I've been reducing my calorie intake by 300-500 calories a day for the last 11 weeks and I have seen changes in my physique however I am starting to see a plateau now and im feeling tired and sluggish.
Im basically looking for any tips in my diet to help me out with my fat loss, Ill go through my daily diet now:
-Protein shake and oats for breakfast
-Fat free Greek yoghurt and an apple for mid morning snack
-Tuna salad and an orange for mid day meal
-Nuts and a banana for mid afternoon break
-Chicken with spinach, kale and small portion of rice for evening meal
-Protein shake and oats after gym
-Casein shake before bed
Any tips on how to change my diet would be great in order to lose more body fat - currently on 11-12% body fat and aiming to get into single figures. Any training tips as well would be useful.
Thanks
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Thread: Any tips for my first cut?
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05-21-2015, 05:16 AM #1
Any tips for my first cut?
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05-21-2015, 05:37 AM #2
- Join Date: May 2011
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No calorie count or macro breakdown so all we can tell you is this- too dependent on protein supps and too much tuna (mercury poisoning); diet seems bland too and like a good way to go insane. Way too few veggies as well, and variety in general.
Short cuts to success are often paved with lies.
1/13/16: Massive hernia.
5/10/16: Finally back to lifting, light but improving.
Why Teens shouldn't cut/Lack of progress thread- http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=169272763&p=1397509823#post1397509823
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05-21-2015, 06:51 AM #3
Prob best to go off the diet for a few days maybe. Relax your diet and eat some cheat meals and when I say cheat meals I don't mean go crazy on ****. This will shock you're body and then ease back into your diet but drop back down the calories gradually and not straight away to what you were at so you're body doesn't think it's going into starvation mode and tries to keep hold of the fat for survival. Also maybe you should substitute some other foods but as close to nutrition and calorie count as what you were doing. Like working out, you're body gets used to the same repetitive thing so it's good to mix it up and change things every few weeks.
Also try introducing some hiit (hight intensity interval training) to your training plan, this is good for getting rid of the fat. You seem like you're on the right track, just maybe needs some fine tuning and giving your body a shock cause it seems to be adjusting to what you're doing. Whatever you do don't get pissed off with it all, remember you can do it. Post up how things are going in the next few weeks, would be interested to see how things are going.
Best of luck pal,
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05-21-2015, 07:35 AM #4
Thanks for the reply. Calorie count is around 1900 and macro breakdown is carbs 35% Portein 35% and fats 30% (mainly from avocados and nuts). Im trying to cut down on the protein supps - mainly the one in the morning, any ideas as to what i can replace it with because i still want to have protein when i first wake up? Ill mix up my diet a bit so its not the same boring stuff from now on. For the veggies the main ones i eat are spinach kale broccoli and onions, any other ones you think i should increase - was thinking about blending some up to make a smoothie.
thanks
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05-21-2015, 07:42 AM #5
Thanks for the response, Yeah i was thinking over the weekend having some re-feed days of mainly cabrs to try and shock my body and increase metabolism again but good point about easing back into my diet afterwards.
I tend to run 5-10km twice a week but i may substitute one of that for some HIIT! Also changing my work out to all body next week as well so hopefully it'll go well. What do you think to my fat content in the diet? should i cut out some (e.g nuts) but i dont know what to replace it with thats high in protein and dont want to use supplements.
Thanks
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05-21-2015, 08:24 AM #6
More details needed. What is your current height and weight? How much weight have you lost over the 11 weeks? What is your current training routine look like?
If you are really 11-12% then you are getting to the hard part to get much lower. At the most basic level you need to tip the energy balance so you keep losing. That means eat less and/or move more. Also, get away from the percentages for macros. You should be basing it on body weight. So protein should be at least .6g per/lb, .8-1g/lb is more typical and where I prefer to be. Fat intake should be about .4g/lb. No minimum for carbs.
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05-21-2015, 10:11 AM #7
Current height and weight is 5'8'' and 156 lbs. Over the 11 weeks I have lost 11 pounds. Current routine split is chest&bicep, Back & tricep, Legs, Shoulders & abs currently doing 6 sets of 6 reps, but next week moving onto full body routine ( I swap routines every 3-4 weeks). definitely going to try and move more, I worked out I eat .7g/lb of protein a day and around .4 g/lb of fat so that's not too bad, why is there no minimum for carbs? Im trying to decide whether to increase my carb intake or not and if I should do the ' eat no carbs after 3pm' structure?
any thoughts, thanks.
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05-21-2015, 12:32 PM #8
A full body routine is probably a good idea, but swapping every 3-4 weeks is not. That is a great way to spin your wheels and doesn't do anything for progress. I may swap out an exercise for something new every month or two, but a complete routine change that often is not a great idea. What is you reason for doing that?
It sounds like you are good with protein and fat intake. Protein is on the low side, so make sure you are always hitting that minimum. The reason there is no minimum for carbs is because it is the only non-essential macro. Your body would continue to function with no carbs. You may not feel great, but you could survive. However, if you totally eliminated fat or protein your survival would be at risk. The idea of minimums is to allow for flexibility. Lets say you eat 110g protein and 62g of fat. That is about 1000 calories. Now you have 900 calories left in your 1900 calorie budget. You can get that from any mix of the macros you want, most probably coming from carbs. You could be eating up to 225g of carbs in that case. I personally prefer to get additional protein when I'm cutting. For one thing I like proteins and it also has a higher TEF.
Carb timing and timing of eating in general has little to no impact on fat loss. It is all about the energy balance. Your weight loss rate of 1lb/week is good. Has it really stalled, and for how long?
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05-21-2015, 01:15 PM #9
Thanks for the reply, yeah I assume a full body work out will be better for the energy balance - as ill burn more calories every work out. I have only brought in the swapping of work outs recently as before I felt my work out was becoming too much of a routine and tedious, when I swapped to full body work out (for two weeks) the first time I felt better psychologically because it was something different and also my muscles would ache days after the work out where as before I felt too adapted to it and never felt to fatigued even though I increased reps and weight when training. But what you said makes sense, plus I have done more research into it and instead of dramatic work out changes like im doing I may just change the frequency and certain types of excercises, good point.
Do you have any ideas how I can get more protein into my diet in the morning with out a protein shake? Id say at the moment I am hitting 110g protein and 60g of fat so good example, having said that I think I may be a bit low on the carbs and will try to increase it by 50-70g per day, thanks. Yeah im the same I prefer protein - what types of protein do you typically have in your daily diet? the 1lb/ week is what I was aiming to lose however the main reason I think ive stalled is my visual appearance in the mirror - before I could notice a difference in my body where as in the last week or two it looks the same as before or not as good, I think the best thing to do is weigh myself in a week or so and see if im still losing 1lb a week? just to see if its in my head.
Thanks for the response bro its really helpful!
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05-21-2015, 02:05 PM #10
Glad to help.
The mirror can be a good tool, but so is the scale. Now that you have dropped a fair amount of weight it might not be as noticeable in the mirror, but you should see it there eventually. If the scale says you are still steadily losing then your calories are correct.
Remember that you don't have to eat traditional breakfast food. Nothing wrong with have some kind of meat for breakfast. My sources of protein are mostly meat, then dairy and eggs. I try to keep it varied. All kinds of steak, chicken breast, fresh fish, tuna fish, occassionally pork ribs. I often make homemade beef jerky. I'm not adverse to slat, but store bought beef jerky is just too loaded with it, so I take matters into my own hands, lol. No fat plain Greek Yogurt is something I have almost every day. I do have some whey protein every day too. I mix chocolate flavored whey with my coffee in the morning. Its an easy and enjoyable 20g of protein.
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05-21-2015, 03:18 PM #11
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05-22-2015, 02:33 AM #12
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05-22-2015, 11:11 AM #13
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05-22-2015, 03:42 PM #14
Just a few more pointers that may help which are pretty simple, I find keep things as simple and straight forward as possible cause your head will spin with the amount of info out there.
If your upping cardio to hiit or even more cardio in general then up your carbs to supply the energy. Lowering carbs will prob make you sluggish and lethargic both during and after sessions.
Food protein is obviously best. Eggs are quick and can be cooked various ways in which not to get sick of them, plus they're cheap! It's no harm having protein shakes. They're handy and quick so I wouldn't cut shakes out completely.
Things take time so just enjoy the journey, you'll get there in the end!
Don't look in the mirror or weigh yourself too much. Looking and weighing everyday will drive you crazy and feel like nothing's happening. Change it to weekly if possible, give diet and trying some time to start working.
Don't change diet and training too often, as with above give it time to work. Do change things but not too quickly.
I won't keep going on but the most important of all is consistency. Always keep showing up. Whether that's gym, diet and commitment in whatever you do in general. Keep going and things will come together.
I'm not a pro by any means but I'm in the middle of my journey and what I've mentioned is what I've learned so far. I reckon we should always try support and inspire each other as only we know how much commitment and sacrifice it takes.
Best of luck pal and look forward to dropping back here yet again to see how things are going.
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05-22-2015, 04:38 PM #15
Take a diet break then resume your cut.
Diet break:
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat...et-break.html/BRAINS & GAINS
Strong Mind + Strong Body = UNSTOPPABLE
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05-24-2015, 03:22 PM #16
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