[quote]frizzlez wrote:
[quote]its_just_me wrote:
If a person goes from no exercise (cardio + lifting) to suddenly doing it all, they WILL gain muscle. It doesn’t matter if it’s a crappy P90X or not, ANYONE who first starts exercising will gain muscle - even cardio lol.
Frizzlez - I put my wife on a really basic program (3 exercises done 3x/week…nothing else). Told her to eat more frequently (including more protein), nothing major. She lost 2 inches off her waist in 2 weeks, but her weight didn’t budge, in fact it went up one pound on the first week! She was disappointed even though she looked sexier (perky bum, firmer thighs etc)…it’s crazy how brainwashed some women are sometimes!
Lesson = don’t depend on the scale.
Look in the mirror. Pinch your waist. How do you fit in your clothes etc.
IMO, you’ll get faster fat loss from HIIT. In other words, don’t worry too much about your cardio being fasted, just alternate between high intensity (pushing 100%) with a resting period (e.g. walking). Do this for 15-25mins 2-3x/week. Lift 3x/week too using the most basic compound movements.
As a rough guess your calorie intake looks about right for your size (e.g. 12 x bodyweight), but you are doing LOADS of exercise which will bring energy balance WAY down (enough to cause alert).
If you want more detail just say…[/quote]
Hi! Thanks for your input. I thought 40% was “moderate” carbs, but I will try low carb now and see if that works… I was going to start tomorrow with a 45% protein, 30% carb, 25% fat diet, as listed in Tom Venuto’s Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle ebook. It worked wonders for my brother so it can’t hurt to try. 3 low carb days of 1400 cals, followed by 1 high carb day of 1800 cals. This equates to a maximum 105 grams of carbs on low days, and about 225 grams on high days. Does it sound alright?? I am posting a sample menu below, it is VERY bland but I haven’t gone grocery shopping this week and until I do this is all I’ve got 
MEAL 1:
1 cup Cucumber
1 1/2 scoops Casein Protein
2 tbsp Low Fat Mayo
1 can Tuna
1/2 cup Coconut Milk
MEAL 2:
1 scoop Workout Fuel
1 scoop Recovery Drink
MEAL 3:
1/4 bag Cashews
2 tbsp Low Fat Mayo
1 can Tuna
3 tbsp Zukay dressing
1 cup Cucumber
MEAL 4:
1/4 bag Cashews
1 1/2 scoops Casein Protein
MEAL 5:
1 1/4 scoops Casein Protein
That equals 1400 calories, 30% carbs 45% protein and 25% fat exactly according to my excel template. I drink Casein over Whey at the moment simply because the one I have tastes and mixes better than the Metabolic Drive, which I also have. I also prefer whole protein sources as opposed to supplementing, however like I said I am all out of food (including produce) except tuna, but I will go this weekend and this is all I have for the next 2 days.
Let me know what you think. I would also like more detail about what you said about me “doing LOADS of exercise which will bring energy balance WAY down (enough to cause alert).” I have always been confused on this issue. If extra exercise requires me to eat more calories to keep energy balance in check, what the heck is the point of doing more exercise if I am just going to consume more calories to compensate? Is fat loss not, at the end of the day, about burning more than you eat? So doesn’t it just cancel each other out? [/quote]
You’re welcome!
It’s commendable that you are putting this much effort/focus into this. Sometimes however, our passion for change can be our worse enemy
Try not to worry too much about macro-nutrient ratios. You ratio of carbs-fat-protien really isn’t that important at this stage. In fact, this is the sort of thing that usually only advanced people utilise for the last stages of fat loss (e.g. those closer to 10% body fat). Carbs do need to be tamed to some degree for some people (those who’re intolerant), but nothing drastic is needed. 100-150g/day is perfectly fine for the average dieter. Try not to stress it lol. But just for your information, the outline you made looks good.
The most important thing is simply burning a little more than you are taking in (exercise and diet).
I understand your confusion, it used to confuse me too. What you’ll find is that your body prefers more moderate changes. Food intake helps to keep the metabolism “ticking over”. Exercise helps burn the fat and raise metabolism. BUT, if food intake is lowered too much and too quickly, metabolism dramatically slows. If exercise is done too much and very drastically/suddenly, not only does energy balance change (burning far more than taking in), your hormones change for the worse - stress hormones increase etc and fat loss grinds to a halt).
This is what people mean by your calories are pretty low (because it shouldn’t take major changes in the beginning). Obviously, the more effort you put in the more you get out (usually), but there is a cut off point ESPECIALLY if the changes were done all at once like in your case. It only takes 3 days before your body senses that something’s not “right” and slows down the metabolism on a crash diet, or in your case strong energy demand which is almost the same if not worse.
It’s easier to explain it from the beginning - what you should have done was make small changes to your diet, and small changes to your exercise habits.
Beginning a diet:
Start off with a small amount of exercise (e.g. lifting 2-3x/week, cardio 3x/week), and reduce calories until you are losing fat (better to use something like callipers/measuring tape for your waist). Reason for callipers/measuring tape is because you may be gaining muscle weight and losing fat at the same time (something that happens quite a lot with newer lifters), which means that your weight will hover around the same each week - it’s called “recomping”. This will carry on for some weeks before change is needed.
When beginning, a good rule of thumb is to eat just according to your appetite or a little less. So you should be a little bit hungry, but not starving and tired most of the time (especially not at the start).
Step 1
This is where you make the bigger changes (when fat loss stops). Once again, it doesn’t have to be extreme. Something like a 30% increase in exercise (cardio) should be enough (e.g. 3 sessions of 15min HIIT, increased to 3 sessions of 20min HIIT).
Step 2
When fat loss stops after step 1, decrease calories by around 250 cals. Some people drop by 500, but they usually eat more at the start…but if you already are close to 1000 cals, you need to go steadier.
Repeat cycle when necessary (step 1-2-1-2 etc). However, you should find that once you’ve reached that sweet spot (fat loss), not many changes are needed until some weeks have passed…so some people may only need the beginning changes (starting a diet) throughout 2 months.
I’ll put down a basic exercise/diet template to follow next…