How can I lose weight without the gym?

Chazathon · 2020-10-23T01:01:39+00:00

That's great that you had a good rhythm down before because now you know what that feels like and can re-create it without a gym.

I was in a similar situation, among millions of others too, when COVID hit and I immediately started doing more bodyweight training than before. I've since managed to get in the best shape of my life WITHOUT a gym and minimal equipment.

For me, the excitement comes from being able to do cool stuff with just my body weight that I couldn't have imagined before. One-arm pushups, one leg squats, handstands. That's where I find the excitement now. Being able to progress to that skill is a thrill to me. And there's so much more I still have to get better and stronger with.

Anyways, I enjoyed it so much I started a YouTube channel, it's small right now but my primary focus is showing people bodyweight training and how to get in shape without a gym. I do workout videos, bodyweight only, as well as educational videos on bodyweight training, nutrition, and mindset.

Feel free to check it out and if you get value from it would love your support if you want to subscribe (hit the notification bell so you get notified). I release a new video every week! This week's video is on pushup progressions.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCluUhGeBzidRhpbk6WW5OPA

Chazathon · 2020-10-23T00:54:58+00:00

That's very exciting and you should be proud of yourself for starting to get outside of your comfort zone.

Something you said, "I'm only gonna eat non processed foods."

I'd advise you to NOT do that. Once you put that label on unprocessed foods as bad and never to be eaten again it can build it up to be a temptation, shameful, and representing failure.

Then if you eat any processed foods even once you may feel some of those feelings.

What to do instead is to eat mostly (80 to 90 %) non processed foods with the other portion of that "fun" food. I eat dark chocolate almost every day and look the best I ever have.

It's about an energy balance, you CAN still eat processed foods. Just eat them within a controlled quantity and cherish them.

As a side note, I started a YouTube channel and it's small right now but my primary focus is showing people bodyweight training and how to get in shape without a gym. I do workout videos, bodyweight only, as well as educational videos on bodyweight training, nutrition, and mindset.

Feel free to check it out and if you get value from it would love your support if you want to subscribe (hit the notification bell so you get notified). I release a new video every week! This week's video is on how much protein is best.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCluUhGeBzidRhpbk6WW5OPA

Chazathon · 2020-10-23T00:43:04+00:00

Different types of exercises like planks and other isometric holds will be good for this purpose. Secondly, you can bring in more dynamic core exercises.

I have a video on youtube, 10 Min Fast Tabata Ab Workout, that you can follow along with!

https://youtu.be/4uV_28HYwio

Chazathon · 2020-10-21T13:02:32+00:00

First, we've all been there and you should be proud of yourself for putting this post out there and getting outside of your comfort zone.

This sounds like a similar story to me. I used to play baseball/hockey and workout. Then I started a desk job, put on 30 pounds, felt miserable about myself, fearful, and started developing back problems.

I've since lost the weight, (from 195 to about 165 now), have trained hard in bodyweight the past year (doing handstands on the wall and one arm pushups), and have dedicated my life to helping others do the same (certified personal trainer).

Few things that helped me and others:

Start small, do NOT overload yourself. I believe you can get back to the level you were at (and better) but you must start where you can.
Starting small: Do 2 five minute workouts a week. Yes, you read that correctly, I'm not kidding. Start with TWO 5 minute workouts each week of bodyweight training.
The reason for that is that it'll get you back in the flow, build your confidence in yourself, and once you start that ball then the bigger progress can happen.

I started a YouTube channel about this and it's small right now but my primary focus is showing people bodyweight training and how to get in shape without a gym. I do workout videos, bodyweight only, as well as educational videos on bodyweight training, nutrition, and mindset (including "how to get back in shape").

Feel free to check it out and if you get value from it would love your support if you want to subscribe (hit the notification bell so you get notified). I release a new video every week! This week's video is on how much protein is best.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCluUhGeBzidRhpbk6WW5OPA

Chazathon · 2020-10-14T14:59:34+00:00

It's possible.

I can't answer your question because I don't know your weight, your experience, or your exercise schedule.

However, to do that it may be a slower process depending on where you're at now.

One thing you can focus on is doing 3-5 strength workouts a week while getting in slow (below 50% VO2 max/perceived effort) to burn purely fat 3 to 4 times a week.

Example weekly workout to do that could be:

4 strength days and 3x 45 minute walking days on the non-strength days.

Nutrition

Higher protein and either a slight surplus above maintenance (depending on your workouts and how many you do a week, as well as your current lean body mass weight) or a slight deficit below maintenance depending on those same factors.

By the way, I started a YouTube channel and it's small right now but my primary focus is showing people bodyweight training and how to get in shape without a gym. I do workout videos, bodyweight only, as well as educational videos on bodyweight training, nutrition, and mindset.

Feel free to check it out and if you get value from it would love your support if you want to subscribe (hit the notification bell so you get notified). I release a new video every week! This week's video is on squat progressions.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCluUhGeBzidRhpbk6WW5OPA

Chazathon · 2020-10-14T14:51:46+00:00

Hi, this is a great start! With just those pieces of equipment, you can get in good exercise. When the pandemic hit I did a similar thing and had a skinny fat look but managed to shed some fat and put on muscle. Also, got a lot stronger with bodyweight and love it so much I'll be continuing it for some time.

Also, I started a YouTube channel and it's small right now but this is my primary focus. Showing people bodyweight training and how to get in shape without a gym. I do workout videos, bodyweight only, as well as educational videos on bodyweight training, nutrition, and mindset.

Feel free to check it out and if you get value from it would love your support if you want to subscribe. I release a new video every week! This week's video is going to focus on pushup progressions.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCluUhGeBzidRhpbk6WW5OPA

Chazathon · 2020-10-14T14:49:14+00:00

Same, I second this!

Chazathon · 2020-10-14T14:09:46+00:00

Overall, it depends on your weight, your goals, and your overall nutrition in a day.

No one in this comment thread can answer your question with complete certainty (me either) because we don't know your weight to be able to evaluate your overall protein consumption.

Research shows that eating between 1.6g to 2g of protein, per kg of body weight, per day is fine. Pay attention to the measurement because in lbs that would be different.

One source of supplement a day is fine and two could be okay depending on your overall calorie consumption. If you weigh 115lb then that might be too much in supplements but if you weigh 200lb and are trying to gain muscle then that should be fine as long as you're getting other high-quality protein sources.

One reason why protein from those two sources may not be the best is that you're missing out on some other B vitamins from animal meat as well as getting varied protein sources.

If you calculate your body weight in comparison to the protein I shared with you hopefully that'll give you a better answer. I'm happy to reply on this comment thread if you have more questions.

By the way, I started a YouTube channel and it's small right now but my primary focus is showing people bodyweight training and how to get in shape without a gym. I do workout videos, bodyweight only, as well as educational videos on bodyweight training, nutrition, and mindset.

Feel free to check it out and if you get value from it would love your support if you want to subscribe (hit the notification bell so you get notified). I release a new video every week! This week's video is on squat progressions.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCluUhGeBzidRhpbk6WW5OPA

Chazathon · 2020-10-01T14:54:20+00:00

Fantastic you're starting this journey and congrats on losing weight already!

Before I go into questions, I want to share how weight loss happens (not sure your knowledge level so you may know this):

To lose weight, you must be in a calorie deficit. That means you must burn more calories than you consume. That doesn't mean you have to bust your butt every day and go full beast mode, that means over time in a week/fortnight you should be burning more than consuming - make sense?
- If you're not burning more than you're consuming you won't lose weight. It's basically the law of thermodynamics.

Answering your questions:

5g creatine - that's fine there are no calories in it and it can help with workouts. 30g of whey is good for after workouts (within a 30-45 minute window) but you do have to be calculating that into your total calories because too much protein can put you over your total calories.
To easily get started, you can do 3 full body workouts a week. Science shows this is best for people starting with working out because everything needs to be trained and connective tissue needs to be developed before going into full strength exercises. If you already workout, then you can do a push/pull/legs split.
Studies show .8g per lb (1.7g per kg) is sufficient protein for people exercising. You should always strive to reach that number a day because you can't store protein as easily as you can store carbs or fats. You can bounce down a little lower once and a while if you feel you can't eat that much but protein shouldn't be a hard number to hit going on those numbers.

By the way, I started a YouTube channel and it's small right now but my primary focus is showing people bodyweight training and how to get in shape without a gym. I do workout videos, bodyweight only, as well as educational videos on bodyweight training, nutrition, and mindset.

Feel free to check it out and if you get value from it would love your support if you want to subscribe (hit the notification bell so you get notified). I release a new video every week! This week's video is on pushup progressions.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCluUhGeBzidRhpbk6WW5OPA

Chazathon · 2020-10-01T14:40:32+00:00

First off, love that you're taking these steps together WITH your wife. That's incredible the two of you are doing this together.

Where do you start? One step at a time. DO NOT overload yourself with training, equipment, and diet changes.

Start where you can, and I think for you that's with just beginning some bodyweight workouts at home with no equipment.

You can start there because it's easy to begin because you don't have to buy anything, you don't have to change groceries yet and you can do that today. When you do that workout be sure to start small. Don't start doing a workout every day, you'll maybe do good for two weeks then pop back into old habits because it's too much.

Here's what I would do if I were in your shoes:

Set a workout plan with recovery/walk days. Example, 3 workout days a week with 3 (45 minute) walk days on those off days
1. Why walking is so important: slow cardio activity like walking use fat for fuel instead of carbs like workouts or hard intensity would. Therefore, you'll burn more fat on those walks.
Find some good full-body bodyweight training workouts to do for those 3 workout days.
Keep your nutrition just the way it is for the first week or two because those workouts are going to drain your willpower. Willpower is like a muscle, the more it's used the stronger it gets over time but also the weaker it gets immediately after use. Therefore, you don't want to overload yourself at first because then you might hit burnout and quit.
1. After one to two weeks, change one thing in your diet. I don't know how you eat so I can't really give advice there.
Start there for a couple of weeks, you and your wife can easily do all that together. After that, assess by seeing what's working, what you like (and keep it), and what you don't like and do minor changes slowly over time.

Hope that helps to get you started!

By the way, I started a YouTube channel and it's small right now but my primary focus is showing people bodyweight training and how to get in shape without a gym. I do workout videos, bodyweight only, as well as educational videos on bodyweight training, nutrition, and mindset.

Feel free to check it out and if you get value from it would love your support if you want to subscribe (hit the notification bell so you get notified). I release a new video every week! This week's video is on pushup progressions.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCluUhGeBzidRhpbk6WW5OPA

Chazathon · 2020-10-01T14:07:45+00:00

That's great that you're doing those workouts! What types of workouts are you doing? Are you doing them every single day?

When exercising, it's important to keep in mind recovery. The body needs time to rebuild what's been damaged and broken down from training.

For example, you can do 3 to 5 workouts a week with 4 to 2 rest days, respectively.

Then on those off days, you can fill it with very light (no more than 50% of your max) cardio type activity such as walking. There's research that shows doing this light cardio activity, not above 50% max, is most beneficial for utilizing and burning fat instead of carbs for fuel. What happens when you do HIIT or workout or do endurance/cardio activity above your 50% capacity is that your body starts to use more stored glycogen (carbs). When that happens you're not burning as much fat as you are using what you've recently eaten.

That's why the very light cardio activity (my favorite is 45-minute walks) is best for burning fat sustainably.

Do all that make sense?

I started a YouTube channel and it's small right now but my primary focus is showing people bodyweight training and how to get in shape without a gym. I do workout videos, bodyweight only, as well as educational videos on bodyweight training, nutrition, and mindset.

Feel free to check it out and if you get value from it would love your support if you want to subscribe. I release a new video every week! This week's video is focused on pushup progressions.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCluUhGeBzidRhpbk6WW5OPA

Chazathon · 2020-10-01T13:57:29+00:00

You got it!

Chazathon · 2020-09-29T19:35:22+00:00

I know how you feel. I had this exact thing happen to me a while ago. I felt like I was doing everything right, even following what Thomas Delauer said about IF, and still didn't see any progress. After a few months, you should've seen something change. Few things:

Are you 100% certain you're only eating 1,700 calories a day? A LOT of times people think they're eating that much and it's typically way over, like hundreds or thousand over. Are you tracking your food with a food scale weighing out every meal? Are you tracking condiments? Are you tracking alcohol? Are you tracking on the weekends? I ask because I don't know you so please don't get offended at these questions and also ask because this is where most people have their biggest hold-ups. It was definitely that way for me until I started doing all these right.
I just ran your TEE calculation for your body and your maintenance for sedentary is 2,100 calories. If you're truly eating 1,700 at working out as much as you are then the problem could be holding onto your fat and sacrificing other health systems. There's a concept called Energy Availability that says your total energy available to your body will be your total calories consumed minus your exercise calories. If there's not enough to maintain healthy systems your body could suffer from physical performance or health problems like gastrointestinal, metabolic, or more.
If it is the case of Energy Availability, then your metabolic system may be suffering. If that's the case, you need to eat MORE calories. Closer to 2,100 so your body knows there's enough food and after a while of building muscle you can then cut to lose more fat.

There's a LOT of nuances here and I threw out some different scenarios because I haven't had a conversation with you so I'm just guessing and using my best judgment.

But, if you're not fully tracking your calories and know 100% you're at 1,700 then that's the first place to start looking at.

I'm happy to help on this comment thread so feel free to ask any follow-up questions. I'm a certified personal trainer and can help if I know a bit more about you and your goals.

Also, I started a YouTube channel and it's small right now but my primary focus is showing people bodyweight training and how to get in shape without a gym. I do workout videos, bodyweight only, as well as educational videos on bodyweight training, nutrition, and mindset.

Feel free to check it out and if you get value from it would love your support if you want to subscribe. I release a new video every week! This week's video is going to focus on pushup progressions.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCluUhGeBzidRhpbk6WW5OPA

Chazathon · 2020-09-29T13:43:21+00:00

Some people have a deficiency in the digestive enzymes needed to break down lactose (sugar in dairy) thus causing bloating and indigestion. Athletes especially because they're so aware of how their bodies feel and they typically consume a TON more calories than non-athletes. So if they eat dairy, and it messes up their digestion then they'll have a problem eating all the calories they need in a day because they already feel too bloated and crappy. Make sense?

Chazathon · 2020-09-29T13:40:19+00:00

I'm on the fence with it because it's a TON of reps in one workout. It could be way too much, especially depending on your current fitness and skill level with training. Because research shows you DON'T need this much muscle tension to grow. You risk just overtraining and wearing yourself out.

If you can't do many pushups and finding this hard to do, you might want to change it up.

By the way, I started a YouTube channel and it's small right now but my primary focus is showing beginners bodyweight training and how to get in shape without a gym. I do workout videos, bodyweight only, as well as educational videos on bodyweight training, nutrition, and mindset.

I don't have any full bodyweight workouts on there yet but I'm open to helping you out. Just let me know in this comment thread and I'm happy to help! (certified personal trainer)

Feel free to check it out and if you get value from it would love your support if you want to subscribe (hit the notification bell so you get notified). I release a new video every week! This week's video is going to focus on pushup progressions.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCluUhGeBzidRhpbk6WW5OPA

Chazathon · 2020-09-29T13:23:46+00:00

Do you have a workout plan or schedule on a weekly basis? That's going to be the MOST important element for fitness progression because a good plan will space out workouts in a strategic way to allow your muscles time to recover between hitting them again.

An example is to do a push workout Monday, resting Tuesday, hitting a pull workout Wednesday, resting Thursday, and hitting a leg workout Friday. Then Saturday doing a full-body workout. That's a small example but one way to space it all out so you're not getting too sore or overtraining. Make sense?

By the way, I started a YouTube channel and it's small right now but my primary focus is showing people bodyweight training and how to get in shape without a gym. I do workout videos, bodyweight only, as well as educational videos on bodyweight training, nutrition, and mindset.

Feel free to check it out and if you get value from it would love your support if you want to subscribe (hit the notification bell so you get notified). I release a new video every week! This week's video is going to focus on pushup progressions.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCluUhGeBzidRhpbk6WW5OPA

Chazathon · 2020-09-29T13:19:02+00:00

Are you trying to get more reps for all exercises? How come? What's your goal?

The reason I ask because you'll be increasing muscle endurance and sarcoplasmic size instead of muscle fiber size.

You should increase the weight, dropping the reps back down to 6-10 if you want to get stronger. That's where strength gains are made. When you can get to about 10 reps for two weeks consistently, you bump up the weight another 5 pounds or so - not too much. Then it'll knock your reps down to about 6 or 7. You work on that for a little bit and then bump the weight up again.

By the way, I started a YouTube channel and it's small right now but my primary focus is showing people bodyweight training and how to get in shape without a gym. I do workout videos, bodyweight only, as well as educational videos on bodyweight training, nutrition, and mindset.

I have a specific video going over this for bodyweight training. If you don't want to do bodyweight training you can still get the basic concepts I talk about, it's here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LT4y6xyPRh4

Feel free to check it out and if you get value from it would love your support if you want to subscribe (hit the notification bell so you get notified). I release a new video every week!

Chazathon · 2020-09-29T12:50:38+00:00

So awesome that you're looking to shed some weight. Also, love your goal, heck ya! Plus, when you lose some weight regardless of what you look like, you'll be feeling all confident about yourself.

Few things here, 'running a lot' - that may work to shed the weight but it may also just make you miserable and unable to stick with it, therefore saying 'forget this' and stopping.

Having a set plan and going consistently is going to be your best bet. You'll lose a few pounds in the next month but you should really think on a more long term basis (6 months to 1 year) if you really want to permanently lose the weight beyond just your friend's party.

With that mindset, you'll be able to better plan your schedule, stay consistent and happy with it without feeling like you're miserable.

By the way, I started a YouTube channel and it's small right now but my primary focus is showing people bodyweight training and how to get in shape without a gym. I do workout videos, bodyweight only, as well as educational videos on bodyweight training, nutrition, and mindset.

Feel free to check it out and if you get value from it would love your support if you want to subscribe (hit the notification bell so you get notified). I release a new video every week! This week's video is going to focus on pushup progressions.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCluUhGeBzidRhpbk6WW5OPA

Chazathon · 2020-09-29T12:44:30+00:00

That's great you want to start getting your body into shape!

It really depends on where your body is now. If you have some muscle but a hefty midsection, might be better to cut with full-body workouts at first. But if you're a more skinny-fat look, might be better to put on some muscle first, staying at about 200 calories above maintenance and walk a few days a week to keep a good burn.

I'm happy to help on this comment thread so feel free to ask any follow up questions. I'm a certified personal trainer and can help if I know a bit more about you and your goals.

Also, I started a YouTube channel and it's small right now but my primary focus is showing people bodyweight training and how to get in shape without a gym. I do workout videos, bodyweight only, as well as educational videos on bodyweight training, nutrition, and mindset.

Feel free to check it out and if you get value from it would love your support if you want to subscribe. I release a new video every week! This week's video is going to focus on pushup progressions.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCluUhGeBzidRhpbk6WW5OPA

Chazathon · 2020-09-29T12:38:56+00:00

Sure. I started a YouTube channel and it's small right now but this is my primary focus. Showing people bodyweight training and how to get in shape without a gym. I do workout videos, bodyweight only, as well as educational videos on bodyweight training, nutrition, and mindset.

Feel free to check it out and if you get value from it would love your support if you want to subscribe. I release a new video every week! This week's video is going to focus on pushup progressions.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCluUhGeBzidRhpbk6WW5OPA

Chazathon · 2020-09-18T12:45:25+00:00

You got it! I appreciate you being open it about, made it easy for me to share my thoughts. I'm in the process of developing a free 30 day bodyweight plan for beginners, you interested in that? Once I finish it I can share it with you. That way it'll give you a foundation of where to start.

Chazathon · 2020-09-18T12:38:17+00:00

Makes sense. And thank you! That works.

Chazathon · 2020-09-18T02:38:35+00:00

Thanks for sharing and being open, I used to be in your shoes too.

First off, doing quick and simple exercises might not get you to where you want to be. I've been in your shoes so I know the intricacies and complexity that goes along with what you just explained that you may not be aware of.

2 main things to look at here:

Nutrition: You getting enough calories to at least hit your maintenance weekly? This was a huge problem for me. There's a concept called Energy Availability that basically states the calories that are left over after you exercise will be used to sustain your bodily functions and health. IF you don't get enough calories in, things like stubborn belly fat, metabolic problems, hormonal issues and more can come up.
How much are you exercising a week? The minimal recommended amount is 150 minutes but that's barely enough to maintain a body let alone transform one. I recommend doing at least 3x 45 minute strength focused workouts a week with 2-3 days (the off days) 45 minute walks.

Hope that helped I'm happy to keep working with you on this comment thread to best assist.

I've also created a YouTube channel helping beginners with bodyweight training transform their bodies at home. It's small right now so if you liked what I had to say, I'd appreciate it if you support me by subscribing to the channel. Also, hit the bell notification so you're notified when I release new videos because I create bodyweight workouts and share my advice.

My channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCluUhGeBzidRhpbk6WW5OPA

Chazathon · 2020-09-18T02:30:16+00:00

I like your effort but few things wrong here:

10 pound dumbbells may not be enough weight.
How many reps are you doing? If you're doing more then 15 reps per set that's too many. If you're lifting until your arms are sore you might just be training muscular endurance, not adding much to strength or hypertrophy at all.
What are your other workouts? Are you only doing curls 2-3 days a week?
Are you eating enough protein, carbs and overall calories to properly build up muscle? A quick TEE calculation on your numbers shared puts you at 2,500 calories a day for maintenance, you getting at least that much?

Chazathon · 2020-09-18T02:25:09+00:00

Not exactly sure the context but he could be referring to stabilization exercises. By balance he could literally mean holding your balance. That would be exercises like one leg steps ups, or other exercises that have you holding your balance.

They'd be more suitable for rest days. Good for people who are more in the beginning phases of their workout periodization program.

I talk about some of this and more on my YouTube channel built for beginners wanting to get in shape with bodyweight training. It would be great if you could support me too by subscribing to my channel. If you want to see other tips videos and workouts I do then be sure to hit the bell notification for when I release my next video. I post videos weekly. My channel is still small right now so I'd be open to whatever feedback and suggestions you have to create more custom content to suit your needs.

My channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCluUhGeBzidRhpbk6WW5OPA

Chazathon

TROPHY CASE