# What can you tell me about lowering my body fat percentage?



## Miss Awesome (Sep 1, 2012)

I'm ok with my weight at this point, but I definitely have excess body fat. I always have, so my goal right now is to maintain my weight, more or less, but to lower my body fat percentage. What advice can you give me?

It might be important to know the following: I'm a vegetarian (so no meat, including chicken and fish). I work for close to nine hours/day (without a lunch break) most days of the week, so eating every few hours is very difficult for me - in fact, it's pretty much impossible. I've just started doing a combination of strength training and cardio, mostly strength training - but I hear lowering body fat has a lot to do with what you eat.

Oh, and I tend to go through periods of eating too little and eating too much. I find it difficult to eat the right amount, and I know that's part of what I need to work on. To avoid going back into a period of eating too much, though, I'd like to avoid keeping bread and peanut butter in the house. I know those things can be good for you, but they seem to be big contributors to my eating too much. So.. any tips?

Thanks for your help!


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## Miss Awesome (Sep 1, 2012)

failoutboy said:


> I am trying to do that right now. I know a lot about exercise but I don't have much personal experience in the area of fat loss. Here is what I've found out based on my reading.
> 
> For diet, I've read that you should stay away from processed foods. You should get enough protein to build muscle--in your case you would eat a lot of nuts, beans, and tofu. You should eat healthy fat such as olive oil and flaxseed oil. I have heard mixed opinions about the frequency of eating. There was a trend toward eating 5-6 times a day awhile back, but more recently I've read articles that say eating fewer times leads to a fuller stomach and better appetite satiation. I think it would be good to plan out your meals ahead of time so you know how much you are going to eat each day.
> 
> It will be hard for you to fit exercise in to a 9 hour work day, so I would suggest high intensity interval sessions for cardio so you get the most bang for your buck and compound/lower body dominant weight training for the same reason. Strengthening the larger muscles of your body is supposed to burn more body fat. I am trying this approach myself. Squats, bulgarian split squats, romanian deadlifts, and reverse lunges all involve a lot of large muscles and for the most part are fairly easy to learn (squats being the most difficult).


 Thanks! There's actually a gym where I work, so when I get off I just walk across the parking lot to work out. I use these workout videos that I found online, and they combine strength training and cardio. In fact, most of the cardio routines consist of strengthing exercises (like various squats and lunges, among other things) put together so that it gets your heart rate up, but there are also routines that are pure strengthing/toning. I think my biggest challenge right now is eating for fat loss. Anyway, thanks again for your advice!


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## JRB7793 (Dec 2, 2012)

Elliptical burns calories fast. Keep a log of the foods you eat. This will keep accountability and you will see how the calories add up quick.


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## Miss Awesome (Sep 1, 2012)

JRB7793 said:


> Elliptical burns calories fast. Keep a log of the foods you eat. This will keep accountability and you will see how the calories add up quick.


Thanks! That's good advice for weight loss, but I'm not looking to lose weight. I'm looking to have less body fat and more muscle.


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## Noca (Jun 24, 2005)

Cut out bread from your diet.


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## Saskindofday (Apr 3, 2014)

Try to stay away from hi carb high GI foods, like white bread, flour,I would say these keep fat on more than any food. Since you're a vegetarian it may be harder to get good amounts of protein, so maybe find a good plant based protein powder. Also I've been doing a lot of high intensity interval training, and I think from what I've read and experienceed is the fastest strongest way to shread fat


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## ChaoticMess (Dec 4, 2013)

Don't be afraid to go heavy on the weights, and or machines! A lot of females tend to think that going heavy will make them bulk up or something. Not true...lol. For one- women do not produce enough testosterone to build massive amounts of muscle, and 2) bulking is about diet.


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## JLupul (Mar 24, 2014)

Do not worry about going heavy on weights, stop doing 30 reps at a time lol. You should be good with 12-16 reps per set.


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## cj214 (May 20, 2014)

JLupul said:


> Do not worry about going heavy on weights, stop doing 30 reps at a time lol. You should be good with 12-16 reps per set.


I like this. I am a woman and I squat, press and deadlift three times a week and my legs are getting muscly now. I really want to get my upper body stronger.


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## SplendidBob (May 28, 2014)

First post here, yay 

Anyway, you are basically asking for advice on doing a recomposition. Obviously this involves losing fat and gaining muscle. Typically this only tends to work for obese males or steroid users - basically, gaining muscle is HARD. Doubly so as you are female and have less testosterone swimming around. Therefore it is unlikely you will gain muscle unless you are in a calorie surplus. In a surplus the body is going to gain muscle, and some fat, how much of each depends on genetics, bodyfat (lower fat you gain more muscle), sex, and training.

So, ultimately I think trying to lose fat AND gain muscle is a mistake - there is a decent chance you will spin your wheels and not do either 

What I would recommend therefore (and doing this will save you a bunch of time trying things that don't work, trust me, I have been there )

1)Eat at a moderate deficit, 500kcals per day will net you a 1lb per week loss. This will minimise any muscle loss as well.
2)Lift heavy weights, anywhere from 3-10 reps is fine, whole body exercises are better, but ultimately this is about giving your body the signal 'muscle is important, i need it' as you drop bodyfat. 2 or 3x per week. No need to go nuts with volume either, 3 or 4 full body exercises, heavy, twice a week is plenty. (30 minutes each time, job done).

That's basically it. As you are new to lifting, you might be lucky and pick up some muscle on the way down.

Once you are at your target bodyfat or slightly below, eat at a slight surplus (200 kcals a day) and keep the weight training going. So basically, weight train heavy all the time, adjust calories to either lose fat, or gain muscle. 

The difficult part is making sure you have the right deficit. The only real way to do this is to log food, I use myfitnesspal (it has pretty much every food in the world in there) once you get the hang of it it takes 3 minutes a day. Oh, and keep protein 'fairly high' more difficult as you are a vegetarian though, perhaps supplement with some whey powder (if this is acceptable).

I know you say you don't want to lose weight, but trust me, separating the losing fat goal from the gaining muscle goal is the way to go to get it done as efficiently as possible.

For more info, head over to the bodybuilding.com forums, and check out the nutrition / fat loss forums. Just don't head into the misc section 

Hope this is some help to you and will save you some time


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## yummynoodles (Apr 23, 2013)

always have food at least an hour before exercising,especially at breakfast. exercising with an empty stomach makes you put on weight because the metabolism has nothing to burn and ends up making the body very tired.


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## Vergen (Jun 7, 2014)

yummynoodles said:


> always have food at least an hour before exercising,especially at breakfast. exercising with an empty stomach makes you put on weight because the metabolism has nothing to burn and ends up making the body very tired.


That's simply not true.


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## Marko3 (Mar 18, 2014)

well.. human body is mysterious machine... there r no definite rules.. because very human body works a bit different..

but u need to have like more frequent meals.. and smaller ones, quickly digestible.. 
i have a meal every 3hrs.. so the body knows it's gettin food in 3hrs.. so it starts to not care if it spends energy wisely or not, body gets into hi energy consumption.. metabolism gets faster... u burn more calories.. u lose fat.. easy as that.. 

of course u need to have proper diet... special care for the muscles, because u dont wanna lose them.. and exercise.. then u cant eat anything anytime.. =)


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## Xander916 (May 30, 2014)

use the IF calculator (google) and find what your macros are.

use the recomp setting

stay near your macros and you should lose the bodyfat...

if its not working lower your calorie intake to 300-500 a day


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## Stagg (May 1, 2014)

Here you go



10.4kg, 85 days,

- 8kg fat 
- 1kg muscle
- 1.4kg musclae and glycogen

I know exactly what you need to do to lower your body fat percentage because I've shown and proven what I o will work. It isn't exciting and it isn't easy, but at the end of my weight loss I was measured at 7% body fat, with 4% visceral fat (the fat surrounding your organs), so I had close to literally no fat on my skin.


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## Miss Awesome (Sep 1, 2012)

Stagg said:


> Here you go
> 
> 10.4kg, 85 days,
> 
> ...


 If you wanted to help - not just show off :sus - then shouldn't you have actually told me how you did this?


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## Stagg (May 1, 2014)

Miss Awesome said:


> If you wanted to help - not just show off :sus - then shouldn't you have actually told me how you did this?


To be honest it's been almost everyone who I tell who says "that's so boring".. But here it is my diet that I did not cheat on on any way

Breakfast

- 200g oats in almond milk 
- 1 scoop casein protein 
- 3 raw egg whites

Mid morning

- 200g baked white fish
- 150g sweet potato 
- 100g cucumber

Lunch

- 200g baked white fish 
- 150g sweet potato 
- 100g cucumber

Afternoon meal

- 200g white fish 
- 150g sweet potato and 
- 100g cucumber

Dinner

- 250g white fish 
- 100g brown rice

After dinner

- 90g tuna in springwater 
- Glass of water with casein protein

The supplements I used were a fat burner 30 minutes before breakfast, BCAAs during my training sessions (5 x 90 minute weights, NO cardio) and a scoop of whey protein and creatine post workout.

I monitored my weight loss over three months and if I was losing weight too quickly, I would increase my sweet potato servings to 200g, or if my weight loss stalled I would drop it as low as 80g.

Soooo yeah

I GUARANTEE. You stick to this diet, never skip a meal, never have a cheat meal, train hard at the gym, you'll see the same results  but I've given my diet to so many people who have discarded it because they had expected something with sugary food so I hope you understand I needed to show you what results this diet will bring you first


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## DementedFuschia (Feb 16, 2013)

Eat consistently, I have a bad habit as well where I hardly eat all day and then eat a big meal at dinner and it makes me bloat like crazy. Not eating will keep your body fat high, I know this because I had anorexia for a long time and I had a lot of pudge in my belly. Once I started eating regularly I leaned out immediately.


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## SplendidBob (May 28, 2014)

You definitely DONT need to just eat 'clean' food, or eat lots of small meals. 

ALL that matters in losing bodyfat is making a caloric deficit over a long enough period of time and keeping protein high to prevent muscle loss. 

How you make this deficit is important however for 2 other reasons:

1)How well you can stick to it long term
2)Getting adequate macros, vitamins, minerals and fiber (so you don't lose muscle or become deficient in something)


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## Stagg (May 1, 2014)

splendidbob said:


> You definitely DONT need to just eat 'clean' food, or eat lots of small meals.
> 
> ALL that matters in losing bodyfat is making a caloric deficit over a long enough period of time and keeping protein high to prevent muscle loss.
> 
> ...


Now this thread has conflicting information... Can you prove this method gets results? Just to avoid confusion or wrong information

If you're referring to the IIFYM (if it fits your macros) approach, that works well when you have an incredibly high rmr (resting metabolic rate). Yes I search on bodybuilding.com forums too


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## SplendidBob (May 28, 2014)

Nice article here on clean eating with a bunch of sources (just read this rather than what I wrote below lol) 
http://evidencemag.com/clean-eating/

Well, I can't prove anything, but will do my best to provide a little evidence (as much as my time will allow hehe) 

Yes, I am referring to IIFYM, but not in the 'I am going to eat entirely junk food' sense 

So, taking my claims one at a time:

1)Weight loss is entirely about creating a caloric deficit
Not going to post studies on this, because there can't be any other way to lose weight  However you do it your body is only going to lose weight when there is a deficit (created by eating less, or exercising more than the body requires to maintain weight).

2)High protein prevents muscle loss when dieting, here are 3 studies, there are more I think (only spent 5 mins looking )

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23739654
http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/7...a851ba1fcc1c8662016e1a20&keytype2=tf_ipsecsha
http://jn.nutrition.org/content/133...68549ba302a941bea8c7b29e&keytype2=tf_ipsecsha

3)Clean foods / Dirty foods makes no difference
There is no way to distinguish between a clean or dirty food, as it all depends on who is defining the foods. If there isn't an objective definition, you can't test it or even form any kind of hypothesis, its a non starter. People assume foods are 'fattening' because they are high calorie. They may be addictive (and thus make it more difficult to diet on) or be less satiating, but in terms of energy to your body it makes no difference.. with the caveats of getting adequate protein (above) and

4)Getting adequate vitamins, minerals and fiber. This is more for health purposes, so IIFYM works, but if you have a lack of vits minerals and fibre you aren't doing yourself any favours and

5)How well you can stick to it long term. Assuming 1) 2) 3) and 4) are true, the most successful diet is the one which you can maintain long term. This might involve eating perfectly 'clean' or adding in some 'junk' to keep cravings at bay, or eating small and often, or intermittent fasting, or low carb, or high carb, or little exercise, or lots of exercise, or praying to the moon god for support. Whatever works best to help you stick to the deficit more easily. So long as the deficit is there over a period of time, and muscle loss is prevented, and you stay healthy otherwise it doesn't much matter. (tbh I have tried most, and being in a deficit sucks whatever )


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## krisjack81 (Jun 21, 2014)

I do Insanity.
I


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## gunner21 (Aug 4, 2012)

yummynoodles said:


> always have food at least an hour before exercising,especially at breakfast. exercising with an empty stomach makes you put on weight because the metabolism has nothing to burn and ends up making the body very tired.


I call BS!


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## Stagg (May 1, 2014)

gunner21 said:


> I call BS!


No it is true, I dropped my weight by eating 5-6 times daily.

Also eating fatty foods helps you lose fat. True story. Look up ketogenic dieting. Changes your body's metabolism to run on fats and you drop fat like crazy for a short time, you have to eat every 3 hours though. Keto dieting is eating ZERO carbs and high proteins and fats, I'd never do it for over 2 weeks because it can cause muscle loss over extended periods.

Keto dieting is basically a lot of meats, eggs, and things like nuts, seeds, and avocado. It's a godsend for dropping fat but god forbid you stay on keto for over a fortnight!!


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## Stagg (May 1, 2014)

I had someone at the gym once offer me DNP (dinitrophenol). Needless to say he didn't even diet and he dropped 250g fat per day (no that's not water Wright or muscle, that's 250g PER DAY of JUST fat). 

I'd never touch it though because eating fish and sweet potato and cucumber got me super lean. It was more satisfying that way. 

Every time I see an internet ad that says 'magic weight loss pill', I laugh because I know that saying only came about because of the existence of DNP.


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## sirbey (May 23, 2013)

Stagg said:


> Now this thread has conflicting information... Can you prove this method gets results? Just to avoid confusion or wrong information
> 
> If you're referring to the IIFYM (if it fits your macros) approach, that works well when you have an incredibly high rmr (resting metabolic rate). Yes I search on bodybuilding.com forums too


caloric deficit is literally whats makes the human body lose weight. any body for that matter


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## Miss Awesome (Sep 1, 2012)

Stagg said:


> To be honest it's been almost everyone who I tell who says "that's so boring".. But here it is my diet that I did not cheat on on any way
> 
> Breakfast
> 
> ...


 Well, what is it they say? The best workout routine is one you'll actually do. Same with diet. I think people may discard it because they know they will be unsuccessful with such rigidity. In fact, while your diet was successful for you, I know that there are other ways of being successful, as everyone who has lowered their body fat percentage did not do exactly what you did.

So, that said, let me ask you a few things.

What would you recommend as a substitute for white fish? (I don't eat any kind of meat - and yes, I consider fish to be meat.)

What can be substituted for the sweet potato? (I don't like sweet potatoes, plain and simple. And what was it I said about needing to be able to stick to something in order for it to be effective..)

I guess a better question than asking you what can be substituted is to ask you why and how you chose those specific foods. So, why?

And how about if you don't want to take supplements of any kind?


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## Miss Awesome (Sep 1, 2012)

sirbey said:


> caloric deficit is literally whats makes the human body lose weight. any body for that matter


 True, but in losing weight, it's easy to lose muscle instead of fat..


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## Stagg (May 1, 2014)

Miss Awesome said:


> Well, what is it they say? The best workout routine is one you'll actually do. Same with diet. I think people may discard it because they know they will be unsuccessful with such rigidity. In fact, while your diet was successful for you, I know that there are other ways of being successful, as everyone who has lowered their body fat percentage did not do exactly what you did.
> 
> So, that said, let me ask you a few things.
> 
> ...


Fish is a protein incredibly rich in branch chain amino acids, so fish and poultry are far better for losing fat and retaining muscle mass because of higher concentrations of leucine, isoleucine, valine and taurine. That said however, the natural form of protein with the best amino profile is eggs  but if you're not willing to take supplements, the amount of eggs you would have to eat would be roughly 10-15 a day, and egg yolks have a high snout of cholesterol, so I'd stick to just egg whites. Instead of cooking them, drink them raw. Yes it is most definitely not easier said than done, I have raw egg whites quite frequently  that's the BEST natural protein as a substitute for both meats AND for supplements.

I chose sweet potato because it's an incredibly complex carb, meaning my body breaks it down a lot slower and also burns more energy digesting. That means my resting metabolic rate is higher, meaning if I were sitting next to a couch potato and all I was doing was burning calories by breathing, I'd be burning way more calories. But as a substitute, any low GI carbs will help. Sweet potato is far superior to anything else. But alternatively, brown rice is the next best. I wouldn't look at anything else.

But you have to keep in mind that you're doing this for yourself. It's what stopped me cheating on my diet. If I even considered having milk in my coffee or even considered having a beer or a slice of cake, I just remembered I'd be cheating myself out of where I can be with determination. I'm human, you're human, every single person is human. That means that anything I can do, you can do. Same with any other human


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## Donnie in the Dark (Mar 15, 2011)

Dr Mcdougall's program. If I was trying to lose weight, I'd do his max weight loss program, because you don't have to restrict portions. It would necessitate your diet being mostly... wait for it..... vegan and healthy! Shock! There are lots of ways to lose weight, and most are unhealthy. Not that anyone seems to care about their health.


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## Stagg (May 1, 2014)

There is a big downside to veganism with fitness and that is that soy products are the WORST thing to eat because it suppresses hormones. It also means it's incredibly easy to gain fat and lose muscle. For both men and women, testosterone is the most important hormone for fat loss.


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## Donnie in the Dark (Mar 15, 2011)

Stagg said:


> There is a big downside to veganism with fitness and that is that soy products are the WORST thing to eat because it suppresses hormones. It also means it's incredibly easy to gain fat and lose muscle. For both men and women, testosterone is the most important hormone for fat loss.


 Well.... dubious broscience aside, you don't have to eat soy. I'm vegan, I don't eat much of it.
What about all of the hormones in meat and milk?


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## Noca (Jun 24, 2005)

Donnie in the Dark said:


> Well.... dubious broscience aside, you don't have to eat soy. I'm vegan, I don't eat much of it.
> What about all of the hormones in meat and milk?


Buy hormone free meat and milk? Next question?

I also wonder how anyone would get sufficient protein out of a vegan diet. I'm supposed to be aiming for around 180 grams of protein per day to make sufficient gains. Good luck getting that from vegetables. You also have to get the right combination of amino acids in vegetables or else your body cannot use them as a incomplete set. Animal proteins are naturally complete amino acids. While there are some complete amino acid foods other than animal products such as quinoa for example, your selection is quite limited.

If its hard to get 180 grams of protein on an animal diet, going vegan will be like using the "Extra Hard Mode" difficulty. The harder a behaviour is, the less likely a person will be able to maintain that behaviour long term, simple as that.

Now that being said, is vegan a great diet or lifestyle in order to lose weight? Absolutely. To gain weight and bulk up? Absolutely not.


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## Donnie in the Dark (Mar 15, 2011)

Noca said:


> Buy hormone free meat and milk? Next question?
> 
> I also wonder how anyone would get sufficient protein out of a vegan diet.  I'm supposed to be aiming for around 180 grams of protein per day to make sufficient gains. Good luck getting that from vegetables. You also have to get the right combination of amino acids in vegetables or else your body cannot use them as a incomplete set. Animal proteins are naturally complete amino acids. While there are some complete amino acid foods other than animal products such as quinoa for example, your selection is quite limited.
> 
> ...


 Well:

1) "Hormone free" meat and milk can only, at best, mean "no hormones added". It still has hormones. As well as various other nasty things (e.g pus in cow'ls milk).

2) No one should be eating 180g of protein a day for any length of time. It's setting yourself up for health problems down the line.

3)There is a reason why it is so hard to get "big" in that sense- it isn't natural for humans to be like that, which is why those who do it use various unhealthy methods- from protein powders to steroids, generally eating an amount of protein that is, among other things, bad for their kidneys."Bodybuilding", to me, looks like a very masculine eating disorder, with its "bulking" "cutting", and other unhealthy habits. And being "big" isn't always the same as being "strong".


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## Stagg (May 1, 2014)

Donnie in the Dark said:


> Well.... dubious broscience aside, you don't have to eat soy. I'm vegan, I don't eat much of it.
> What about all of the hormones in meat and milk?


Broscience? Where

Also vegan or not, can you provide a credible vegan diet that works?

I have personall met vegans with testosterone so low that they required hormone replacement therapy (literally steroids through and doctor)


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## Donnie in the Dark (Mar 15, 2011)

Stagg said:


> Broscience? Where
> 
> Also vegan or not, can you provide a credible vegan diet that works?
> 
> I have personall met vegans with testosterone so low that they required hormone replacement therapy (literally steroids through and doctor)


 Well, statistically vegan men on average have higher testosterone than non-vegan men. I've never personally or heard second hand of anyone who has had to have something done about their testosterone.

How are you defining "works" for the diet?


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## Stagg (May 1, 2014)

A diet which will help an extremely motivated and determined OP to lower her body fat


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## gunner21 (Aug 4, 2012)

Donnie in the Dark said:


> Well:
> 
> 2) No one should be eating 180g of protein a day for any length of time. It's setting yourself up for health problems down the line.
> 
> 3)There is a reason why it is so hard to get "big" in that sense- it isn't natural for humans to be like that, which is why those who do it use various unhealthy methods- from protein powders to steroids, generally eating an amount of protein that is, among other things, bad for their kidneys."Bodybuilding", to me, looks like a very masculine eating disorder, with its "bulking" "cutting", and other unhealthy habits. And being "big" isn't always the same as being "strong".


While eating large amounts of protein has been correlated with digestive and kidney problems, I don't think anything has been proven where protein intake was moderate (note: 100g-200g protein isn't that extreme for an average adult). I'm not saying there haven't been any cases of what you're saying, but I don't think it is as common to the point where it's dangerous.

Protein powders are safe as long as you stick to old trusted brands and go for ones that don't have a proprietary blend. Not sure how big vs strong debate is relevant to the topic.


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## Stagg (May 1, 2014)

I can confirm a diet of 200g protein a day for two years and I'm in the best shape of my life and have never had kidney stones or anything of the likeness. 

Same goes for someone I know who's had a diet of 200-250g protein a day since 1988


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## Sleeper92 (Oct 3, 2010)

Eat a salade


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## Miss Awesome (Sep 1, 2012)

Stagg said:


> Fish is a protein incredibly rich in branch chain amino acids, so fish and poultry are far better for losing fat and retaining muscle mass because of higher concentrations of leucine, isoleucine, valine and taurine. That said however, the natural form of protein with the best amino profile is eggs  but if you're not willing to take supplements, the amount of eggs you would have to eat would be roughly 10-15 a day, and egg yolks have a high snout of cholesterol, so I'd stick to just egg whites. Instead of cooking them, drink them raw. Yes it is most definitely not easier said than done, I have raw egg whites quite frequently  that's the BEST natural protein as a substitute for both meats AND for supplements.
> 
> I chose sweet potato because it's an incredibly complex carb, meaning my body breaks it down a lot slower and also burns more energy digesting. That means my resting metabolic rate is higher, meaning if I were sitting next to a couch potato and all I was doing was burning calories by breathing, I'd be burning way more calories. But as a substitute, any low GI carbs will help. Sweet potato is far superior to anything else. But alternatively, brown rice is the next best. I wouldn't look at anything else.
> 
> But you have to keep in mind that you're doing this for yourself. It's what stopped me cheating on my diet. If I even considered having milk in my coffee or even considered having a beer or a slice of cake, I just remembered I'd be cheating myself out of where I can be with determination. I'm human, you're human, every single person is human. That means that anything I can do, you can do. Same with any other human


Thanks! At this point I know I won't stick to anything that rigid, but I'm trying to eat every few hours and focus on keeping fat intake low and protein intake high. I've never been very good at eating a balanced diet. I tend to eat too little or eat too much, and it takes a lot of work for me to eat the right amount. But I'm trying. Thanks again.


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## Stagg (May 1, 2014)

Miss Awesome said:


> Thanks! At this point I know I won't stick to anything that rigid, but I'm trying to eat every few hours and focus on keeping fat intake low and protein intake high. I've never been very good at eating a balanced diet. I tend to eat too little or eat too much, and it takes a lot of work for me to eat the right amount. But I'm trying. Thanks again.


You'll actually want to try and keep polyunsaturated fats high (Avocado, nuts, flaxseed oil etc) and your carbs lower. But just remember that any step forward is the right step  you'd be surprised at what your body is capable of doing if you treat it right and give it the right energy source


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## sirbey (May 23, 2013)

Noca said:


> Buy hormone free meat and milk? Next question?
> 
> I also wonder how anyone would get sufficient protein out of a vegan diet. I'm supposed to be aiming for around 180 grams of protein per day to make sufficient gains. Good luck getting that from vegetables. You also have to get the right combination of amino acids in vegetables or else your body cannot use them as a incomplete set. Animal proteins are naturally complete amino acids. While there are some complete amino acid foods other than animal products such as quinoa for example, your selection is quite limited.
> 
> ...


you can get plenty of protein on a vegan diet for example eating peas and potato combined create a complete protein. theres many other food combinations like that which form proteins. wheat is used in some pastas to produce 20 g of protein in one serving. i buy this pasta all the time even as a none vegan. its not that as hard as youre making it out to be. it just takes the research before hand then it can be implemented no differently than any other diet. the only real difference is finding protein which isnt that hard at all. tofu, and seitan, high protein grains are extremely easy to come by not to mention that tons of other meat replacements out there. you could easily get enough daily protein with these simple tips plus a hemp or likewise vegan protein powder.


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## EliSummer (Mar 15, 2013)

Hi Miss Awesome,

You're right, especially sweet things and fast carbs (bread, noodles, white rice, ..) can increase your hunger a lot and hinders you from burning your fat.

You can try to eat paleo or make a sugar detox - I mainly did it to support my boy friend - and I ended up loosing 9 pounds in 3 weeks. It's kind of hard to get started but once you "survived" the first week, you feel kind of clean and full of energy. (Juli also did the challenge in her blog: http://sugarfreejuli.com/21dsd)

Good Luck to you!


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