Hi,
I’ve was eating 160 g protein, 150 g fat, <50g carbs w/ one cheat meal/week. Just this week i switched to 240 g protein, 110 g fat, <50 g carbs. I don’t eat that many calories, but have somehow managed to take my bodyfat from 6% up to 10% and now I can’t seem to drop any. I’m 32, 5’11 and weigh 185 lbs. my lifts have been consistent, deadlift is at 470, bench is around 300 and hang clean is at 270 as well as my front squat.
My main goal is fat loss as i liked being a bit lighter but still strong. I’m wondering if i should throw some more carbs in pre or post workout, or maybe have a high carb day or two, cut out the cheat meal, etc? i’ve been doing Jim Wendler’s 5 3 1 program, which i like alot. oh, and I split my food up into 4 meals and right now have a post workout shake w/60 g whey, 15 g glycine, 25 g glutamine and 500 mg phosphatidylserine. I take 9 g epa/dha via fish oil and get 8-9 hrs sleep/night.
I agree, 4% body fat gain did not happen, let me ask you this what was your weight the week before? I you calculating the weight gain to get your bodyfat? Have you had a high carb day? Eating lots of salty foods? More than likely the gain is water as EasyRhino said.
No, it was not is a week. sorry if I mislead you guys. It was over 7 or 8 months. Calories never really went over 2500/day in that time except for the one day/week I’d have a cheat meal.
I think you’ve over analyzing this a bit. The human body is not meant to operate at ultra-low fat levels for extended periods of time. 10% is right at optimal for males. Unless you’re naturally very skinny, you’re probably at a healthy bodyfat level for gaining strength.
I’m sure we could get a competing bodybuilder to chime in here… most of these guys face a substantial loss of strength when they’re cutting down and holding steady at 6% close to contest. It comes back really fast after resuming eating more food, but staying super lean just doesn’t work for most folks.