Once you have a schedule, let me know. I’ll teach you all my tricks on how to plan ahead, do bulk cooking, and slip in your meals when no one’s looking. (grin)
Congrats on the job!!! Having disposable/discretionary income is really cool!
Remember that your employer isn’t going to give a flip about your body composition goals and when you want to eat your meals. You’re going to have to work around his schedule and his needs. You just find out what your hours are and when you get your breaks, and we’ll figure it out.
About the employer thing - thats no problem. We are pretty good friends and he knows allll about what im doing, he even works out himself. That employer part is taken care of.
I just read that article in the weekly dose on “The Three Biggest Nutritional Mistakes”… or something. It was said that it doesent real;y matter that mucha bout your macronutrient breakdown, just to watch total calories, but i have to say i most definately disagree with that 
As soon as i get my schedule, its yours.
It depends on the goal, PC. If the goal is to lose WEIGHT, then calories are king. But if the goal is to decrease FAT, then it requires a bit more precision.
Hey Terry, can you go over the whole thing about meal planning? Im gonna go down and figure out my hours tomorrow, and i will post them then. Today i got mom to bring me up two meals. I worked from 4 to 9:30, and still got a good day of nutrition. Didnt go to the gym, and had around 2700 kcal, with the usual macro breakdown. And i only messed up one pizza!!
Thanks alot TT, you have been a big help.
Give me one day’s schedule (when you get up, when you go to bed, when you work. Let me know if anything is set in stone (i.e, you have it work around IT because it won’t work around YOU).
You only need to work out (resistance training) 3 days a week. Cardio is something you can do early or late. You can break it up, say a 20 minute walk and a 25 minute walk. HIIT is short and fast (19 minutes) and is easy to slip in.
When you have a crazy day and are working a lot of hours, don’t be afraid to juggle your days to accommodate it.
I’ll help you get it all squared away once I’ve got a little more information from you. We’ll also discuss the bulk cooking thing.
The hours are alot less harsh than expected. 6pm - 10 pm on monday, 3pm - 7pm on wednesday and thursday, and 1pm - 5pm on saturday. The hours will change once school is done and over with, but right now thats all i have to work. I will go to the gym after school on mondays if i need to, and work out at approx. 8:00 on wednesday and thursday.
Four-hour shifts aren’t bad, you’re right. Eat your regularly scheduled meal prior to going to work. You’ll have to eat at least one meal during your shift.
Some possibilities?
- Jerky & non-roasted nuts (which you can keep in a ZipLock bag in your pockets)
- Chili (can be eaten at room temp)
- Deli meat with a swipe of mustard, wrapped/rolled around a scallion (can be eaten fast!!!)
- Protein powder pudding
On the jerky & nuts, alternate between walnuts, macadamia nuts and almonds. They’re nutrient dense, so be careful to eat only measured amounts. Roasted nuts don’t have the same healthful nutritional profile that unroasted nuts do. Try buying in bulk from a health food store or co-op. It doesn’t have to be organic. Bulk is just cheaper.
Chili can be made on the weekend. What you do is calculate out 7 servings of beans and 7 servings of meat, add your spices, leave out the corn/maize and starchy type thickeners, add all the onions and veggies and tomato you want, cook and divide up between 7 containers. It’s very time efficient.
Here’s the recipe for protein powder pudding. I hate to say it, but I’m probably spoiled, having access to Vanilla Metabolic Drive.
1 scoop of Vanilla Metabolic Drive (or any protein powder you have access to)
1/4 of a box of sugar free instant pudding (butterscotch, pistachio, dark chocolate, etc.)
1 pinch of salt
Splenda to taste
1 ice cube
1 tablespoon of flaxseed oil
Add all of the items above and add a few drops of water until the consistency is starts to look like pudding. Put it back in the refrigerator. Eat cold at your next scheduled meal.
Little Tupperware/Rubbermaid containers and ZipLock baggies are going to become your friend. (grin)
Remember that your meals need to be 3 to 4 hours apart. It’s possible to take 2 meals with you to work, eating one right before your shift starts and one right after it ends.
Hopefully that gives you some ideas. Just get prepared on the weekends by doing some bulk cooking for yourself for the coming week.
TT, I’m craving milk, bigtime lately. I hav eno idea why.
You’re leaning up. You’ve reduced calories. Your body is trying to get you to eat more.
“Doctor’s orders,” have a pint of chocolate milk after every weight training workout. (grin)
Hold tight … you’re going to be weighing in and/or measuring on Friday, and you have a cheat/treat/free meal after that.
chest - 41.5"
right arm - 15"
waist (widest part) - 34.75"
butt - 39.75"
right thigh - 25"
right calf - 15.75"
I’m happy with this to a degree, but not because of what happened this weekend 
My strength for 90% of everything is still exactly what it was when I started this diet 4 weeks ago today. Now normally i would be pushing bigger numbers for more reps by now but, I do look better, alot better. I still look like a slob in any postition other than standing up straight though, so i have a long way to go yet. Thanks for all the help, TT.
PC, don’t worry about the breakdown you had. Anyone on a diet, anyone eating with discipline and precision, anyone who is fighting/resisting hunger is going to break down from time to time. The body resists efforts to reduce body fat. There’s a survival mechanism that kicks into gear that is, at times, overpowering. And the body is funny … if it can’t get you to break down in one way, it will get you to break down in others. (grin)
Even with the breakdown you’re making progress … and very nice progress at that, PC!!!
I didnt bother with a cheat meal this weekend. I also missed my HITT scheduled for yesterday, so what do you think, should i do it today and wait until tomorrow to do triceps and mess up my routine, should i do it with triceps, or should i skip it and wait until my next scheduled one, on tuesday. I cant really decide.
Since today is Mother’s Day, do something, anything special. Take your mom out for an ice cream cone or her favorite dessert or meal. Remember, a cheat/treat/free meal is not a reward and never withheld as punishment. That’s not to say that sometimes people are in a situation where they have to take their cheat/treat/free meal during the week.
You can make up your HIIT whenever it’s most convenient for you.
Enjoy the day!!! Do something special. Make it a memorable day. What if this was the last Mother’s Day you got to spend with your mom? We can’t take the things we care about for granted.
[quote]Tampa-Terry wrote: The body resists efforts to reduce body fat. There’s a survival mechanism that kicks into gear that is, at times, overpowering. And the body is funny … if it can’t get you to break down in one way, it will get you to break down in others. (grin)
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Does this mean that one has to ALWAYS watch/trek what he eats? Or the body can get used to NEW levels of fat = stop fighting back so much?
I don’t think any of us will ever stop trying to improve our bodies. It’s either performance or strength or aesthetics. It doesn’t matter what our goals … as soon as we achieve 'em, we’ll set new ones!
The body fights a caloric deficit. The more extreme the deficit, the harder it will fight you. Yes, you’ll have to be ever vigilant … more that you might become complacent or slack. It doesn’t take long for a lack of progress to slip into things heading in the opposite direction!!!
Having goals and using a scale (or tape measure), keeping a food log and analyzing your progress using Outcome Based Decision Making will keep YOU in charge of where things are headed.
The process and routine becomes easier. Hunger can be managed. It’s the discipline of sticking to your numbers that we need to stay on top of. I’ve been doing this for years, now. I have no problem deviating from my plan for a special event or occasion … and going right back to my normal daily routine of hitting my numbers. It does become a lifestyle after a while.
Terry, how much should my nutrition differ on my off days?
Protein and fat intake should be exactly the same. What’s going to be different is the PWO starchy carbs you’re taking in, following resistance training. Remember that you’re supposed to have starchy carbs in a 2:1 ratio with protein? The other difference is that you would probably consume more fibrous green veggie carbs on days you are more active … not that you have to weigh, measure, count or track 'em. Other than that, your days should be pretty much the same.
BTW, did you realize that the same way yo dialed in your nutrition for purposes of cutting fat, when you’re ready, you can dial in your nutrition for purposes of putting on LBM (bulking)? (grin)
And im guessing that would be to alter carb intake?
(grin) You got it!!!
Cutting gets more fibrous green veggie carbs. Bulking gets more starchy carbs. It would be hard to eat in excess of maintenance calories otherwise.