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Results from strength training

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How long did it take for you to see results from strength training? 

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@crazyqueet wrote:

Guess I need to figure out how many calories a day I should be eating or macros as I see most people do. I don't know where to look for that. I been debating on my way of eating that I want to do : low carb or carb cycling ....

My advice would be to ignore carb cycling, macronutrient ratios and the like: it’s minutia that may be relevant for competitive bodybuilders or physique athletes who are super-jacked and need to improve their game by another 1-2%, but it doesn’t matter much for regular people like you and me.

 

If your top priority is to lose fat, then you should focus on calories: maintain a sustainable deficit. If your second priority is to build muscle (if you are lucky enough to be able to do it while in a deficit, like @Esya), or preserve as much existing lean mass as possible, eat a sufficient amount of protein. "Sufficient" can mean anything from 0.6 to 1.0 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight (if you are carrying a lot of extra weight, you can base it on your target weight). How you split the rest between carbs and fats is up to you and your personal preferences.

Dominique | Finland

Ionic, Aria, Flyer, TrendWeight | Windows 7, OS X 10.13.5 | Motorola Moto G6 (Android 9), iPad Air (iOS 12.4.4)

Take a look at the Fitbit help site for further assistance and information.

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Forever Smiley LOL! Some people complain their weight loss efforts are slow to show on the scale, but building muscle is at least ten times slower. You can lose weight more or less doing nothing: just pay attention to your diet, make sure you’re in a 500 calorie deficit and boom, you lose 4 pounds in a month. OTOH, you may work your ass off five times a week, one hour each and will be lucky if you gain one pound of muscle. Women and older guys like me are on the same boat in that respect (lower level of testosterone, though that male hormone isn’t the only factor).

 

On the positive side, you can reach tangible results in strength (being able to lift more weight when doing the same exercises) relatively fast, even if you don’t see much progress in the mirror.

Dominique | Finland

Ionic, Aria, Flyer, TrendWeight | Windows 7, OS X 10.13.5 | Motorola Moto G6 (Android 9), iPad Air (iOS 12.4.4)

Take a look at the Fitbit help site for further assistance and information.

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Although your muscle mass may not increase quickly, you can improve your fat% which will make your existing muscles more prominent, giving you the appearance that you are more muscular.

 

I've been doing exactly this while on 1000 cal/day deficit, I've lost ~20lbs so far and %Fat has dropped from ~26% to ~19% (I realize the scales will be inaccurate, but it shows the trend). I've also made sure I eat plenty of protein by drinking low calorie protein shakes.

 

As Dominique mentioned, my strength has improved quickly, especially in the legs which I've been focusing on.

 

 

https://www.fitbit.com/user/5KRRJY
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@baitedbadger wrote:

Although your muscle mass may not increase quickly, you can improve your fat% which will make your existing muscles more prominent, giving you the appearance that you are more muscular.

 

I've been doing exactly this while on 1000 cal/day deficit, I've lost ~20lbs so far and %Fat has dropped from ~26% to ~19% (I realize the scales will be inaccurate, but it shows the trend). I've also made sure I eat plenty of protein by drinking low calorie protein shakes.

 

As Dominique mentioned, my strength has improved quickly, especially in the legs which I've been focusing on.

 

 


Guess I need to figure out how many calories a day I should be eating or macros as I see most people do. I don't know where to look for that. I been debating on my way of eating that I want to do : low carb or carb cycling ....

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I agree you need to figure out how many calories you need a day. But spend your energy and focus on that and don't worry too much on the macros. Carbs are really not bad for you.

Karolien | The Netherlands

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@crazyqueet wrote:

Guess I need to figure out how many calories a day I should be eating or macros as I see most people do. I don't know where to look for that. I been debating on my way of eating that I want to do : low carb or carb cycling ....

My advice would be to ignore carb cycling, macronutrient ratios and the like: it’s minutia that may be relevant for competitive bodybuilders or physique athletes who are super-jacked and need to improve their game by another 1-2%, but it doesn’t matter much for regular people like you and me.

 

If your top priority is to lose fat, then you should focus on calories: maintain a sustainable deficit. If your second priority is to build muscle (if you are lucky enough to be able to do it while in a deficit, like @Esya), or preserve as much existing lean mass as possible, eat a sufficient amount of protein. "Sufficient" can mean anything from 0.6 to 1.0 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight (if you are carrying a lot of extra weight, you can base it on your target weight). How you split the rest between carbs and fats is up to you and your personal preferences.

Dominique | Finland

Ionic, Aria, Flyer, TrendWeight | Windows 7, OS X 10.13.5 | Motorola Moto G6 (Android 9), iPad Air (iOS 12.4.4)

Take a look at the Fitbit help site for further assistance and information.

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@Dominique wrote:

@crazyqueet wrote:

Guess I need to figure out how many calories a day I should be eating or macros as I see most people do. I don't know where to look for that. I been debating on my way of eating that I want to do : low carb or carb cycling ....

preserve as much existing lean mass as possible, eat a sufficient amount of protein. "Sufficient" can mean anything from 0.6 to 1.0 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight


I found this "target" very hard to achieve whilst also cutting calories. On a good day I was getting 60-80 grams of protein, but my target is 160g. It would be very hard to double my protein intake without blowing my calorie deficit. OK I've set myself a hard target of 1000 cal/day deficit, I could go for 500 cal/day deficit and eat another 500 cal of chicken or nuts. But I'd be dieting for twice as long then 😞

 

 

I don't monitor by carb and fat intake, but it turns out my diet is similar to the DASH diet anyway, other than my protein supplements.

 

The supplements are just a temporary measure for a few months while I'm dieting, I'll cut them out and eat real food when I reach my target weight.

 

https://www.fitbit.com/user/5KRRJY
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@baitedbadger

Did you consider plant based proteins as well? Beans, lentils, legumes, couscous, grains etc. I feel they are more friendly calories wise than the animal based proteins.

Karolien | The Netherlands

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@Esya

 

probably not as much as I should, I've not changed my diet much other than cutting out fried and sugary food. I have started eating breakfast though, whole grain cereals.

For lunch I'll eat some nuts, fruit, and a couple of cereal bars, such as Fruisli or Alpen light (I admit to being lazy when it comes to preparing food) then dinner mid week is typically chicken or fish with two veg.

 

I do have couscous a couple of times every other weekend with a smoked mackerel or salmon salad. Beans on toast has always been a favorite. But I'll also treat myself to a supermarket takeaway Indian or Chinese meal at the weekend, last weekend we even went to an eat all you want buffet ... it was torture!

https://www.fitbit.com/user/5KRRJY
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@baitedbadger

It takes time to change your eating habits around and I think you started the good way by cutting out fried and sugary food. It took me a few years to be where I am today with what I eat and it is still not flawless (flawless = eating what I think is healthy for me, this week way too much cheese 😄 ). I just started by cutting out sugars at first. If you continue to look where you can improve your food and add changes whenever you got comfortable to the changes you applied so far, you will get there in the long run.

Karolien | The Netherlands

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@baitedbadger wrote:

I found this "target" very hard to achieve whilst also cutting calories. On a good day I was getting 60-80 grams of protein, but my target is 160g.

160g of protein is indeed a lot. If you are carrying a significant amount of fat, you could base your protein requirement on your lean mass instead. For instance, if you are 250 lb and 35% BF, you could use 250 x 0.65 = 162.5 lb. 0.8g per lb becomes 162.5 x 0.8 = 130g of protein.

 

But otherwise you’re right, it’s tough to have a high-protein diet when you also have a high deficit. When in a deficit, I tend to get a significant share of my protein from whey powder. When I’m at maintenance, regular food works fine. When in a surplus, peanut butter and full-fat cheeses are my friend Smiley LOL

Dominique | Finland

Ionic, Aria, Flyer, TrendWeight | Windows 7, OS X 10.13.5 | Motorola Moto G6 (Android 9), iPad Air (iOS 12.4.4)

Take a look at the Fitbit help site for further assistance and information.

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@Esya wrote:

Did you consider plant based proteins as well? Beans, lentils, legumes, couscous, grains etc. I feel they are more friendly calories wise than the animal based proteins.


They’re tastier for sure, but calorie for calorie, you’ll get more protein from whey powder. I just had a look at a bag of lentils in front of me: 26g of protein for 350 calories. My whey powder isolate is 92g of protein for 384 calories.

Dominique | Finland

Ionic, Aria, Flyer, TrendWeight | Windows 7, OS X 10.13.5 | Motorola Moto G6 (Android 9), iPad Air (iOS 12.4.4)

Take a look at the Fitbit help site for further assistance and information.

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@Dominique

 

My weight peaked last summer at 200lbs. It was ~194lb when the doc told me to lose weight, and I bought a fitbit in March.

 

I'm currently 175lb and aiming for 160lb hence the target of 160g of protein, but I probably average ~140g.

 

I should hit my target weight in mid/late July, but may overshoot it by ~5lbs and then try to gain 5lbs of muscle mass. At which point I'll just try to maintain my weight and fitness.

 

But I am actually getting quite in to this, so may keep on going 😉

 

 

https://www.fitbit.com/user/5KRRJY
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@baitedbadger: you have to remember that 1.0 gram per pound of bodyweight is the higher end of a high-protein intake recommended for people who want to maximize muscle gains / muscle hypertrophy (e.g. bodybuilders, powerlifters). You’d still be able to gain muscle with the lower-end of the recommended range (0.8 gram per pound), as it would still qualify as a high-protein intake. And even 0.5-0.6 gram is still relatively high. It’s just the difference between promoting muscle gain and maximizing it. By the same token, you could lift weight five times a week two hours each, or just three times 45 minutes each: it just depends on how fast and how much you want to gain.

Dominique | Finland

Ionic, Aria, Flyer, TrendWeight | Windows 7, OS X 10.13.5 | Motorola Moto G6 (Android 9), iPad Air (iOS 12.4.4)

Take a look at the Fitbit help site for further assistance and information.

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@Dominique

 

I figured high end is a good target, then if I fall short I'll still be good 🙂

 

I'm running 3 days per week, and weights at gym twice a week. On rest days I still walk and do push ups. The aim at the moment is muscle retention while losing weight. I'm not expecting to gain muscle just yet, but I should get leaner.

 

I'll probably switch to running just once a week and gym 3 or 4 days per week once I stop dieting, but the walking is something I've been doing for years anyway, I'll keep that up whatever.

 

 

https://www.fitbit.com/user/5KRRJY
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