Any tips on losing a beer gut ?

[tropo]

2 hours ago, Kaalle said:

 

I got your two posts mixed up so this is answering the previous one too.

 

 

That's the problem - you get everything mixed up... and then repeat the same, over and over.

 

Do you really think walking is cardio? If this is your idea of cardio, then it understandable why you find the subject confusing. Yes, definitely weight training trumps walking in conjunction with calorie restriction for fat loss... and of course that means "heavy lifting", which is anything under 50 reps according to your definition of "heavy".

 

BTW, how much fat are you carrying? There's no need to post photos - I'll take your word for it.

Edited August 20, 2016 by tropo

[Kaalle]

Haha I never said walking is cardio, I called it exercise, which is basically physical activity. Put on your reading glasses grandpa.

 

I have written down clear guidelines and principles, which you have failed to refute. Instead you talk about being fit, eating cake and rowing. 

 

Its not a competition, you dont have to be fit and/or strong to give advice if you know what you are talking about. As far as me personally, im not muscular or strong per my definition. Im probably at the moderate level lifting wise, if that. My general fitness (or whatever you want to call it) is not great at the moment, it has been pretty good in the past though if this matters. About my body fat, I can see four abs in good lighting, not very impressive, I intend to get very lean though and im getting there. Its been a good two years since last time I was in really good shape. 

Im not an expert by any stretch of the imagination. What we are talking about here is very very basic stuff though, we are scratching the surface of what is nutrition and physiology, still people get it so wrong. 

Edited August 20, 2016 by Kaalle

[tropo]

Well, to be accurate, walking is cardio for some, depending on fitness levels...

 

So how do you pinpoint your progress (fat/muscle)? Is it all guess work and mirrors with good lighting?  

 

You tried to call me out on this - so what's your secret? It really is important to know what's happening (fat/muscle measurements) when you're putting in a big effort... you, in kitchen, trying to resist food, and me on the rower, getting fit... then eating my chocolate cake.

 

You reckon cardio can't build muscle - try this:

 

I'm not adding this to show off, but to make a point. By all accounts these numbers are quite low amongst rowing enthusiasts. These are numbers posted by a 57 year old male with knee arthritis - Tropo.

 

The point is, in 30 minutes I've burned over 500 calories. It's 550 calories (1100 per hour) when calibrated for body weight. After the 30 minutes on the rower I was still feeling fresh and proceeded to lift weights for another hour.

 

I'll tell you one thing for sure. You're not going to post those numbers unless you have a decent level of muscle mass and strength fitness. That works out to an average of 212 watts over 30 minutes. This exercise alone would maintain all the muscle mass I've built without the need to lift weights.

 

So what's the end result? In my full workout, including the rowing session I've burned well over 1000 calories. I'm getting fitter, stronger and able to eat more and still lose fat. The fitter I get, the easier it is to burn more calories.

 

Of course you've made it clear that you don't believe more fitness equals a faster metabolism. I believe it does, but I'm not going to drag up studies in an attempt to prove that here. Just the fact that when you become fitter you generally become more energetic over your whole day indicates that one is more likely to burn more calories even if the metabolism hasn't fired up.

 

So what's the point of all this? My philosophy for sustained fat maintenance or fat loss is to focus on exercise, not count calories. Focus on getting very fit first. The mind set will improve and making dietary sacrifices will not be so hard because you've developed a hobby, which will make you more dedicated to losing the fat.

 

Yes, I like rowing. It's the best cardio exercise by far as no other exercise works the whole body as thoroughly. My next best favourite would be the Cybex Arc Trainer, but they are hard to come by in Thailand. After that perhaps the elliptical and exercise bike, but you don't work the whole body, however on the Cybex Arc Trainer and bike you work the legs harder than you can on the rower. Rowing in conjunction with the exercise bike is a perfect duo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 20, 2016 by tropo

[dontoearth]

All arguments probably can be summed up this way!  It works for me!  However, it may not work for you!  I don't know why!  Very rarely would science accept a single case as proof of anything for the general population.   I think it is pretty obvious to most people that doctors, scientist, and dieticians, and personal trainers have pretty much been spinning 'old wives' tales the last few decades or we would have some results from these wonderful recommendations.   This is where most of the weight loss and fitness advice or 'truth' really fall apart.  It just doesn't work for a lot of people.  Those giving the advice often approach it like they are spouting either pure science or pure religion.  It just ain't so!  The good news is that lots of new research and knowledged based on debunking our previously dearly held theories of weight loss and fitness are finally being made available with serious science (scientific measurement and controls and analysis).  I look forward to seeing what they really find out for us.  In the meantime, I am doing resistance training and some cardio and avoiding the known junk foods like sugar, desserts, refined carbs as much as possible.  Again, you may be doing better and eating cakes and doing cardio 3 hours a day but that wouldn't work for me.  I am not getting the results I should be getting if all of this 'bunk' on calories in - calories out was even remotely true.  I am reading the book by Jason Fong right now:  The obesity code: unlocking the secrets of weight loss.  I will post a review in the main forum when I finish.  He seems to be on to something!

[Rob13]

Do exercises that target the obliques.

[tropo]

4 hours ago, dontoearth said:

All arguments probably can be summed up this way!  It works for me!  However, it may not work for you!  I don't know why!  Very rarely would science accept a single case as proof of anything for the general population.   I think it is pretty obvious to most people that doctors, scientist, and dieticians, and personal trainers have pretty much been spinning 'old wives' tales the last few decades or we would have some results from these wonderful recommendations.   This is where most of the weight loss and fitness advice or 'truth' really fall apart.  It just doesn't work for a lot of people.  Those giving the advice often approach it like they are spouting either pure science or pure religion.  It just ain't so!  The good news is that lots of new research and knowledged based on debunking our previously dearly held theories of weight loss and fitness are finally being made available with serious science (scientific measurement and controls and analysis).  I look forward to seeing what they really find out for us.  In the meantime, I am doing resistance training and some cardio and avoiding the known junk foods like sugar, desserts, refined carbs as much as possible.  Again, you may be doing better and eating cakes and doing cardio 3 hours a day but that wouldn't work for me.  I am not getting the results I should be getting if all of this 'bunk' on calories in - calories out was even remotely true.  I am reading the book by Jason Fong right now:  The obesity code: unlocking the secrets of weight loss.  I will post a review in the main forum when I finish.  He seems to be on to something!

I don't know if you're replying to me directly or not, but I'll take it you are. Excuse if you aren't.

 

The point of my post was to illustrate that you can burn a lot of calories in a short period of time if you aim to get fit on whatever exercises you choose to partake in.  If you take notice, I'm talking about 30 minutes of cardio, not 3 hours. Sometimes the time is lower than that at 15 - 20 minutes when I'm doing high intensity. The fitter you get, the easier you can burn calories. Do the exercise first thing upon waking (fasted) and you'll burn even more fat. (yes, I know, there is a lot of debate on this so I expect some will disagree).

 

Apart from burning a lot of calories, you'll get fit, your mental attitude will improve as you'll have more motivation to succeed... and your body will function better on many levels.

 

First get fit at the same time as taking out all the crap from your diet, and without counting a single calorie you'll lose fat. Imagine the progress if you actually start to count calories at the same time you're burning thousands a week. If you aimed for 500 day, that's a pound of fat equivalent per week. Restrict 500 calories a day and that's a combined total of a kilo of fat per week.

 

There's a lot of talk about how diet is more important than exercise for fat loss. I'm talking the opposite approach. As you say, what works for one person doesn't necessarily work for another. There's one thing for sure, my method will not be possible for lazy people, and yes, most people are looking for the easy way, which is usually not the best way.

Edited August 21, 2016 by tropo

[jarski]

easy and effective trick: don't eat anything couple hours before sleep. I've learned to keep my eating before 8pm. even some evenings when I drink beer later, the earlier habit balances things. combined with moderate exercise, for me those are enough to keep average-slim shape.

Edited August 21, 2016 by jarski

[robblok]

1 hour ago, tropo said:

I don't know if you're replying to me directly or not, but I'll take it you are. Excuse if you aren't.

 

The point of my post was to illustrate that you can burn a lot of calories in a short period of time if you aim to get fit on whatever exercises you choose to partake in.  If you take notice, I'm talking about 30 minutes of cardio, not 3 hours. Sometimes the time is lower than that at 15 - 20 minutes when I'm doing high intensity. The fitter you get, the easier you can burn calories. Do the exercise first thing upon waking (fasted) and you'll burn even more fat. (yes, I know, there is a lot of debate on this so I expect some will disagree).

 

Apart from burning a lot of calories, you'll get fit, your mental attitude will improve as you'll have more motivation to succeed... and your body will function better on many levels.

 

First get fit at the same time as taking out all the crap from your diet, and without counting a single calorie you'll lose fat. Imagine the progress if you actually start to count calories at the same time you're burning thousands a week. If you aimed for 500 day, that's a pound of fat equivalent per week. Restrict 500 calories a day and that's a combined total of a kilo of fat per week.

 

There's a lot of talk about how diet is more important than exercise for fat loss. I'm talking the opposite approach. As you say, what works for one person doesn't necessarily work for another. There's one thing for sure, my method will not be possible for lazy people, and yes, most people are looking for the easy way, which is usually not the best way.

I like your rowing numbers, today this younger guy did not get up to your levels. I think I would have to add around 5 minutes to get to the same number of meters. Not sure yet because i just started to row again. I must say its a great exercise, I did a lot before when i needed to lose weight. Now I am doing it again because I just realize cardio is important to not just lifting weights (health wise). I am sure it will help me lose weight fat too. 

 

I agree that the fitter you get and the more muscle you have the more you burn. There are countless studies that confirm this, a good food program and a good exercise program work together in synergy. For most people its just easier to eat 500 calories less then to burn them. But 30 minutes on the rower and burning 500 calories is just great. I have no idea how much the lifting I do before my rowing session burns but actually the real numbers don't matter that much to me. The result matters. I use the tape measure to track my progress because for someone who still lifts heavy the scales don't say much because weight increase / decrease can have so many different reasons but a thinner waist can just have one reason.. less fat (unless you get your abs a lot bigger )

 

I am typing this after my workout and rowing session and I feel real satisfied about what i did. I love the feeling after a good workout. 

[tropo]

54 minutes ago, robblok said:

I like your rowing numbers, today this younger guy did not get up to your levels. I think I would have to add around 5 minutes to get to the same number of meters. Not sure yet because i just started to row again. I must say its a great exercise, I did a lot before when i needed to lose weight. Now I am doing it again because I just realize cardio is important to not just lifting weights (health wise). I am sure it will help me lose weight fat too. 

 

I agree that the fitter you get and the more muscle you have the more you burn. There are countless studies that confirm this, a good food program and a good exercise program work together in synergy. For most people its just easier to eat 500 calories less then to burn them. But 30 minutes on the rower and burning 500 calories is just great. I have no idea how much the lifting I do before my rowing session burns but actually the real numbers don't matter that much to me. The result matters. I use the tape measure to track my progress because for someone who still lifts heavy the scales don't say much because weight increase / decrease can have so many different reasons but a thinner waist can just have one reason.. less fat (unless you get your abs a lot bigger )

 

I am typing this after my workout and rowing session and I feel real satisfied about what i did. I love the feeling after a good workout. 

It's good to hear from you Rob. You got your rowing machine before I did, so there was no need to convince you of the benefits thereof. I started rowing on gym machines back in the late 80's when the model B was new. Nothing beats having one in the house though...

 

Last year, when I came back from the Philippines, after 5 months of doing nothing and eating too much junk my triglycerides were through the roof (3 times high end of normal). They were so high they couldn't read my cholesterol (this happens when triglycerides are above 500 mg/dl). I'd lost quite a bit of muscle and gained a lot of fat. My triglyceride levels shocked me into action and I dusted off my rowing machine.

 

I started rowing purely for exercise to help improve my blood parameters, nothing else. I wasn't concerned about gaining muscle or losing fat at this stage. This is when I had an epiphany - my muscles started popping out again and the fat slowly disappeared. I wasn't doing any weights. I slowly started adding in body weight exercises (pullups, pushups, squats,  step ups). Chest work (push ups) was the only missing component of rowing - i.e. it doesn't work the chest muscles. 

 

Another added bonus was that my knee arthritis improved immensely to the point of no longer experiencing any pain or stiffness walking or climbing stairs. The rowing works the legs but not under a big load, and the rowing action has gotten my knees in better condition than they've been in for 10 years. I've even started squatting again - pain free. 

[tropo]

On 8/21/2016 at 4:01 PM, jarski said:

easy and effective trick: don't eat anything couple hours before sleep. I've learned to keep my eating before 8pm. even some evenings when I drink beer later, the earlier habit balances things. combined with moderate exercise, for me those are enough to keep average-slim shape.

Although it's not good to eat too close to sleep as it can make it harder to sleep and digest the food, I prefer a method closer to the "intermittent fasting" model. When you wake up you do your exercise and delay the intake of food for as long as possible by taking small snacks instead of eating a big meal.

 

If the gap between eating and sleeping is too big, it can make falling asleep more difficult, and you could walk up early, feeling hungry. A small pre-bed snack (in the last hour) is a good idea IMO.

[ExpatOilWorker]

Thy this:

 

 

[LongTimeLurker]

On 4/22/2014 at 8:44 PM, billybatson said:

I'm not much of a drinker (hardly drink at all now in fact) so it's not beer thats giving me the gut. I think its age, genes (my old man and brother have exactly the same gut) combined with a sedentary lifestyle. I enjoy my food but I don't eat much crap (fast food, convenience food). I cook all the time but I probably consume too may carbs (love pasta, potatoes and rice) and have too much dairy (love cheese and full fat milk). I've never been to a gym but I have got myself a set of weights now (barbell, dumbells) and an exercise ball. I don't run, cycle or swim and I've got a serious back injury (had spine surgery not so long ago for a slipped disc). I don't want that to be an excuse but there are some exercises that scare me (dead lifts, crunches for example).

But I really want to try and do something.

 

Search for a Telegraph article by Johnathan Ray entitled "Beer's not to blame for weight gain"

 

I lost most of my beer gut (and 14kgs in weight) by stopping eating carbs, and actually increased my daily beer intake, with no exercise.

[Taggart]

Plenty of people out there have lost weight by eating mostly carbs.  Just look up Penn Jillette for one.  Read his book, "Presto" as well and it was very good.  Lost over a 100 pounds.  

[JSixpack]

On Tuesday, October 25, 2016 at 2:49 PM, Taggart said:

Plenty of people out there have lost weight by eating mostly carbs.  Just look up Penn Jillette for one.  Read his book, "Presto" as well and it was very good.  Lost over a 100 pounds.  

 

 

Yes, eat only 800-1000 calories per day w/ a 5-hour eating window (intermittent fasting) like Penn Jillette and it doesn't matter what you eat. Good luck; enjoy!

 

[GarryP]

On 10/25/2016 at 2:49 PM, Taggart said:

Plenty of people out there have lost weight by eating mostly carbs.  Just look up Penn Jillette for one.  Read his book, "Presto" as well and it was very good.  Lost over a 100 pounds.  

Using a method that is not recommended by medical professionals and one which he himself would not recommend to others. He chose this method because he needed something very different to help him break his bad habits.  

[tropo]

37 minutes ago, GarryP said:

Using a method that is not recommended by medical professionals and one which he himself would not recommend to others. He chose this method because he needed something very different to help him break his bad habits.  

The 6-foot, 7-inch magician weighed 322 pounds over a year ago, when doctors discovered a 90% blockage in his heart. The father of two then decided to take drastic measures to see his young kids grow up. Under medical supervision, Jillette embarked on the "potato diet," eating only plain potatoes for two whole weeks. After subsisting on spuds alone, he started phasing in vegetable stews for added nutrients.

 

Note, "Under medical supervision".

 

When it comes to losing weight, "medical professionals" are the last people I would consult. All they normally do these days is prescribe drugs. If they do suggest anything useful, they're decades behind as they have to wait until it has been tested by science... an excruciatingly slow and expensive process. In the meanwhile, many morbidly obese individuals have already expired waiting for science to catch up with results that can be demonstrated in real life by real people.

 

Science has its limitations, the most obvious one being time. Mostly the scientists are trying to explain results, or work on some new drug that can make it all easy.

 

 

Edited October 26, 2016 by tropo

[GarryP]

33 minutes ago, tropo said:

The 6-foot, 7-inch magician weighed 322 pounds over a year ago, when doctors discovered a 90% blockage in his heart. The father of two then decided to take drastic measures to see his young kids grow up. Under medical supervision, Jillette embarked on the "potato diet," eating only plain potatoes for two whole weeks. After subsisting on spuds alone, he started phasing in vegetable stews for added nutrients.

 

Note, "Under medical supervision".

 

When it comes to losing weight, "medical professionals" are the last people I would consult. All they normally do these days is prescribe drugs. If they do suggest anything useful, they're decades behind as they have to wait until it has been tested by science... an excruciatingly slow and expensive process. In the meanwhile, many morbidly obese individuals have already expired waiting for science to catch up with results that can be demonstrated in real life by real people.

 

Science has it's limitations, the most obvious one being time. 

 

 

The medical supervision was required. Not a diet to be undertaken by the average obese Joe without such supervision. It is not a sound diet, is not recommended and he said as such.  I can just see someone reading the comments and saying "oh he lost so much weight only eating spuds. I'll try that."  Without supervision you could do some serious damage, especially if you have underlying conditions you are not aware of, which is often the case with those who do not have regular health checks.

 

However, I do not believe in the prescription of drugs for obesity nor do I believe in lap band surgery when the cause of obesity is diet (bad eating habits) either. The diet needs to be addressed. There is no easy way out. Maybe that is harsh, but that is the way I see it. 

 

 

[tropo]

5 minutes ago, GarryP said:

The medical supervision was required. Not a diet to be undertaken by the average obese Joe without such supervision. It is not a sound diet, is not recommended and he said as such.  I can just see someone reading the comments and saying "oh he lost so much weight only eating spuds. I'll try that."  Without supervision you could do some serious damage, especially if you have underlying conditions you are not aware of, which is often the case with those who do not have regular health checks.

 

However, I do not believe in the prescription of drugs for obesity nor do I believe in lap band surgery when the cause of obesity is diet (bad eating habits) either. The diet needs to be addressed. There is no easy way out. Maybe that is harsh, but that is the way I see it. 

 

 

What sort of "serious damage" could a potato diet cause? I've seen some very good results from potato diets - I'm talking about improvement in blood lipids (cholesterol/triglycerides) and other parameters such as blood sugar.

[GarryP]

Many people react differently, and some will see serious blood sugar issues on a spud diet while others will not have any problems at all. One glove does not fit all. I do not believe it wise to run into any specific food diet without first doing your homework and finding out what may or may not have an adverse impact on your health. Would you recommend that diet to an overweight diabetic or even someone who is only borderline?

 

I know you have a much greater understanding of diet/nutrition and exercise than me, but I think there needs to be disclaimers/warnings on a lot of the propounded diets. The average person really does not know much about what is really good or bad for them. To this day, you will get many people recommending fruit juice when when losing weight.     

Edited October 26, 2016 by GarryP

[tropo]

56 minutes ago, GarryP said:

Many people react differently, and some will see serious blood sugar issues on a spud diet while others will not have any problems at all. One glove does not fit all. I do not believe it wise to run into any specific food diet without first doing your homework and finding out what may or may not have an adverse impact on your health. Would you recommend that diet to an overweight diabetic or even someone who is only borderline?

 

I know you have a much greater understanding of diet/nutrition and exercise than me, but I think there needs to be disclaimers/warnings on a lot of the propounded diets. The average person really does not know much about what is really good or bad for them. To this day, you will get many people recommending fruit juice when when losing weight.     

I have always recommended that people who are overweight get a thorough medical examination before embarking on any diet/exercise program. Things such as irregular blood sugar/insulin levels can be part of the problem and just fixing that through diet adjustment can result in weight loss. One reason why exercise is so useful in any weight loss program is that it helps to normalize blood sugar levels.

[Taggart]

Many thousands of diabetics have done just fine on a high carb diet.  Nothing new there, since this has been known for decades now.

 

Here's one that just came across the newswire the other day.

 

http://brooklynreporter.com/story/brooklyn-bp-adams-reversed-his-diabetes-and-wants-you-to-know-how/

 

 

[jimmyyy]

honestly take a walk in the morning when its cool. Watch your food intake.  Look at your vital signs prior to doing anything drastic.   If your in Khon Kaen i would be happy to work out with you once you have a doctors clearance to do so friend. 

[GarryP]

1 hour ago, Taggart said:

Many thousands of diabetics have done just fine on a high carb diet.  Nothing new there, since this has been known for decades now.

 

Here's one that just came across the newswire the other day.

 

http://brooklynreporter.com/story/brooklyn-bp-adams-reversed-his-diabetes-and-wants-you-to-know-how/

 

 

Hardly a high carb diet. Far from it in fact.  

[tropo]

10 hours ago, GarryP said:

Hardly a high carb diet. Far from it in fact.  

Absolutely right. He didn't go into much detail about what he ate, but he cut all processed food and ate natural high fiber plant foods. I would expect good results from that too.

 

He's actually deluded and not doing diabetic people any favours by writing what he did. He hasn't reversed diabetes at all. He still has it - it's merely under control.

 

Normal people can eat what he ate before (what they like) and post normal blood sugar numbers -  i.e. simple carbs and other processed carbs. If he went back to eat what he did before, his blood sugar levels would soon be back up there. He's still diabetic in the true sense of the disease.

 

[JSixpack]

12 hours ago, Taggart said:

Many thousands of diabetics have done just fine on a high carb diet.  Nothing new there, since this has been known for decades now.

 

Here's one that just came across the newswire the other day.

 

http://brooklynreporter.com/story/brooklyn-bp-adams-reversed-his-diabetes-and-wants-you-to-know-how/

 

 

 

Now you've struck out twice. Seems you're actually a troll who doesn't understand what he reads. Nobody cares if you think you can lose your beer gut on a high carb diet. Go for it, man.

Questionable science, BTW, behind Knives Over Forks: “Forks Over Knives”: Is the Science Legit? (A Review and Critique)

How to Reverse Your Diabetes Type 2

 

Here ya go:

 

Why a Low-Carb Diet Should Be the First Approach in Diabetes Treatment

 

How to Reverse Your Diabetes Type 2
 

 

 

[Dunsparce]

Stop drinking, easy-peasy

[JSixpack]

On Wednesday, October 26, 2016 at 8:13 PM, Taggart said:

Many thousands of diabetics have done just fine on a high carb diet.  Nothing new there, since this has been known for decades now.

 

Here's one that just came across the newswire the other day.

 

http://brooklynreporter.com/story/brooklyn-bp-adams-reversed-his-diabetes-and-wants-you-to-know-how/

 

 

 

As noted you misinterpreted your referenced article but here's another one for ya:

Remission of pre-diabetes to normal glucose tolerance in obese adults with high protein versus high carbohydrate diet: randomized control trial

[MalandLee]

 

This worked for me - together with THOUSANDS of others.

 

Best to watch in "Youtube" rather than in this forum - simply click the youtube icon at the bottom right of the movie screen.

Edited October 31, 2016 by MalandLee

[JSixpack]

6 hours ago, MalandLee said:

 

This worked for me - together with THOUSANDS of others.

 

Best to watch in "Youtube" rather than in this forum - simply click the youtube icon at the bottom right of the movie screen.

 

Fat, Sick and Nearly Starving? 9 Problems with Juicing

 

If you really want to give your body a break from all the food you’ve been eating, then why don’t you give intermittent fasting a shot. Intermittent fasting is pretty much juice fasting without the juice and gimmicks. All you’re doing is staying away from food for a specified amount of time.

     --http://www.fitmole.org/juicing-diets/

[tropo]

16 hours ago, JSixpack said:

 

As noted you misinterpreted your referenced article but here's another one for ya:

Remission of pre-diabetes to normal glucose tolerance in obese adults with high protein versus high carbohydrate diet: randomized control trial

I do appreciate how they call the normalizing of blood sugar levels "remission". Too many people these days call it "cure" or "reversal".

 

I've managed for years to normalize my pre-diabetic blood sugar levels with lots of exercise and a clean diet consisting of moderate to high carbs, but to do it that way you have to do a lot of exercise.

 

That study calls one diet "high carb" (HC) at 55% calories from carbs and the "low carb" (LC) diet is 40% calories from carbs. I don't consider that low carb at all and the difference is small. It could be the level of protein is more significant in terms of blood sugar "remission". Their LC diet has twice the protein of the HC diet.