Weight Loss and Muscle Mass

Here's my progress so far that I posted in another thread,

Originally Posted by Fightguard

I lost ~20 pounds so far since the beginning of September...but it doesn't look like I've been losing from my fat belly...

At the end of this past June, my doctor weighed me at 231 lbs (my height is 5'8"). However, during July and August I had to have put on at least a few extra pounds since I ate a burger/fries/pop lunch at least a couple of times a week for those 2 months and didn't exercise. So by the end of August, I was probably hovering around 235 lbs., I suppose. That's the heaviest I've ever been in my life (I'll be 27 yrs. in a couple of weeks).
When September came around, I made the commitment to better myself...gave up all the crap I was eating/drinking and started cardio (running/aerobics/stair climbing) and light weight (dumbells) training, 5 days a week. I currently exercise 45 - 75 minutes a day, depening on my routine, but for the first couple of weeks I barely touched the weights.
This past Monday, I went to the doctor and I weighed in at 212 lbs. So I've lost around 20(+) lbs. in just over 7 weeks. So my rate of loss is ~3 lbs. a week.
My diet, I eat 6 or 7 small meals thoughout the day...nothing special (lean meats, chicken, fish, egg whites, fruits and veggies, rice (not everyday), and wheat bread) just no junk or fatty stuff. For snacks I'll have no-fat yogurt or unsalted nuts (almonds mainly). I do treat myself to desserts like pie or ice cream but not everyday. Finally, I'll have 1-2 servings of Protien shakes a day...1 serving after my workout and on days when I'm not exercising, I'll have a half serving in the morning and another half serving at night. Some days I'll have 1.5 or 2 servings of the shakes. The key is to never feel hungry and to never feel full (like, "let me sit back and unbuckle my belt" full).
Now, ~20(+) pounds lighter, I don't look all that different than I did over the summer (after all, I'm still overweight at 212 lbs)...like I said, I still have my fat belly which looks pretty much the same as it did before Sept. However, my face looks less chubby, my man-breasts have flattened down noticably, and the most significant change is that my A-S-S is smaller and less lardy...I used to have a huge butt! I could look down over my shoulder and see it easily...no joke I suppose all that stair-climbing fixed that. I guess it's time to add some sit-ups/crunches to the mix and get started on trimming the belly...

*edit* forgot about the water...I drink around 3-4 L of water throughout the day.

Thus far I'm losing around 3 lbs. a week...first off, is this a good rate of loss, given my starting weight??
Now,what I'm a bit concerned with with is how much of what I'm losing is fat, and how much is muscle....the fact that my belly hasn't really changed by the looks of it has got me thinking about this. My primary goal is losing weight and muscle development is secondary but I'd like to get some comments on how well I'm doing balancing out the two...
I workout 5 days a week, but it really breaks down as a 3-day cycle - exercise two days straight (first thing in the morning) then rest on the third day. Workouts range from 45 to 75 mins., depending on my routine. The shortest sessions are 30 min. cardio plus 15 min. doing a couple of dumbell exercises. The longest sessions are 40 min. cardio plus 35 min. dumbells.
I've got a bench a do all the dumbell excercises described here,
http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com...exercises.html
however, I'm only working with light weights, 10 lbs. only...I do 20-25 reps per set, and 6 sets per exercise. I know my weights are light but my muscles do get fatigued and I do feel the "burn" during each set so I know I'm working hard.

Originally Posted by Fightguard

Thus far I'm losing around 3 lbs. a week...first off, is this a good rate of loss, given my starting weight??

It sounds good to me. As long you keep your fat & calorie consumption under control. You want to burn more calories than you intake and if you reduce the sugar intake will help as well.

Originally Posted by Fightguard

I've got a bench a do all the dumbell excercises described here,
http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com...exercises.html
however, I'm only working with light weights, 10 lbs. only...I do 20-25 reps per set, and 6 sets per exercise. I know my weights are light but my muscles do get fatigued and I do fell the "burn" during each set so I know I'm working hard.

This is fine as well. Since your objective is to loose weight then the low weight and high reps is fine since I consider this a toning type of weight training.

How many calories do you average per day?

You have to get bigger dumbbells try finding weights that will allow you to get so tired you cant do another lift after about 3 sets of 8 reps

Cut your protein shakes down to 1 max a day, its useless calories if your really not pushing yourself to build muscle

The Last place you put fat on (usually the tits on a guy) is the first place it comes off and the first place it comes on (stomach for guys) is the last place it will come off so keep at it.

Originally Posted by dealforme

This is fine as well. Since your objective is to loose weight then the low weight and high reps is fine since I consider this a toning type of weight training.

Thanks...so if I'm toning, as opposed to building my musclues, am I effectively maintaining my current muscle mass and not losing any of it through the rest of my workouts and diet??

Originally Posted by sumfunny

How many calories do you average per day?

You have to get bigger dumbbells try finding weights that will allow you to get so tired you cant do another lift after about 3 sets of 8 reps

Cut your protein shakes down to 1 max a day, its useless calories if your really not pushing yourself to build muscle

The Last place you put fat on (usually the tits on a guy) is the first place it comes off and the first place it comes on (stomach for guys) is the last place it will come off so keep at it.

I'm eating healthy and eating less food than before...but I actually haven't been counting my calorie intake...

I do plan to get heavier weights...I just thought I'd wait untill I'm down to around 200 lbs. before I move on to bigger dumbells...I thought it was a good plan since I think I'm already getting a pretty good workout with the 10 lbs + high reps...So you think I should start with heavier weights now?

Finally, my proties shakes are 1 a day for the most part...I only take the extra 0.5/1 serving if I feel I didn't/wasn't getting enough with the rest of my diet (ie. don't have time to eat dinner/meal). It's 20 grams each serving...

Here's an example of my SMALL meals, spaced 2-3 hours apart throughout the day:

Breakfast 1) very small serving of oatmeal and an apple
Breakfast 2) 2 egg whites sandwiched in a single slice of wheat bread

Lunch 1) piece of pita bread, tuna, salad
Lunch 2) snack of yogurt and nuts, piece of fruit or carrot sticks

Dinner 1) small strip of chicken breast and vegetables, rice
Dinner 2) same as 1, but no rice

*If I have a seventh meal, it's a snack type.
*Dinner 2 becomes a snack type if I ate a bit more during Dinner 1.

if you can spare the time about 10 min 3 times a day, I'm sure you spend more on RFD go to

fitday.com and just track for maybe a week or so

you probably want some where around 2200- 2500 calories / day

as for the toning etc regarding the high reps to much and all your really doing is exhausting your arms and could possibly be starting to burn muscle through that. Just a thought though

Originally Posted by sumfunny

as for the toning etc regarding the high reps to much and all your really doing is exhausting your arms and could possibly be starting to burn muscle through that. Just a thought though

this is the type of answer I'm looking for...thanks.
I'll look into fitday.com as well. Thanks again.

Originally Posted by Fightguard

this is the type of answer I'm looking for...thanks.
I'll look into fitday.com as well. Thanks again.

A good fitness community to visit is Finertia. I have a fitness journal there as well. I find it's great for getting advice as that is the focus of the whole community. A lot of people are based in the GTA. It's a good environment since everybody there is fitness conscious, so it really gets you motivated...well, atleast for me it does...haha

As well, someone mentioned Fitday which is pretty good, especially since it's FREE. I'm using it right now to monitor my caloric intake.

Originally Posted by Fightguard

Thanks...so if I'm toning, as opposed to building my musclues, am I effectively maintaining my current muscle mass and not losing any of it through the rest of my workouts and diet??

It's hard to say whether you are actually maintaining unless you frequently have body composition tests done (in a phase where you are losing fat). Here's the logic: while your weight program will not cause you to lose muscle mass, the fact that you are decreasing your mass (mostly fat) will. Don't forget that your body now lugs around ~20 fewer pounds at ALL TIMES. Consider this a continuous weight exercise throughout the day - a movement such as crouching down has 20 lbs less resistance than before. Same effect goes for all stabilizing muscles in your back, abs, etc.
I've gone through a mass decrease of about 22% and have experienced this myself, so maintaining that mass will require a bit more work (heavier weights) as you progress.

Best of luck to you!

edit: most of my losses were over a 2-3 year period ending about a year ago - very gradual but i'm still working at it.

It's nice to see another person learning the importance of staying fit. Last August I weighed in at around 225 pounds, but since then I've reached 190. I'm about 5'9". As you can see I still have around 20 pounds of fat to go However, I've taken something of a different route from yourself. I started with weight training and moved on to cardio.... believe it or not I owe it all to DDR to get me started

I'm telling you this, because your missing something very important by just lifting 10 pound weights. They may tone a bit but you will not gain muscle. Even if it seems that gaining muscle now is counter-intuitive it actually is not. You see every pound of muscle increases the calories you burn daily by 25-50 calories. That may not seem like much, but 10 pounds of muscle = 250-500 calories more a DAY. You might want to try the heavier 20 or 25 pound weights.

The added muscle mass does have other advantages. I know it seems shallow, but when I look at my arms I'm filled with a little pride that it was my determintation and strength that got me whats there.

Right now I'm trying high intensity cardio, sprinting, during short bursts. From what I've read recently it's effects are better than long sessions, and it does little to affect muscle mass that long cardio sessions do.

Just curious though, what made you decide to start losing weight? Mine was well... I'll leave it at that.

Thanks for all the feedback...
I'm definitely looking into heavier weights immediately...after woking out this weekend, suddenly 25 reps/6 sets just isn't tiring me anymore. Definitely a psychological aspect comming into play here

Ren, the decision simply came down to the fact that I need to live...
I have a ridiculously high blood pressure and diabeties is prevalent in my father's side of the family, with my father being the most severe case among them...simple decision that I finally realised that I need to take my health seriously.

you gotta eat 6 times a day bro. Make sure to train your metabolism to work faster. Don't use a scale. It will just mess with your head. If you have a tape measure then use it and make sure to measure each mucle or your belly.

I was size 36" a month ago and now i'm down to 33" waistline. The routine I did was the one BFL recommended but I switched to a different routine after 2 weeks (i think). If you want to lose fat then do cardio. Try to eat healthy and clean. How long are you planning to do a cutting cycle?

Originally Posted by daimien

you gotta eat 6 times a day bro. Make sure to train your metabolism to work faster. Don't use a scale. It will just mess with your head. If you have a tape measure then use it and make sure to measure each mucle or your belly.

I was size 36" a month ago and now i'm down to 33" waistline. The routine I did was the one BFL recommended but I switched to a different routine after 2 weeks (i think). If you want to lose fat then do cardio. Try to eat healthy and clean. How long are you planning to do a cutting cycle?

I do eat 6 times a day...I made reference to this earlier, see my original post and a few posts above for an example of my diet.

Cardio? I do 30-40 minutes a day, 5 days a week...did you read my posts at all??

I'm not familiar with the term "cutting cycle"...can you explain please?
thanks.

BTW, just to update on my weight training situation...I bought a havier set of adjustable dumbells last week, so I'm now working with 20-25 lbs. in some exercises (eg. bicep curls) and 15 lbs. with others (eg. tricep kickbacks).

lol sorry bro, I'm too tired to go over all the posts but yes, now that you mentioned it. I seen your post