Help Me Help Someone Eat

Nutrition
1

I posted a couple of weeks ago ‘help me help someone lose fat’ and got some great responses. He is doing the 5X5 program after changing his diet from a sugar carb loaded one to a healthy one. The problem is I feel he’s not eating enough. He’s 5’ 9" about 245 lbs with a large frame. He initially lost water weight and then a little more. I’m guessing on the weight here. I forgot what he told me he started at.

I told him about fitday.com but he hasn’t logged the calories yet. I think he’s in the mindset that since he’s not over-eating he will continue to lose fat. I quickly added up his calories one day and it was around 1900. That’s how much I eat and I’m a 125 lb woman! So can someone explain in simple terms why a big guy whose lifting weights needs to eat more to lose fat?

Does anyone have a link to some articles that explain in more detail how a heavy person should eat while training?
He is very motivated and I would hate to see him lose the motivation if he doesn’t see good results due to simply not eating the right amount of food.
Thanks.

2

Just tell him, if he eats like a woman, he’ll look like one.

3

Tell him his big frame will dissapear and he will end up feeling emacitated and saggy is he malnourishes himself.

I guarentee you he will plateau with the weight loss if hes around 250 and eating under 2k.

Smack him in the face with some maths:

  1. sit down with him and take his measurements properly, write them down somewhere.
  2. use the measurements along with the harris benedict formula (google it) to find his Basal Metabolic Rate.
  3. multiply the BMR by his activity level modifier (the harris benedict site should have these modifiers on the same or linked page)
    The range from 1.1 - 2.0
    Generally speaking if he does cardio twice a week and 3 heavy weight sessions hes around 1.6.
  4. after this multiplication you will have his maintenance calories.

Minus 20% from this figure MAX -

tell him that in doing the above - with proper PWO nutrition - will protect his muscle mass.

This will do two things

  1. save him alot of time in the inevitable bulking phase that follows the fat loss
  2. keep his metabolism going long enough to reach his body fat % goals.

KEY: make sure he does these calulations with you. Its important for himt o be involved, so that he can see the semi-scientific basis of it.

if you just speak AT him, he wont embrace it.

4

Fuel yer muskles.

5

Tell him it will make his wiener bigger.

6

[quote]analog_kid wrote:
Tell him it will make his wiener bigger.[/quote]

He already knows.