The FITDAY thread

[Eddie]

search for peanut butter. add it to your daily log.

search for bread, add it to your daily log.

That's what I'm saying - I never made it past "search for bread, add it to your daily log".

As soon as I hit the button that says to log it, by browser ended up on an error page. I'm telling you, Fitday is prejudice against white bread!

[TripletDaddy]

Question about weight and genetics......how much truth is there to the notion that some folks are just not genetically programmed to have flat stomachs or bigger muscles?

For you guys that are cycling all the time and spinning off the calories, how is your stomach? Is it fairly flat?

It seems like the last few pounds are the toughest to lose.

[pelagius]

Question about weight and genetics......how much truth is there to the notion that some folks are just not genetically programmed to have flat stomachs or bigger muscles?

How bad is it? This bad?

[MarkGrace]

In the grand tradition of the Skinny Cow ice cream sandwich, I just checked out the "Skinny Dippers." I bought the box that has both vanilla and mint dipped in chocolate. They're pretty similar to the dipped creamies, though not as substantial. Anyway, they are as good as the sandwiches, which is saying something. Each bar checks in at 80 cals and 3 grams of fat.

[TripletDaddy]

OK, another question for the group (or Pelagius Cushing).....

So I have been very dedicated to the diet and exercise....going daily (except Sunday) since mid March. Also, I just checked fitday and over the past 2 months I have been averaging about 1840 calories a day. Overall, I am pleased with my progress and getting ready for my cholesterol test next month. I actually was thinking about it over the weekend and getting a bit nervous, but I digress.....

Anyway, my question concerns lifting and building muscle mass. To begin with, my goal is to not get crazy swoll and look like some of those meatheads in the blood-filled youtube videos with which Pelagius likes to torment and tease me. But it would be nice to add some bulk. I already can tell that I am adding a bit, which for me is a big deal.

However, how do I reconcile my caloric intake limits with my desire to add bulk. It would seem that I need to intake way more calories a day (protein mostly?) if I wanted to get bigger. But in doing so, adios fitday goals to thin the waist a bit. Is there a way to reconcile the two goals? Or can I continue on at my current clip and slowly add muscle mass? Is there a minimum caloric intake that I should be hitting if I am lifting frequently?

thanks.

[pelagius]

However, how do I reconcile my caloric intake limits with my desire to add bulk. It would seem that I need to intake way more calories a day (protein mostly?) if I wanted to get bigger. But in doing so, adios fitday goals to thin the waist a bit. Is there a way to reconcile the two goals? Or can I continue on at my current clip and slowly add muscle mass? Is there a minimum caloric intake that I should be hitting if I am lifting frequently?

thanks.

Really not sure I am the one who should be answering this but here goes.

There is probably a lot of good empirical work done on this question that I am not aware of but I think the short of it is that its possible for untrained subjexts to add some lean muscle mass (probably only small amounts) while in a calorie deficit. Here is a an 8 week experiment involving obese woman. Those that engaged in weight training and diet lost on average 4 kg and gained 0.43 kilograms of lean msucle (but I don't think this was statistically significant, see Resistance weight training during caloric restriction enhances lean body weight maintenance, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3...?dopt=Abstract ).

It sounds like you have had small increases at least in muscle mass while consuming at a deficit. That's great. You might just want to enjoy the ride unless your disasatisfied with your rate of progression. Eventually, I think to see significant increases in muscle mass you will have start eating at a surplus. My questions is whether that is what you really want? Do you want add more muscle or do you just want to look more muscular? If you just want to look more muscular or ripped than I think the fastest way to that reach that goal is to lose fat and preserve muscle mass (and maybe gain a little muscle mass). If you lose fat and preserve your current level of muscle mass you are going to look more muscular and your waist will be trimmer too. Resistence training has been shown to be very effective at helping maintain muscle mass even in fairly extreme calorie deficits. For example, in a 1999 study subjects on an 800 calorie liquid diets maintained muscle mass with resistence training (http://www.jacn.org/cgi/content/full/18/2/115).

[TripletDaddy]

Thanks p-lag. This was good info. Thanks for asking the clarifying question, because you make an interesting distinction. I guess I don't care much about adding much more poundage to my frame. I care more about continuing to trim down at the waist. I guess if I continue to shed body fat, the muscles will begin to show.

Rowrr! I am turning myself on. I will be back in 3 minutes....

[pelagius]

That's right; its the brad pitt/branch warren distinction:





Personally I can't figure out why but I have been informed that some people actually prefer the second physique over the first.

[TripletDaddy]

That's right; its the brad pitt/branch warren distinction:





Personally I can't figure out why but I have been informed that some people actually prefer the second physique over the first.

Yikes. The dude in the first pic looks nasty. Would you seriously want to look like that? His wardrobe must be horrific.

I would much rather have Tyler Durden's physique. You can wear all kinds of cool clothes and women dig it. Admittedly, when that pic is right next to the meathead in Pic #1, Tyler Durden looks like a pathetic wuss.

[pelagius]

Yikes. The dude in the first pic looks nasty. Would you seriously want to look like that? His wardrobe must be horrific.

There is no chance of that. Actually here is what one of the bigger (not necessarily the best) natural bodybuilders looks like:



He like 5'10'' 190 at competition ... That's the upper end of the spectrum for natural bodybuilders in terms of size. Where Branch Warren is like 260 at contest and maybe like 5'8''.

[Gidget]

When do you update your lifestyle activity level on fitday?

These are the options:
1.Very Low Activity (Sedentary)
2.Seated All Day
3.Mostly Seated With Some Movement
4.Standing Work
5.Strenuous Work or Highly Active

I have myself at #3 right now cuz that's what I put in when we started to be safe, though obviously with a toddler I am not mostly seated. But now (and for the last 2 months) I am mostly standing and putting in around 2 hours of exercise a day but have brief periods of sitting (usually in the evenings). Could I upgrade to 'standing work'? Though I am not on my feet 100% of the day? Or is it safe to stay with 'mostly seated with some movement'? Would updating this status even be helpful?

[marsupial]

When do you update your lifestyle activity level on fitday?

These are the options:
1.Very Low Activity (Sedentary)
2.Seated All Day
3.Mostly Seated With Some Movement
4.Standing Work
5.Strenuous Work or Highly Active

I have myself at #3 right now cuz that's what I put in when we started to be safe, though obviously with a toddler I am not mostly seated. But now (and for the last 2 months) I am mostly standing and putting in around 2 hours of exercise a day but have brief periods of sitting (usually in the evenings). Could I upgrade to 'standing work'? Though I am not on my feet 100% of the day? Or is it safe to stay with 'mostly seated with some movement'? Would updating this status even be helpful?

I have #4 because I do stand most of the day. I only sit to nurse (which is usually when I hop on the internet and this board) and to read a book to my kids. Otherwise I am standing.

[TripletDaddy]

When do you update your lifestyle activity level on fitday?

These are the options:
1.Very Low Activity (Sedentary)
2.Seated All Day
3.Mostly Seated With Some Movement
4.Standing Work
5.Strenuous Work or Highly Active

I have myself at #3 right now cuz that's what I put in when we started to be safe, though obviously with a toddler I am not mostly seated. But now (and for the last 2 months) I am mostly standing and putting in around 2 hours of exercise a day but have brief periods of sitting (usually in the evenings). Could I upgrade to 'standing work'? Though I am not on my feet 100% of the day? Or is it safe to stay with 'mostly seated with some movement'? Would updating this status even be helpful?

It is only helpful to the extent that, mentally, you would then convince yourself that you are burning more calories than you probably actually are.

Use fitday as a guide. If you really want to know your lifestyle activity, go upstairs to your closet and put on a pair of pants that didn't fit you 6 months ago. See how they fit today. That will tell you all you need to know. By all accounts, you continue to increase your stamina and your clothes are looking sharp, so I'd go with that.

Also, I tend to think that SAHMs with kids are not burning a ton of calories..same with the guy at work that walks around the office a lot. SAHMs are definitely spending their entire day chasing after kids. But how many of them are remotely in shape by virtue of chasing kids all day? If SAHMs were burning 3000 calories a day by standing up with kids, I think gym memberships would plummet. I would imagine the 5 fitness categories as a bell shaped curve. Most people are in the middle. The extreme end is for athletes and hard-core manual labor....logging, heavy lifting, etc. It would be interesting if SAHMs were on the high end of the bell-shaped curve by virtue of standing up during the day, but if I had to guess, I would say most folks are simply in the middle.

[Gidget]

Yeah I really don't think it is going to make much of a difference if I am at level 3 or 4. In fact, I will stay with where I am now - my daughter isn't a lot of work really anyway. She pretty much watches herself. She's cool like that.

[beelzebabette]

I just wanted to report that the scale registered a 10-pound weight loss for the month of May. Thank you, FitDay, milkshakes (and eclairs, MG, you evil man), and Pacific Ocean. My goal is to not gain half of that back in June.