Need some advice on exercise and diet regimen

[Tiurobert1]

Hello guys, rookie here asking for advice.

I'm currently standing at 5'9ft, weighing 164 lbs, waist measurement of 34 inches and quite some stubborn body fat around my chest and belly (skinny fat build), 23 years old, male obviously. I'm trying to slim down to a waist measurement of 32 inches and possibly tone my body out. As of this writing, my current exercise regiment consists of the following:

PART 1
1.) 10 jumping jacks, quick jogs in place for 10 seconds, 10 push ups, 10 body weight squats done successively three times
*10 second rest
2.) 10 jumping jacks, quick jogs in place for 10 seconds, 10 inclined push ups, 10 body weight squats done successively three times
*10 second rest
1.) 10 jumping jacks, quick jogs in place for 10 seconds, 10 wide push ups, 10 body weight squats done successively three times
*10 - 15 second rest
1.) 10 jumping jacks, quick jogs in place for 10 seconds, 10 diamond push ups, 10 body weight squats done successively three times
*15-20 second rest
1.) 10 jumping jacks, quick jogs in place for 10 seconds, 10 archer push ups on the knee side by side, 10 body weight squats done successively three times

*30 second rest

PART 2 - Done with a barbell with 15lbs plates or 30lbs
1.) 3 sets of barbell shoulder rows, 10 reps each. 10-20 second rest per set
2.) 3 sets of bicep curls, 10 reps each. 10-20 second rest per set
3.) 3 sets standing overhead press, 10 reps each. 10-20 second rest per set
4.) 3 sets floor press, 10 reps each. 10-20 second rest per set

PART 3
1.) 3 sets leg raises, 10 raises each. 10 second rest per set
2.) 30 second plank

I aim to do this set of exercises everyday or at least 5-6 times per week. I exercise first thing in the morning on an empty stomach due to time constraints. Sleep is no problem for me as I usually snooze off about 9-6 hours per night, averaging on 8 hours.

As for my diet, i've been extremely restricting my meals. Usually just having a glass of warm milk for breakfast, a small meal like a tuna sandwich, oatmeal with bananas or a small serving of fried tofu blocks for lunch and a small meal for dinner. I'm not too confident about my competence to count calories but my estimate has my calorie intake restricted at 1,000-2,000 calories max.

With all this, i'm aiming to lose two inches off my waist and get myself a bit toned. I would like to ask the more experienced folks here if i'm on the right track or if i'm doing anything wrong.

A little bit of history, way back in 2017 I managed to slim down my waist from 39 inches to 35 by restricting my meals and jogging daily. I regained a bit of weight early last year and shed it off by doing body weight exercises and restricting my meals in the same manner as i'm doing now once more however, I didn't get toned, only skinny fat. By the end of last year, I regained some weight again, going from a waistline of 32.5 to 34 hence here I am at it once more. I'm also a bit concerned about the effects on my metabolism and health my constant weight loss and maintenance endeavors may have.

Hoping for the forbearance of the members of this forum for some advice. Thanks in advance

[Waldo]

Dieting has very little impact on your metabolism unless:

You have been in a calorie deficit for a long time (think many months minimum) with NO breaks period and have reached a moderate body fat level.  

or

You are at a very low body fat % and trying to cut too aggressively without using a refeed plan.

 

There are other side effects in addition to metabolism loss; low body heat, ravenous hunger, sex performance issues.  It doesn't accidentally happen, your body will fight you hard to prevent starvation, when it happens you will know it is happening.

 

Losing and gaining weight is not unhealthy, it is perfectly natural for it be in flux throughout your life.  Problems arise at the extremes, where the flux breaks down and you gain or lose for far too long (ED/starvation or obesity), that is where health issues arise.

 

If anything, you could stand to up the intensity on your workout with lower reps, heavier loads, and longer recovery (days between and between sets). 

 

The skinnyfat problem is a 2 part problem as it arises from too much body fat and too little muscle mass, you can't solve both at once.  Building mass requires a calorie surplus and regular strength training, ideally you'd want to be near peak cns strength (most early strength gains have little to do with the muscles themselves, you are instead training the mind-muscle connection to work better, but those gains peter out after about 4-6 months, at least the rapid portion of them), as a surplus will be best put to use.  Losing fat requires a calorie deficit, though strength training will help protect your muscle mass from loss.

[Defining]

20 hours ago, Tiurobert1 said:

As for my diet, i've been extremely restricting my meals. Usually just having a glass of warm milk for breakfast, a small meal like a tuna sandwich, oatmeal with bananas or a small serving of fried tofu blocks for lunch and a small meal for dinner. I'm not too confident about my competence to count calories but my estimate has my calorie intake restricted at 1,000-2,000 calories max.

I regained a bit of weight early last year and shed it off by doing body weight exercises and restricting my meals in the same manner as i'm doing now once more however, I didn't get toned, only skinny fat.

 

I'm also a bit concerned about the effects on my metabolism and health my constant weight loss and maintenance endeavors may have.

It's ok if you don't want to count calories, but you'll probably want to make a meal plan if you're serious about losing fat (NOTE: there's no such thing as 'toning' - you're either removing fat to show muscle, or making more muscle to make it more obvious). You can make a weekly meal plan, meal prep ahead of time, and as long as the food is gone by the end of the week you've probably eaten what you need. If you need some help with meal ideas, this is a good place to start. You can calculate out kcal & macros once, and then just make sure that your weekly totals are 'close enough' - it removes the need to track daily, so long as you're not adding lots of extra snacks in addition to the plan.

 

When either trying to gain muscle or lose fat, I'm a big fan of a starting guideline of 1g of protein per lb of bodyweight (that's a minimum of 150-160g/day for yourself). I'm guessing that once you hit that intake, add in 4-6 veggies a day and 1-2 servings of starch/day (~100g of carbs/day is a good middle ground for fat loss while still having enough energy to build a bit of muscle), you'll be close enough to start slowly losing fat over time. And yes, the quality of food that you eat matters (ie. eat vegetables!).

 

I'm going to respectfully disagree with Waldo re: 'little effect on your metabolism'. Your body can (and will) reduce the number of calories you burn on a daily basis if you maintain a caloric deficit over time - and it doesn't always bump the number back up when you start eating normally again. That's partly because when you weigh less you actually need fewer calories, but it's also due to hormonal responses, in addition to simply making you less likely to move outside of exercise. This is also sometimes why people are more likely to regain weight when they stop 'dieting'. Yoyo dieting can, over time, make it more likely for you to gain fat - so my suggestion would be to go slow, do it properly, and aim to keep the weight off by developing healthy habits that you can maintain long term. That means eating well, regular resistance training, good quality/quantity of sleep, etc. You're not 'dieting', you're changing your lifestyle.

 

There's a study that came out last year (I'm starting to sound like a broken record, it's one of my favourites to reference at the moment) that suggests that trying a 'two weeks on, two weeks off' diet could result in greater fat loss over time, and possibly make it easier to KEEP it off. That may mean that you eat your 1,200-1,500kcal/day meals for two weeks, and then bump back up to 2,000-2,300kcal/day for two weeks, cycling back and forth. It requires two different set of meals plans, and a bit of work/writing stuff down up front, but possibly an easier long term plan for you that would still allow you to put in a good workout lifting progressively heavier stuff to help build muscle. 

 

Personally, I'd probably go for something like the NF Beginner Bodyweight workout rather than what you've detailed above for exercise - it has a better balance of push/pull/upper/lower. But it's also about what you're willing/able to do consistently and enjoy - so if that routine is working for you right now and you don't want to change, keep with it until your progress stalls!

 

You should probably try to get both resistance and cardio in, since that's the most effective for fat loss. Aerobic training helps burn calories, but resistance training helps too, to build muscle and improve your bodyfat percentage as well. Grab a skip rope and alternate days between the bodyweight beginner routine and skipping rope for 20min, and you're set!

 

Aaaanyway, 'hope some of that helps, welcome to the forum!

[Waldo]

17 hours ago, Defining said:

I'm going to respectfully disagree with Waldo re: 'little effect on your metabolism'. Your body can (and will) reduce the number of calories you burn on a daily basis if you maintain a caloric deficit over time - and it doesn't always bump the number back up when you start eating normally again. That's partly because when you weigh less you actually need fewer calories, but it's also due to hormonal responses, in addition to simply making you less likely to move outside of exercise. This is also sometimes why people are more likely to regain weight when they stop 'dieting'. Yoyo dieting can, over time, make it more likely for you to gain fat - so my suggestion would be to go slow, do it properly, and aim to keep the weight off by developing healthy habits that you can maintain long term. That means eating well, regular resistance training, good quality/quantity of sleep, etc. You're not 'dieting', you're changing your lifestyle. 

 

There's a study that came out last year (I'm starting to sound like a broken record, it's one of my favourites to reference at the moment) that suggests that trying a 'two weeks on, two weeks off' diet could result in greater fat loss over time, and possibly make it easier to KEEP it off. That may mean that you eat your 1,200-1,500kcal/day meals for two weeks, and then bump back up to 2,000-2,300kcal/day for two weeks, cycling back and forth. It requires two different set of meals plans, and a bit of work/writing stuff down up front, but possibly an easier long term plan for you that would still allow you to put in a good workout lifting progressively heavier stuff to help build muscle. 

 

 

Ummm, how is this disagreeing with me?  I specifically said long time calorie deficit without breaks, which mitigates the hormonal effects.  But someone that starts out 250 lbs and spends a year dieting down to 200 lbs still likely has so much body fat that there is little to no hormonal response from dieting.  Leptin is created by body fat, it isn't until you don't have a whole lot of it that low Leptin and its host of side effects comes into play.  The diet industrial complex has applied the true science of metabolic damage to cases where it has no applicability whatsoever such that it is utter nonsense for the most part in the common lore of dieting. 

 

OP, having lost 15ish lbs, regained a bit, and lost another 15ish lbs, and regained a bit, over the course of 2 years, is in no way even close to being at risk for metabolic damage.  Heck it wasn't until the very end of my initial weight loss (75 lbs over 9 months) that I was at risk, even then, it wasn't until a few bulk-cut cycles later that I got serious about abs and went for a balls to the wall cut that I actually felt the side effects and had a notable metabolism drop that took quite some time to recover from.

 

Refeeding; eating huge carb spikes, has a very similar effect to off and on dieting on hormones, but is much more time efficient.

 

People are likely to regain weight after dieting because that is what our bodies are designed to do.  In times of plenty (as is when not restricting, either by modern dieting or old school lack of food) our bodies are designed to store for lean times.  Maintaining is not a natural state for most people's bodies, few people will habitually maintain; most people will gain slowly over time with no food intake restriction of any kind.

 

To keep weight off long term you need to give up with the idea of natural maintence in the first place. Its a myth.  You will have to periodically diet for the rest of your life.  As long as you pay attention and stop things before they become a problem, its no big deal.  Losing 10 lbs every spring to get in beach shape is simple and relatively painless.  When you know what you are doing with dieting and confident you can and will succeed, small diets are little more than a minor inconvenience for a couple of months.

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

5 hours ago, Waldo said:

Losing 10 lbs every spring to get in beach shape is simple and relatively painless. 

Not for everyone, at least not the easy part. Some of us struggle much more with things like this than others. Especially those of us who grew up with an unhealthy relationship with food (I for example ate my boredom through to my 30s). While it is as simple as you state, simple does not equal easy. I believe that it's easy for you, but I promise you it's not that easy for everyone.

[Defining]

On ‎1‎/‎30‎/‎2019 at 1:35 PM, Waldo said:

Ummm, how is this disagreeing with me?  

Well, the examples/studies I listed showed higher than predicted reductions in resting energy expenditure for obese & overweight subjects in caloric deficit, in addition to weight cycling exacerbating that effect. So I'm disagreeing with the assertion that it doesn't have any impact unless you're already lean when dieting. I could also point to other data sets that show weight cycling (aka cut/bulk cycles and/or yoyo dieting) also increase risk factors for low level inflammation, cardiovascular disease, and overall morbidity & mortality. But I suspect we'll simply need to agree to disagree on this topic, since it seems that you hold a different opinion.

 

 

On ‎1‎/‎30‎/‎2019 at 1:35 PM, Waldo said:

To keep weight off long term you need to give up with the idea of natural maintence in the first place. Its a myth.  You will have to periodically diet for the rest of your life.  

I also strongly disagree with this  - again, we'll probably just chalk it up to a difference in opinion and let the OP do whatever research is necessary to come to their own conclusion. The idea that you need to constantly diet back down to avoid weight gain is an abhorrent thought to me - but it's good that you expressed your opinion, since we live in a diverse world, and different people need different guidelines and expectations to accommodate different lifestyles.

 

Studies on homeostasis in body weight management are ongoing - and while not all the factors are understood yet, there is enough preliminary data to suggest that  - with all things keeping the same (ie. not eating a caloric surplus, keeping exercise the same, etc.) - most people can maintain reasonably stable weight states, with minor fluctuations (IMO, 10lbs isn't 'minor'). Some of this can be made more challenging by age, a reduction in activity, or an unconscious increase in caloric intake; but with a mindful individual who is prioritising nutrition and staying active, maintaining a stable and healthy bodyfat percentage is absolutely possible (and in reference to the health risks on weight cycling above, arguably the healthier option as well).

 

Thanks again for weighing in!