Need to speed up weight loss....

[Tiggsy]

Currently few lb over 16stone - down from 17 couple of months ago.

Using myfitnesspal to stick to 2k cals a day and doing 3/4 weight sessions, 2 spin classes (with the GF so cant get out if these!) and few 5k runs a week.

Progress is fine and keeping my lean size hopefully.....but on hols in mid sep so want to up it during August and get down to low 15's (after hols I'll creep back up leaner though......at 6ft6 close to 15 stone is getting too light for me.

So.....should I drop the 2k cal down.....up the HIIT....run more? All of that?

On 2k cals I feel full all the time eating very clean...so could easily drop down but going under 2k for someone my size seems too low???

[944fan]

I'm on fewer than 2K cals atm and weight more than you. Sometimes during workouts it feels a bit of a struggle but brings the weight down quickly.

[MurderousCrow]

Tiggsy said:

Currently few lb over 16stone - down from 17 couple of months ago.

Using myfitnesspal to stick to 2k cals a day and doing 3/4 weight sessions, 2 spin classes (with the GF so cant get out if these!) and few 5k runs a week.

Progress is fine and keeping my lean size hopefully.....but on hols in mid sep so want to up it during August and get down to low 15's (after hols I'll creep back up leaner though......at 6ft6 close to 15 stone is getting too light for me.

So.....should I drop the 2k cal down.....up the HIIT....run more? All of that?

On 2k cals I feel full all the time eating very clean...so could easily drop down but going under 2k for someone my size seems too low???

It's anecdotal, but I've used intermittent fasting very successfully on a few occasions. In 3 months I went from around 16% bodyfat to around 12% (US Navy Calc estimate). I followed the 5:2 ratio, but it's not the only one. BTW, I'm not knocking your calorie-restriction approach. It will work, but you're after advice on how to speed fat loss up while keeping muscle - IF has worked (very) well for me in this regard.

IF gets some flak in the media as a 'fad diet'. Looking at the available literature, it would seem fairly clear it has health benefits, demonstrated in human and animal models. The animal models seem to demonstrate increased longevity (effect hard to observe in humans ) as well as improved overall health e.g. beneficial effects on insulin sensitivity etc. This dietary approach, coupled with an overall calorie restriction and maintained as a lifestyle, could possibly be quite significant in terms of promoting longevity. Certainly the animal studies are promising, for what that's worth. Summary of a meta-analysis on IF and (male, human) health:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23582559

Regards muscle: I've found it to be strength-sparing, if you like. I've no idea whether it's truly muscle-sparing, there doesn't seem to be any conclusive evidence either way which suggests the effect on muscle tissue is relatively small in any case. My peak strength as measured by my 3RM bench press did not deteriorate at all on any of the occasions I used IF. During my latest (short) period of IF, I was actually building strength while simultaneously doing a 5x5 powerlifting-type training program.

The popular 5:2 ratio wins out for me because it's pretty easy to stick to. I wouldn't advise complete calorie restriction on fast days, and neither would I advise unconstrained eating on the other days. For fast days I took a high-quality whey protein shake (one very low in carbohydrate) up to 3x daily depending on whether I'd trained that day, I drank tons of water and tea, and nibbled on carrots or apples if unable to defeat the hunger pangs. On the other days I'd use a 'satiety scale' whereby fullness after eating is gauged on a 1-10 scale: I'd try to eat to a 6-7/10, satisfied but could manage more.

HTH,

Luke

[Crush]

Just drop off 200 calories per day (taken from carbs)

Should be ok to maintain for a month or two I'd have thought?

[HarryFlatters]

Contract gastroenteritis, I had it a few weeks ago and lost 5lbs in 4 hours

[Foliage]

Drop to 1650 BUT eat extra when you feel you need to, just be careful how much extra. So some days 1650 but most days you will probably eat 1800-2000. See how you can get on and if its mentally sustainable.

[RJB_666]

I wouldn't drop your calories further than 2000. What is your carb, protein and fat breakdown? Are you keeping fibre at a reasonable level and also sugar relatively low? I'm impressed that your staying full on that amount of calories. When I was taking in 3400 a day I was still always hungry. I'm a lot shorter than you and weigh around 74KG and I'm currently on 1900 calories a day. This is the lowest I plan to drop my calories to unless I compete. My split sits at 80G carbs, 230G protein. The rest made of my calories are from fats. As my carbs are so low I try and have most of my daily carbs before and after my training sessions. The higher you can keep your carbs the better.

Cardio wise a combination of HIIT and steady state will help. I like to do the majority of my cardio in a fasted state even if this means I'm up at 5AM. Maybe for your weight sessions try some German volume training? 10 sets of 10 with 1 minute max rest per set, 4 to 5 different excersises per session.

There are also supplements that can help, but also a lot are just well marketed. I won't ramble on about them though unless that's of interest. Diet is the main factor.

Sorry if I'm ramblimg and coming across as a know it all, just what I've learnt over my time getting my body fat down. Still learning all the time myself.