As I have previously written, I have tried to lose weight over the last month and a half to no luck. Despite weight lifting 3 times a week and some cardio in between I have actually gained weight. Now, I do look better in the mirror, more muscular, better v-taper, less gut, but I've gone up 1 kg.

I was beginning to question if I had some sort of thyroid thing, but then I thought that maybe the Pizza Hut/Coyote that I eat a couple of times a week may be to blame. Looking at the nutrion in those, I am staggered! A normal medium pizza is between 2500 and 3500 calories. A single slice is 300 calories. Then add garlic bread (400 calories) and some chicken extras. I figure I may have eaten more than 4000 calories in one sitting at some point! And I am trying to stay at 2500 calories a day.

That is quite honestly extreme and now I better understand why they only show calories pr. slice.

I guess fast food Pizza is out of the question if I want to lose weight. Does anyone know how calories are in the Coyote nachos?

No expert here, and myself way too fat, but ... do you know about this ??

http://exercise.about.com/od/weightloss/f/gainingweight.htm

Do you know about this ??

http://exercise.about.com/od/weightloss/f/gainingweight.htm

Yes, I am really not a noob. I was in great shape up until 2 years ago after some physical and mental challenges kept me inactive for a long time. As I wrote, I can tell I have added quite a lot of muscle mass (I am doing a 5x5 weight lifting program), but still I should lose weight imo. I must be eating too much honestly. But I will take the advice from that article and measure gut circumference too

Do you know about this ??

http://exercise.about.com/od/weightloss/f/gainingweight.htm

Yes, I am really not a noob. I was in great shape up until 2 years ago after some physical and mental challenges kept me inactive for a long time. As I wrote, I can tell I have added quite a lot of muscle mass (I am doing a 5x5 weight lifting program), but still I should lose weight imo. I must be eating too much honestly. But I will take the advice from that article and measure gut circumference too

Oke. Changed my post in the mean time but hope it can be of assistance !

Eating junk food a couple times a week on a diet ?

A proper diet is 1 cheat meal per week max, no alcohol etc.. weight lifting is a good start but it will never offset a bad diet.

Eating junk food a couple times a week on a diet ?

A proper diet is 1 cheat meal per week max, no alcohol etc.. weight lifting is a good start but it will never offset a bad diet.

I know, but I honestly thought that hard weight lifting 3 times a week would be enough. But clearly not if a fast food meal has 4000 calories!

Eating junk food a couple times a week on a diet ?

A proper diet is 1 cheat meal per week max, no alcohol etc.. weight lifting is a good start but it will never offset a bad diet.

I know, but I honestly thought that hard weight lifting 3 times a week would be enough. But clearly not if a fast food meal has 4000 calories!

Yes Junk Food has a crazy amount of calories

I'm also on a diet, I cook all my meals it makes it easier than eating out (also way cheaper )

Eating junk food a couple times a week on a diet ?

A proper diet is 1 cheat meal per week max, no alcohol etc.. weight lifting is a good start but it will never offset a bad diet.

I know, but I honestly thought that hard weight lifting 3 times a week would be enough. But clearly not if a fast food meal has 4000 calories!

Yes Junk Food has a crazy amount of calories

I'm also on a diet, I cook all my meals it makes it easier than eating out (also way cheaper )

For me its the only way to loose weight though if I eat out and I can choose the place it is possible too. If eating out I would go for a salad and some meat if possible.

I did eat pizza a few times this week but I am still leaning out. Normally I would not eat out that much but I got my dad over here and he would kill me if he had to eat my normal meals.

So im forced to eat out a bit more and not at the most healthy places, I am lucky i was not in a weight loss phase but more maintenance / gaining some muscle. But I seem to have leaned out anyway maybe because I compensated by eating a lot less then normal on days that I was able to eat home.

Even if you gain some weight you can always loose it again, of course it better not to gain it but sometimes its hard not to in situations like this.

Lets see why would you be gaining weight maybe because muscle is more dense and heavier than fat You say you are putting on muscle that might be a clue

Pizza is bad news in lots of ways and not just the calories.

White flour oily base, high salt, organ meats, and heaps of processed cheese. If you like pizza make your own from a wholemeal pita bread base and put in your own healthier ingredients.

BTW Plenty of overweight guys lifting in the gym nearly every day which goes to prove that exercise by itself is not enough.

You need to pay more attention to food intake. Maybe you also need to do a bit more strenuous cardio in your program. I reckon you need to be burning at least 500 cals per cardio session to make a big difference.

Wasnt there a study carried out recently where they compared a cardio programme, a weights programme and a mixture of the two to check for weight loss?

The result was unequivocal. Weight training did NOTHING for weight loss. The group running 15km/week had fantastic results. And the mix group were obvioulsy between the two (with the rather interesting point that those who ran 15km/week on top of weight training still performed around the same as the cardio group). Entertaining stuff.

^WEIGHT loss in not really interesting, it is FAT loss that people want.

Wasnt there a study carried out recently where they compared a cardio programme, a weights programme and a mixture of the two to check for weight loss?

The result was unequivocal. Weight training did NOTHING for weight loss. The group running 15km/week had fantastic results. And the mix group were obvioulsy between the two (with the rather interesting point that those who ran 15km/week on top of weight training still performed around the same as the cardio group). Entertaining stuff.

I read other studies that combining them is much better and of course weight is not important its all about fat and if you get more muscle you will be heavier but could be leaner in terms of fat.

Stupid study id say, anyway I have had great results of a combo of rowing and weight training and caloric restriction. I kept onto my muscle (most of it) while loosing 24 kg. Still i did loose some strength and probably muscle. I would not know how much muscle I would have lost if only rowing. Scary actually its a well known fact that often people mistake weight loss for fat loss while if you just run and eat less your much more liable to loose muscle too.

Here someone who can explain it much better as me its about your study that you are talking about.

http://www.precisionnutrition.com/rr-cardio-vs-weights

Wasnt there a study carried out recently where they compared a cardio programme, a weights programme and a mixture of the two to check for weight loss?

The result was unequivocal. Weight training did NOTHING for weight loss. The group running 15km/week had fantastic results. And the mix group were obvioulsy between the two (with the rather interesting point that those who ran 15km/week on top of weight training still performed around the same as the cardio group). Entertaining stuff.

I read other studies that combining them is much better and of course weight is not important its all about fat and if you get more muscle you will be heavier but could be leaner in terms of fat.

Stupid study id say, anyway I have had great results of a combo of rowing and weight training and caloric restriction. I kept onto my muscle (most of it) while loosing 24 kg. Still i did loose some strength and probably muscle. I would not know how much muscle I would have lost if only rowing. Scary actually its a well known fact that often people mistake weight loss for fat loss while if you just run and eat less your much more liable to loose muscle too.

Here someone who can explain it much better as me its about your study that you are talking about.

http://www.precisionnutrition.com/rr-cardio-vs-weights

You can have too much muscle as well although for most people this will never be a problem.

This is an interesting link http://www.builtlean.com/2011/03/30/how-much-muscle-can-you-gain-naturally/

Wasnt there a study carried out recently where they compared a cardio programme, a weights programme and a mixture of the two to check for weight loss?

The result was unequivocal. Weight training did NOTHING for weight loss. The group running 15km/week had fantastic results. And the mix group were obvioulsy between the two (with the rather interesting point that those who ran 15km/week on top of weight training still performed around the same as the cardio group). Entertaining stuff.

Depending upon your specific goals weight training should be part of your routine. The runners in the group will burn muscle as well as fat so you end up a smaller version of yourself - the weight lifters will maintain their weight by adding muscle which is heavier than fat. Pointless study.

With additional muscle your resting metabolic rate is higher than with aerobic exercise so your metabolism is fired up all day which aids fat loss. You are doing the right thing gym wise.

My tips - stick to this and the weight will fall off.

- Cut back on the carbs, try to eat an hour before you weight train and maybe a small amount after but otherwise there are too many calories. Avoid white rice in particular as it has no nutritional value whatsoever.

- Train heavy with weights, if you can lift for 8 reps then pick up heavier weights. You don't need to spend more than 45 mins in the weights room if the intensity is high. Don't bother with machines - focus on compound exercises like bench press, deadlift, squat.

- Avoid booze - hard to do but too many calories and we make bad food choices afterwards.

- Work in some cardio a couple of times a week, best to do in the morning on an empty stomach as you burn fat stores immediately. Get out of breath.

- Beware of sugars in Thai food, grilled fish / meats are preferable.

And definitely no Pizza! Good luck.

Have you tried Crossfit?

I would recommend taking out a cardio and weight lifting day and adding in some crossfit. Adds in weight lifting movements with the intensity of cardio. I started it this year (after years of just weight lifting) and I love it. You can find all the info you want on Crossfit . com. It allows you to go with their workout of the day or to make your own based on the equipment you have on hand. You would be surprised what you can do with a barbell, dumbells and an open area! Also if you are in Bangkok there is an amazing group crossfit gym by Asok BTS called Fitcorp Asia.

I am staggered!

Gee, who could have guessed that pizza & fast food weren't useful components of a diet program?

I am staggered!

Gee, who could have guessed that pizza & fast food weren't useful components of a diet program?

second that.

the best way to lose weight is to cut down on food. about 90% of weight loss comes from eating less and 10% from exercise.

Eating junk food a couple times a week on a diet ?

A proper diet is 1 cheat meal per week max, no alcohol etc.. weight lifting is a good start but it will never offset a bad diet.

I know, but I honestly thought that hard weight lifting 3 times a week would be enough. But clearly not if a fast food meal has 4000 calories!

Any fast food will do you in. I have had to loose weight due to a heart prob. I stopped all sugar and loose 1kg a week easily for several months .....but I mean ALL sugar......and most fast food is loaded with the stuff, it's what makes it tast sooooo mooooorish.

Wasnt there a study carried out recently where they compared a cardio programme, a weights programme and a mixture of the two to check for weight loss?

The result was unequivocal. Weight training did NOTHING for weight loss. The group running 15km/week had fantastic results. And the mix group were obvioulsy between the two (with the rather interesting point that those who ran 15km/week on top of weight training still performed around the same as the cardio group). Entertaining stuff.

I read other studies that combining them is much better and of course weight is not important its all about fat and if you get more muscle you will be heavier but could be leaner in terms of fat.

Stupid study id say, anyway I have had great results of a combo of rowing and weight training and caloric restriction. I kept onto my muscle (most of it) while loosing 24 kg. Still i did loose some strength and probably muscle. I would not know how much muscle I would have lost if only rowing. Scary actually its a well known fact that often people mistake weight loss for fat loss while if you just run and eat less your much more liable to loose muscle too.

Here someone who can explain it much better as me its about your study that you are talking about.

http://www.precisionnutrition.com/rr-cardio-vs-weights

You can have too much muscle as well although for most people this will never be a problem.

This is an interesting link http://www.builtlean.com/2011/03/30/how-much-muscle-can-you-gain-naturally/

Interesting indeed, still a bit further to go but not much. Actually I think I don't want much more muscle, but i like the heavy weights and hard training sessions. Might do some more cutting and drop even more fat. Its good to see numbers like that keeps things into perspective. I never wanted to be a pro bodybuilder I don't think they look good and I don't even come close to that physique.

Wasnt there a study carried out recently where they compared a cardio programme, a weights programme and a mixture of the two to check for weight loss?

 

The result was unequivocal. Weight training did NOTHING for weight loss.

if there was such s study it was garbage, weightlifting is exercise, exercise burns calories. It's not what you do, it's how you do it. Try breathing squats vs 20 mins on a treadmill.

Here's the formula:

1. Good, consistent sleep. (Difficult sometimes if you're sensitive to noise here in Thailand)
2. Weight lifting adds muscle and added muscle raises metabolism.
3. Don't starve yourself. Eat all you want, but make sure it's healthy. You'll be happier, and you body won't shift into starvation/preservation mode.
4. Cardio--at least 20-30 minutes and break a sweat into minute 6. Cardio continues to burn calories for a few hours after one finishes. Extended cardio doesn't do anything to burn calories. (I've seen many pum pui (for lack of a better term) women ride the cardio equipment from dusk to dawn with few results.
5. Don't go to the gym everyday and work the same areas. Work different areas each day. Rest worked areas every other day.
6. Lift correctly, or you'll hurt yourself. It doesn't matter how heavy. If you're lifting correctly, your body is going to respond positively. Nobody cares how much you lift anyway.
7. Eat whatever you want one night a week. It's give you something to look forward to, and you won't feel
8. Giving up potato chips, Snickers bars, and other junk food is just like quitting smoking. Sooner or later you don't even think about them.
9. Eat som tam.
10. A lot of excess weight is actually food collected in the bowel. Increasing intake of high fiber foods (kiwi, corn, brown rice, vegetables) and water will get things moving. You'll have lots more energy, and feeling better is just as good--if not better--than looking good. It'll give you positive reinforcement to stay on track.
11. Drink water regularly. Lack of energy is often due to dehydration. More energy means a more positive outlook.
12. Avoid 7/11.
13. Thai food is loaded with oil. A lot of people say cut the carbs. Not necessarily. Cut the simple, calorie vacant carbs (sugars), and definitely cut the fat. The body expends a lot of energy converting carbs into fat, but fat is usually stored immediately--especially if one is in starvation mode.
14. Metabolism is like a furnace. You work out and are active, you burn calories. In a blazing furnace, you can toss in a lot of fuel. Again--don't starve yourself. You can eat until you're full, and if you eat good food, you'll be okay. Your body craves what it needs, and eating junk food won't satisfy the craving but maintain it. If you eat good food, you will be satisfied and not feel like you have to eat more.
15. Forget mayo.
16. Pizza is actually lower calorie than most people think. Just don't get the meat toppings. Dolores pizza near McDonalds across from Lumphini Park has some of the best pizza I've had in Bangkok. And it's only 60 baht each with a wide variety of extra topping. The vendors are very nice.
17. Babies burn a lot of calories just lying in the crib. Why? They're active. Be more active. You'll be surprised how much better you look and feel.
18. Do not hurt yourself in the gym. If your joints hurt when you lift, you're lifting incorrectly. You can build muscle and bone, but you cannot build up tendons, joints, etc. Be very careful.

Okay...you've already stopped reading so I'll end it here.

Hope all are happier and healthier!

I lost about 25 pounds a few years back and have kept the weight off since. in my opinion, the most efficient and quickest way to lose fat is not exercise but diet and in that diet there are 2 things that are important - white carbs esp sugar and alcohol. Fats are less important but you also need plenty of fibre and fruits and veg. Keep off rice, bread and potatoes as much as possible and fill up on meat, veg and salads and reduce snacks. You will get used to a good diet soon enough. I cut down to drinking moderately to 2 times a week from every day and started daily light exercise (swimming in morning, 20 min light jogging and walking in the evening. This regime trebled the strength of my heart as shown by the exercise stress test. I also walk as much as possible when I go shopping etc. But it was mainly the reduced alcohol that done it. If u do exercise then do a bit twice a day rather than a lot once a week. And stick to it - every day even though you might not feel up to it. It beats feeling guilty if u don't do it.

Remember u don't need to cut out the things you like - just reduce them to a minimum and substitute the rest with good food and moderate but daily exercise. It takes a few weeks before your weight starts to tumble off and then you are encouraged more, but don't give up before then.

Losing weight and keeping it off involves changing lifestyle. You've already done part of the heavy lifting (so to speak) with activity. But that leaves what you eat, when you eat, and how you eat... by far the heaviest lifting of all. Sleeping habits are important too - people on less sleep gain weight - counterintuitive for sure. Check out the Internet, yer gonna find a lot of help there. Good luck, you'll be an inspiration to many.

Pizza is bad news in lots of ways and not just the calories.

White flour oily base, high salt, organ meats, and heaps of processed cheese. If you like pizza make your own from a wholemeal pita bread base and put in your own healthier ingredients.

BTW Plenty of overweight guys lifting in the gym nearly every day which goes to prove that exercise by itself is not enough.

You need to pay more attention to food intake. Maybe you also need to do a bit more strenuous cardio in your program. I reckon you need to be burning at least 500 cals per cardio session to make a big difference.

Agreed I had been told that it was best to do a minimum of 20 minutes at 120 heart beat three times a week. It makes no difference what condition you were in 2 years ago the point is that is not the same today and you are bound to gain weight doing lifting. Keep at it and eventually it will stop gaining and start down. That is provided you are not taking those protein or what ever that helps bulk your muscles up.

I do not lift or for that matter go to the gym but just by walking and paying attention to what I eat I have lost 25 kilos in the last two years and slimmed down a lot. When I say paying attention I do not mean studying up on what has what in it just some common sense things like stop eating chocolate If and I do go to a fast food outlet like McDonald's, Burger King or Subway I don't order as much as I used to. I try not to eat in the last 5 hours before going to bed. One of the biggest things is I don't expect miracles I keep sensible goals in mind like 5 kilos and realize that it takes time. Also there seems to be plateaus that take months to break through. But I don't let that worry me I keep on doing what I am doing and eventually I break through.

Wasnt there a study carried out recently where they compared a cardio programme, a weights programme and a mixture of the two to check for weight loss?

The result was unequivocal. Weight training did NOTHING for weight loss. The group running 15km/week had fantastic results. And the mix group were obvioulsy between the two (with the rather interesting point that those who ran 15km/week on top of weight training still performed around the same as the cardio group). Entertaining stuff.

I read other studies that combining them is much better and of course weight is not important its all about fat and if you get more muscle you will be heavier but could be leaner in terms of fat.

Stupid study id say, anyway I have had great results of a combo of rowing and weight training and caloric restriction. I kept onto my muscle (most of it) while loosing 24 kg. Still i did loose some strength and probably muscle. I would not know how much muscle I would have lost if only rowing. Scary actually its a well known fact that often people mistake weight loss for fat loss while if you just run and eat less your much more liable to loose muscle too.

Here someone who can explain it much better as me its about your study that you are talking about.

http://www.precisionnutrition.com/rr-cardio-vs-weights

The article talks about resistance training is that isometrics?

Here's the formula:

1. Good, consistent sleep. (Difficult sometimes if you're sensitive to noise here in Thailand)

2. Weight lifting adds muscle and added muscle raises metabolism.

3. Don't starve yourself. Eat all you want, but make sure it's healthy. You'll be happier, and you body won't shift into starvation/preservation mode.

4. Cardio--at least 20-30 minutes and break a sweat into minute 6. Cardio continues to burn calories for a few hours after one finishes. Extended cardio doesn't do anything to burn calories. (I've seen many pum pui (for lack of a better term) women ride the cardio equipment from dusk to dawn with few results.

5. Don't go to the gym everyday and work the same areas. Work different areas each day. Rest worked areas every other day.

6. Lift correctly, or you'll hurt yourself. It doesn't matter how heavy. If you're lifting correctly, your body is going to respond positively. Nobody cares how much you lift anyway.

7. Eat whatever you want one night a week. It's give you something to look forward to, and you won't feel

8. Giving up potato chips, Snickers bars, and other junk food is just like quitting smoking. Sooner or later you don't even think about them.

9. Eat som tam.

10. A lot of excess weight is actually food collected in the bowel. Increasing intake of high fiber foods (kiwi, corn, brown rice, vegetables) and water will get things moving. You'll have lots more energy, and feeling better is just as good--if not better--than looking good. It'll give you positive reinforcement to stay on track.

11. Drink water regularly. Lack of energy is often due to dehydration. More energy means a more positive outlook.

12. Avoid 7/11.

13. Thai food is loaded with oil. A lot of people say cut the carbs. Not necessarily. Cut the simple, calorie vacant carbs (sugars), and definitely cut the fat. The body expends a lot of energy converting carbs into fat, but fat is usually stored immediately--especially if one is in starvation mode.

14. Metabolism is like a furnace. You work out and are active, you burn calories. In a blazing furnace, you can toss in a lot of fuel. Again--don't starve yourself. You can eat until you're full, and if you eat good food, you'll be okay. Your body craves what it needs, and eating junk food won't satisfy the craving but maintain it. If you eat good food, you will be satisfied and not feel like you have to eat more.

15. Forget mayo.

16. Pizza is actually lower calorie than most people think. Just don't get the meat toppings. Dolores pizza near McDonalds across from Lumphini Park has some of the best pizza I've had in Bangkok. And it's only 60 baht each with a wide variety of extra topping. The vendors are very nice.

17. Babies burn a lot of calories just lying in the crib. Why? They're active. Be more active. You'll be surprised how much better you look and feel.

18. Do not hurt yourself in the gym. If your joints hurt when you lift, you're lifting incorrectly. You can build muscle and bone, but you cannot build up tendons, joints, etc. Be very careful.

Okay...you've already stopped reading so I'll end it here.

Hope all are happier and healthier!

You have a lot of excellent points there. Reminds me of a restaurant I go to occasionally. Western food but the owner is particular about the quality of the food. (it shows in the price) also the cleanliness you can see it in his kitchens and rest rooms. He says you might not know the difference between quality food but your body will.

The one warning I would give if you are going to be doing weights do some research on the effects on your joints at an elderly age. Particularly the knees. every pound you put on adds six more pounds of pressure to the knee. Check the hips and shoulders also. I am of the belief that to many people work out with out thinking of the effect years down the road. Just looking for that instantaneous effect. I know I am but I don't expect to ever find it.

Eating junk food a couple times a week on a diet ?

A proper diet is 1 cheat meal per week max, no alcohol etc.. weight lifting is a good start but it will never offset a bad diet.

+1

Here's the formula:

1. Good, consistent sleep. (Difficult sometimes if you're sensitive to noise here in Thailand)

2. Weight lifting adds muscle and added muscle raises metabolism.

3. Don't starve yourself. Eat all you want, but make sure it's healthy. You'll be happier, and you body won't shift into starvation/preservation mode.

4. Cardio--at least 20-30 minutes and break a sweat into minute 6. Cardio continues to burn calories for a few hours after one finishes. Extended cardio doesn't do anything to burn calories. (I've seen many pum pui (for lack of a better term) women ride the cardio equipment from dusk to dawn with few results.

5. Don't go to the gym everyday and work the same areas. Work different areas each day. Rest worked areas every other day.

6. Lift correctly, or you'll hurt yourself. It doesn't matter how heavy. If you're lifting correctly, your body is going to respond positively. Nobody cares how much you lift anyway.

7. Eat whatever you want one night a week. It's give you something to look forward to, and you won't feel

8. Giving up potato chips, Snickers bars, and other junk food is just like quitting smoking. Sooner or later you don't even think about them.

9. Eat som tam.

10. A lot of excess weight is actually food collected in the bowel. Increasing intake of high fiber foods (kiwi, corn, brown rice, vegetables) and water will get things moving. You'll have lots more energy, and feeling better is just as good--if not better--than looking good. It'll give you positive reinforcement to stay on track.

11. Drink water regularly. Lack of energy is often due to dehydration. More energy means a more positive outlook.

12. Avoid 7/11.

13. Thai food is loaded with oil. A lot of people say cut the carbs. Not necessarily. Cut the simple, calorie vacant carbs (sugars), and definitely cut the fat. The body expends a lot of energy converting carbs into fat, but fat is usually stored immediately--especially if one is in starvation mode.

14. Metabolism is like a furnace. You work out and are active, you burn calories. In a blazing furnace, you can toss in a lot of fuel. Again--don't starve yourself. You can eat until you're full, and if you eat good food, you'll be okay. Your body craves what it needs, and eating junk food won't satisfy the craving but maintain it. If you eat good food, you will be satisfied and not feel like you have to eat more.

15. Forget mayo.

16. Pizza is actually lower calorie than most people think. Just don't get the meat toppings. Dolores pizza near McDonalds across from Lumphini Park has some of the best pizza I've had in Bangkok. And it's only 60 baht each with a wide variety of extra topping. The vendors are very nice.

17. Babies burn a lot of calories just lying in the crib. Why? They're active. Be more active. You'll be surprised how much better you look and feel.

18. Do not hurt yourself in the gym. If your joints hurt when you lift, you're lifting incorrectly. You can build muscle and bone, but you cannot build up tendons, joints, etc. Be very careful.

Okay...you've already stopped reading so I'll end it here.

Hope all are happier and healthier!

You have a lot of excellent points there. Reminds me of a restaurant I go to occasionally. Western food but the owner is particular about the quality of the food. (it shows in the price) also the cleanliness you can see it in his kitchens and rest rooms. He says you might not know the difference between quality food but your body will.

The one warning I would give if you are going to be doing weights do some research on the effects on your joints at an elderly age. Particularly the knees. every pound you put on adds six more pounds of pressure to the knee. Check the hips and shoulders also. I am of the belief that to many people work out with out thinking of the effect years down the road. Just looking for that instantaneous effect. I know I am but I don't expect to ever find it.

Very, very true about the joints and ligaments. You can't build them up. Bones & muscle, yes. So those who steroids--on top of the other negative affects--really mess up their bodies and will most likely experience a very painful middle age. I visited my doctor more than a few years ago, and he asked, "Are you on steroids?" The fact was I wasn't and his question was really flattering. But I was in the gym working out hard four days a week and following everything above. It was a 6-month run, and the results were good (though no six pack).

A year or two ago my doctor told me that people who live healthy lives and forego the weights (to a large extent) live longer, happier lives. He also said fitness is pretty boring. He's right. Sports is actually more fun.

Do you know about this ??

http://exercise.about.com/od/weightloss/f/gainingweight.htm

Yes, I am really not a noob. I was in great shape up until 2 years ago after some physical and mental challenges kept me inactive for a long time. As I wrote, I can tell I have added quite a lot of muscle mass (I am doing a 5x5 weight lifting program), but still I should lose weight imo. I must be eating too much honestly. But I will take the advice from that article and measure gut circumference too

It is common knowledge that muscle is heavier than fat, so if your shape is improving, keep at it.

The important thing is not yor weight, but how fit you are and how much energy you have. I cycle 20kms three times a week and although I do not lose weight I feel much better for it. It's all down to wellbeing.