Diet, Nutrition and SupplementationPost here for supplement reviews or nutritional advice. If you're trying to get "ripped abz" THIS is where you should be.
Question for Alan - or anyone else, some advice needed
I am making a transition, and I want to make sure I am handling it the best way. I have lost a lot of weight recently and have begun weight training and it is a bit scary to shift away from what has worked to something else. Started at 265, down now to 209, I am 6'1" and 40 years old. Here is my before and after, from mid-June to late October (at about 218 or so):
And I have been hitting the weights since then. I still have pockets of fat to lose, and that is still a priority.
So, I lost the weight with a combination of a 800 or so deficit (sometimes up to 1000), and steady-state aerobics and basketball. No weight training until about a month ago. My macros were usually 50-30-20 during that time (C-P-F), and it all worked great. I was so dialed in I could predict the weight loss a couple of weeks in advance.
Now, over the last few weeks, I have been changing it up, and so far the weight loss has slowed almost to a stop. I have added about 200 to 300 calories to my diet (which should still be a deficit). I have switched from the steady-state to HIIT (basketball is still the same), and as a result I am doing less total cardio time and actually burning less total calories (if I can trust my HRM). My macros are now roughly 45-35-20, sometimes 40-35-25. I am doing NROL Fat Loss three days a week, HIIT for 20 minutes after that, then basketball two days a week (pretty intense). I have been at 209 or 210 for two weeks, when before I was losing two pounds a week like clockwork, and I am not losing any in the tape measure either (around the belly, which is stuck on 39").
I am not unhappy with my progress in the last few weeks, I am getting stronger, seeing the typical newbie gains in muscle development and am feeling great. But I do eventually want to lost those last bits of fat.
SO . . . .
Do I just stick with my new plan and see what happens, or should I switch back something to what was working for "cutting" before? Should I shave off some of the calories again? Should I add back in some steady-state aerobics just for the deficit creation it helps out with? Should I do more HIIT to get my total calorie burn up a bit?
I should also point out that I don't mind the micro-management part. I actually love it. I enjoy counting calories (in and out), watching my macro pie chart, tweaking things here and there. It keeps me motivated and focused. It is a kind of game or competition. I just want to know if I am heading in the right direction, or whether I made too many changes at the same time.
Alan may disagree with me, but on a cutting diet, I tend to avoid non-vegetable and non-fruit carbs, making my macro breakdown on the order of 40/20/40, except around workout time, then I get to enjoy my oatmeal.
This helps keep insulin levels nominal so lipolysis can remain active. However, I think you can get away with high fiber carb foods in moderation. Bran comes to mind.
Is the 20 there carbs or fat? I would have a hard time keeping my carbs down to even 30%, I can rarely get it under 40%. But I am pretty good with my other carbs, always whole grain (like Kashi Go Lean) or sweet potato, or the carbs in fat free milk or from protein powder or a myoplex shake. I have not had white bread, white rice or a regular potato in months.
As long as I keep carbs low, I can endulge more in healthy fats.
However, this is to try and induce fat release. I wouldn't follow this if trying to put on mass.
Sometimes, especially when you hit a plateau, it's good to shake it up a bit with a short term extreme change. You should still get the same calories, but a change in the macronutrient levels should suffice.
Id srick to the previous diet and use a weight training programme to match. Wok the muscles hard and with progression will aid muscle retention and dropping body fat further will masively improve definition and overal appearance of size of muscles. Strength will increase along the way due to the progression.
At the moment your plan seems to put you in Neverland ie you wont see major muscle gains and as you have already pointed out you wont see major fat loss with that strategy either both lead to major demotivation.
Your previous macro split is pretty good, I would up the carbs tho and decrease the protein slightly and decrease the fat. At your current weight thats ample protein intake. Carbs give you the energy and on calorie deficits of that order you need as mucg as you can get. fat is no where near as nutritionaly beneficial to the body and you have enough fat to burn off as it is. Why add more of a complex material to breakdown that will take the bodys efforts away from concentrating on breaking down natural body fat.
Nake sure you remain well hydrated at the 4 litre level and your body can process the fat more efficiently
__________________
BFG
"The time for talking has passed, actions are speaking louder than words."
I am making a transition, and I want to make sure I am handling it the best way. I have lost a lot of weight recently and have begun weight training and it is a bit scary to shift away from what has worked to something else. Started at 265, down now to 209, I am 6'1" and 40 years old. Here is my before and after, from mid-June to late October (at about 218 or so):
And I have been hitting the weights since then. I still have pockets of fat to lose, and that is still a priority.
So, I lost the weight with a combination of a 800 or so deficit (sometimes up to 1000), and steady-state aerobics and basketball. No weight training until about a month ago. My macros were usually 50-30-20 during that time (C-P-F), and it all worked great. I was so dialed in I could predict the weight loss a couple of weeks in advance.
Now, over the last few weeks, I have been changing it up, and so far the weight loss has slowed almost to a stop. I have added about 200 to 300 calories to my diet (which should still be a deficit). I have switched from the steady-state to HIIT (basketball is still the same), and as a result I am doing less total cardio time and actually burning less total calories (if I can trust my HRM). My macros are now roughly 45-35-20, sometimes 40-35-25. I am doing NROL Fat Loss three days a week, HIIT for 20 minutes after that, then basketball two days a week (pretty intense). I have been at 209 or 210 for two weeks, when before I was losing two pounds a week like clockwork, and I am not losing any in the tape measure either (around the belly, which is stuck on 39").
I am not unhappy with my progress in the last few weeks, I am getting stronger, seeing the typical newbie gains in muscle development and am feeling great. But I do eventually want to lost those last bits of fat.
SO . . . .
Do I just stick with my new plan and see what happens, or should I switch back something to what was working for "cutting" before? Should I shave off some of the calories again? Should I add back in some steady-state aerobics just for the deficit creation it helps out with? Should I do more HIIT to get my total calorie burn up a bit?
I should also point out that I don't mind the micro-management part. I actually love it. I enjoy counting calories (in and out), watching my macro pie chart, tweaking things here and there. It keeps me motivated and focused. It is a kind of game or competition. I just want to know if I am heading in the right direction, or whether I made too many changes at the same time.
Thanks for any thoughts!
First off, great progress so far. 56 lbs is a major weight loss.
To sum up, you've added calories, slightly increased proportion of protein & fat, intensified your cardio, & added weight training. These are all steps in the right direction. But, the confounders are a stagnation in weight & waist size.
The 1st thing you have to consider is that 2 wks of stagnation is not a substantial plateau. Depending on how many plateaus you've ran into thus far, keep in mind that they tend to get progressively longer as you near your goal. I'd give it at least another 2 wks of dedicated consistency before you decide to pull any stops to break through it.
The 2nd thing you have to consider is that you may be gaining muscle mass in general, including through the erectors, as well as other structures through your core as a matter of initial adaptation to training. It might actually be muscle instead of BF that's preventing a drop in the tape. This is likely to be temporary, since hypertrophy in this area usually isn't prodigious, and abdominal fat loss should eventually override this sticking point.
I'd say hang in there for at least a couple more weeks with the same protocol. You can always either push the envelope further with exercise output (or calorie drops) if you don't notice anything budge. My guess is that you will see progress continue. Just be patient & attempt to progress slowly & steadily in your training performance.
BTW - your daughter is very pretty. And you look like Garth Brooks with hair..:p
Thanks guys, that is a lot of good information. Not surprising that it disagrees a bit! As for plateaus, this is really my first throughout this entire process, and it happened at the same time as these new protocols, so I figure they are related. But, I chose them for a reason, so I think Alan is right and I will stay the course another couple of weeks and see what happens. It really was a compromise approach between Cynic's and BFG's, both of which I have read here, and from guys I respect (like you three). I decided to cut back carbs and up the others (as many guys suggested), but on BFG's analysis a while back, I didn't drop it as much as recommended. Everyone pretty much agreed on the HIIT, so that was a no-brainer.
And, due to all of your magic, I stepped on the scale this morning and it showed 207, out of the blue (I really don't have as much daily fluctuation as most seem to have, I NEVER gained a single pound back until just a few days ago, so that actually means something). So, just ASKING for advice seemed to help!
And thanks, Alan, about my daughter, she is having another of those dance recitals tonight, and I am going to try to get the same general picture for a "before and after".
Question for Alan - or anyone else, some advice needed
As for plateaus, this is really my first throughout this entire process, and it happened at the same time as these new protocols, so I figure they are related. But, I chose them for a reason, so I think Alan is right and I will stay the course another couple of weeks and see what happens. It really was a compromise approach between Cynic's and BFG's, both of which I have read here, and from guys I respect (like you three). I decided to cut back carbs and up the others (as many guys suggested), but on BFG's analysis a while back, I didn't drop it as much as recommended. Everyone pretty much agreed on the HIIT, so that was a no-brainer.
Linear Mode
