Let' see what's lies beneath

[milkisforbabies]

I've been lifting weights for about 18 months relatively consistently now so it's time to have an honest shot at seeing what lies beneath. I'm still pretty pathetic muscle wise but I'm thinking there might be a bit of dense stuff under there somewhere.

My stats are 6'3. 115kg.

Chest = 43 inches

Gut = 44

Hips/waist = 41

Thighs = 27.5

Biceps = 16.5

Calves = 17

Last time I did one of those electronic fat tests it said I was 22.3% BF. I think I might be slightly more than that now (maybe 24%) and my goal BF is 10%. I want to be there by the last week of July 2011.

I train 5 days a week and through the trial and error of other programmes and regimes have found myself using Max-OT. Specifically the workouts listed here: [urlhttp]

I've found it allows me to feign pminslateaus, increases my lifts considerably and most importantly is over in 45 minutes so it keeps me motivated and hungry for the next gym session!

I am going to complete 30 minutes of cardio 3 days per week and will ramp this up as I progress.

I thought I would start by posting my diet and see what feedback I get and then may look at putting up my weights for lifting etc.

I've calculated my BMR at 2600 calories

I've calculated my cutting diet to be at around 2000 calories a day.

Diet

Meal 1

Half cup of rolled oats 150 cals

Tea Spoon of Honey

30 grams of whey protein mixed with water

Meal 2

Piece of fruit

30 grams whey protein mixed with water

Meal 3

Can of Tuna in water 185 grams

Half a cup of brown rice

Table spoon sweet thai chili sauce

Meal 4

Piece of fruit

30 grams whey protein shake mixed with water

My work out and cardio completed here

Meal 5

Grilled lean fish or chicken breast or fillet steak (200 grams)

1 cup of potato or kumera

1 cup of mixed veg

1 table spoon of lite sour cream

Meal 6

30 grams of whey protein shake

Half cup of rolled oats

1 table spoon of honey

Supplements

2 tablets of Omega 3 fish oil each day

1 teaspoon of creatine

1 teaspoon of glutamine

Couple of cups of plunger coffee posting.php?mode=post&f=8&sid=2895ff4f0787499f0ccc9b4e482157d6#

I aim to have on cheat meal Saturdays.

Keen to hear what people have to say, I think I may be cutting the cals a bit low but guess I'll know when the cravings kick in.

Also it's probably pretty clear I'm a bit of a novice so if something's clearly amiss with what I've posted no need to rip me too hard.

Thanks and look forward to the feedback if any!

[samuelNZ]

I'm no expert whatsoever but I'd say you've got a bit of room to add some more food. Lacking a little veges and keep the water intake up high.

My 2cents..

Good luck mate!

[drizzt]

I've calculated my BMR at 2600 calories

I've calculated my cutting diet to be at around 2000 calories a day.

For a 6'3 guy @ 115kg, I would say your maintenance would be a wee bit higher than 2600 :think: How'd you come to 2600?

What kind of job do you have? Office? Labour?

Theres a slim chance that if you sat still all day, your maintenance calories may be in that vicinity, but I'd hazard a guess at something closer to the 3k mark. This isn't mentioning weights/cardio days where you'd have an even higher requirement....

Keen to hear what people have to say, I think I may be cutting the cals a bit low but guess I'll know when the cravings kick in.

Personally, I think you've gone a bit low. Even if your maintenance cals are 2600, a 600cal drop below that is dropping too far, too fast IMHO. I'd recommend starting a little closer to maintenance - heck, even bang on maintenance - and see how that serves you for a little while. If no fat moves, then dial it back by 200cals or so a week.

Do you know what your current cal intake is like? Another option is to just cut back gradually from what you're doing now and find the sweet spot that the weight starts to come down. I realise you've put a bit of a time limit on things which could make it a tad tough (what's the reason for the timing btw?), but IMHO shooting numbers around without knowing what effect they'll have on your body can have a bigger effect than you'd think. Trick is to find where your energy levels are still good, fat is coming off, gym numbers are sweet (even going up in some cases!), and IMHO the best way to do this is to work backwards from a point until you find this spot.

That's how I did it anyway (thread shows the last month - I cut down from 100+ in the couple of months prior to the thread). I found a spot that suited me and stuck to it. Everyone is different though, I guess it comes down to finding what works best for you.

Anyway, the above is just my 2c bro, all the best

[milkisforbabies]

Thanks Drizzt, nice journal and thanks for the advice.

I got the BMR from trawling various calculators on the web. I sit on my ass in front of a computer most days for a living so it could be right.

I might chuck some more carbs in somewhere to bring my daily caloric intake up to 2600 - 3000 cals and see how I feel. Then shed 200 cals weekly.

Do you know what your current cal intake is like?

It's all over the damn place but I'd say around 3500+. I'm usually a good boy by day and then loose the fkn plot in the evening and weekends will usually consist of at least two fast food meals.

I realise you've put a bit of a time limit on things which could make it a tad tough (what's the reason for the timing btw?)

If I don't set goals I don't go anywhere. The same reason for actually doing a journal for once. If I put it out there then when I cheat I look like a manus.

I look forward to studying your journal further.

[milkisforbabies]

Man I feel guilty digging this back up, glad I'm back on wagon.

I managed to drop down to 110kg but then in about June when work went mental I got pretty run down and dropped the diet and ended up putting it all back on again. Still kept the weights up but generally just pussy'd out on myself and took the comfortable road. I'm now back having another go, main focus is to shed the BF - goal is 100kg by December, am now 3 weeks into it.

I'm training 5 days a week with weights and trying to squeeze 30 minutes of cardio after each workout. Currently sticking to 3 sets per exercise and aiming for between 6-8 reps. Mainly free weights and compound lifts, might chuck up workouts another time.

Back to limiting myself to 1750 cals (days without cardio) and 2200 cals (days with cardio) 6 days a week and it appears to be working. On Sunday's I cheat but not more than 3500 calories if I can help it. I have also started taking Animal Pak multi vitamins. I kept finding that when I would try and shed weight in the past that after 4-6 weeks my body would always get really run down and in general I would not really be a very fun person to be around. After taking the Anuimal pak every day I find I crave less. I've also started using myfitnesspal.com to measure my meals and exercise (cardio), very cool site, stops me binging in the evenings and even when I do have a bad day I think I eat a lot less than I would if i didn't measure it.

Other supps I'm taking are fish oil, glutamine, creatine, glucosamine and whey protein. So three weeks in, feeling good, lost a few kg, got a few more to go.