Have I been given the right plan?

[irish0418]

so confused!

I'm having issues w/ my diet plan...I have a trainer but I'm uncertain of the plan he has given me.

Everyone says I'm eating too low of cals. but the trainer says that I shouldn't listen to everyone else because it depends on how long someone has been training, their body fat%, etc...

Height: 5'4"
Weight: 138.5
Plan: To compete in bikini

I typically hold body fat in the 'normal' female areas (belly, butt and upper thighs)


currently he wants me to:

Macronutrient Guidelines
Daily Totals for Leg and Back workouts
Protein: 140
Carbohydrate: 100
Fat: 40

On days you work chest and arms with the following totals
Protein: 140
Carbohydrate: 120
Fat: 40

Off or HIIT Cardio Days only
Protein: 130
Carbohydrate: 60
Fat: 45


Add third day of cardio of steady state.
So you will be doing 3 day per week ss, and 2 HIIT per week at 15 sprints.



What do you think about this? I don't want to stall my metabolism and do anything that will not give me progress but I also don't want to consume more calories if I don't need them....I'm really confused.

I've been working w/ him since November and havn't seem much progress...he claims thats because of the inconsistencies w/ the diet due to the holidays which can be true.

thoughts?

[freebirdmac]

Just how bad were you over the holidays?

1165 - 1320 cals is too low in my opinion. That definitely had me in metabolism stall territory.

If you really weren't on diet in Nov and Dec, then yeah, you won't see any changes. The clock would start ticking once you got back on diet after the holidays. But I would not eat that little. I'd put you up around 1500. And with those carb levels I'd also need a refeed once in awhile.

[pecan]

first of all...i'm assuming you mean 160 carb on HIIT days. because otherwise, your trainer is definitely nuts.

and is he allowing a cheat day?

so...the calories are low. but, you WILL lose weight, which is obviously your trainer's goal. since he has you on such low calories, you're probably going to lose muscle too. as long as his approach is for you to lose weight, then build muscle, it makes sense.

still, i think you might have trouble following this plan. you should talk to him about getting on a supplement to help keep the hunger at bay.

[Amanda76]

1165-1400 cals per day? While I'd normally say listen to your trainer, I have NEVER had to drop my cals that low to lose fat from 140-ish pounds...even when I was newer to weight training. If a trainer told me to do that and I was already pretty lean, I'd feel alright about it. But 140 on me is pretty chubby. Should be pretty easy to lose fat from that point. What the heck is he going to have you doing 10-15 lbs from now?

What's your time line leading up to your contest like? If it's so soon that you HAVE to lose weight super fast, I'd pick one at a later date.

Ask him to explain the logic of his calorie and carb cycling to you. He should have reasons for the way he has it set up.

[irish0418]

He says he's trying to restart my metabolism..but that doesn't make sense.

I'm so confused!

I'm 138lbs, 5'4"

I wanted to compete this may or june.

[ainedb]

These ladies all have some good points. I'd also say that if you are strictly counting carbs, you might want a higher carbohydrate number on leg days than on chest/arms days. Typically, your leg muscles are some of the biggest ones in your body and require more energy than your arms would. I think HIIT days also could use a bit more carbohydrates. Do you make sure you have a decent post-workout shake with enough carbs (dextrose or something similar) in it for recovery? Are you eating mostly unprocessed foods and drinking enough water?

[freebirdmac]

Originally Posted by irish0418

He says he's trying to restart my metabolism..but that doesn't make sense.

I'm so confused!

I'm 138lbs, 5'4"

I wanted to compete this may or june.

Uhhh, the only way to restart a metabolism is to eat at or above maintenance. It's up to you, but I doubt anyone here will agree with those calorie levels.

[Amanda76]

Originally Posted by irish0418

He says he's trying to restart my metabolism..but that doesn't make sense.

I'm so confused!

I'm 138lbs, 5'4"

I wanted to compete this may or june.

Yeah...I'd restart it by eating at maintenance for a few weeks. Not by eating like you're 90 lbs.

From your weight, eating between 40/40/20 and 50/30/20, I drop fat slowly (2-4 lbs a month) eating 1,800 cals without doing cardio. I'd expect him to have you eating somewhere around that amount of calories to see how you do before slashing them needlessly. I'll stall out at around 125 lbs with those calories. I could see him having you bounce between 1,500 and 1,800 at this point, but not 1,100 to 1,400.

The plan he has you on is something I'd expect to see when you are very close to your goal and need to speed things up for the short term...not as a way to "restart your metabolism."

[irish0418]

I take surge recover drink after workouts or I sip on it during...I drink lots of water and I always try to eat clean

[Amanda76]

Originally Posted by ainedb

These ladies all have some good points. I'd also say that if you are strictly counting carbs, you might want a higher carbohydrate number on leg days than on chest/arms days. Typically, your leg muscles are some of the biggest ones in your body and require more energy than your arms would. I think HIIT days also could use a bit more carbohydrates. Do you make sure you have a decent post-workout shake with enough carbs (dextrose or something similar) in it for recovery? Are you eating mostly unprocessed foods and drinking enough water?

I was wondering about placement of carbs too...which was why I was really curious about the logic he was following. I don't know anyone who would call a chest or arm day more difficult than a leg or back day.

[irish0418]

Originally Posted by Amanda76

I was wondering about placement of carbs too...which was why I was really curious about the logic he was following. I don't know anyone who would call a chest or arm day more difficult than a leg or back day.

I just emailed him addressing my concern! It just stinks because i paid him for 3 months...I have 1.5 months left and feel like I've gone no where!

I'm very upset and don't have the money to just stop w/ him and go to someone else! what a dissapointment

[irish0418]

My trainer got back to me and this is what he said:

"I agree with you, and would like you to have more calories, but the issue lays in current consistancy or lack of. But I am not blaming you since we had the Holidays dating back to Thanksgiving and then you were sick.

Just give me 2 solid weeks and we will reasess if needed and increase the calories.
And your are right, the bottom line is calories in and calories out to lose fat."

[Amanda76]

Originally Posted by irish0418

My trainer got back to me and this is what he said:

"I agree with you, and would like you to have more calories, but the issue lays in current consistancy or lack of. But I am not blaming you since we had the Holidays dating back to Thanksgiving and then you were sick.

Just give me 2 solid weeks and we will reasess if needed and increase the calories.
And your are right, the bottom line is calories in and calories out to lose fat."

Erm...well...I'm pretty sure you'll lose WEIGHT (not necessarily fat) on his plan for a little while. And to most people, that is success. So far as I'm concerned he wants the scale to move so he can keep your business. But so far as long-term success and ending up as firm as possible goes, he's going about this completely ass-backwards.

What he needs to do is keep your cals higher and DEMAND consistency from you. If you don't stick with what he lays out, that's your fault and you need to take your goal of competing around June more seriously (not saying you're not taking it seriously, but if that's what he thinks is happening he needs to tell you to hold off until you're ready to commit). Trying to make up for cheats by lowering your calories ridiculously is not the way to go...and I think that with his response he's pretty much addmitted that he's not doing the best thing for you.

[irish0418]

well after discussing this w/ him the new plan is this:

off/cardio days: 170pro, 120 carbs,, 35 fat
training days: 170pro, 170carbs, 30fat


carbs/cals/pro are all higher...we are going do to this for 2 weeks then re-assess.

what do you thinK?

[freebirdmac]

Originally Posted by irish0418

well after discussing this w/ him the new plan is this:

off/cardio days: 170pro, 120 carbs,, 35 fat
training days: 170pro, 170carbs, 30fat


carbs/cals/pro are all higher...we are going do to this for 2 weeks then re-assess.

what do you thinK?

I like it much better, but I'd keep fat at 40g both days.

[Amanda76]

Originally Posted by irish0418

well after discussing this w/ him the new plan is this:

off/cardio days: 170pro, 120 carbs,, 35 fat
training days: 170pro, 170carbs, 30fat


carbs/cals/pro are all higher...we are going do to this for 2 weeks then re-assess.

what do you thinK?

That looks better...I agree your fat is a bit too low for your bodyweight on training days (for health purposes, you should'nt go below 1/4 of your bodyweight in grams of fat for an extended period of time)...it's only by about 5 grams, but I'd watch whether you end up with anything lower than that. Or are you taking fat supps that haven't been included in your calorie intake?

[kimm4]

I've been holding off on posting because I'm trying to think the best way to put this so people understand.

I missed in the thread when is your show?

The problem is some clients don't give the trainers enough time. The sport of bb, figure, bikini or whatever is a whole new world. There are times when trainers need to take drastic measures to try to get you ready for the stage...it happens all the time. He's trying to fix the damage you did over the holidays...it's that simple. The 1st diet was not so bad, but short about 200 calories...would that kill you no...but more than likely it would need to be adjusted. The 2nd plan looks alight, but it's over by about 100 calories and again...will more than likely need to be changed. The fats are not too low because your carb intake is up there...so what he did makes total sense.

When you decide to do a show it's crucial that you give yourself enough time to prep the right way. You get on a solid plan and as a client it's your job to stick to it. When a trainer needs to constantly adjust and switch up your plan there's a problem...and most of the time it's because the client is not sticking to the plan...(not all the time but most of the time)

A good trainer would flat out tell you that you might want to shoot for a later show. But I've seen clients that are hell bent on getting on stage by a certain time so the trainer does the best he/she can to get your there.

Good luck!!

[irish0418]

Originally Posted by Amanda76

That looks better...I agree your fat is a bit too low for your bodyweight on training days (for health purposes, you should'nt go below 1/4 of your bodyweight in grams of fat for an extended period of time)...it's only by about 5 grams, but I'd watch whether you end up with anything lower than that. Or are you taking fat supps that haven't been included in your calorie intake?

I didn't include my fish oil supps...I take flameout (2 pills)

Originally Posted by kimm4

I've been holding off on posting because I'm trying to think the best way to put this so people understand.

I missed in the thread when is your show?

The problem is some clients don't give the trainers enough time. The sport of bb, figure, bikini or whatever is a whole new world. There are times when trainers need to take drastic measures to try to get you ready for the stage...it happens all the time. He's trying to fix the damage you did over the holidays...it's that simple. The 1st diet was not so bad, but short about 200 calories...would that kill you no...but more than likely it would need to be adjusted. The 2nd plan looks alight, but it's over by about 100 calories and again...will more than likely need to be changed. The fats are not too low because your carb intake is up there...so what he did makes total sense.

When you decide to do a show it's crucial that you give yourself enough time to prep the right way. You get on a solid plan and as a client it's your job to stick to it. When a trainer needs to constantly adjust and switch up your plan there's a problem...and most of the time it's because the client is not sticking to the plan...(not all the time but most of the time)

A good trainer would flat out tell you that you might want to shoot for a later show. But I've seen clients that are hell bent on getting on stage by a certain time so the trainer does the best he/she can to get your there.

Good luck!!

I wanted to do a show in May or June...that's the goal right now. I know I need to have trust in my trainer and listen but I just thought that eating 1100-1200 cals/day was just too low for me. Over the holidays I didn't totally go off my plan, but I treated myself on xmas, new years, and one other day (bday)....so they were considered treat days.

Maybe these new cals are a little higher but after 2 weeks if no change, then we'll re-assess from there.