Workout and diet tips for losing a beer gut/man boobs?

Ace in the Hole · 20-02-2017 11:44AM #1

Hi people

This has been bugging me recently and I'd like to get it addressed. I was always thin, straight up and down but clearly a middle age spread is starting to show.

What's the best course of action to take? 6ft and 14' 6, Ideally I'd like to lose a stone

I eat clean all week but once the weekend hits it's beer and takeaways

omb0wyn5ehpij9 · 20-02-2017 12:03PM

Ace in the Hole wrote: »

Hi people

This has been bugging me recently and I'd like to get it addressed. I was always thin, straight up and down but clearly a middle age spread is starting to show.

What's the best course of action to take? 6ft and 14' 6, Ideally I'd like to lose a stone

I eat clean all week but once the weekend hits it's beer and takeaways

Without trying to sound smart, you've already answered your own question. You need to cut out the beer and takeaways.

How many pints are you having each weekend? How many takeaways?

What is your general day to day diet?

Ace in the Hole · 20-02-2017 12:06PM

I could have 10 plus pints on a Saturday night and a pizza the following day

Monday to Friday it's just chicken, veg and eggs, as I said, very clean on weekdays

Zillah · 20-02-2017 12:11PM

Ace in the Hole wrote: »

I could have 10 plus pints on a Saturday night and a pizza the following day

Then you'll have the body of a person who binge drinks and eats pizza.

20-02-2017 12:12PM

Ace in the Hole wrote: »

I could have 10 plus pints on a Saturday .............

That's 2000 to 2500 calories.

Pizza not too bad if it's taking place of a meal IMO, the drink is just the guts of an extra days calories.

You'd want to operate on a stringent 500/day calorie deficit to break even when guzzling 10 pints a week. Probably doable if you had the pounds shed but you won't lose weight with a weekly night on the sauce.

Ace in the Hole · 20-02-2017 12:13PM

So I pretty much need to knock the beer on the head COMPLETELY yeah?

Zillah · 20-02-2017 12:19PM

Ace in the Hole wrote: »

So I pretty much need to knock the beer on the head COMPLETELY yeah?

No. You need to eat a diet where you eat, on average, fewer calories than you do now. Quitting alcohol altogether would probably be a simple step towards that, but it's not necessary. If you really want 2k calories worth of beer you could reduce your weekly calorie intake by 2k calories on average. It takes discipline and planning though.

bladespin · 20-02-2017 12:20PM

Pretty much, at least as a regular thing. Alcohol isn't really compatible with nutrition planning.
It's not just cals, it's what it does to the body as well.

20-02-2017 12:21PM

If you knocked it on the head of 2 months, did some weight training and some interval cardio stuff & eat as clean as you claim you do (which I doubt) you should drop a stone in 2 months.

At 6 foot & 14 stone 6 lbs you can't be that skinny anyway.

Once you shift the weight if you go back on the 10 pints every Sat I would think the weight will creep back on unless you run a 500/day calorie deficit which is little fun IMO.

bladespin · 20-02-2017 12:30PM

Augeo wrote: »

Once you shift the weight if you go back on the 10 pints every Sat I would think the weight will creep back on unless you run a 500/day calorie deficit which is little fun IMO.

Totally agree but you will be able to get away with the odd blow out so the party's not completely over, especially if you're careful about the cals around them cheats.

gctest50 · 20-02-2017 12:44PM

Ace in the Hole wrote: »

........
........I eat clean all week but once the weekend hits it's beer and takeaways

Loads of beer followed by load of carbs is the worst you could do - helps cause testicular atrophy

You'll also get cranky cos estrogen " causes" agression ( magic at the very last minute converts testosterone into estrogen kinda thing )

So,drink whiskey if you don't want to end up as a cranky ladyboy

pumpkin4life · 20-02-2017 12:51PM

Ace in the Hole wrote: »

I could have 10 plus pints on a Saturday night and a pizza the following day

Monday to Friday it's just chicken, veg and eggs, as I said, very clean on weekdays

One pizza a week (unless you're highly insensitive to insulin) is grand. It's the beers which are killing you.

You don't even have to stop drinking or reduce your drinking. Switch to whiskey,vodka or rum all straight and you should be ok.

Bodycoachie · 20-02-2017 01:40PM

Track your calorie intake, use myfitness pal, amazing tool! losing a gut is all about nutrition. Eat all your foods from fresh ingredients and avoid processed foods.

Ace in the Hole · 20-02-2017 02:02PM

So the gut will be lost with a change in diet rather than exercise?

pumpkin4life · 20-02-2017 02:04PM

Ace in the Hole wrote: »

So the gut will be lost with a change in diet rather than exercise?

Exercise (especially weightlifting) would help/speed it up, but it's mainly diet related.

omb0wyn5ehpij9 · 20-02-2017 02:06PM

Ace in the Hole wrote: »

So the gut will be lost with a change in diet rather than exercise?

Of course.

However, if you wish to lose it quicker, or just actually get fit and look after you body, throw in some exercise too

Zillah · 20-02-2017 02:22PM

Ace in the Hole wrote: »

So the gut will be lost with a change in diet rather than exercise?

Your body needs X calories to stay its current weight.

If you eat less than X you will lose weight. If you eat more than X you will gain weight.

Exercise will increase X a little bit.

If you do a weights programme you'll gain some muscle which will help you look better, regardless of whether your total weight goes up or down.

Ace in the Hole · 20-02-2017 02:25PM

Ok I got my Fitness Pal

I need 1630 calories a day to drop 9lbs in 5 weeks

Bodycoachie · 20-02-2017 02:32PM

Yeah you cant out-train a bad diet, I have a friend who is very skinny but has a large gut in proportion to his body, he drinks lots of beer and eats really badly but does 90 mins cardio every night. never sees a lick of progress...

Zillah · 20-02-2017 02:39PM

Bodycoachie wrote: »

does 90 mins cardio every night.

Jesus. His heart will thank him at least.

Bodycoachie · 20-02-2017 02:40PM

Well i hope so, He has been eating and drinking the same rubbish for a long time now, i hope it helps!

guile4582 · 20-02-2017 02:52PM

if you are into beers, pay the extra and sup on a nice 330ml hipster one...

i am aware there could be a massive backlash here to this but being in my 30s the benefits of this are: tastes better so I tend to savour it,less calories and less hangover = can maintain sensible choices of food next day/and or workout!

also sub in a non alcoholic erdinger now and again......

dont go in rounds!

this is my opinion/advice.

i do also agree that knocking it on the head for two months is a good idea - embrace a new lifestyle - see are you happy and in 2 months go back to what you used to do if you want..if you do, you at least have learned more about nutrtion and exercise to make an informed decision about your health

Ace in the Hole · 20-02-2017 02:56PM

I knocked the beer on the head completely between August and December of last year

Didn't seem to make a difference

Bodycoachie · 20-02-2017 03:00PM

If you are making these changes and nothing is happening it has to be an underlying issue or a lack of consistency. Just think one meal wont make you fat, just like one salad wont make you skinny, if the bad outweighs the good you wont see results. Im a PT and deal with this all the time because i specialize in weightloss and health.

guile4582 · 20-02-2017 03:00PM

Ace in the Hole wrote: »

I knocked the beer on the head completely between August and December of last year

Didn't seem to make a difference

did you workout 3 times a week at least and do more cardio?

Ace in the Hole · 20-02-2017 03:08PM

At hat time I wasn't working out at all nope

guile4582 · 20-02-2017 03:10PM

Ace in the Hole wrote: »

At hat time I wasn't working out at all nope

so give it a go this time...even just one month to begin with or a fortnight...

pumpkin4life · 20-02-2017 03:12PM

Ace in the Hole wrote: »

I knocked the beer on the head completely between August and December of last year

Didn't seem to make a difference

Right, so you're a "blow up with any big of carb/sugar eating" lad, just like myself.:(

Cut your carbohydrate and sugar consumption. Try for less than 50 carbs a day. Swap out beer for whisky. Worked wonders for me.

rubadub · 20-02-2017 06:07PM

Ace in the Hole wrote: »

I knocked the beer on the head completely between August and December of last year

Didn't seem to make a difference

I find alcohol has little effect on my weight. When calorie counting I did not even bother counting alcohol calories. For heavy drinkers they are apparently not used the same.

I anecdotally know the same was true for several heavy drinking friends too.

http://www.nytimes.com/1992/02/04/health/why-the-body-may-waste-the-calories-from-alcohol.html

But chronic heavy drinking can prime certain metabolic processes and, in effect, train the body to waste the seven calories a gram that alcohol ordinarily provides.

For example, weight gain was negligible in alcoholics who were given 2,000 calories of alcohol daily on top of the 2,500 calories from foods they consumed to maintain their weight. But when the same number of additional calories were fed as chocolate, a steady weight gain resulted.

Most "beer bellies" are really "unrestrained drunken scoffing" bellies

Feenix · 22-02-2017 08:45PM

pumpkin4life wrote: »

Right, so you're a "blow up with any big of carb/sugar eating" lad, just like myself.:(

Cut your carbohydrate and sugar consumption. Try for less than 50 carbs a day. Swap out beer for whisky. Worked wonders for me.

Do you order neat whisky instead of a pint? Sounds dangerous.

Mellor · 23-02-2017 12:17AM

Feenix wrote: »

Do you order neat whisky instead of a pint? Sounds dangerous.

Why would it be dangerous?

pumpkin4life wrote: »

Cut your carbohydrate and sugar consumption. Try for less than 50 carbs a day. Swap out beer for whisky. Worked wonders for me.

There's no need to keep carbs that low (keto). It's an option of course.
Spirits can help keep calories low, but you don't have to drink them straight, there are plenty of zero/low calorie mixers.

bladespin · 23-02-2017 07:53AM

Feenix wrote:

Do you order neat whisky instead of a pint? Sounds dangerous.

Only if you're drinking it by the pint.

Ace in the Hole · 23-02-2017 10:28AM

So I've been eating clean so far this week - 1650 calories daily for the past 3 days - has been hard but I'm persevering

Will have 1 night drinking this weekend - Whiskey neat - no carbs bought last night in the weekly shop so won't be munching either

Feenix · 23-02-2017 10:28AM

Mellor wrote: »

Why would it be dangerous?

There's no need to keep carbs that low (keto). It's an option of course.
Spirits can help keep calories low, but you don't have to drink them straight, there are plenty of zero/low calorie mixers.

Because its a 35 ml measure as opposed to a pint, surely you would get through some amount on a night out. Doesn't seem like a reasonable substitute for a beer.

Mellor · 23-02-2017 11:06AM

Feenix wrote: »

Because its a 35 ml measure as opposed to a pint, surely you would get through some amount on a night out. Doesn't seem like a reasonable substitute for a beer.

It's considerably less alcohol than a pint of beer. So if even if you drink at a slightly faster rate you'll consume about the same.

So aren't going to drink shot after shot to quench your thirst.

rubadub · 23-02-2017 11:13AM

Feenix wrote: »

Because its a 35 ml measure as opposed to a pint, surely you would get through some amount on a night out.

I don't and people I drink with don't. A pub measure is the same alcohol as about half a pint of 5% beer. Many will drink doubles in rounds while people are drinking beer.

guile4582 · 23-02-2017 11:17AM

if that chat is good, ya sip away at a nice slow pace

and just beware when you are getting dehydrated, the odd glass of water can help.

just try not get too drunk is my motto

Ace in the Hole · 23-02-2017 11:32AM

So would Whiskey with something like Coke Zero make a difference given that there's no calories or sugar content in coke zero?

guile4582 · 23-02-2017 11:49AM

Ace in the Hole wrote: »

So would Whiskey with something like Coke Zero make a difference given that there's no calories or sugar content in coke zero?

aspartame will kill ya though

Mellor · 23-02-2017 11:53AM

Ace in the Hole wrote: »

So would Whiskey with something like Coke Zero make a difference given that there's no calories or sugar content in coke zero?

It's a common choice. Perfectly fine.
Whiskey/vodka with soda is another.

Ace in the Hole · 23-02-2017 11:55AM

What's aspartame?

Ok so Jack and Coke Zero is my new tipple of choice :-)

Zillah · 23-02-2017 02:37PM

Ace in the Hole wrote: »

So I've been eating clean so far this week - 1650 calories daily for the past 3 days - has been hard but I'm persevering

Will have 1 night drinking this weekend - Whiskey neat - no carbs bought last night in the weekly shop so won't be munching either

I wouldn't avoid carbs entirely. You don't want to burn yourself out on an unrealistic regime. You need to find a way to eat and live that will last your whole life. You can't "fix" your body and then go back to normal.

Alf Veedersane · 23-02-2017 02:47PM

Ace in the Hole wrote: »

So I've been eating clean so far this week - 1650 calories daily for the past 3 days - has been hard but I'm persevering

Will have 1 night drinking this weekend - Whiskey neat - no carbs bought last night in the weekly shop so won't be munching either

You need to bear in mind that once you get to the point you want, you should be in a position that you have changed your diet and/or lifestyle in a way that you can sustain in the long term whilst staying at that weight you want to be.

If you've just switched to a diet with no carbs and eating foods and it's only something you intend to persevere with until you've lost the weight you want to, then you're going to short-circuit your efforts.

If you're making better choices and getting into a calorie deficit by eating smaller portions of good food or by reducing calorie-dense food and adding bulk with food that's not calorie dense, e.g. veg, you have a much better chance.

Ace in the Hole · 23-02-2017 03:13PM

Zillah wrote: »

I wouldn't avoid carbs entirely. You don't want to burn yourself out on an unrealistic regime. You need to find a way to eat and live that will last your whole life. You can't "fix" your body and then go back to normal.

I would still have 5 or 6 baby potatoes as a 'treat' with my chicken and veg for dinner so I guess I'm getting my carbs that way.

No bread or pasta however

Alf Veedersane · 23-02-2017 03:35PM

Ace in the Hole wrote: »

I would still have 5 or 6 baby potatoes as a 'treat' with my chicken and veg for dinner so I guess I'm getting my carbs that way.

No bread or pasta however

You don't need to demonise bread or pasta. You just need to watch how much you have of them. They're not inherently bad.

bladespin · 23-02-2017 04:09PM

Ace in the Hole wrote: »

I would still have 5 or 6 baby potatoes as a 'treat' with my chicken and veg for dinner so I guess I'm getting my carbs that way.

No bread or pasta however

40 - 50% of your calorie intake should be from carbs, preferably after exercise.

Feenix · 23-02-2017 04:25PM

Mellor wrote: »

It's considerably less alcohol than a pint of beer. So if even if you drink at a slightly faster rate you'll consume about the same.

So aren't going to drink shot after shot to quench your thirst.

I could be wrong but in my opinion, if someone is struggling with binge drinking and wants to cut down it would be more advisable to suggest that they try sip on 2 or 3 bottles of beer over the course of a night out rather than order neat whiskys. It sounds like it has the potential to get messy and also expensive.

bladespin · 23-02-2017 04:34PM

Feenix wrote: »

I could be wrong but in my opinion, if someone is struggling with binge drinking and wants to cut down it would be more advisable to suggest that they try sip on 2 or 3 bottles of beer over the course of a night out rather than order neat whiskys. It sounds like it has the potential to get messy and also expensive.

I don't think OP's 'struggling' more (like so many of the rest of us) binging without actually realizing the damage he's doing, in the good old days a 10pinter would have been a fairly tepid night out.
TBH my recommendation would be to try the non-alcoholic beers, after 3-4 of those you won't want more lol.

Mellor · 23-02-2017 09:48PM

Feenix wrote: »

I could be wrong but in my opinion, if someone is struggling with binge drinking and wants to cut down it would be more advisable to suggest that they try sip on 2 or 3 bottles of beer over the course of a night out rather than order neat whiskys. It sounds like it has the potential to get messy and also expensive.

The point of suggesting spirits is that you'll get drink they are less calories. Drinking two bottle of beer isn't really comparable, might was well not drink.

I'm not sure why you keep focussing on neat whiskey. I said above that's there's no need to drink it straight with zero cal mixers available - he he said he'd do.

Workout and diet tips for losing a beer gut/man boobs?

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