Diet, weight loss, body fat and other weight related things

So i've been on a pretty strict calorie restricted diet for the last 3 weeks and I've been absolutely ecstatic with the results, I've averaged 1kg (2.2lbs) of loss a week and it's done absolutely wonders for my climbing, everything has felt so much easier i'm managing with relative ease routes i couldn't touch before and feel absolutely fine for it.
i weighed 68.7kg(151.4lbs) i now weigh in at 65.7kg(144.8lbs) i'm 174cm (5ft'9)
So from other climbers experiences how much is too much too soon, how much do you really want to loose and when should you stop?
Looking at getting down to like 127lbs.

Jesus, Dude. Eat a sandwich. Weight loss at 5'9" & 152# smacks of weight obsession.

MisterE Wolfe wrote: Jesus, Dude. Eat a sandwich. Weight loss at 5'9" & 152# smacks of weight obsession.

Dude at 152 i was eating what ever i wanted averaging at 3000 calories a day, tons on junk food and shit and that was stable i'd only shift water weight.

MisterE Wolfe wrote: Jesus, Dude. Eat a sandwich. Weight loss at 5'9" & 152# smacks of weight obsession.

I was 6’3 and 152 pounds at one point in my life, so I don’t think this is necessarily true.

127lbs might be a bit excessive at 5'9 dude.

My strongest was around 155 at 5'8 and I felt like I was right at the edge of being too skinny / I started to feel a decrease in strength at 150. That being said I'm a stockier build, better at moving things than climbing or running.

that guy named seb wrote:

Dude at 152 i was eating what ever i wanted averaging at 3000 calories a day, tons on junk food and shit and that was stable i'd only shift water weight.

Do you think that maybe it’s the reduction in junk food that has helped, not the weight loss? I know I feel like shit when I eat nothing but shit.

How do you cope with the hunger? I'm shit at losing weight but really want to.

JSchloem wrote: How do you cope with the hunger? I'm shit at losing weight but really want to.

I have 200cal worth of granola in the morning then a 200cal oat based bar every 3 hours through the rest of the day then a protein rich dinner.

I made up this little rule: I break down the macros of all the food i eat and if the calories are from almost entirely protein i either have it not count towards my calorie intake or half it.
 The important thing to understand with this trick is that a calorie isn't quite a calorie when your an athlete loosing weight, 100 calories of protein is actually only about 70 calories after your body has converted it into glycogen so even if you were to start using protein as fuel (this shouldn't happen) it's not actually as much as it appears at face value, now the other part to understand about this rule is that if your body has either fat or carbs at it's disposal it will always use them before it resorts to converting protein to glycogen, this means that the protein gets to do it's work in the body repairing you and building muscle. This being said don't go crazy, if you eat excessive amounts of protein you will gain fat you should still stick to protein being 30-40% of your total calories.
This is unscientific and i don't have anything really to back it up but this is just what i go by to try and stop muscle loss and stave off hunger.

Is this how you want to eat forever? Worth considering.

I've lost a significant amount of weight, about 20% of my total weight, but, I did so very slowly, eating really good food that I enjoy. Including complete crap now and then. I'm never sick, super healthy, and in better shape than I've been in decades. I'm the strongest now, pushing 62, that I have ever been in my entire life.

Focus on the body, not the weight. Yes, watch your weight, watch what you eat, but if you really want to keep ​it off, effortlessly, the changes need to be realistic.

And forever. 

Best, Helen

Do you have an estimate of your lean weight? Aiming for body fat % in the high single digits is reasonable for men. Cutting from 151 to 127 lbs is 16% of your weight. Unless you're starting out around 25%, that's probably not realistic.

kevin neville wrote: Do you have an estimate of your lean weight? Aiming for body fat % in the high single digits is reasonable for men. Cutting from 151 to 127 lbs is 16% of your weight. Unless you're starting out around 25%, that's probably not realistic.

It sounds like allot but weight doesn't quite work along those lines, like megos is 57kg and I'm pretty sure he's not 2% body fat.

In response to OLH, I plan on following this diet until i get a to a point where i'm happy, this might mean i hit 127 or it might be higher but what ever it is once I've reached that point I will increase my calories until i'm stable at the weight starting at 1000 calories after that i can add a small amount of surplus and start to improve muscle development. I never understood the whole is it sustainable diet question, if your loosing weight your on a deficit by definition it's not sustainable no matter what, i think it's a question to be asked if you're coming from 300lbs down to 170 where the person will be loosing weight on a 2000+ calorie diet.

Well, you should probably know that, if the answer is “no,” to OLH’s question, you will almost certainly gain all of the weight back.

When dropping weight, dont stop until your girlfriend begins grating cheese with your abs.

With all the carbs you're eating I highly doubt your body is converting any of your protein to glucose so your 100g of protein is actually 400 calories, not 70.

Just wanted to chime in to say that I am about 5.8" and climb my best in the 132-135 pound range (my current weight), and I could see myself climbing better at the 135-138 range considering I put the weight in the right places.  I eat about 4000 calories a day to maintain my 132-135, and could probably benefit from adding a few more calories.  I recently added 1.5 tbsp olive oil to my 2x/day protein shakes, but still feel I could use more calories.  As far as body type, I am small boned and have a lean build with fairly wide shoulders.  

Given you are an inch taller than me, unless you have a very different build, I would expect your best possible weight would be somewhere around 135-145 pounds.  That being the case, I would aim to more or less maintain your current weight/calorie intake and try to focus on converting what you have to muscle where you want it (in your arms, shoulders, and back, with a focus on the forearms) as that will be less work overall than cutting down to a perfect weight with your current musculature and then adding back in any muscle you want, and then tuning that muscle to be richer in fast twitch fibers (which use more calories).  

Ignore this advice if all you want to climb is vertical stuff on teeny tiny holds which require no large dynamic movements.

skik2000 wrote: With all the carbs you're eating I highly doubt your body is converting any of your protein to glucose so your 100g of protein is actually 400 calories, not 70.

I don't think you quite understand how your body absorbs and uses protein. 

Seb, there are two meanings to the word "diet". I choose the one where "diet" isn't what I do, it's simply what I eat. Day in, day out, year in, year out.

Generally I eat really high quality food and enjoy it greatly. I also am pursuing an active lifestyle and enjoying that ​greatly. For myself, it is a lifestyle. This isn't the vanity of a certain look, nor pursuing climbing grades, although those are nice fringe benefits. I have huge incentive. My mobility is at stake, and by mobility, I mean walking without a walker. My happiness also matters a great deal to me. If I really want some cheesecake, eventually I'll have it. But it's gonna be mighty damn good cheesecake, a small slice, carefully chosen for flavors, eaten slowly and with full hedonistic pleasure in every savored bite, probably with a really good cup of coffee, and some nice company to share it with.

Try that runon sentence with a protein shake/bar or whatever other crap you're inflicting on yourself in the diet du jour. (The broader "you", sir) 

If you want to.pursue some temporary thing, fine, go for it, but you will serve your body better over the long haul by the overall lifestyle you choose.

Best to you! Helen

that guy named seb wrote:

I never understood the whole is it sustainable diet question

I bet you will soon.
Any method you believe in can work for losing weight for three weeks (especially your first time).

It's not even an interesting test until you've kept it off for 6 months.
After a year you can start taking it seriously.

. . . (? How is it that you know that Alex Megos does not have very low body fat ?)

Ken

Losing a lot of weight to make one fitter for sport isn't all that out of the ordinary. But it's usually not very healthy in the long run (fit != healthy, for all instances of, "fit"). Lots of athletes get obsessive about their weight, which can turn into psychological problems, so it's not something I'd promote. I've dropped 20lbs before, but after I did the thing I wanted to do, it was not a good scene getting back health.  

Not knowing your starting body composition, it's not really easy to know if what you're doing is long-term unhealthy. Some people just have a larger frame, no matter than height of them, some much smaller. Where you are on the continuum, I'd hate to guess.

I do feel like an absolute giant, when compared to those numbers though, and shall use them as my excuse tomorrow, as to why I can't get up the thing I can't get up, followed by mumblins of "gotta quit pizza and beer". Being Winter though: highly unlikely.

Good luck! Be safe!

that guy named seb wrote:

I don't think you quite understand how your body absorbs and uses protein. 

It doesn’t break down into glucose to fuel your body unless you’re in an extreme carb restriction. Your body will use the glucose from carbs long before GNG happens.  Either way, I’m not sure where you come up with the notion that eating 400 calories of protein somehow only ends up being 70.  Feel free to post some backup to that claim.

skik2000 wrote:

It doesn’t break down into glucose to fuel your body unless you’re in an extreme carb restriction. Your body will use the glucose from carbs long before GNG happens.  Either way, I’m not sure where you come up with the notion that eating 400 calories of protein somehow only ends up being 70.  Feel free to post some backup to that claim.

It's 100=70 (don't know where you got 400 from) it's down to inefficiencies in the metabolic pathway being very inefficient (creates allot of heat). 100cals worth of carbs is actually about 96 calories and fat is 93 if i recall correctly. Even in a complete no carb diet your body will go for fat long before protein. From the studies i have read it doesn't seem to matter how much protein you actually take in you pretty much never convert it to fat it always ends up as lean muscle even when consuming what would be considered normally as excessive amounts.