Having worked on my youtube channel now for several months I’m come to realize that I don’t look as good on camera as I’d like to. In fact I have come to the terms that although people don’t tell me I’m overweight, I am defintely 15 lbs overweight on video, it just doesn’t show on my face.
Here is the rub as Shakespeare would say.
I am 42 and have low sex drive, problems maintaining erections etc if I don’t lift heavy kettlebells, rest, lift heavy kettlebells, take testosterone boosting supplements etc. Sex drive and erections and good soon as I take a product called SD200 (tongkat Ali) and Horny Goat Weed. Strength is up , as is posture. Joint paint is non existent. I eat a lot of protein, and sleep better.
PROBLEM IS, I look bulky and fat. I weight in at 180 on a 5’7" frame. I have a 36" waist. Because I’m short my body looks overweight. On Camera I look even heavier.
I want to lose the weight but not my sex drive. Impossible?
The best way I’ve found to lose the weight has been through using lighter kettlebells and doing a lot of reps. Essentially I’d be doing cardio, getting my heart rate up, and having more energy, less strength, and less sleep. Weight comes off fastest this way. Problem is joint pain is increased because continous use of weights. I use kettlebells not gym and find I like it better because its more convenient.
If I had my way I’d do the first workout but I’m not losing weight off of it, maybe some fat but not weight, and the bulky waistline doesn’t make me feel very good as heavy weights are building a thick midsection.
I really do want to lose weight and increase sex drive, but at 42 I am doubting my abilities. Any tips?
First off I apologize if this message gets a little sloppy. Typing on iPhone.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to lose 15lbs. You will not lose your sex drive, in fact it will actually increase(usually i reference my claims but like I said..iPhone. If you wish to see proof please pm me).
Since you enjoy using kettle bells, i’d suggest circuit training.
3 sets for each exercise right? Try a complete circuit of said workout from shoulders down to lunges and call that set 1. Rest for 60 seconds then do another circuit. Complete 3 circuits. A work out like so will maximize your EPOC(excess post oxygen consumption // afterburn effect) which basically means you will burn more calories than normal for up to 36 hours after your workouts. Do this anywhere from 3-5x per week and keep a log book counting your calories. Your diet is truly what you should focus on.
Your Basal metabolic rate is 1750kcals per day. Based on the harris benedic formula if you were to work out 3x per week you could safely eat 2400 kcals per day and not gain a pound. If you focus on eating 2000kcals per day every day and followed this workout routine(or your own) i gauruntee you will see results in the mirror in 6 weeks time.
It also wouldnt hurt if you threw in 30 minutes of cardio at the end if your workout =) but some people hate cardio, and my motto as a trainer is to tell my clients to stick to doing what they love.
If you prefer sticking to kettlebells id suggest increasing the circuit by 1 set every 2 weeks until you can successfully complete 5-6 sets with 60 seconds of rest in between each set.
What your doing is great but if you want to lose weight around your middle then your gonna need to look at your diet.
Science has found the old calories in calories out theory to be inaccurate and incomplete. Working out only accounts for a small percentage of weight lose, something like 10 percent. Its excellent for health but not so much for actually losing weight especially when your not that over weight to begin with. Its not always about how much you exercise or how much you eat but what you eat.
Take a look at this authors blog and book. Its called wheat belly.
You may want to try giving up wheat for a month and see what happens. I am not suggesting you dont exercise just that you do something more to support the exercise to lose the desired weight.
Not much to add: I think Musik and Tisha gave you two good breakdowns on both sides of the equation: Exercise/more activity in your daily life as well as diet. What Tisha said about it being more about what you eat as how much is very true. Especially if you are going to cut down on your caliric intake overall.
How does your diet look like dsouza? The low sex drive, erection problems could be due to a lack or a low ratio of healthy saturated/monounsaturated fats to protein/carbs. It is usually common when you drop calories under your maintenance calories your libido takes a hit. It’s very hard to keep hormone levels optimal while weight training and dieting but it can be done. Just need to eat the right kinds of foods in a specific ratio, and not too many carbs.
I was in a similar situtation as yours and it can be fixed with a proper diet and some supplements, it’s too complicated to post all the details here, hit me up with a PM if you want to know more, I guarantee you will look more defined, leaner and dryer in a few weeks time.
I’ve been going through the same process over the last 2 months, mainly because I’m more concerned about reducing my hypertension that I was recently diagnosed with and because I want to look a lot better on an upcoming vacation in April.
this is what has worked for me:
Note, this is not expert advice, or advice from a Dr, its just what I’ve been doing and what has worked well so far
Cut out all soda. I was a 3-4 coke/MtDew/day drinker for many years. It was hard to quit, and I had raging headaches for several days, but it was the biggest and most important change I’ve made. This also includes diet sodas- they are just as bad for you.
Reduce my caffeine intake. On top of the 3-4 sodas/day I was drinking about 4 cups of coffee. I love coffee. I’ll drink a whole pot of it if its the good stuff. I now limit myself to one cup a day (helps ward off headaches) and 1 cup decaf.
goes along with #1- reduce sugar/High Fructose Corn syrup to the minimum. Its kind of difficult because sugar and the HFCS crap is in everything.
Weight train. I have free weights, but use them less for fear of injury- a few of my friends of my age have had serious injuries to their shoulder in the last year because of benchpress. FTR, the ‘Chuck Norris’ gym (totalgym, I use the low end model found on AMAZON) is excellent and I’ve actually put on about 7-8 lbs using it, my waist size has gone down 2" so far, I’m a lot more flexible, and I feel great.
I used to be a hobby bodybuilder in college 15+ years back, putting on more muscle is never bad for your metabolism, more tone also means your muscles are working all the time which burns more fat.
Take 2 days off for each muscle group- the muscles need 2 days of rest to rebuild and be up to full strength after a workout. It can be hard to do as you start seeing results you want more and more results, but you must be patient.
Up the protein intake significantly. I have a whey protein shake (with skim milk) for breakfast nd another after my workouts, or I have one with my lunch on off days. I also eat more eggs, and lean meats. You need the protein in your body to rebuild and grow more muscle tissue, the flip side is if you don’t, your body will break down muscle to get the needed protein- not what you want.
Drink LOTS of water. Your kidneys are going to be working harder with more protein intake while your muscles are going to retain more water. Don’t skimp on water, your pee color will tell you when you aren’t getting enough.
Doing just the above things has markedly improved my sex drive, the way I feel about myself, and my energy levels.
Although I think I may be in love with you Tisha… What you said is a highly controversial subject. Also, the diet you suggest is gluten free(correct me if im wrong, i never actually went to the site) which only applies to special populations whos lectins bind to glutens causing an allergic reaction within the body. This does not hold true for the rest of the world. While I advocate low carb diets, they are extremely hard to follow correctly, which is why i never advocate such a diet on mass media sites.
Simply put, calories in vs calories out is in fact the standard used today and no matter how accurate or innaccurate it may be, bodybuilders have been using this technique to shape their bodies since the 70’s. Health and fitness professiols have been using this standard for years with success. So please dont bash something that works, or if you do at least try to be unbiased about it so as not to create more confusion.
Also, one can not target fat loss. The belly for males and the thighs for females are always the last to go.
Gotta agree.
I’ve seen a thing once where a dietician lost weight by eating nothing but twinkies- at the right caloric level. OTOH that would have to be hell on the body and very tough to follow with the constant blood sugar spikes.
Controversial as it may be its been proven way to many times now not just theory but in practice. I am not saying cutting calories wont cause weight lose in some people. I am not saying exercise doesn’t play a role. I am saying its just part of the equation. Sometimes these two things are not enough to get you to that ultimate goal. I am not being biased at all and frankly I think you are. The words inaccurate and incomplete are not closed they are open to other possibilities and methods. If you think the “standard” is the only way or the best way that is bias.
There are other factors to consider that exercise gurus or the calories in calories out advocates ignore. These people base there businesses on these standards and close up when confronted with alternatives. I happen to be open minded. If one trail doesn’t lead you to your destination there are others to take. Sometimes those trails can be easier and more direct. While hard core body builders may have success using the “standard” they only make up a very small percentage of the population. A population that is failing using the “standard”.
There is a gluten controversy as well as a calories in calories out controversy. This is not the reason I suggested Wheat belly though. Wheat tends to have a bloating effect and make you more hungry as well as cause numerous other problems.
Humans are omnivores and have been for thousands of years. We didn’t evolve eating wheat products. Until around the 1940’s wheat products were rarely eaten. They were just used to fill in hunger gaps during times when people could not get there hands on meat or vegetables. When wheat was commercialized and the god awful food pyramid came out people began using wheat as a staple. Our bodies have not evolved enough to process the sheer amount of wheat consumption people take in. History shows us that the obesity epidemic began in the 1940’s. As wheat consumption has increased so has the epidemic despite the huge influence of the calories in calories out and exercise industry. There are other factors that need to be considered and to ignore those factors because they don’t go along with the standard is to close ourselves to the truth.
Much of the medical community feels your either gluten intolerant or not. You either have Celiacs or you don’t. Nature and life is not always so black and white and we all know there are grey areas. Those areas are harder to measure therefore harder to treat. I do believe there is middle ground and while that middle ground can not be categorized or measured as celiacs it still exists and can cause issues.
Gluten and Celiacs are not why I suggested the book though.
No where do I tell Dsouza to stop exercising and eat as many calories as he wants to. Nor am I going withhold advocating low carb or my advice or opinions because I think “people cant do it correctly” People are much brighter then your giving them credit for. That’s like saying don’t talk about mones because people tend to use them wrong. I don’t agree with withholding information because it makes people uncomfortable or because its not the standard. People can not grow unless they open themselves to all the information. No where do I bash the standard. I see it with clarity though. Its not working and its not because people dont have will power or they are lazy. Its because the standard in incomplete. Ignoring it is not going to make it complete.
I will express it in a way you may connect with. Adapt and overcome. That simply means if one way is not working for you find one that does. It doesnt mean follow the standard.
I think tisha makes a good argument because of my own personal experiences.
I quit drinking beer after Thanksgiving (really hard to do during football season), and six weeks later I was 20 pounds lighter. I still can stand to lose some more, but right now I am happy as can be that it was really effortless, especially being 50.
But there is the issue of abdominal bloat. Some days I just look fatter even though the scale says the same number. Other days I have very little or no bloat, feel lighter on my feet and energy levels are high. When I look at what I eat the day before, there is a common thread. Wheat products. Who would think that Grape Nuts in the morning can actually make you sluggish and bloated? Pizza of course is a big no-no, but I found one with a cracker thin crust and relatively low calorie. Still the same bloating effect.
I have started a 30 day experiment of no wheat products. No breads, cereals, pastas, etc. Not even any croutons on my salad. To make this more like a diet our ancestors might follow, I am going to eat foods that are as close to the natural state as possible. I will report later on this experiment’s effect on weight, energy levels, and well-being.
Meh, Wheat has been a staple food since the Sumarians started the first civilizations, and probably well before that.
Gluten sensitivity has been an overhyped fad over the last few years, fact is, only a small % of people have problems with it (around 1% of the population).
The only real problem with wheat if eaten as a large part of a diet, which includes other grains, cereals, and pastas is that it raises your blood sugar rapidly leading to an insulin spike followed by a blood sugar crash which makes you hungry again very soon.
There is nothing magic about wheat that makes you fat, except that it makes you hungry again too soon.
Look again. the Sumarian’s staples were barley and spelt. Grains but not really categorized as a wheat products. Wheat now is not like the wheat your grandma ate just as meat now is not the same as our grandparents ate. Its far different. While wheat, barley spelt, millet are all grains they are not created equal. I did not say to stop eating grains. I said wheat. My suggestion had nothing to do with gluten or the diet of the Sumarians.
I don’t agree totally. Yes its been more prevalent in the last few years and I think its for a few different reasons.
There are many conditions that have been categorized at an over hyped fad that are now medically recognized and treated. In fact more then 50% of the disorders out there started this way. I have seen to many people who feel generally unwell. They may not have a full blown disorder but they feel cloudy, drained, tired, achy and just overall like crap. They give up gluten and with in days are feeling much better.
This is no fad and its occurring for many reasons to long to get into right now. Its recognized by the scientists world wide the problem lies with whether doctors and schools bother to keep up with the science or not. Its being connected to many disorders that are on the rise including Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. However I will say again I did not bring up gluten in my original response and my suggestion did not pertain to that.
Here Sean Croxton can explain it better them me. Sean is a great guy and he has got it going on. Love the man.
Dsouza specifically mentioned weight around his middle despite having a good work out plan this is why I mentioned wheat belly to him its something he can do in addition to what he is doing.
I think your work outplan is a good one,since you are having success.I’d like to suggest you that eating vegetables also helpful and doing some little exercise like walking,swimming will help you a lot.
Tisha, I think that you feel that I am attacking you, but I am not and I apologize if it seems that way. You have a lot of good things to say on these forums and I can tell people respect what you have to say. This is a public forum though. This isn’t a PM, or an email, which was sent directly to dsouza. I was simply further elaborating on information about your calories in vs calories out statement that might have been misinterpreted by other members of this community.
Many people that read diet or fitness related articles may be drawn to such articles because they have been considering getting on the treadmill for the first time in their lives, or maybe trying to eat a little healthier on a day to day basis. Most of these people have no idea where to start, so when they come on here and read a post by a respected forum member like Calories in Vs Calories out is inaccurate and incomplete, try this instead… they will believe you. They will throw that calories in vs calories out method out the window, and think every time they hear someone talking about said method that they are a quack, or don’t know what they are talking about.
This quote pretty much summarizes how I feel about that:
“A desire for a quick solution for weight loss has led to the mystification of exercise and diet and an environment ripe for promoters of quick weight-loss methods and fad diets. Sorting through this pile of myths and inaccuracies makes the health and fitness professional’s job a daunting one. Clients are coming to the health club with preconceived ideas about how they should be eating.” -National Academy of Sports Medicine
Your previous statement, “Science has found the old calories in calories out theory to be inaccurate and incomplete.” while true, is also inaccurate and incomplete. The difference is like using bio-electrical impedance vs a skin fold caliper or hydro-static weighing to measure body fat percentage. The only time it matters how accurate it is is when you need to know what your actual body fat percentage is. One can still use bio-electrical impedance to measure improvements in body fat percentages though, because while it’s inaccurate, the readings are consistent so they can be used to show whether one has made improvements or not in body composition.
So just like the bio-electrical impedance method for measuring body fat, calories in vs calories out initially can be inaccurate, but should be adjusted and fine tuned on a month to month basis so that one can maximize his or her results.
Calories in Vs Calories out has been and is the standard today because it is based off of the Law of Thermodynamics. Calories in vs Calories out is supported by the Law of Thermodynamics where weight reduction can only take place when there is more energy burned than consumed.
Please understand though that I am a supporter of low carb whole food diets. It’s just too complicated to suggest such a diet to people on mass media sites without complete clarification and here’s why: It’s easy to cut out a few carbs from your diet, but it’s not exactly easy for most people to cut them out entirely(15-100g/day depending on activity levels). Since most people that cut carbs from their diets are told to eat more healthy fats, they do. The problem arises when we have a guy that is only half way committed to his diet, and thinks he will be okay eating whatever he wants since he is exercising. Now he’s consuming over 30% fat in his daily diet, and also over 100G of carbs. This leads to a huge increase in HDL levels in the blood supply, which we all know is a huge risk factor for heart disease.
1) Consuming fewer calories per day than is burned will result in weight loss in everyone as defined by the Law of Thermodynamics. I’ve yet to see one single person not lose weight using the calories in vs calories out method correctly.
2) What you aren’t taking in to account though is that most people that cut gluten from their diets are beginning a lifestyle change for the first time in their lives. This isn’t just a 90 day plan, this is a change in somebodies life which they know may become permanent. When thought of this way, a diet can be taken a lot more seriously.
1st Point: Anyone will see results by simply paying attention to what they eat on a day to day basis.
2nd Point: Eating a diet based off of wholesome, unprocessed foods usually results in a caloric deficit in most cases.
Show me a single study that proves a 500 kcal deficit based on Calories in Vs Calories out resulted in zero weight loss.
3) This is far from true. I have no idea exactly how long humanity has been living off of wheat bread and pasta, but I know it’s been a staple in poor countries around the world for at least 2000 years. I’m not religious but one only needs to look at the Last Supper to see that bread was prevalent in countries long before the 1900’s and for good reason. Bread has always been one of the cheapest sources of food.
4) Tisha, this is how I earn a living. I communicate with multiple people every single day of the week to motivate them to continue following a proper diet. Self discipline has nothing to do with how bright a person is. Willpower is a mental muscle that can and does become exhausted. For some, just going to the gym may exhaust their willpower, leaving them with little left for the rest of the day to make good food choices. How can I expect somebody reading partial information on a forum to follow up with what they just read with 1) correct information which further elaborates on said diet and 2) follow it correctly.
If you think about it, history is simply repeating itself. First was the negative stigma towards fats in the 1950’s up until the 2000’s, now the negative stigma is shifting towards carbohydrates. People need to understand that none of these are evil in moderation.
1) Cutting beer from your diet not only means you are eliminating wheat products but also calories from your diet. Weight loss cannot definitively be
attributed to the elimination of wheat products from the diet.
2) Awesome!! Try to shoot for 90 days, I would love to hear the reports! What’s the worst that could happen? You fall in love with chicken ceasar salads? =) With 70 million people around the world diagnosed with celiacs, and a supposed 2.3 billion people around the world undiagnosed there may be a good chance you could benefit from eliminating wheat from your diet like Tisha said.
This entire video basis their argument off of the fact that they believe the grain we eat today is vastly different from the grain we ate 60 years ago. I’d like to see where they get this information from, because from what I know the only difference is the amount of wheat being consumed today vs 60 years ago due to the negative stigma towards fats which began in the 1950’s when major food processing coorporations began funding the scientific research that supported saturated fats being linked to an increased risk for heart disease. While the study proved nothing, all of the media attention that the study got was enough to shift the publics view on fats since then.
He is quick to alienate blood sugar // insulin levels which tells me this diet places far too much emphasis on the Glycemic Index.
All of these arguments are based off of the glycemic index right? Well the GI for a food is determined when the particular food is consumed by itself and on an empty stomach. Mixed meals of protein, carbs, and fat alter the glycemic effect of single foods. Some fad diets place too much emphasis on the GI, stating that foods with a higher GI lead to fat storage, regardless of caloric intake. This leads to categorizing foods as “good” or “bad” based solely on their GI value. As stated earlier, weight gain or loss is related to total energy intake, not the source of the food eaten.
