Keep in mind that you're a novice lifter for a longer period of time than you think you are. Novice lifting can last anywhere from a few months to a year or two, depending on how hard you hit the weights and where you started.
Once you've reached the point where you don't make regular progress on the SS program, you are ready to move on to the intermediate stage, which can last you for a good number of years. Find it HERE:
If you're a very advanced lifter (many, many years of CONSISTENT weight training), then there are lot of programs out there, and which one you pick is simply a matter of preference. If you're really that advanced, you should know what works for you and what doesn't by this point. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Chocolate Hog:
Silly question but what's the difference between eating chicken and brown rice if you stay under 2,000 calories and hamburgers and french fries as long as it's under 2,000 daily calories?
1.) you can eat a lot more brown rice and chicken than you can hamburgers and french fries
protein and carbohydrate = 4 calories per gram
fat = 9 calories per gram
alcohol = 7 calories per gram
2.) the chicken and brown rice are likely to have more nutrients than the burger and fries
3.) consuming single, high calorie meals plays a kind of yo yo game with your system in terms of storing energy and retrieving energy (store the fat, then get energy later by burning fat AND muscle)
4.) other health problems with the grease from the burger and fries, etc [Reply]
When I only paid attention to calories when I dieted, I was constantly hungry. Once I change WHAT made up those calories, and focused on lean protein, limiting bad carbs, etc. I felt like I was stuffing myself in order to eat the same number of calories. In fact, I started supplementing protein shakes because I just could not eat that much lean protein in a day. [Reply]
They way my old trainer described it to me was people who ate crap but counted calories lost weight, but they still felt "pudgy". Those who ate healthy foods, especially protein, were more solid. Protein builds muscle mass. Muscle helps burn calories. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Silock:
2000 calories is a lot of calories to try and lose weight on.
I sort of disagree. If you are a larger guy, say 225 lbs, and a bit pudgy, and if you do even very moderate exercise three or four times per week, then you should be burning close to 4000 calories per day, maybe a few more. If you have a caloric deficit of 2000 calories per day, then you are losing roughly 2.5 lbs per week, no? [Reply]
Originally Posted by tooge:
I sort of disagree. If you are a larger guy, say 225 lbs, and a bit pudgy, and if you do even very moderate exercise three or four times per week, then you should be burning close to 4000 calories per day, maybe a few more. If you have a caloric deficit of 2000 calories per day, then you are losing roughly 2.5 lbs per week, no?
BMR on a 225 lbs 6' guy that's 40 years old is still under 2000 calories. Even with moderate exercise, he's probably only going to get to 2600 or so. He only way he can approach 4,000 is with two a day intense workouts, and he still won't hit 4,000.
2000 is just a lot of calories. Hell, I'm active as fuck and it's still well above my bmr. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Silock:
2000 calories is a lot of calories to try and lose weight on.
I'm 6'2 weighed 264. Did 2,000 calories a day got to about 246 now i've brought it down to 1,900 calories a day. To be honest I don't think i'm getting enough calories i've felt fatigued lately. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Chocolate Hog:
I'm 6'2 weighed 264. Did 2,000 calories a day got to about 246 now i've brought it down to 1,900 calories a day. To be honest I don't think i'm getting enough calories i've felt fatigued lately.
My caloric intake during cutting probably scratches about 1200. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Chocolate Hog:
I'm 6'2 weighed 264. Did 2,000 calories a day got to about 246 now i've brought it down to 1,900 calories a day. To be honest I don't think i'm getting enough calories i've felt fatigued lately.
There are many factors besides calories that contribute to fatigue. 1,900 calories is still a lot, in relative terms. You shouldn't be feeling fatigued getting that much. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Chocolate Hog:
I'm 6'2 weighed 264. Did 2,000 calories a day got to about 246 now i've brought it down to 1,900 calories a day. To be honest I don't think i'm getting enough calories i've felt fatigued lately.
The fatigue is probably from your aids medicines. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Chocolate Hog:
How tall are you? BTW on the days I was 1,500 or under Myfitnesspal would tell me my body will go into starvation mode.
Originally Posted by Chocolate Hog:
How tall are you? BTW on the days I was 1,500 or under Myfitnesspal would tell me my body will go into starvation mode.
If you want more info, I'll gladly expand, but a short version goes like this:
Under 1500 calories isn't necessarily enough to send your body into starvation mode. Just a few weeks ago, I was consuming only 900 calories per day and doing at least that amount of exercise. It was fine. There are many factors influencing starvation mode, the biggest of which is amount of time in a severe deficit, which is far longer than 1-2 days a week. You might start seeing some metabolic slowdown after a week or two if you aren't incorporating some kind of refeed into your diet.
Even IF you enter starvation mode, you'll still be burning more fat than if you weren't, so if fat loss is your goal, there's no downside.
Now, you need to maintain some amount of healthy fats at all times, and you need to get a couple of high calorie, low fat meals once every couple of weeks if you DO go super low calorie (1500 is not that low), but it's not that difficult. [Reply]