Am I fat? Any home activities I can do to "look better"?

[Setz]

For my entire life I've had high metabolism; but I believe now, that this was due to medication I've took for the past 15 years. I recently stopped taking this undisclosed medication about 3 years ago. Since then, I've gotten "fatter".

I don't know if I am considered fat, but before I went off the medication I weighed perhaps 140 pounds at 6 feet tall. Now, I weigh a good 170 at the same height.

I scale myself every day, and when I noticed my weight was increasing with no apparent reason, I signed up for a workout plan with a nearby gym. My food habits hadn't changed at all (I stay away from candy and chocolate [but not 'cause it's unhealthy, but because I find it tastes quite revolting]). When I began the course I weighed about 160~, and I took body measurements including body fat percent (which at the time of my course beginning, was IIRC about 7%).

I worked out daily for an hour for about 6 months. I did all sorts of exercises, and used weights a lot. I concentrated on my abs and legs. When my course ended, I retook measurements. I weighed the same as when I began, but my body fat percent went up to 16%, and my measurements decreased. This kind of confused me at the time, and I joked saying there is a mistake or something. I don't know if this means I "lost" body mass, but maintained my weight? You know the saying muscle weighs more than fat: taking that into consideration, from my results, this means I must have lost muscle and gained fat. This was quite surprising. : (

Lately, now a year or so later, I've noticed I look quite disgusting. For my whole life I've been thinnest person I know, and now even I think I am fat. 170 pounds at 6 feet is "average" weight my doctor says, but I am going to try maybe another gym, and do more strenuous workouts.

Hopefully my weight does not increase (it's been stuck at 170 for at least 2 months), but I have been eating less, so it is not a good indicator.

What could I do to help myself lose weight, or generally look nicer?

[darren22]

6' 170lbs is not "fat." 6' 140 lbs. is abnormally thin unless maybe you're a serious endurance athlete, and 16% body fat is pretty normal for a reasonably active person as well. If your goal is to look skinny because you think that looks good, then that's your business. If you're looking to be healthy, keep doing what you're doing; seems to me that you're on the right track.

[sfu_lifer]

Do more cardio :)

[mself084]

Dude.... you weigh 170 pounds. you are not the least bit fat. i can't imagine a dude at 6' and 140lbs.

[df329]

you don't just suddenly gain weight for no reason usually. you're probably just eating more :lol:

[UrbanPoet]

eat healthier...

[Kohanz]

16% bodyfat is not bad, just average. However, you were 7% bodyfat earlier? You must have been pretty ripped, or just very, very skinny.

[bokep]

6' 170 is not a problem

[el_diablo007]

how did you measure that 7%?

[Setz]

The gym had this machine, where you set your age, height, and weight; and you squeeze two metal bars as hard as you can. I don't know what the thing is called.

[bokep]

The gym had this machine, where you set your age, height, and weight; and you squeeze two metal bars as hard as you can. I don't know what the thing is called.

go to the doctor to be sure

[4flava]

what kinda medication were you on??.. is it thyroid related??

[thechampion116]

u fat, i dont think so? I am 5'4-5'5 inbetweener and weigh 176 lbs and i am 19.

I do exercise and stuff but the fat doesnt go away. Even though it may seem obese, you gotta take into account your look and stuff like that. I have broad shoulders so it accomodates for some of the weight. More muscle than fat you know the

[el_diablo007]

The gym had this machine, where you set your age, height, and weight; and you squeeze two metal bars as hard as you can. I don't know what the thing is called.

I'd love to find out how that thing correlates BMI with grip strength to give you body fat...I think that thing is hugely inaccurate.

[masterhapposai]

For my entire life I've had high metabolism; but I believe now, that this was due to medication I've took for the past 15 years. I recently stopped taking this undisclosed medication about 3 years ago. Since then, I've gotten "fatter".

I don't know if I am considered fat, but before I went off the medication I weighed perhaps 140 pounds at 6 feet tall. Now, I weigh a good 170 at the same height.

I scale myself every day, and when I noticed my weight was increasing with no apparent reason, I signed up for a workout plan with a nearby gym. My food habits hadn't changed at all (I stay away from candy and chocolate [but not 'cause it's unhealthy, but because I find it tastes quite revolting]). When I began the course I weighed about 160~, and I took body measurements including body fat percent (which at the time of my course beginning, was IIRC about 7%).

I worked out daily for an hour for about 6 months. I did all sorts of exercises, and used weights a lot. I concentrated on my abs and legs. When my course ended, I retook measurements. I weighed the same as when I began, but my body fat percent went up to 16%, and my measurements decreased. This kind of confused me at the time, and I joked saying there is a mistake or something. I don't know if this means I "lost" body mass, but maintained my weight? You know the saying muscle weighs more than fat: taking that into consideration, from my results, this means I must have lost muscle and gained fat. This was quite surprising. : (

Lately, now a year or so later, I've noticed I look quite disgusting. For my whole life I've been thinnest person I know, and now even I think I am fat. 170 pounds at 6 feet is "average" weight my doctor says, but I am going to try maybe another gym, and do more strenuous workouts.

Hopefully my weight does not increase (it's been stuck at 170 for at least 2 months), but I have been eating less, so it is not a good indicator.

What could I do to help myself lose weight, or generally look nicer?


it's good that you posted, might've saved your life

that drug could've ****ed up your metabolic process. I'd need to know what it is before commenting. I'm no master doctor, but in my experience with doctors who know less than 5 year olds I've learned to deal with a lot of issues myself very successfully

or you can just google what that drug does and if you've become dependant on it

[masterhapposai]

u fat, i dont think so? I am 5'4-5'5 inbetweener and weigh 176 lbs and i am 19.

I do exercise and stuff but the fat doesnt go away. Even though it may seem obese, you gotta take into account your look and stuff like that. I have broad shoulders so it accomodates for some of the weight. More muscle than fat you know the

stomach fat can be hard to kill if you produce a lot of cortisol

you might be very stressed in your life, have a lot of allergies you didn't even know of, or inhaling toxins, and/or maybe it's just beer

[KevC]

Weight means nothing. Bodyfat % means way more. Talk to a doctor, the medication might have adverse side effects.

16% is fair. To be ripped you want to be around 10% or under. Eat well, and exercise (and don't forget to get enough rest) and you should be fine.

[Setz]

I'm thinking of trying to get into the habit of doing situps daily (120 repetitions every morning and evening), then jogging every morning (cardiovascular). This would define my abs more, and make me lose a little bit of weight.

I don't have the instruments to workout at home, nor the budget to purchase a gym machine. I can still do some exercises like back hyperextensions, but I am trying to tone my legs more. Jogging helps, but it's not the same as other exercises. I'd bike ride, but I have never rode a bike in my life.

Any suggestions?

[chadw01]

I'm thinking of trying to get into the habit of doing situps daily (120 repetitions every morning and evening), then jogging every morning (cardiovascular). This would define my abs more, and make me lose a little bit of weight.

I don't have the instruments to workout at home, nor the budget to purchase a gym machine. I can still do some exercises like back hyperextensions, but I am trying to tone my legs more. Jogging helps, but it's not the same as other exercises. I'd bike ride, but I have never rode a bike in my life.

Any suggestions?

You can do all the situps in the world, but it comes down to diet.. garbage in = garbage out.

Do upper body exercises on the floor like push ups - do some heavy work around the house. Learn to ride a bike.

And for #$! sakes, get the notion that 6' 170 is fat. You sound like one of those burnt out anorexic runway models. There are TONS (no pun intended) of overweight people who would die to have your "average" BMI.

In fact, here's one way to check yours out:

http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/

[azn_dan]

I'm thinking of trying to get into the habit of doing situps daily (120 repetitions every morning and evening), then jogging every morning (cardiovascular). This would define my abs more, and make me lose a little bit of weight.

I don't have the instruments to workout at home, nor the budget to purchase a gym machine. I can still do some exercises like back hyperextensions, but I am trying to tone my legs more. Jogging helps, but it's not the same as other exercises. I'd bike ride, but I have never rode a bike in my life.

Any suggestions?

Atleast do a variation of ab excercises instead of 120 sit ups. Also if you want roller blading helps give you good legs, just fyi. As others have said 170 isn't fat, but that if its mostly muscle. Just so everyone knows 170lbs of fat is alot bigger then 170lbs of muscle. To the OP just make sure you are eating proportioned meals and make sure you eat breakfast, and do not eat a few hours before you go to sleep. Hope you get to a point where you are happy with yourself. Good Luck!

[poedua]

I'm thinking of trying to get into the habit of doing situps daily (120 repetitions every morning and evening), then jogging every morning (cardiovascular). This would define my abs more, and make me lose a little bit of weight.

I don't have the instruments to workout at home, nor the budget to purchase a gym machine. I can still do some exercises like back hyperextensions, but I am trying to tone my legs more. Jogging helps, but it's not the same as other exercises. I'd bike ride, but I have never rode a bike in my life.

Any suggestions?

Look, if you want your abs to show you have lose fat, and to lose fat you have to burn or lose calories. Cardio is one way to burn calories and there are ways you can do cardio at home - without riding a bike or jogging outside.

One option is do a pure " bodyweight " cardio circuit at home ...no need for weights at all.

For example. Try this circuit routine at home for a good fat-burning cardio session ...It's about a 25/30 minute cardio workout. Between each exercise, rest for 1 minute. Use that time to catch your breath.

1. JOG IN PLACE - 4 minutes ..warm up

Start slowly and gradually increase the intensity by lifting your knees higher. If you're not in good cardio shape, spend the first minute or two walking around instead.


2. JUMPING JACKS - Do 50

3. ROPE SKIPPING - 90 seconds

4. STEP-UPS - 2 minutes

Step up and down on the bottom stair of a stairway, or on any step that's up to a foot high.


5. MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS - 90 seconds

Get on your hands and knees, then raise your knees like a sprinter in starting blocks. For one minute, run in place in this position, supporting your upper body with only the palms of your hands. Keep your back straight, not arched.


6. PUSH-UPS - 30 ( or your max )

7. SQUAT THRUSTS - 90 seconds

From a standing position, drop to a crouch and immediately thrust your legs straight out behind you so that you're on your toes in the push-up position. Now jump to pull your legs back to your chest, then stand up to complete the motion. Try to do 45 in 90 seconds


8. COOL-DOWN - 3 minutes ( walk around your house )


If you find it too easy, do this circuit of Steps # 1-# 8 ... the full circuit 3 times ........that should burn a few of the calories and fat you're looking for. :)

GOOD LUCK !

[poedua]

Atleast do a variation of ab excercises instead of 120 sit ups. Also if you want roller blading helps give you good legs, just fyi. As others have said 170 isn't fat, but that if its mostly muscle. Just so everyone knows 170lbs of fat is alot bigger then 170lbs of muscle. To the OP just make sure you are eating proportioned meals and make sure you eat breakfast, and do not eat a few hours before you go to sleep. Hope you get to a point where you are happy with yourself. Good Luck!

Good point on the abs...I agree.

One of the ways to make ab training more difficult is to add different ab exercises back to back with no rest and very little rest between sets ( i.e 10-15 seconds ) . For example, something like this.......more exercises, fewer reps per exercise, little rest between sets / exercises.

This is about 120 reps in total btw.



2 sets..................Ab exercise #1 ....................8/10 reps

no rest

2 sets .................Ab exercise #2 ....................8/10 reps

no rest

2 sets ..................Ab exercise #3 ....................8/10 reps

no rest

2 sets...................Ab exercise #4 ....................8/10 reps

no rest

2 sets ..................Ab exercise #5 ....................8/10 reps

no rest

2 sets ...................Ab exercise #6....................8/10 reps




Also, abs muscles are just like any muscle in terms of training protocol....you only need to work them 3X a week on non-consecutive days ...not daily.

[CastIronStove]

The gym had this machine, where you set your age, height, and weight; and you squeeze two metal bars as hard as you can. I don't know what the thing is called.

That sounds like a body fat meter that uses bioelectrical impedance analysis (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bioelectrical_impedance_analysis).

In my opinion, these types of devices (especially the ones available at most gyms) are very inaccurate. Anecdotally, I've used one in the past and it calculated my body fat percentage to be between 8 and 9 percent. I'm just under five foot eleven, and at the time weighed roughly 190 pounds, so I consider this measurement extremely unlikely.

[azn_dan]

That sounds like a body fat meter that uses bioelectrical impedance analysis (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bioelectrical_impedance_analysis).

In my opinion, these types of devices (especially the ones available at most gyms) are very inaccurate. Anecdotally, I've used one in the past and it calculated my body fat percentage to be between 8 and 9 percent. I'm just under five foot eleven, and at the time weighed roughly 190 pounds, so I consider this measurement extremely unlikely.

True that, if you want a real body fat measurement you have one of two options:

1) Go to your gym and have them measure your body fat with some calipers, shouldn't cost you anything, i hope. Though my school gym charges $2.

2) Go to a facility that provides this service where you enter a tank of water and from there they are able to calculate your true body fat.(this method is expensive and highly doubt all of us can have access to this)

[kleptodathief]

op: U R FAT!!!!!!!!!!!! :D

















































j/k


also post a pic of u, then we'll really know! :twisted:

[swiftfox]

I'm in a similar boat to OP here, except without the drugs.
A combination of switching from university life/working life, and an apparently dramatic drop in metabolism has seen me lose alot of muscle/gain alot of fat.

Does anyone have much experience with Panax ginseng, or know of any other products that promote an increase in metabolism? I exercise regularly (run or bike a few times a week, play at least one sport a week), and I eat well, though I should cut back on proportions.

(Sorry to thread jack, seemed like a waste to start a new thread)

[Setz]

Also, abs muscles are just like any muscle in terms of training protocol....you only need to work them 3X a week on non-consecutive days ...not daily.

I thought that you could work on abs every day. I know when I was working out at a gym, they recommended people work on upper part of their body one day, and the next the other part of the body. This was to make sure that the muscles had time to cooldown between workouts.

Is there any muscle promoting foods I could find at any grocery store/department store? Do those energy drinks really work in a workout? They don't taste too bad, so I may drink those instead of water when I do a workout if they are beneficial to my health.

edit; also, I just want to clarify. The medication I was taking was prescription medication and isn't a controlled drug. I don't want people to get the wrong idea and think I was some drug addict. :P

[nfnx]

I'd love to find out how that thing correlates BMI with grip strength to give you body fat...I think that thing is hugely inaccurate.

yah that machine is broken.

[Setz]

op: U R FAT!!!!!!!!!!!! :D
j/k
also post a pic of u, then we'll really know! :twisted:

I don't know why you'd want to see some chubby guy with a shirt off. :S

Thank you all for your help. :D What muscles do jumping jacks work? Or is it just cardio?

[Mintmaster]

And for #$! sakes, get the notion that 6' 170 is fat. You sound like one of those burnt out anorexic runway models. There are TONS (no pun intended) of overweight people who would die to have your "average" BMI.For the most part I agree with you, but my brother used to be 6'1" and only 125 lbs (skinny build, plays lots of sports). If he put on 45 lbs of fat, that wouldn't be pretty.

If Setz really is 16% bodyfat, though, he's definately being paranoid and your description is apt.

[poedua]

I thought that you could work on abs every day. I know when I was working out at a gym, they recommended people work on upper part of their body one day, and the next the other part of the body. This was to make sure that the muscles had time to cooldown between workouts.

Correct, but no to ' cool-down', but to allow adequate time for tissue to heal and repair itself. For example. Do arms on day, legs another and back another day.

You wouldn't trains your arms for 1 set of 120 reps every day - why would you do it for your abs ? Usually when you do things like ab crunches and reverse crunches the primary muscle being worked is one called the rectus abdominis.

Again, treat / train the rectus abdominis like any other muscle - if you do, you needn't do crunches every day...and certainly not 120 reps in 1 set. And there are other abs muscles you can train as well.

Is there any muscle promoting foods I could find at any grocery store/department store? Do those energy drinks really work in a workout? They don't taste too bad, so I may drink those instead of water when I do a workout if they are beneficial to my health.

Just eat normal healthy / clean food - at least 50% from carbs and the balance split between protein and fat, eat enough of it ( i.e get enough calories per day .....somewhere around 16 calories per pond of bodyweight - or more ) and eat often 6- 8 times per day including a small meal before and after immediately workouts.

A good diet and intense training is what builds muscles.

[Setz]

When I do situps, I usually do it in sets of 20 because after 20 I am quite tired, and waiting a minute or two is great cooldown, then I continue with another set of 20, etc to 120. I try to do pushups as well, but I find situps are easier to do and less tiring. I can perhaps do a set of 10 pushups and I'd feel exhausted. I'm not too well with pushups.

My diet usually consists of a lot of rice, pasta, and sandwiches. Although I do like some of the "greasier" foods like hamburgers, pizza, fries, I rarely eat them. I don't drink a lot of sugary liquids, and most of my liquid intake is either water, gingerale, and chinotto (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinotto) flavored soft drinks. I usually eat around 2 meals a day (I rarely eat breakfast unfortunately), but I generally consume a lot.

When I was on prescribed medication, some of the adverse (I wouldn't say sideeffects, because that connotes something bad) effects included loss of appetite, and slight weightloss. Put those together, and you're one skinny guy. But generally I could eat whatever I wanted, and noticed little to no change in weight.

When I was working out in a gym daily, my favorite machine was, I think it was called the lateral pulldown machine. Generally it's a chair you sat on, and pulled a bar while sitting, either behind you (the gym recommended against this) or in front of you (gym recommended this). It looked something like this (http://www.muscleandstrength.com/watermark.php?src=images/exercises/02back-traps/03latpulldown1.jpg) and I felt quite invigorated after using it. Is there any house exercises that can also work the latissimus dorsi (I think the muscle was called this)?

[Avant_Garde]

Eating 2 meals a day promotes WEIGHT GAIN. If you have huge gaps between meals your body is going to want to slow its metabolism and store fat. Keep in mind your body is geared for survival. If you're concerned about fat, you should eat more frequently but smaller portions. By doing so, it's telling your body it has a constant supply of nutrients so it can use it towards building muscle and increasing your metabolism. Skipping breakfast is very bad for you, it raises your stress hormone levels and contributes to weight gain. There's no excuse for not eating breakfast, just plain lazy. It takes 30 seconds to make a bowl of cereal, 2 minutes to make oatmeal or to blend a protein shake. If you wake up 15 minutes earlier, your not eating breakfast problem is easily solved.

[df329]

Eating 2 meals promotes weight loss:!:

[Setz]

I bought a few cases of Lipton Green Tea in cans. Dominions had them for cases of 12 for 6$, a fair price. Not to mention I probably gained a bit of muscle carrying 3 cases home. Green Tea I've heard promotes digestions and regulates a lot of things. I'm going to cut down drinking sugary drinks, and hopefully this will have good effects on my plan to lose weight/gain muscle.

My friend used to drink Coca Cola all the time, and he stopped drinking it for a couple months. His acne disappeared, and his weight decreased a good 20-30 pounds in 2-3 months. People should keep in mind that if you want to lose weight, you need to stop drinking such garbage.

[frogger]

If you've been working out for 6 months and can only do 10 pushups, something is wrong with the way you workout, our your nose is almost touching the floor when you do them. You need to your number of reps and fight through the bit of fatigue if you are going to progress. Even if you go to 12 reps in a week, 14 the next, etc, you should be able to do 20+ without too much trouble.

Getting rid of pop, other drinks where sugar of some form is one of the top 3 ingredients is a wise decision.

[azn_dan]

Pretty sure not eating breakfast promotes the chance of you becoming obese. Eating 2 meals a day causes your body to overeat at those meals. It has been said that eating 5-6 small meals/snacks a day helps you lose weight. Doing 10 pushups can be a good thing or a bad thing, it really depends on how many you could do before and comparing it to what you can do now. But seriously about the sit ups, you can always do variations.. such as knee raises, leg raises, sicilian crunches.. anything really to hit all your other stomach muscles. Yes giving up pop is a good thing. If you want a decent read on weight loss try finding a copy of Abs Diet by Zencenko(sp?), has some good things in it, including ab excercises and what not. Try your library or something.

[Setz]

If you've been working out for 6 months and can only do 10 pushups, something is wrong with the way you workout, our your nose is almost touching the floor when you do them. You need to your number of reps and fight through the bit of fatigue if you are going to progress. Even if you go to 12 reps in a week, 14 the next, etc, you should be able to do 20+ without too much trouble.

Getting rid of pop, other drinks where sugar of some form is one of the top 3 ingredients is a wise decision.

Well, I was never a fan of pushups. The most I could do when I was working out was 15-20, then I'd have to take a break. But this was almost a year and a half ago. Since then I haven't really worked out except the occasional jog.

[masterballer]

I'd love to find out how that thing correlates BMI with grip strength to give you body fat...I think that thing is hugely inaccurate.

Its not grip they are measuring, they ask you to grip it so that the electrical pulse is passed to your body on one hand and then it measures how long it takes to come back out the other hand.

That tells you your body fat, since fat slows down electricity or is resistant, the longer it takes the higher your BF.

This method is not accurate and should not be taken too seriously because it is affected by alot of factors such as your hydration level at the time to taking the test.

[Setz]

My sister bought an exercise bike some time ago, and never got around to use it. I decided I'd include it in my workout. The bike has TERRIBLE resistance though. The maximum is laughable. But it still works.

How is this?

Just a note, this is just brainstorming. This is the minimum I will do, and if new ideas arise, I can alter/add.

Day A
Biking - starting at 15km/h for 20 minutes.
Jogging - Jog for 30 minutes.

Day B
Situps - starting at 50 repetitions every morning and evening.
Swimming -"pool circuit"* starting at 20 reps each.

I can switch days every other day, so I have time to rest the muscles I did not train that day. Every week I can increase reps by 10 for both Swimming and Situps, and increase the speed I bike at by 5km/hour weekly, and increase jogging time by 20 minutes weekly.

A pool circuit is what my fitness instructor called it, is when you start in a pool, swim the length of the pool to one end, do 20 water pushups, then get back in the water, go to the other end, get out, do 20 situps, then rinse and repeat, but every time you decrease the reps by 1 or 2. I found this was very invigorating.

I'm trying to limit my diet now. As suggested, I will increase my meal count, but decrease portions. I am thinking of having cereal & yogurt (sugar free) for breakfast, and throughout the day maybe have a few crackers or more yogurt every couple of hours. But for the main meals I will have whatever I have available, usually something healthy. To top this off, I will limit my liquid intake to green tea (which I mentioned buying earlier), orange juice, and water/gatorade.

Dominions has on sale a bunch of mini pizza's, where they are pretty much a dollar for two 5 inch pizzas. I picked up a couple deluxe topping ones, but I am curious if deluxe is healthier than vegetarian or not, considering it has meat in it.

[retroman80s]

Invest into a Nintendo Wii. Some of the games gives you a workout and on top of that it's fun. :lol:

[bluetroll]

have 1 cup of Kashi Go Lean w/ skim milk every morning...

eating healthy is very important.

[LNahid2000]

I bought a few cases of Lipton Green Tea in cans. Dominions had them for cases of 12 for 6$, a fair price. Not to mention I probably gained a bit of muscle carrying 3 cases home. Green Tea I've heard promotes digestions and regulates a lot of things. I'm going to cut down drinking sugary drinks, and hopefully this will have good effects on my plan to lose weight/gain muscle.
I'm sure that the positive effects of Green Tea are outweighed by the negative effects of all the sugar/calories in those cans. Last time I checked, one of those cans has 110 empty calories and almost 30g of sugar.

[df329]

how is 30g of sugar empty calories?? sugar is great

[Lizz__20]

have 1 cup of Kashi Go Lean w/ skim milk every morning...

eating healthy is very important.

Yeah I eat that - it's pretty healthy. I usually have it in the evening cus I know you shouldn't eat too much before going to bed, but I work afternoons and have to eat something when I get home. Eggs are great for breakfast too. You can scramble some eggs (I have 1 egg with extra egg whites and some grated cheese) as fast as you can toast some whole grain bread to have with it.

[Setz]

Invest into a Nintendo Wii. Some of the games gives you a workout and on top of that it's fun. :lol:

I am a Sony fanboy, thus do not wish to purchase a Wii. Thank you for the idea though. I have heard it is quite a workout, what with flailing your arms crazily without a care in the world.

1 can of that Green Tea has more calories than 1 can of Pepsi. :/

[el_diablo007]

I am a Sony fanboy, thus do not wish to purchase a Wii. Thank you for the idea though. I have heard it is quite a workout, what with flailing your arms crazily without a care in the world.

1 can of that Green Tea has more calories than 1 can of Pepsi. :/
why not just brew traditional green tea? (with the leaves...)

[df329]

drink both to get the best of both worlds!

[Setz]

I have lost 5 pounds since I began working out, so I am happy.

One user mentioned that eating more often increases metabolism. Some days I'd be so busy that sometimes I'd only eat once a day, and this'd be late at night. This is a problem I cannot really help fix since I have no idea when I will have these days. I would eat through the day, but only small "finger food", I'd only have one meal pretty much.

Does alcohol consumption (not abuse, but casual consumption) speed or slow metabolism? Sometimes I'd have a glass of wine a day, or a shot of booze, etc.

[baz5]

If you only have time to eat once or twice a day, you better be one of the world's richest. I get so tired of people making excuses they have no time eat.
As someone else stated in this thread, it takes about 2 minutes to eat. If you don't have 2 minutes to have a meal, you are lazy, and just fooling yourself.

[Kujo]

why not just brew traditional green tea? (with the leaves...)

Or you can buy the Nestle Pure Life Green Tea Refreshers instead of the Lipton Green Tea, which has zero calories.

http://www.nestle-purelife.us/flavors/greentea.asp

[el_diablo007]

I have lost 5 pounds since I began working out, so I am happy.

One user mentioned that eating more often increases metabolism. Some days I'd be so busy that sometimes I'd only eat once a day, and this'd be late at night. This is a problem I cannot really help fix since I have no idea when I will have these days. I would eat through the day, but only small "finger food", I'd only have one meal pretty much.

Does alcohol consumption (not abuse, but casual consumption) speed or slow metabolism? Sometimes I'd have a glass of wine a day, or a shot of booze, etc.

You'll need to eat more often if you want to see results any time soon - if you eat sporadically and workout a lot, you'll get more fit...but it's gonna take a whole lot longer.

[df329]

You'll need to eat more often if you want to see results any time soon - if you eat sporadically and workout a lot, you'll get more fit...but it's gonna take a whole lot longer.

this dude is totally wrong just ignore him :!:

eating only 3 meals a day is perfectly fine. even sporadic eating isn't a problem. i usually eat 1-2 large meals and then like 1 snack

[el_diablo007]

this dude is totally wrong just ignore him :!:

eating only 3 meals a day is perfectly fine. even sporadic eating isn't a problem. i usually eat 1-2 large meals and then like 1 snack

Let me rephrase what I said. By not eating properly throughout the day, you are slowing down your metabolism right up until the point where you have your one meal. When your metabolism is slowed, you are losing muscle mass and you're not oxidizing as much fat as you would be with an increased basal metabolic rate.

You can get by fine, but it will just take longer to drop the fat.

[Setz]

I do have time to eat, but not enough for a meal. It takes at least 10 minutes to prepare a small meal. I do eat throughout the day, but maybe a couple of crisps or a small square slice of pizza, etc. My meals usually consist of multiple pieces (meat, veggies, grain, etc).

I read another thread about defining abs more, and someone had said that there's a layer of fat on the chest which prevents abs from showing completely. Would cardio rid of this fat? Cardio for me (bike riding, running) really gets my legs burning (which is good), but I don't feel or notice a difference in my torso. To be honest, the main goal I wish in working out is not only to lose weight, but look better. Hehe, having chiseled abs will net me a couple of looks.

[df329]

Let me rephrase what I said. By not eating properly throughout the day, you are slowing down your metabolism right up until the point where you have your one meal. When your metabolism is slowed, you are losing muscle mass and you're not oxidizing as much fat as you would be with an increased basal metabolic rate.

You can get by fine, but it will just take longer to drop the fat.

oh reeeeally? and just how much faster is your metabolism from eating those meals?? do you actually have any proof?

[el_diablo007]

oh reeeeally? and just how much faster is your metabolism from eating those meals?? do you actually have any proof?

This is basic human physiology, you can find evidence for this in any credible physiology textbook, but here are a couple of web sources.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basal_metabolic_rate
"BMR decreases with age and with the loss of lean body mass. Increased cardiovascular exercise and muscle mass can increase BMR. Illness, previously consumed food and beverages, environmental temperature, and stress levels can affect one's overall energy expenditure, and can affect one's BMR as revealed by gas analysis."

http://www.abcbodybuilding.com/dietiing%20to%20the%20next%20levlel.php
"Metabolic rate and how to keep it elevated"

[Setz]

Dominions had 12 255ml cans of the Lipton Green Tea for 5.99$, and Walmart I discovered today has 12 500ml bottles of the same stuff for 5.97$. I bought a few of the diet variety, and they taste reaaal bad. I like the nondiet one I guess.

Check it out, I got it at Lawrence and Keele.