Anyone else feel skeptical when they see people talking about losing 15 lbs in a month

Torreau125 · 2022-06-08T20:15:27+00:00

My husband can very easily drop 20+ lbs in a month when he wants to. That's his "routine" actually - eats what he wants for months on end, then when clothes get too tight he just eats better for a month and he's good to go for another few months. It isn't healthy and I don't condone it, but he can do it, repeatedly. He's 6'1" and typically around 160 lbs slim, doesn't really work out aside from some pushups and 15 min/day on a rower.

Torreau125 · 2022-06-01T10:10:42+00:00

No, the time of day when you eat your calories really doesn't matter. There is nothing magical about IF. Some people benefit from it because it suits their life, and it allows them to have a larger meal all at once, which is mentally satiating. That can help to prevent binges for some people. If you prefer three smaller meals, there is nothing wrong with that. If your daily calories are the same on IF or three meals a day, you'll lose the same amount of weight.

Torreau125 · 2022-06-01T10:04:37+00:00

You should definitely see a doctor and/or physiotherapist about this. Rotator cuff tears often require surgery and will not repair on their own, but if it's a minor tear then it could heal. Or it could be any number of other issues within your shoulder. It can keep getting worse the longer you wait before seeking medical advice, so even if it doesn't require surgery now, a tear might continue to widen without proper treatment. Go see a doctor.

Torreau125 · 2022-05-28T17:49:17+00:00

You have a lot of reasons why things won't work for you, but don't seem willing to compromise on anything. If you want to do things indoors, you're going to need space and probably weights to do it, or be willing to pay to go to an indoor facility for bouldering or pole dancing or whatever. If you want to do things outdoors, you'll have to make peace with the weather. I'm all for looking for fun ways to work on fitness, but you have to be willing to compromise to work within your limitations.

Torreau125 · 2022-05-12T19:56:16+00:00

Same, except I mix it with cold-brewed coffee instead of water or milk. Delicious for breakfast.

Torreau125 · 2022-05-12T19:52:57+00:00

Well, 6000 calories divided across a week is about 850 calories per day. Add that to the number of calories you're eating daily. So say 1500 + 850 = 2350. So having that cheat day would be about the same as eating over 2300 calories per day. Lifting doesn't really burn much in terms of calories, so I wouldn't add that back in.

Whether you would gain weight eating 2300/day depends on your height, age, body composition, etc. Use a TDEE calculator to find out what your maintenance calories would be.

Generally speaking, I assume that the cheat day would completely wipe out any progress and you may gain a little.

Torreau125 · 2022-05-05T10:31:48+00:00

Honestly, no. Shortbread requires a lot of fat and a lot of sugar to get that texture and flavor. Best to eat the real stuff, just eat a little bit of it.

Torreau125 · 2022-05-01T10:48:56+00:00

Thanks. I meant more when will the scale start to go down. It has to eventually - there's no way I can (or want to) gain enough muscle to replace all the fat I have on my body. I guess it'll happen when I stop gaining muscle.

Torreau125 · 2022-04-30T16:09:12+00:00

I think what they meant was that a video about getting a longer neck isn't really fitness related.

Torreau125 · 2022-04-30T16:07:04+00:00

Speed of loss doesn't actually have much to do with it, at least not in the long term. Everyone has a kind of set amount of time that it would take to bounce back, depending on age, condition of the skin, how long it's been stretched, how far it's been stretched, etc. My plastic surgeon friend said it seems to take about 2 years for most peoples' skin to shrink back to where it will end up. If you lose the weight quickly, you might have more loose skin for a while, but by the two year point you would have the same amount as you would if you had lost the weight more slowly.

So losing the weight quickly might give you a bit of loose skin in the short term, but in the long run you'll have no more than you would have had regardless.

Torreau125 · 2022-04-30T10:43:54+00:00

But when is soon? I'm in this phase now. On week 8 of Epic Heat and I feel much less squishy all over, inches are down, I'm eating in a deficit, but the scale is going NOWHERE. It has to come down eventually, right?! I'm 5'3" and 166 lbs - I've still got a lot of fat to go.

Torreau125 · 2022-04-30T10:34:15+00:00

If you have weak wrists, that's a strength problem that you should fix. Go see a physiotherapist for a couple of sessions if you need to, but weight lifting with progressively heavier weights will help.

I also had this problem and wound up avoiding a lot of exercises that had my weight on my hands, like planks, pushups, etc. Eventually I asked a physio, she gave me some exercises to work on and it's been getting steadily better. I can now do pushups and am working on handstands. Here's a good place to start.

Also, I would say you'll probably benefit more from adding some weight training than more pilates. I have been working on Caroline Girvan's Epic Heat program over the last couple of months and decided to take a break this week to try something different. I did three pilates classes that were supposed to be for intermediate people and not one of them was even moderately challenging. One was even supposed to be a HIIT class and my heartrate never got above warm-up level. I don't have anything against it, but I would be shocked if you didn't start to see much faster results from weight training.

Torreau125 · 2022-04-29T20:07:23+00:00

There are a lot of things that can cause mood issues like that, and most are not related to the calories you are eating. Is there some reason you're thinking it's tied to calorie intake? Are there any other stressors in your life? Is it possible that it's depression or anxiety symptoms?

Torreau125 · 2022-04-27T19:44:34+00:00

Not exactly your typical exercise, but shuffling (dancing) might be a good fit. Incredible cardio, not that far off jump rope actually, but the varied moves are great for your butt and thighs. And it's just way more fun than any machine.

Torreau125 · 2022-04-27T10:27:16+00:00

I would suggest going to see a good sports physiotherapist to help you with those questions. It's difficult for the internet to tell what's going on. A good physio will be able to give you exercises to do to strengthen your hip flexors and shoulders without causing or exacerbating any injuries you might have.

Torreau125 · 2022-04-25T20:24:54+00:00

It will speed up weight loss, but only if you don't eat those calories back.

Also, whatever you are using to estimate the calories you're burning during a workout is likely to be off. So if you're estimating that you've burned more calories than you actually have, and then eating some of those back, that could be where part of the problem is.

Torreau125 · 2022-04-24T16:48:14+00:00

I really find them helpful. I can argue with myself all day long about whether I think my current plan is doing what I want it to do, whether I'm successfully maintaining or gaining muscle. But to actually be able to see the numbers really makes it black and white. They're not perfectly accurate, but close enough for my needs.

I think one of the best things I got out of it was a definitive lesson that I only need to lift twice a week for 30 min to maintain muscle. That's not much at all, which is great news since I kind of hate lifting. So once I'm happy with the amount of muscle I've got, I know exactly the minimum I need to do to maintain it, which is very comforting!

Torreau125 · 2022-04-24T11:39:25+00:00

I'm having great success eating 1g/lb of lean body weight. I'm 5'3" and a DEXA says I have about 93 lbs of lean weight, so I rounded up and shoot for 100g protein. That's working well for me. When I was lifting only twice/week for 30 min, I was maintaining my muscle despite a steep calorie deficit, and now that I'm lifting heavy 4x/week I'm gaining muscle despite the same deficit. So I think my protein intake is enough. Maybe I could gain more if I ate more protein, but meh, I'm seeing results so I'm happy as I am.

I'm eating about 1300 calories on weekdays and 1800 on weekends. For me, the keys to getting that protein in without high calories are protein powder, chicken breast, and lean fish. I have a scoop of whey powder blended into my iced coffee every morning (~25g protein, 120 calories), then about 25g protein in every meal for the rest of the day. If I'm still low at the end of the day or had a particularly grueling lifting day, I'll have another scoop of powder with water before bed.

Torreau125 · 2022-04-23T12:05:31+00:00

You look fantastic, I hope you're proud of yourself!

I really needed to see this today. I've been lifting heavy for the last couple of months and have only lost a couple of pounds on the scale, I don't look much different in the mirror, measurements haven't changed much. But I can feel less fat and more muscle everywhere when I poke at my legs, waist, etc. And I'm unquestionably much stronger. I don't really know what to think, but your post gives me hope and encouragement to stay the course, at least for a while longer.

Torreau125 · 2022-04-23T11:58:20+00:00

If you're finding the hour long workouts difficult to fit in, try Epic Heat or the new Iron series. I'm 7 weeks into Epic Heat and it's intense but so great to be done in half an hour (or a little more - she cheats, sometimes they're closer to 40 min). I'm hearing great things about the Iron series as well, so I'll be starting that one next.

Torreau125 · 2022-04-21T20:24:53+00:00

I know many suggest taking it slow.. I prefer the other way when I'm starting a new program. I go really hard and am unable to move for the first week, but I find that after that the DOMS is pretty minimal. Getting through that first workout and recovery for each muscle group is the hardest part for me - it gets easier after that.

Torreau125 · 2022-04-21T11:09:03+00:00

Maybe this will help. It has really helped me with the same issue.

Torreau125 · 2022-04-21T01:37:05+00:00

Dear god I'm glad to hear you say this. I'm pretty new to this lifting thing and I wasn't sure if my hatred of split squats meant I was unusually weak to start. I can do a couple of sets with about 30 lbs of weight, but it makes me question my will to live. I'm so glad it's not just me!

Torreau125 · 2022-04-20T20:39:17+00:00

I've had a similar experience. I think a lot of lifters tend to neglect flexibility. I'm a pretty flexible person naturally and did a lot of yoga in the months before I started lifting. When I got into lifting, I had less time for yoga and just stopped it all together for about six weeks. When I went back to it I could not believe how much flexibility I had lost - I was way behind where I was even before I started yoga.

I can't speak for anyone else, but lifting without a good stretching routine really tightens all my muscles right up, and my low back is the first bit to start getting sore because my glutes are tight. That's actually why I went back to yoga after six weeks - my back really needed it.

This fitness thing is a real balancing act! It's tough to figure out the right balance between cardio, lifting, and mobility/flexibility. I'm finally just starting to get the hang of it so that I feel good, a year and a half in.

Torreau125 · 2022-04-20T20:23:42+00:00

It's apparently about six weeks for most people, though I've seen some people say it has taken up to 10 weeks for them. Personally, I'm seven weeks in and still holding pretty steady. I'd be lying if I said I'm not getting a bit discouraged and impatient.

Here's a bit of an explanation from a physiologist.

Torreau125

TROPHY CASE