I am two weeks into a diet and I am extremely frustrated with the results, and was wondering if anyone can offer and advice or input as to what is going on. I am begining to question everything. I am 21, 185-190 pounds with somewhere between 11-12 percent bodyfat. For the past two weeks I have been eating at 2400-2500 calories a day, with a few cheat meals spread throughout the week. By all the caloric estimates that I have seen I am any where from 300-800 calories in debt a day. My problem is that during the first week I went from 187.6 to 185.6, by all means a good result, and the second week I have done the opposite, going from 185.6 right back up to 187.6. I use two weigh-ins a week both in the morning before eating, and the trend for each week showed me losing in the first and gaining slowly in the second (in otherwords, it wasnt just a freak weigh in from a big meal the day before or water retention or something). This is kind of disturbing to me since I thought I had things dialed in after the first week, but rather, I gained two lbs, with my individial bodyfat measurements (which i take a few mornings a week) slowly creeping up a few millimeters. Diet wise I have been shooting hitting those calories reasonably accurately in my food log, aiming for around 1.25 grams of protein per pound with around 175 grams carbs and the rest fat. I am trying to follow only P+C and P+F meals, and for the most part I have. Post Workout nutrition consisted of dextrose and whey (cant afford surge) or the past couple of days I have had to use gatorade and whey since I have run out of dextrose. The only other thing that has changed over these two weeks is that the past couple of days I have been having a P+C meal about an hour after my PWO drink rather than waiting like 90-120 minutes and then having a P+F meal. Do you think that this could be enough to explain it, the difference? Both weeks, I have been using MD6 (2 caps an hour before gym) and taking low carb grow and a flax right before bed. Training wise I have a week into Great Guns with Back, Deads and Shoulders on one day and Chest and Quads on the other. After every session I have been doing Rope training (6 1 minute rounds with 45seconds to a minute rest).
Is there anything that you see that I am doing wrong, or that I can be doing better? Do you guys think my calories are where they should be. I would really appreciate some advice. I was thinking of shelling out some money for some Hot Roxx and Methoxy (neither of which I have used in the past) but I wanted to wait till the half way point of my 8 week cutting cycle and use those as rewards. I was hoping to be down to about 8 percent by May 10 or so, with me sitting nicely at 10 percent by April 10. The April goals seems like its not gonna happen but I would love to hear some critisicm so that hopefully I can reach the May 10 goal and be the closest I have ever been to cut in my life. Thanks for any help.
You said you are having a few cheat meals spread throughout the week. How many and on what days? Maybe the cheat meals are too much for you. I do best with 1 cheat a week when dieting. Also, are you doing a full out cheat or refeeds?
Are you new to lifting? If you are, and you are only 21, you may be putting on muscle mass fast. You may even need to be careful lest you get stretch marks from growing muscle too fast. I don’t think you are having a problem with your diet. I think you are simply undergoing a change in body composition for the better.
A few cheat meals a week? that could do it.
Also why would you want a P+F 90-120 mins after ur postworkout shake?
Depending on how fast your metabolism is and how active you are outide the gym, 2400-2500 cal/day might be closer to your maintenance level of calories then you think.
Add in a few modest cheat meals a week, and I’m certain that covers the spread.
Knock off 250 cal per day, and skip cheat meals for the next two weeks.
I agree that the cheats are probably the culprits. What are you eating for them?
Cheat meals and carbs, probably the carbs. Will kill you everytime. Two weeks is not long enough also. Stay on course a month, 100-150 carbs a day, NO cheat meals, lift and run 20-30 minutes a day, then let us know your progress.
Cheat meals should be restricted to once or twice a week. And it should not be “all you can eat” but “whatever you want to eat” (moderate portion).
Lower carb and higher protein (1.5g/lb of weight)
And you said something about buying Hot-Rox and Methoxy. Surge is MORE important than Hot-Rox and Methoxy. So if I were you, I’d get Surge before getting Hot-rox or Methoxy.
Without further info, I would tend to agree with Die nadel; you’re probably closer to maintenance calories than you realize. The other advice given is good as well. Stick it out for at least 4 weeks, then if your progress is still stalled, make a change.
Thanks, I will give it another week at these levels and see how it goes. I just started a boxing class 3 days a week for an hour plus so hopefully that will do some damage.
My cheat meals were relatively minor and definetly not all you can eat, and for the most part I had nothing but some smaller protein and flax shakes or just straight chicken breasts the rest of the day to compensate for them.
I dont think its newbie gains as someone suggested because I have been training resonably well for at least three years. I would love for that to be the case, but I think I would see that in the mirror and I cant say I have.
Just for background, I used to be a chubby kid, and two springs ago I decided to lose the pounds and did it on a super low calorie diet (had no idea about eating right back then, still learning) which definetly worked but I wonder how much this has affected my metabolism and my ability to lose weight on what reasonably below my maintenance level. Anyone have any ideas on this. In otherwords, how much does past dieting affect future dieting. Granted I have put on some decent lbs of lean muscle since then and probably only have a little higher BF than then, but I imagine sever dieting like I did in the past screws with your metabolism which could affect the next time you try and diet. ???