Not another advice thread!

statto25

Folks I looking for a little guidance here on a workout path for the next 12 weeks. I've was doing stronglifts since December and made some good progress strength wise.
In the last 4 weeks I've dialled back the weight and upped the reps, still doing the same lifts and adding in additional exercises. I've also upped the cardio adding in 2/3 bike spins a week depending on work commitments. These spins are usually 45-50 mins travelling 16KM and are a mix of flat and some small hills.
I'm 5'8 and 82KG so I want to try and drop back to 78/79 KG while reducing body fat. I've added muscle especially to my chest, shoulders and back and I'm not keen on getting any bigger. My clothes are starting to get too tight and as I'm a short bigger sizes fit on top but are too long in length. Might seem trivial but I like a tidier look when it comes to clothing.
So to the advice part.....while continuing the bike spins and maybe adding 10 mins to them, do I continue on high reps low weight or so I go low reps high weight?
My food is decent, not perfect by any means but I'll admit I don't eat enough. I have a strange relationship with food and having been near 14 stone in the past I'm always afraid of the consequences of eating the wrong foods.
Any advice is welcome

marialouise

statto25 wrote: »

My food is decent, not perfect by any means but I'll admit I don't eat enough. 

There's your answer. Most of the changes will come from your diet, not from the gym. 
You need to consume fewer calories than your body is using in order to lose weight. Have you tried using MyFitnessPal? It's an app where you set a weight loss goal and it tells you how many calories to eat. You weigh and log all your foods and then you get a really clear idea of what's good and what could be improved. There's not really any "wrong foods", the general guidelines would be to eat whole foods like lean cuts of meat, fish, plenty of vegetables, unrefined carbs like sweet potato, oats.. healthy fats like nuts, avocado, and try and get about 150g of protein in every day if you can, especially on a training day. Then get about 30% from your fats, and the rest from carbs (this is just a guide, mess around with it if you want afterwards). Cut back on junk food which is high in sugar and fat and which doesn't keep you full. For more about diet maybe read this article: https://authoritynutrition.com/healthy-eating-for-beginners/
I think many people here have had an unusual relationship with food, including myself, but try to see it as fuel for your body and fuel for your workouts, find foods and recipes you like and try to just enjoy good food! 
For what it's worth I'd stick to higher reps of lighter weights but ones which still challenge you, but that's maybe something other members will offer more insight on.

statto25

marialouise wrote: »

There's your answer. Most of the changes will come from your diet, not from the gym.
You need to consume fewer calories than your body is using in order to lose weight. Have you tried using MyFitnessPal? It's an app where you set a weight loss goal and it tells you how many calories to eat. You weigh and log all your foods and then you get a really clear idea of what's good and what could be improved. There's not really any "wrong foods", the general guidelines would be to eat whole foods like lean cuts of meat, fish, plenty of vegetables, unrefined carbs like sweet potato, oats.. healthy fats like nuts, avocado, and try and get about 150g of protein in every day if you can, especially on a training day. Then get about 30% from your fats, and the rest from carbs (this is just a guide, mess around with it if you want afterwards). Cut back on junk food which is high in sugar and fat and which doesn't keep you full. For more about diet maybe read this article: https://authoritynutrition.com/healthy-eating-for-beginners/
I think many people here have had an unusual relationship with food, including myself, but try to see it as fuel for your body and fuel for your workouts, find foods and recipes you like and try to just enjoy good food!
For what it's worth I'd stick to higher reps of lighter weights but ones which still challenge you, but that's maybe something other members will offer more insight on.

I use MyFitness pal but I tend to just forget to log what I eat. My lunches would typically consist of a chicken breast or salmon with spinach, avocado, grated carrot, maybe some feta cheese. That's not everyday however and I might have a sandwich from the local deli once a week. Breakfast is usually 2 slices of wholemeal bread with Peanut Butter (Meridian) and 2 scoops of Flavhans Hi-8 Museli. Dinner is usually homemade chciken curry, spicy mince with fresh pasta or crackslaw with a portion of rice. I have a small funsize snickers with a cup of tea in evening and have 2 squares of 72% chocolate at lunch. Protein shake 2 scoops after gym or bike. I don't eat crisps or sweets bar what I mentioned above. I enjoy a few pints but that's every second 3rd weekend at the moment really. I dont calculate macros and thats probably because I tend not to log my meals to keep track.

marialouise

Ok well you were looking for advice on how to lose bodyfat, and my advice is to eat fewer calories. Your diet looks grand but all I can think when reading it is how much?? How much avocado, how much chicken breast, how much rice? It's completely irrelevant telling me what brand of peanut butter you're using, because what's important is whether you're using 20g (115 calories) or 40g (230 calories) of it. It's very difficult for the naked eye to tell those weights apart and as you can see it can have a serious impact on the calorie intake. You've calculated your exercise to the minute, the rep, the weights... if you're serious about losing fat, my advice would be to get serious about tracking your food.

statto25

marialouise wrote: »

Ok well you were looking for advice on how to lose bodyfat, and my advice is to eat fewer calories. Your diet looks grand but all I can think when reading it is how much?? How much avocado, how much chicken breast, how much rice? It's completely irrelevant telling me what brand of peanut butter you're using, because what's important is whether you're using 20g (115 calories) or 40g (230 calories) of it. It's very difficult for the naked eye to tell those weights apart and as you can see it can have a serious impact on the calorie intake. You've calculated your exercise to the minute, the rep, the weights... if you're serious about losing fat, my advice would be to get serious about tracking your food.

I can't tell you how much unfortunately but as I said I take care in what I eat so I'm confident I'm eating below maintenance but maybe I'm not eating enough of the right thing. I'll give the tracking a go for the next couple of weeks. I mentioned the peanut butter brand as although it's calorific, other brands are pure muck and full of sugar so I wanted to clarify that. Thank for your responses so far.

Does anyone have pointers on the weights side of things. Maintain high reps low weight or go back to stronglifts?

Todd Gack

statto25 wrote: »

Does anyone have pointers on the weights side of things. Maintain high reps low weight or go back to stronglifts?

If you're only interested in getting stronger? then higher weight lower reps

I'd also second the measuring and tracking your intake exactly for a while anyway so your eyeball weighing in future will be more accurate. The muesli for example is fairly high in calories so 2 scoops could be hefty amount. The recommended serving sizes are a lot smaller than what the average person's actual serving would be.

statto25

Todd Gack wrote: »

If you're only interested in getting stronger? then higher weight lower reps

I'd also second the measuring and tracking your intake exactly for a while anyway so your eyeball weighing in future will be more accurate. The muesli for example is fairly high in calories so 2 scoops could be hefty amount. The recommended serving sizes are a lot smaller than what the average person's actual serving would be.

My aim would be to build on the strength I built doing stronglifts but I suppose I'm looking to reduce body fat too. That's why I'm a little confused on the path I should take. I suppose I'm looking to reduce my size all over. I can't imagine I'd get to far on a program such as stronglifts on a Calorie defecit.
I went and measured the scoop size for the museli and stuck it in MFP. 2 scoops were 23gs each so comes in at 165 cals without milk.

marialouise

statto25 wrote: »

I can't tell you how much unfortunately but as I said I take care in what I eat so I'm confident I'm eating below maintenance but maybe I'm not eating enough of the right thing. I'll give the tracking a go for the next couple of weeks. I mentioned the peanut butter brand as although it's calorific, other brands are pure muck and full of sugar so I wanted to clarify that. Thank for your responses so far.

Does anyone have pointers on the weights side of things. Maintain high reps low weight or go back to stronglifts?

I was just nitpicking at the peanut butter brand as one example of where I think you're focussing on the wrong detail. Losing weight is about reducing your calorie intake, and it's a very simple equation. To lose 4kg in 12 weeks you need to eat about 350kcal below your maintenance calories, every single day. So if you hypothetically required 2000kcal every day to maintain your current weight at your current activity level, you would now need to eat 1650kcal every day for the next 12 weeks. The calorie deficit can be created through diet or exercise but the effect of exercise on this is minimal, as you're already quite active the easiest way to achieve it is to eat a bit less. 
1650 calories can come from rubbish foods or good foods, it's still 1650kcal and will result in weight loss. Of course if you want to not feel hungry, and get plenty of nutrients, the 1650kcal should be made up of wholesome  nutrient-dense and filling foods, but you can also fit treats in etc. What I meant about focussing on the detail here is your body doesn't know if it got 200kcal from Meridian Peanut butter or 200kcal from sugar-filled-rubbish-added-peanut butter, all it knows is it got 200kcal.  Also, your body doesn't think "oh great, this is avocado so it's fine, these calories don't count". I usually eat half an avocado and today that half was 75g! Usually it's only 40-50g! That means half an avocado can be anywhere from 80-160kcal, which is a big difference when you're trying to be careful!
You've mentioned in two separate posts the "right thing" and the "wrong foods" - would you like to elaborate on what you think these are? I hope  I've explained that your body doesn't really mind, you sound like you have a really well balanced diet so I wouldn't worry too much about right or wrong. See what calorie goal MFP gives you, aim for around 150g protein, 30% fat and you're good to go. 
You'd be surprised how well you can keep going on Stronglifts in a deficit, so if you're enjoying it, keep going. I googled more articles on High reps vs Low reps and they're sort of inconclusive but do suggest 6-15 reps (as opposed to 1-5).. Mix it up, maybe lower reps for compound lifts and higher reps for accessory work. Make the weights challenging and keep your rests short if you're doing higher reps and low weight. Again I'm sure other posters will give better advice with regards to the training.

bladespin

Very much the same boat, 5'8 and done a transformation plan last year that briught me from 14'3 to (currently) 12'3.
This involved dropping weight with a mix of weight training and HIIT and of course diet, had been doing steady state cardio for a year with f all results, the diet was the main thing but when combined with hiit the results were accelerated.
Stacked on lots of lean muscle since Christmas by carefully upping cals with weight training, if I feel I'm putting fat on I'll do the hiit again and it burns off fairly easily. Diet is still priority.
Maybe try swap the cycling for some hiit or mix some in along with it, 15 mins every second day is all it takes.

statto25

marialouise wrote: »

You've mentioned in two separate posts the "right thing" and the "wrong foods" - would you like to elaborate on what you think these are

I suppose I am referring to what are perceived as good foods and nutritionally are good for you but are high in calories and on a controlled diet may actually do more harm than good. I have started tracking my intake so I'll stick with that for a couple of weeks and maintain the training I doing.

marialouise

statto25 wrote: »

I suppose I am referring to what are perceived as good foods and nutritionally are good for you but are high in calories and on a controlled diet may actually do more harm than good. I have started tracking my intake so I'll stick with that for a couple of weeks and maintain the training I  doing.

I kind of see what you're saying now. Going back to the foods you listed, there are just a few you need to pay attention to. In general, lean meats and fish (chicken, turkey, prawns, tuna, cod, very lean beef) will be about 90-110kcal for 100g. 100g of salmon however could be 180kcal, so you need to track those kind of foods for a while to understand where the majority of calories are coming from. I already explained about "half an avocado", so high-calorie foods are indeed ones you need to watch out for. I use coconut oil, olive oil, nuts, grass-fed butter, oily fish every day, but I do weigh them first. Dark chocolate is another one. That being said though, I wouldn't cut out avocado to fit in my snickers with my cup of tea. Don't cut out the good fats because you've gone over your calorie intake, see which foods are the least "bang for your buck" and try and cut back on those. 
Things like broccoli and cauliflower then you can pretty much eat as much as you want! They are very low in calories for their volume, so don't be afraid to fill up on veggies. 
Are you usually hungry? There's not much protein in your breakfast but maybe you find it satisfying so don't feel the need to change it. I'd be inclined to throw an egg or two in there and cut back on the muesli but that's my own preference. 
Well done on starting to track. Try and hit 150g protein for a few days and see what happens with the rest and come back for an update. Good luck!

LouisSmith1

bladespin wrote: »

Very much the same boat, 5'8 and done a transformation plan last year that briught me from 14'3 to (currently) 12'3.
This involved dropping weight with a mix of weight training and HIIT and of course diet, had been doing steady state cardio for a year with f all results, the diet was the main thing but when combined with hiit the results were accelerated.
Stacked on lots of lean muscle since Christmas by carefully upping cals with weight training, if I feel I'm putting fat on I'll do the hiit again and it burns off fairly easily. Diet is still priority.
Maybe try swap the cycling for some hiit or mix some in along with it, 15 mins every second day is all it takes.

same

Caliden

Get a kitchen scales from Argos for 15 quid. Best money ever spent and you can reliably track your calories by weighing food if you're serious about it.

statto25

marialouise wrote: »

Are you usually hungry?

Yes, I'm always hungry. I would agree with you on my breakfast its probably not the best but I enjoy it so I'm not as inclined to change. I might start getting out of the cot a bit earlier and have some eggs rather than the museli and see how it goes.

marialouise

Always hungry is not good! Some hunger is of course natural if we are eating at a calorie deficit, but you shouldn't be going most of the day feeling hungry. Protein and fats (enough but not too much!) are key to helping us feel full. You said you logged a few days, what were your protein fat and carb (grams or %) like at the end of the day? I don't have anything left to say that I haven't already said or linked in this thread.....get plenty of volume in low calorie foods, get some protein with every meal and a little bit of healthy fats, drink loads of water. If I ate your breakfast I'd be hungry an hour later.