I don’t usually ask for help directly. Instead I try to find it on the net.
So here I go:
I am a 32 year old male.
I am 6’3" an i weigh 315lb’s and my waist measurement is 49.5 inches and my neck is 17.5 inches.
I know I am obese.
Current guidelines would have me eating 4000+ calories a day to LOSE weight. This stresses me out. I do not feel like that will help me reach my goals.
I am not a stranger to the barbell. I can squat my body-weight, I can bench over 220.
I really need to know how to get to my optimal physique. Should I eat as much as I am told? Or are the macros not right for my current composition? It feels like too much food. I want to lose body fat and still be strong. I don’t know what to do. Any advice or help would be appreciated.
For those who are obese, I’ve seen recommendations to base your macro #'s on lean body mass, not total. With a rough calculation using this website, that means calculate your macros using 211 lbs.
Even if you don’t use those numbers, log what you are eating, and try to be consistent with your macros based on that log for the course of a week. By the end of the week, if you have lost the desired amount of weight, carry on with those macros. If you haven’t lost weight, adjust the numbers by amounts along the guidelines in jordan’s To be a Beast article.
You can do this, and you will be healthier for it!
Thanks so much for your reply. I always suspected that it should be on lean mass in my situation. I have another question though.
should i use the the body recomp macros or the fat loss macros. Also which program should i be using?
I have been off the weights for a while but I am considering using the powerbuilding templates. Any suggestions on how to approach my fat loss journey?
My .02: Great job in making a decision to positively influence your long term health! Be patient and be kind to yourself.
as far as macros, yes, track everything you are currently eating. Regardless of what the total # of calories is, a reduction in that # will put you into a deficit. Same general guidelines that BBM preaches; ensure total calories are in check, hit your protein target, aim for 30-35 grams of fiber and get 8-10 servings of fruit and veggies per day, adjust total calories when you plateau for 2 weeks. Things that can help with hunger - pickles as snacks (really), sparkling water, coffee (black).
Training wise how about Beginner Template>The Bridge>Hypertrophy or Powerbuilding. Try to walk for 20-30 min daily to ensure you are getting your step targets in.
If you have a partner, ensure their habits match your same goals as your as closely as possible or they help keep you accountable.
I would use the fat loss macros and aim for somewhere in the range of no more than ~1% bodyweight to maintain or possibly gain lean body mass while in a caloric deficit. I don’t think it really matters what programming you run specifically as the difference between good and optimal is probably insignificant. Do you know how much food you are currently eating each day? That is what I would base my macros off of and then adjust accordingly by weighing yourself at least half of the days of the week, perferably in the morning, naked or close to it, after using the bathroom but before eating (this is usually the most precise measurement).
Random tips to deal with dieting.
Focus on protein intake and fiberous vegtable intake as both will increase satiety
Try to avoid drinking your calories, generally liquid calories are less filling
Eating a very high sodium diet one day and hydrating correctly can acutely increase your weight by a few pounds, don’t worry, it usually sorts itself out in a couple days.
When things start to get difficult (I can’t tell you when this will actually be although the longer you diet the worse it usually gets) don’t be afraid to eat at maintenancish for a week or so, usually this works to “reset” you both psychologically and probably physiologically.
Caffine is both a stimulent and a appitite suppressant, it generally can help you move more whilst keeping your hunger in check. Reccomendations say no more than 400mg a day.
Metabolic adaptation is basically an unintentional decrease in all the unplanned little things you do in a day reducing caloric expenditure, planning more walks is a great method to counter this, the deeper into a diet the more you will have this slowing (i can’t tell you how much but it seems that it can be somewhere between 0-500 calories or so depending on where you are in a diet) Diet breaks may help with that as well
Generally speaking the goal is to maintain progress and keeping it as painless as possible so any weekly weight loss is a step in the right direction even if it is only 0.5lb!
Wow, lots of great stuff there JoshA. I’ll add to one thing.
In other words, people who are dieting tend to have what some describe as their metabolism “slowing down” and they adapt to being able to maintain their body weight with fewer calories. It has been demonstrated that the main driver of this is actually that they are moving less (things like less fidgeting, or less movement in general).
I can’t speak to any specific counters to this though.