Lose weight before starting?

[dhurstell]

Ok. First off, I'm fatter than you, and probably everyone else here. M/40/5'9"/306. I started this journey at 347, so your super FAT-ness is near my goal weight. I was also a D2 swimmer in college at 179lbs, so we have that in common as well.

I started SSLP in August and you can read my training log here

There are 3 primary reasons to do BOTH.

1. Getting stronger and getting the direct feedback of seeing the numbers go up every workout makes it very easy to stay motivated in the gym, and at the dinner table.

2. A Strong person can burn a LOT more calories with their work than a weak one. I think it was Matt Reynolds who talked about the difference of doing HIIT with a 400lb prowler vs 150lb. Either way, the Post-Workout Oxygen consumption is significantly higher if you increase the work done.

3. I can EAT a lot more while training. In fact, I can eat so much that I often dont feel like I'm dieting at all. I'm just setting macro goals at 250g protein and 2670cal per day. I find it DIFFICULT to eat that much protein. The additional calorie allowance makes it MUCH easier to select foods. I just aim for protein and some veggies and allow some carbs here and there. It doesn't feel like I am cutting my food intake, I'm just making different choices because I'm eating towards a performance goal.

Fast forward a few months and I am coming to the end of my Novice progression. I can eat almost whatever I want and still lose about 1-1.5lbs a week. (Had a couple bad weeks of vacation, and another of birthday cake and ice cream for like 3 days). I will be adding the prowler work 2 days a week as I move to intermediate programming on the squat and deadlift.

YMMV, but there is NO reason to choose one or the other. Just do SSLP with *some* sort of protein intake goal and find a caloric level (probably somewhere 2500-3000) you will lose a lb or so a week.

[Kent Berry]

YouTube

Beat me to it. That's a home run, right there. OP: clean up your diet, get your protein from lean beef, chicken, fish, and whey, get your carbs from oatmeal and brown rice (not frozen pizza crusts), and follow Andy's advice in the linked video. Give yourself from 6 months to a year to drop the weight. I'm using these methods to lose 2lbs - 2.5lbs of fat per week while getting stronger. It works.

[brkriete]

Start lifting. You will reap immediate dividends in fat loss and improved strength and muscle mass. I lost around 40 lbs starting my novice linear progression (285ish to 245ish) in a about four months and got much stronger. There is no way I would have lost weight so quickly without lifting short of a starvation diet and at the end of it I would have been a lot weaker (plus I think dieting fucks with your metabolism).

[Pawn]

I was in a very similar situation.

I kept a pretty thorough log.

Pawn's Log

I combined dieting with the training.

[Ericreichelt81]

If you're interested, I was an RKC instructor for years before I walked away. I strongly believe kettlebell and bodyweight work can change a person, fast. I don't care how strong you get on SS, doing a few sets of 5 and resting 10 minutes will not do jack for weight loss. It's simply diet. As Tom mentioned, you could always run a strength lp later, it's not a huge problem, truly. I can say, without a doubt, that kb swings are a game changer. Above all else though, it's very doable. Diet is simple, sticking with and exercise routing is more difficult. This is largely due to people being told what to do, which they largely don't enjoy after the initial results. Decide what form or exercise excites you. It could be barbell work and Weighted vest walks. Or bodyweight training and yoga. Do that and eat like an adult with reasoning and have patience and humor when it gets tough. It's a long road, but it's been paved by many and walked by millions. Start now though, take a walk and make a plan.

[Dalton Clark]

If you're interested, I was an RKC instructor for years before I walked away. I strongly believe kettlebell and bodyweight work can change a person, fast. I don't care how strong you get on SS, doing a few sets of 5 and resting 10 minutes will not do jack for weight loss. It's simply diet. As Tom mentioned, you could always run a strength lp later, it's not a huge problem, truly. I can say, without a doubt, that kb swings are a game changer. Above all else though, it's very doable. Diet is simple, sticking with and exercise routing is more difficult. This is largely due to people being told what to do, which they largely don't enjoy after the initial results. Decide what form or exercise excites you. It could be barbell work and Weighted vest walks. Or bodyweight training and yoga. Do that and eat like an adult with reasoning and have patience and humor when it gets tough. It's a long road, but it's been paved by many and walked by millions. Start now though, take a walk and make a plan.

You are clearly unaware of the caloric demands imposed on the body as a result of recovering from weight training. A 'few sets of 5' can be a massive systemic stress. Also resting 10 minutes is never recommended by those who know what they are talking about. The caloric demand placed on the body by forcing it to recover from lifting heavy loads is a well-known phenomena. Please don't post information that is known to be false.

[Jenni]

Ok. First off, I'm fatter than you, and probably everyone else here. M/40/5'9"/306.

Nope. I got you beat. I started at over 500 pounds. I wasn't an 'in the bed need the fire dept to break down a wall' 500, either. I was still walking my dogs and schlepping laundry up and down the stairs. I've lost over 250 of it. So I know you've worked hard, congrats!

A 'few sets of 5' can be a massive systemic stress.

Thank you.

People telling people to do shit like body weight exercises and weighted walks are why so many of us never get anywhere. I appreciate the people who call that shit out. I am living, breathing, daily proof Ericreichelt81 and those like him are wrong. Not only does it do a ton for weight loss (you see what I did there) it makes every other aspect of the game easier. My first 85 pounds practically fell off me. And there are articles the SS people have done that explains all this. It's not like there's not science backing it up, and yet......

[Ericreichelt81]

I was wrong I see. Thanks for pointing out the phenomena of calorie demand. I overlooked all the other people who've successfully lost weight not doing SS. Dalton, again, congrats on spouting off on something you've neither gone through or guided others through. I actually have, a lot. Compliance matters, and for some barbells do not have the draw.

[Ericreichelt81]

Nope. I got you beat. I started at over 500 pounds. I wasn't an 'in the bed need the fire dept to break down a wall' 500, either. I was still walking my dogs and schlepping laundry up and down the stairs. I've lost over 250 of it. So I know you've worked hard, congrats!

Thank you.

People telling people to do shit like body weight exercises and weighted walks are why so many of us never get anywhere. I appreciate the people who call that shit out. I am living, breathing, daily proof Ericreichelt81 and those like him are wrong. Not only does it do a ton for weight loss (you see what I did there) it makes every other aspect of the game easier. My first 85 pounds practically fell off me. And there are articles the SS people have done that explains all this. It's not like there's not science backing it up, and yet......

Congratulations on your success. As I said, your way worked. So do others. Science has shown this.. And yet.

[IlPrincipeBrutto]

As I said, your way worked.

I think what might have irked some people is that, at some point, you stated that one particular way could not and would not work.

doing a few sets of 5 and resting 10 minutes will not do jack for weight loss.

(emphasis mine)

IPB