My get shredded diet, please critique (carb rotation)

[dannyisgonnacut]

Im new to carb rotation bros so heres the diet i attempted.
I got the totals all figured out for ya.

Please tell me whats wrong with it so I can adjust it !
I do 5x a week with weights, and 3 x a week cardio at 80%HR and once a week HIIT cardio.

I appreciate the great help as always
Thanks!
Daniel

[dannyisgonnacut]

Stats 5'5 205 lbs, 19%bf.

[Ripped2shreds]

I am not sure what your aim is here, I am asuming that as you have posted this in the contest prep section, you are preping for a contest (and looking at your stats you sound pretty big for 5'5"). If this is the case I am not really the guy to be giving you advice as I do not compete so I have not researched that area of nutrition and its techniques. If however you are just looking to get ripped (I did a killer 12 weeks and as you can tell from my user name I am lean, 6%).

I think that to really shed the BF you must drop your overall calories more, and also your carbs. Only for an 8-12 week period. You could also look at keto as an alternative. I found cardio is the key, and lots of it. In the morning worked best for me. Check this link out, it may not apply to you and might be teaching you to suck eggs but it has some good solid ideas. www.fatlosstips.com

Good luck and bust your gut dude!!!! Peace.

[dannyisgonnacut]

So what do you suggest.
Scrap the carb rotation and take out the rice in meal 4?

That would leave me at 100g carbs everyday and 1870 cals.
I read my AMR is 2600.

I don't know if I can reduce much else. What do you suggest?

[Ripped2shreds]

Originally posted by dannyisgonnacut
So what do you suggest.
Scrap the carb rotation and take out the rice in meal 4?

That would leave me at 100g carbs everyday and 1870 cals.
I read my AMR is 2600.

I don't know if I can reduce much else. What do you suggest?

That sound good to me. Try and make you're carbs as low GI as you can. You could still try the carb rotation, but with lower ammounts or with different foods. You could also up your cario which will help too. Let me know how you get on. Feel free to PM.

[dannyisgonnacut]

Sure man, check your PMs.
Any more input? EME, Most muscular , vets?

[Ripped2shreds]

Check your PM's by the way subscribe to the free fat loss reports on the link I gave you earlier the are from a guy called tom venturo who is a natural body builder that is around 3.9% BF for competition!! If they dont come through I have them saved on my hard drive and can forward them to you via email. www.fatlosstips.com

[Ripped2shreds]

1. JUST GET STARTED - TAKE DECISIVE ACTION!
------------------------------------------
There are so many opinions about how to lose body fat that many people end up completely confused and they don't do ANYTHING!

They've read about 27 ways to diet, 34 ways to do cardio, 101 ways to lift weights and 79 supplements to take. But they still don't have a clue how to start.

You stuff your brain with so much information it feels like it's going to explode, but then you never do anything about it. You're like a deer stuck in headlights. Sound familiar?

I call this the "paralysis by analysis" syndrome.

The most important thing you can do is take action. Just begin the journey and figure it out as you go. Better still; get a coach or trainer right from the start.

Actually, losing fat is not that complicated. You don't need a PhD in exercise physiology to figure out that any exercise is better than no exercise. You don't have to be a genius in nutritional biochemistry to figure out that an apple is better than a pop tart. Getting lean is simple: Exercise. Eat healthier foods. Eat smaller portions. Isn't this stuff just common sense? Didn't your mother tell you this?

So what's stopping you? What makes you freeze up?

If you're like most people, FEAR is stopping you. You're so afraid of doing something wrong, you choose to do nothing rather than make a mistake or look foolish.

What you must understand is that people who accomplish much and people who accomplish little BOTH have fears. The difference between the two is that the latter feels the fear and lets it immobilize them. The former feels the fear and does it anyway.

Begin the process. You can always fine-tune your program as you go. Naturally, it's better to aim and then fire, but its better to fire and then adjust your aim later than not to fire at all. You can't win a battle by hiding in the trenches.


3. DON'T GET CAUGHT UP IN MINUTIA - FOCUS ON FUNDAMENTALS
------------------------------------------
Read any book about success and it will tell you "pay attention to detail." Sounds like good advice - unless you haven't mastered the fundamentals yet. In that case, it's the worst advice you could follow.

Every day people send me questions like these:

"Should I use a fast acting protein powder like whey or would casein be better? What if I mix both and also add a little bit of Soy? If I use all of them, what ratio of the three would be ideal and when should I take them?"

"I want to do the ephedrine-caffeine stack and it says to take 20 mg of ephedrine with 200 milligrams of caffeine. The ephedrine comes in 25 milligram tablets, so should I chip a little bit off the tablet to get the right ratio?"

Do you see the problem here?

These are legitimate questions, but they're completely moot if you're eating doughnuts and sitting on the couch all day long. Fix your diet and get your butt moving first, then worry about the little things.

Emerson said, "The height of the pinnacle is determined by the breadth of the base." The heights you reach will depend entirely on how broad a foundation you build. Great coaches such as Vince Lombardi and John Wooden credited most of their success to drilling their players on fundamentals.

Forget about ALL the minutia until you have the fundamentals down cold!

* Forget about supplement dosages
* Forget about macronutrient cycling
* Forget about tempo manipulation
* Forget about glycemic indexes
* Forget about the latest Bulgarian or Russian periodization program

Master the fundamentals first!

The fundamentals of fat loss include:

(1) Do your cardio,
(2) Lift weights,
(3) Burn more calories than you consume
(4) Eat 5-6 small, frequent meals and never skip meals,
(5) Keep your fat intake low, but include small amounts of good fats,
(6) Eat natural foods; avoid processed & refined foods,
(7) eat more complex carbs, fruits & vegetables,
(8) eat lean proteins with each meal,
(9) Think positive: visualize yourself as you would like to be.

If you're not doing all these things, and you're looking for the perfect supplement stack or the optimum periodization plan, I'm afraid you're barking up the wrong tree.

I don't want you to think that details don't matter - they do. The "Law of Accumulation" states that every success is a matter of hundreds or even thousands of tiny efforts that often go unnoticed or unappreciated. Everything counts. Everything either helps or hurts. Nothing is neutral.

The problem is when you get bogged down in minutia before you've even learned the basics. Minor details produce minor results. Major fundamentals produce major results.

Don't major in minor things. Lay your foundation first, and then move on to the finer points. And remember, as Jim Rohn says, always be suspicious of someone who says they've found a new fundamental.


4. KNOW YOUR CALORIES
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The most important dietary factor in fat loss is not how many grams of carbohydrate, protein or fat you eat, the most important factor for fat loss is calories. Eat more than you burn each day and you will store fat. Eat less than you burn each day and you will lose fat. It's just that simple.

Where the calories come from is important too, but unless you understand the calorie concept, nothing else matters.

I'm appalled at how many people claim to sincerely want to lose body fat who admit they haven't a clue how many calories they eat.

Get serious! If you don't have the faintest idea how much you're eating, how can you expect to make any progress?

Did it ever occur to you that your ONLY problem might be overeating!

Do you realize that too much of anything gets stored as fat?

That's right - even if you're eating nothing but "natural and healthy" foods, if you eat too many of them, you're still going to get fat.

Portion control, my friend, portion control!

On the other hand, maybe you're under-eating and slowing down your metabolism. There's a fine line.

For all the details on your daily calorie needs, refer to my article Calorie Calculators


5. NEVER, EVER QUIT! MAKE FITNESS A LIFESTYLE!
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Do you know what is the biggest fat loss mistake made by beginners?

Quitting!

I the January issue of my E-zine, I mentioned that attendance in our gym shoots up for about 6-8 weeks around New Year's. Well, it's back to normal now because all the quitters dropped out already.

What's especially sad is that most people quit right when they're on the verge of making substantial progress.

Remember: You're never a failure as long as you're working on the progressive realization of a worthy goal. But the second you quit, then its official - you're a failure.

Quitting should not even be an option because...

FITNESS IS A LIFESTYLE!

Don't let these four words slip by you just because it's an oft-repeated cliché. This is an important mindset! You have to stop thinking of getting in shape for a New Year's resolution, vacation or wedding (or a contest, you bodybuilders). You must start thinking about getting healthy and in shape FOR LIFE.

When you're just starting out, firmly resolve that quitting is not even an option. Don't approach this endeavor with an "I'll try" attitude. If you accept quitting as a possibility, you might as well not even start; just grab that remote control, a bag of chips and get back on the couch where you were before.

Also, understand that results may come slowly in the beginning if you're not the genetically-gifted type. This process requires great patience and persistence for most people.

Most beginners never allow themselves the time it takes to get any momentum going. They expect too much too soon, get discouraged and quit.

It takes a big push to get started. It's like getting a rocket off the ground - it uses most of its fuel just launching off the pad, but once it's in the air and the inertia has been overcome, it can keep going with very little energy expenditure. Don't quit just because it's difficult to "launch!"


8. WEIGHT TRAINING IS NOT OPTIONAL - IT'S MANDATORY!
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It's is a common misconception that you should start with aerobic workouts and lose the fat first before adding weight training.

Unfortunately, the best you can hope for from diet and aerobics alone is to become a "skinny fat person." You may lose weight, but you'll have a poor muscle to fat ratio and a "soft" appearance.

Obviously, weight training is the key to developing strength and muscle. What few people realize is that weight training also increases fat loss, although it occurs indirectly.

Weight training is anaerobic and burns carbohydrates (sugar).Cardio is aerobic and therefore burns fat. So it seems logical to focus on aerobic training for fat loss.

However, something interesting happens "beneath the surface" when you lift weights. Weight training increases your lean body mass - aerobic training does not.

Low calorie dieting and aerobic training without weight lifting can make you lose lean body mass. If you lose lean body mass, your metabolism slows down, and this makes it harder to lose fat.

If you increase your lean body mass, you increase your metabolic rate and this makes it easier to lose fat. With a faster metabolism, you'll burn more fat all day long - even while you're sleeping!

If you have limited time, and your main priority is fat loss, then do a very brief weight training program and spend the majority of your time concentrating on cardio. But never neglect the weights completely - always do both, and if possible, devote equal attention to each.

[Ripped2shreds]

THE SECRET TO INCREASED FAT LOSS IS...
-------------------------------------
Ok, so you just got started on a program of walking or light cardio and some basic lifting, maybe some dumbbell work, nothing fancy. You feel better, you've lost a few pounds, you have more energy and you're confident that you're getting healthier.

But you want more.

You want the results to come faster. You want to look in the mirror and really SEE the difference. You want other people to see the difference too (especially that cute blonde...)

You want more than "a little tone." Maybe you want a nice hard chiseled six-pack with a small waist, or maybe streamlined, muscular thighs. Arms like Linda Hamilton perhaps? Shoulders like Carl "Apollo Creed" Weathers? A Brad Pitt "Fight Club" body maybe? Nothing too crazy - not a miss fitness Olympia body or the massive bulk of a Mr. Universe- but definitely better than average.

Well, if you're prepared to STEP UP to the next level and pay the price necessary to reach the next rung on the ladder, here's how you do it:

The answer is very, very simple. As you leave the novice stage behind, it's time to start WORKING HARDER. That's it.

Were you expecting something more esoteric? Some secret Bulgarian periodization program and thermogenic - anabolic supplement stack? Sorry, but the secret is that there is no secret. A great body all boils down to outright effort and hard work.

Not counting the genetic freaks that seem to have been born with muscles and zero fat, there's one thing that all people with great bodies have in common: they all work HARD, HARD, HARD, HARD, HARD!

If you want to ascend beyond the lowly beginner level you simply have to push yourself harder. And that means DIS-COMFORT. When you're pushing yourself out of the comfort zone, it hurts. Frankly, sometimes it sucks! But outside the comfort zone is where you grow. Staying inside the comfort zone will only maintain you at best but usually it sends you plummeting into a downward spiral.

Most people retreat back into the confines of their comfort zone the minute the effort gets difficult. The comfort zone is a very dangerous place because if you slide back into the comfort zone even once, then it starts becoming a habit.

First, it's stopping just a few minutes short on your cardio or coasting on level 5 when you could be doing level 7. Then you start blowing off workouts completely. Pretty soon, you're sliding back in other areas of your life; you slide back from making those sales calls; you slide back from spending quality time with your family, you slide back from saving money and watching your finances. You become.... A BACKSLIDER!

You can either be a backslider or you can be an ACHIEVER but you can't be both and you can't "hang out" in between - it's one or the other. Although you might think you're safe just "maintaining" in the comfort zone, unbeknownst to you, you are always in motion in either a forward or a backward direction. There's no such thing as standing still; ask any physicist - everything in the universe is always in motion...vibrating... pulsating... growing or dying.

The ACHIEVER is the person who is aware that to "stand still inside the comfort zone" is akin to dying, so he or she is ALWAYS MOVING FORWARD. The only way to move forward is with hard work and effort in the direction of a specific goal.



AVOID THE TEMPTATION TO SPEND (WASTE) YOUR MONEY ON GIMMICKS...AND LEARN TO RECOGNIZE A GIMMICK WHEN YOU SEE ONE
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Once you begin getting a taste of what real hard training is like, it often becomes tempting to succumb to the error of looking for the "easy way." An electrode on your abs, a "fat-melting" cream, a pill, a drink mix, a drug - anything and everything except sweat and hard work. But shortcuts will always fail you in the long run.

You are setting yourself up for so much trouble if you give in to the lure of the quick fix. You see, it's all about the Law of Sowing and Reaping. This great law of life states that your rewards will come back to you in direct proportion to what you put in. Everything has its price and that price must be paid in advance.

If you were a farmer, how ridiculous would it be for you to skip the planting of the seeds in the spring and then go out in the fields looking for a harvest in the fall? How ridiculous would it be to stand in front of a wood burning stove and say, Ok stove, give me some heat and then I'll put in some wood?

But isn't it the same thing when you take a pill or attach some electrodes to your stomach, or smear some cream on your thighs and expect to lose the flab without exercise or eating right?

Even if you've made the decision to avoid gimmicks, in today's marketplace, how do you know what a gimmick is and what's legit? After all, these marketing people are smart - they know how to play on your emotions and make gimmicks sound scientific. Don't feel bad; judging by the e-mails I get every day, most other people don't know the difference either. Nearly all of these e-mails include this sentence:

Does "IT" work?

Here's how to tell if "IT" is a gimmick or not: If it makes getting in phenomenal shape sound easy and effortless, then it's a gimmick. If it addresses the symptom but not the cause - it's a gimmick. If your gut feeling says it sounds too good to be true - it's a gimmick. If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck.... it's a duck!

Do yourself a favor and stop looking for a quick ride to the top. The elevator to success is out of order - you're going to have to take the stairs.



HOW TO DOUBLE YOUR RATE OF FAT LOSS IN THE NEXT 7 DAYS
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How would you like to learn a way to DOUBLE YOUR FAT LOSS in the next seven days? I know, I know - sounds like a gimmick, right? Well, it's not! It's really quite simple. To burn more fat you have to burn more calories. Most beginners start off with three days a week of cardio training. Usually they see some results initially because their bodies aren't accustomed to exercise and any increase in activity above no activity will always produce some results.

More often than not, the results begin to slow down a bit within a few months of training. Then they scratch their heads and wonder why it's not working anymore.

This is why: Because three days a week is for beginners, and you're no longer a beginner. If you want twice as much fat loss and you want it twice as fast, double your cardio.

Suppose you burn 400 calories per workout for three workouts per week. That's a total of 1200 calories per week burned. If you doubled that to six days per week at 400 calories per workout, you would burn 2400 calories. YOU JUST DOUBLED YOUR FAT LOSS EVERY WEEK! That was a real no-brainer, wasn't it?



HOW TO TRIPLE YOUR RATE OF FAT LOSS IN THE NEXT 7 DAYS
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While we're on the subject of burning more calories, what would happen if, in addition to increasing your cardio from three to six days per week, you increased the intensity so that you are burning 600 calories per workout? With six workouts at 600 calories per workout you're up to 3600 calories per week.

HOLY ABDOMINALS BATMAN, YOU JUST TRIPLED YOUR FAT LOSS!

Yes it's that simple and the solution was right there in front of you all along.

By the way, this kind of frequent cardio is how I reach 3 - 4% body fat for competitions: Six days per week of HARD cardio, 45 minutes per session.



ALWAYS BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR SOMETHING TO MOTIVATE AND INSPIRE YOU
-------------------------------------
After the initial novelty of starting a workout program wears off, one problem nearly everyone runs into is lack of motivation. I can personally confirm this just by the membership attrition (drop out) statistics in my health club. 50% of all people who join a health club quit in the first three months. Here's how you can prevent becoming a statistic:

Always be on the lookout for something to motivate and inspire you - anything! Go see a movie, watch a video, read a book or article. Hire a coach or personal trainer. Get a training partner. Think about your goals and write them out repeatedly. Pick a role model of someone you want to look like. Attend a competition. Enter a competition. Hang out with people who motivate you. Ditch the people who don't support you (I'm not kidding - get out of unsupportive relationships fast!) The list of motivational methods is endless.

Some people insist that "motivation" doesn't last. I always tell them, they're right! Motivation doesn't last - but neither does bathing and you do that every day, don't you?

Every day you must ask yourself "What can I listen to, do, find, or watch to get inspired today." Then follow through.

I recently watched a movie called Without Limits, which is the story of Steven Prefontaine, the runner. Even though I'm a bodybuilder and not a runner, that movie got me so motivated I ran to the gym a blasted out a leg workout like never before, smashing through several PR's (personal records).

I also have the videos of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics narrated by Bud Greenspan. If watching Michael Johnson win his races and accept his gold medals doesn't motivate you, then nothing will.

For the bodybuilders, here's an old motivational stand-by. Watch (or re-watch) Pumping Iron.

One of the absolute best ways to get motivated is to spend time in serious thought about what you want to accomplish and then write it down, which leads us to the next subject...




Tom Venuto

[Ripped2shreds]

HERE'S PART THREE
------------------

ADVANCED FAT LOSS: 12 TRICKS AND TACTICS FOR DESTROYING EVEN THE MOST STUBBORN BODY FAT, by Tom Venuto


1. DO CARDIO 6-7 DAYS A WEEK
-----------------------------
If you do cardio for 30-45 minutes a day 6-7 days per week for 8-12 weeks, you'll get so lean, you'll kick yourself for not realizing it was that simple.

Every time I give this advice, I always hear lots of whining and complaining. Why is everybody so cardio-phobic? Why do people keep fighting me on this when they've tried "everything" else and they still can't get as lean as they want to be?

"But Tom, Bill Phillips says 20 minutes 3 days a week is the solution!"

"But Tom, doesn't daily cardio burn up muscle?"

"But Tom, doesn't weight training boost the metabolism more than aerobics?"

"But Tom, long aerobic cardio is out. 15 minutes of high intensity interval cardio is in."

But, but, but. People have plenty of buts. What they don't have is plenty of RESULTS!

If you want to get lean - get off your "buts" and do what it takes to get the job done - not what the trend of the day dictates you should do. When you want to get extremely lean and you want to do it quickly, make cardio a daily discipline and the RESULTS will absolutely amaze you.

And don't say you don't have time! I know many people who get up at 4 or 5 in the morning to work out because it's the only way they can fit it in their schedule. It's NEVER an issue of time, it's ALWAYS an issue of WILLINGNESS. Are you willing to do what it takes? That's only real question you have to answer.

If you want to know WHY you should do cardio more often, go back and re-read part 2 in this series about the mathematics of calorie expenditure (how to double and even triple your fat loss).



2. DO YOUR CARDIO FIRST THING IN THE MORNING ON AN EMPTY STOMACH
-----------------------------
Morning cardio is still controversial in academic circles, but as far as I'm concerned it's a closed case and the verdict is in: it works! But don't take my word for it - examine the facts, try it and decide for yourself. The argument in favor of fasted early morning cardio burning more fat goes something like this:

1. After an overnight 8-12 hour fast, your body's stores of glycogen are depleted and you burn more fat when glycogen is low.

2. Eating causes a release of insulin. Insulin interferes with the mobilization of body fat. Less insulin is present in the morning; so more body fat is burned when cardio is done in the morning.

3. There is less carbohydrate (glucose) in the bloodstream when you wake up after an overnight fast. With less glucose available, you burn more fat.

4. If you eat immediately before a workout, you have to burn off what you just ate first before tapping into stored body fat (and insulin is elevated after a meal.)

5. When you do cardio in the morning, your metabolism stays elevated for a period of time after the workout is over. If you do cardio in the evening, you burn calories during the session, but you fail to take advantage of the "afterburn" effect because your metabolic rate drops dramatically as soon as you go to sleep.

Instead of going into further discussion here in this newsletter, get the whole story on morning cardio by reading my article "A.M. Fat Burn." This article originally appeared in the August 2001 issue of IRONMAN magazine and it's posted in the Fitness Renaissance website library at http://www.fatlosstips.com/fitren/



3. REDUCE YOUR CARBS, BUT DON'T CUT THEM OUT COMPLETELY AND DON'T STAY ON LOW CARBS TOO LONG
-----------------------------
I'm not a big fan of very low carb (VLCD) or "ketogenic" diets. They make you feel like crap, you get "brain fog," you lose muscle along with the fat, and your training intensity suffers from lack of muscle glycogen (yes, even on a "cyclical" ketogenic diet.)

The worst side effect of the VLCD is one that few people think of because it requires a long-term perspective (and most people are caught up in short term results)...

For the average non-competitor, it's VERY difficult to keep off the fat you lose through low carb dieting. VLCD's set you up for a BIG rebound

Bodybuilders often use VLCD's successfully before contests, but bodybuilders are extreme athletes with incredible discipline and willpower. I know bodybuilders who are so "hard core" that they can eat nothing but tuna fish out of the can for 12 weeks, then go back to a normal, balanced diet, no problem - no bingeing. That's a rare feat.

Lots of people lose weight on very low carb diets. Very few keep it off. I've seen people go on massive, uncontrollable binges of doughnuts, pizza and Ben & Jerry's (Chunky Monkey!), gaining 30 pounds in less than seven days after coming off a very low carb diet.

Folks, very low carb diets ain't the long term solution to fat loss. To use one successfully without gaining everything back, you have to know what you're doing and you must be extremely disciplined. Even then, you should consider low carb diets as "last chance" diets or short term "peaking" diets that are fraught with side effects and disadvantages.

The "balanced" diet, which contains a wide variety of foods including about 50% of the calories from fruits, vegetables, natural starches and whole grains, is almost always the best way to permanently lose fat and it's the way almost everyone should start. This is sometimes referred to as a "baseline diet." All you have to do is exercise, pick the right types of foods and eat less than you burn each day and you'll lose fat.

Once you've mastered all the basics and you've reached the advanced stage, THEN I have to admit, despite the potential pitfalls, low carb, high protein diets can help accelerate fat loss even more.

Almost every competitive bodybuilder I've ever met uses some variation of the reduced carb diet. Maybe not zero carbs; maybe not 100 grams or less, but there's always some degree of carb restriction. Why? Because lower carbs provide metabolic and hormonal advantages that high carb diets do not. They also eliminate water retention and give the muscles a hard, dry look.

Here are the 4 "advanced bodybuilder's secrets" to using a low carb diet successfully:

1) Don't cut out all your carbs, just reduce them to a moderate level so carbs and protein are balanced and carbs are not the predominant macronutrient. 30% to 40% carbs should be low enough to get low carb diet benefits without low carb diet side effects.

2) DON'T eat a lot of carbs at night, but DO eat starchy carbs early in the day.

3) Don't stay on any reduced carb diet more than 12-16 weeks. Always go back to the balanced diet because it's healthier and more maintainable.

4) It you reduce your carbs substantially on ANY low carb program, eat more carbs every 4th day or so. These are called "carb up" days, or "re-feed" days. This will prevent your metabolism from slowing down, keep your thryroid functioning optimally and maintain your energy levels.



4. RAISE YOUR PROTEIN
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If you bring your carbs down, something has to go up or your calories would drop too low. That something is protein or fat (or both). Although many mainstream low carb diets (such as Atkins) are actually high fat diets, competitive bodybuilders usually keep the fats low (15% -20% or less) and eat extremely large amounts of protein - sometimes as much as 40 or 50% of their total calories!

Conventional bodybuilding and fat reducing wisdom says you should eat one gram of protein per pound of body weight. This is good advice for someone just starting to establish good habits and a baseline diet. For a 172 pound man, that' s 172 grams a day, or approximately 30 grams per meal spread over five to six meals.

On the bodybuilder's low carb "advanced diet," 40-50% of total calories comes from protein. That's about 300 - 375 grams of protein a day for most male bodybuilders and 175-225 grams for female bodybuilders.

Yes, I know this is too much protein. In fact, it's an obscene amount of protein. However, (temporary) high protein diets are the way most bodybuilders get so ripped. Eating very high protein speeds up your metabolism due to the thermic effect of protein foods. All the top natural bodybuilders in the high levels of the sport eat 300 - 400 grams a day before contests and sometimes even more. I'm not necessarily recommending this; (like they say on MTV's "Jackass" show, don't try this at home!), I'm simply pointing out that this is how most bodybuilders do it.



6. DROP ALL THE PROCESSED FOODS...YES, EVEN YOUR WHOLE WHEAT BREAD, BOXED CEREALS, BAGELS AND PASTA
-----------------------------
Sometimes I recommend whole grain bread, boxed cereals and pasta for my clients and sometimes I don't. But that's not contradicting myself. What I'm doing is creating totally individualized nutrition programs for each person depending on their genetics, carb-sensitivity, experience and goals.

A basic beginner or intermediate's diet should contain plenty of whole grain products and more carbs than anything else. Certain people - in particular, the "endomorph" or "carb sensitive" body types, seem to gain fat rapidly when they eat processed carbs. Advanced bodybuilders almost never eat any bread or pasta products before competitions.

The rule of thumb on the advanced fat loss diet is never eat anything man-made or processed. The ultimate test for whether a food is natural or processed is to ask, "did this food come out of the ground or off the tree/plant this way?" If the answer is no, it's processed and you shouldn't eat it.

[Ripped2shreds]

7. GET TOTAL CLARITY OF PURPOSE
-----------------------------
To get super-lean, you have to DECIDE EXACTLY what you want and zero in on it the way a guided missile locks onto its target.

The Great Napoleon Hill called it "definiteness of purpose." Achievement expert Brian Tracy calls it "CLARITY." Most of us simply know it as having goals, but I like the terms "clarity" and "definiteness of purpose" better than goals. Vague goals can be your downfall.

"I want to gain muscle and lose fat." That's certainly a goal, but it's NOT definiteness of purpose. It's a poor goal because it lacks clarity.

One of the biggest reasons people fail to move up to the advanced level (especially the guys) is because they can't decide what they want. They become victims of "flip flop syndrome."

Imagine a captain giving no commands and just allowing his ship to just float around rudderless, drifting wherever the currents take it. Or imagine the captain giving instructions to his crew like this: "go east; no, go west; no, go east; no, go west again."

Ridiculous right? This is exactly what you're doing when you lack a specific goal or when you want to gain muscle one day and lose fat the next (or do both at the same time).



YOU HAVE TO MAKE UP YOUR MIND!
-----------------------------
"A made up mind attunes itself to tremendous extra power," wrote Napoleon Hill. You must choose a definite course, make a clear-cut, definite decision and follow through with action in one specific direction.

When you have a clear-cut goal and you're totally committed to it, you TAKE ACTION without thinking about it or forcing it. The process becomes unconscious. If you lack clarity, you flounder and hesitate like a ship with an indecisive captain.



8. FIVE MEALS A DAY FOR WOMEN, SIX MEALS A DAY FOR MEN....OR JUST FUGGETABOUTIT!
-----------------------------
Meal frequency is more important than most people realize. Most fitness conscious people know about meal frequency, but they figure they can "get by" with three "square" meals.

Comparing three "squares" to six meals a day is like comparing a Porsche 911 Turbo to a Yugo. Yes, you can get some results with three well constructed meals, but you'll never get anywhere near your full potential (and it will take a lot longer!)

The benefits of frequent eating include:
a. Faster metabolic rate
b. Higher energy levels
c. Less storage of body fat due to smaller portions
d. Reduced hunger and cravings
e. Steadier blood sugar and insulin levels
f. More calories usable for muscle growth
g. Better absorption and utilization of nutrients

If you want to move up to the advanced level and get super-ripped, you have to take advantage of every weapon in your fat burning arsenal. That means five or six small meals a day, or else, as Al Pacino would say, just fuggetaboutit!



9. GO EASY ON THOSE PROTEIN BARS AND MEAL REPLACEMENT SHAKES - FOCUS ON REAL FOOD
-----------------------------
My clients just HATE me when I take away their cookies n cream protein bars and chocolate Myoplex, but when they're eating only one or two food meals per day and chugging down four or five meal replacements and wondering why they aren't getting leaner, I have to give them my lecture on the thermogenic effects of whole foods versus liquid calories.

If you want to get lean, don't drink too many of your calories and lay off those bars! I don't care what anybody says, whole food gets you leaner. Supplements are for convenience. The weight loss industry is $33 billion and the supplement industry alone is $13 billion. Anyone who advises you that "shakes get you leaner than food" has their greedy little hands in the supplement companies cookie jar somewhere, somehow, someway - trust me!

By the way, this advice applies to ALL liquid calories. Are you drinking fruit juice by the quartful because it's "healthy?" Well, that may be true; you may have a glassful of highly concentrated vitamins and minerals, but if you want to turbo charge your metabolism, get rid of your juicer and eat the fruits and vegetables whole and raw!



10. H.I.I.T. THE FAT!
-----------------------------
High intensity interval training, known as HIIT for short, is the technique of alternating short (30-60 second) periods of very high intensity aerobics with short periods of low to moderate intensity.

HIIT has received a lot of press lately as being superior to steady state exercise. In some ways, it IS superior: HIIT burns a lot of calories during the workout, but where it really shines is after the workout. Your metabolic rate stays elevated longer after the workout is over than steady state cardio.

Here's an example of an ascending 21 minute HIIT workout on the Lifecycle stationary bike:

Level 3: 5 minutes (warmup)
Level 5: 1 minute (work interval)
Level 4: 1 minute (recovery interval)
Level 6: 1 minute (work interval)
Level 4: 1 minute (recovery interval)
Level 7: 1 minute (work interval)
Level 4: 1 minute (recovery interval)
Level 8: 1 minute (work interval)
Level 4: 1 minute (recovery interval)
Level 9: 1 minute (work interval)
Level 4: 1 minute (recovery interval)
Level 10: 1 minute (work interval - maxed out)
Level 3: 5 minutes (cool down)

This is just an example of course; you'll need to adjust the workout based on your fitness level. You can adjust the duration of the intervals, the number of intervals performed and the difficulty level. You can perform similar workouts on almost any piece of cardio equipment.

HIIT is a fantastic way for an advanced athlete, bodybuilder or recreational exerciser to break a rut and inject some variety into a stale cardio routine, HIIT works, but it's not a panacea. What's most important for fat loss is that you burn a lot of calories. If your intensity is moderately high and you sustain a STEADY STATE workout for a long duration, you're likely to burn more calories than a brief HIIT workout, even when the "afterburn" effect from HIIT is factored in.

My best advice is to use BOTH forms of cardio training, focusing on total calorie expenditure and leaning towards HIIT when you're short on time or when you seem to have hit a plateau using conventional cardio.



11. DO YOUR CARDIO HARDER
-----------------------------
Here's an idea that might shatter every paradigm you ever had about cardio training. HIIT is very trendy these days, so if you're trying to lose fat, and you're wondering whether you should do short duration high intensity or long duration, low intensity, the answer might be neither!

The most effective workout is long duration, high intensity!

Push yourself to the highest level you can hold steady for 30-45 minutes nonstop.

In other words, put the cell phone and magazine away and do a real workout. Then watch your body get leaner BY THE DAY!



12. USE THE ADVANCED THREE DAY SPLIT ROUTINE
-----------------------------
As a beginner, you started on a full body routine. When you graduated to intermediate status, you moved to a two day split routine. Now you're ready for the advanced three day split. This split is excellent for genetically gifted bodybuilders with good recuperation abilities.

The split:

Day 1:Chest, Back, Abs
Day 2: Shoulders, Biceps, Triceps
Day 3: Quads, Hamstrings, Calves

The 2 on 1 off weekly schedule

Mon: Chest, Back, Abs
Tue: Shoulders, Biceps, Triceps
Wed: Off (cardio only)
Thu: Quads, Hamstrings calves
Fri: Chest, Back, Abs
Sat: Off (cardio only)
Sun: Shoulders, Biceps, Triceps

Pick up with Quads & Hams Monday and repeat the cycle. For extra recuperation, a more conservative version of this split is: 2 on 1 off, 1 on 1 off, 1 on 1 off.

Well, that's it, you've learned every fat burning trick in the book from beginner to advanced. Well, maybe not EVERY trick, but you now have enough tools that - if you apply them diligently - you can get as lean as you want to be.

[Ripped2shreds]

Well thats about the best of Tom ventro's advice hope you find it useful. Peace.

[dannyisgonnacut]

Excellent advice ripped!
Will take everyone of them. Hey this fridays my prom night...
gotta get my cardio in the morning though..heh.
Its gonna be a fun night....got a great looking date...really pumped for it. 4 years are gone baby!

[mimo]

this really is good advice. simple enough for people to follow it.

[dannyisgonnacut]

Hey a portuguese bro. Tudo bem? Meu, eu sou de Sao Paulo e da Venezuela. Morei em paris, entao conheci bastante portugueses eheheh....Prazer.

Hey ripped, have you received any advice from tom venuto about the adaptation to cardio? Im taking this is all hype from the overtraining people. Theres no subsititute for hardwork. Am I correct?

[mimo]

Originally posted by dannyisgonnacut
Hey a portuguese bro. Tudo bem? Meu, eu sou de Sao Paulo e da Venezuela. Morei em paris, entao conheci bastante portugueses eheheh....Prazer.

Hey ripped, have you received any advice from tom venuto about the adaptation to cardio? Im taking this is all hype from the overtraining people. Theres no subsititute for hardwork. Am I correct?

prazer. é sempre bom ler portugues de vez em quando
the adaptation to cardio is real.you have to progress as you are getting fitter.
during HIIT, if you do it with a level 7 intensity for your sprints during week 1, try to do it with intensity 8 the next week.
note: the intensity numbers are just to give an example of how you should progress.
if you are doing 45m of steady cardio,you also have to progress.
if you run 5 miles during the 45m during the first week, try to run 5.1 on week 2.
this way you will always force your body to become better, stronger,leaner.
espero que tenha ajudado.

[Ripped2shreds]

Sup,
Tom is very wary of H.I.T etc and still promotes good old fashion moderate intensity cardio for longer periods. Truth is I think ablend of the two is Ideal, I box and run track(400 mtr sprinter) so i combine the two to good effect. Both burn caloires so in the end they both get the job done. You are completely right, there is no substitute for hard work!! Train mean, get lean!! Definately build up, not too fast, but dont slack either!!

[Ripped2shreds]

Almost forgot, have a banging Prom mate!!! I remember mine and it was wicked, went in a Limo with 5 mates and their dates and cleared out the mini bar!

[dannyisgonnacut]

I know right. When I lived in Paris it was awesome to drink legally but in the US some limo drivers are bros and let us in on the fun!! Heheheheh...........anyway thanks for the great advice as always.
Off I go to 30 minutes of cardio.
Peace out

[dannyisgonnacut]

This is what beverly sent me, I just received their diet.
What do you think, compared to mine. It seems theirs has just a bit more carbs (around 30-40g) and more simple carbs from fruits (fructose). Why is this, wont it deposit in the liver?

Daniel Costa (4-22-04)

Goal: Fat Loss


Meal #1
2 whole egg + 4 egg whites

5 oz. very lean meat

1/2 cup oatmeal - before cooking

1 TBS Flax Oil



Meal #2

Protein Drink: 2 Scoops Ultra Size, 4 TBS heavy whipping cream (2 oz.), and 12-oz water

or

Whole Food Option: 6 oz very lean meat, 1 apple



Meal #3

8 oz. very lean meat

6 oz. sweet potato or 2/3 cup cooked brown rice

1.5 cup vegetables (broccoli, etc.) or salad with 2 TBS. Low Cal Dressing



Meal #4

(same as meal #2)



Meal #5

10 oz. very lean meat

2 cups vegetables

1 TBS Flax Oil



SUGGESTED SUPPLEMENT PROGRAM:

Vitamins: Super Pak – 1 pack with meal #1

Lean Mass Support:

Ultra 40 – 4 tablets with each meal

Mass Aminos – 4 tablets with each meal

Accelerated Fat Loss:

Lean Out- 2 capsules 20 minutes prior to each meal

------end of beverly email--------
other than that it reads pretty similar to mine. What do you guys think? What adjustments should I make? Should I add fruits, is there a reason these guys use them?? They also claim their products really accelarate the fat loss process. While I know that its all cals in vs cals out, proper mac ratios and cardio - Id like to know if they work at all.
Any extra info appreciated!
Peace

[James5567]

beverly has a rhyme and reason for everything in the diet including supplements, its not a good idea to change it...the best thing is that they will be there to help u out along the way, so if u have any questions you can call them/email them..It is actually a lot of supplements to take, the only reason i dont use their diets is because im not sure how effective the diet becomes in the absence of the ultra 40's, mass amino's each meal, maybe you could just eat a little more protein each meal instead?...anyone ever try a bev diet without using their supplements??

danny i dont see any fructose carbs in the diet they sent u, fructose isnt terrible in small amounts either, bev recomends fruits like grapefruits, and strawberries because they have a thermogenic effect on the body....

[Ripped2shreds]

Sup Danny,
I have not heard of Beverly but it sounds to me like they provide you with a tailor made diet that promotes their products or supps. I would be very wary of this as to me it just sounds like a marketing tool. The diet they have provided is vague and not brilliant IMO. You can get help and advice on this site for free and if you want to use supps you can choose the brand and price you want.

Fructose is to be used in moderation while cutting as it is a sugar, but some fruit is ok if you want to add it.

IMO the diet you put together yourself is fine. If you want to incorporate some of 'Beverly's' ideas then do it, but dont feel obliged to buy their products. They are not helping you out of the goodness of their heart, they want some of your green IMO. Peace.

[mimo]

ther diet is good. id just put some oatmeal or lots of veggies, instead of the apple in meal 2

[Ripped2shreds]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by dannyisgonnacut
[B]This is what beverly sent me, I just received their diet.
What do you think, compared to mine. It seems theirs has just a bit more carbs (around 30-40g) and more simple carbs from fruits (fructose). Why is this, wont it deposit in the liver?

Daniel Costa (4-22-04)

Goal: Fat Loss


Meal #1
2 whole egg + 4 egg whites (what do you think, lose the 2 yokes? Full of cholesterol)

5 oz. very lean meat

1/2 cup oatmeal - before cooking

1 TBS Flax Oil



Meal #2

Protein Drink: 2 Scoops Ultra Size, 4 TBS heavy whipping cream (2 oz.), and 12-oz water (heavy whippong cream sounds dodgey to me unless you use maybe fat free yoghurt)

or

Whole Food Option: 6 oz very lean meat, 1 apple (a better option IMO and as Mimo said replace the apple with veg)



Meal #3

8 oz. very lean meat

6 oz. sweet potato or 2/3 cup cooked brown rice

1.5 cup vegetables (broccoli, etc.) or salad with 2 TBS. Low Cal Dressing (first option here sounds best to me)



Meal #4

(same as meal #2)



Meal #5

10 oz. very lean meat

2 cups vegetables

1 TBS Flax Oil



SUGGESTED SUPPLEMENT PROGRAM:

Vitamins: Super Pak – 1 pack with meal #1

Lean Mass Support:

Ultra 40 – 4 tablets with each meal

Mass Aminos – 4 tablets with each meal

Accelerated Fat Loss:

Lean Out- 2 capsules 20 minutes prior to each meal

I have made some comments in brackets above. Now these supps to me are not going to be of much use at all. I am always very wary of tablets. The muti vitamin is essential, but the rest, well, call me old fashioned but I think they will make little to no difference and are a waste of money.

Supps I consider worthy of taking include: Whey, Micellar casein, multi vitamins, flax oil and creatine (although I have never found the need for it). Theres my oppinion. What do you guys think about that?

[James5567]

well ripped2shreads, i guess the fact that your not from the states is the reason you have never heard of beverly international..They are pretty much the best when it comes to quality supplements, have you taken the time to visit their site?? their whole diet approach is a 50-30-20 split protein fat carbs, that explains the heavy whipping cream, egg yolk etc.... they feel the body has the best chance to build muscle and strip bodyfat away on this ratio, danny im surprised they didnt include a tuesday and thursday carb up meal??
now i admit im weary of having to down pills every meal and thats why i dont use beverly, but i have used their protein powders and they are definitely top notch..there are pleanty of athletes you can ask that will vouch for the importance of the mass aminos and ultra 40 tabs...i just dont have the money to spend on it...

[Ripped2shreds]

Originally posted by James5567
well ripped2shreads, i guess the fact that your not from the states is the reason you have never heard of beverly international..They are pretty much the best when it comes to quality supplements, have you taken the time to visit their site?? their whole diet approach is a 50-30-20 split protein fat carbs, that explains the heavy whipping cream, egg yolk etc.... they feel the body has the best chance to build muscle and strip bodyfat away on this ratio, danny im surprised they didnt include a tuesday and thursday carb up meal??
now i admit im weary of having to down pills every meal and thats why i dont use beverly, but i have used their protein powders and they are definitely top notch..there are pleanty of athletes you can ask that will vouch for the importance of the mass aminos and ultra 40 tabs...i just dont have the money to spend on it...

Yeah guess thats why I havent heard of them. If it were me I would tweak the diet as I have done above, but there are many different views on what an optimum BF stripping diet is. I am sure they know there stuff but all you have to do is run a search on cutting diets on this site to come up with 50-30-20 or 45-35-20. IThe thing that does concern me is the tablets, IMO they are a waste of money if you have already put in place a soild diet and workout plan. But as you say, if you have some money to burn then you may as well buy them because I am sure they wont kill you. Peace.

[James5567]

ripped2 your right, there is always more than one way to skin a cat, in fact i like a 40-40-20 split until it gets closer to contest, the reason why i recomend beverly is cause they give you nutritional support the entire time for free, it is much better to have someone else guide you the first time..and seeing as that you havent read (im assuming you havent cause you would have given a reason against the supps) whats actually in Ultra 40 and Mass Aminos i dont see how you can make the statement, "money to burn"...i guess my point is that its not a good idea to try to take advice from 3 different people at a time when you dont completley know how your body responds yet...so just choose one person to listen to and then stick with them, after that experiment all you want..

[Ripped2shreds]

Originally posted by James5567
ripped2 your right, there is always more than one way to skin a cat, in fact i like a 40-40-20 split until it gets closer to contest, the reason why i recomend beverly is cause they give you nutritional support the entire time for free, it is much better to have someone else guide you the first time..and seeing as that you havent read (im assuming you havent cause you would have given a reason against the supps) whats actually in Ultra 40 and Mass Aminos i dont see how you can make the statement, "money to burn"...i guess my point is that its not a good idea to try to take advice from 3 different people at a time when you dont completley know how your body responds yet...so just choose one person to listen to and then stick with them, after that experiment all you want..

Yeah I must conceed that there probably is effective ingredients in the supps you have mentioned and maybe they have clinical trails behind them to prove it. My point is just that if you are not at a stage where you are going to compete or you need to lose the last .5 % or so, you would be better to go without. Not only cheaper but saves popping pills all the time. I achived my goal without these things and in less than 12 weeks so in my experience I have found no need for such things.
I do agree that it is nice to have someone their to give you support, but I am wary of just listening to 1 person, and I would rather get a range of views and information.
Having said all that I am sure the cat would get skinned both ways!!! LOL

[James5567]

LOL yea the cat doesnt stand a freakin chance!

[dannyisgonnacut]

Check out my prom pictures bros!
And yes you gotta love the last one!!
http://f2.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/dan...=/3ea2&.src=ph