So, Im on this new diet, sort of thing...

[MikeW]

I found that i should eat 3350 calories to maintain and 2800 if i wanna lose. Also said men shouldnt eat less than 1800 a day. The thing is, even before the diet, i dont think i was consuming that much food.

Im wondering if i could go back to the way i was eating before and just do the workout. We still werent eating out or drinking soda, but now we're watching calorie intake and portion size.

[Masamune]

How Many Calories Does a Man Burn By Doing Nothing?
To begin with, the definition of an average "man" here will be a man who stands 5' 10" tall, is 30 years of age, weighs 150 lbs, and has a normal build. The definition of "doing nothing" can also vary. For example, an average man who is sleeping in a reclined position will burn roughly 61 calories each hour, or 1464 calories in a day. That same man would, sitting around watching television, burn 68 calories per hour, or 1632 calories in a day. If the man were to spend his time sitting down and reading, however, he would burn 88 calories per hour, which translates into 2112 calories in a day.

How Many Calories Does a Woman Burn By Doing Nothing?
Once again, the definition of the "average" woman needs to be defined. The "average" woman in this explanation will be 5' 5" tall, 130 lbs, 30 years of age, and have a normal build. Such a woman would, while sleeping, burn about 53 calories per hour. If the woman spent her time "doing nothing" by sitting quietly and watching television she'd burn about 59 calories per hour. If, on the other hand, she spent her time sitting and reading, she'd burn 77 calories per hour. So, sleeping would burn her 1272 calories per day, watching TV would burn 1416 calories per day, and reading would burn 1848 calories per day.

*Pulled from an article in ehow.com

Good info here regarding calories, but a fun fact as well.

TLDR: Men burn just short of 1500 calories a day if the man does nothing (sleeping on a couch for 24 hours)
Women burn just shy of 1300 calories a day doing the same thing.

[MikeW]

So if my job consist of 30/30/30 sitting, standing and walking, id burn AT LEAST 1500 calories? That dont sound right, lol.

Even if i assumed i burned 1000 calories a day, and i ate 2000, id burn half what i intake, plus if i burn another 1000 at the gym, there's my 2000 calories burned.

Like i said, even before this new diet, i dont think i consumed over 1200 calories a day. Doubling that would be hard.

Thats the thing; foods that are good for you are lower in calories. Foods that are bad for you are high in calories. It's easy to eat light all day then take in a 1000 calorie "Fast Food Dinner" at the end of the day. You're still gonna get fat. Or any exercise you did do would only keep your weight at bay.

I want to eat enough that my body doesnt starve, but i dont wanna eat so much that i only maintain my weight. I need to build muscle, burn fat and maintain proper energy and strength.

[Julianachos]

Try fidgeting more often, if you don't do it. I've heard it helps burns more calories.

[ric3rboi23]

i would die if i were you. shiiiiiit.

[mercyboy]

just do activites i did turbo jam and p90x 2-3 times a week for 2 hrs....i lose 40 pounds in 3 months....no jokes

[Law Grandeur]

are there height limitations in the military? also what is the weight limitation too? ive always wondered this

[Bcozzi71]

When I look into calories burned and all that crap I dont count what i do in a job. I look at that as bonus calories burned. When did the app it said i burned like 3000 calories a day which i know i dont lol.

[Bcozzi71]

Bam

wavelength Guide To Bodybuilding V3.0

The Goal Of Bodybuilding Is To Improve Body Composition By Losing Fat And/or Gaining Muscle Mass. If Total Body Weight Goes Down In The Process, The Method Is Generally Referred To As "cutting", If Total Body Weight Goes Up, It's Called "bulking", If Body Weight Stays About The Same, It's Called "recomping".


1 Cutting

1.1 Essential Rules

- Workout With Weights About 3 Times A Week.
- Eat At Least 1g Protein / Lb Of Lean Body Mass A Day.
- Eat Some Fruit, Veggies/salad, And Some Essential Fatty Acids (efas) Every Day.
- Above That Eat Whatever You Want, Preferably A Wide Variety Of Foods.
- Adjust Your Food Intake So That The Desired Rate Of Weight Loss Is Maintained.

The Recommended Rate Of Weight Loss Depends On Your Current Body Fat Level. Generally, The Higher Your Bodyfat, The Higher The Rate Of Weight Loss Can Potentially Be. The Best Indication For The Rate Being Too High Is If You Rapidly Lose Strength In The Gym. In This Case, Increase Your Intake And Go For A Smaller Rate Of Weight Loss. In General, A Rate Of About 1-2lbs Per Week Is Recommended.

Any Cutting Method That Follows The Above Rules Is Close To Optimal, Any Further Details Will Not Have Significant Effect On Body Composition. If You Already Have A Meal Plan, Just Check If These Rules Are Followed And Adjust If Not.

1.2 Measuring Progress And Adjusting Food Intake

- Weigh Yourself Once A Week, Always At The Same Time (e.g. Right After Waking Up).
- Don't Panic If Your Weight Stays The Same Or Even Goes Up For One Or Two Weeks.
- If Your Weight Does Not Go Down For More Than Three Weeks, Slightly Reduce Calories.
- If Your Rate Of Weight Loss Is Above The Desired Value, Slightly Increase Calories.
- The Change In Daily Calories From Those Adjustments Should Not Exceed 500 Cals.
- After Adjustment, Stay On The New Value For At Least Three Weeks Before Adjusting Again.

If You Have Never Done A Cutting Diet, It's Always Better To Start With More Calories And Reduce Slowly Until The Desired Rate Of Weight Loss Is Maintained. If You Stay Patient, You Will Not Have To Adjust Very Often. With More Experience, You Will Not Have To Count Calories Anymore, But As A Beginner It Is Probably A Good Idea.

1.3 Unessential Factors

Since Many Questions Revolve Around Further Details Of Cutting Diets, Here Is A List Of Factors That I Believe To Be Of Insignificant Effect For Body Composition:

- Cardio And Fat Burners,
- Meal Timing And Meal Frequency,
- Protein / Carb / Fat Distribution Throughout The Day,
- Carb / Fat Ratio,
- Sodium Intake,
- Moderate Alcohol Intake,
- Use Of Supplements Resp. Meal Replacements,
- "clean" Food Vs. Junk Food (sugar And Saturated Fat).

All These Factors Should Be Used As Tools To Make The Diet As Convenient As Possible. Many People E.g. Have An Easier Time Dieting With Eating More Calories And Doing Cardio Or Taking Fat Burners. Some People Like Myself Have An Easier Time Without Cardio And Fat Burners. In My Experience, The End Result (body Composition Improvement) Is Not Significantly Influenced. Another Example Is Protein Supplements. I E.g. Use Whey Powder To Meet My Daily Protein Intake Out Of Convenience. I Could Just As Well Get All My Protein From Other Sources. A Third Example Is Meal Frequency And Timing. This Tool Should Be Used To Reduce Hunger As Much As Possible Throughout The Day. For Some People That Means Eating 6 Times A Day, For Others It Means Eating Only Once Or Twice A Day.


2 Bulking And Recomping

The Only Factor That Changes For Bulking Or Recomping Is That The Rate Of Weight Change X Is Positive Resp. Zero. All Other Essential Rules Are Exactly The Same As For Cutting (see Sections Above).

For Bulking, The Critical Factor Is The Value Of X. Everyone Has A Different Ability To Gain Weight With A Certain Ratio Of Muscle Vs. Fat Gain. This Ability Is Dependent On Things Like Genetics, Age, Training Experience, Etc. The Ratio Will Decrease The Higher X Is, But Not In A Linear Way. The Trick Is To Find The Optimal Value For X, Where The Ratio Is Still Close To Optimum. Unfortunally, This Is Solely A Matter Of Experience. My Advise Would Be To Increase Calories By 500 Over Maintenance And Check If Weight Goes Up While Fat Gains Are Still Tolerable. If No Weight Is Gained, Increase Calories Again. If Fat Gains Are Too High, Decrease Calories.

For Recomping (staying At About The Same Total Body Weight), Just Weigh Yourself From Time To Time And Adjust Food Intake Accordingly To Maintain That Weight. You Can E.g. Weigh Yourself In The Morning And Just Skip Your Last Meal Of The Day If You're Above Target Weight. You Can Determine Your Progress By How Much Strength You Gain In The Gym, By Taking Measurements (e.g. Waist Size), Or Simply By Looking In The Mirror.


3 Weight Training

Weight Training Refers To Intense (anaerobic) Strength Training In This Guide. This Applies To All Three Variants Of Bodybuilding (cutting, Bulking, And Recomping). There Are Many Methods Of Weight Training, A Typical 3 Day Split Program Is Assembled Here (the Numbers Refer To Number Of Exercises):

Day1: 3 X Chest, 2 X Biceps, 1 X Abs
Day2: Rest
Day3: 4 X Legs, 2 X Shoulders
Day4: Rest
Day5: 2 X Back, 2 X Triceps, 1 X Traps, 1 X Abs
Day6: Rest
Day7: Rest

For Each Exercise, Do One Light Warmup Set, Then Go Up With The Weight On The Next 2-3 Sets, And Do One Or Two Heavy Sets To Failure Or Close To Failure. For The Smaller Exercises (e.g. Biceps), The Number Of Sets Can Also Only Be 3-4 Though. Repetition Numbers Should Be In The Range Of 15-6. For The Exercises One Could E.g. Do (in The Above Order):

3 X Chest: Bb Presses, Db Incline Presses, Dips
2 X Biceps: Db Curls, Concentration/cable Curls
1 X Abs: Situps
4 X Legs: Squats Or Leg Presses, Leg Extensions, Leg Curls, Calf Raises
2 X Shoulders: Db Presses, Seated Rear Lateral Db Raises
2 X Back: Pullups, Cable Pulldowns
2 X Triceps: Skull Crushers, Cable Pushdowns
1 X Traps: Db Shrugs
1 X Abs: Leg Raises

These Are Of Course Only Examples, There Are Plenty Of Other Exercises That Can Be Used As Replacements. There Are Also Plenty Of Other Workout Plans Such As Hst, German Volume Training, Etc. What's Most Important Is That The Training Is Intense And That All Major Muscle Groups Are Involved Throughout The Week.

[Bcozzi71]

more

4 Psychological Tips and Tricks

- It is possible that you will not "see" changes in the mirror unless your bodyfat is rather low. Don't panic, as long as the rules are followed, everything is right on track.

- If at all, only assess your physique right after a workout. At other times it's too dependent on water retention, and the mind will play tricks on you (telling you your progress sucks, etc.).

- Have a cheat/pig-out day once in a while, where you eat what you want. I had one every week on my last diet. Don't feel guilty about it, as long as the rules are still followed (total intake still leads to the desired rate of weight change), everything is allright.

- Don't take the whole thing too serious. It's better to not care about it so much. See it more as being the coach of another person, rather than yourself.


5 Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How do I determine how much calories I should consume?
A: You can just go by what you currently eat and reduce from there as described in the guide. Alternativiely, use a calorie calculator like the "Total Metabolism Forecaster", see link section.

Q: Is it important to get the same amount of calories resp. macros every day?
A: No, it's OK to eat a little less one day and more the next.

Q: How do I determine my lean body mass for calculating my protein intake?
A: You have to take your total body weight and subtract your fat weight. If you e.g. weigh 200lbs and your bodyfat is 20% (=40lbs), your lean body mass is 200lbs - 40lbs = 160lbs. If you don't know your bodyfat, just take a guess. When in doubt, just eat a little more. However, if for some reason, you can't eat as much protein, just eat a little less, most people will still do fine.

Q: Does it matter where I get my protein from and what are good protein sources?
A: Generally, it does not matter. You can get your protein from meat, fish, eggs, cheese, protein powder, etc. Although there are differences in quality (regarding muscle sparing effect), they can easily be made up for with just a little more quantity.

Q: I work out less/more than 3 times a week, is that OK?
A: Yes, as long as all other essential rules are followed. Some people get away with less, some do better on more.

Q: I lost a lot of weight in the first few weeks but weight loss has slowed down, why?
A: The initial weight loss was probably mostly water loss. Stay at the current intake for at least another 3 weeks. If weight loss stalls, slightly reduce calories as described in the guide.

Q: What about keto diets?
A: Principally, keto diets (very low carb diets), as long as they follow all rules, would be fine. IMO, some people have a problem preserving muscle mass on a keto diet. For other people it works great. I don't think keto diets provide a significant advantage other than maybe being more convenient for some people.

Q: What about post workout nutrition?
A: I would not intentionally starve myself of protein after a workout. A meal containing some protein or a shake is perfectly fine.

Q: Apart from body composition, what about health?
A: First of all, it is important to distinguish between the goal of optimal body composition and the goal of optimal health. For the former, the guide provides all essential rules. For the latter, opinions vary a lot between experts and over time (see e.g. saturated fat, GI, food processing, cholesterol, etc.). Therefore, IMO the best way to go is to eat a wide variety of foods.

Q: How can I lose fat in certain areas of my body?
A: Although there are theories that spot reduction is possible to a certain degree, generally IMO it's not feasible. You can only reduce overall bodyfat and wait for the problem areas to come in.

Q: What exactly is your diet?
A: My cutting diet is somewhat extreme (see Links section). For bulking, I add a meal or two. That's just the most convenient way for me. However, every other diet that follows the essential rules is also perfectly OK.

Q: Should I eat differently on workout days than on off days?
A: That's not necessary, but if you're hungrier on workout days, you can eat a little more (out of convenience).

Q: Does this guide also work for girls?
A: Of course!


6 Links

How to lose fat for Noobs: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=113693871
Wavelength Cutting Diet: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showpo...1&postcount=33
Total Metabolism Forecaster: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=114980801
Minimum Nutritional Requirements: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=113310851


7 Acknowledgements

Thanks to everyone helping out in the "How to lose fat for Noobs" thread, especially:
iDrive, th3pwn3r, Djin, Robby99999, HerveDuchemin, AntoineDufour, toiletmoose, b_white, mafiosoromano, ZidaneValor, Silleli, reaperchild, Vietgoboi, IzzyT, Marine man, FloridaGator, lmzerger, S1FU, chickeneater, Sabouneh, spak, hankst, Teflon_Don, MaximumIn10sity, Kamaitachi, older2533, TheReductionist, NorCALSpeed, Dominikm, Bigwill21, mrpacijr, Westboarder, TheManofSteel, N03xcus3s, Emma-Leigh, and finally Alan Aragon for making the thread a sticky.

[breeziebabyyy]

.................I'm not on any type of a diet or anything BUT I take a suppliment called Ultra-Mega for Women Active works pretty good for me... look into it, they have it for men and stuff

[**CB7**]

I don't recommend this at all, but I lost 10lbs in a week by just changing my diet to a 1000 calories a day.

I hit the 190 mark and told myself if I ever did that, I'm putting myself on a diet. Needless to say, it worked. I got down to 180 in just under a week.

I know the diet was unhealthy, but ever since then, I really watch what I eat. It's been almost a year now and I'm still at 180-182.

[MikeW]

are there height limitations in the military? also what is the weight limitation too? ive always wondered this

Yes, there are.

http://usmilitary.about.com/od/army/l/blmaleweight.htm

I don't recommend this at all, but I lost 10lbs in a week by just changing my diet to a 1000 calories a day.
I hit the 190 mark and told myself if I ever did that, I'm putting myself on a diet. Needless to say, it worked. I got down to 180 in just under a week.
I know the diet was unhealthy, but ever since then, I really watch what I eat. It's been almost a year now and I'm still at 180-182.

Im currently consuming less than 1000calories/day plus 60+mins of working out every day and i dont think i'll lose 10 lbs in a week, lol, but i guess people are different.

Brian, that's good stuff. Like i said, before this, i didnt eat more than 1200-1500 calories/day, so doubling that will be hard. I may just go back to the way i was eating before only i'll try to have a bigger, better breakfast and bigger snacks.

The thing is; i feel like if i consume more calories, i'll be gaining weight. Ive got that mindset of "eat less, burn more = faster weight loss".

[Masamune]

So if my job consist of 30/30/30 sitting, standing and walking, id burn AT LEAST 1500 calories? That dont sound right, lol.

1500 is roughly the amount of calories your body burns maintaining itself including, but not limited to: digesting food, pumping your heart, breathing, and maintaining the functionality of other organs including the kidneys, liver, brain and bones.

You are very right though, it's the food intake that tends to destroy your body weight. I can't describe to you the frothing, unbridled hated I have for fad diets like the Atkins Diet that do nothing but hurt your body in the long run. The safest, most healthy way to lose weight and keep it off is to modify your food intake so that you burn more than you take in. When you reach a happy weight that plan can be modified somewhat, so long as your calories taken in dont exceed your calories burned.

Overall a very smart, very healthy weightloss plan you have there!

Brief word of caution, don't get discouraged when your weightloss starts to slow WAY down. Your body is panicking since you're deviating from your food norms, and is in preservation mode, trying to maintain as much body weight as possible. Just keep at it, eventually your body will readjust and you'll start sheding the pounds again. Key word here is PERSISTANCE!

[MikeW]

Well, being my size, and the amount of time i have every day, Im limited to about an hour a day. Maybe 90 minutes. Like i said, between an hour on a bike/pedalling machine and a good mile(+) walk, i can burn well over 1000 calories.

Only problem is, taking in less than 1000 calories is not good for my body. I need to be taking in at least 1800.

I think if i tweak my normal regimen to exclude any and all bad foods and add a few more good foods, i think i could reach 1800/day. Plus, with me working out like i have been, i may not be burning off more than i take in, but im getting out and doing more than just a "walk around the block". Im talking about working up quite a sweat.

I have short-term goals and long-term goals. I know that as long as i keep at it and try not to get too discouraged, i should do fine. I dont have a set time in mind, although a year would be nice, lol.