workout/diet check

[raymond3]

* I posted in diet forum, but no one even looked at it. Hopefully because its not busy there, and not that I was ignored


Ive fallen into a slump again. Been busy with work and the wife being pregnant and our upcoming baby has taken some of my free time, so I need some direction to get back on track. Maybe Alan or someone can point me the right direction for my goals.

Workouts are good, and Ive been doing TBT by waterbury for the last few weeks. Basically working out three times a week, and doing hitt 3 days a week (usually 2 of the sessions are 30 sec sprints; and the third is one minute sprints). Ive been eating around 2600 calories, and am sitting on 200 lbs (Im 5'11"). If I had to guess, my bf is probably 14% or so.

So where my confusion is- I have some good muscle now, and basically want to lean out. Ive already been eating hypercaloric as my maintanace is around 3000-3100. I need to make some kind of change, as nothing is really changing. I know I can drop the calories more, but then run the risk of my metabolism slowing down. So whats my option, to go back upto maintanance and eat around 3000 calories? Also, the whole carb thing is throwing me off. I know we need carbs, etc...but then berardi talks about being carb-sensitive, and only eating around workouts, etc. So I need some help here too. This is more or less what Im eating (with some adjustments here and there).

Meal 1:

3/4 cup oatmeal
1 scoop of whey
1 banana
fish oil

Meal 2:

Lean ground beef (93/7) with salsa and veggies
almonds
fish oil

Meal 3:

PWO shake- juice, fruit, whey and creatine

On hiit days- low fat milk, chocolate whey, peanut butter, creatine

Meal 4:

ww pasta
Chicken breast
yogurt

Meal 5:

Romaine lettuce/spinach
Chicken Breast
Olive oil
fish oil

Meal 6:

low fat milk
1 1/2 scoops of casein protein
peanut butter
fish oil

*This is around 2500-2600 calories. Anything I should change or add? More carbs or less? Too much fat in some of the meals like meal 2? Any help is appreciated.

Also, any workout recommendations while making these changes in my diet?

[Jason B]

It's definitely the morning oatmeal that's making you fat.


JK, diet looks pretty solid with the exception of being low on veggies, but I think it may be more cals than you're thinking, I don't know how big (or small) your servings are. Where'd you get that number? Also, what's your diet like on off days? It's a good idea to eat a little less when you're not training, obviously to keep caloric deficit.

Normally I would say if you've been doing this for a while and not seeing changes to go the G-Flux route and increase exercise and calories, but with a new baby I highly doubt that's doable. So, if you're not losing weight and can't exercise more, you must eat less. The easiest way I see to get fewer calories is to get rid of the peanut butter, it's healthy but packs a lot of calories, and you're already getting good fats from fish oil, olive oil, and almonds. I'd also get rid of the yogurt and put vegetables there. But first I'd evaluate portion size, if you can get away with slightly smaller portions for each meal, that makes a big difference at the end of the week, just don't starve yourself (obviously).

[OldGuy]

* I posted in diet forum, but no one even looked at it. Hopefully because its not busy there, and not that I was ignored

Ummmm, over the years how many of these have you posted, Ray?

[raymond3]

Originally Posted by Jason B

It's definitely the morning oatmeal that's making you fat.


JK, diet looks pretty solid with the exception of being low on veggies, but I think it may be more cals than you're thinking, I don't know how big (or small) your servings are. Where'd you get that number? Also, what's your diet like on off days? It's a good idea to eat a little less when you're not training, obviously to keep caloric deficit.

Normally I would say if you've been doing this for a while and not seeing changes to go the G-Flux route and increase exercise and calories, but with a new baby I highly doubt that's doable. So, if you're not losing weight and can't exercise more, you must eat less. The easiest way I see to get fewer calories is to get rid of the peanut butter, it's healthy but packs a lot of calories, and you're already getting good fats from fish oil, olive oil, and almonds. I'd also get rid of the yogurt and put vegetables there. But first I'd evaluate portion size, if you can get away with slightly smaller portions for each meal, that makes a big difference at the end of the week, just don't starve yourself (obviously).

OG- I didnt ask if I should cut or bulk...or say I want to tone up or anything. Just trying to see whats best as far as calories go, and whether to increase or decrease at this point. I figured someone would make a smart ass comment, and it ended up being you...thanks for that

Jason- thanks for the tips. So maybe ditch the peanut butter in meal 3, and stick to a fruit/whey shake on non workout days? Also, I eat the peanut butter at night (usually just a tb) to slow down absorption...should I just drop it altogether? I guess I can drop the yogurt as well. This would drop my calories another 200 or so.

As far as calories go, how low would be too low? Also, do you think I should keep the calories at 2600 or so on workout days, and drop it to 2200-2400 on non? I just dont want to slow my metabolism down, and for some reason, I think I added some fat recently (and some muscle). Now I just want to drop bf, but not slow my metabolism down by being too hypocaloric either.

My portion sizes are there for meal 1. In meal 2, its about 4-5 oz of lean beef and about 150 calories worth of almonds. Meal 4- I didnt measure the ww pasta, but it cant be more than 150-200 calories and about 5 oz of chicken. Same with meal 5- about 5 oz of chicken. Thanks again for your help.

[OldGuy]

You should know all this by now, Ray. You've been doing it a long time.

What's the macro split on your diet?

[raymond3]

I know Ive been doing it for awhile, but Im eating good and hitting the gym hard, and the scale (nor my body really) is moving. To be honest, I dont have this all plugged into fitday as I havent had time and kind of fell off.

If I had to take a quick guess, I would say around 40/30/30, give or take. I will probably drop the yogurt and some other carbs, and see how that goes. I guess my biggest question is, how low can I go without the risk of my body holding onto fat and slowing my metabolism down?

[OldGuy]

Here's my take. If you're doing the "same old, same old" and it's not working, stop doing it. Time for a change.

TBT is not a fat loss routine (in your original post you said you wanted to lean out). So I would look for something in the vein to follow. Also, if you've been eating in the 2,500 cal range for a while I would up the calories to maintenance for a week or so. Then bring it back down while doing a fat loss program.

[laxcdn]

One thing I found is that the calcs on the internet were high for my maint. It said maint was ~3000 and when I was at 2500 I didn't lose. So I went to 1800-2000 and lost 17lbs in 7 weeks. Another things I did was to get rid of carbs for breakfast and just eat protien. Just some food for thought.

[raymond3]

Cool, thanks for the replies. I will have to figure out what to do with the calories (go up or down), and I will probably switch routines (thanks OG).

Im still trying to figure out the 'carb or no carb' for breakfast thing (mainly due to the recent debate). I dont do eggs, so if I dont eat oatmeal, not sure what I would have.

[OldGuy]

If you want oatmeal have it. Your meal #1 is fine. If you think it's too much carbs drop the banana.

[raymond3]

Cool, so would berries be better...or drop the fruit altogether in your opinion? Also, I could cut back to 1/2 cup of oatmeal instead of 3/4 possibly.

[Jason B]

Originally Posted by raymond3

Im still trying to figure out the 'carb or no carb' for breakfast thing (mainly due to the recent debate). I dont do eggs, so if I dont eat oatmeal, not sure what I would have.

Carbs vs. no carbs in the morning doesn't really mean shit at this point for you. Oatmeal is not going to make you fat. Just make sure you're getting proper protein, fats, and veggies, and be in caloric deficit. Now, that being said, if carbs in the morning don't keep you full or make you tired, then you may want to drop them. I know for me, I can eat a giant bowl of oatmeal til I'm stuffed and be hungry and tired an hour later. But if I eat eggs I'm full for a while and don't crash, so I avoid morning carbs most of the time for that reason. But if you function well with carbs for breakfast, it's not going to sabatoge you, especially if it keeps you from over-indulging later at night.

[Jason B]

Originally Posted by raymond3

Cool, so would berries be better...or drop the fruit altogether in your opinion? Also, I could cut back to 1/2 cup of oatmeal instead of 3/4 possibly.

Don't drop fruit all together, that would be a major mistake. Nobody ever got fat from eating fruit, I'll gaurantee it. I would cut back on sugary fruits like bananas and melons, maybe save them for post workout simply because they are higher in calories, but things like apples, oranges, and berries are loaded with fiber and nutrients, eat them.

[raymond3]

I think I do okay with the carbs for breakfast...maybe I can cut back to 1/2 cup, and drop the banana and add berries. In meal 2- do you think eating lean ground beef and almonds may be too much fat in that one meal? Also, would oatmeal be better to eat in meal 4 instead of ww pasta.

My thinking in meal 3 for the shake is- on workout days, eat fruit, fruit juice, etc because I know carbs are good at this time. On non-workout days, I guess my thinking is having the peanut butter and lowfat milk instead to have more or less a p+f meal vs p+c..although, I could be off here.

Also, I guess I could cut back to 2200-2300 calories and see how that works. Hopefully it wont slow my metabolism down..if it does, I could up the calories back to maintanance. This is the hard part to figure out.

[BFG]

2500-2600 is hardly a dent but then again Im not sure I should post this as last time ya bit my head off ;-)

I think your BMR calcs are off a little, but then again half the sites and calculators seem to be set way too high from what I have seen.

Get the cals down lower on a cycle with a big refeed once every 6 or 7 weeks that should get ya moving and still keep the muscle mass

[raymond3]

Cool, thanks BFG...Im starting to think the calories could be too high too. I mean, I sit all day at my desk at work, so the only activity I get is the 30-40 minutes at the gym. You do have a point.