Been working on for years but never had a diet plan nor could i stick to one when trying out. Obviously in my 20’s it didnt matter what i ate as i was extremely active. At the moment i am about 225lb and about 27 percent body fat. Looking to be at 205 an somewhat lean, around 10-15 percent. I workout at 430am every morning, 5 days a week. Any help would be greatly appreciated
Just my $0.02. Start with the least amount of controls and see if that works for your goals. By that I mean don’t go from eating like a typical person to a pro BBer diet (which lots of people try, and almost all give up on). Many people seem to be all or nothing regarding diets. They either eat crap, or completely clean (usually they do this around the 1st of January, and have given up on it by now).
For your goals, I’d start off just hitting a range of protein, and a calorie maximum (I just roughly track this, and then towards dinner time adjust portion size accordingly). For me, this works pretty well. If I wanted to compete in BBing, I’d need to be more serious, but for being pretty lean, and pretty muscular it works well, and for me is sustainable.
Look for low hanging fruit as well. Is there anything in your diet that is just ridiculous? 500 kcal fancy coffee drinks? Regular soda or juice? Regularly have fried / breaded food? Heavily processed high calorie foods (junk food, oreos, chips, little debbie, donuts)? Eliminating or substituting just a few things here can have a solid benefit in the long run. I like my soda, but I only drink diet for example. That saves a lot of empty calories. I regularly (most of the times) pay an up-charge while out to switch out fries for another side (side salad, mashed potatoes, veggies…). I just try not to have junk food in the house, but if I do, it is usually just plain tortilla chips, which I don’t tend to over eat.
Don’t forget cardio either. People who do both tend to lose more weight. I start each workout on the treadmill. Nothing intense, just walking on an incline. I vary how long I do this based on goals, but never cut it out, because I want to maintain that habit. I’d recommend just starting with 15 minutes at the start of your workout. It will warm you up and get your more prepared for lifting (at least it does for me). I warn people not to increase things too quickly. Being lean is a lifestyle, not something you work on a few weeks a year. It’s long term habits, and habits that are easy and you enjoy are easier to stick to. If you want more cardio, just add like 2 minutes a week.
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Why?
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I honestly think this is far too broad for anyone to help you. “I’d like to be leaner, and… go.”
What do you do now? What are your problems? Do you have any idea what you’re eating today?
If the crux of the issue is you don’t have any dietary norms or habits, you’ll simply have to start there.
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Thank you for the response. At the moment i have given up anything that can effect me negatively. Im a big sugar junkie but my mind has been set on giving it up and have been for the last 30 days. I love the 15 minute treadmil prior to workout idea and will start doing so moving forward. I try to eat clean and stay away from bread and pasta. I honestly was hoping to get some kind of plan that would include 205 grams of protein, 60 grams of fats, 250 grams of carbs and around 2700 calories. I have been searching on what foods to eat and how to space my meals but i havent had much luck and now that i am dedicated and back to working out i am willing to try any kind of lifestyle change. As mentioned before i start every morning with with 3:45am wake up. Gym at around 430 and then my day starts. I eat a banana and a spoonfull of peanut butter prior to my workout but have also worked out on an empty stomach. any thoughts and suggestions are welcome
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I don’t understand…
You asked for a plan that you already laid out, but here’s what that looks like in food.
1lb chicken breast
1lb lean beef
4 eggs
400g rice (raw)
So what exactly is your question?
You need to figure out why you cannot keep yourself on a diet. No plan is going to get you where you want to go if you can’t follow the plan.
So, why can’t you follow a diet?
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I’m not a fan of the treadmill or counting calories, yet I’m pretty lean and strong. Here’s a simple way to do it:
- Add in NEPA each day. If you wear a Apple watch or just have your phone with you, aim for at least 10K steps a day. This will force you to move throughout the day and incorporate some walks. This is in addition to your workouts (I don’t carry or wear electronics when I train).
- Prioritize protein. Be sure to get your total, and try to do it in a sustainable way. I use a protein shake in the morning after training, but otherwise I eat whole foods.
- Make a list of foods you will eat, and stick to that. Don’t be overly restrictive, but don’t be too liberal either. For me: meats, eggs, fish, veggies, fruits, nuts/seeds, plain kefir/yogurt, rice, sweet potatoes, sourdough, and raw honey. I eat from this 90+% of the time. Don’t think about “cheat” meals until you reach your goal, as this also mentally reinforces that you’re somehow missing out by eating this way.
- Learn to train hard, and keep it simple. Compound barbell movements, calisthenics, and running will cover all your bases. No need for tricep kickbacks or concentration curls. If, later, you want to focus on smaller details go for it, but not now.
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Hey Andrew, in all honesty i just didnt have the discipline and couldnt hold myself accountable when it came to other food. I am now in a better position mentally to change my lifestyle and the reason i am reaching out. I do appreciate your response and will finally attempt to change my habbits
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Tell that to the army of 100lb pre-teens that hogged the benches for over 20 minutes doing concentration curls whilst I waited to do some DB Bench.
I need a new gym. v_v
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I have officially started this diet and plan to do it for 2 months. 5 workout days. 5 workout days, 225 Grams of Protein, 56g of fats, 305g carbs, 2692 calories. Non workout days, 220g protein, 45g fats, 178g carbs, 2080 calories.
Some things just catch my eye. Let’s look at this goal realistically from a theoretical perspective.
At 225lbs and 27% body fat you have about 61lbs of fat. And lean weight of 164lbs.
If you lose all fat and reach 205lbs you will still have 41lbs of fat.
This calculates to 20% body fat.
To get to 15% body fat only losing fat, you would have your lean weight be 85% of your body weight. So your weight would be 164lbs divided by 0.85, which calculates to 193lbs.
In other words, if you neither gained or lost muscle, you need to lose about 32lbs of fat to get to 15% body fat.
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When you account for the 225 lbs not being depleted of water weight, then the number is more like 185 lbs, since the 185 will likely be depleted of water.
Why would a 225lb person with 27% body fat be more hydrated than a 193lb person with 15% body fat?
When someone is in a caloric restriction, it’s pretty typical to check weight on the scale frequently. Well, when OP first hits 193 lbs, it’s likely a low point while calorie restricted. If it’s 193 lbs in a maintenance or higher phase, then this won’t be true. To be 193 lbs at maintenance, most will have to hit a lower number than that while dieting down, and come back up to 193 lbs.