Long term diet tips

Diet and Nutrition
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26/M working out for 7 years. I started my diet (20 week) and this is my 11th week and I already had to cut back to around 2000 calories on training days (5-6 times a week), and around 1800-1850 on no training days, based on my daily morning weight in.

Before this year, I put myself in the “skinny fit” category. After around 5 months stop, I restarted my usual gym session, but with 5-6 times a week training plan (before 3-4), not really checking my macros, only protein intake(2g / bodyweight), plus I added creatine. This resulted that I went from 82 kg to 95 kg, and had great improvements, although a lot of fat came with it. I did some calculations and compared myself to bodyfat estimation pictures, and came in the ~25% group.

I started to research through Jeremy Ethier, and made my diet plan as precise as possible and dropped from around 3000 calories to 2500. My goal is 12 percent BF. The calculations based on the videos, showed that this will take around 20 weeks to get down to 12 percent BF with an objective to minimise muscle loss during dieting. As I learned around 0.6 kg / week weight loss is ideal, as weekly fat loss is given, so no need to hurry. Macros are 45% carbohydrates, 35% protein, 20% fat. More or less fat is a problem, but managable.

For the last two weeks, I’ve been stuck between 87-88 kg, so I cutted back my calories as I started my post to around 1800 and today I’m at 87.4 kg and at the end of the week, I should be at 86.4. But as it is summer (I was stupid enough to start now), it is really hard as I feel more weak and hungry, which is natural, I know, but as I have left still around 9 weeks, I don’t really see how I can maintain this, or even lower calories, if my progress and weight loss will stuck again. I can add cardio with which I can increase my daily calories intake, but I don’t really want to increase the chance for muscle loss.

The question is to those who made similar long term diet plan to any tips, how to approach the second part of the diet? Or is it possible to maybe to extend even longer with similar macros with the goal to maintain calories / weight for example for 30 weeks and still achieve the goal bodyfat without any calorie deficit? Thank you for reading and for your support in advance.

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  1. What’s your goal body composition? I’d let that determine how long you diet rather than some predetermined length of time.
  2. Have you implemented any refeeds?
  3. Any reason not to take a diet break and get your calories back up a bit?
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Stop anticipating that the plan wont work. You’re giving yourself an out so disappointment feels easier. You owe it to yourself to have higher standards than that.

Do low intensity cardio and you wont be risking muscle loss.

Even with higher intensity cardio you’re not likely to be losing muscle, so long as you keep training heavy and keep your protein intake up.

Id advise putting a little less emphasis on numbers. If you’re not done in 9 weeks, you going to stop the diet, or keep going until you get there? Probably keep going, i imagine. So dont focus so hard on the long term.

Compliance is the science. If you cant comply with your current diet plan, it isn’t a good plan for you. Adjust it so that compliance is easier.

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This is your first problem.

Second problem. This is an ideal situation with perfect eating, cardio and compliance. Not everyone is the same or responds the same to a specific approach.

If your 25% at 95kilo then you are like 157lbs. Unless you very very short you don’t have much muscle to begin with.
You spit out a long post but you don’t really give any detail. What does a week of eating and training look like? I don’t see any cardio mentioned. Why are you training 6 times per week?
If you want help here you should start a training log. Let us study it for a couple weeks and try to find the issues.

2 Likes
5

Break your long goal in to steps.

Lose five pounds at a time, or a corresponding body fat percentage to make sure you’re not just playing water fluctuations.

At each five pound interval, recalculate and do it again. Or if this is a long haul thing and not a specific competition date, take a break for a few weeks and eat at maintenance, then drop again.

This will prevent you from burning out and will let you adjust both mentally and physically to long haul dietary needs you’ll have to maintain when you get to your goal.

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This was really well put!

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This is an awesome point. Yeah - ideally you lose X kgs per week and everything works out perfectly to schedule. But in reality there are weeks you will lose 0kg and weeks you can lose 4kg. It isn’t linear.

I’ve had this mentality too and over-planned and it ended up in no progress. Our bodies don’t operate in a scientific vacuum of perfect variables.

I also wouldn’t do a bodyfat percentage goal. BF% measurements are pretty all over the place. Just cut until you’re happy with the body fat level visually. I lost 17lbs this year and while proud of my progress, I realized I’m not going to look how I want unless I put more muscle on, regardless of BF% and bodyweight.

3 Likes
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Thank you for your questions.

  1. My ideal would be to adjust between 12-18% BF long-term. To be able to grow muscle, but to not have this amount of fat which, I gained during my last bulk. As this was my real first bulk, without any conciousness I probably could have managed it better.
  2. Not yet, this just hit me.
  3. I just wanted to follow the program, as far as possible, without any diet breaks. (even though it was mentioned)
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Thank you for your wise words and sentences! I will keep up, just wanted to make sure, if I’m in the right direction.

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Clear, even though as a somewhat “intermediate”, who doesn’t necessarily have all the time and know the big names, I found his videos quite researchful and authentic.

Understood, that’s true.

I’m 6,1 also true. I didn’t want to gain any more weight and felt like I’m stuck at 95 kg. Couldn’t progress and had enough of this stage. Was stuck in the skinny fat stage for years, now I finally managed to be “big”, and wanted to see results around 12% BF. I found through this some extra motivation.

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I do PPL, and eat anything what helps me to hit my daily calories intake regarding the mentioned 45% carbs, 35% protein and 20% fat. Mainly eggs or oats with protein whey for breakfast, chicken and rice for lunch and tuna with salad for dinner and if I still didn’t hit the limit, then protein bar and protein shakes.

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Thank you for your suggestions, will try this way from now on, as most of you have same opinions.

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For sure, thank you all for the support!

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Thank you for your feedback, appreciate it! I feel the same, you are right, thought that the linear weight loss is working.

Also, that’s a really good point, thanks. Overplanning takes too much time and energy, I think I will change my objective from hitting the dream BF, to stop wherever feel like that, yes, this is what I was looking for.

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So like 175g protein? I would make the bold claim if you ran with 250g daily you could get away with not needing to drop your calories yet.

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If these are your stats then something is very wrong with diet and training.
Can you post a pic?
I asked for specific info on training and diet and you gave a very simple, non specific answer. If your this relaxed about diet/training then we have found the issue.

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OP, I would personally love to see you run this experiment. It would be pretty cool to see if it plays out.

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Sorry for not being this specific, let me add everything to this post:

I do A-B-C days regarding dieting:

Day A:

Breakfast:

  • Oatmeal (100 g)
  • Protein powder (25 g)

Lunch:

  • Boiled chicken breast (225 g)
  • Cooked rice (300 g)

Afternoon:

  • Protein Bar (50 g)

Training:

Dinner:

  • Protein shake (25 g)
  • Tuna (130 g)
  • Salad (150 g)
  • Fruits around 150 g (apple, grape, pear)
  • Vegetables (300 g) - throughout the meals (tomatoes etc.)

Day B:

Breakfast:

  • Scrambled eggs 250 g

Lunch:

  • Cooked rice (300 g)
  • Boiled chicken breast (225 g)

Afternoon:

  • Tuna + salad (350 g)

Training

Dinner:

  • Oatmeal (80g)
  • Protein whey (50 or 75 g)
  • Fruits (150 g)
  • Vegetables (300 g) - throughout the meals (tomatoes etc.)

Day C:
Breakfast:

  • Wholemeal bread (140 g)
  • Protein hummus (120 g)
  • Chicken / Turkey breast ham (120 g)

Lunch:

  • Cooked rice (300 g)
  • Boiled chicken breast (225 g)

Afternoon:

  • Protein Bar (50 g)

Training

Dinner:

  • Oatmeal + protein whey (100 g + 25 g)
  • Protein shake (50 g)
  • Fruits (150 g)
  • Vegetables (300 g) - throughout the meals (tomatoes etc.)

Please understand that I didn’t count my macros during my bulk phase, as I just restarted training after a half-year break, and moved my training days up to 5-6 days. As I added from end of December to July around 13 kg, I calculated my calorie intake between 3000-3500 calories / day. Carbs were too much IMO, during this time. I started my diet on 2500 calories.

About my training:

Day 1. : Push

Everywhere min. 6 repetitions per set

Chest:

  1. Incline (15 or 30 degrees) or straight bench press with bar / dumbbell 4 rounds - Max. weights: 80 kg (stuck on bench press) / 40 kg (with single dumbbell)
  2. Cable crossovers - 4 rounds 30 kg max.
  3. Decline bench press - 4 rounds 60 kg max or dips

Shoulders:
Shoulder press - 4 rounds, bar (20 kg & 60 kg on machine), seated with dumbbells (30 kg)
Seated shoulder lateral raises machine - 4 rounds, 20 kg

  • abs / traps

Triceps:

  • Press-down with rope - 3 round, max. 55 kg
  • Press-down with bar - 3 round, max. 80 kg
  • Overhead extension with rope - 3 round max. 35 kg

Day 2. : Pull

Back:

  1. Pull ups or wide-grip lat pull-down - 4 rounds, until failure or max. 75 kg pull-down
  2. Barbell or cable row - 4 rounds, 90 kg both
  3. Close grip row or chest supported row or kroc row or cable lat pull-over -
    4 round, 90 kg or 65 kg or 22 kg or 35 kg

Shoulders:
6. Standing Lateral Raises - 4 rounds, max. 16 kg
7. Reverse machine flyes - 4 -round, max. 60 kg

Biceps:

  1. Curls with dumbbells or bar - 3 rounds, max. 20 kg or 40 kg
  2. Incline bench curl or concentration curl or cable curl - 3 rounds, max. 16 kg or 12 kg or 45 kg
  3. Hammer curls or reverse curls - 3 rounds, max. 20 kg or 40 kg
  • abs / forearms

Day 3. : Legs

  1. 45 degree leg press - 4 rounds, max. 260 kg
  2. Squat - 4 rounds, max 120 kg.
  3. Bulgarian squad with dumbbells or lunge with dumbbells- 3 rounds, 20 kg max. both
  4. Leg extension or single leg extension - 3 rounds, 95 kg or 55 kg max
  5. Sumo deadlift - 4 rounds, 150 kg max.
  6. Hamstring machine - 4 rounds, 95 kg max.
  7. Lying ham curls or romanian deadlift - 4 rounds, max. 60 kg both
  • abs

I have been back and forth before, I did bro splits, all kind of variations, I stuck with this since restarted my trainings. It seemed it worked best. Maybe it’s too overloaded, and should push more to failure. Probably to diet down wasn’t the best idea, but I still feel like, I have to start somewhere, to take this as serious as possible.

I can attach some pictures for sure before starting my diet, unfortunately new users can only attach one picture, so I will try later to do this from my computer. Thank you for your support.

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Thanks for the suggestion! Yes, it is really around 175 g, started around 210 g, it was hard to reach. Could you please check my diet. which has been shared below, how can I hit the 250g? Running out of ideas, and don’t want to stick to only protein shakes.

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