2 June
Weekly weigh in: 181lbs (-3lbs).
Unlikely 3lbs net fat loss but always nice to see on the scales. For example, crashed out at 8.30pm last night and despite waking up a few hours later (where I would have undoubtedly had a snack and drink) I stayed in bed. That could have been the difference of 1 lbs on the scales easily.
Nutrition schedule (assuming early evening workout):
Upon waking (circa 6am): 3-5g ALCAR; 5g glutamine; 5g bicarbonate of soda in 250ml water. Morning supplements are various antioxidants: cinnamon extract; ALA; trans-resveratrol; green tea extract.
Will then have 1-2 cups of organic coffee.
About 2 hours later (circa 8am): greens supplement and 5g psyllium husk in 500ml water.
About 2 hours later (circa 10am): 10g BCAA in water.
Lunch (circa 12pm): about 150g of meat (type varies) which I like to cook in coconut oil with onions, etc, and perhaps a light pasta sauce; with green veg usually broccoli and/or green beans. Dressed with organic olive oil and perhaps some zero kcal dressing. My have a small handful of almonds and/or walnuts depending on fat content of meat.
Peri-workout (circa 5.30pm):
Pre: circa 20g BCAA, with 5-8g citrulline malate, 5g beta alanine, and electrolytes.
Intra: circa 10-20g BCAA with 5-10 EAAs
Post: 40-50g whey isolate; 5g leucine; 5g glycine; circa 30g glutamine; 5g creatine.
I am also using ALA and fenugreek in a bid to enhance nutrient uptake in absence of carbs.
Dinner (circa 7pm):
A bit like lunch.
Snack (circa 9pm):
About 30g of reduced fat cheddar cheese, with about 30g nut butter (almond or peanut)
Macro summary:
I aim for around 160g PRO (which includes peri-workout)
And 120g FAT (which includes 15g fish oil and 4g CLA)
30g CHO
I moved to this ratio after some research as the term ‘keto diet’ is often misused in bodybuilding circles. Actual keto diets are very high in fat and moderate in protein; these ratios are usually skewed for bodybuilding purposes. Protein intake does not need to be so high especially if your moderate intake is of good quality.
Every 5-7 days I will have carbs. I try to keep this to one large meal. I also invert the fat intake. So the meal may consist of a pasta made with chicken breast mince instead of beef, and I enjoy using a brown rice pasta (which tastes almost as good as its wheat equivalent). Total CHO on this day will be circa 200g.
This eating style suits me (I especially loathe frequent feedings) and have followed IF for many years now, with a few breaks here and there. I also function well on low carbs.
I do admit that I got down to circa 10% BF in autumn 2015 on a TKD using Indigo 3G, but even then my carb intake was moderate (around 150-200 CHO). Of course, my ambition is to get back to such an approach once I am closer to that body fat level again. According to my dexa scan, I would need to drop another 14lbs to achieve that. That’s a significant fat loss for my size and, of course, the other challenge is not losing lean mass at the same time. Therefore, my challenge is broken into stages:
Target 1: 14% BF (-6.5lbs). According to the consultant who did the scan, this will yield noticeable abs. He claimed there is an average 4% differential between dexa scan results and other methods, e.g. skinfold calipers or mirror estimates, etc, with the former being 4% higher than the latter.
Target 2: 12% (-11lbs).
Target 3: 10% (-14lbs)
If I can get close to target 2 by 6th July I would be delighted but I am prepared for a tough slog for the remaining weeks.
