<p>Front squat 5x5
Split squat 5x5 (each)
KB single arm swings 5x5 (each)</p>
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<p>Why not just eat fish? A small can of sardines (~100 grams) probably has 1.5 gram of omega-3 fatty acids, while 1 gram of typical fish oil pill has 0.3 gram of omega-3 fatty acids.</p>
<p>ucb, not everyone can stomach a can of sardines, but almost everyone can swallow a few fish or krill oil capsules :)</p>
<p>6 miles in 49 min last night, followed by a 4-mile run (31.5 min) today. Ahhh… Low 50s and drizzly skies… My favorite kind of weather :)</p>
<p>Sardines would work. I’m not sure I could eat a can of sardines everyday, but if you like sardines, why not?</p>
<p>I try to eat a big serving of salmon once a week for dinner. I saute it and then make a pan sauce with the oil from the salmon and the juice of a lemon. And, of course, the anchovies in my chicken caesar salad dressing!</p>
<p>I used sardines as an example because they are (a) low cost, (b) easy to store without worrying about going bad, (c) low risk of contamination with mercury and other pollutants, and (d) low concern about overfishing (and sardines taste fine to me). Other types of fatty fish can be eaten, of course, although some may have these potential problems to worry about. Eating fish rather than fish oil pills also gives protein (and calcium for canned fish with edible bones).</p>
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<p>Is it possible that you are not getting enough calories? I have read that too few calories can cause a slow-down in metabolism. I am not sure if the research really supports this but it would make sense that there would be a conservation mechanism that kicks in if calories are very low.</p>
<p>I love sardines (from Canada) and am eating about four to five tins a week.</p>
<p>I got home from work at about 8 last night and decided to take a short nap. I woke up to the phone ringing at 10:30 - my son wanted some help with an emacs command - I told him that I had fallen asleep - he said go back and sleep - it could wait a day. I woke up at 4:00 AM, had some water, went back to sleep and got up at 6:00 AM. I felt thin but not hungry which was strange and I was wondering if I should take more water.</p>
<p>Calorie consumption for the last four days are 870, 1,150, 1,224, 1,347. Yesterday was a tennis day with probably around 1,000 calories expended through exercise. Replenishment is 2,900 calories. I’m a bit surprised that I’m not feeling ravenous right now as that’s how I usually feel after tennis. My normal approach on tennis days is to eat replenishment calories or more. Without the low-carb stuff, I could probably knock off an extra-large pizza for dinner. There isn’t much food in the house right now so I’m going to run to the grocery store in a bit and pick up some stuff for the weekend. I’m wondering if I should dial up the carbs a little. I’m not sure if I should be going so low on the calories.</p>
<p>I pulled the weight/calories chart from Livestrong into Growly Notes so that I have convenient access to it. One thing that I’ve noticed is that I’ve had no regressions. Another thing is that calorie level does not correspond with weight loss - that’s because exercise levels aren’t included. What’s interesting is that weight loss in some weeks is associated with much higher calorie intake.</p>
<p>I love having data to look at for analysis.</p>
<p>Idad my husband is hypothyroid also. You are not the lone male out there who has it. Doc’s are, however, less inclined to test men as they still think it’s primarily a woman’s disease. It is not.</p>
<p>After you’ve been on the synthroid for a few months if you begin to feel punky again see about adding in some T3. Theoretically your T4 is metabolized to T3 but many folks find they feel better adding in some T3. Your doc may or may not tell you this. Many folks feel great on the synthroid for a few months but then slide into some decline. T3 will help that. </p>
<p>Have you read Mary Shomon’s books? If not, jump straight on over to amazon and order 'em up!</p>
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<p>Wouldn’t that also be due to women visiting the doctor more often, and generally being more concerned about being fat and therefore asking their doctors if thyroid or whatever could be a problem?</p>
<p>I do eat fish 2 to 3 times a week. Mainly tilapia and salmon. I basically eat fish, chicken, shrimp and turkey with roasted veggies for dinners. Lunch is usually leftover protein from the night before and a salad. What was working to drop the weight earlier in the year is not working for me now. I burn 400 calories(recovery days) at a minimum for my daily cardio workouts and then do weights/pushups. Most days my HRM says I burn about 700. Guess it is time to change things up! Not sure to what but something has to give! May try to go gluten free.</p>
<p>Having a can of Progresso Lentils for lunch today per UCB’s rec a few days ago. They aren’t bad. Trader Joes Low Cal bread still has a lot more fiber per calorie though.</p>
<p>Great workout for me today. 65 minutes on the recumbent doing intervals. I was just a soggy pile of goo when I got off the bike. Did weights for 30 minutes. I will be sore tomorrow.</p>
<p>Thanks, hugcheck. I’m trying to learn more. </p>
<p>I did find a study from the VA that looked at cholesterol and LDL levels in a groups of obese and non-obese men with hypothyroid. One month baseline before treatment and one month following stabilizing with synthyroid – maintaining weight through a very carefully controlled diet over the course of the entire study. Significant drops in cholesterol and LDL following treatment with synthyroid. Apparently low thyroid is the second biggest contributor to elevated cholesterol (after diet). My doctor is right. This study (and it’s well-established in general) suggests that I should see a signficant drop in total cholesterol and specificially LDL as the synthyroid kicks in. It appears to be related to how quickly the liver metabolizes LDL and clears it. This would explain the anomoly of my very low triglycerides and high LDL numbers. The VA study showed this quite vividly, even in the group of non-obese subjects.</p>
<p>ucb:</p>
<p>I think women are also over-represented in the thyroid pool because of the inter-relationships between thyroid and estrogen and the effects of both pregnancy and menopause. I haven’t been reading those articles because they aren’t of specific interest to me, but in scanning for info in general, these are clearly big issues.</p>
<p>I’ll have to ask my doc why he ordered the TSH screen for thyroid. I think it probably trying to get some insight into poor kidney function numbers (also a symptom of hypothyroid).</p>
<p>“May try to go gluten free”</p>
<p>Statistically, most people who go gluten-free gain weight. Unless you are gluten-intolerant, it will just add hassle and extra expenses (a coworker is doing an elimination diet right now and complains all the time how expensive *real *gluten-free stuff is). And, according to DH’s doctor, unless you eliminate ALL gluten-containing foods in your house (not just in what you personally eat), you will not see much benefit. Gluten traces from serving and cooking dishes, pots, utensils, etc. can do enough damage.</p>
<p>I noticed that you do not eat any meat. Are you supplementing your diet with heme iron?</p>
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<p>NMINN:</p>
<p>When I started this more intense strength training workout program at the first of the year, I went through a month or so period where my weight loss on the scale really slowed. Then, all the sudden, my body started changing (visibly) and the scale started dropping. Over the past couple of months now, I have been losing, on average, 3/4 pound per week and looking more muscular --for an ol’ (formerly) fat guy.</p>
<p>I really think that the early stages of more intense strength training result a period of water retention in the muscles and maybe even increasing muscle mass masking fat loss on the scale.</p>
<p>I guess that the moral of the story is, if you are doing the right things from an exercise and diet standpoint, then just be patient and stick with it. Particularly as you get closer to your target and you don’t have as much fat to lose, it’s all going to procede at a slower pace.</p>
<p>BC:</p>
<p>1300 calories can’t be enough for you over the long haul. Take a look at your protein. The formulas are all over the place and I discount all the bodybuilders saying you should eat an entire cow every day, but 1 g per kilo of body weight is one common recommendation. So, somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 g a day wouldn’t be out of line for you. That’s kind of my rough target.</p>
<p>Another formula is .5 g (for a couch potato) to 1 g (for an elite athlete) per pound of lean body mass. I figure I’m in the 135 to 140 lb range (lean body mass) so I aim for .7 g per pound or about 100 grams of protein per day. I don’t always get there, but the government recommendation of 46 grams per day for me is low (in the context of strength training and my workouts). Your working out hard. The more lean muscle you can build, the better from a fat loss standpoint.</p>
<p>BB…the reason I am thinking of going gluten free is that the trainerr I met with mentioned that they suggest this to people who are struggling with the last 10 pounds. He reported that his clients end up dropping that weight fairly easily when they do this.</p>
<p>I haven’t eaten red meat for over 35 years and eat very little pork…tenderloin once in a blue moon. Doesn’t agree with me. I take a multivitamin and Vitamin D supplements. Was taking Whey Protein powder but stopped a few months ago. Guess I should add that back in too.</p>
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<p>I think that research has shown that 99.99% of all nutrition information from fitness trainers is pure nonsense. My attitude is that, if a fitness trainer gives you nutrition advice, you should probably do just the opposite – or, at least, ignore it.</p>
<p>The reason the “last 10 pounds” is hard to lose is that all the “easy” fat is gone. You just don’t have that much more. And, it is likely stored in the places (belly or hips) where your body is hormonally/genetically programmed to give it up reluctantly. The best thing I have done this year is shift my metal gears from losing weight as the goal to getting stronger and more fit (and let the weight drift along with that fitness). I figured I did my part and got the weight in the ballpark, just like you have done. From here on out, we can just focus on a good nutrition and workout program and see how it unfolds on the scale. I don’t even really know what my target weight would be.</p>
<p>I sure as heck wouldn’t attempt to go “glutten-free” on the suggestion of a personal trainer, unless I had some reason to think that I needed to.</p>
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<p>My big pet peeve with personal trainer fitness advice is the current fad of telling everyday people to “carb cycle”, with elaborate schemes of eating carbs on these days, but not those days, like it’s Lance Armstrong fueling up for the Tour de France or something. This stuff is not that complicated!</p>
<p>NMinn, since your trainer is not a registered dietitian, I would be skeptical about this advice. It is just the latest fad, that’s all. As is, you probably already eat very little gluten-containing foods. Gluten-free eating is a real challenge since many foods that do not look like they contain it have a boatload of gluten (soy sauce, for instance).</p>
<p>I bet that your multi-vitamin does not contain iron, which is essential for proper muscle function etc. I would talk to your doctor about adding it to your supplements. And I think Amesie has a good point. A net 600 calories a day only could put your body into a starvation mode where it feeds off muscle, not fat.</p>
<p>What i-dad said about plateu is so true. And keep doing those pushups and free weight curls - I’m convinced that those were the exercises that took care of my extra chest fat (you know what I mean :)).</p>
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<p>I’ve decided that the biggest problem with all these fitness trainers is that they are all too young. Just kids. They don’t have the common sense that comes with being an ol’ fat guy!</p>