Not enough/ too many calories??

[liono]

Hi guys,

You know how you can keep search these forums endlessly for an answer to your question, but I've decided that I need someone's own opinion instead. I'm 26, 196cm, 176lb, 12% bf, and bodybuilding for 2 years now. Ive been switching between bulking and losing fat for a long time now, but have now decided to go for fat loss 100%. In the past Ive not had much luck and looking around and going on some other sites I've been thinking that it maybe that I was eating not enough calories!! (around 1900 cals) and that I my metabolism was slowing down and making it pretty much impossible for me to lose fat. Dont worry it wasnt a lack of training. I was doing weights with regular HIIT sessions.

Now my new plan is this:

2450 calories (245p/ 245c/ 54f) in grams.

morning cardio 30 mins
meal one: oats and shake
meal two: turkey and pitta and 9g peanut butter
meal three: tuna and basmati rice and egg p/nut butter
meal four: tuna and basmati rice and egg p/nut butter
Weight workout (about 7pm)
meal five: shake and banana
meal six: chicken and new potatoes and veg (this is at 8:30pm)

I will be doing at least 4 cardio session a week (mix of low and high intensity)
and will be doing three sessions of German Volume Training a week.

Im using absolved and Sesathin and CEE everyday.

I was just wondering how this looked to others. The jump from just over 100g carbs a day and 2000 cals to 245g and 2450 cals just seems like its too much to make me lose fat???

[nithos]

With your workout routine, it looks like about the right amount of calories. Maybe just the slightest bit high, so if you are not seeing results after 2+ weeks following this diet to the letter, drop calories by 200.

You don't have any EFAs in your diet. Switch out the pb for some fish oil caps and a handful of walnuts or almonds. (It is recommended you take Sesathin with fish oil anyways.)

[DJohnson]

Diet looking pretty great.

Last meal should be minutes before you go to bed though. Have something like fat free cottage cheese with some fish/flax oil so that it digests really slowly.

Also that last meal with potato's... try get sweet potato's if you can. Every little bit helps.

Don't lower the calories until you haven't lost weight for 3 weeks in a row.

Good luck!

[Jules Verne]

Diet looking pretty great.

Last meal should be minutes before you go to bed though. Have something like fat free cottage cheese with some fish/flax oil so that it digests really slowly.

Also that last meal with potato's... try get sweet potato's if you can. Every little bit helps.

Don't lower the calories until you haven't lost weight for 3 weeks in a row.

Good luck!

I'l like to elaborate here. If meal 6 is just before bed, I'd keep it, although adding some fat and replacing potatoes with yam or sweet potato might be good. It's still going to be a slow digesting meal.

If you have time for a meal 7, cottage cheese+fat would be good, take the extra calories out of the carbs in meal 3 - replace rice with veg for instance.

In fact I don't see why you need the extra carbs in meal 3. I'd be tempted to reduce the rice and add EFA's and/or veg here anyways.

Personally I would not increase carbs too quickly, and I would cycle them and/or calories a bit - but that's really more of a personal preference since I find it hard to eat the same thing every day. Also some weeks I can get away with eating less, then I refeed for a few days. I find that I don't plateau this way.

Whatever you do, it sounds like you have a pretty good idea of what you are going, but I would say make the changes gradual. You are probably not doing anything disasterous right now, no need for drastic, immediate changes.

EDIT: I find that 1-1.25g carb/lb is plenty for me to cut without feeling 'low carb' so you may not have to go as high as 240 every day.

[liono]

Guys,

thanks for the feedback. I think you might be right about the carbs, esp at meal three. Kind of bloating me out at work eating them at every meal. Will give the 'new and improved' diet a go and get back to you on my progress.

Another quick question: With the absolved and sesathin im going to have a lot of fat being released. Do you think its better to stick to the HIIT or go for some more low intensity (50% max HR) for an hour, a few times a week.

The hiit will have to after effect of burning calories throughout the day, but the low intensity will switch straight to burning fat, which i will have available with the absolved and sesathin.

Cheers guys.

GVT: 10x10 squats on wednesday and im still finding it hard to walk!!!

[Par Deus]

SesaThin increases the oxidation of fatty acids moreso than it releases it (release of fatty acids is very, very rarely rate limiting)

Stick with the HIIT.