Losing Weight with Starscream

[Scottw]

Been on my diet for 5 days so far. Drinking 150 ounces of water per day, taking in two meal replacement shakes per day (one at 8am, one at 6pm), one 400-600 calorie meal per day (at noon) and snacks (an apple or raw veggies) every two hours or so. Taking in around 1200 calories per day and am down 8 pounds in 5 days and that's without cardio. I am moving my elliptical machine into the spare bedroom so I don't wake the wife at 5:30 am when I want to work out. My goal is to drop 40 pounds in the next 10-12 weeks.

[Starscream]

Originally Posted by Scottw

Been on my diet for 5 days so far. Drinking 150 ounces of water per day, taking in two meal replacement shakes per day (one at 8am, one at 6pm), one 400-600 calorie meal per day (at noon) and snacks (an apple or raw veggies) every two hours or so. Taking in around 1200 calories per day and am down 8 pounds in 5 days and that's without cardio. I am moving my elliptical machine into the spare bedroom so I don't wake the wife at 5:30 am when I want to work out. My goal is to drop 40 pounds in the next 10-12 weeks.

That's a lot to drop in 10 weeks. Good luck and stick with it! Keep us updated.

Fat Fox Fitness Tip of the Day

You will see on many peices of exercise equipment "cardio zones" and "fat burning zones"

If you are doing cardio as part of your fitness regimen to lose weight here is a little tidbit for you. There is a fat burning zone and a carbohydrate zone (most of us want the fat burning) but in the end it is irrelevant when it comes to overall fat loss. The "fat zone" says lower intensity will burn fat however, when you do higher intensities the body moves more out of homoeostasis, so when it has to return back to normal it takes much longer and requires more oxygen and calories to do so. It is called Excess Post Exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC). In fact studies show that increased use of subcutaneous fat happens during this period. So while you may burn a slightly higer amount of fat during the "fat zone" exercise your total burn doing high intensity workouts (anaerobic interval training) for the same time frame will result in significantly more total caloric burn and fat loss and will improve overall cardiovascular capacity much more than "fat zone"

Now having said that it is not for the weak of heart and I mean this both objectively and subjectively. If you are at any risk talk to a doc before trying this out. Also working yourself at the edge of your total capacity is tough. The results are awesome though.

Anyway just a little tidbit for the day.


Good luck to all in there goals whatever they may be.

[Starscream]

Awesome tip, Shawn. I did not know that about the fat zone on the eliptical machine. So it's better not to use the fat zone monitor at all.


Weighed in at 250 today. Down one pound. I was as low as 247 this week, but the weekend hurt me. No exercise and ate a bit too much. But it was my oldest daughter's birthday and we were celebrating (I know that's not an acceptable excuse, but I'm using it anyway).

Man I have to say my first month has been filled with success, I am well in advance of my goal. I know there will be a slow down if not a stall even but at this point I am doing very well.

I think the major difference this time around is the ceasing consuming Alcohol (specifically beer)

This was a tough one for me as I love my beer and the last time I did this I reduced my caloric intake but included a beer a day.

Here is the reason I chose not too this time.

Alcohol has a few negative effects.

1. It stimulates appetite helping to dull those sensors in your brain that register when you are full even as little as one drink can cause this.

2. While only around 5% of the calories in Alcohol are turned into fat the remaining alcohol is processed by your liver and turned into acetate which is then transfered to your bloodstream to use as fuel (rather than any fat stores)

3. Alcohol increases the amount of cortisal (a muscle wasting hormone) and breaks down testosterone (a muscle creating hormone) for up to 24 hours after consumption. Less muscle means a lower overall metabolic rate which leads to less calorie burn. The results are amplified if exercise is done after consuming alchol.

4. Beer has many plant estrogens (female hormone) that can cause estrogen increase in men. This leads to increased fat storage in the hips and pelvic region (spare tire maybe) and increase pectoral fat (man boobs anyone)

Those are my reasons for giving up the booze this time around.


If I am pissing anyone off by posting this info up just say so........I am not trying to be preachy to each there own I am only sharing what I have learned.

[Starscream]

Originally Posted by SilverFox

If I am pissing anyone off by posting this info up just say so........I am not trying to be preachy to each there own I am only sharing what I have learned.

I'd rather be pissed off than pissed on.

Keep it coming, Shawn. Very valuable info you are posting here. Alcohol is my bane as well. I try to keep it to the weekends, but when I down a fifth of whiskey in one or two days, it's probably worse than drinking a little bit every day.

Time for a little break from the exercise to let my body recover. Gonna take Saturday and Sunday off and be super strict on my intake.

I tend to the obsessive side and don't want to end up with tendinitis in my hamstrings.

Still on progress and cruising along.