Dropping weight too fast

[MarinePMI]

Copied from Scout site move.


padronanniversaryXGunny Sergeant
Rating: 3.1/5 this site
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dropping weight too fast
02/03/2017

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for the past month i've been working out 5-6 times a week for about a hour hitting my old football workout routine from college. i'm in my 40s now, and was 244 when i started. as of this morning when i weigh myself i'm at 219. i feel like i'm dropping weight way too fast. dropped 4 inches off my waist too and can see 4 boxes with definition now in my abs.

i've been supplementing protein about a 140-160g a day i top of my meals, and seem to keep dropping weight.

my strength is getting stronger too... i'm just worried i'm dropping weight way too fast and sometimes feel lightheaded

any nutritionists out there that can offer advice in terms of what my protein and caloric intake should be ?

just as a reference point i'm 5'11, 36 inch waist, wide shoulders (just shirts are 19 34/35) and i believe suit shoulder shoulders are 56-58

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30calDeathXFirst Sergeant
Rating: 3.1/5 this site
1099 posts this site
Re: dropping weight too fast
02/04/2017

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You should be fine

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MarinePMI

XFirst Sergeant
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Re: dropping weight too fast
02/05/2017 Last edited 02/05/2017 by MarinePMI

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PA,

It sounds like you're on the right track and are getting enough protein every day, but maybe running a little too lean on carbs and/or micro nutrients (though your measurements peg you as a endomorph body type, and therefore a little less sensitive to a carb deficit). Are you taking a multi-vitamin of some sort? How significant is your caloric deficit? Are you hitting your macro's? Have you planned for a "deload week" for recovery? (Proper/sufficient recovery becomes critical as we age; more so IMHO, than weight or volume of training.)

Here's a link to an article that has a macro calculator that I've used with pretty good success:

https://www.muscleforlife.com/macronutrient-calculator/

How quickly and the amount of weight loss depends a lot of factors (up to, and including loss of muscle mass as well), and varies by person as well as the stage at where they are in their exercise/training regimen.

Here's an article about cutting/weight loss that has some nuggets worth chewing on IMHO:

https://www.muscleforlife.com/rapid-weight-loss/

As you're seeing, diet has a lot to do with effective fat loss and muscle gains. Here's a link to an article that I have found helpful when cutting.

https://www.muscleforlife.com/healthy-meal-planning-tips/

When bulking I can usually wing it a bit, but when cutting, tracking everything you eat (including supplements) is absolutely required to ensure I'm hitting my target deficit. Mainly because I want to cut as quickly as possible, and bulk as slowly as possible (minimal fat gain while allowing a enough of a calorie surplus to grow lean muscle mass).

I think my initial cut after getting back into it was close to 6 months and I lost about 30lbs (while still gaining about 15lbs in LMM; yea for newbie recomp'ing gains). After that 6 months I could tell my metabolism was starting to crash (chronic over training symptoms of insomnia, restlessness etc.), so I went to maintenance level caloric intake for about two weeks (aka "reverse dieting"), and then to a bulk. I'm on that bulk now (7 months), and about ready to cut again.

With your dizziness/lightheaded'ness , I'd wager your either light in the carbs, or hitting that level of a cut where your body needs a break (at least at maintenance level caloric intake) to let you metabolism stabilize (6-8 weeks at maintenance level if you intend to start cutting again).

How's you insulin sensitivity? i.e. when you eat some sizeable amount of carbs (like a baked potato), do you feel the rush of energy (i.e. lack of drowsiness) and/or see a slight "pump" in your muscles?

Are you supplementing with anything, like some form of creatine monohydrate? I've found creatine (post workout supplement) a major benefit when cutting, since it gets ATP back into the muscles, reducing fatigue. As we age, I believe this becomes more important (as well as adjusting the volume of reps in a training regimen). BTW, for point of reference, I'll be 47 this year, and have found I've had to decrease volume from what I could do at age 30. My current volume is somewhere around 50-60 heavy reps (85% of 1RM) per major muscle group (Bench/Chest, Military press/shoulders, deadlift/back and squats/legs) per week. I tried going as high as 75 (four sets of three exercises per major muscle group), but after a few weeks it really ground me to exhaustion and impacted my ability to do effective heavy lifts, and so I went back to three heavy sets (per exercise) with some remedial sets during the week to target growth in certain weak areas. The website "Strength standards" has a calculator that let's me eyeball progress and identify weak areas that may be falling behind.

http://www.strengthstandards.co/#/

At any rate, sorry for rambling, but just wanted to post a couple suggestions and links to some articles to help you figure out what's going. IME, everyone is different when it comes to what is effective for them, so understanding the underlying science can often help us better understand how OUR body is reacting to exercise and diet.

Anyways, hopefully this helps some, and I'll leave you with a quote I think of often, as I get my ass out of bed at 3am every morning to hit the gym.

"Body building is an art, where your body is the canvas, the weights are your brushes, and your diet is the paint."

Best regards,





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padronanniversaryXGunny Sergeant
Rating: 3.1/5 this site
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Re: dropping weight too fast
02/06/2017

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a wealth of information i still need to digest. thank you for this. i really do need to start tracking religiously. hard with kids activities and family dinners, but something i am going to start requiring myself to do

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MarinePMI

XFirst Sergeant
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Re: dropping weight too fast
Tuesday at 8:15 AM Last edited Tuesday at 8:16 AM by MarinePMI

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Good on you for doing this while still having kids at home (not sure I could handle that, and work, and lifting).

As to tracking, you may just want to start loosely tracking and work up to a more accurate method that fits your lifestyle. calorieking.com/foods is your best friend for this...

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ScottnotianX25 MONTHS
Premium Member
First Sergeant
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Re: dropping weight too fast
Tuesday at 8:20 AM Last edited Tuesday at 8:21 AM by Scottnotian

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You would do ok if you targetted having 1.5grams of protein per pound of BW.As we get older we are less able to absord protein and so our protein intake must rise to maintain current muscle mass. The carbs comment is also spot on. I use organic oatmeal and supplement it with Wild Whey and bit of honey for taste. Of course, the 10kg of KitKats a day that I can't seem to stay away from are not helping with the waistline...



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snowhuntsmanXSergeant
Rating: 3.1/5 this site
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Re: dropping weight too fast
Wednesday at 1:27 PM

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you should work out a little less, balance is key.

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MarinePMI

XFirst Sergeant
Rating: 3.6/5 this site
2115 posts this site
Re: dropping weight too fast
Wednesday at 3:27 PM

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Scottnotian wrote:
Of course, the 10kg of KitKats a day that I can't seem to stay away from are not helping with the waistline...

​

Yep, them Kit-kat's will get you every time! LOL!

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snowhuntsmanXSergeant
Rating: 3.1/5 this site
102 posts this site
Re: dropping weight too fast
Thursday at 2:40 PM

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get chummy with the baccon

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[FuddLord]

That is so hard to read with all the "copy"


Whats your caloric intake ?
And your nutritional split between fats/carbs/protein (macros)

When I cut I try to keep it around 2-3lbs a week and I usually keep my carb intake under 50g a day.

Up your carbs to slow down the rapid weight loss

 

[Rerun7]

If you're losing too fast then up your calories a bit. When cutting weight I go for no more than 1.5lbs a week loss. Thats about the optimum rate of fat loss to maintain muscle mass.

If you aren't already tracking your calories and macros then start. It sounds extreme but about a year ago I started tracking every bite I eat. I weigh and measure all my food and keep a strict log. I use MyFitnessPal on the phone and it's really become very simple. I lost about 25lbs, doubled my lifts and have abs for the first time in my life.

Two easy ways to start off on macros. Just pick one and run with it. Adjust as needed.

1. 40% protein / 40% carbs / 20% fat

2. (my preference) 1gram of protein for each lb of body weight, .3-4grams of healthy fat for each lb of body weight, fill the rest of your calories with complex carbs.

 

[johnnycat]

MyFitnessPal is great. I prefer LoseIt which is very similar.

1-2 pounds per week is your goal - more than that and you're really risking building up gallstones

 

[joker1-1]

following

 

[Bradu]

If you're losing too fast then up your calories a bit. When cutting weight I go for no more than 1.5lbs a week loss. Thats about the optimum rate of fat loss to maintain muscle mass.

If you aren't already tracking your calories and macros then start. It sounds extreme but about a year ago I started tracking every bite I eat. I weigh and measure all my food and keep a strict log. I use MyFitnessPal on the phone and it's really become very simple. I lost about 25lbs, doubled my lifts and have abs for the first time in my life.

Two easy ways to start off on macros. Just pick one and run with it. Adjust as needed.

1. 40% protein / 40% carbs / 20% fat

2. (my preference) 1gram of protein for each lb of body weight, .3-4grams of healthy fat for each lb of body weight, fill the rest of your calories with complex carbs.

Excellent advice. A friend is a personal trainer and makes all his clients use myfitness pal to track calories. Track what your caloric intake is for a week or two so you have a baseline and increase it until you are losing 1-2 lbs a week or maintain your weight when you meet your goal.

 

[Guest]

All good advice here.

If I cut to fast my muscle mass goes with it.

 

[powdahound76]

Doing my first cut ever at almost 37. Always was a lean mean guy but my kid and work keep my long sessions to almost nill. I cut my cals and dropped to fast so added back on. I also do a free meal a week after eating well all day to keep my body from thinking its starving. I have heard that from a lot of guys. Once I hit my goal (7 lbs to go, 5 gone) i will start building again and this time eat well all the time vs eat whatever I can shove in. Cutting the IPA out helps me too.
Lots of stuff going on so its kinda nice to have one thing dialed up and working for me, the way I want it to.

With myfitness pal did you pay for the upgrade? I tried the free version and had some trouble getting it to work well.

 

[Rerun7]

I've always used the free version. I haven't had any issues with it on iOS. Good job on losing the 5, keep going!

Nothing wrong with a reasonable cheat meal per week to keep your sanity during a cut. As you get deeper into the cut I recommend doing a proper refeed day once a week to increase your leptin levels. Do some research on it but you essentially take one day to eat at maintenance by increasing your carb intake while maintaining your protein and fat macros. You'll gain a couple lbs the next day due to the added water from the carbs. The day after that my weight is back to normal and I start losing again. Works great.

 

[MarinePMI]

I've always used the free version. I haven't had any issues with it on iOS. Good job on losing the 5, keep going!

Nothing wrong with a reasonable cheat meal per week to keep your sanity during a cut. As you get deeper into the cut I recommend doing a proper refeed day once a week to increase your leptin levels. Do some research on it but you essentially take one day to eat at maintenance by increasing your carb intake while maintaining your protein and fat macros. You'll gain a couple lbs the next day due to the added water from the carbs. The day after that my weight is back to normal and I start losing again. Works great.

This^^^^^

Down to 11/12% now, and really needed to refeed (as well as additional HIIT cardio) to hit these lower percentages.

 

[Rerun7]

This is me too. At about 12% on my way to 10% so trying to increase my cardio and stay more disciplined. Gonna have to cut the pizza and Ben & Jerry's night for a few weeks!

 

[smruti]

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[cronos0000]

dropping weight to fast is a good thing because gaining weight is very very easy.

 

[MarinePMI]

Not for everyone...

 

[wade2big]

As long as you feel good and it sounds like you are then there isnt a problem. Usually “fast weightloss” is do to a starvation diet coupled with excessive exercise. This eventually has a person feeling like shit and they will binge. Its not sustainable. Doesnt seem to be you OP. Congratulations on your success. Keep it up

 

[alfmoonspace]

Also depends on the type of exercise. If you are doing heavy cardio stuff like cycling and running, sure you will drop weight quick.

I second wade2big. It’s not advised to do a starvation diet. No energy and more than likely you will bounce back to your previous weight.

 

[acudaowner]

not a doctor but suppose in your case going to see a real one would be a million times better than any answer my bs u degree will cover
.

 

[johnnycat]

Holy Necrothread, Batman!

 

[TexPatriot]

Back in the mid nineties I ballooned up to a record 210-215 on my 5-11 frame. Then I caught my g/f cheating, broke up with her, threw myself into a BUDS like work and then work out routine and lost 30lbs in 45 days. At one point I was down to 168, my high school weight.

I had a 3% body fat, my endurance and cardio doubled, I could run a speed bag for thirty minutes non stop as opposed to five like before but I believe I lost strength. Also, I realized from grief, I had quit eating and could barely choke down any food. When I'd weigh myself in the morning I'd realize Id lost another 2-3 lbs. overnight, noticed veins were appearing where there was once a layer of fat. I noticed women in the store were checking me out too but I really didn't like being that light.

I'm sure I burned off some muscle too. When I got over the breakup I started eating again and put some weight and muscle back on.

 

[JR_77]

Back in the mid nineties I ballooned up to a record 210-215 on my 5-11 frame. Then I caught my g/f cheating, broke up with her, threw myself into a BUDS like work and then work out routine and lost 30lbs in 45 days. At one point I was down to 168, my high school weight.

I had a 3% body fat, my endurance and cardio doubled, I could run a speed bag for thirty minutes non stop as opposed to five like before but I believe I lost strength. Also, I realized from grief, I had quit eating and could barely choke down any food. When I'd weigh myself in the morning I'd realize Id lost another 2-3 lbs. overnight, noticed veins were appearing where there was once a layer of fat. I noticed women in the store were checking me out too but I really didn't like being that light.

I'm sure I burned off some muscle too. When I got over the breakup I started eating again and put some weight and muscle back on.

Wow that’s a big drop off in weight in just 45 days…women can put the mojo on us for sure been there before myself.

 

[TexPatriot]

Wow that’s a big drop off in weight in just 45 days…women can put the mojo on us for sure been there before myself.

She contacted me two years later, I took her back then kicked her out.

 

[JR_77]

She contacted me two years later, I took her back then kicked her out.

Yes Sir great job…keep ‘em honest.