Shed7the3rd

No, I meant per kilo. I also stated that 0.8g/1kg is a minimum amount required to maintain muscle mass while burning fat. This will depend entirely on the activity levels, existing muscle mass, and metabolism of the person whose goal is to burn fat (there are other factors too, but those are the main three). When someone is overweight it is because they are consuming more calories than they use for energy. It's as simple as that. You obviously know about macros, so you understand the basic principles of energy coming from either Carbohydrates, fats, or protein. Fat people (of which I was one, and to some extent still am as I have fat still to burn, but 4 stone off so far, and that's with building muscle too) are consuming far too much of either one, two, or three of these macros. It tends to be carbs. If a fat person takes that first step of reducing their carb intake while keeping up reasonable levels of protein intake, they will see a reduction in their body fat while maintaining muscle mass. I'm not saying they should look to have a low carb diet, just that they should work out their BMR, reduce their overall calorie intake accordingly, keep protein levels at a high enough level to avoid muscle wastage, and then cut carbs and down to fit in with the new calorific allowance. This will result in fat burn. And it will be sustainable provided they eat no more or no less than their calorific allowance (provided it's working, like I said previously, it may need adjusted). They should then ensure they eat cleaner by choosing the correct types and amounts of carbs - wholemeal/wholewheat over white in breads and pastas; Ditch the sugary drinks and sweets and replace with fruit; measure out portions of pastas, rice, and other carbs as most people tend to overestimate correct portion sizes. Avoiding saturated fats is a must too, though not all fats are bad, some are considered essential. There are essential fats which can be found in lean meats, fish, nuts and seeds, pulses, & fruits... all things that would be found in a clean healthy diet anyway. Yes, there's a time for looking in depth at macronutrients, and how one should incorporate them into one's diet, but in a very simple form, if someone should wish to burn fat and do so sustainably, they could follow my advice above and they will achieve that.

Something I should add - I meant that you should reduce your calories by 200 per day and stick with that figure for 2 weeks. So, say your BMR is 1900cals, you stick to a 1700 cals intake each day for two weeks. If that's not working for you (because at the end of the day a BMR is an estimate), further reduce your calorie intake, but not massively. And when keeping protein intake high, remember to consume at least 0.8g of protein for every 1kg of your lean body mass, though depending on your exercise routines and your overall activity levels, this can be upped to 1.8g/1kg. If you exercise regularly (and break down muscle) you will require higher amounts of protein in your diet to repair and build. Get your protein from things like grilled chicken, turkey, fish, pulses, cottage cheese etc and you'll get some decent lean protein. Just remember to take the calories into account for your overall daily intake.

While the gist of what you say is true, I have to correct you on the statement above. It's not a low fat diet, but a low calorie diet which is required to reduce body fat, which will in turn allow abs to show through. Yes, you can limit calories by limiting your fat intake, but you can also limit your calories through limiting your carbohydrate intake, or by limiting your protein intake (never do this, it'll result in muscle wastage which will see you lose weight, but you'll look like Kate Moss, which on a guy is not a good look). Fat typically contains 9 calories per gram; carbohydrate and protein contain around 4-5 calories per gram. Any of that energy (calories) which is not used up will be fired on as fat. So the obvious thing to do is assume that if you restrict your fat intake, you'll restrict your calorie intake, right? Wrong. Thing is, we consume considerably more carbohydrate than we do fat or protein (on average). We don't use all that energy which we consume in carbohydrates. Think of the amount of refined flour and sugars we eat on a daily basis - white bread (including pizza bases, deli rolls, dumplings etc.), white pasta, sweets, fizzy drinks, sauces, etc. Then think about the amount of starchy carbohydrates we eat - potatoes, white rice, bread (again). A lot of them ring true in your daily diet, yeah? Most overweight people are fat on carbs. In fact, most westerners consume more carbs than we need. Yes, fat is something to consider reducing, but get the carbs sorted out. Work out your BMR (Base Metabolic Rate) by doing an online calculator. This is your "maintaining level" of calories you need to consume per day to stay your current weight. Once you have that figure, reduce it by 200 calories a day. Do that for a week or two, and if you're not losing enough, tweek it by reducing your calories again. If you feel you're losing weight too quickly, up your calories. If you're burning fat by reducing your calorie intake, remember to keep your protein levels high. This will help prevent muscle wastage. Keep in mind that protein takes up your calories though, so factor your protein calories into your daily amounts. Ditch a lot of your unnecessary carbs. Things like sugar (whether in sweets, puddings, fizzy juice etc), white bread (switch to wholemeal and eat less), white pasta (switch to wholewheat pasta and restrict yourself to proper portions - 50-75g/person). Up your protein intake. Stay strict. And exercise. If you want any further advice, just ask.

If you're doing chest-work, try not to do biceps in the same workout. Working the chest requires the use of your triceps rather than your biceps, so work tris with chest. Also do shoulders on Chest and tri days as they are all used in compound "push" exercises (such as bench press, standing shoulder press, incline press etc). Work your biceps on the same days as you work your back, as all back exercises will work the biceps too. This will give your biceps a proper workout. Oh, and allow at least a day's rest between working specific muscle groups. Oh, and another key thing to remember - it's seldom large biceps that give you big arms, it's large triceps. Triceps make up 70% of your upper arm. Work them as hard as you do your biceps and you'll see good results. Do weighted dips and narrow-grip benchpress as well as your other "push" compound exercises to really build your triceps. And as tempting as it is to do them, try to avoid tricep isolation exercises (over-head arm extensions, tricep cable pull-downs) as these tend to put a lot of strain on the elbows and can result in injuries which will hinder you in all your workouts - stick to the compound lifts for tricep workouts! And never neglect your legs - squats and calf-raises are 2 leg exercises you should be doing as a bare minimum. Don't go into either without watching Youtube videos and studying good form. Then practice your own form without weight. Than add weight steadily over time. Get the form wrong, and you will injure yourself. I think that's about it from me. @mikestewartbass - twitter.

I saw this thread and thought I'd throw up my own achievements! Jumped on the scales at the start of the year and had hit 20 stone (fat b*****d!), so decided drastic action was needed! Decided to hit the weights again and sort my nutrition. Went with a low carb (except on training days where I allow myself "complex" low-GI carbs, so that I can have the energy to make my lifts) and high protein eating plan. Kept the calories in a daily deficit and stuck to 3 meals a day + my 3 daily protein shakes (slow release caseine-protein shake in the morning and before bed + a whey protein shake immediately after a workout). Worked out a work-out plan to suit my routine (also drafted in a mate to work out with, so had to work out which days we were both available). As it turned out, we had to go with a 4 consecutive days of weight training, followed by 3 days rest. To ensure as much of a rest on each muscle group as possible we opted for a 2 days routine which we do twice in the week. Day 1 - Chest, tris, shoulders, and core/abs (Monday + Saturday) Day 2 - Back, biceps, and legs (Tuesday + Sunday) Day 1 being a "push day" and Day 2 being a "pull day", so this gives the "pull" muscles a chance to rest while we train the "push" muscles, and vice versa. I also try to get in 2 games of badminton a week, though due to time constraints of late, this hasn't been as frequent as it should be. It's been working. Feeling a lot better for the clean eating, and also for the weight training. Noticing size increases and definition in my arms and legs. Also lifting about double what I started lifting just 5 months ago. Still got some fat to strip before I'll see definition in the abs and chest, but have lost 3 stone and 8lbs so far. May just keep you all up to date on here as to my future progress. My twitter has regular-ish updates, so if you fancy following me, it's @mikestewartbass Cheers!

2 weeks today till the Sheds gig in Aberdeen!!

The kid in the harness looks to be too young to be MMc IMO.

Shed Seven in November on their Re-union Tour!! Get fuckin' in there!!! AMAZING!