Am I understanding things right?

[gothamhunter]

Alright, here's the scoop.

I was 145lbs from about 6th grade through my freshman year in college. I was chunky and turned skinny/fit from track/football. I went down state for the open 400 and 4x400 in high school and ran track in college. I tore a sheathe in my right leg in track and that's where my competitive running stopped. Being a runner, I was on a runner's diet, and that didn't stop after I stopped running.

Cut to now, and I'm borderlining 200lbs. I have some great underlying muscle, and although I wouldn't say I'm extremely strong, I was happy with my muscle definition before. I would say that my goal would obviously be to trim down and regain that previous muscle definition.

I'm looking for advice on a good program to follow. I went through Insanity for a month and a half and then had some medical issues so I stopped that. I have a gym membership now and have been going but I feel that I'm underutilizing my time.

In my scenario, would a mix of strong lifts and HIIT (probably bike) be my best bet? What about Crossfit? In terms of dieting, should I still focus a lot on making sure I have that protein intake? Anyone have good sources for meal planning?

Thanks a lot guys/gals. Goal is to lose at least 50lbs, not sure a timeframe but I want to get on it

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Read the fat loss sticky - this addresses your particular question almost exactly.

 

[gothamhunter]

Read the fat loss sticky - this addresses your particular question almost exactly.

I read it, but it had a lot of information and seemed kind of general to me. I'll give it another read later today to see if I can grasp some more of it.

 

[ZOOYUKA]

This may work for you.
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/shortcut-to-size.html

 

[Cookie]

I read it, but it had a lot of information and seemed kind of general to me. I'll give it another read later today to see if I can grasp some more of it.

It is a lot of information. It can be overwhelming at first. What worked for me was to read and understand one thing at a time and focus on changing that aspect of your fitness or nutrition. Do one thing at a time, don't try to be perfect all at once. Once you start seeing the results it can be addicting to keep learning more about the details and specifics of nutrition and fitness and tweaking your program a little bit at a time to continue to improve.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Ya, read the sticky. It has everything you need to know.

IMHO:
Eat less, lift heavy.

If you do the Strong Lifts program, all you need to do is lift 3 days a week. In addition to this, keep your calories under 1800. At your weight/age that is probably good for about 2 pounds of weight loss per week.

You can do running if you want. But it gets harder to do that and lifting as time passes and you start lifting heavier weights.

 

[Lamont Burns]

50 lbs. Diet is going to be more important than your workout plan of choice. Just lift 3 days a week, LISS cardio imo (low impact steady state) such as incline walking... and just eat in a solid deficit.

If you are truly carrying that much fat, diet diet deit. You'll see some strength gains as well.

But 150 ... how tall are you? 5'7"? That's scrawny, BROSEF. To each their own gl and what not.

80/20 ... Pareto Principle

 

[gothamhunter]

50 lbs. Diet is going to be more important than your workout plan of choice. Just lift 3 days a week, LISS cardio imo (low impact steady state) such as incline walking... and just eat in a solid deficit.

If you are truly carrying that much fat, diet diet deit. You'll see some strength gains as well.

But 150 ... how tall are you? 5'7"? That's scrawny, BROSEF. To each their own gl and what not.

80/20 ... Pareto Principle

I am 5'7", actually.

I don't mind if I'm more than 150, I just remember that was the weight I was around when I was the most healthy. If I'm 170lbs I don't care as long as I'm in better shape as I am now.

I guess my main question really is just about what kind of workout routine to invest in.

 

[Saint Nick]

Starting Strength or Stronglifts 5x5 would be perfect for ya!

 

[iluvdeal]

What health problems did you run into with Insanity? Was it caused specifically by Insanity and is it a problem you face on another program?

Insanity is a very high intensity program, did you see results from it? If not, I'd echo the previous statements and emphasize that you really need to focus your attention on what you are eating as that's going to primarily determine whether you can lose 50 lbs or not.

 

[gothamhunter]

What health problems did you run into with Insanity? Was it caused specifically by Insanity and is it a problem you face on another program?

Insanity is a very high intensity program, did you see results from it? If not, I'd echo the previous statements and emphasize that you really need to focus your attention on what you are eating as that's going to primarily determine whether you can lose 50 lbs or not.

It was a different health problem that came up, nothing to do with Insanity.

I did see good results with it, but I've been more strict with my diet since then so things should have better results now.

 

[gothamhunter]

OK, so I'm wanting to make sure I understand things...

I calculated my BMR here: http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/
It came out to 1961.75 (5'7" at 195lbs, 25 years of age)

In FitDay, I see the graph below, which shows my Average Daily Calorie Balance of 2607 (Based off of same age, weight, and my lifestyle (seated all day). Is this number the number of calories I need to keep my current weight, or is it supposed to also show my BMR but is way off? Per the OP I should try and stick with about 200 over my BMR, so what number should I be going off of?

Average Daily Calorie Balance

Calories Eaten (72 calories)

Calories Burned (2,607 calories)

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

gotham,

Every calculator will tell you something different. Do some more. You'll kind see a min/max estiamte and a bunch in between.

IMHO, if you take in 1800 caloreis a day and exercise 6 out of 7 days each you will loose weight. If you are not loosing weight, cut calories slightly more.

One day though, jsut say F-it and start. That's hwo I did it 15 months ago. Down to about 202 from 230. I am in no rush. Remember, it is a lifetyle change. Not a diet. You need to change and stick to it forever.

 

[gothamhunter]

gotham,

Every calculator will tell you something different. Do some more. You'll kind see a min/max estiamte and a bunch in between.

IMHO, if you take in 1800 caloreis a day and exercise 6 out of 7 days each you will loose weight. If you are not loosing weight, cut calories slightly more.

One day though, jsut say F-it and start. That's hwo I did it 15 months ago. Down to about 202 from 230. I am in no rush. But if I keep it up, I'll eventually be to 180. Changing eating habits shoudl not be a temporary thing. And my pattern is such that i should be able to stick with it.

I hear ya, and I have started. I just want to know if those two numbers are supposed to be calculating the same thing or not.

And I'm not so sure about the 1800 calories thing. If I do that, it will be below my BMR, which will have the opposite effect and make it harder to lose weight.

 

[Lamont Burns]

That BMR of 1961 is if you literally never moved an inch outta your bed. Let's put that BMR thru an activity level:

I take your 1961 and give it a 1.375 multiple based on 1-3 days light exercise:

2696 = 2700.

I would suggest starting 10% below that every day, more if you are carrying large amounts of fat(Total BF > 20%). If you are more active than light exercise than increase your multiple.

 

[tedrodai]

Yeah, so to specifically answer your question, the "Calories Burned" estimate on FitDay is an estimate of how many calories you should eat to maintain your current weight.

Assuming their estimate is accurate for you (or near enough), you'll lose weight by eating less than 2,600 calories/day as long as you maintain that level of activity on average. Optimally, you'll eat between 1,950 (BMR) and 2,600 (BMR + activity) to lose weight. Every 100 calories you shave off the 2,600 daily = 1/5 lb per week, so ~2,100 calories a day for 1lb/wk.

 

[gothamhunter]

Yeah, so to specifically answer your question, the "Calories Burned" estimate on FitDay is an estimate of how many calories you should eat to maintain your current weight.

Assuming their estimate is accurate for you (or near enough), you'll lose weight by eating less than 2,600 calories/day as long as you maintain that level of activity on average. Optimally, you'll eat between 1,950 (BMR) and 2,600 (BMR + activity) to lose weight. Every 100 calories you shave off the 2,600 daily = 1/5 lb per week, so ~2,100 calories a day for 1lb/wk.

Excellent answer, thank you.