Thread: Overeating

Thanks Mario

How is the weight loss going Brady?

I haven't lost any more pounds sense I last posted, but I am building muscle tissue. My chest is getting broader and my arms bigger. I don't think I am going to go by the scale anymore. I might just go by my gut size from now on. I do lot of work on my muscle groups and sense I am building muscle tissue, I don't think counting my weight lost via scale is going to be affective. I am getting in better shape though, I went on a 3 mile jog day before yesterday, and I got a runners high, something I haven't had in awhile. BTW, are there any special chest exercises I can do to burn fat on my chest, I am building muscle on my chest but I still have excess body fat over top of it, it looks kind of weird?

Thats a good Idea in regards to not basing your results on the scale. I don't know about the excess body fat on the chest, I used to be pretty chubby and I still have a weird looking chest because of the extra skin that used to be there.

You can't control where your body loses fat. Building muscle just strengthens the area, but doesn't make it lose fat. So you're just going to have to keep doing what you're doing, your body should sort itself out.

The extra skin thing - this is one of the reasons why people advise to only lose 1-2 pounds per week. It gives the skin time to re-shape and therefore won't sag later.

Keep up the good work!

I am more concentrated on gaining muscle at the moment, and am doing the P90X workout program, but would be glad to share what I have learned about weight loss/gain with you.

What you're going to want to do is workout and eat, but since you already do that that's good. The problem lies in WHAT you eat.
You should probably start looking at the nutrition labels on the food that you eat, that's step 1.
Step 2 would be to consume a diet of probably... I'm assuming you're ~180lbs so 50% protein/30% carbs/ and 20% fat everyday. That means eat 90g of protein, 54g carbs, and 36g of fat. Not the bad fat either, the good one (unsaturated)

With a regular workout schedule and reduced eating, you can lose A LOT of weight really quickly, and gain plenty of muscle while doing it. Don't pay attention to the scale if you stick to what I just told you, just start noticing the difference in the size of your pants or the increased reps that you take. Cheat once a week and have a sugary meal, just don't indulge yourself. I would recommend this:

Breakfast: Whole grain english muffin + eggs and orange juice/milk. Maybe some peanut butter on there too? Good protein.

Lunch: Whole grain sandwich of turkey breast slices, some cheese and vegetables, with a serving or two of fruit. (Apples/peaches/strawberries)

Dinner: Smoked salmon/Chicken breast/Steak (don't add too many spices or anything) with a side of mashed potatoes. Yams are a very good source of carbs. Drink Water/Milk/Orange Juice.

For inbetween you could eat a healthy snack, apple slices dipped in peanut butter or some peanuts. Try not to drink sugary or caffeinated drinks like soda and coffee, not good for your body at all.

Pretty basic schedule, but try to not eat over 2000 calories a day if you're trying to lose weight. And if you're going to eat sugary foods, well try to work it off during your workout. Hope this helps.

Thank you lucidteammate. That was helpful information on a balanced diet. The only thing that irritates me is the crap my school sells for lunch. I mean skipping lunch alltogether would be better for you than eating that shit. Everything is deep-fried or has lots of cheese. I think mcdonalds is better for you. I have been eating the sun chips they sell. I know it is better for me than fries and fried chicken.

God my school canteen is terrible too. But here in Scotland we have this thing where you can't sell food which cannot pass this test which declares whether something is healthy or not. But it's a load of BS! All they sell is white carbs and greasy cheese. Cheese pizza, cheese panini's, cheesy pasta. Then there's crisps, nutri-grain bars (basically cake and jam), cookies... I mean fair enough if you want to eat yourself to death but there ARE some teenagers who are concerned about their health.

Just take a packed lunch. A sandwich or something... Some fruit and water... You get the drift.

Council food these days -_-

I think I might try cutting back on carbs and sugars. These two things cause excess body fat (I think). I will still eat carbs, just less, maybe like a piece of whole grain toast in the morning. I will also try to eat natural sugars like fruit. What do you guys think? Also, is there anything else I should cut back on?

Ultimately, calories cause body fat. If you go with a standard 2000 to 3000 calories/day diet (depending on activity level), it doesn't so much matter where those calories come from.

I know that calories cause body fat, but I am pretty sure carbs and sugars are full of energy. Unburned energy turns into fat.

Right. They're full of calories. Your body uses calories as fuel. Calories = energy. The difference between fats, sugars, proteins, carbs, etc is the volume of calories per unit. So eating a steak may be equivalent to one slice of bread. The steak will fill you up more for the same amount of calories. But in the end, the source doesn't matter.

Exactly, so I should eat less empty carbs and less sugar.

Originally Posted by Mario92

Right. They're full of calories. Your body uses calories as fuel. Calories = energy. The difference between fats, sugars, proteins, carbs, etc is the volume of calories per unit. So eating a steak may be equivalent to one slice of bread. The steak will fill you up more for the same amount of calories. But in the end, the source doesn't matter.

What are you talking about the source of the calories doesn't matter? Maybe if you're just trying to survive but he's is trying to lose weight and get healthier. There is a huge difference between calories from stuff like candy, pop, white bread and things like Whole Grain Breads, Oatmeal and potatoes. Just don't eat empty calories that have nothing in them besides calories, look for things with vitamins in them not candy or pop. What exactly do you mean Mario by saying a steak has the same amount of calories as a piece of bread?

Originally Posted by The

What exactly do you mean Mario by saying a steak has the same amount of calories as a piece of bread?

That 1. the steak is greater in volume and more filling than the slice of bread, and that 2. if they have identical calorie counts, you could eat either one just fine. A calorie is a calorie. Something that has good nutrition and takes more energy to digest (e.g. steak) may be better, but he certainly doesn't have to cut out carbs entirely. At the end of the day, all calories are identical.

As Mario said, a calorie is a calorie. You could eat whatever shit you liked, and as long as you cut your calories by 1000 from your AMR (not all from food of course, this includes calories burned by exercise) per day you'll still lose 2 pounds per week. I could live off of chocolate as long as I stuck to my AMR-1000. But we're talking healthy living here.

As for the carbs, carbs burn slowly so they'll leave you feeling fuller for longer. Same thing with protein. But since you're losing weight, then I say low amount of carbs (as you said) with LOADS of fruit and veg, good amounts of protein and very little dairy and sugar. You still need fat remember, but good fats like avacado

No dairy, ahhhhh...

While the "calories in < calories out" equation is fundamentally true, a lot of people ignore the fact that "calories in" and "calories out" are NOT independent of one another.

Instead of trying to eat less or different kinds of food i would suggest increasing your intensity in the gym

do squats, deadlifts, bench press, military press, chin-ups, rows, dips, sprints (if you can)

exercises like that will stimulate muscle growth and your calories will tend to be stored more in your muscles and be used more to build and maintain muscle rather than being stored as fat. also, muscle is active metabolic tissue so it will burn more calories just sitting there than if you replaced the muscle with fat or nothing at all

you can also increase fat and decrease carbs, or try intermittent fasting, this is where you fast for 16+ hrs and eat during a select window every day

PM, if you want to know more

sorry guys, calories in vs calories out is not the whole story

even when you compare similar macronutrient ratios (for example if diet A is 40/40/20 and diet b is also 40/40/20 but different foods) you still need to take into account the types of foods that are being consumed.

different kinds of foods have all sorts of different effects on hormones and body composition through direct or indirect pathways, a diet that eliminates grains and dairy may have the same total calories as one where the person eats ONLY dairy and grains but the person who eats only dairy and grains will have a much harder time losing weight than the person avoiding those 2 food groups

the food you eat affects your body in so many ways, the energy you get from these foods in the form of protein, fats, and carbohydrates are only one small part of the equation

most commonly held notions about nutrition are so off base it isn't even funny. literally. it isn't funny at all because people are getting sick and fat from poor nutritional advice

Well said Astral Traveler.

Well.. my mom read this book that controlled her eating...

Basically what you do.. is make a plate of food that you would normally do.. eat somewhere where you CAN NOT get distracted...

Then eat... and while eating focus on eating only.. "Listen to your body" and it will tell you when you are full..

Very interesting topic under discussion... Well. you can't reduce your eating at the spot...
You should control this slowly if you instantly try to minimize your then it can be dangerous for you...

Originally Posted by Lunataur

Well.. my mom read this book that controlled her eating...

That's quite a feat for a bundle of paper. Did it get stuck in her gullet or something?