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I wrote the top comment in that thread. I want to take a moment to rescind my hard-line attitude as to what constitutes "proper" fitness. The 7-minute workout m

by pvnick 13y ago

I wrote the top comment in that thread. I want to take a moment to rescind my hard-line attitude as to what constitutes "proper" fitness. The 7-minute workout may be a bit gimmicky and overly minimalist, but it is certainly better than nothing, especially if you do a "set" of 3 "reps" (ie do the workout 3 times) three times a week. You'll probably get some aerobic and anaerobic benefits. However, just as important, if not more important, is diet. When counting calories, exercise is no substitute for eating less. Whatever diet you end up using (I have my own strong opinions on that but I'll refrain from sharing those here) it is critical for health and well-being to stay within a healthy bodyfat range. Also, one more thing about that thread. I mentioned leangains and starting strength. Starting strength is excellent for getting strong. Leangains isn't. Leangains is wonderful for getting thinner while retaining your strength. For building muscle, a modest caloric surplus seems to work just as well as, if not better than, intermittent fasting. I'm developing a website that explains more, which will hopefully be launching in the next month or two.

fredophile 13y ago
I'll second the suggestion to read Starting Strength if you're going to lift weights. Starting Strength has excellent descriptions of how to perform the lifts correctly. If you're not lifting with correct form you could hurt yourself. If you're not meeting the lifting standards then it's impossible to quantify your progress.
dimastopel 13y ago
How would you recommend to determine how many calories a specific person needs, and how to easily calculate them? I am aware of the countless number of ways for this, but I am not sure how to differentiate between the working ones and those that usually don't.
- pvnick 13y ago
  The mifflin st jeor equation was found by experimentation to produce the most consistently accurate BMR [1]. You can find it on wikipedia [2]. As for tracking calories, I use my own software for this, which is what I'll be releasing soon, but right now myfitnesspal.com is the de facto standard. [1] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15883556 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15883556 [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basal_metabolic_rate http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basal_metabolic_rate
- nairteashop 13y ago
  Here's what worked for me: I tried various BMR/TDEE calculators and they all told me to consume around 2200 cals a day to maintain my current weight. (IMO it honestly doesn't matter which calculator you use - they are all approximate anyway). To lose weight, I created a mild calorific deficit of 200 cals/day, so basically I eat ~2000 cals a day. I use the myfitnesspal app to track calories. I eat anything I want (yes, including the occasional donut/beer) but I keep the daily total to ~2000. I logged my weight every day, first thing in the morning. (Note that it is important to log your weight daily as it can fluctuate 1-1.5 lbs each day, so you want to be looking at weekly trend lines, vs say measuring once a week). At 2000/day my weight trend stayed steady for 2 weeks. So I bumped it down to 1800/day. Now my trend is pointed down, and I'm losing ~1 lb a week. So that's basically all it takes. Precision and discipline wrt daily calories, with some trial and error to figure out what your individual daily calorific need is. I think a lot of folks make it a lot more complex than it actually is with keto, paleo, insulin levels, etc etc.
- jparishy 13y ago
  It's going to seem like a plug since I work there, but at Fito we created a macronutrient tracker (iOS only unfortunately) that includes a calculator for various goals that has seen pretty excellent results. IMO it's the best free resource available right now.
rickdale 13y ago
I'd be interested in seeing your website. I have been doing starting strength and intermittent fasting since November 1, 2013. I am all the way up to squatting over 270lbs from 150, which in my mind is unbelievable. My weight is up about 10 pounds, and my body fat is the lowest it has ever been, right around 12%. When I started doing this I thought for sure I would just watch my weight drop and no muscle gain, but I was shocked that by fasting I was able to gain muscle and strength. No calorie counting either. But I eat as healthy as I can, 5 days a week. Basically you can build muscle on a calorie deficient diet, look up Mammalian target of rapamycin. I also fit in some carb backloading days, and that is another thing about dieting that is amazing to me. I lost 50lbs in 2012, and it wasn't until I started to diet that I got a sweet tooth. I wasn't fat from eating candy, but once I started having a cheat day on the slow carb diet, I was up for eating a lot of candy on those days. But basically once you burn off the body fat you want to lose, if you do starting strength correctly, you can hack your body to not store any body fat when presented with fructose. It has to be timed correctly, but I do it every week, spending over $20 on muchies and $100 on weed, its a great combination for a healthy mind body and soul. watch this for more information on carb backloading. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlgfaMYdTpI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlgfaMYdTpI

by pvnick 13y ago

fredophile 13y ago

I'll second the suggestion to read Starting Strength if you're going to lift weights. Starting Strength has excellent descriptions of how to perform the lifts correctly. If you're not lifting with correct form you could hurt yourself. If you're not meeting the lifting standards then it's impossible to quantify your progress.

dimastopel 13y ago

How would you recommend to determine how many calories a specific person needs, and how to easily calculate them? I am aware of the countless number of ways for this, but I am not sure how to differentiate between the working ones and those that usually don't.

pvnick 13y ago
The mifflin st jeor equation was found by experimentation to produce the most consistently accurate BMR [1]. You can find it on wikipedia [2]. As for tracking calories, I use my own software for this, which is what I'll be releasing soon, but right now myfitnesspal.com is the de facto standard. [1] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15883556 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15883556 [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basal_metabolic_rate http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basal_metabolic_rate
nairteashop 13y ago
Here's what worked for me: I tried various BMR/TDEE calculators and they all told me to consume around 2200 cals a day to maintain my current weight. (IMO it honestly doesn't matter which calculator you use - they are all approximate anyway). To lose weight, I created a mild calorific deficit of 200 cals/day, so basically I eat ~2000 cals a day. I use the myfitnesspal app to track calories. I eat anything I want (yes, including the occasional donut/beer) but I keep the daily total to ~2000. I logged my weight every day, first thing in the morning. (Note that it is important to log your weight daily as it can fluctuate 1-1.5 lbs each day, so you want to be looking at weekly trend lines, vs say measuring once a week). At 2000/day my weight trend stayed steady for 2 weeks. So I bumped it down to 1800/day. Now my trend is pointed down, and I'm losing ~1 lb a week. So that's basically all it takes. Precision and discipline wrt daily calories, with some trial and error to figure out what your individual daily calorific need is. I think a lot of folks make it a lot more complex than it actually is with keto, paleo, insulin levels, etc etc.
jparishy 13y ago
It's going to seem like a plug since I work there, but at Fito we created a macronutrient tracker (iOS only unfortunately) that includes a calculator for various goals that has seen pretty excellent results. IMO it's the best free resource available right now.

rickdale 13y ago

I'd be interested in seeing your website. I have been doing starting strength and intermittent fasting since November 1, 2013. I am all the way up to squatting over 270lbs from 150, which in my mind is unbelievable. My weight is up about 10 pounds, and my body fat is the lowest it has ever been, right around 12%. When I started doing this I thought for sure I would just watch my weight drop and no muscle gain, but I was shocked that by fasting I was able to gain muscle and strength. No calorie counting either. But I eat as healthy as I can, 5 days a week. Basically you can build muscle on a calorie deficient diet, look up Mammalian target of rapamycin. I also fit in some carb backloading days, and that is another thing about dieting that is amazing to me. I lost 50lbs in 2012, and it wasn't until I started to diet that I got a sweet tooth. I wasn't fat from eating candy, but once I started having a cheat day on the slow carb diet, I was up for eating a lot of candy on those days. But basically once you burn off the body fat you want to lose, if you do starting strength correctly, you can hack your body to not store any body fat when presented with fructose. It has to be timed correctly, but I do it every week, spending over $20 on muchies and $100 on weed, its a great combination for a healthy mind body and soul. watch this for more information on carb backloading. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlgfaMYdTpI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlgfaMYdTpI