Are there any health effects from working out less frequently?

[Fryer]

Not a large guy here; about 5'5 and 125 lbs. I am an ectomorph and I do not have that much fat or lean muscle present within my body. I normally do some incline walking on my treadmill 4 times a week at a speed of 4mph on a 10% gradient. My family advised that I cut this down to 2 times a week out of concern that I am too thin. Though I am at a healthy weight for my height, I am inclined to agree with them; I have noticed my weight creeping down and having a bonier appearance in the last several weeks. I do not normally eat back the calories I've burned (I have no idea how many calories are in the food my family cooks) so perhaps cutting down on cardio would curb the weight loss. Is there any consequences to not exercising as frequently in regards to cardiovascular health and caloric needs for my body? I only exercise for the sake of getting active (I am a health conscious individual). I am sedentary most of the day but I do take a dog out for walks for 15 min twice a day and I do some chores around the house (albeit not strenous ones) to keep myself occupied. I do not particulatly mind any possible weight gain as long as my weight is within a healthy range. 

Edited July 22, 2017 by Fryer

[Nobody]

I'm in no way an expert or anything close to that, but why not cut down on cardio to two times a week, while doing weight lifting all the four days? You shouldn't lose weight over weight lifting.

[Fryer]

7 minutes ago, Nobody said:

I'm in no way an expert or anything close to that, but why not cut down on cardio to two times a week, while doing weight lifting all the four days? You shouldn't lose weight over weight lifting.

I have no access to a gym membership or weights at the moment. I am trying to do some bodyweight excercises with my arms to build some upper body strength, though I am not overly concerned in getting a particular physique. I really do not care about my physique unless I am overly skinny (which I am currently) or overweight. 

[Ronnie]

Push ups solve everything.

Look up Youtube videos. There's tons of at-home exercises to tone muscles and all that. Hell, you can even look up basic exercises that the military does.

[Fryer]

1 minute ago, Ronnie said:

Push ups solve everything.

Look up Youtube videos. There's tons of at-home exercises to tone muscles and all that. Hell, you can even look up basic exercises that the military does.

I have looking through videos on that topic. I am pretty weak right now but I am taking it a few steps at a time. Is it idiotic to not change my diet? I mean if my regular diet causes me to lose weight with cardio 4x a week, would cardio 2x a week "even" it out so I maintain? I try to track calories but since I live with a family that cooks meals (and does not measure ingredients) it is virtually impossible for me to be accurate. 

[Ronnie]

In my opinion counting calories just adds stress to something that should be enjoyable: eating. Just eat normally. If you have a fast metabolism you can get away with more junk food, if not then cut back on it. Cutting back on cardio is good so that you aren't burning more than you eat. If you're at your normal weight for your height and your blood pressure is good then that's really what matters.

[Arcanite]

Walking burns fat, especially the way you do it (4mph at a 10% incline). When I go to the gym it's to keep my self in shape, since I don't need to gain weight or muscle or lose weight as well because I'm comfortable with what I have now.

I think you just need to eat more than normal to compensate. I cook ALL the time so I can't count calories either, but whatever you're currently eating, EAT MORE. I believe carbs have rich calories and give some great energy! 

[Nobody]

4 minutes ago, Oboro! said:

I cook ALL the time so I can't count calories either, but whatever you're currently eating, EAT MORE. I believe carbs have rich calories and give some great energy! 

tbh, I think that's much easier said than done. I work out often, and have a decent amount of muscle mass, but I find it extremely hard to eat more than I want sometimes. Like, I follow the diet my nutritionist gave me religiously, but I have to force myself to eat sometimes. On free days I actually end up eating less than normally.

So yeah, it's not that easy to just eat more, and then there's the fact OP's family might make a fixed amount of food for him and the rest of the family.

[Fryer]

2 minutes ago, Nobody said:

So yeah, it's not that easy to just eat more, and then there's the fact OP's family might make a fixed amount of food for him and the rest of the family.

Not true, we just cook and everyone gets as much as they want. We eat leftovers often.

Anyway for now, I suppose I'll just try to eat a little more and cut down on the cardio. I may gain weight from this, but I am apathetic. I used to be around 135 lbs but I lost weight for sone reason.

[Arcanite]

7 minutes ago, Nobody said:

tbh, I think that's much easier said than done. I work out often, and have a decent amount of muscle mass, but I find it extremely hard to eat more than I want sometimes. Like, I follow the diet my nutritionist gave me religiously, but I have to force myself to eat sometimes. On free days I actually end up eating less than normally.

So yeah, it's not that easy to just eat more, and then there's the fact OP's family might make a fixed amount of food for him and the rest of the family.

Of course it wouldn't be easy to eat a lot of food, and I never said that it would, but my post does make it seem as if it's A-B-C-1-2-3 easy XD so I should have worded that better.

2 minutes ago, Fryer said:

Not true, we just cook and everyone gets as much as they want. We eat leftovers often.

Anyway for now, I suppose I'll just try to eat a little more and cut down on the cardio. I may gain weight from this, but I am apathetic. I used to be around 135 lbs but I lost weight for sone reason.

How much protein do you eat typically? (Meats and whatnot)

[Fryer]

1 minute ago, Oboro! said:

Of course it wouldn't be easy to eat a lot of food, and I never said that it would, but my post does make it seem as if it's A-B-C-1-2-3 easy XD so I should have worded that better.

How much protein do you eat typically? (Meats and whatnot)

Can't say, my dinner (the meal my family cooks) always changes night to night and since measurements don't occur, I cannot say. We do eat out pretty often (Chinese takeout, Japanese grills, or fast food joints at least once a week) and I gain water weight from that almost always, but never actual fat gain. Anyways the food my family cooks are Filipino food, typically stir fry.

[Arcanite]

13 minutes ago, Fryer said:

Can't say, my dinner (the meal my family cooks) always changes night to night and since measurements don't occur, I cannot say. We do eat out pretty often (Chinese takeout, Japanese grills, or fast food joints at least once a week) and I gain water weight from that almost always, but never actual fat gain. Anyways the food my family cooks are Filipino food, typically stir fry.

First off, cut out fast food from your diet. That's just filthy XD

Second thing, I think your original plan is best

20 minutes ago, Fryer said:

I suppose I'll just try to eat a little more and cut down on the cardio

^^^^

Try to switch it up a little it! Try not to lift weights every day since your muscles need time to recover, if you do choose to start doing anything like that

[Captain Karnage]

as long as you're eating enough you should be fine, I'd reccomend trying to put on some muscle like I'm doing right now as I've lost quite a bit of body fat

[Dandy Druid]

If you're afraid of looking bony, then I'd recommend putting on muscle. Since you have no access to a gym membership, you can workout at your school if you're in high school or college. Some parks have some weight/exercise machines. Pushups, lunges, and ab stuff at home can also help.

Plus, some gyms can be rather inexpensive. Planet Fitness is $12 a month (no I'm not sponsored, I wish though- I want the money), which is rather cheap for a gym. If there isn't one close by, then maybe cough out on another one? Maybe you can convince one of your parents to work out with you as parent/child bonding time. I've been doing that for years.

I know there's also pills that help with weight gain, but I don't recall any brands atm, I've never needed them (because I had the opposite problem- I was too chubby, but this post isn't about me.)

But, IMO, you shouldn't worry unless your doctor is telling you there's something wrong. You may still be growing,and if your condition is perfectly healthy you shouldn't worry.

[Fryer]

On 7/21/2017 at 9:42 PM, Ronnie said:

Push ups solve everything.

Look up Youtube videos. There's tons of at-home exercises to tone muscles and all that. Hell, you can even look up basic exercises that the military does.

Are there any Youtube videos you would recommend? There are way too many of them and I don't know which is optimal. I am trying to start relying more on body weight excercises and in my current position, I am limited to pushups and pullups off a table, can't use a door as they aren't sturdy enough and the chairs I own are too soft. I also had this idea of using milk jugs as makeshift free weights.

When doing these excercises, is there a specific number of repetitions I should reach? I am also not familiar with sets and reps.

Regardless, I am trying to gain some strength and get bigger arms and wrists, don't particularly care for being ripped or lean ATM. My college does have a gym that I intend on joining but does not open till another month.

Edited July 23, 2017 by Fryer

[Ronnie]

29 minutes ago, Fryer said:

Are there any Youtube videos you would recommend? There are way too many of them and I don't know which is optimal. I am trying to start relying more on body weight excercises and in my current position, I am limited to pushups and pullups off a table, can't use a door as they aren't sturdy enough and the chairs I own are too soft. I also had this idea of using milk jugs as makeshift free weights.

When doing these excercises, is there a specific number of repetitions I should reach? I am also not familiar with sets and reps.

Regardless, I am trying to gain some strength and get bigger arms and wrists, don't particularly care for being ripped or lean ATM. My college does have a gym that I intend on joining but does not open till another month.

Just did a quick search myself. I'm a couch potato so I'm basically following my brother's advice. I came across this video and it's the most beginner friendly.

https://youtu.be/ISYkFJiWfhI?t=2m

Just make sure you do it at your own pace. ESPECIALLY push ups. Never rush them. Proper form is mandatory over speed.

[GuiltyLove]

For healthy adults, the amount of protein you typically want to consume in a day is 0.8 g/kg of body weight. It may be harder to count calories when you are cooking, but you really only need an estimate. Sites like calorieking.com are useful for that. I have some booklets in my room that also estimate calories, carbs, proteins, and fats for common foods. If you are interested, you can PM me and I'll show you some pictures. I'm in a nutrition education program so I'm learning about this stuff right now. I won't pretend to be an expert, as I am still a student, but I have access to some resources at least :P

Carbs can quite complex too, with all the different types of sugars, so you shouldn't just look at the numbers by themselves. You have to look up what specific types there are in various foods. For exercise, just like Arc said, you should take a break from doing the same muscle workouts on consecutive days, as your body will have to repair the muscles to make them stronger. Since I am planning on going into this profession, I will do my best to help if you have any questions. Just don't expect professional advice (not for a few years!) :P

Edited July 27, 2017 by GuiltyLove

[Fryer]

4 hours ago, GuiltyLove said:

For healthy adults, the amount of protein you typically want to consume in a day is 0.8 g/kg of body weight. It may be harder to count calories when you are cooking, but you really only need an estimate. Sites like calorieking.com are useful for that. I have some booklets in my room that also estimate calories, carbs, proteins, and fats for common foods. If you are interested, you can PM me and I'll show you some pictures. I'm in a nutrition education program so I'm learning about this stuff right now. I won't pretend to be an expert, as I am still a student, but I have access to some resources at least :P

Carbs can quite complex too, with all the different types of sugars, so you shouldn't just look at the numbers by themselves. You have to look up what specific types there are in various foods. For exercise, just like Arc said, you should take a break from doing the same muscle workouts on consecutive days, as your body will have to repair the muscles to make them stronger. Since I am planning on going into this profession, I will do my best to help if you have any questions. Just don't expect professional advice (not for a few years!) :P

Thanks for the info. I don't keep a track of macronutrients in my foods, but I have no doubt that the amount is sufficient enough for my weight. I consume whole milk, cottage cheese, meats, etc frequently enough that protein really isn't a problem.

[GuiltyLove]

Just now, Fryer said:

Thanks for the info. I don't keep a track of macronutrients in my foods, but I have no doubt that the amount is sufficient enough for my weight. I consume whole milk, cottage cheese, meats, etc frequently enough that protein really isn't a problem.

All right, that's good to know. If you do need to know anything else, I'll try to look up resources with the stuff I have from school :)

[Fryer]

On 7/21/2017 at 9:52 PM, Ronnie said:

If you have a fast metabolism you can get away with more junk food, if not then cut back on it. Cutting back on cardio is good so that you aren't burning more than you eat. If you're at your normal weight for your height and your blood pressure is good then that's really what matters.

Do people with super fast metabolisms even exist? I recall taking a vacation with my family a few weeks ago in Los Angeles in order to visit DisneyLand. During our time there, I ate like crap: on the Monday afternoon we spent travelling, I feasted on rice and several Asian dishes for lunch (the oily and meaty ones at that) and had ice cream as a dessert- for dinner we stopped by a Carls Jr and I had a couple fish tacos. The next morning before our actual visit to Disneyland, my family had a massive breakfast (don't want to get hungry at the park) at a local cafe and I had a salmon omelette with hot cocoa and a rather large muffin (the sweet kind) as the sides. For lunch I had a chili cheeseburger and some fries that filled me up even more (still feeling stuffed from the morning, not used to a big breakfast). The evening before going home, my family decided to stop at a Denny's and I had an Oreo Milkshake (I had an upset stomach from all the garbage I had consumed and couldn't bother eating solid food). The next several days back home, I ate like normal but on a Saturday evening of the same week, my family had ordered Chinese takeaway (due to time constraints) which already should be high in calories considering the oils and sauces used for the food. 3 days out of this week, I had eaten like a pig and I undoubtedly eaten an excessive amount of calories. The week after, I got curious and decided to weighed myself and saw that I didn't gain a single pound which was strange as I did not restrict my food intake upon returning home. 

Before anyone says that I may be overestimating the amount I have eaten, I had just like to point out the portion sizes for every meal were rather large; I live in the U.S. and I should know. The evening we had ordered takeout, we placed 4 orders (for a family of 4) and I had eaten the most (about 1/3 of all the food). I do not purge or excercise excessively so all the calories should have gone somewhere.

Edited August 3, 2017 by Fryer