FIT Physique Crew

[JeffSTL]

Maybe just eat 100 less calories and don't take the EC. Your time in teh gym is wasted if your sleep isn't decent.

Ya but like I said, I'd still be up that late anyway. Get home, protien, shower and just a natural winding down process. Normally, or before trying to work out and taking EC, I was sleeping even less probably. I've never been hugely affected by caffeine, even when I used to average about 500oz a day of soda, pounding Mt Dew as I fell asleep and then went cold turkey one day. I had a mild headache for half a day and that was it.

But yes, you're both right about the sleep. I've tried to do better, and I need to think if theres any ways things can be adjusted to improve my schedule, and increase sleep.

 

[fatmoocow]

Ya but like I said, I'd still be up that late anyway. Get home, protien, shower and just a natural winding down process. Normally, or before trying to work out and taking EC, I was sleeping even less probably. I've never been hugely affected by caffeine, even when I used to average about 500oz a day of soda, pounding Mt Dew as I fell asleep and then went cold turkey one day. I had a mild headache for half a day and that was it.

But yes, you're both right about the sleep. I've tried to do better, and I need to think if theres any ways things can be adjusted to improve my schedule, and increase sleep.

One thing to keep in mind is that even if you can fall asleep, sometimes shit in your system affects the quality of your sleep. So you might get less deep sleep with the caffeine.

Ideally you'd work out earlier to start the wind down earlier.

My sports ball guys have a whole wind down process because the players are amped up and need to sleep quickly after a game. They probably drink a whole special herbal tea, maybe l-theanine, etc.

 

[Ceaze]

im just here for general health, sustaining as much muscle as possible while dropping fat. i do 3 days a week, push pull legs. i dont do much volume. i also play basketball on my gym days and have had such sore legs from that i have to skip leg days every once in a while

i used to go really heavy on squats and sacrifice depth, but i've been focusing on depth now and not worrying about the numbers as much. but whenever i go above 225 i start getting a little iffy

have never had back problems in my life and wanna keep it that way

Then nah you don't need to do barbell squats or any other exercise that you don't like. There's lots of other exercises you can do to build or maintain muscle.

 

[JeffSTL]

One thing to keep in mind is that even if you can fall asleep, sometimes shit in your system affects the quality of your sleep. So you might get less deep sleep with the caffeine.

Ideally you'd work out earlier to start the wind down earlier.

My sports ball guys have a whole wind down process because the players are amped up and need to sleep quickly after a game. They probably drink a whole special herbal tea, maybe l-theanine, etc.

Very true, I didnt even think or forgot about that. I *think* I've been ok lately, but there 100% has been times I've taken an EC before I fell asleep and slept like SHIIT. Which is rare, because once I'm out I'm dead to the world.

I'd say the EC is taken ~3 hours before I fall asleep.

 

[Ceaze]

fat fuck crew signing in

Month ago was 6'4" 283, currently 266. Try to keep this as quick and short as I can, which is unpossible for me

Backstory if you care: Been trying to get my shit together as I've let my eating issues get the best of me for months, gained half the weight back I lost over the last 6-12 months. I'm so used to losing weight so fast and even after losing nearly 10 pounds in 48 hours of water weight, losing almost a pound every day. When I lost 150 pounds 3 years ago (in 7 months ), even as I got smaller I'd still lose 3-5 pounds a week. My absolute bottom was 215 after a multi day fast on keto, with only walking 7.5 miles every night. Everyone was telling me I was too skinny, which makes me lol at all the traditional height/weight charts. The highest any of them say anyone who's 6'4" should weigh is 203 Been averaging ~250 the last year or two, got down to 235 last year and for the first time built some arm muscles. Nothing great for sure, but some decent shape to delts and biceps. Did all that with 30lb dumbbells and doing pushups.



Now: Trying to get my shit together for a vacation in less then 2 weeks, and then going out on the party boat 3 weeks after that, and by FAR most importantly trying to get in the long term habit of going to the gym, better diet and lifting. So at first I lost 11 pounds of water weight in 48 hours from 283>272. I've almost exclusively been doing lifting. Little cardio in the beginning, sometimes I start or end lifting with a little cardio. Gym is closed Fri/Sat night, so I try to go out and walk a few miles at least one of those nights. I've been stuck at like 266 for like 3 weeks. I'm struggling not seeing the scale drop at all. I keep trying to tell myself its because I'm losing fat and adding muscle, but its been so different and challenging wanting to get in shape and look better, and feeling like I've made no progress and am still a fat fuck. I know my arms are getting bigger though. Just trying to keep pressing on.



I'll split more into another post to try not to have a wall of text....

It sounds like you're crash dieting which works in the short term but isn't a viable strategy for long-term success. If you struggle with appetite control there's some effective prescription medications for that now.

Instead of MyFitnessPal I would recommend a subscription based app like MacroFactor or Carbon that tells you what your macros should be. That will help keep you from straying too far in either direction. I'd also recommend using a watch or your phone to track your daily step count.

Carbs aren't bad but it's not necessary to "spike your insulin" after your workout.

You should cut out the stimulants at 11 PM and maybe get an at-home sleep study to make sure you don't have sleep apnea.

I wouldn't recommend a DEXA scan except to help with motivation.

 

[JeffSTL]

As I mentioned I was running out of protien, and wanted to try some other stuff. Did research, MyProtien seemed to be the best combo of quality and price so I ordered:

Whey Isolate
Casein
Creatine
Preworkout
EAAs

Since I spent however much, they gave me a bonus protien bar and free 2-3 day shipping. Cool, I'll have it by the end of the week for sure. I ordered it Memorial Day morning I think. I've been waiting for a shipping notification all week and I finally got an email from them just now! Alright, just in time because I used the very last of all my protein at home last night.

Email says that the following things I've ordered:

Whey Isolate
Casein
Creatine
Preworkout
EAAs
Protien bar

are going to be delayed in being shipped out

 

[Buzz Killington]

Anybody fuck with T3 anymore? I want a cutting aid that will not fuck with my BP.

 

[JeffSTL]

It sounds like you're crash dieting which works in the short term but isn't a viable strategy for long-term success. If you struggle with appetite control there's some effective prescription medications for that now.

Instead of MyFitnessPal I would recommend a subscription based app like MacroFactor or Carbon that tells you what your macros should be. That will help keep you from straying too far in either direction. I'd also recommend using a watch or your phone to track your daily step count.

Carbs aren't bad but it's not necessary to "spike your insulin" after your workout.

You should cut out the stimulants at 11 PM and maybe get an at-home sleep study to make sure you don't have sleep apnea.

I wouldn't recommend a DEXA scan except to help with motivation.

Thanks for the reply, I really appreciate any tips you have as I'm aware you really know your shit.

I've defiantly done the crash thing in the past, with outstanding short term results. Long term I always gain some of it back, but thats because I have issues with binge eating that stem from food things from a kid, but always 100% my choices and actions, I've just struggled with food more than anything in my life. When I'm off the wagon I'm still driving to Taco Bell at 1am every single night even if I'm not hungry A friend was telling me about a medicine she took, that not only got rid of her appetite but made the idea of eating disgusting to her But that may make me "crash diet" or have even lower calorie intake than I do now, so that may not be ideal.

But I've read losing weight super fast means your body is more likely to gain it back, regardless of behavior and choices. Not sure of the exact A&P or why, but I have some guesses. So I'm trying to not intentionally extremely limit calorie intake this time and be ok with a slower path.

I'll look into both those apps for sure! I do have an Apple Watch I used to track steps and all my workouts. I'm also concerned about cardio things. One example, my Vo2 Max is mid 30s always. It was up to 37.7 in Feb when I hadn't even gone on a walk in months and was living off fast food I have heard it can take a while to adjust though. Thats as measured by the watch anyway FWIW. I'm also pretty sensitive to sodium/retaining water, and wear compressions/ted due to varicose vein issues. Both parents have them. Thats one of the reasons I need to get/go to a MD, to address and possibly remove those.

I'll gladly listen to any comments on what to do as far as what to eat or drink before/during/after a workout.

Also, any good sites to search for actual peer reviewed weight loss shit? Pubmed? I've been trying to read on bodybuilding and Reddit when I have time, but coming from the medical world what people say doesnt mean shit, especially in the gym bro world If I can find some real legit actual data/studies that I know I can trust as fact, that may help. Just like a lot of things, you can find tons of people that all have different theories and reasons and "credible" people and things backing them up. Seems to be an extreme in this world. Hard to know what to go by.

Thanks again.

 

[obscure/renegade]

It sounds like you're crash dieting which works in the short term but isn't a viable strategy for long-term success. If you struggle with appetite control there's some effective prescription medications for that now.

Instead of MyFitnessPal I would recommend a subscription based app like MacroFactor or Carbon that tells you what your macros should be. That will help keep you from straying too far in either direction. I'd also recommend using a watch or your phone to track your daily step count.

Carbs aren't bad but it's not necessary to "spike your insulin" after your workout.

You should cut out the stimulants at 11 PM and maybe get an at-home sleep study to make sure you don't have sleep apnea.

I wouldn't recommend a DEXA scan except to help with motivation.

@JeffSTL If you're willing to pay, MacroFactor is clean and has easily digestible charts. As others like @fatmoocow have said, you MUST get proper sleep and a study isn't a bad idea.

Everything else up there is on the money.

Ceaze, I like the DEXA scan for the true image of where your physique is at as well as finding the metabolic rate, which he likely does not have handy.

 

[Ceaze]

finding the metabolic rate, which he likely does not have handy.

That's not practically useful

 

[Hood Moses]

Anybody fuck with T3 anymore? I want a cutting aid that will not fuck with my BP.

Speaking my love language

 

[Ceaze]

Also, any good sites to search for actual peer reviewed weight loss shit? Pubmed? I've been trying to read on bodybuilding and Reddit when I have time, but coming from the medical world what people say doesnt mean shit, especially in the gym bro world If I can find some real legit actual data/studies that I know I can trust as fact, that may help. Just like a lot of things, you can find tons of people that all have different theories and reasons and "credible" people and things backing them up. Seems to be an extreme in this world. Hard to know what to go by.

Unless you have an education in how to read research, it's better to just subscribe to a research review or follow the experts who make it more digestible. But there's not really gonna be anything groundbreaking in fat loss research except for pharmaceuticals.

 

[DontRevMe]

Ya but like I said, I'd still be up that late anyway. Get home, protien, shower and just a natural winding down process. Normally, or before trying to work out and taking EC, I was sleeping even less probably. I've never been hugely affected by caffeine, even when I used to average about 500oz a day of soda, pounding Mt Dew as I fell asleep and then went cold turkey one day. I had a mild headache for half a day and that was it.

But yes, you're both right about the sleep. I've tried to do better, and I need to think if theres any ways things can be adjusted to improve my schedule, and increase sleep.

Bruh get on the rebs plan
Ec 2x a day, pre before gym, then blast on on edibles and ashwaganda to sleep

 

[JeffSTL]

Unless you have an education in how to read research, it's better to just subscribe to a research review or follow the experts who make it more digestible. But there's not really gonna be anything groundbreaking in fat loss research except for pharmaceuticals.

light background, but nothing MD level or anything like that

So any good sources, people, sites, YouTube channels you recommend?

 

[JeffSTL]

Bruh get on the rebs plan
Ec 2x a day, pre before gym, then blast on on edibles and ashwaganda to sleep

gotta stay away from the edibles for a while..last time I did I made and had:
grilled chicken and veggies before it kicked in so I wouldn't get the munchies and then..

the best pack of pop tarts that I've ever eaten (that were probably like 1-2 years old)
The best HUGE cheese roll up I've ever eaten
the best melted peanut butter and jelly sandwich I've ever had
the best melted peanut butter and jelly wrap I've ever had
the tied for the best melted peanut butter and jelly wrap I've ever had
I think while eating the best cheese and PB that existed from the containers in between

 

[DontRevMe]

gotta stay away from the edibles for a while..last time I did I made and had:
grilled chicken and veggies before it kicked in so I wouldn't get the munchies and then..

the best pack of pop tarts that I've ever eaten (that were probably like 1-2 years old)
The best HUGE cheese roll up I've ever eaten
the best melted peanut butter and jelly sandwich I've ever had
the best melted peanut butter and jelly wrap I've ever had
the tied for the best melted peanut butter and jelly wrap I've ever had
I think while eating the best cheese and PB that existed from the containers in between

See that's the fun of it all

 

[obscure/renegade]

That's not practically useful

Hmm. I've used mine as a guide for eating in a deficit and for surplus with great results, but you're the expert so I'll defer here, as I'm sure there's other methods I'm unaware of for tracking.

 

[SquirtRussel]

Anybody fuck with T3 anymore? I want a cutting aid that will not fuck with my BP.

Tried it recently, although not that much

Needing to taper up and down kinda sucks, as does the fatigue after stopping.

Does work though. Prefer yohimbine HCL personally if you haven’t tried that.

 

[Buzz Killington]

Tried it recently, although not that much

Needing to taper up and down kinda sucks, as does the fatigue after stopping.

Does work though. Prefer yohimbine HCL personally if you haven’t tried that.

I have some vague recollection of yohimbine jacking my anxiety up which is a hard no right now. I have enough with work.

 

[Buzz Killington]

gotta stay away from the edibles for a while..last time I did I made and had:
grilled chicken and veggies before it kicked in so I wouldn't get the munchies and then..

the best pack of pop tarts that I've ever eaten (that were probably like 1-2 years old)
The best HUGE cheese roll up I've ever eaten
the best melted peanut butter and jelly sandwich I've ever had
the best melted peanut butter and jelly wrap I've ever had
the tied for the best melted peanut butter and jelly wrap I've ever had
I think while eating the best cheese and PB that existed from the containers in between

I MURDERED a bag of these the other night while in an altered state:

 

[SquirtRussel]

I have some vague recollection of yohimbine jacking my anxiety up which is a hard no right now. I have enough with work.

Make sure you tried yohimbe HCL and not regular yohimbine bark.

Yohimbine bark makes me psycho too, HCL is super manageable at 5-10mg/day, and I have been prone to panic attacks the past two years so I also can’t take things that make anxiety worse.

 

[Phil NJ]

eat your fiber

 

[Phil NJ]

Anybody fuck with T3 anymore? I want a cutting aid that will not fuck with my BP.

I wouldn't take it unless you take a small dose. When you come off it will make you feel tired and shitty.

 

[aloe]

Thanks.

Definaltey on the more sleep. Average 6-7 during the week and 8-12 on the weekend sometimes That is one thing I read, and I'm trying to do better. My timeline is just fucked since I'm an insomniac by nature, and take EC at 11pm at the earliest before going to the gym. Obviously I'm not going to fall asleep 15 mins after I get home anyway, usually its at least an hour later at like 2ish. I know this isnt ideal for a few reasons but it seems like my only realistic option that I'll do, and not let perfect be the enemy of good etc

I'll look into whats involved in getting a DEXA. I also think I'd like to go get some labs done. I used to annually for my health insurance rate requirements, but it's been 2-3 years, and I haven't had a real MD appt for like 15 years Few reasons I need to get off my ass and do that. I've thought about test, but I just dont know if thats something I want to mess with.

Been using MyFitnessPal religiously and do every time I'm trying to do well. I was actually going to ask here if theres anything better ya'll like. I used to use MyCarbManager when I did keto since it did net carbs. MFP free version seems to be fine and it lets me track Macros....which I still dont really know what my real goal should be at this moment.

The Dexa scan only take likes 6 minutes. I have another one scheduled next week actually since my last one was March 1st

They are great for progress tracking because the scale isn’t always the best measurement of progress

 

[Ceaze]

So any good sources, people, sites, YouTube channels you recommend?

Twitter (these are more in the research sphere):
Kevin Hall
Nicola Guess
Deirdre Tobias
Kevin Klatt
Stephane Guyenet
Gil Carvalho
Daniel J Drucker

IG:
billcampbellphd
bdccarpenter
helms3dmj
thenutritional_advocate
thealanaragon
drnadolsky


YouTube:
Nutrition Made Simple!
Stronger By Science
Dr. Spencer Nadolsky (Docs Who Lift Podcast)
Paul Revelia
Team3DMJ


Sigma Nutrition Radio with Danny Lennon (on Spotify or Apple)


Research roundups:
Weightology
Examine.com membership
MASS Research Review
Alan Aragon's Research Review


And there's a lot of good articles on Lyle McDonald's web site at bodyrecomposition.com