that you would be denying yourself anything etc. Only 100 calorie deficit per day would do it.

Your fat loss so far has been fantastic so well done, and it's great that it's functional and transferred into your performance. Always makes me laugh when I hear overweight men usually, obsessing over buying a really expensive bike to get one as light as possible when they're at least three stone overweight!

Quick question - when you're on a ride, what do you take with you energy wise?
 
crimsondonkey said:
Despite all the on line bullsh!t and nonsense, there really is very little between eating once or twice versus 5-6 times a day. The important thing is getting the total calories right and a good macro nutrient (carbs, fat and protein) balance.

Do you really eat all your daily calories in one meal :eek:. I would think the trick to this would be to ensure you have lots of fibre, and really really chew your food to aid digestion. As for your weekend meals then the best advice I can give is 1. Buy smaller plates (seriously, it works), and 2. Load up on green vegetables - low calorie but again will fill the plate and fool your eyes.

On carbs you could try replacing your white carbs (white bread, pasta, potatoes) with brown bread, sweet potato, grains like quinoa, spelt etc.
Click to expand...

Cheers. I'll occasionally pick up a sandwich on my travels if I've got time but yeah, usually my main meal is my tea and that's it.

I've always preferred brown/seeded breads anyway so I don't eat white bread, pasta and rice are both brown also.

I need to sort something out before I'm the wrong side of 40.
 
crimsondonkey said:
This -



And this -



Aren't consistent.

But I do agree with the second one!

You probably don't need much of an adjustment, probably smaller than you think and no reason to think that you would be denying yourself anything etc. Only 100 calorie deficit per day would do it.

Your fat loss so far has been fantastic so well done, and it's great that it's functional and transferred into your performance. Always makes me laugh when I hear overweight men usually, obsessing over buying a really expensive bike to get one as light as possible when they're at least three stone overweight!

Quick question - when you're on a ride, what do you take with you energy wise?
Click to expand...

If my ride is under 50 miles I'll usually eat nothing but I use an energy drink. Over that and it's normally just a few gels. Yesterday's 90 miler I had two gels, a small ham sandwich and a protein bar. Gels I use are 87 cals.

And I'm still confused why calories in v calories out isn't doing the trick ;-)
 
Age, metabolism, meds, drink, stress, lots of other factors. But once you actually take time to calculate something approaching consumed calories it can be surprising either way. I thought I was eating enough to lose but underestimated quite a bit. Then I worried I was eating too much but after writing it down I was around 1500 a day at 6 feet and 170lbs. With 5-6 hours exercise a week that equals constant weight loss. And a little too much too fast, actually. It also affects exercise enjoyment and performance negatively.
 
HarryB said:
Well, I had a REALLY BIG week on the bike last week. I did over 500kms on the bike - almost 20 hours riding time. Even taking very low estimates of 500 cals per hour that's 10,000 calories.
Click to expand...

But you're still focused on calories out/ burned. For the reasons we've covered a few times, that will only take you so far, even at the large volume that you are exerting. In most cases calories in is king, no matter.

You're terrifically efficient at cycling and long distance endurance exercise, so there comes some heavy diminishing returns to calorific burning (via this method), even at very high volume. To put this in different terms, basically the miles and consistency you ride at is like a very active job, its normal and your body adapts/ expects it. Consider a postman who's average round will be somewhere like 10-12 miles a day at a brisk pace. I see lots of fat postmen! How, if they're walking 50-60 miles a week can they be overweight? The answer is always 'in the kitchen'.

The reason why I asked 'how do you know' is because the other half of the equation re intake is unknown. If you really want some insight, track your calorie intake with an app, just for a couple of weeks, you will probably be surprised.

You're fairly unique in your endurance athleticism, but nobody is unique when you reduce their calorie intake vs a consistent activity volume.
 
OK CrimsonDonkey. Here's a fairly typical day.

Breakfast: Four Weetabix with milk and sugar
Lunch: usually a couple of sandwiches
Main meal: Could be anything but rarely anything fatty or high calorie. Tonight it's a beef stir fry.

I have a can of lager or bottle of beer every night and don't eat any snacks/biscuits or sweet things between meals.

I'm guessing on a typical,day I'm well under 2,500 cals.

Any help gratefully received.
 
I am finding that all inclusive food and drink in Cancun is making it rather difficult to be good. I have therefore decided to give up till I'm home. Doing a fair bit of swimming though ...
 
HarryB said:
I'm guessing on a typical,day I'm well under 2,500 cals.
Click to expand...

I think that's the point I'm making. I don't know what your portion sizes are like, I don't know what liquids you consume during a day. So I'd be guessing too. In general 9 times out of 10, most people underestimate their total daily calorie intake, as well as overestimating how much they actually need. That's why I suggested trying to establish a baseline calorie level and gain some insight or just confirm that you are spot on in your guess.

If you have a smartphone then MyFitnessPal has a great food tracker which once you've searched and put a few days in will get easier. The trick is to be brutally honest/ measure/ weigh your food to establish true portion size of ingredients - when you do that you'll see how sensitive calorie levels are to small errors/ guessing, eg assuming 30g vs 50g of an ingredient. Ball ache maybe, but really helpful.

I'm only going off what you've shared and what I know, and therefore I don't have enough to fully understand both sides of the equation. You've said that you've now realised that to make further gains from your already excellent progress, you need to reduce calories, and this is great that you've committed to do this. Given how active you are, just a little bit of care needs to be applied to how much you reduce etc.

Out of interest, where on your body do you think you're storing fat?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


advertisement


Back
Top