BRIENMALONE's CalorieKing blog
Monday, Mar 3 2008 - Burn the Fat...
View BRIENMALONE's food & exercise for this day
I need to remember how I lost the first 20 lbs. When I stopped doing cardio, it really threw me for a loop and you can see it in my numbers. When I do no cardio, I have a hard time sticking to my intake plan. When I do cardio 7 days in a row, I have a hard time eating enough food! (Now that is a problem you WANT to have!)
The calorie slips last week stalled my progress a bit; but to be honest, being unable to stick to my net calorie targets did more damage to my morale than it did to my weight loss progress.
Rule 1: Eat 2500 calories every day
Based on my RMR/BMR I should eat 2500 to maintain weight. The idea is to use cardio (and weight training) to get your net calories below 2500 for weight loss. "Burn the fat", don't "starve the fat".
Rule 2: 30% deficit is the floor
To lose weight, I can aim for a deficit of up to 30% or 1800 calories whichever is greater.
Rule 3: Aim to lose 2lbs per wk or 1% body weight
I am 230 lbs, so I can lose 2.3 lbs per week without risking muscle loss (theoretically).
Rule 4: Macronutrient Ratios at 50% carbs
The start of a diet is no time to go low carb; that is a fine tuning technique used to "strip away the final layers for a contest". My macros should be 15-20% fat, 20-30% protein and 50-55% carbs. (When I let my carbs get too low, I get cranky and can't think clearly.) Don't cut fat completely. Some fats are necessary for hormone production!
Rule 5: Do cardio 5-7 days a week.
Yep - every day. Cardio workouts train your body to use calories more and more efficiently. As long as you're eating your BMR calories cardio shouldn't cause overtraining because your body will adapt to the workload quickly.
Rule 6: Weight train 3 days per week
This is a new addition, now that I have healed (hernia surgery). Weight training is an essential part of weight loss. The latest theory goes something like this: Weight training causes micro-tears in the muscle that the body has to repair. Repairing the body burns calories, so you get a greater "afterburn effect with weight training. (Cardio doesn't produce this effect because endurance work does not push the muscle's limits.)
And that's all there is to it.
One change I'm making today -- I'm going to set my ck daily calorie intake level at 2500 to remind me that this is the real limit. (I'm still not sure if I will do 3 low and 1 high or 5 low 2 high... or 7 low... *shrug* I don't know! I'll let my cardio days determine the cadence of high to low days.)
Welp - it's almost 6:30am -- Time to get to it!
-------
9:45am
30 Minutes of Cardio Today... 300 calories
Well... I did 30 minutes on the treadmill and managed to run 1 mile at 5mph before my heart rate went anaerobic. I started walking to cool down, but at some point I realized that I wasn't ready to run again, but even a brisk walk was only getting my heart rate up to 125bpm, so I headed over to my old friend the elliptical. I only had time for a few minutes on the elliptical before I had to go. (I really REALLY need to get up at 5am instead of 6. ) Total calories burned: 300. (I need to burn 650 per day!)
Trading the Elliptical for the Treadmill and/or Rowing Machine
I'm trying to wean myself from the elliptical because my glutes and hamstrings are doing great, but I'm neglecting my quads and calves... Still, I can crank up the resistance and go forever on an elliptical, so that is a good place for me to go for calorie burn.
The Cardio Difference
All last week when I didn't do cardio, I had a hard time keeping breakfast to my healthy PBJ (flax based bread, flax-based peanut butter and fruit or natural fruit spread). I felt compelled to add processed simple carb junk like crackers or ritz bits. After 30 minutes of cardio, I wasn't really hungry for my breakfast so eating on track was easy!
Cardio on an Empty Stomach = Less Hunger!
It is so strange to me that this happens, but it is true. If I go straight to the gym without eating, after about 10 minutes of my cardio session, I'm not hungry. In fact, my adrenaline is coursing so much after I'm done that I usually don't get hungry until about an hour after I cool down. With time in the morning being tight, I tend to eat immediately after I get home. Not being hungry when I eat helps me keep a grip on how much and what I eat.
----
Setting CK to 2500 didn't really do what I wanted it to, so I set my calorie target back to 1850 (the low end). I can see the total number of calories eaten on the right side of the screen. No biggie!
The calorie slips last week stalled my progress a bit; but to be honest, being unable to stick to my net calorie targets did more damage to my morale than it did to my weight loss progress.
Rule 1: Eat 2500 calories every day
Based on my RMR/BMR I should eat 2500 to maintain weight. The idea is to use cardio (and weight training) to get your net calories below 2500 for weight loss. "Burn the fat", don't "starve the fat".
Rule 2: 30% deficit is the floor
To lose weight, I can aim for a deficit of up to 30% or 1800 calories whichever is greater.
Rule 3: Aim to lose 2lbs per wk or 1% body weight
I am 230 lbs, so I can lose 2.3 lbs per week without risking muscle loss (theoretically).
Rule 4: Macronutrient Ratios at 50% carbs
The start of a diet is no time to go low carb; that is a fine tuning technique used to "strip away the final layers for a contest". My macros should be 15-20% fat, 20-30% protein and 50-55% carbs. (When I let my carbs get too low, I get cranky and can't think clearly.) Don't cut fat completely. Some fats are necessary for hormone production!
Rule 5: Do cardio 5-7 days a week.
Yep - every day. Cardio workouts train your body to use calories more and more efficiently. As long as you're eating your BMR calories cardio shouldn't cause overtraining because your body will adapt to the workload quickly.
Rule 6: Weight train 3 days per week
This is a new addition, now that I have healed (hernia surgery). Weight training is an essential part of weight loss. The latest theory goes something like this: Weight training causes micro-tears in the muscle that the body has to repair. Repairing the body burns calories, so you get a greater "afterburn effect with weight training. (Cardio doesn't produce this effect because endurance work does not push the muscle's limits.)
And that's all there is to it.
One change I'm making today -- I'm going to set my ck daily calorie intake level at 2500 to remind me that this is the real limit. (I'm still not sure if I will do 3 low and 1 high or 5 low 2 high... or 7 low... *shrug* I don't know! I'll let my cardio days determine the cadence of high to low days.)
Welp - it's almost 6:30am -- Time to get to it!
-------
9:45am
30 Minutes of Cardio Today... 300 calories
Well... I did 30 minutes on the treadmill and managed to run 1 mile at 5mph before my heart rate went anaerobic. I started walking to cool down, but at some point I realized that I wasn't ready to run again, but even a brisk walk was only getting my heart rate up to 125bpm, so I headed over to my old friend the elliptical. I only had time for a few minutes on the elliptical before I had to go. (I really REALLY need to get up at 5am instead of 6. ) Total calories burned: 300. (I need to burn 650 per day!)
Trading the Elliptical for the Treadmill and/or Rowing Machine
I'm trying to wean myself from the elliptical because my glutes and hamstrings are doing great, but I'm neglecting my quads and calves... Still, I can crank up the resistance and go forever on an elliptical, so that is a good place for me to go for calorie burn.
The Cardio Difference
All last week when I didn't do cardio, I had a hard time keeping breakfast to my healthy PBJ (flax based bread, flax-based peanut butter and fruit or natural fruit spread). I felt compelled to add processed simple carb junk like crackers or ritz bits. After 30 minutes of cardio, I wasn't really hungry for my breakfast so eating on track was easy!
Cardio on an Empty Stomach = Less Hunger!
It is so strange to me that this happens, but it is true. If I go straight to the gym without eating, after about 10 minutes of my cardio session, I'm not hungry. In fact, my adrenaline is coursing so much after I'm done that I usually don't get hungry until about an hour after I cool down. With time in the morning being tight, I tend to eat immediately after I get home. Not being hungry when I eat helps me keep a grip on how much and what I eat.
----
Setting CK to 2500 didn't really do what I wanted it to, so I set my calorie target back to 1850 (the low end). I can see the total number of calories eaten on the right side of the screen. No biggie!
3 comments so far.
3.
a decade ago
Hi Brien: Thanks for another inspiring post. And thanks for your comment at my blog. Got me to go back and look at my last 2 months diary entries. Really heavy into the cardio, I'm starting to worry about muscle loss. Ah well, nice to be able to re-visit the drawing board. And my dumbbells are calling me for a workout tonight - an encouraging begining to strength training!
by OTTER
2.
a decade ago
I love your plan, Brien...very clear and sound. Good luck this week, let us know how it goes! I like the idea of eating at maintenence and reducing through cardio....sounds like it will work for you!!
by MAYASMOM
1.
a decade ago
Sounds like you have an excellent plan in place!! Have a great day!
by SOZZIE