Starting back the second time round

_davidsmith_

So im 29 5ft 9 on a good day and had an active job (mechanic). 3 years ago i was just back from 9 months in the classroom (training for job) and drinking and eating myself into a pit and was tipping the scales at 94kgs. now i would be what my mammy calls "stocky" not excessive fat with zero muscle, id have a good frame, but 94kgs is 94kgs.

I started in northwood gym and eating the "keto" diet. As close to zero carbs as i could and training free weights. So id be going gym 5 or 6 days a week using mainly dumbells. As i go to the gym alone i dont ask people for spots so i tend not to do compount lifts.

I grouped muscle groups also, so chest triceps, back biceps and shoulders and legs. With very little to no cardio. I was basically doing 3 sets of 8 reps for most exercises, flys presses curls extentions, the usual nothing spectacular.

I ended up losing 21kgs on this in about 9-10 months, and was 73kgs at my lightest. Now i was on protein and creatine and BCAAs towards the end and went up to 78 with water retention ect.

But then i took my foot off the gas got myself into a relationship and spent a year undoing all my good work, i had used nights out on the pull as a major motivator. And with that gone and the new comfortableness of the relationship i stopped all together.

Now iv moved into a office part of my job so im no longer active on a daily basis.

Now earlier this year i had some liver abnormalities, my ALT level were elevated to about 95 (should be 7-50) and couldn’t figure out why. So went off the booze and stopped eating processed foods and started back in the gym and got it back within good levels.

Then i sprained my lower back and it knocked me out for a while.

So im back on the gym buzz now.

But my thinking is maybe the fad diets keto ect (and my tendency to drink way to much on occasion) may have lead to the liver issues, that and maybe the supplements.

So now im eating clean, fruit for breakfast maybe muesli, then a salad for lunch (good size) and then a nice dinner. Iv stopped snacking and stopped all fizzy drinks and heavily processed foods.

And now im using the cross trainer to warm up, im up to 30mins which burns about 330kcals then i hit the weights. At the moment im still hitting the weights but doing more reps of lighter weights because my back is still not able for it.

Im currently 86.5kgs down a couple in the first 3 weeks, but its quite disheartening that its much slower than when i previously was on keto and active.

Im doing this naturally, im good with the non snacking and eating cleanly, try to moderate carbs and bad fats, no diet drinks, i drink a good bit of coffee but black or a bit of low fat milk no sugar or sweetener. Id have a banana after the gym and im trying to drink 3 litres of water a day.

Anyone any thoughts on this or advice?

Wesser

Yeah sounds good to me. Cut out the synthetic stuff and eat real food. That's what your body wants. If you put bad diesel into your car it won't run well yeah? Same with your body

Alf Veedersane

Do you use MyFitnessPal or similar?

_davidsmith_

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

Do you use MyFitnessPal or similar?

No i just kinda go it alone really, i might start using it

Alf Veedersane

_davidsmith_ wrote: »

No i just kinda go it alone really, i might start using it

I only ask because you used do no cardio and now you use the crosstrainer and mentioned what you burned on it.

These 'calories burned' counters are notorious for overestimating what was actually burned but people use them in MFP and see they have, for example, another 330 kcals to play with after a go on the crosstrainer.

The reality is that they haven;t burned as much and allow themselves a little more food and then what was a 300kcal daily deficit is a 150 kcal deficit and things slow down.

But that's all moot since you don't

If you're concerned it's slowing down, have a look at portion sizes.

Other than that, if it's moving in the direction you want and you've found a sustainable way of eating and exercising, then you're on the right track and I wouldn't be concerned about the rate at which it's happening.

_davidsmith_

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

I only ask because you used do no cardio and now you use the crosstrainer and mentioned what you burned on it.

These 'calories burned' counters are notorious for overestimating what was actually burned but people use them in MFP and see they have, for example, another 330 kcals to play with after a go on the crosstrainer.

The reality is that they haven;t burned as much and allow themselves a little more food and then what was a 300kcal daily deficit is a 150 kcal deficit and things slow down.

But that's all moot since you don't

If you're concerned it's slowing down, have a look at portion sizes.

Other than that, if it's moving in the direction you want and you've found a sustainable way of eating and exercising, then you're on the right track and I wouldn't be concerned about the rate at which it's happening.

Yeah i used to be on shift which was very hard but now im 9-5 so im in a good place.

I eat a banana at 8
porridge/museli and a apple at 10
Tuna salad at 1
will hit the gym for 30mins crosstrainer and 30mins weights
then dinner usually chicken/mince in a wrap or with rice or pasta
and of course 3 black coffees and about 3 litres of water

Now i might have a bag of popcorn or a pack of the ricecake things, if i need it but thats my usual now, and im finding it very easy

Zillah

_davidsmith_ wrote: »

As i go to the gym alone i dont ask people for spots so i tend not to do compount lifts.

This is not something to be concerned about unless you're pushing yourself to your failure point. I deadlift, squat and bench, and I've never had anyone spot me. Just make sure you start relatively light, know your limits and ease into it slowly. Don't try to work to failure or anything so dramatic, there's no need.

_davidsmith_

Zillah wrote: »

This is not something to be concerned about unless you're pushing yourself to your failure point. I deadlift, squat and bench, and I've never had anyone spot me. Just make sure you start relatively light, know your limits and ease into it slowly. Don't try to work to failure or anything so dramatic, there's no need.

Yeah at the moment im hitting the cardio as much as i can so hitting the dumbells and higher sets of light reps is fitting in nicely and im gradually building up my strength again, along with losing about 1kg a week.

When i get the inches down to a point where im happy to try and build muscle, i think ill start with the compound movements.

I know its not technically ideal but what works works. If i start to see the weight loss plateau i can change it up.