Building Mass Burns Fat at a Faster Rate

[sarsar 824]

Yeah, I'm still weighing pretty high on the BMI charts, but I lift A LOT. I'm sure I could stop lifting, do lots of cardio, eat the same cals but reduce my complex carbs and I would probably drop 20+ pounds in a month or two. That 20 pounds would be most entirely muscle loss (and a little water), so it's not worth it to me just to get a number on the scale. It's just all a matter of personal preference I suppose.

I'm not sure how you feel about this but the whole BMI thing drives me crazy. Maybe it's a woman thing. lol I am still over weight according to the BMI charts. I wear a size 6 or 8. This was the goal I wanted to get to, I didn't have a weight goal just a size of clothes where I felt comfortable. I don't feel overweight but in my head it still bothers me bc the BMI charts call me overweight. In my head I also know that I'm not supposed go by the BMI charts but the rest of the world does!

[NewSetOfCurves 1,553]

Body fat is tricky for me bc of the excess skin. Does anybody else have this problem? Last time I measured at 23% body fat. I still have a lot of skin that hangs over the muscle, so I am wondering how accurate measuring body fat is??? I'm not a bodybuilder by any means. I enjoy lifting weights a few times a week. I also do various forms of cardio. I worked out a lot before surgery and have always enjoyed strength training so I had quite a bit of muscle before the weight loss.

I understand what you mean. When I worked at the university fitness center, I was the incentive program director. We often had 4, 6, to 8 week incemtive programs to encourage students, faculty, staff, and alumni to shed fat and build muscle. At the beginning of every new incentive program, everyone would come in for a private screening of thier weight, measurements, and calculations of body fat percentage. I always felt that the mechanism in which we used to measure body fat was far from accurate. There were many people who were big and who obviously had high fat ratios, but it was difficult to pinch and measure. On the other hand, there were people who were lean and muscular but had very elastic-y skin that was easy to pinch and pull. There are more acurate ways to measure body fat, but they are not readily available without a price.

In the situation with your skin, I am sure you are one of the ones that falls into the latter category.

[Butterthebean 8,146]

Body fat is tricky for me bc of the excess skin. Does anybody else have this problem? Last time I measured at 23% body fat. I still have a lot of skin that hangs over the muscle' date=' so I am wondering how accurate measuring body fat is??? I'm not a bodybuilder by any means. I enjoy lifting weights a few times a week. I also do various forms of cardio. I worked out a lot before surgery and have always enjoyed strength training so I had quite a bit of muscle before the weight loss.[/quote']

You can get an Omron body fat analyzer for $30 on Amazon and I've heard even Walmart sells them. They may not be the most accurate measurement tool made, but for the price I think they get you in the ballpark.

[aroundhky 1,174]

Body fat analysis can be a little tricky, but I think it has improved the past couple of years. I went to the local university back around my 1 year surgiversary. They used a combination of a few calipers, the semi-grueling Water submersion test and the hand held digital device. They were all within about 1% of each other, which in my opinion, is fairly consistant. Regardless of the exact accuracy, doing this maybe every 2-6 months the exact same way can still give you a good indication of how your body composition is chaning, if any. So I'm going to pay that small fee and go again in June or maybe July, and any change in the percentage will give me a good indication of my progress......or lack of progress. : P

[Fiddleman 4,376]

You can get an Omron body fat analyzer for 30 on Amazon and I've heard even Walmart sells them. They may not be the most accurate measurement tool made' date=' but for the price I think they get you in the ballpark.[/quote']

Cool - going to look into one of those. I had a body fat analyzer built into my scale, but it never worked right and was constantly giving back E (error) when I was heavy (300+). I have noticed the veins really popping out on my hand and arms in last 2 weeks. Would there be a ball park estimate to assign knowing that? I know a few weeks ago I was at 19.5 body fat % and did not have nearly the visual veins I have now. Kind of neat, in a creepy sort of way. Lol.

[Butterthebean 8,146]

Cool - going to look into one of those. I had a body fat analyzer built into my scale' date=' but it never worked right and was constantly giving back E (error) when I was heavy (300+). I have noticed the veins really popping out on my hand and arms in last 2 weeks. Would there be a ball park estimate to assign knowing that? I know a few weeks ago I was at 19.5 body fat % and did not have nearly the visual veins I have now. Kind of neat, in a creepy sort of way. Lol.[/quote']

I don't know but my Omron says I'm at 20.8 BF right now and I'm noticing more veins on my arms every week. Never had veins in my life. Starting to see the vein up in my bicep now which is very exciting. Oh the little NSVs. LOL

[Globetrotter 1,340]

I'm so glad I stumbled upon this thread today, I had a great cardio and lifting sesh last night but woke up 3 pounds heavier this morning, wtf. I have been lifting every other day for about 8 days now and the scale keeps going down a poun up a pound. Last night I maxed out my thighs with that machine where you put the roller on top of your ankles while you sit in the chair and flex your legs up and down. I also did the reverse of that machine, toe-lifts and crunches. So, should I avoid lower body today?

[Fiddleman 4,376]

Globetrotter- yes you should avoid lifting the legs today. You probably are already very aware of the following: your muscles get larger only by recovering from rest. Some folks will say do not workout the same muscle group more then once a week. I workout with weights 2 x a week and generally do full body workouts. The other 3 work days, I am doing cardio with maybe some really light upper body weights (10 lb). My goal is not to lose weight; rather, it is to become athlete strong. My mental picture is Vin Deisil. I also like his approach to working out and eating. While I am not able to consume the massive calories he does (3000-5000), his workout looks doable and I am already eating small meals 6-8x a day. The body likes this for more efficient processing.

Failure to rest puts a lot of stress on your body and is not a recipe for changing body composition or even weight loss. Your body desires a balanced approach of working out, liquids and nutrients. Strive to find this balance. Eating low carb and low calorie as you have described may not be a good balance with the amount of exercise you do.

You might consider taking the time to eat more good carbs, good fats and calories over a 6 week period to see if that is the balance your body needs to function correctly with the types of workouts you do. Do not be afraid to eat 1200, 1400 or even 1600 calories as long as it comes from a good balance of nutrients that your body needs. No junk and no processed foods. fruit such as apples and bananas with Peanut Butter are good fuel before a workout. This is merely a suggestion for you to consider. It is different from what you are doing now and are used to so give yourself time to ramp into it. At least 3 weeks.

There are also supplements that you can take before and after working out that will help with opening up the muscles to hold more Water and nutrients. I take these, but do your research about which would work best for you.

An ample amount of Water is required for the muscles to repair themselves and also for the body to carry the waste out of the body. I drink 1-1.5 gallon a day. The jury is still out whether this is a good amount, but it seems acceptable given the amount of exercise I do and the amount of supplements I take. I need to be careful though about flushing too many minerals out of the body though. I am still researching this to determine if I should be taking in more electrolytes to counter those lost from sweating and urination. Recently, I have been waking up with some cramps in my calves on stretching. Minor, but I need to see if I need more magnesium or potassium.

[aroundhky 1,174]

I don't know but my Omron says I'm at 20.8 BF right now and I'm noticing more veins on my arms every week. Never had veins in my life. Starting to see the vein up in my bicep now which is very exciting. Oh the little NSVs. LOL

Way to go!! Sounds like your body fat is starting to get low and lean! Last year I noticed the veins in my arms for the first time since I was in college I guess. They are always there some when relaxed, but when I lift....whoa!!! They really pop out when I'm in an intense lifting session. Not to be too crass......but they look like huge, veiny "c*ck arms" when I lift! Actually grosses me out if I look at them too long then.

[newat52 1,612]

Thank you all for such great information.

Question: What about us middle age ladies? What is the best strength training schedule for those of us who are not looking to be buff but just want to build back some lost muscle? Women in their 40's and 50's seem to lose upper body strength. I would like to reclaim some of that. Also just a general want to be fitter and keep the bones and muscles in a healthier state for fat burning and I guess just tone up a bit.

Not sure if strength training once, twice a week. I don't want to become a gym rat, just get in, get out and do enough to make a difference without being achy for days after.

Suggestions? I have a gym membership so I have access to all the equipment.

Thanks in advance.

[aroundhky 1,174]

Thank you all for such great information.

Question: What about us middle age ladies? What is the best strength training schedule for those of us who are not looking to be buff but just want to build back some lost muscle? Women in their 40's and 50's seem to lose upper body strength. I would like to reclaim some of that. Also just a general want to be fitter and keep the bones and muscles in a healthier state for fat burning and I guess just tone up a bit.

Not sure if strength training once, twice a week. I don't want to become a gym rat, just get in, get out and do enough to make a difference without being achy for days after.

Suggestions? I have a gym membership so I have access to all the equipment.

Thanks in advance.

I don't know that I would recommend you do anything different than guys in general. Females don't have the same hormones that guys have, so you can do pretty much the same lifts and it will "tone" you. With a guy who has a normal testosterone range with more calories/complex carbs, those will tend to add bulk. Two days lifting is definitely sufficient for toning and getting in enough resistance training/lifting. Just stick to the compound lifts such as squats, bench press, military press, dips, pullups and maybe even deadlifts (about every other week), and you, for the most part, wouldn't need to do any other type of lifts. Probably 2-3 sets of each of these would be all you need in a week, except for deadlifts, they tend to take longer to recover from and maybe do them more like once every 10 days or so. Also depends on your goals. If the upper body is more your concern, can't go wrong with bench press (especially with dumbbells), military press and pullups.

[Globetrotter 1,340]

Last night I did just the treadmill for 45 minutes, never going faster than 3.2, I will do the same tonight. I am staggering my weights, doing them every 2 days, but when I do them I do full body. I was advised against doing creatine by a soldier here who is also a personal trainer, but he did say to drink a pre and post workout Protein Shake.< /p>

AroundHKY - forearm definition is straight up sexy, not the creepy veininess of a heroin addict but the buff definition of someone who lifts, *droool* hot. very hot. that and the neck clavicle area.

[newat52 1,612]

I don't know that I would recommend you do anything different than guys in general. Females don't have the same hormones that guys have, so you can do pretty much the same lifts and it will "tone" you. With a guy who has a normal testosterone range with more calories/complex carbs, those will tend to add bulk. Two days lifting is definitely sufficient for toning and getting in enough resistance training/lifting. Just stick to the compound lifts such as squats, bench press, military press, dips, pullups and maybe even deadlifts (about every other week), and you, for the most part, wouldn't need to do any other type of lifts. Probably 2-3 sets of each of these would be all you need in a week, except for deadlifts, they tend to take longer to recover from and maybe do them more like once every 10 days or so. Also depends on your goals. If the upper body is more your concern, can't go wrong with bench press (especially with dumbbells), military press and pullups.

Thanks for the info. Will put these into practice. Except maybe the dead lifts. I just don't see those in my future.

Thank you for the great in

[mooregirl 74]

Weight/resistance training is very important for women because it helps you maintain bone density as well. If you need any more reason to add it to your workouts, avoiding fractures as you get older should be a top reason.