scottjameshay@gmail.com

Good day Rebels, 　 I've finally reached a comfortable weight that I'd like to maintain for long-term. I am 6'1 and between 200-205lbs (down from 295lbs). I do still have a bit of flab around the belly and arms, but it is slowly going away and I am beginning to build more muscle now as I transition into heavier strength workouts. As I begin to phase myself out of this major weight-loss phase, I have a question about bulking up as I've never attempted this before (only purposely eaten for weight-loss). My end-goal is to be the same weight-range that I am now (between 200-205), but just more muscular. I am thinking I will need to do some bulking to build muscle, and then get rid of the weight again to burn the fat that was gained during the bulking phase, and then keep on repeating the process until I am more muscular than I am now (Bulk up to 210, shred to 200, bulk up to 210, shred to 200, etc). Is this an accurate image of what will allow me to accomplish my end-goal of maintaining my current weight while becoming more muscular? Or should I perhaps consider getting down to a leaner 190-ish and then bulk back up to this weight? Or can I just maintain my weight and build muscle where I'm at? What's the best way to go about this? Thanks for any advice/help

Ah. So it's mostly just a calorie thing, and not necessarily a fat-intake thing to lower general fat stores? Perhaps using a general cutting method may be the best approach (lower-calories, but maintaining a 0.8-1g/lb protein intake to maintain muscle)?

Question about 'spot-fat reduction'. I know the concept is fake, but is there any way to better reduce general fat-stores around the body at an accelerated pace? Perhaps eating less fatty foods so that the body is forced to use up current fat stores? I am very much enjoying the shape my body has taken on the last year or so. Pretty much my entire body is looking more lean and muscular except around my gut area (the natural place my body stores fat). I have begun monitoring and attempting to keep my fat-intake lower than normal (from about 40% nutrient intake to about 20-25%), but I am not sure if this will yield the results I'd like. My goal over the last week has been aiming for a nutrient balance of around: Fat: Under 30%, Carbs: Under 30%, Protein: 40%+ (0.8-1g/lb) Basically, is this a solution to speeding up overall body fat reduction (consuming less fatty foods)? Or am I just investing time/energy into another faulty methodology? I suppose I could ultimately just patiently wait and eventually my body will catch up to where I want it to be, but can the process be accelerated at all by this method?

I'm confused about my nutrient percentages when tracking my food. I'm using LoseIt and the percentage it gives me for each nutrient doesn't line up with simple mathematical division. I'm wondering if anyone can clarify what these percentages actually mean to me, and how they come to this conclusion in my app? So far today, I have eaten: Fat: 86g (40%) Carbs: 111.8 (23%) Protein: 182.1 (37%) Not exactly sure how I can have eaten over 2x the amount of protein as fat today, yet fat chimes in at "40%" while protein is only at "37%"... Help, please?

I am at the point in my weight loss where I have reached my ideal weight and want to now build muscle. However, I've been reading online how it is basically impossible to build muscle AND lose fat at the same time (unless you're just starting out eating at a deficit and building muscle from nothing). If this is true, I find myself in a predicament. I am at my ideal weight, but not ideal physique. If it is true that you cannot shed-fat/build-muscle simultaneously, then (please correct me if I'm wrong) I think I am left to continue eating at a caloric-deficit until I lower my body-fat percentage to a desireable amount, and then begin eating at a caloric-increase to start building up muscle again. Is this true? Or can I reasonably just maintain this current weight (eating a stable daily caloric amount & nutritional balance) and eventually the fat will disappear and turn into muscle? I currently am 6'1, 220lbs, and I have a fat-store around my gut I want to get rid of. The last time I weighed this much I was shared concerns from my friends/family to stop losing weight because I was looking too skinny (I have a broad athletic build that distributes my weight well, and even I struggle to imagine myself ever dipping under 200lbs again). I really don't want to get too skinny; I just want to stay at this weight and turn whatever fat I have left over into muscle through good eating and exercise. However, if this is a pipedream, I'd like to know about it so I can achieve my desired fitness goals more effectively. If I decided to continue eating at deficit, would I risk losing muscle mass along with fat? Or would eating my 0.8-1g/protein/lb guarantee that I would lose just fat and maintain my muscle? I think this is my main concern. I'm OK continuing to lose weight and getting leaner if it means I am shedding fat, but don't want to risk losing muscle at the same time. Thanks for any/all advice

Yeah. I actually got to see my doctor again yesterday for a follow-up and asked him if I could do modified PT, and he said he's got no problem with that. PHEW! I've been growing anxious not doing anything for the last 5 days except 15min of floor hockey, so I'm looking forward to doing something today I will be sticking with mostly upper body and core and sticking to the machines rather than free weights until I can rely on the ankle to carry/lift the free-weights to/from the benches. Thank God!

Hey all. I've enjoyed great success over the last 10 months and lost 70lbs. The last 2.5 of those months have been spent maintaining my goal weight and building strength. On Monday though I ran into a new hurdle. I broke my ankle playing floor hockey and am stuck with my left foot in a walking boot for up to 6 weeks... (KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!!!!!!!!!) I have heard differing advice on how to approach this period of time as far as PT is concerned. I was thinking I might be able to continue to perform modified and upper body PT (seated weightlifting, general core workouts like situps), but have been told by my paramedic friend that the best approach is Zero-PT over the next few weeks until the bone is fully healed; that I shouldn't risk in any way having the bone heal improperly. I think that there is sound wisdom in both approaches, however the latter really urks me because for the last 10 months I have not gone any more than 2 days in a row without working out, and have been typically working out 5-6x/week (about 3-4 of those workouts being high-quality, and 2 light/low-impact workouts just to stay loose and mobile). Now I am being told I may have to rest for up to 6 weeks for something that is not even that painful to tolerate at the moment (it was a surprise to both Me & the doctors that it was a break)(all signs pointed to a sprain). I have been very proud of myself over the last while for the healthy PT habit I've built and the last thing I want to risk is becoming lazy and complacent again for 6 weeks, but I also don't want to risk my ankle not healing properly. Is this just some new mental hurdle I will have to overcome (an unexpected boss level, perhaps)? Or is there some happy-medium I can find where I can still workout during this time? I suppose it's all relative to my siatution, but have any of you out there dealt with something similar to this in your journey?

Awesome! Thanks very much for the info. I've been tracking all my workouts/weigh-ins for the last 4 months, so it'll be interesting to start tracking things like this. I never would have known about that beginning phase of muscle gain (adaptations) for a couple months, so that's a good primer to realize that I'm not going to start phasing from belly-loss to muscle-definition right away. Very much appreciated!

Literally 'nil', and for 0 days I've been working with an Aerobic Fitness plan for the last 5 months, but now that winter is upon us I'm going to have to shift indoors for workouts, and I'm not going to be doing just treadmill and spin bike for 4 months. Plus I want that toned look, so I have to start incorporating weights not only for my sanity, but for the look I want as well.

Hey all. I'm happy to say that I'm only a few pounds away from my goal-weight. I was 295lbs 5mo. ago and weighed in this morning at 238lbs. My goal weight was in around the 225-230 range, and I am almost at that point now. The next phase of my ultimate goal is to start maintaining that weight and build muscle. I am not really interested in losing much more weight beyond the 225-mark; I have a very broad/athletic build and the last time I was 220lbs I actually had some family start expressing concern to me that I was getting too skinny (I did start looking fairly twig-like), so I want to maintain a weight just above that. My question is basically, what is the best way to go about doing that? I am in an eating cycle right now that is great for weight-loss, but once I want to stop, does that mean I start eating more food in order to stop the sliding on the scale? Do I start working out less often and more harder with weights (I currently do about 5x/week, mostly cardio)? I joined the Academy just over a week ago to start incorporating more weights into my routine for the winter months when I'll be stuck indoors. I'm certainly very happy with my progress and lifestyle changes over the last 5 months, but I just have a sense that a shift in my approach is going to be needed pretty soon, and I'm unsure of how to adjust my routine in order to start focusing more on maintaining weight instead of losing it. Any help/advice is appreciated

Actually, no. I am not counting calories. I have been meaning to get around to look into a good easy app to do this, but have neglected to do so yet. I hadn't thought of eating less as I lose weight before, that could factor in as well... *Moving calorie-counting app up on my to-do list*

I wouldn't say I've got a prejudice against 'jocks'. I'm mature enough to recognize the old negative associations I developed in my younger days to know that those opinions were never valid. However, it's the mental association that I have to lifting weights that is still a huge stumbling block for me today. I liken it to a bad thought/fear that you just can't ward off no matter what you do... Example, when I was a kid (maybe 7 or 8) my older couin & I were walking on a trail in the woods by my place and he decided it'd be funny to freak me out and pretend that he saw a wolf ready to pounce on us and to told me to run for my life; he then proceeded to trip and fall and tell me to run and save myself (which I did). Obviously when he got back to the house I was scared senseless and my Mom reamed him out, but I still didn't go back into those woods for almost 5 years for fear of wolves; or like people who watched 'Jaws' and have never gone back in the water again for fear of sharks... even though I know and acknowledge that the association I have in my mind isn't true by any means, I STILL battle it to this day whenever I do weights and I can't shake it. Thoughts like "you're wasting your time" or "this is so boring and stupid, and you're not boring and stupid" or (my favourite) "this isn't who you are, don't be something you're not, you're a big fat guy like your Dad, his Dad, and probably his Dad before him"... It's hard enough battling the physical aspect of weights, but when the mental portion is so huge of a distraction as well, it's something I've just largely decided to avoid and try finding fitness success elsewhere when the negative thoughts are far less of a distraction. Again, I HAVE successfully done a weights program for a couple months about a year ago, but over a 32-year lifespan so far, that's about as dedicated as I've ever been to one. Perhaps 'leveling up' in weights/strength training begins with telling my mind to 'shut up' because that is the hardest thing to deal with for me. I very well know that those negative associations to 'jocks' ARE pretentious and presumptuous and completely unfounded (as I mentioned in my second post), and I try and avoid any sweeping applications to a person or people in general as a policy in life. But those thoughts still battle me all the same, like someone scared of the water for sharks... I hope this best describes what I'm talking about when I say I need mental stimulation (probably a better word is 'distraction') when I workout that I just haven't been able to find in weights my whole life to this point... I wasn't expecting a large part of my responses to be a defence/explanation of my own psyche, but maybe that's where the more pressing issue could be after all? In any event, I am glad to be finding success to losing 37lbs in 11 weeks, but just the last 4 have been frustrating and confusing. I do appreciate the help, everyone!

- Started at 295lbs on May 28th, last weigh in on August 15th (11 weeks later) had me at 258lbs. I had been doing some daily workouts for 3 weeks before officially getting on this aerobic program over the last 8 weeks. During those last 8 weeks I've got from 282 to 258 (so 37lbs net over 11 weeks, and 24lbs net over the last 8 weeks (there have been some increases in weight over a couple weekends that skew the figures when included)). However, as mentioned, I had put in an extra 60% total workout points this last month compared to the first, but actually lost 50% less weight than the first month; seems completely backwards and frustrating to say the least. Could it be from NOT increasing my caloric intake over the last month to cover the extra calories burned? I have largely eaten about the same amount of calories despite purposely burning much more... - I didn't mean to say that I still equate lifting weights to being a dumb jock. It was an association that developed in my mind when in high school when I was very aware of my lack of ability in the weight room compared to many other guys (even though my size/frame would suggest that I shouldn't be). I have largely avoided weights my entire life (though I did do them regularly for a couple months last year before dropping them) because it still doesn't stimulate my mind enough. It's just mundane repetition of the same thing over and over again. I much more enjoy playing a sport, or doing outdoor activities with a constantly changing scenery to stimulate my mind at the same time. I'm the kind of guy who likes listening to classical music and audio books as much as heavy rock when I go for runs because I like stimulating my mind at the same time I work out, and I have always found it very difficult to do that in the weight room when repetitively doing the same task over and over. I do not pretend to assume that everyone who lifts weights is an idiot, as I try to abstain from sweeping statements like that on a matter of principle. I just find it hard to appease my need for mental stimuli when I lift as opposed to when I'm doing most anything else. - I'll check out the suggestions you mentioned for sure. Thanks for the referral!

Hello, I've been on an Aerobic Fitness Program for 2 months now and have seen great overall progress, especially early on. But things seem to have come to a grinding halt now in the 2nd month. In the first month, I collected a total of 86.85 fitness points and lost 19lbs. However (the more confusing part), over the 2nd month, I have worked out/collected 139.4 points, and lost only 9lbs, and actually GAINED a pound this most recent week!!! I would say that I have been eating about the same, if not better, this month than last, Paleo-wise, however despite a much more intense workout routine, I have not seen anywhere near the expected results for all the work I've been putting in... I brought this up to a co-worker of mine who is in great shape and she mentioned that Aerobic fitness will only carry you so far and that I should incorporate strength training into my routine as well. She said Aerobic is normally good for weight loss at first, but then tapers off and becomes much more difficult to lose weight if it's all that you do. I mentioned that, while I do enjoy my nicely toned calves now, I am seeing much more struggles with the scale now than I feel I deserve because I've been very faithful to my routine, even when it came to doing a couple two-a-days when my Unit had a meager PT session, or when I had to perform my annual fitness test which I couldn't count towards aerobic points (I'm in the military here in the Great White North). Any tips on how I might be able to kickstart some reduction on the scale? I've posted a link to a screenshot that shows my progress so far and what I'm describing (I couldn't attach a file over 500k, so I had to upload the image to imageshack instead). Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated. Is it true that aerobic workouts will only take me so far if that's all I'm doing 100% of the time? I thought aerobic was akin to overall muscle stimulation like swimming is. I've always hated weight-lifting because of the mental association to big dumb jocks (I admit I've always felt too 'intellectual' for such things and I still hate having to do weights today as an adult), but I am willing to adopt the practice if it will help me achieve my weight goals... ***(18 Aug 14 addition) looking back this paragraph really doesn't entail a full description of what I'm trying to describe that I struggle with when doing weights. My apologies for being not descriptive enough. Read later responses to get the full scope of what I'm talking about negative mental association that I have*** Image location of my progress-tracker: http://imageshack.com/f/p9BdaKuFj

I have certainly noticed the workouts getting easier to accomplish... my go-to workout (for now) has been a 4k Walk with 3.6k Run, sometimes with a 12k bike ride (riding to/from work on top of normal workout). With today being Friday, I always like to finish off my week with a big workout followed by a rest on Saturday; I pulled off a 4k Walk, 4.8k Run, and 14.5k Bike ride, while feeling nearly as full of energy at the end of my workout as I did at the beginning of my workouts when I first started; but still, the scale didn't reward me after 2 weeks of increased workouts. You are right, I am seeing other benefits to the working out in that I have increased capacity/ability during workouts, but it'd just be nice to see it show up on the scale as well, right? I'm just over half-way to the goal weight (started 295, currently 262, goal of 235lbs, maybe even lower if my body naturally continues to lose weight and tone-out), but have been stuck in the 260's for 4 weeks now and would have loved to have gotten in the 250's before having a week off work and having to resort to working out at night after the kids are in bed. Thanks for the encouragement!