Checking the sanity of my workout.

[imagoon]

I am obese but have been working on dropping weight. For several months prior I have been weaning down my calorie intake. I started at a belt busting average of 3300 calories a day (which I feel disgusted about now.) I have been shooting to always be in the 1700 - 2000 calorie range daily and have been doing a a decent job of being there. I am working on spreading my meals out (like eating breakfast) as well as eating better over all like more vegis and better cooked meat like pan cooked chicken vs fried.

So:

I have a recumbent bike that has a target heart rate. I am 30 and calculated by cardio heart rate to be about 150 to 175, so I set the machine @ 150 and it generally varies the resistance to keep me at 150 - 155 for the duration of the work out. I started at 20 minutes which kicked my butt but I kept it up and now burn an average of 145-150 calories on the bikes gauge over the 26 minutes. (3 warm up, 20 for the run, 3 for cool down.) I now can do 20 minutes a day without issue. I have very recently gone to 30 minutes which is a bit hard but feels pretty good afterwards.

Is this sane? I feel I need add a some strength training soon but I am so large (350lbs @ 6' 1") that I worry about hurting myself. I have read some of the squats threads and I do have a bar and some weights. Would starting with the bar be good?

Any feed back would be appreciated.

PS: My "calories per minute" is about 5.8 to 6. Low 5.2, Peak 6.5 in the last 7 days.

 

[brikis98]

Start by reading the fat loss sticky from start to finish (it used to be a sticky, doesn't seem to be anymore). Key things to do (if you aren't already) is to carefully track your caloric intake on a website (don't estimate it or you'll be wrong), do some resistance training and cardio, and most importantly, make changes slowly.

 

[imagoon]

Thanks, I read that and the BMR section confuses me mostly because it seems to say I should be eating up to my BMR and then burning from there but most of the calculators put me way up at 3300 + calories. This doesn't seem right to me. If it is I am down at 1800 I am really 1500 below where I should be?

PS

I am working on making my diet better. Baby steps for me has been to not eliminate what I like to eat, just to eat far less. I keep my calories / food written on a pad in my pocket.

 

[brikis98]

Thanks, I read that and the BMR section confuses me mostly because it seems to say I should be eating up to my BMR and then burning from there but most of the calculators put me way up at 3300 + calories. This doesn't seem right to me. If it is I am down at 1800 I am really 1500 below where I should be?

BMR = basal metabolic rate = the number of calories you would burn if you did absolutely nothing that day. It is how many calories your body requires just to keep you alive: any actions you take on top of that increase the number of calories you burn. The BMR for someone of your size is ~3000 calories, although the exact number will vary from person to person. If you get out of bed, go to work, exercise, do chores, take care of kids, etc you will burn significantly more calories during the day. This is why you can keep your caloric intake at or above BMR but still be in a caloric deficit. If your caloric intake is too low, your body will go into starvation mode. Even though you are eating less, this will actually make it harder to lose weight because your metabolism will drop (so you'll burn fewer calories) and you'll have other nasty side effects, such as constantly being tired, hungry, and losing muscle mass instead of fat.

So, for a guy of your size, 1800 calories is probably too low. Just for reference, I lost ~40lbs last year (223lbs -> 180lbs) while eating 2500-2700 calories per day. Your BMR is much higher than mine, so you should have no trouble losing weight while eating even more than that. However, it is worth mentioning that at your weight, your body is more primed for burning fat and can tolerate a higher caloric deficit than the average guy. The typical advice is to run a ~500 calorie deficit per day, but for someone of your size, up to 1000 calories per day is probably safe. Despite that, 1800 calories is still way too little. If you are even moderately active, you're probably burning at least 3,500 calories per day, so you can safely eat 2,500+ calories per day and still lose ~2lbs a week.

I keep my calories / food written on a pad in my pocket.

That's a great start, but I highly recommend trying out sites like thedailyplate.com and fitday.com as they tend to be easier to use (they have big databases of foods) and more accurate than pen + paper. They also conveniently calculate your macro intake (ie, protein, carbs & fat) which is also useful to know.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

BMR = basal metabolic rate = the number of calories you would burn if you did absolutely nothing that day. It is how many calories your body requires just to keep you alive: any actions you take on top of that increase the number of calories you burn. The BMR for someone of your size is ~3000 calories, although the exact number will vary from person to person. If you get out of bed, go to work, exercise, do chores, take care of kids, etc you will burn significantly more calories during the day. This is why you can keep your caloric intake at or above BMR but still be in a caloric deficit. If your caloric intake is too low, your body will go into starvation mode. Even though you are eating less, this will actually make it harder to lose weight because your metabolism will drop (so you'll burn fewer calories) and you'll have other nasty side effects, such as constantly being tired, hungry, and losing muscle mass instead of fat.

So, for a guy of your size, 1800 calories is probably too low. Just for reference, I lost ~40lbs last year (223lbs -> 180lbs) while eating 2500-2700 calories per day. Your BMR is much higher than mine, so you should have no trouble losing weight while eating even more than that. However, it is worth mentioning that at your weight, your body is more primed for burning fat and can tolerate a higher caloric deficit than the average guy. The typical advice is to run a ~500 calorie deficit per day, but for someone of your size, up to 1000 calories per day is probably safe. Despite that, 1800 calories is still way too little. If you are even moderately active, you're probably burning at least 3,500 calories per day, so you can safely eat 2,500+ calories per day and still lose ~2lbs a week.


That's a great start, but I highly recommend trying out sites like thedailyplate.com and fitday.com as they tend to be easier to use (they have big databases of foods) and more accurate than pen + paper. They also conveniently calculate your macro intake (ie, protein, carbs & fat) which is also useful to know.

Well, being 350 pounds changes the game a little bit. I wrote the fat loss sticky mainly with moderately obese computer users in mind. At 350 pounds, I would say that you can go below your BMR. I wouldn't say to do it by much (maybe up to 500 calories less), but I would say it's a possibility.

Also, read the fat loss sticky. If you're just doing aerobic work, you're going to lose a lot of poundage. However, you're going to lose proportional amounts of fat and muscle. Muscle is metabolically expensive and will try to get rid of it if the body doesn't use it. If (and only if) you get on a resistance program, your muscle will notice that muscle is in use and won't get rid of it. That way, you decrease body fat percentage while maintaining lean muscle mass. If you didn't do that, you could lose a ton of weight, but you'd still have a massive body fat % at the end.

 

[imagoon]

Ok Thanks. Over the next week I will step up the intake a little each day to get closer to 2500.

Any recommendations for my rate in increase in cardio / resistance? I spent a couple weeks at 26 minutes 3 up 20 of work out 3 of cool. Is jumping up 10 minutes at this point to much or would say 31 minutes (3 + 25 + 3) be better?

I did a 36 minute run and I felt ok. Near the end I was feeling some strain but not muscle injury type. When I got off the bike I was definitely in better shape than when I did my first 26 minutes run. =)

 

[brikis98]

Ok Thanks. Over the next week I will step up the intake a little each day to get closer to 2500.

Just a reminder that you can't really "measure" your caloric intake/expenditure, so whatever numbers you calculate are going to be rough estimates. However, you can measure your bodyweight and use that to make your estimates more accurate. Weigh yourself every day at the same time and under the same conditions (e.g. right after waking up and using the bathroom) and see which way your bodyweight is moving. If you aren't losing weight at the rate you expect, it means that something about your caloric estimates is off and you'll need to make adjustments. Also, keep in mind that from day to day, your bodyweight can fluctuate quite a bit due to water retention, bowel movements, and so on, so you really should be tracking the trend your bodyweight is taking on a weekly basis and not paying too much attention to the specific number each day.

Any recommendations for my rate in increase in cardio / resistance? I spent a couple weeks at 26 minutes 3 up 20 of work out 3 of cool. Is jumping up 10 minutes at this point to much or would say 31 minutes (3 + 25 + 3) be better?

I did a 36 minute run and I felt ok. Near the end I was feeling some strain but not muscle injury type. When I got off the bike I was definitely in better shape than when I did my first 26 minutes run. =)

There aren't any hard or fast rules about it - just listen to your body. If you are hurting, not feeling well, or not recovering between workouts, then you are probably doing too much. Remember, there isn't much of a penalty for ramping up too slowly: in the long term, it won't make much of a difference whether it took you 3 months or 4 months to get into a full workout program. However, the penalty for ramping up too quickly is pretty steep: injuries & exhaustion that will interfere with further exercise and your weight loss.

 

[spamsk8r]

Good info so far. Something else to think about is that you don't need to use a bunch of equipment or anything to get a good resistance workout in. At 350 pounds you have all the weight needed to get stronger and maintain muscle mass. I would add in some functional movements like squats, push-ups, and pull-ups (you can get a cheap pull-up bar anywhere, and you can find assistance bands online, since I doubt you'll be able to do any unassisted pull-ups right now). You don't have to go balls-out either. Just work on getting flexible enough to get into a good deep squat, and work the other movements regularly. Check out http://www.crossfit.com/cf-info/excercise.html#Exer for some good informational videos as well. Simply work on form, then consistency, and only then should you add any level of intensity.

 

[imagoon]

Sounds good. I have feeling I will start with squats and some mild to moderate upper body. The free weights seem to be pretty cheap over at the store so I can pick up a set for arms. I already have a bar and some weight, the bar itself isn't a ton but I can add a little to start out on squats.

 

[imagoon]

I just wanted to post an update, Thanks for the help, I am progressing slow but Weighed in at 328 today. I know that it is far slower than the 2lbs a week but, I also have increased my endurance and strength a ton. One hour on the bike at a decent resistance doesn't kill me any more nor does intervals.

I plateaued at 335 for awhile which seems to be all about my food intake. I journaled myself and realized I had started 'self correcting' my intake unconsciously.

So even though I have not lost as much weight, I can actually work out decently and my overall body strength has improved.

Thanks for the help.

 

[coreyb]

get on starting strength, at your size you will be a beast in less then a year.

 

[VulgarDisplay]

I just wanted to post an update, Thanks for the help, I am progressing slow but Weighed in at 328 today. I know that it is far slower than the 2lbs a week but, I also have increased my endurance and strength a ton. One hour on the bike at a decent resistance doesn't kill me any more nor does intervals.

I plateaued at 335 for awhile which seems to be all about my food intake. I journaled myself and realized I had started 'self correcting' my intake unconsciously.

So even though I have not lost as much weight, I can actually work out decently and my overall body strength has improved.

Thanks for the help.

All that added muscle is skewing your weight loss numbers. On the very very bright side you notice the difference in your body while working out which is a great feeling. Don't get discouraged at this stage if your weight isn't dropping quickly. Bust out a measuring tape because that could show the true tale of your progress better than the scale sometimes.