does starvation mode really exist?

[nageov3t]

so, in the last ~3 weeks I've gained like 5 pounds and it totally has my scratching my head.

my BMR is 1800 calories... so even if I didn't leave my bed at all for an entire week, I'd still need to be eating 1800 calories just to maintain my weight, right? I average more in the neighborhood of 1100-1300 and even on my laziest days, I'm still parking on the far side of the lot at work, taking the stairs, etc even if I do skip my usual cardio (I try to walk/jog 2-3 miles a couple days a week)

does starvation mode actually exist, wherein I'd need to be eating more to start losing weight again? these last like 15 pounds (frack, 20 counting what I've gained) are annoying me to no end. it's going to bother my OCD like nothing else if I can't hit either an even 150 lb weight or 250 pounds total lost.

 

[brikis98]

What is your current height/weight/gender? How are you tracking your caloric intake? What do you eat in a typical day?

 

[nageov3t]

What is your current height/weight/gender? How are you tracking your caloric intake? What do you eat in a typical day?

5'10", 165-170, M

I've got an app on my ipod that I use to track my food... today's been a typical day for me.

breakfast -- 1 cup special k protein cereal (125 calories), 8 ounces of skim milk (80 calories; 4 with my cereal and another 4 with my coffee), half a cup of diced up strawberries
lunch -- tuna sandwich... 2 slices of low-cal whole wheat bread (80 calories), slice of cheese (90 calories), package of tuna (180 calories), 2 tbs low-fat mayo (30 calories), lettuce/tomato
dinner -- grilled cheese sandwich... 2 slices of low-cal bread (80 calories), 3 slices of mozzarella cheese (180 calories). probably have a bowl of tomato soup along with it since it just feels like one of those rainy days.

at some point, I'll probably also have another glass of milk, a couple piece of fruit, and a sugar free pudding cup or two.

 

[StageLeft]

The metabolism can slow but of course in the end if you keep cutting calories back you'll lose weight. I never saw a fat POW.

Honestly you're at the hardest point in losing weight. You dropped 230 lbs so far? Although you'll clearly lose weight if you cut calories far enough back I think at this point the safer and more effective approach is to step up cardio output significantly.

I try to walk/jog 2-3 miles a couple days a week

This only very generously qualifies as cardio. At your bodyweight walking or jogging 2-3 miles is probably spending only 200-300 calories above resting over that same period of time anyway so it's negligible.

If you really are serious about this I'd put your calories higher to say 1500-1600 and aim for an hour of cardio 6 days/week. Real cardio, not walking, but make it jogging or honest cycling or rowing or elliptical. Or you could walk but put a weighted back pack on and make it hiking. Metabolism can play tricks but cardio does not lie. It is impossible for you to not burn energy off when sweating like a stuck pig.

Going from nearly no cardio to 6 hours/week is intense which is why it's almost mandatory you have a particular goal about it, such as getting fit enough to run a race, which for many people who were obese is the cherry on their weight loss cake and marks their final transformation.

 

[nageov3t]

^ definitely, one of my major reasons for quitting WoW is to have more exercise time. I'd like to be walking to work every day, but staying up late wasting my life in a video game cascades into oversleeping and having to rush to work in my car.

I'm in the annoying position of not being able to afford a gym membership and exercise equipment isn't allowed in my apartment per my lease, but hoping to change that after I (god willing, my aunt's being a pain in the ass) move this summer.

 

[brikis98]

1100-1300 calories for a moderately active 170lb male is VERY little. Near starvation levels, in fact. I'm not sure how accurately you measure your food (e.g. a "glass" of milk is much less than most people expect) or if you aren't entering snacks/drinks/whatever, but I find it hard to believe you'd be able to sustain that kind of caloric intake for any extended period of time.

At any rate, too big of a caloric deficit can be counter-productive: your body may respond to a starvation diet by trying to preserve fat stores as much as possible, burning up muscle-mass (which lowers your metabolism) and making you tired/lethargic. LSD cardio only makes this worse by burning up still more muscle-mass. A much better idea is to maintain a moderate caloric deficit (~500) as described in the fat loss sticky. Moreover, instead of cardio (or in addition to it), do weight training and eat more protein to give your body a stimulus to help preserve muscle mass.

 

[fleshconsumed]

You could still drop weight, but you're going to have to become a lot more active than you currently are. As you get leaner and meaner it takes a lot more effort to drop fat. I'm 5'11".5 - 6'0" and I'm 155#. I've been at that weight for a couple of months now. Yet, I still have some resilient fat that I can't seem to get rid of. I still have very small love handles around my waist and a little bit of fat on my inner thighs (and chubby chin for full disclosure 😀 ) but I hope to get rid of all of those as well after I start biking more and exercising (I've been slacking on exercise in the last 3 weeks).

Point is like everybody has said already, the closer you approach to your ideal weight, the harder it is to lose fat. At the weight you're right now diet alone is not going to be enough, you're going to have to put more effort into exercise. BTW, it's totally worth it, as I'm sure you'll know if you lost 250 pounds. Holy crap btw, I thought I lost a lot when I lost 60 pounds, you man have beaten us all, in a good way of course :thumbsup:

 

[StageLeft]

^ definitely, one of my major reasons for quitting WoW is to have more exercise time. I'd like to be walking to work every day, but staying up late wasting my life in a video game cascades into oversleeping and having to rush to work in my car.

I know this problem intimately. Years ago I swore I'd never play a MMORPG ever again and I've held that promise near and dear to my heart. In fact, in recent times I'll sometimes buy a game and until it's finished it murders all free time. If you want my honest advice it's to swear off all video games until you've reached your goal. No matter how noble your intentions, if you have an option to workout or an option to chill in front of the tv with a game the game wins every time, which is why they must be purged as an alcoholic would pour his booze down the sink.

You could always grab an MP3 player and book out a fast walk each evening for 70 minutes if you don't want to run.

 

[skace]

I know this problem intimately. Years ago I swore I'd never play a MMORPG ever again and I've held that promise near and dear to my heart. In fact, in recent times I'll sometimes buy a game and until it's finished it murders all free time. If you want my honest advice it's to swear off all video games until you've reached your goal. No matter how noble your intentions, if you have an option to workout or an option to chill in front of the tv with a game the game wins every time, which is why they must be purged as an alcoholic would pour his booze down the sink.

Meh. If you have to go to these lengths you've already lost. I know it's just a matter of opinion, but I think the stronger person is the one who can consciously choose to do what needs to be done (working out, chores, etc) before what they want to do (playing video games). Because all throughout life those needs and wants are going to change, and if you have to constantly condemn your wants you'd always be somewhat conflicted.

These days I still have an amazing computer, I still buy video games, but my workout comes first. It's that simple. I rely on self conscious motivation, I remind myself daily what my goals are and how I plan to achieve them.

 

[magomago]

You know, there were some good UCSF lectures posted around here talking about weight loss, and they mentioned that those who dieted for for a long period of time to lose weight ended up having reduced BMR levels : the body adapted to the amount of calories that it had and the person no longer lost weight. Now, I don't know if this is a decrease in BMR due to a less total mass (when considering the energy requiremtn contributions of muscle and fat) or something else. I don't think I'm qualified to say and perhaps someone more knowledgeable can bring light to this.

However, what I think, for sure, you should do, is as others said, and start weight training. Even if you aren't interested in bulking, you need to keep some muscle mass because that will help raise your BMR a little bit. And it will always look more aesthetically pleasing than having absolutely none.

 

[StageLeft]

Meh. If you have to go to these lengths you've already lost. I know it's just a matter of opinion, but I think the stronger person is the one who can consciously choose to do what needs to be done (working out, chores, etc) before what they want to do (playing video games). Because all throughout life those needs and wants are going to change, and if you have to constantly condemn your wants you'd always be somewhat conflicted.

These days I still have an amazing computer, I still buy video games, but my workout comes first. It's that simple. I rely on self conscious motivation, I remind myself daily what my goals are and how I plan to achieve them.

How have I already lost? I don't play those games anymore nor do I miss them. The "stronger person" deals with his weaknesses and I've done it.

 

[PricklyPete]

Back to loki's issue. I agree with some of the posters that you need to start focusing on your exercise. Even if you do drop those extra 15 pounds...once you've hit your goal, you're going to have a really hard time keeping off the weight under your current rigid food intake. I would say you need to take a month or two off from looking at the scale. During that month eat a bit more (focusing on healthy food) and start upping your exercise. As you start to add muscle, you may add weight, but I guarantee you'll be happier with your appearance.

 

[nageov3t]

guess it's a moot point... I went to my doctor on Thursday and he pretty much told me not to lose any more weight.

so now I might go have my first slice of real pizza in like 2 years <3

 

[Kipper]

Are you measuring out your food using a scale and actual measuring cups or are you
"guesstimating?"

If you have had progressive weight loss for a while now it could be that you have plateaued.

 

[elitejp]

Keep your diet healthy and just up the cardio and start putting in some time at the gym with weights or at least do some pushups and stuff at home.
I assume you have very little muscle on yourself because you have lost so much weight. Im not knocking you but anytime someone loses weight he loses muscle as well. It would be a good idea to do weight training as muscle is going to be the main user of calories. And this should help you achieve your goal.
On a similar note, dont give too much credence to these standardized charts, since you mentioned your BMR. Im pretty thin, as in you can see alot of muscles, but if I put my figures into a BMI chart it says that im very overweight. Your doctor may have used one of those charts to determine for you not to lose more weight. This is my thought on it, if you dont like the way you look then do something about it (in a healthy way). Theres nothing wrong with upping your cardio and hitting some weights (as long as your not practically passing out while doing it) and your body will naturally drop some of that extra flab.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Keep your diet healthy and just up the cardio and start putting in some time at the gym with weights or at least do some pushups and stuff at home.
I assume you have very little muscle on yourself because you have lost so much weight. Im not knocking you but anytime someone loses weight he loses muscle as well. It would be a good idea to do weight training as muscle is going to be the main user of calories. And this should help you achieve your goal.
On a similar note, dont give too much credence to these standardized charts, since you mentioned your BMR. Im pretty thin, as in you can see alot of muscles, but if I put my figures into a BMI chart it says that im very overweight. Your doctor may have used one of those charts to determine for you not to lose more weight. This is my thought on it, if you dont like the way you look then do something about it (in a healthy way). Theres nothing wrong with upping your cardio and hitting some weights (as long as your not practically passing out while doing it) and your body will naturally drop some of that extra flab.

Exercise without conscious and meticulous calorie counting has shown time and time again to be ineffective as a weight loss tool. Exercise is very important in weight maintenance, but nutritional interventions are necessary to actually lose weight. Also, this information is mentioned and elaborated upon in the fat loss sticky. In the pursuit of fat loss, cardio is actually counterproductive in that it will enable muscle breakdown. This results in similar fat and muscle breakdown. However, lifting weights while in a caloric deficit is much more effective at decrease body fat percentage since lean muscle mass is maintained while fat is lost.

 

[MJinZ]

How have I already lost? I don't play those games anymore nor do I miss them. The "stronger person" deals with his weaknesses and I've done it.

I played WoW for about 2 hours, found everything was purple and looked like shit, the camera angles sucked ass, and I was an ugly fucker (I guess there were no Blood Elves at the time).

I asked the friend who lent me the trial CD WTF was he smoking for playing such a POS. And then WoW started making millions upon millions for Blizzard. Then I gave up on Humanity.

 

[MJinZ]

Exercise without conscious and meticulous calorie counting has shown time and time again to be ineffective as a weight loss tool. Exercise is very important in weight maintenance, but nutritional interventions are necessary to actually lose weight. Also, this information is mentioned and elaborated upon in the fat loss sticky. In the pursuit of fat loss, cardio is actually counterproductive in that it will enable muscle breakdown. This results in similar fat and muscle breakdown. However, lifting weights while in a caloric deficit is much more effective at decrease body fat percentage since lean muscle mass is maintained while fat is lost.

Uh... calorie count is unimportant. Maybe if you're a women.

For any male, lifting weights until the endorphins kick in and doing cardio on off days and basically eating anything you want that isn't Fast Food means you start packing on muscle and losing fat - whether you want to or not...

Cardio isn't for losing weight so much as for heart health... which is important for weight lifting too.

 

[elitejp]

Exercise without conscious and meticulous calorie counting has shown time and time again to be ineffective as a weight loss tool. Exercise is very important in weight maintenance, but nutritional interventions are necessary to actually lose weight. Also, this information is mentioned and elaborated upon in the fat loss sticky. In the pursuit of fat loss, cardio is actually counterproductive in that it will enable muscle breakdown. This results in similar fat and muscle breakdown. However, lifting weights while in a caloric deficit is much more effective at decrease body fat percentage since lean muscle mass is maintained while fat is lost.

I dont think I was advocating him eating junk food or all you can eat buffets, so i dont understand your problem with my post?

To the OP, up the cardio, hit the gym, and keep your calorie intake low and healthy and you WILL lose weight. Your calorie intake is already way low. In fact i would up it to about 1500 and add in the exercise. My point is that you probably dont have any more muscle to lose...youve already lost it. Your obviously not a bodybuilder trying to protect every ounce of muscle mass while cutting into the low single digits of bodyfat. So by training your body with weights and cardio you will cause your body to start using more calories and burn off that extra fat. I dont think you will have any more muscle that could be burned off. So seeing as you are already in this situation of being skinny fat, unless you have plans on putting on some muscle size, I would concern myself with just getting skinny.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Uh... calorie count is unimportant. Maybe if you're a women.

For any male, lifting weights until the endorphins kick in and doing cardio on off days and basically eating anything you want that isn't Fast Food means you start packing on muscle and losing fat - whether you want to or not...

Cardio isn't for losing weight so much as for heart health... which is important for weight lifting too.

I don't say this often, but are you a dumbass? Firstly, it's not the endorphins that have any say in muscle growth. And holy crap, if you've ever been involved with a population that needs training, you'll see that what you're saying is not true at all. If people don't change their diet to a T, they will not lose weight. They may gain muscle. They may lose fat. The problem with that is those are beginner gains. They stop occurring after a while and the individual will still be fat. Men actually have a poorer physiological estimation of calorie need, even when active. It's very easy to overeat because of that, especially in those with leptin/ghrelin issues, hypothalamus issues, and predispositions toward obesity (from insulin resistance to cultural influences). Women, on the other hand, are evolutionary built to maintain the same weight (due to pregnancy). These phenomena are founded in research.

I understand that cardio is important for heart health. The problem with it during weight loss is it adds a lot of new factors that overwhelm beginners. And on top of that, losing the weight in the first place is both the aesthetic goal and health goal (often set by doctors). If you decrease your abdominal body fat, you also improve your health drastically (reduce fatty acid flux, increase insulin sensitivity, reduce chronic inflammation, decrease liver workload). Adding cardio to the mix increases likelihood of overtraining and burnout. Losing the weight should be first priority, then maintenance and overall health will come into play when a significant portion of weight is lost.

And for the record, men and women actually respond the same to resistance training. It has been found time and time again that women hypertrophy the same &#37; of their muscle mass as men. Basal testosterone levels have nothing to do with the hypertrophy part of lifting. Only the change in testosterone (delta test) really gives us the upper hand. This comes from puberty and anabolic steroids (if you like doping).

I don't know how you think you should be giving health and fitness advice with no REAL experience in the field. Please stop spouting your mouth off with information you have no clue about.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

I dont think I was advocating him eating junk food or all you can eat buffets, so i dont understand your problem with my post?

To the OP, up the cardio, hit the gym, and keep your calorie intake low and healthy and you WILL lose weight. Your calorie intake is already way low. In fact i would up it to about 1500 and add in the exercise. My point is that you probably dont have any more muscle to lose...youve already lost it. Your obviously not a bodybuilder trying to protect every ounce of muscle mass while cutting into the low single digits of bodyfat. So by training your body with weights and cardio you will cause your body to start using more calories and burn off that extra fat. I dont think you will have any more muscle that could be burned off. So seeing as you are already in this situation of being skinny fat, unless you have plans on putting on some muscle size, I would concern myself with just getting skinny.

My problem is that cardio is an ineffective way to lose weight. It stimulates hunger sensation and people often eat the calories back. However, weightlifting doesn't really do that. It doesn't enable the highly regulated hunger hormones as much. Essentially I'm saying that nutritional intervention is the only sure way to lose weight. If you lift while dieting, you'll maintain muscle mass and lose mainly fat. If you instead do cardio while dieting, you'll actually maintain a similar body fat &#37; while losing weight. Most people don't like being skinny fat so weightlifting is the more effective tool to use. The OP doesn't need to do more cardio. The OP simply needs to hone in his diet, eat a few hundred calories less, get on a lifting program, and watch the last few pounds go away. Anyhow, he already said his doctor told him to stop losing weight so all this debate is a bit pointless.

 

[kamper]

The OP simply needs to ... eat a few hundred calories less

Are you sure? He said he eats 1100-1300 a day.

 

[MJinZ]

I don't say this often, but are you a dumbass? Firstly, it's not the endorphins that have any say in muscle growth. And holy crap, if you've ever been involved with a population that needs training, you'll see that what you're saying is not true at all. If people don't change their diet to a T, they will not lose weight. They may gain muscle. They may lose fat. The problem with that is those are beginner gains. They stop occurring after a while and the individual will still be fat. Men actually have a poorer physiological estimation of calorie need, even when active. It's very easy to overeat because of that, especially in those with leptin/ghrelin issues, hypothalamus issues, and predispositions toward obesity (from insulin resistance to cultural influences). Women, on the other hand, are evolutionary built to maintain the same weight (due to pregnancy). These phenomena are founded in research.

I understand that cardio is important for heart health. The problem with it during weight loss is it adds a lot of new factors that overwhelm beginners. And on top of that, losing the weight in the first place is both the aesthetic goal and health goal (often set by doctors). If you decrease your abdominal body fat, you also improve your health drastically (reduce fatty acid flux, increase insulin sensitivity, reduce chronic inflammation, decrease liver workload). Adding cardio to the mix increases likelihood of overtraining and burnout. Losing the weight should be first priority, then maintenance and overall health will come into play when a significant portion of weight is lost.

And for the record, men and women actually respond the same to resistance training. It has been found time and time again that women hypertrophy the same &#37; of their muscle mass as men. Basal testosterone levels have nothing to do with the hypertrophy part of lifting. Only the change in testosterone (delta test) really gives us the upper hand. This comes from puberty and anabolic steroids (if you like doping).

I don't know how you think you should be giving health and fitness advice with no REAL experience in the field. Please stop spouting your mouth off with information you have no clue about.

Who said they did? If after a workout and your endorphins do not kick in, most likely you didn't LIFT hard enough.

Real experience in the field? Like having a degree or a Trainer's license? Nope, I don't. Who does? "Beginner's gains" are all most people really need, unless you are training to a professional power lifter, runner, or body builder.

And who cares about losing weight? 175 lbs of all muscle is not overweight. It's about losing fat, and the more muscle you gain as a male, the more calories you need just to not lose that muscle.

For regular guys, it's so simple to do. As long as you cut the crap out of your diet like McDonalds, whatever else you eat just goes towards building muscle and the cardio will help take care of any additional fat loss you need. Obviously the assumption here is to eat normal sized meals with good portions of protein and veggies that fulfill your hunger and nothing more. Does everything need to spelled out or is common sense no longer common?

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Who said they did? If after a workout and your endorphins do not kick in, most likely you didn't LIFT hard enough.

Real experience in the field? Like having a degree or a Trainer's license? Nope, I don't. Who does? "Beginner's gains" are all most people really need, unless you are training to a professional power lifter, runner, or body builder.

And who cares about losing weight? 175 lbs of all muscle is not overweight. It's about losing fat, and the more muscle you gain as a male, the more calories you need just to not lose that muscle.

For regular guys, it's so simple to do. As long as you cut the crap out of your diet like McDonalds, whatever else you eat just goes towards building muscle and the cardio will help take care of any additional fat loss you need.

You don't understand the concept of what endorphins do. What are you trying to say their purpose is in reference to weight loss?

Real experience as in REAL experience. I'm not asking for a degree or a license. I'm asking for a logical understanding of the physical and psychological aspects of weight loss. Beginner gains crap out after a month or two. At the suggested rate of weight loss (1-1.5 pounds per week), very, very few people will reach their goals during that time. Having dealt with dozens of people on here and both in the real world, most people who are actually trying to lose weight are significantly overweight or obese with 30+ pounds to lose.

I don't know where you're getting that I'm saying being muscular is the same as being overweight. It's well-founded that increased muscle mass required increased caloric expenditure. However, there is a problem getting there. As a beginner, the max muscle gain while in a caloric deficit is probably around 5 pounds. After that, if you want to gain more muscle mass, you'd need to go into a caloric surplus and lift heavy. You see, what you're saying only gets people a baby step toward their goals. People need to track their calories to specifically maintain their caloric deficit. If not, they will undoubtedly stall or even gain weight (both muscle and fat if on a lifting program).

This is why I called you a dumbass. I don't know who the regular guys you refer to are, but they don't exist in America. What about those individuals who don't eat like that in the first place? You make a lot of really ignorant assumptions about what people do and how they respond. There's a ton of variability. Secondly, that's not how it works. Most people who get fat can very easily stop eating junk food, but still take in a caloric surplus. It doesn't matter whether calories are from a Big Mac or a fruit salad. If you're getting too many calories, you will continue to gain weight. Also, cardio is an ineffective tool to actually lose weight. Like I said, aerobic activity is very closely linked to the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus is part of the puzzle controlling hunger sensation. If you do more aerobic activity, you tend to eat for it. On the other hand, weightlifting has a lesser effect on this regulation. That's why a tracked caloric deficit + heavy lifting program is the most effective way to lose weight.

Lmao, "common sense?" Your common sense assumes that every man maintains the same physical ability to lose weight. Because of that, your common sense is completely inadequate. In the sciences, an academic approach is required to actually have effective results. If you'd like to use your common sense with politics, be my guest; if you want to try to apply it to human physiology, you should try reading a book and realize how insufficient that is.

 

[MJinZ]

You don't understand the concept of what endorphins do. What are you trying to say their purpose is in reference to weight loss?

Real experience as in REAL experience. I'm not asking for a degree or a license. I'm asking for a logical understanding of the physical and psychological aspects of weight loss. Beginner gains crap out after a month or two. At the suggested rate of weight loss (1-1.5 pounds per week), very, very few people will reach their goals during that time. Having dealt with dozens of people on here and both in the real world, most people who are actually trying to lose weight are significantly overweight or obese with 30+ pounds to lose.

I don't know where you're getting that I'm saying being muscular is the same as being overweight. It's well-founded that increased muscle mass required increased caloric expenditure. However, there is a problem getting there. As a beginner, the max muscle gain while in a caloric deficit is probably around 5 pounds. After that, if you want to gain more muscle mass, you'd need to go into a caloric surplus and lift heavy. You see, what you're saying only gets people a baby step toward their goals. People need to track their calories to specifically maintain their caloric deficit. If not, they will undoubtedly stall or even gain weight (both muscle and fat if on a lifting program).

This is why I called you a dumbass. I don't know who the regular guys you refer to are, but they don't exist in America. What about those individuals who don't eat like that in the first place? You make a lot of really ignorant assumptions about what people do and how they respond. There's a ton of variability. Secondly, that's not how it works. Most people who get fat can very easily stop eating junk food, but still take in a caloric surplus. It doesn't matter whether calories are from a Big Mac or a fruit salad. If you're getting too many calories, you will continue to gain weight. Also, cardio is an ineffective tool to actually lose weight. Like I said, aerobic activity is very closely linked to the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus is part of the puzzle controlling hunger sensation. If you do more aerobic activity, you tend to eat for it. On the other hand, weightlifting has a lesser effect on this regulation. That's why a tracked caloric deficit + heavy lifting program is the most effective way to lose weight.

Well, I guess I don't have the experience to deal with heavily overweight people or obese people. For everyone I've met who are like 20 - 30 lbs or so overweight, it's pretty easy to shed it while getting big and not really having to deal with counting calories.

It's a benefit of being a man. :sneaky:

Re: Endorphins - they make you feel good when your body has been taxed enough. It's a good indication of a good workout, that's all I was saying.

I was saying for most people, you don't need to count calories or figure out a calorie deficit. By lifting hard enough and working out your heart (not doing aerobic for burning calories), you'll get there without having to be hungry. Hungry + weight lifting = useless IMO.

And it works long term because you eventually reach a good balance of muscle & body fat &#37; and heart health, and if you really wanted to lose more fat to gain the really lean/cut look, then you can start cutting back calories and doing more cardio.

The theory here is that even if you maintain a steady diet and you keep gaining muscle, you'll be effectively cutting your calories (and you'll really lose a lot of fat while doing it).

Wait - I realized I am operating under the assumption that men want to be more muscular. Sure you can be hungry + lift weights and just shed fat if you want to look like a weakling. The beauty of getting fit is that your body can become strong and good looking at the same time.