Official Dids Gym Thread
 

Hey "The Gym".

This is my workout/weight loss tracking/suggestion/accountability thread.

As you may know, last March I was at 331 lbs. That's likely down from more like 345 (I had moved in Feb and was walking about 3 mile or so a day for the past 3 months).

Since then I've dropped about 70 lbs to my current total of 260. This was mostly just from more walking, much better eating, and the workout plan that I'll outline below (I'd been in the gym a few days a week in Nov and December, and got really dedicated and about 4-5 days a week from Jan on. (I got a car, and I'm not walking to the bus stop anymore, although my plan is to walk on days off from the gym).

My goals are mostly to drop weight. However, one of the things that happened in the period between March and Jan is that I lost a lot of muscle, so I'd like to get that back again.

Here's my current work out plan. I've been more or less sticking with this for a while.

Working out Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday.

I start with 20 minutes of cardio on crossramp at the 16 setting (which works the gluts and calves) keeping up a rate of about 155-165 strides per minute and a heat rate between 130-145 (this really varies by how much energy I have), and then another 10 on the bike or the treadmill that’s typically less vigorous than the crossramp.

Then it's lifting. I was alternating "arms and chest" and "legs and back" days, but I just changed that to a rotation of "arms and chest", "legs" and "back and stomach".

Here's the various machines I'm using and the current weights I'm at. When I'm lifting, my goal is always 3 sets of 10.

Arms and Chest:

Chest Press: 85
Biceps Curl: 75
Triceps Extension: 75
Shoulder Press: 40
Lat Raise: 70
Fly: 110

Legs:

Leg Sled: 360
Calf Press: 280
Leg Extension: 120
Leg Curl: 120
Adductor: 100

Back and Stomach:

Row: 100
La Pull: 100
Back Extension: 260 (max on the machine, I do 3 sets of 15 for this)
Ab Crunch: 140
Torso Rotation: 135
Pullover: 110
Rear Fly: 110

Diet/Schedule:

I wake up about 5:30, on the bus and at work by about 7, that’s when I eat breakfast.

Breakfast is typically: Two pieces of whole wheat toast with lowfat, no sugar peanut butter and either low sugar jam or honey, a light yogurt and a bowl of some kinda whole grain non-sugar cereal with 2% milk.

Lunch/Dinner: Typically leftovers for lunch, you can see what I’m cooking for dinner on my blog. Typically it’s going to be some kinda lowish fat meat and two veggies.
I’ve been having a protein shake made with Whey Protein, one banana, and frozen fruit after dinner. This is in part to quench my sweet tooth.

Questions and comments:

1- What jumps off the page at me is that my upper body is horrible, especially chest press, but my lower body is almost maxing out some of the machines. I assume that's called "carrying around a fatass for a long time", but I'm not sure.

2- I've been told by a few people that I should be doing the lifting first before cardio. My reasoning for not doing this in the past has been that it’s the lifting I really enjoy, so by forcing myself through the cardio, the lifting is a reward. How much of an impact is this, and is it mos def something I should change? Should I still have like a 10 minute warm-up if I do that?

3- People are going to suggest squats, I hate squats. In high school I was doing them bad and ended up emptying both sides of the bar on the floor and it freaked me out. I’m not very comfortable doing them, so I like to avoid. Also, I strongly prefer to stick with machines over free weights.

4- So what do we think of my plan? Is anything painfully misplaced? What should I add, what should I drop? My gym is pretty damn nice (LA Fitness) so if there's something you suggest, they've probably got it.

5- Judge the diet. Is breakfast good? Is the shake a good/bad idea ?

My intent with this thread is to update it weekly with how often I’ve worked out, values for what I’m lifting, weight loss, and pictures (yes, topless Dids pictures!!).

Pictures for the purpose of progress tracking:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/168/4...2c6e3ba3_m.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/157/4...ab796573_m.jpg


Thanks in advance for the help guys. I think this forum is going to rule if we can all work together to keep on track.

Re: Official Dids Gym Thread
 

I'm not a workout expert or anything, reading posts like this (assuming you stay on) will be interesting.

The pics of food you posted in EDF look awesome, you can still eat well on a diet LDO.

Re: Official Dids Gym Thread
 

Dids,
Congratulations on losing so much weight!

Re: Official Dids Gym Thread
 

Dids why don't you like free weights? If the only way you will move weights is if they are attached to a machine thats fine, but you will make much bigger gains in every respect by leaving them behind you.

For your diet, have you looked into the Zone diet? It looks like you are getting too much carbs (especially for breakfast) and not enough fat.

Also, if I were you I would try to start eating much closer to my caloric needs. Dropping 70lbs in a year means you were probably on average burning around 700 calories a day more than you were eating. I wouldn't try and maintain anywhere near that pace-maybe aim for something like losing a pound every 2 weeks which will also allow you to actually make some strength gains.

Either way congrats on some awesome progress so far!

Re: Official Dids Gym Thread
 

Congrats and keep it up! I started off at Christmas at where you are now. Since then I've averaged about 2 lbs a week of steady loss by doing around 4 to 5 hours a week of cardio. Started with 45 minutes on my road bike on a trainer or between 1 and 2 hour Dance Dance Revolution sessions and getting rid of a lot of junk in my diet. I bought a heart rate monitor in Jan and have been seeing the calories per workout go up as I've dropped weight, which is nice, means my intensity is getting better, I'm now averaging around 700 calories an hour of cardio, more with the cycling less with the DDR.

My typical meals look like this:
breakfast: During the week a packet of instant oatmeal and some coffee.
snacks at work: This is what killed me before, too much crap. I now bring a yogart and yogart smoothie to work for snacking. They are organic and don't have HFCS.
Lunch: Can of the Healthy Chunky soup. A couple times a month I'll go out for lunch, but this is down from several times a week.
Dinner: It's usually been ground chicken based for the last couple weeks. Sometimes some pasta or a healthy Choice frozen dinner.
After work snack: Usually a yogart smoothy or maybe a cheese casedea.
On the weekends I usually just have more coffee for breakfast then do the cardio then have something for lunch, usually something from above, and something small for dinner, I don't eat much on the weekends.

My goal is 230 by my 40th b-day in June (which I'm about 2 weeks ahead of) then 200 by the end of the year. Sometime after June I'll worry about doing something besides the bike riding for muscle. At the moment I want to be smaller and am not worried about being stronger.

Re: Official Dids Gym Thread
 

Smiley,

Fat loss rate is fine for someone morbidly obese. 3-5lbs per week is fine and std when you're carrying that much fat.

Re: Official Dids Gym Thread
 

[ QUOTE ]
Congrats and keep it up! I started off at Christmas at where you are now. Since then I've averaged about 2 lbs a week of steady loss by doing around 4 to 5 hours a week of cardio. Started with 45 minutes on my road bike on a trainer or between 1 and 2 hour Dance Dance Revolution sessions and getting rid of a lot of junk in my diet. I bought a heart rate monitor in Jan and have been seeing the calories per workout go up as I've dropped weight, which is nice, means my intensity is getting better, I'm now averaging around 700 calories an hour of cardio, more with the cycling less with the DDR.

My typical meals look like this:
breakfast: During the week a packet of instant oatmeal and some coffee.
snacks at work: This is what killed me before, too much crap. I now bring a yogart and yogart smoothie to work for snacking. They are organic and don't have HFCS.
Lunch: Can of the Healthy Chunky soup. A couple times a month I'll go out for lunch, but this is down from several times a week.
Dinner: It's usually been ground chicken based for the last couple weeks. Sometimes some pasta or a healthy Choice frozen dinner.
After work snack: Usually a yogart smoothy or maybe a cheese casedea.
On the weekends I usually just have more coffee for breakfast then do the cardio then have something for lunch, usually something from above, and something small for dinner, I don't eat much on the weekends.

My goal is 230 by my 40th b-day in June (which I'm about 2 weeks ahead of) then 200 by the end of the year. Sometime after June I'll worry about doing something besides the bike riding for muscle. At the moment I want to be smaller and am not worried about being stronger.

[/ QUOTE ]

Unless kyle suggests other, I'd think this woudl be better served in your own thread.

Re: Official Dids Gym Thread
 

Not trying to hijack just showing another way down.

Re: Official Dids Gym Thread
 

[ QUOTE ]
Smiley,

Fat loss rate is fine for someone morbidly obese. 3-5lbs per week is fine and std when you're carrying that much fat.

[/ QUOTE ]

3-5 wow. Do you think that is still maintainable for Dids? I just feel like a slower and steadier approach is better because it is easier to maintain, but I'm not an expert on dieting.

Re: Official Dids Gym Thread
 

Dids,

Cool thread. Look forward to some of the responses.

What about working in a couple days of something along the lines of high intensity interval training (maybe at the expense of less of the cardio you're currently doing)? I'm not sure how feasible that is at your weight, but something like some wind sprints could be beneficial.

Re: Official Dids Gym Thread
 

The rate will slow obv as he gets skinnier.

Re: Official Dids Gym Thread
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Smiley,

Fat loss rate is fine for someone morbidly obese. 3-5lbs per week is fine and std when you're carrying that much fat.

[/ QUOTE ]

3-5 wow. Do you think that is still maintainable for Dids? I just feel like a slower and steadier approach is better because it is easier to maintain, but I'm not an expert on dieting.

[/ QUOTE ]

As long as his BF% is >35% or so. I doubt he'll have trouble maintaining it. He's more fat than Dids ATM. Well he might've passed it now. Before there was almost no question.

Re: Official Dids Gym Thread
 

Thremp,

What do you mean by "more fat than Dids". You're talking % bodyfat?

I haven't had that measured, I think I can do that at the gym, I should check (and then bring a stick to beat away the [censored] trainers trying to sell me [censored]).

Also Thremp, setting aside whatever beef we had in the past, Kyle's said you know a ton about this stuff, so I'd love your input.

Re: Official Dids Gym Thread
 

Dids,

Yes, I meant BF%.

There are better resources on the interwebs, but people don't want to use them so I'm trying to do my little part.

Re: Official Dids Gym Thread
 

"For your diet, have you looked into the Zone diet? It looks like you are getting too much carbs (especially for breakfast) and not enough fat."

Smiley,

This doesn't make sense to me. For a person dropping weight and looking for endurance in their workout which Dids has somewhat and will keep adding more and more to his cardio, complex carbohydrates are what he needs for glycogen storage. If Dids were non-active all these carbs would be a problem but they are stored energy and essential for his workouts and as his intensity increases he will just need more and more carbs since ATP is used quickly (has a limited ability to store carbs), this is different for fat. You can do more high intensity work (endurance) with a high carb diet. Shouldn't his diet, considering the person, be about proper diet that gives him the best workout? I mean he isn't all protein and fats to get swole like some people here, this is about increasing aerobic ability and lifting. Thoughts?

Re: Official Dids Gym Thread
 

Dids I always thought the guy in your picture w/ the cockatiel was you.

Now I don't know what to believe anymore. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

EDIT: Oh and kick ass job w/ the diet man.

Re: Official Dids Gym Thread
 

[ QUOTE ]

3- People are going to suggest squats, I hate squats. In high school I was doing them bad and ended up emptying both sides of the bar on the floor and it freaked me out. I’m not very comfortable doing them, so I like to avoid. Also, I strongly prefer to stick with machines over free weights.

[/ QUOTE ]

Dids, free weights are far superior to machines, but I can understand your reluctance to do more intimidating exercises like bench press or squat where you need a spotter/there is a perceived risk of injury.

I'd suggest trying out free weights for easier exercises and see how you like it. If you try them, I think you will find that they are more enjoyable, and then you might be willing to try more intimidating free weight exercises like the squat and bench press.

One exercise that I would highly reccomend is the standing overhead press using a barbell:

http://www.exrx.net/AnimatedEx/Delto...itaryPress.gif

This is a great shoulder exercise and also hits the triceps. But it also improves your balance and requires you to stabilize your core. Moreover, it will give you some experience pushing free weights (ie bench press) and standing with weight (ie squats). And since you will probably be using pretty light weight (just start out with the 45 lb bar and see how it feels), you shouldn't feel too intimidated.

Hell, even do bicep curls with free weights. That's pretty much the easiest free weight exercise there is. There's many other great free weight exercises that you can do that are not too challenging if you want more suggestions.

[ QUOTE ]

4- So what do we think of my plan? Is anything painfully misplaced? What should I add, what should I drop? My gym is pretty damn nice (LA Fitness) so if there's something you suggest, they've probably got it.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'd turn your "chest and arms" day into chest and triceps day, and your back day into back biceps day, and do abs on your leg day. The philosophy behind doing triceps on your chest day is that most chest exercises also hit your triceps to some extent, so if you also do triceps that day you will hit them fully and give them a full week to recover before working them again. Same reasoning for doing back the same day as biceps.


Oh, and as far as diet goes, from glancing at your cooking threads it seems you eat a lot of fish and vegetables, which is fantastic. As far as breakfast goes, I highly recommend oatmeal. It's a much better source of fiber than wheat bread, which is probably processed and enriched with bad stuff.

Re: Official Dids Gym Thread
 

I can't debate the actual mechanisms about how diet works as I simply don't know enough. I do know that programs like crossfit sing the praises of Zone eating (which is 40/30/30 or therabouts of protein/fat/carbs). I think AZK has done a lot of reading about this subject.

Re; fuel for high intensity activities: Dids isn't doing enough activity to really NEED much in the way of carbs - if he was an olympic swimmer, triathlete, marathon runner etc. etc. than yes a high carb diet is better. As it stands light aerobic activity followed by lifting won't deplete glycogen stores enough that aren't easily replenished with a post workout shake with some sugars.

Re: Official Dids Gym Thread
 

In terms of breakfast, one of the big changes for me when I started dropping was focusing on having a big breakfast that would keep me going throughout the day (my old breakfast habits were horrible and full of all the wrong carbs).

I just started adding the toast, mostly so that I could get some protein in the morning.

Re: Official Dids Gym Thread
 

to be honest, i would drop the toast. if you get enough energy from the other stuff, the toast isnt necessary, the protein shake is enough, along with your dinner.

Re: Official Dids Gym Thread
 

The shake's at night thought. The point of the toast is the benefits of protein specifically in the morning.

Re: Official Dids Gym Thread
 

[ QUOTE ]
The shake's at night thought. The point of the toast is the benefits of protein specifically in the morning.

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Protein in toast?

I think 1 whole egg + 3 egg whites would be a way better option for you.

Re: Official Dids Gym Thread
 

Peanut Butter, toast is just a delivery method.

I'm doing this at work, so eggs aren't an option (nor is a morning protein shake really, unless I do it at home, which is iffy given my timing).

Re: Official Dids Gym Thread
 

The official Dids thread gets much more traffic than mine [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

Anyway, thanks Dids. Looks good, and keep up the burn!

Re: Official Dids Gym Thread
 

[ QUOTE ]

I'm doing this at work, so eggs aren't an option

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hard boiled eggs are your friend

Re: Official Dids Gym Thread
 

Dids,

Agree that freeweights are best whenever possible. The reason, which another poster alluded to, is that they improve your balance and 'core' stability, and force you to integrate the way you use and develop your muscles. I started out as an all-machine guy but was converted to freeweights and it's def better. The other upside is you can get some weights to use at home if you can't get to the gym for some reason or want to do a light followup the next day.

Also agree that back/biceps, chest/triceps and legs/abs is a great breakdown for lifting, for the reasons above.

Great to hear you're having success and good luck. I should really make a thread like this and start going to the gym more often, I've been really bad since moving to the city.

Re: Official Dids Gym Thread
 

is that right that for bicep curl you are doing 75 pds on each dumbbell?

Re: Official Dids Gym Thread
 

[ QUOTE ]
Peanut Butter, toast is just a delivery method.

I'm doing this at work, so eggs aren't an option (nor is a morning protein shake really, unless I do it at home, which is iffy given my timing).

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So you can make toast at work but you can't access any water or milk to put into a shaker bottle with protein powder you've brought in with you? [img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

Re: Official Dids Gym Thread
 

[ QUOTE ]
is that right that for bicep curl you are doing 75 pds on each dumbbell?

[/ QUOTE ]


no hes using machines

Re: Official Dids Gym Thread
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Peanut Butter, toast is just a delivery method.

I'm doing this at work, so eggs aren't an option (nor is a morning protein shake really, unless I do it at home, which is iffy given my timing).

[/ QUOTE ]

So you can make toast at work but you can't access any water or milk to put into a shaker bottle with protein powder you've brought in with you? [img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

The smoothie I make needs a blender and frozen fruit, but that is an idea.

Re: Official Dids Gym Thread
 

A few guestions I have that haven't been answered:

2- I've been told by a few people that I should be doing the lifting first before cardio. My reasoning for not doing this in the past has been that it’s the lifting I really enjoy, so by forcing myself through the cardio, the lifting is a reward. How much of an impact is this, and is it mos def something I should change? Should I still have like a 10 minute warm-up if I do that?

5- Is the shake (after dinner, usually around 8:30-9:00 PM) a good/bad idea ?

Re: Official Dids Gym Thread
 

[ QUOTE ]
A few guestions I have that haven't been answered:

2- I've been told by a few people that I should be doing the lifting first before cardio. My reasoning for not doing this in the past has been that it’s the lifting I really enjoy, so by forcing myself through the cardio, the lifting is a reward. How much of an impact is this, and is it mos def something I should change? Should I still have like a 10 minute warm-up if I do that?

5- Is the shake (after dinner, usually around 8:30-9:00 PM) a good/bad idea ?

[/ QUOTE ]

Hey dids, I gave some advice in your other thread, sorry if I sounded like an ass. The reason you should lift before cardio is so you don't exhaust yourself before you lift heavy. Since you're a beginner, it's not a big deal though because you're not lifting very heavy, plus you're using machines which are a lot easier. You should always warm up before any exercise. I'd recommend cottage cheese just before bed instead of the shake, as it digests slow, providing a steady stream of protein while you sleep. Also, you have free reign to satisfy your sweet tooth post-workout (and is beneficial), because you're most insulin sensitive then (insulin spike isn't going to store fat, but ship nutrients to muscles).

Re: Official Dids Gym Thread
 

Dids,

Way to kick ass on your diet. One possible solution for your distaste for free weights/squats and deadlifts could be dumbell lunges. Sometimes I will walk up and down the stairs at my gym while holding the dumbells. It is great for the forearms and grip as well as the legs and lungs. Plus your not messing with anything too heavy involving barbells.

Charles Poloquin (highly sought after NHL trainer) has a book called "Manly Weight Loss". I've never actually read it but I was at one time somewhat familiar with his German Body Comp program. Basically, he advocates weight training as opposed to cardio to burn fat.

You should look into more movements/routines with weights that can create a calorie burning environment. The right program will offer you faster progress and eliminate the muscle-wasting indignity of the traditional mind-numbingly dull cardio.

Save your energy for the iron and I think you will like the results. If you feel the need to do some type of strictly aerobic activity try and incorporate it with something fun like roller-blading.

Re: Official Dids Gym Thread
 

A few more thoughts after more carefully reading the thread...

http://www.exrx.net/AnimatedEx/Delto...itaryPress.gif

You should definitely be doing this movement. Using a shorter bar (maybe your gym has the type with the weights permanently attatched) will eliminate the awkward nature of the a traditional barbell. Also, if your gym has a trapezius machine that goes to the floor, you should be able to perform deadlifts without going through the hassle of the usual method.

As one who has always 'dieted on the run', I found an empty water jug to be a clutch tool. Either in the morning or the night before I would blend up a mix of protein powder, water and oatmeal with the amount of protein being in line with the goal of 1 gram per pound of body-weight. Chocolate doesn't need any help but vanilla benefits nicely from bananas and strawberries. You can sip on this throughout the day, keeping your appetite and positive-nitrogen balance in check.

Most protein preparations mix well with water these days and by not using milk it can get warm without getting gross. Throwing some ice cubes into the blender will keep it even colder, obv.

The shake before bedtime is a good idea as you want protein to be active in your system while sleeping. You should keep the carbs low before retiring. In fact, a small steak or chicken breast (or cottage chese as nutsflopper suggested)may be a better choice as these won't make you want to piss in the middle of the night.

Again, congrats and good luck. I hope you understand any guff I have given you in the past was never meant to be anything more than good-natured internet ribbing. Your progress is awesome and I am rooting for you to really take this thing into the end zone.

Re: Official Dids Gym Thread
 

[ QUOTE ]
A few guestions I have that haven't been answered:

2- I've been told by a few people that I should be doing the lifting first before cardio. My reasoning for not doing this in the past has been that it’s the lifting I really enjoy, so by forcing myself through the cardio, the lifting is a reward. How much of an impact is this, and is it mos def something I should change? Should I still have like a 10 minute warm-up if I do that?


Disagree. I have always done cardio before lifting and almost everyone I know who is serious about working out does the same. the cardio makes the blood flow through your muscles a bit more and this helps recovery when lifting as well as just kinda warms you up. my routine has always been ~30 minutes of cardio, ~15 minutes of stretching/pushups/situps/leglifts, ~30 minutes of lifting. If i go into the gym cold I can lift less and recover worse than if ive done cardio and am warm.



5- Is the shake (after dinner, usually around 8:30-9:00 PM) a good/bad idea ?


I think its a poor idea, i would do it right between leaving work and going to the gym since it will again help with recovery and will give a slight bit of energy. I usually eat a clif/tigers milk bar or something along those lines right before the gym after I've been at work all day.




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Re: Official Dids Gym Thread
 

PITTM,

Cardio before your workout is fine but I don't think you really understand what is going on or needed to get the blood going through the muscles. Depending on the person it only takes a few minutes to actually get the heart rate up and to sustain it. And for someone overweight that time is reduced. You don't need 30 minutes of cardio to get the blood flow through your muscles and help aiding in recovery as well as warm up. All you need is 5 minutes or so to get the heart rate up or however long it takes for that person, stretch a little bit which will let the heart rate come down some and then lift which will bring it back up. Your blood flow will not be any different.

Now I will say it also depends on what you are trying to do, when I work out I am not trying to just emaciate when I am in the gym. The gym is a time to not necessarily get bigger but to build lean muscle mass. The kitchen is where I keep the pounds off. If you lift weights after 30+ minutes of cardio your body will now not be able to build or even maintain its lean muscle tissue. It doesn't have the strength to build muscle basically. But on the other hand all of this cardio before weights means that you burn more calories after your workout. Its called Excess Postexercise Oxygen Consumption. I

So it isn't "horrible" that Dids is doing it first but not ideal b/c while he is dropping weight in the kitchen he should be replacing it with lean muscle mass in the gym which he isn't doing at the rate he is going.

Re: Official Dids Gym Thread
 

congrats dids...much improved since ive seen you...next time we meet beer...err...protein drinks on me [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Re: Official Dids Gym Thread
 

[ QUOTE ]
As you may know, last March I was at 331 lbs. That's likely down from more like 345 (I had moved in Feb and was walking about 3 mile or so a day for the past 3 months).

Since then I've dropped about 70 lbs to my current total of 260.

[/ QUOTE ]

Very nice, it feels good doesn't it?

[ QUOTE ]
What jumps off the page at me is that my upper body is horrible, especially chest press, but my lower body is almost maxing out some of the machines.

[/ QUOTE ]

I am similar, shoulder press is also my worst.

Re: Official Dids Gym Thread
 

Dids,

I think the big reason you might want to try lifting before cardio is due to losing weight more efficiently given your expected amount of time in the gym each session. It takes approximately 20 minutes of medium intensity cardio to burn the sugar in your bloodstream that your body is going to be using for energy during your workout. After you get rid of the sugar then your body begins to rely on fat stores for additional energy to carry you through whatever activity you are taking part in. Lifting will not burn the amount of calories that intense cardio does but it will serve the purpose of getting rid of the body's primary energy source for short durations of activity, i.e., blood sugar, and then allow you to start burning off some of the fat stores that have been collecting it for later use. Ideally, you will have no more blood sugar left when you start cardio after lifting and all the calories you burn will be taken from stored fat.

This is another reason some people will recommend doing cardio or working out in the morning first thing on an empty stomach, your body has used its available sugar sources to maintain all of your bodily functions while you are asleep. This will lead to all calories burnt coming from your fat stores, before you put food into your body in the morning. Bodybuilders will do this when getting ready for a competition to lower their body fat at a quicker pace.

Its also important to remember that all calories going into your body, whether they be fat, protein, or carbs, will be turned into sugar molecules eventually and then put into your bloodstream. It just takes more work for your body to turn the protein molecules into the sugar and the body burns more calories converting protein into available energy. Fat is 9 calories a gram, protein and carbs are 4 calories per gram. Thats why 1 fat gram is 'worse' than a gram of protein or carbohydrate. Carbs are in various forms but simple carbs like white bread, white rice, or just plain sugar hits your bloodstream much quicker after eating them and if they aren't used immediately by your body then they turn to fat fairly quickly. Not trying to make this Nutrition 101 or anything but understanding what happens to the different types of foods that go into your body sometimes makes it easier to know what to stay away from over time.

Congratulations on your weight loss so far Dids!!!!

Re: Official Dids Gym Thread
 

Dids,

After reading the responses and doing some mild thinking (in lieu of studying). I think you are still too fat to do a "workout". There are a hundred avenues you can go, but instead of doing "cardio and a workout". You are best suited by a GPP type workout. Your diet needs improvement, but at this point... Its kinda moot. As progress slows you can tighten up.

GPP would be like carrying heavy things around. Lifting heavy things up and putting them on the ground. Doing complex movements with only your bodyweight.

Like right now. You could do bodyweight box squats to failure for a morning workout in sets of 10 or whatever. And then possibly work on your snatch form in the evening. However, you mentioned that you "enjoy" going to the gym. So while it may not be the optimal thing for you to go and grind out machine bicep curls. Motivation is probably the biggest thing at this point. So just stick with what your doing. (Learning O-lifts with a broomstick in lieu of cardio some days might be a good sub.)