Beginner...please help!!!!

[~Sabrina~]

I registered with elite a few weeks ago and i have been reading the archives to get info about increasing muscle and losing fat. I am 22 and just graduated from college....at school i gained alot of weight, i used to be very fit (130 lbs) and now i am at 200lbs. I came to a realization that i needed to get back into shape so for the last month i have been going to the gym and following BFL. I am getting frustrated wtih lack of progress and I would like to see results fast ( i know, everyone does) i am committed to this lifestyle change. I have been reading about fat fast. The protein powder i have is 90cals per scoop and the flaxseed oil is 130cals per T. if i do 6 shakes a day that equals 1320 cals a day. People say that this fat fast is not healthly but how can it be with being over 1200 cal a day? I would like to jump start my fat loss but i do not want it to hinder my results later on. Will this fat fast ruin my metabolism? thanks

sabrina

 

[Sassy69]

Sabrina -- first of all, welcome to the boards - you will find a lot of great information here! I assume you've also read the diet & training boards as well. The first thing I think you need to do is get in touch w/ our local BFL hero - jennifer_BFL Chick! You will find her to be very inspiring & a damn cute girl too!

There have been a couple threads on that Fat Fast -- I dont' know if it works, but I think by the end of a month or whatever of it you are going to beREALLY sick of protein mix. I'm a little confused about whether you feel more than 1200 calories is healthy or not --- the important point about calorie counting is that you get enough to run on so that your body doesn't think it's starving -- THAT will bog down your metabolism. The idea is to get your diet clean (e.g. 5-6 meals/day, good fat sources, low carb, lots of green leafy vegies, good protein sources, additional complex carbs like sweet potatoes, brown rice, etc.) so your body will process food optimally -- kinda like running the good gas through your car and and keeping the engine clean. Then get a good resistance training & cardio routine going to encourage your system to burn the extra fat.

The good news is that it seems that when you gain weight the first time (like not constantly gaining & dropping weight from yoyo dieting) it will respond very well to a good diet & training regimen.

Good luck --but be patient and don't be too tempted to look for quick solutions because they usually end up costing you in the long run. Better to establish the lifestyle and live it - progress will be slow, but will probably last longer!

And again, welcome to elite!

~ sassy

 

[tripleV]

First of all welcome!
Second of all, i'm not familiar with the fat fast, but just because it has the word fast in it, i'm reluctant to condone it.

If you want your metabolism to go up, you must eat clean, high protein, low carb and fat usually works for me, train hard, cardio first thing on an empty stomach, and lift weights to build muscle to burn that fat away.

You may want to try fat burners like an ECA stack before your morning cardio but first try without anything. And if you haven't done the eca stack before, be careful and start with minimal amounts.

Best thing to motivate you is this board. And if you are in need of answers you can find them here too. There area so many knowledgeable and helpful people here. (especially us girls).

That said, I think i'll leave you in the hands of the ever so capable #1 BBF girl Jennifer.


Best of luck and track your progress. You can do it girl.

 

[flex4life]

Welcome aboard Sabrina!

Congrats on beginning your new BFL program... and since you said 'you are committed to the lifestyle change', good idea to have plenty of variety in your diet since you will be eating this way (clean proteins, good complex carbs) for a lifetime. Getting stuck on tuna, eggs, chicken, whatever---really gets b-o-r-i-n-g fast- lots of good choices out there. My protein shake feels like my 'treat' (sweet, creamy, chocolatey)... I would hate to have so much I got tired of it!

'Sticky' at top of women's board posted by Temple has some great info if you're seeking for further knowledge on diet.

Determination & patience...

Flex

 

[new@gettinbig]

WELCOME GIRL!!! Im glad to see u want to make a lifestyle change! As far as 6 shakes a day....that is not a good way to lose weight! I know for a fact u will not be eating that way for the rest of your life...so someday u will come off of it and guess what will happen???? u will be back where u started. U need to eat 5-6 small clean meals a day, full of good protein and clean complex carbs. Chicken, fish, tuna, turkey breasts, egg whites, and lean red meat...sure u can have protein drinks...like 1 maybe 2 a day, but no more than that. This is a realistic way to live and it can be done!!! Any fast diet you here of....is probably no good..It takes time, The weight didnt happen overnight, and it will not come off over night. U must be patient and consistent. There really is no other way to do it. Drink tons of water, stay away from processed foods, sodas, and simple sugars.....JUNK food!! Train heavy and hard in the gym and get some good cardio sessions in and u will begin to see results. Keep up on the boards.....READ and LEARN...it will help you! Post when u are fustrated or down, we will kick u in the ASS and get ya going again. BELIEVE in YOURSELF...never doubt....and keep keepin on! We all are trying to achieve a fit body, maybe a slight variation, but we all have goals on this board....so we are here to support u and help ya out any way we can....

 

[poohbear]

Sabrina,

Welcome to the board. It sounds like you want to lose this weight really fast. Unfortunately, if you want to maintain the loss, it's best to lose it over a long period of time. NO ONE can live on protein and flaxseed oil shakes alone. Throw in some high quality meats, add several servings of fruits and veggies and top it off with a bake potato. Just because someone suggest a meal replacement, it doesn't mean that you have to replace all six of your meals with the shake. Can anyone say diarrhea?

From your currently weight, your approximate maintainance intake is around 2000 calories a day. Nutritionists suggest that a healthy calorie deficit is around 250 calories from food. Add a 250 cal exercise per day and you've created yourself a 500 calory deficit. That equates to 3500 calories a week... equivalent to 1 pound of fat.

Hang in there. Just because you see all these post with good results doesn't mean that it was without effort. Everybody has worked hard for their body and I, along with other members, know that you will work just as hard.

 

[~Sabrina~]

More Info

thanks guys for the responses....heres some more info about me, I can pinpiont all the reasons that i have gained all this weight..partying and never once going to the gym in the four years of college.....can you believe it? going from playing sports everyday to nothing ...i want to kick myself.
In the begining of the summer i just started going to the gym without any set program just going to aerobics classes. I found the BFL program and i have been following that for 3 weeks. The probelms i have with BFL is that I cant eat all of the food that i am suppose to and i want to do more cardio. i feel like i havent done enough after those 20 mins, i know i should be exhausted after it but i am not. I never use to run by myself , i would either have to run with the team or i would go to a class. I have done weight lifting before so i pretty comfortable with that even though i am really sore. oh yeah i have been doing all of my workouts in the mornign before i eat anything.
I have been following the eating plan but after i read all of these posts i am wondering if no carbs will get me to my goal quicker. The reason i thought fat fast would help since i think the shakes would be alot easier to eat than all of that food since I am not picky about food. i have also been having 3 T of flaxseed oil a day.
I tried to figure out my bodyfat using a couple of websites and i got figures from 25% - 41% so i have no clue. I know you hear this all the time but i am afraid to get too big i just want to slim down since i always been considered "big boned" even when i was weighing 130ish wearing a size 10, i would like to return to that size or even reduce it. Thanks again for all the advice!!!!

sabrina

 

[poohbear]

Re: More Info

I have been following the eating plan but after i read all of these posts i am wondering if no carbs will get me to my goal quicker. The reason i thought fat fast would help since i think the shakes would be alot easier to eat than all of that food since I am not picky about food. i have also been having 3 T of flaxseed oil a day.

I had no idea that you eliminated carbs totally from your diet. I had an amateur BB friend that went on a high protein diet, very minimal carbs. She became moody and dumb as s***t. Her clarity of thought was practically non existent. This hi pro and low carb may be the reason why BB and WLifters have the stereotype of being stupid. I don't know.

If you still have access to journals, log on and find info on nutrition. If that's no longer available to you, then visit the book store. I like the books by Nancy Clark.. something about sports nutrition and the like.

take care

 

[flex4life]

Sabrina,
You can get bf% done at most gyms by a qualified trainer- try to get the same person to pinch you each time and using the same calipers- most accurate results this way, although caliper testing still is not completely accurate. Did you take the 'before' pics with BFL program? Pics & tape measurements are a great way to measure your progress.
As for the 'minimal carbs' or 'no carb' dieting, this is a part of competition preparation- competitors do not 'live' on no carbs- it is practiced for a short time to achieve a specific look, then back to balanced eating after show.
And as for kicking yourself of 4 yrs of 'doing nothing'- that is past- you are on a new mission now to get back in shape.
You can't see where you're going if you're busy looking back.
Good luck to you

Flex

 

[keiko]

I'm not well-versed in BFL, but you need to eat enough to keep your metabolism going. If you've figured out how much you should be eating, try to keep track of it and plan your meals in advance.

If you want to do more cardio, I don't think there's a BFl cop around. Do more. Read War Lobo's "When 30+ 30..." post.