Workout and Diet for Slimming Down for Wedding

Yeah, just being big is good for strength. The same amount of muscle could be under the fat, and the smaller version will be weaker. It sucks, but it is what it is.

With this goal, muscle will probably be lost as well. The good news is that muscle memory is a thing. It comes back faster than it was originally built.

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Assuming that calculator is accurate (it’s probably close, might be off a bit but it’s a good starting point), to lose 3lbs/wk you would need to generate a:
1lb = 3500cal x 3lb = 10,500cal deficit/wk
OR
1,500cal deficit/day

Full disclosure: That’s rough, but it is possible. Your calculation of ~1500cal daily intake is probably very close to accurate in my opinion (this number will go down as your weight drops).


As @T3hPwnisher mentioned, you are going to lose absolute strength, but relative strength will increase significantly. Not that my opinion matters, but a 2xBW deadlift at 300lbs is not as impressive as a 2.5xBW deadlift at 200lbs. As a relatively jacked 220lb dude, I have to believe in this or I would feel that my 500lb deadlift is shit… good thing is I don’t! At any rate, strength can be rebuilt later, but a wedding photo cannot be re-taken after the fact. You should include strength training as you are dieting to help reduce muscle loss, but I’d bet >90% of weight lost in your case will not be muscle; this should not be considered a sticking point for you and your goals IMO.

Anywhoo, you will want to start eating lean protein, and lots of it, alongside low nutrient-density carbs and veggies. Regardless of whatever diet you choose to do, the one thing that will make any diet work is a caloric deficit; any dieting modality will work so long as it has that keystone.

@throwawayfitness knows more about weight loss than anyone I know, and he’s lost more of it than anyone I’ve ever spoken to… he may be willing to point you in the right direction.

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I was a calorie counter and could certainly guide you, and @jskrabac is a rocket surgeon on the subject, but I don’t think it’s the right route for you at this point.

Clean up the food quality, lighten your lifts significantly, and focus on steady-state cardio would be my advice. I’ll bet it’s April before you have to rethink that.

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PSMF diet.

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You should detail this out a bit. What have you cleaned up. Are you drinking any calories (alcohol included, protein shakes not)? Do you eat fried food (which would include chips), how much? Deserts (candy, pastries, oreos, little debbie)?

I think a lot of people’s issues stem from these type of things. Of course there are people who eat clean, and still have trouble, Just not to many of them.

What are you doing to burn extra calories? How many minutes a week? This is also a big thing. It’s also great for weight maintenance. I’d think about prioritizing some cardio / calorie burning into your training since your goal is not an easy one (but possible). I’d focus on something sustainable. Start slow. Maybe 20 minutes walking on an incline to start. Eventually get up to 30 minutes. It doesn’t seem like much, but when done consistently it adds up. For me at least 30 minutes a day would burn over 300 calories. That is over a lb in two weeks.

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This (100lb in less than a year) is a huge goal. Ive never done anything like it but i know it can be done. The important thing IMO isn’t the HOW, its the WHY. with sufficient motivation anything is possible. If you lose motivation, i don’t care how perfect your plan is, you will fall off the wagon and start gaining back.

2 huge points draw from this: 1) daily, hourly even, focus on the goal. Hold a clear picture of it in your mind. NEED it. It must drive you.
2) be prepared to forgive yourself should you fail along the way. Example, lose 30lbs in a month, celebrate with a drinking binge, gain 5 back… many people at this point (which should never happen in the first place, obviously) will give up, and gain it all back, then hate themselves more. You must be prepared to accept setbacks and learn from them, pick up the pieces and strive on.

Also. Walk. Constantly. Park further from the store. Walk around the block. Just move. An hour per day would be a good starting point.

And got gods sake no booze or fast food. Black coffee. Lean protein, veggies. Of course.

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An analogy I read a long time back completely changed my thinking on this for the better, because I used to be one of those guys that thought “I already screwed up: might as well make it a bender”.

When you’re driving and you get a flat tire, do you get out and flatten the other 3, or do you change the tire and keep driving?

Absolutely spot on: mistakes will happen, we acknowledge them and move on.

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Good luck! As others have said, your goal is ambitious but doable. These forums can provide plenty of help.

Two cents: in addition to cleaning things up, reflecting on any specific food triggers might also help. if there are particular times of the day (i.e., right before bed) or situations (i.e., hanging out with a certain group of friends or family members) when you find yourself constantly eating when you shouldn’t or more than you should, targeting those could go a long way toward meeting your goals.

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It is definitely a problem…I need to cook my own meals . Lots of burgers and chips otherwise.
I find it difficult to avoid eating junk food if it’s there.

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I am.not prepared to take anabolics. But I was prescribed Metformin at one point . Would it be beneficial to take for me. I don’t compete in anything.

I take fish oil, vitamin D gel , cod liver oil, turmeric , a handful of almonds no protein shakes.

I do have protein powders , spirulina , cacao , maca powder, pea protein , hemp etc. Pre-workout bccas but never take any of it

I was advised not to take creatine ( I have a small amount still) ,as I am diabetic type 2. I think I still have glutamine and zinc supplements.

How do supplements factor in as calories?

Come on, man, you know these questions aren’t for an Internet forum. Let’s not kill ourselves hoping we’ll look a little better in shorts.

I think everything you asked is kind of missing the forest for the trees (except the metformin question, which is a little more akin to steering for one of the trees). Thinking about any of that stuff is only going to serve as a derailer - it happens to me, too. It’s very easy to let perfect be the enemy of good, but you’ll end up spending all your time on mental exercises vs. just doing. Your goal simply requires a long period of stringing together a handful of good habits; the consistency is hard enough, so let’s not make it harder.

Whatever is on the label are the calories. I’m not sure I understand the question.

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Just going to keep throwing resources at this

Dave Goggins lost 100lbs in 3 months to meet standards for SEAL candidates

Might be worth taking a page from his playbook.

But one of the big “secrets” to that sort of approach is that it will REALLY suck and you will be in a lot of misery.

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Thanks TrainForPain. Sometimes the calories are unlabeled e.g…bccas
But I take the point .

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I have listened to his book. It’s a great listen. He ate scraps of chicken. I still.have the book. He is releasing a new book soon.

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Gotcha - there are calories in BCAAs, but they don’t have to be labeled so they aren’t. It’s not as much as a complete protein, but it’s probably close enough to just count it that way (so 7g BCAA would be 28 Cal). I think that kind of stuff will be negligible at this point, unless you’re drinking gallons.

I would point out they have a relatively significant impact on insulin, which may be worth paying attention to with T2D.

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Most are not worth the money, but they typically have no (or trace) calories.

I would steer clear of anything that requires a prescription or would cause you to fail a piss test (AAS, PEDS, etc). You have much progress to make before things like these have a justifiable introduction. Lose as much weight as you are physically/mentally able to on your own, then consider ‘help’. When I say “consider help”, i mean in the way you would look at a fire extinguisher when no fires are nearby.


Do you have any diet modalities that seem appealing to you at this time? Macros, Keto, 5/2, MATADOR, etc?

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Dropped 80lbs in the last year while working in between 60-96 hour weeks, while never counting a calorie or touching PED’s. (Side note: I see this thrown out so often as a question of “should I take PEDs. I have never had the freaking option lol. Idk where you guys are at with just ready access to this stuff, I doubt i could find some if I tried)

Anyway, Atlas’s rules for weight loss:

  • eat essentially the same thing every day. I don’t know what my macros broke down to, but I know with my same 3 meal preps and 1 snack, i dropped weight. When weight stalled, I dropped the snack, and dropped more.
  • meal prep everything. I’d take one day a week and just spend 2 hours going madman in my kitchen. 21 Tupperware containers later, my food for the week was set.
  • some people praise low carb diets. Some people praise low fat diets. I don’t know what happened to the traditional balanced diet, but I still swear by it. Eat some fats, eat some carbs, eat a lot of protein
  • cut out refined shit. I’m no doctor, I may not know the absolute optimal mix of food and micronutrients to maximize life and make me Superman, but common sense tells me that a banana is a better carb than a donut, and anything that comes in a plastic wrapping with ingredients I can’t pronounce probably isn’t great. Chicken breast, rice, beans, potatoes, tuna, avocado, stuff of that nature should make up the bulk of your diet.
  • Daily weigh ins. Some people say this creates an unhealthy relationship with the scale. I totally agree, but when you are fat and need to fix it, that everyday accountability is important. Get yourself trim, then you can focus on not obsessing over the scale, but if you’ve got 100lbs to lose, your relationship with your waist line is a bigger issue than your one with the scale.
  • diet soda is fine. I’m sure you can find something to say I’m wrong. It worked for me.
  • you should always be at least a little hungry. Not ravenous, but after eating, you should finish your last bites of food and wish there was a little more. Losing weight isn’t fun, it’s the price we pay for letting ourselves get fat in the first place.
  • do cardio. 3x a week. 20 min minimum. You should be sweating, it should take effort. I’m a big fan of the bike since it’s easy on joints. It will definitely aid weight loss, and also just increase your health overall.
  • lift weights, because being strong is awesome. Your lifts will go down. Mine did. It sucks. Being fat helps move weight. One thing I liked to do was compare my lifts to my bodyweight. My bench might be lower, but I can rep out my bodyweight plus now, where as I couldn’t do my bodyweight for one when I started. Little bit of a mindset shift that helps.
  • do pull-ups. When I started, I had to use a shameful amount of bands to do more than 1 Pullup. As you lose weight, lose some bands. Big motivational boost to see Pullup numbers increase as your bodyweight drops.
  • I did 1-2 cheat meals a week. It’s a cheat meal, not a cheat day. Also, don’t be an asshole with your cheat meal. If you go to the buffet and eat 10 plates, that will screw you up. Go out to a nice dinner with friends or family, have a steak or salmon, burger, whatever, but just a reasonable meal, then back to strict.
  • no booze on weekdays. Max 2 drinks total on weekends. No booze period if weight is stalling.
  • I would put my weight in a tracker so I could see a graph of weight loss over time. From day to day or even week to week, it could look stagnant of even up and down. Keep with it for a while, zoom out to several months view, and all of a sudden it looks a lot more linear. Just remember that when you get frustrated
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Is calorie counting something you’re comfortable with?

I think this is a good reference I made beginning of last year. When Your Cut Stalls

Good to read this BEFORE you cut to avoid these pitfalls.

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I don’t think anyone could do better than what @atlas13 threw out here. Killed it. Amazing on your own progress too.

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Thanks man, I appreciate that. Took a lot of work, but feeling 1000x better than I did before.

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