Obese Dieting: Some Tips to Guide You

By March 30, 2016Exercise
Woman grabbing a donut

Getting out of the obese dieting trap

When you started your fitness journey, you knew that fixing your food intake and the quality of it was key. You knew you had to fix it somehow.

So you started out cutting “the bad shit.” The soda pops, and the Starburst Jelly Beans, the donuts, and what have you. Maybe you even decided to cut out processed foods, as nebulous as that term actually is. If you were really intent, and spending time anywhere else with a lot of shit information, you might have even decided to cut out the carbohydrates. Sad face.

After you have made the cuts, you probably noticed you lost a little weight. Good news, right? But not so fast.

So you go to the gym, and you are starting to lose weight because of your newfound diet. However, you start to notice yourself feeling a little shitty. Lethargic, even. And maybe you even catch a cold. Then your progress stalls. You aren’t losing weight like you were and you feel weaker in the gym. Then you get an invite to your best friends wedding and she wants you to be in the bridal party. Despite way you feel, you decide it’s time to train harder. You lower the calories a bit more. Do an extra hour of cardio a week. When it comes time to fit into your dress, you realize you haven’t much to  show for your efforts.

a man falling into the obese dieting trap and feeling guilty for eating a donut

How to fix the problem

When you made the choice to ditch the “bad shit” from your diet, it put you into a caloric deficit. This means weight loss is going to happen. You leveled out at one point, you took away things, and as such, you are expelling more energy. That’s how it happens.

Then you went into a lower deficit. Perhaps 1200 calories a day. That seems to be the number everyone likes to use. So you used it. And it still worked for a bit. I’ve had this conversation with many people. It will make you feel good for a while.

If you are obese, however, you need energy to sustain yourself. If you are 400lbs, you need more than 1200 calories a day to work out and live your life. In order to rectify the situation, there some things you don’t want to do first.

  1. Don’t keep doing the same shit you’re doing now. Sounds easy, but it happens. You will get nowhere fast this way. But this might be too easy. You already know this since you’re here.
  2. Don’t train harder to try to make this work. If you are eating at 1200 and are 400lbs you will only feel shittier if you try to train harder and do more stuff during the week. This will become what call a vicious cycle.
  3. And the last one. Do not go from 0-100 on increasing your calories. You will be resistant to do so, for one. Even if a coach tells you to, you won’t like it. Instead, ask yourself a bunch of questions.

Can I?

You have to ask yourselves the right bunch of questions.

“Can I have one day of higher calorie eating?”

If so, “how much higher do I feel comfortable going?” Could be a hundred calories more. 200 calories more. Or even 400 more. But it hinges on your psychology. And as long as you’re in a deficit still, you’ll lose weight.

After a while that question becomes “can I have another day of higher calorie eating?” and on down the line.

I would also ask, “Can I have a ‘bad food’ but not gorge on it?” This is a good one. I have asked myself that many times.

Regarding the training, you can ask yourself these same questions. For fat loss, focus on the volume and density more than lifting super, ultra, big ass, heavy weights. Volume is the total poundage lifted in a session and density is that poundage in time. So if you do a given workout in 30 minutes on Monday, and then do it in 25 minutes on Wednesday, the Wednesday workout was more dense.

So when you go do your workout, you ask yourself “Can I do more reps? More Sets? Can I do a combo of those? Can I do them in less time?” And if you can, write it down. Improve upon it later. You will get the results.

As for the types of exercises, you want to use those that move the most of you. Thinking about what you’re moving, what holds more value? A squat, or a bicep curl? You know the answer.

Conclusion

There you have it. A few tips for obese dieting. Though I was never that obese, it is a conversation I have had with many clients and others as well. If you need that extra push, or guidance, seek out help from a coach. But at the very least, ask yourself what you can do.

 

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About Peter Baker

In addition to being a fan of music and heavy metal, I am an avid player of table top RPGs, and I am a personal trainer in Tampa, FL as well as a graduate of the prestigious University of South Florida. Formerly, I was a prefect for House Slytherin.

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