Are you fatter than you think?

[Zendra]

Lite beer is a huge blessing.

[LeafUF]

Originally Posted by Zendra

Lite beer is a huge blessing.

I'd rather have 2 strong beers than 6 lite beers in most situations.

[StrangeGator]

I get zero enjoyment from any beer less than about 160 calories. More specifically, I rarely drink anything that's less than 8% alcohol, but try to keep it to about 10-12 beers a week. If I drink more in given week, I pull back on my solid carb intake and do longer cardio sessions.

[ATL_Gator]

I quit drinking all together. Religious reasons aside, I felt it just wasn't "me". I have never been one to really crack open a beer and enjoy it by myself, I have always been a social drinker.

Back to the topic at hand.. I must be fatter than I thought/think... the last bit of fat I am trying to dump is being a complete pain in the butt!

/bleh

[StrangeGator]

Originally Posted by ATL_Gator

I quit drinking all together. Religious reasons aside, I felt it just wasn't "me". I have never been one to really crack open a beer and enjoy it by myself, I have always been a social drinker.

Back to the topic at hand.. I must be fatter than I thought/think... the last bit of fat I am trying to dump is being a complete pain in the butt!

/bleh

The last bit is always the hardest to get rid of. I wanted to get another seven or eight pounds off, or get my body composition in the 12% range, but haven't had any success. I cut out alcohol all together for the month of March. I actually gained five pounds!

[Dreamliner]

It might help you guys to remember that three things slow down when you lose weight:

(1) Resting Energy Expenditure because your body gets smaller, less tissue to maintenance.

(2) Resting Energy Expenditure because it does indeed slow as function of survival mechanism.

(3) Perhaps most surprisingly, non-exercise related energy expenditure slows.

Bottom line: you have to find a way to burn more calories either through calorie reduction (yes, you may need to go even lower), more activity (wear a pedometer if need be) or both.

[Dreamliner]

Bottom-line: don't let anyone fool you (or dissuade you), a calorie deficit WILL WORK all the way to the bitter end (wherever that is).

[ThomasGoldkamp]

Yup, I've cut my body fat percentage from 15% to right around 10% in a few weeks by cutting down on calories. Have also switched my workouts more toward high rep, lower weight stuff.

Seems to be working. Abs are back and I've dropped roughly five pounds.

[Dreamliner]

There you go! Tried and true works every time. It's just that most people don't stick with it long enough.

[ThomasGoldkamp]

Originally Posted by Dreamliner

There you go! Tried and true works every time. It's just that most people don't stick with it long enough.

Well, I suppose I fit the "most people" category to a T. I'll do well for a month or two (not drinking much lately) and then I'll get into the "go out" mode where I drink a couple nights a week. That's when I tend to slip off again.

[ATL_Gator]

Originally Posted by Dreamliner

Bottom-line: don't let anyone fool you (or dissuade you), a calorie deficit WILL WORK all the way to the bitter end (wherever that is).

You know me, math is math. Calorie deficit must work. And it has been. (regardless of the food choices... of which I can be a poster child for this notion)

I was more addressing the "last bit" in terms of my look and what I thought I needed to get to in order to remove the "last bit". This is speaking strictly in terms of fat loss.

At 205 (average weight for a long time) - 215 (weight as of Jan 2012, I ate a lot in November and December), and upper teens of BFP (which puts lean mass in the mid 160's range), I figured a total weight of upper 180's would net me a fairly "low fat" look with some muscle definition, but not ultra vascular (i.e. P90X after pics that they "advertise"). This is assuming that lean mass stays constant.

I am currently at 193.5 (wearing a dry-fit shirt, basketball shorts, drawers, socks). I am roughly 5 lb from my "target" weight wise. I would say that I am close, but not what I imagined. I am most definately slimmer than I was before, and I can see some definition in my abdomen, but I don't see that 5 more lb is going to get me my target look. So, lean mass must have went down. Not all that surprising though, I was under a calorie deficit and didn't do much working out/lifting for a good 6-8 weeks, easy.

Bleh, anyway, the quest continues.

[Dreamliner]

See what happens if you stay where you are and ramp up the strength training a bit.

[StrangeGator]

I'll have better luck on the expenditure side, but it's a struggle. I'm lifting three days a week with a cardio session at the end, doing one HIIT workout a week, then I have two nights of Aikido, hour and a half on Tuesday, then two hour long classes back-to-back on Friday nights. I only rest my body one day a week and I'm sore all the time, mainly my legs, glutes and lower back.

Like Thomas, I've switched to a lower weight, higher rep weight routine, though I still do a high weight routine every other week. I'm thinking I might go ahead and do a light cardio session early on the mornings when I go to Aikido at night.

Kind of stubborn on the calorie cutting side. It's a real struggle when I'm working from home. The other challenge is that I have to shop and cook for all four of us, and it's hard to do what you need to do for yourself when you're trying to satisfy everyone else's needs. Both kids are headed to college in September, so that part will get a lot easier. That will also give me more time to devote to fitness stuff, especially Aikido. Will start attending Thursday night classes, one hour of body art and one hour of weapons, at a sister dojo 15 miles west of us.

For the moment, I'm stuck at about 185-190, 14-16% body fat. I'd like to get to the high 170s and see how that feels.

[ATL_Gator]

You work WAY more than I do. I lift lightly 4 days a week (about 10 reps total, but 1 of 4 strategies each day), and play basketball for cardio 2 days a week. That's it.

Since the beginning of March, I have been in a weight loss competition, of which I am currently winning (7.8% lost). It is purely what the scale reads, nothing more. If I win, it gets me ~$200. I will push that as far as I can to see what happens, but ultimately, I am a tad too light. I would like a bit more muscle when all is said and done.

[Dreamliner]

Calorie deficit = weight loss.

Sorry to remind.

The good news is that as much as you guys work out you don't need to go as low as someone who doesn't.

[Dreamliner]

Originally Posted by StrangeGator

I'll have better luck on the expenditure side, but it's a struggle. I'm lifting three days a week with a cardio session at the end, doing one HIIT workout a week, then I have two nights of Aikido, hour and a half on Tuesday, then two hour long classes back-to-back on Friday nights. I only rest my body one day a week and I'm sore all the time, mainly my legs, glutes and lower back.

Like Thomas, I've switched to a lower weight, higher rep weight routine, though I still do a high weight routine every other week. I'm thinking I might go ahead and do a light cardio session early on the mornings when I go to Aikido at night.

Kind of stubborn on the calorie cutting side. It's a real struggle when I'm working from home. The other challenge is that I have to shop and cook for all four of us, and it's hard to do what you need to do for yourself when you're trying to satisfy everyone else's needs. Both kids are headed to college in September, so that part will get a lot easier. That will also give me more time to devote to fitness stuff, especially Aikido. Will start attending Thursday night classes, one hour of body art and one hour of weapons, at a sister dojo 15 miles west of us.

For the moment, I'm stuck at about 185-190, 14-16% body fat. I'd like to get to the high 170s and see how that feels.

Strange, I can't do anything about your martial arts schedule. But as to your conditioning, remember that fatigue masks fitness. If you're tired and sore all the time then reducing on the conditioning side may have you feeling and performing better.

[oI2ange]

Strange, is there a lot of sparring in your Akido sessions? If not, you should consider moving to BJJ or something- BJJ sparring was the most intense workout I've ever done in my life. Your lbs will drop very quickly if you spar a few times a week.

[StrangeGator]

Originally Posted by oI2ange

Strange, is there a lot of sparring in your Akido sessions? If not, you should consider moving to BJJ or something- BJJ sparring was the most intense workout I've ever done in my life. Your lbs will drop very quickly if you spar a few times a week.

Not remotely interested in BJJ for a lot of reasons. In fact, the only reason I started working out was to be in better shape for Aikido I don't like ground fighting. (nor do I like punching or kicking.) I think MMA is a cancer on our culture, and even if I was interested, they don't have any BJJ gyms around here (I refuse to call them dojos). I am committed to Aikido for life. It is Budo for me. Fitness is important right now and it will remain important as long as it supports what I'm doing In Aikido. I stayed away from lifting for five years just so my upper body would become more relaxed and supple for Aikido.

I don't know if what we do is considered sparring compared to BJJ, but it is a rigorous, anaerobic activity. Most of the time we go up against Uke, we know what's coming, but he/she still presents a committed attack and will remain committed to fighting back, but it's not a "match." The only true sparring we do is "Randori" when we go up against multiple attackers at once. That's the most anaerobic thing you'll ever do in martial arts. They keep coming until sensei claps.

[oI2ange]

gotcha...that's cool. i'll probably go back to bjj one day, but not right now. i found it super super fun.

[StrangeGator]

The one good thing about BJJ is how much fun people have doing it and how many have come into the fitness world for that reason. When I see people do it in video clips, it looks just like Judo. My biggest problem with it is the connection to MMA but I also have issues with the lack of discipline and etiquette.

90% of Aikido is done standing, or on your knees (suwariwaza). Most techniques end with a pin or a throw, so we stay on our feet almost to the end. A few pins can be done from a standing position.

Aikido is built around elegant footwork, with diagonal and circular movement away from the line of attack. The footwork is entirely based on Kenjutsu as it was passed down from the Samurai. The idea is to get move the attacker from his center and take his balance, even if he/she has his/her hands on you. But you never go to the ground until you are in position for a pin. When you get there, it's over. The pins are built around very painful joint locks. Most are illegal in wrestling and MMA, even though they don't cause injury.

We have a few advanced people who also have backgrounds in Judo or Jujutsu and they will occasionally counter an Aikido pin with a ground fighting move, but it's only done when you leave some kind of opening in your pin and mostly to other Judoka. My sensei is Godan (5th Dan) in Aikido, but Ryukudan (6th Dan) in Danzan Ryu Jujutsu. I'm very careful not to leave openings when I pin him.

A typical night at the dojo might involve pairing up with a partner, throwing him four times and him/her throwing you four times, back and forth for five to ten minutes at a time. You get gassed throwing, because you put all your body into it. You get gassed even more getting thrown, because you either roll or take a hard break fall, and then you have to get back up. By the end of class, the most strenuous thing your are doing is lifting yourself off the mat. I've done it over 100 times in a single class. On my birthday, Sensei through me 54 times in just over 10 minutes.