I also lift weights. I believe if you want to lose more weight faster and more efficient than weight lifting has to be something that must be included in a diet. I only do one body part a day and been doing it for about 3 months now and I see results that are great. Chest, Shoulders, Biceps, Tri's, then Back, then I start all over again on the 7th day. It works for me, However ever mans/womens body is different and so my workout may not work for most people.

I totally agree. Furthermore, it helps KEEP it off.

Now, rzathagza (buy a vowel ), no leg workouts? You must do some, no? Legs are such a HUGE muscle group - so much fat-burning potential.

Hi Built

Have you had a look at some of the new advanced creatines which don't require an insulin spike, like V12 from SAN?

I've not tried any creatine so far - I'm only 2 weeks into my lifting just now, and have uhmmed and ah'd as to whether to start taking it straight away, or to wait until I hit a plateau or what, but that's the one I'm planning to get when I do decide to go for it

Is there any harm in starting to take creatine just now rather than waiting till later?

Yeah, I've heard of it. I'm not convinced. But if you try it and like it, please let me know.

2 weeks in you won't notice a difference. Wait until you've plateaued on your lifting for a while, and you're pushing REALLY hard. Otherwise it'll be just a waste of money - you won't notice a thing, except MAYBE bloat.

And make sure you drink a LOT of water. First time I took it I loaded, and didn't drink enough water. Kidney stones SUCK, that's all I wanna say.

Will do.

Today my measured water consumption (that is sitting at my desk at work where I record every cup I drink in the office - this excludes anything I drink before work, in the gym or after work) is 6 litres (1.58 US gallons) so I think I can manage that

Good boy.

Realistically, you probably won't get anything out of creatine until at LEAST 6 months from now if you REALLY focus on your lifting. But you'll have to put it in a journal when you try it. I love it when I'm bulking. I REALLY feel the difference in my lifts.

I bought some creatine but haven't tried it yet. I'm all paranoid about what goes into my body now. LOL, what a 180 degree flip from where I was a few months ago! Oh, I do have a question. Is it common to lose quite a bit of weight when you first start lifting? I've been lifting for over a month now, but I changed my routine around somewhat in the past few weeks. Now I've been droppin' weight fairly quickly. From 188.8 -183.8 in 10 days. I cut down on cardio from 6 days to 2-3 and am lifting 3-4 days/week. Is that common? I keep my protein intake around 100g per day. Always have my pwo shake with a few carbs. I would love to continue on this kinda fat loss trend at least for awhile!


~ Cori ~

This is SUCH happy news. And not unusual at all! Maybe go a TAD higher on the protein now that you are lifting a lot. I go somewhere closer to a gram per pound, maybe go closer to a just under a gram a pound of your target weight - try 125-140g per day so you keep building muscle.
The first year a newbie lifts is magical. It's pretty much the only time in your life when you will DROP fat while BUILDING muscle. Enjoy it!

And don't bother with creatine until you are KILLING yourself in the gym, but CAN'T get past a plateau in your lifting. It works better with a bit more carbs than you can probably afford right now anyway, so keep it, but leave it alone for a while.

How do you know much protein is being absorbed? If I'm eating 100g is all of that heading to my muscles? Are there drawbacks to eating too much protein? Should I drink a protein shake even on my non weight lifting days? Whey protein is the best absorbed protein source, right? I'll try to aim for 140, but not sure if I can pack that in. Maybe just add in another protein shake each day instead of just one. Your body can only absorb 30-40g per meal correct? Are some proteins better than others? Chicken over beef, tuna over other types of fish? Does cooking change the amount of protein in a piece of meat? Ugh, sorry about all the protein questions, it's just that that issue has been buggin' me for awhile now. I want every stinkin' gram of protein I take to get into those muscles and pump em' up!


~ Cori ~

Don't know, but I had a blood test recently and seemed to read that I was low on protein. You, know how those test are, you have to have a PHD to understand the results. Anyway, I started taking digestive enzymes anyway, just to make sure I was helping as much as I could. I don't think it can hurt.

mmm, digestive enzymes...That sounds taste. Dare I ask what type, brand you are using? What made you decide to try those? How does it affect protein uptake by muscles?


~ Cori ~

There are different kinds and brands. I got some relatively expensive ones at a local health food store and then some cheaper ones at WalMart. I just thought I'd try 'em and see if they made a difference in my muscle growth. Thought maybe I wasn't digesting the protein well enough and couldn't hurt to try, like I said. Do they help, jury's still out, and could be another suppliment that just can't tell if works or not.

I don't worry much about the source of my protein (chiken vs beef, etc).

WRT meal replacement shakes - I wouldn't do the whey shakes too often, because they are absorbed too fast (all chewed up like they are) and could mess with ketosis. Stick to PWO for that.

Maybe just increase proteins a SMIDGE at first - an extra 15-20g and see how it feels. If you start gaining weight again, or stop losing, drop it down. Let your body tell you.

You're fast built! You must be online quite a bit I vary my protein, I don't eat much of the same stuff for any given meal, so it's coming from alot of different sources. I'm all about variety! But I'll try to up it in the next week or so and see how it goes.


~ Cori ~

Don't go crazy with the protein - too much, and you will go out of ketosis. But I suspect you can probably handle a bit more. Watch your ketones/fat loss like a hawk though - if you have trouble, abandon ship. You can always try a little more later on. I think it really depends on how much muscle you have, and how hard you can push yourself with them. If you've got a LOT of muscle, and you push hard at the gym, well, when you lift, it's basically controlled destruction of muscle tissue. You need the protein to rebuild this (hence the PWO whey, which you REALLY need to get in IMMEDIATELY after training when your muscles will suck it all in), and becuse this destruction/rebuilding cycle is so inefficient, it takes a LOT of extra energy for your body to do this.
The more muscle you can "wreck" in this way, the higher your metabolic rate will become after lifting.
This doesn't mean go out and hurt yourself. But once you are lifting hard and heavy, you will KNOW that you REALLY have to push hard to get anywhere.

How heavy is heavy? That is entirely defined within your locus of control. What's heavy for me is a LOT heavier than what was heavy for me 2 years ago. I was working just as hard then, but I've got bigger engines firing now, so they take more fuel to run.

Yeay! More food!

Happiness!

I am entirely motivated by gluttony and vanity.

Hey! My new sig!