[scramJam]

Some questions on "How to lose weight & gain muscle"

Article in question : https://darebee.com/fitness/lose-weight-gain-muscle.html
Mealplan it suggests : https://web.archive.org/web/20220124032937/https://darebee.com/mealplans/power-fast.html
My body : Obese, type 2

Questions :
1) Is it effective for a long-term body recomposition if your body resembles a funny sphere? It does make sense : slow and steady, with increased muscle mass for more burn during exercise, but it would be nice to hear from someone who attempted this with, well, large amounts of excess weight.

2) Eating carbs after the workout means that whatever glycogen I produce then and there - it's all I get until my next training session. Will it really last? Isn't having more glycogen ready to go = doing more reps with heavier weights? I understand that meal plans are deprecated as of now, but article is alive and well - and it, essentially, recommends doing the same.

3) Adding sources to the article would be nice, but that's neither here nor there.

 

[koriandr]

Hi! I've read some articles about body recomposition, from German volume training to your average "HIIT Video lesson number 44" . What all of them had in common was caloric deficit and large amount of volume and intensity. Now, I don't think someone who's shaped as a "funny sphere" should be doing excess amounts of HIIT, because that would be detrimental to their joints. I'd really suggest just going on a 500-700 caloric deficit, cutting out all junk food and sugar and drinking only water. For exercising it depends. If you have access to weights, stronglifts might be your cup of tea. It is a beginner friendly "body recomposition" type of program that focuses around the 4 main lifts done in a full body style, each workout containing 3 of those 4 lifts, splitted in 3 full body workouts. You start with the empty bar, so you should focus on form in the first weeks. If you don't have access to weights, than I'd say to focus on the three main plains of movement - push, pull and squat, which means - do push ups, do inverted rows, do squats. Do that in a full body style workout, again with 3-5 sets, first couple of sets take to about 60-80% of what you can do, leaving some energy in the tank and the last set go to failure. It's important to note that you need your workouts to be in a full body manner, because that is how the body is intended to move and that is how you burn the most calories.

Now about your second question. The tougher the workout, the more the glycogen is burned off. But keep in mind, each gram of glycogen is stored with at least 3 grams of water, which means that the more glycogen you burn, the more your body needs it back, the more you restore it, the more water you'll retain. A viable way of losing weight is characterized with an inadequate intake of carbs, hence glycogen, which provides further weight loss, because of glycogen storage depletion. The excess water needed to store glyco goes out as well. Now, I'm not saying don't consume carbs, because you actually need glycogen for other important stuff, mainly for keeping your organs healthy, but consuming just enough to satisfy your body's need without fully replenishing your storage is the way to do it. Always stay hungry. Eat just enough to satisfy your hunger, but not until you're full. I hope this helps you

 

[scramJam]

Thank you for the answers!

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Oh ja. Even non-HIIT things like Total Burn destroy me. I even had no time to wreck the joints properly - back muscles gave up first. Had to do some restorative training, courtesy of @lofivelcro and @calendula (she's not on the new forum yet, I think). It helped. For anyone who stumbles on this while having similar problems (back muscle pains after doing jumping jacks while weighting more than a centner) -

Spoiler: the magick formula

Calendula : "Have you been stretching with your routine? I find that child's pose helps a lot with upper back pain for me, as well as cat/cow poses to help with flexibility. I tweaked my lower back a few years ago when my doorframe pull-up bar slipped (be careful with those!) and I did a lot of child's pose. This rehab workout looks really great for that too. Hope you're feeling better! "

Lofivelcro : "
Alt-right raises are great for the back, too. They're not called Alt-right raises, of course, but... eh... opposite left-right arm leg raises or something. These here:
If you put some effort into stretching your leg and arm, they're damn great for your back muscles.

||
Idea for your back pain:
Start working on your glutes and thighs. Seriously. Especially the glutes. Do shoulder bridges, if you can. Push up with your feet and really tighten those glutes. Feel with your hands if there's something happening. Do lying side leg raises, like Jane Fonda way back before your time. Etc.
Weak glutes can lead to back pain, even more so when you use them mostly for sitting on them.

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No sugar or fast carbs! Never were any. My problem is "I love cooking and eating" a bit too much, coupled with terrible craving control. It usually comes down to "I can't think unless I stuff myself with something filling". Preferably meat, strangely enough, not carbs. Was, rather, I think I have my eating habits under control - up to the spec you've described, except for an occasional relapse.

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As a matter of fact - I do have access to weights! Gym membership. And love moving heavy rocks. Although I preferred kettlebells for a time, until I, uh, got a bit overzealous and hurt myself. One thing that always stopped my from trying the big bar properly - is that's there are always 3 to 4 men kachunk-kachunking the damn thing. Any day of the week, any hour of the day. Small gym, sizable demand.
But I hear ya. Will try! (once I'm certain that I won't resemble a tomato that got stepped on after lifting something too heavy :vD)

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So, if I understand you correctly, I can achieve similar results to the ones described in the article if I just lower overall carb intake and keep myself on the edge of the "hungry" feeling. Correct?

 

[koriandr]

Thank you for the answers!

---

Oh ja. Even non-HIIT things like Total Burn destroy me. I even had no time to wreck the joints properly - back muscles gave up first. Had to do some restorative training, courtesy of @lofivelcro and @calendula (she's not on the new forum yet, I think). It helped. For anyone who stumbles on this while having similar problems (back muscle pains after doing jumping jacks while weighting more than a centner) -

---

No sugar or fast carbs! Never were any. My problem is "I love cooking and eating" a bit too much, coupled with terrible craving control. It usually comes down to "I can't think unless I stuff myself with something filling". Preferably meat, strangely enough, not carbs. Was, rather, I think I have my eating habits under control - up to the spec you've described, except for an occasional relapse.

---

As a matter of fact - I do have access to weights! Gym membership. And love moving heavy rocks. Although I preferred kettlebells for a time, until I, uh, got a bit overzealous and hurt myself. One thing that always stopped my from trying the big bar properly - is that's there are always 3 to 4 men kachunk-kachunking the damn thing. Any day of the week, any hour of the day. Small gym, sizable demand.
But I hear ya. Will try! (once I'm certain that I won't resemble a tomato that got stepped on after lifting something too heavy :vD)

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So, if I understand you correctly, I can achieve similar results to the ones described in the article if I just lower overall carb intake and keep myself on the edge of the "hungry" feeling. Correct?

Indeed that is the way to reduce body fat while increasing muscle mass, aka "Body recomposition". Keep in mind tho, to have increase in muscle mass, you need to tear your muscle fibers, so working out is essential to the mix, but don't overdo the workout part, because high fatigue + caloric deficit don't mix well for long periods of time. As I said, go for full body workouts 3-4 times a week max. If you want to have cardio + strength workouts you can just do them 50/50, 1-2 cardio full body workouts and 1-2 strength workouts. You can find some really good workouts on here, I actually follow some sort of a similar plan myself. I have 2 strength and 2 high burn workouts, but I also incorporate active rest work in-between workout days, which you shouldn't worry about yet. Good luuuck

 

[Andi64]

Eating carbs after the workout means that whatever glycogen I produce then and there - it's all I get until my next training session. Will it really last?

Trust me, it will. The glycogen stores in our bodies, 100g in the liver and around half a kg in the muscles, are notoriously hard to deplete. Even when you are fasting, your liver keeps the level in your blood. So if somebody is hangry, it's because of hunger/craving food not ' low blood sugar'.
I usually work-out after an 18h fast and have no such symptoms.
Good luck and all the best.

 

[Mikasonu]

I ran into the same struggle balancing workouts and seeing results. Upping my protein made a difference, and I kept my meals simple—no fancy tracking apps. I also checked out Biaxol.co.uk since someone in my gym mentioned it, and their info helped me better understand how different supplements support muscle growth without messing up fat loss. Just don’t forget rest days—they’ve been key for me alongside lifting.