3 month plan

[Lunchie]

Hey all

Firstly thanks for letting me join this site, I have heard some good things about it from friends at Uni. (even though anyone can register hehe)

My question sort of bridges multiple forum sections but I guess it mostly concerns nutrition and training so I thought I would pop it in here,

Okay so here is the deal.

In 3 months time there is a family event which is very important and will probably be recorded with lots of video and pics and I am out of shape, WAY out of shape.

My currents stats are as follows

199cm tall

150+kg

Seriously large build (think massive broad shoulders and fists like hams but a big fat gut and man boobies too)

Atm I am training 4 times a week doing a weights program that lasts 45 mins and includes 20 mins of core work every second session. so 1hr 5 mins on those days.

I am also on the Paleo nutrition plan which for those that dont know it basically cuts out as much processed carbs as possible

No bread, pasta, rice or flour, or high sugar foods like bbq sauce or marinades

My current daily diet goes something like this.

Breakfast 3 eggs cooked in a little butter with 100gm sliced bacon (low salt organic low preservatives) 50gm grated cheese. two kiwifruit

Morning tea. couple tomatoes and an apple

Lunch: a 150-200gm steak or other protein source + an apple and a few 10-15 nuts (unsalted almonds cashews)

Afternoon. Small handful of nuts, apple or kiwifruit

Dinner. Chicken, lamb or beef grilled with plate of steamed brocolli and cauli and a raw carrot

After workout. Protein shake, Pure whey protein, super low carb, mixed with water.

Late night snack if I need it. Apple, nuts or maybe a can of tuna or a piece of plain chicken etc.

Thoughts?

My question overall question is this:

how much cardio do you guys recken I should be doing weekly in order to put on a little muscle and remove as MUCH fat as possible in the 3 months I have got. Also during my 2 days a week that I have off from work do you think I should incorporate some fasting on a meal each day or any fasting in general?

I simply just want to shred fat like crazy and gain some muscle in the process (dont we all lol )

Any advice or pointers would be great.

Cheers

Lunchie

[jimmybro1]

Firstly your a monster :shock:

The diet sounds alright, not sure of the calories though and might not be enough protein for someone of your size.

As for cardio, I wouldn't murder yourself just do 30 minutes walking on an incline either on a treadmill or a mountain/hill side this will save your joints particularly at your height and weight.

I would imagine that the weight will come off reasonably fast at first. Have you made much progress with your current diet?

As for fasting I personally think its a waste of time but others on the forum maybe think otherwise. I would rather have constant energy levels throughout the day.

Whats was you diet and calorie consumption like before deciding to loss weight? Curious as you may have a fast or slow metabolism as everyone is different.

I would also change some of the fruit to vegetables also. Vegetables are richer in vitamins and minerals without the carbohydrates.

Myfitnesspal is also a tool you could use to track your macronutrients so you know exactly what you are putting into your body. Your can get the app of smart phones or use the internet.

Good luck mate.

[Lunchie]

haha thanks man, yeah I am a big guy I guess lol.

I have been on this plan for about 2 weeks and lost 4kg each in the first two weeks. That was without any cardio tho. As for changing the fruit to veges I am not too sure about this. Since I am not eating any sugar or anything I am worried about depleting my glucogin stores from the training and the fruit would help replenish them. What are tomatoes like for snacking? they dont taste like there is much sugar in them, which vegies would you suggest substituting?

Also what do you think about the bacon ? some have suggested to remove it but I am wary of removing too many calories when I am on a training day.

[jimmybro1]

haha thanks man, yeah I am a big guy I guess lol.

I have been on this plan for about 2 weeks and lost 4kg each in the first two weeks. That was without any cardio tho. As for changing the fruit to veges I am not too sure about this. Since I am not eating any sugar or anything I am worried about depleting my glucogin stores from the training and the fruit would help replenish them. What are tomatoes like for snacking? they dont taste like there is much sugar in them, which vegies would you suggest substituting?

Also what do you think about the bacon ? some have suggested to remove it but I am wary of removing too many calories when I am on a training day.

Remove the bacon and replace it with some real meat like steak!

Also eat sweet potatoes, pasta or oats as an alternative to fruit perhaps. That much fruit would give me the shits! :shock:

Tomatoes are alright pretty acidic though, might upset stomach but if it doesn't go for it. When dieting I prefer to snack on celery pretty much calorie free, in fact I think it takes more energy to digest that it provides. Got me shredded anywho.

I have to aplaude you for not asking about diet pills or potions :clap:

[drizzt]

Holy crap you're a monster! :shock: Start a log bro, would love to see what someone your size throws around at the gym! :grin:

I think for a guy your size you look a bit low on calories to be honest, particularly if you are wanting to maintain/improve strength while dropping fat. Maybe one of the more experienced diet gurus can chime in here. Sounds like a good start with what you've dropped so far though :nod:

[Lunchie]

haha thanks man, yeah I am a big guy I guess lol.

I have been on this plan for about 2 weeks and lost 4kg each in the first two weeks. That was without any cardio tho. As for changing the fruit to veges I am not too sure about this. Since I am not eating any sugar or anything I am worried about depleting my glucogin stores from the training and the fruit would help replenish them. What are tomatoes like for snacking? they dont taste like there is much sugar in them, which vegies would you suggest substituting?

Also what do you think about the bacon ? some have suggested to remove it but I am wary of removing too many calories when I am on a training day.

Remove the bacon and replace it with some real meat like steak!

Also eat sweet potatoes, pasta or oats as an alternative to fruit perhaps. That much fruit would give me the shits! :shock:

Tomatoes are alright pretty acidic though, might upset stomach but if it doesn't go for it. When dieting I prefer to snack on celery pretty much calorie free, in fact I think it takes more energy to digest that it provides. Got me shredded anywho.

I have to aplaude you for not asking about diet pills or potions :clap:

I don't believe in quick fixes or cheats. I try to eat as much organic and preservative free as I can. Also with regards to the pasta and oats this is not possible. The paleo diet I am on has no grains, wheat, bread, rice etc. I have found it is also the only thing that controls my insulin levels without needing medication. I have never taken a pill to get bigger or stronger or small and I don't think I ever will tbh.

What would be the concern of too fewer calories? I think I am probably on around 1800 - 2000 each day. What do you guys think?

I think realistically I could drop 50-60kg, lose the big gut and man boobies and be about where I want to be body wise.

[AZIDE]

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[jimmybro1]

":2i2xda4r]calories are good imo. rapid fat loss. might not gain muscle or maybe lose a bit but you are talking 3 months, not 2 years, and want to look as good as possible by then. you would gain f*ck all muscle in 3 months, so just focus on fat loss til then then worry about balancing fat loss with muscle/strength gain afterwards or whenever.

good to do cardio but not necessary for fat loss. and totally depends how hard your'e going and the type of cardio as to how much to do. do as much as you want so long as youre recovering properly and still motivated, and its not affecting your weight sessions.

youre fucking huge and youre eating f*ck all so thats going to have the bggest effect on fat loss not cardio.

Agreed 1800-2000 cal is nothing

[Lunchie]

how man cals do you think I would go through in a normal rest day and vs a day with a 30min light cardio and a decent hour weights session?

I have tried to use the online calculators but I seem to be too tall and they just say error lol...... maybe I am a bit of a monster lol. I never really realized.

also you said the cardio wont have much effect on my fat loss so what about the weight training? will that make much difference? Cos I really love doing my weights sessions?...

[AZIDE]

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[Lunchie]

":9cr8pvft]cardio will affect your fat loss, but the main reason you will lose weight is the massive energy deficit youre on. im not saying dont do cardio or weights, im just saying diet is gonna be the most important factor, so dont f*ck that up. cardio/weights are going to help, no idea how much but it will. theyre good for other reasons beside fat loss too. you wana get strong and look good too right? be healthy and fit maybe?

yeah man all that, fit and healthy would be great. Anyone know how many calories I might be burning even without training?

First I'll lose the fat as much as possible and then I think I will get back into running and hiking and then go from then. Getting fit is easy enough and I don't want to be ripped like some magazine cover, Just fit and strong and healthy.

I am strong-ish atm, not fit and probably on the road to healthy but not nearly there yet lol !!!!

Many thanks for all of your advice so far guys

[DIANABOL]

how man cals do you think I would go through in a normal rest day and vs a day with a 30min light cardio and a decent hour weights session?

I have tried to use the online calculators but I seem to be too tall and they just say error lol...... maybe I am a bit of a monster lol. I never really realized.

also you said the cardio wont have much effect on my fat loss so what about the weight training? will that make much difference? Cos I really love doing my weights sessions?...

Try this one...

http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm

[rapz]

wow man you must be 1 massive fella! :shock:

For a guy your size, your diet doesnt reflect many calories, especially for someone of your stature.

Firstly if your primary goal is fatloss, thats what i would concentrate on that initiallty.

do you think I should incorporate some fasting on a meal each day or any fasting in general?

In regards to your question about fasting, the only time i really found this beneficial, was when i did cardio in the morning, others may have different opinions but its what worked for me with fat loss. I have heard Intermittent Fasting is not bad for fat loss, i dont know a whole heap about this, but have known friends to try and have good results. From what i remember it involves something like consuming all of your food/calorie intake within a designated window of time, might be good to read up on if your interested and im sure some of the guys on the forum will have a heap of knowledge around this topic.

A rough guess just looking at you stats and the weekly exercise you plan on doing, you would most likely be succesful at losing fat @ around 3500-4000cals. thats a heap for some people, but over the 12 weeks you have planned you could slowly reduce you calories as required. In the past i have found eating at a big calorie deficit works wonders at the begining, however when i stalled reducing my intake even further was harder to do vs a gradual decrease. In other words slow dieting is better imo, but if 12 weeks is all you have then each to their own :nod:

how much cardio do you guys recken I should be doing weekly in order to put on a little muscle and remove as MUCH fat as possible in the 3 months I have got

In regards to your question with cardio, like others have said, dont put a huge emphasis on it, merely use it as a tool to aid your fat loss. maybe begin with some cardio every other day, and if your not progressing as fast as you like, then increase cardio or adjust your diet, i would go with the latter of two, reason being it just gets harder if you keep increasing cardio time/intensity every time you come to a stall in your progress, i found this more muscle sparing as well.

Hope thats helped out a bit bro! :wink:

[FellowshipOfTheRon]

monster! wonder if big john will chime in on this one, could probably give you some advice from personal experience hes done very good also big dude

[Lunchie]

thanks for that advice guys. I am going to try and keep my weights routines from 3-5 times per week and throw in the odd cardio as possible.

Also that calculator was really good. It estimated 4000odd for maintainence and 3000 for weight loss.

That just feels too many, so I am going to aim for a round 2000.

[Lunchie]

Hey guys I have been doing some reading and I need some more advice.

Some articles I have read have suggested that if you are creating a significant calorie deficit between what you are using and what you are eating you should have a cheat day or cheat meal once a week so that your body does not have a chance to adjust its metabolism downwards as it gets used to the lower calorie intake.

So what do you guys think? same diet all week or take a day off and boost it up for a day or just a meal once a week?

thoughts guys?

[Phedder]

For someone your size, I'd say once every 10-14 days. I wouldn't make it a whole day either, have 2 maybe 3 meals that are quite high in carbohydrate later in the day after a training session. keep protein fairly high and fats minimal for that day. If you're going on 2kcal a day, aim for around 3500-4000 on this day. Hit the gym hard again the next day, you should feel a lot stronger and motivated

You should be able to tell when you're in need of one of these days by your performance in the gym and generally feeling run down and weaker. 10-14 days is just a guideline, I wouldn't take it much longer than 14 days when you're usually on a such a low intake, and due to that low intake up to once a week could be ok given you're still losing weight at your desired rate.

[Lunchie]

For someone your size, I'd say once every 10-14 days. I wouldn't make it a whole day either, have 2 maybe 3 meals that are quite high in carbohydrate later in the day after a training session. keep protein fairly high and fats minimal for that day. If you're going on 2kcal a day, aim for around 3500-4000 on this day. Hit the gym hard again the next day, you should feel a lot stronger and motivated

You should be able to tell when you're in need of one of these days by your performance in the gym and generally feeling run down and weaker. 10-14 days is just a guideline, I wouldn't take it much longer than 14 days when you're usually on a such a low intake, and due to that low intake up to once a week could be ok given you're still losing weight at your desired rate.

Yeah I do actually know what you mean I have already had a day or two where I felt really low and just gassed out and it wasnt over training so that would be the ideal day to eat closer to what my body is actually burning, 3500-4000/ Cool.

I think the fasting would be pointless though when I think more about it, it could totally gas me out if I wasnt careful and ruin my training ability.

Seems to be that most people doing weight training dont like the idea of fasting days?

[Lunchie]

Well my weekly monday weigh in produced some good results, down 2.9kg from last monday. I was hoping for 4-5kg but I think those results must only come during the first couple weeks when you start a new training program, or atleast they did for me in my first 2 weeks. Also had my bday on tuesday which resulted in a day of pizza and beer which probably throws off the results a bit lol. Either way If I can keep this up between 2-3kg a week I should meet my goal which is 120kg by mid year. If I do then I will have lost a total of 95kg in the space of around 8 months which is decent I think? I dunno, really, never heard of any of my mates wanting to lose more than 10 or 15kg which seems like a joke to me, I would love to just need to lose that much haha.

Still based on my shoulder width and my wrist and hip measurements I am guessing an Ideal training weight of 115-125 kg. I came up with this after looking at the stats of several rugby players and boxers that have my height and about the build I would expect to have when I am done. I don't think I will ever be RIPPED as they say but I would like to be able to take my top off at the beach and have people think "dam thats a huge built mofo".

Anyway thats my update for this week.

Btw just so you all know I started at 215kg at the end of november 2012.

I have a front and side on pic of that weight and each month I am taking the same pics in the same place and clothes just so I have a record of it.

cheers

Lunchie

[Lunchie]

Have shifted all this to my own journal which I will update weekly.

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=18042&p=357761#p357761

[Lunchie]

Hey guys Just a quick question, how much weight per week (kg) do you guys think is reasonable to lose. I mean I recken I have about 60kg to lose all up and so far I am sitting around 3kg per week.

Do you guys think that is doable/reasonable?

[jimmybro1]

Depends on goals, if you wanting to just get rid of just weight muscle, fat and water go nuts.

If your wanting to retain muscle aim for around 1 kg a week maximum. At the rate you are going you will definitely be losing muscle in my opinion weather it is a significant amount I don't know.

It can be unhealthy losing weight at a rapid rate, especially if you are absolutely starving yourself. Dieting like that will lucky mean once you lose the weight you will end up putting it back on as your can no longer handle eating such a low calorie intake.

You have to think of it as a lifestyle rather than a diet, the word diet implies that it is only for a period of time. You have to make a lifestyle choice.

[Lunchie]

Thanks for that Jimmy I appreciate the advice. I guess its tough to see it that way as I just want to get rid of this big fat belly staring me in the face and these saggy man boobs. I am not sure what to do really though as I am losing 2-3kg each week and I feel like I am eating tons, might be a bit hungry when I go to bed sometimes but never starving myself or anything. I am still sitting around 1800-2000 cals per day, plently of fruit and veg and nuts and protein. Dunno what to change if anything really. Maybe just keep doing what I am doing and let my body take care of the rest?

[jimmybro1]

If it isn't broke don't try and fix it.

Your losing weight and that's your goal, if you stop losing weight then you have to rethink your diet/macros.

All the best with the transformation, just remember all the hard work is worth it.

[Lunchie]

If it isn't broke don't try and fix it.

Your losing weight and that's your goal, if you stop losing weight then you have to rethink your diet/macros.

All the best with the transformation, just remember all the hard work is worth it.

true that. Thanks man