How are you? I need some advice; I?m a little confused about a few things. Especially diet. My diet is the hardest part of my training. I find it very difficult. Here are my stats.
I?m 26, approx 5 9, 200 lbs. Body fat % is unknown. But I would say about 20-25 %.
My goal is to lose the fat around my belly and chest, should I get on a fat loss diet, meaning, lose all the fat, then get on a bulking diet? Or go straight to the bulking diet and hope that my fat turns into muscles? Does this make sense to you? Dieting is a weak spot for me, so, I?m thinking of focusing on my strengths (which is eating) and building muscles from there?
Does this make sense to you? Or I am completely off track? Can you follow my logic?
Please advise.
Joe
BTW I have my 3rd appointment with my ART giver tonight. Everything is going very well.
Good question. John Berardi addressed the question of whether to bulk or cut at high or low BF percentages. Check out Strength Training, Bodybuilding & Online Supplement Store - T NATION. Quoting JB, “…the bottom line is that it looks like it is better to diet down first then bulk up rather than the other way around.”
Have you tried the T-Dawg 2.0 diet before? There are a lot of people here who have gotten good results with it. I’d be glad to help you run the numbers, but you really need to get a handle on your BF%, even if you buy one of those Accu-Measure 2000 Skinfold Calipers. It’s a one-point test that anyone can do. They’re not that expensive, and they’re amazingly CONSISTENT. Notice my choice of words, there. I didn’t say accurate. The number reported is probably pretty close, but tracking CHANGES in BF (up or down) is where the real value lies.
If you have any other questions, don’t hesitate to ask!!!
if you have that much stored fat, you can afford to go on a lower then maintenance diet and still gain muscle and strength. Follow the t-dawg 2.0 or the Modified cheaters diet. I would not suggest you go too low under maintence, maybe the most 500 calories. Focus on improving i your performance in the gym and the transformation will occur. Re-evaluate yourself after you reach certain goals. laters pk