Hello everyone, I have a lot of experience of tracking my food and eating a very healthy balanced diet. Lately I have been trying to lose weight inorder to make weight for bjj competitions. I am 6’ normally 180-185 lbs and probably 10% body fat. Goal weight is 176 lbs,. I have visible abs, appear lean and muscular. I have been on TRT for past few years, 100mg a week.
Even when I eat 2800-3000 calories a day, I find myseld very hungry. 1 gram protien per lbs, very high fiber and nutrient dense meals. All my micro nutriet targets go far beyond 100%. I would say my diet is very good and balanced. My training involves weight lifting days, 3 times per week, where I train full body movements for 1-2 hours with moderate load and intensity and include some home yoga, sauna and ice bath. Alternating days I training bjj for 1-2 hours, total 4-6 classes a week and sometimes an additoinal hot yoga class for an hour. I try to take one rest day every 7-9 days. When not exercising I am reasonaby active and busy. Once every week or two I will have a refeed day and eat about 3,600 calories, mainly from additional carbs. I often still find myself low on energy and dragging. Is it possible that my maintenance caliries are around 3,500 and that 2,800 is too low? I have lost about 4-6 in past 6 weeks with this stragety so it is nice and slow but it is settling around 178 it seems. My sleep is good 7-9 hours a night.
Curious what other people with similiar activity levels eat to maintain or lose weight. Does being on TRT affect calorie burn in any way? I use the whoop but the calorie burn seems very low for me, showing 2,400-2,800 daily. Any feedback or knowledge on this would be greatly appreciated.
One question, do you want to cut down to classify or is it just because you want to keep yourself at that weight. If we assume your BF is 10% at 180, that would mean you have 18 lbs of BF. Losing 4 lbs to get you to 176 lbs would mean getting into ~7-8% BF. In my experience, dropping down into single digits hinders performance and risks sacrificing some muscle mass. On the othe hand, if what you want is a weight cut, you can use dehydration, either with water manipulation or with diuretics. Remember, TRT causes water retention, it goes away when you stop the testosterone.
Its really hard, though not impossible, to decrease BF to single digits on performance sports, without sacrificing performance.
There was a poster on here previously named Caveman, or something similar. He posted a thread titled grateful or something, and there might have been an article/interview written about his approach that could be useful for you.
I’m trying my best to maintain a weight close to 176 so that I can limit the last minute weight cut. I agree that single digits body fat do not promote great athletic performance. I have definitely been feeling the drain of being so lean. I think I’m going to limit my fat intake to 25%, 85g daily, in order to increase my carbs to fuel my training. I previously was doing roughly 35% fat. I know I’m active but it hard to believe I need 3,500+ a day just to maintain my weight and training. I appreciate all advice given on this forum. Just trying to get as dialed in as possibly and find the best diet to fuel my training and maintain my health.
I think that is an excellent idea. Do you use carb supplements by any chance?, you can use something like UCAN Energy Powder before each BJJ training session. A good alternative, and I have tried this myself in the past, use those fruit baby food pouches, they have great digestibility (they are for babies), and are fast absorbed so you can have de energy you need for training. Before changing macros, try reallocating them for better performance. Any advice you need, let me know, Id be glad to help, no charge, lol.
I wake up between 167-168lbs at 5’10 and typically eat around 3100 calories, tracked using Cronometer. However, my actual intake is higher as I don’t include vegetables in my count, and I use the same input for fruits like apples and bananas (medium), regardless of size. So, my intake is probably closer to 3300 calories.
I train every other day or 2 on/1 off for 60-90 minutes. I currently do not do any dedicated cardio but, get 10-15 k steps a day.
Human evolution hasn’t changed in 15 years. Caveman demonstrated his results that would be useful information for the OP to curate their approach, even if it’s not directly applicable, it still taps into a knowledge base for someone.
Not for nothing, but I’m surprised your TRT dose is only 100mg weekly. That’s a lot below anything we prescribe, I think offhand our lowest dose is 135mg weekly and majority of guys are on the 165-200mg / week dose.
Can your provider check your levels when they are at ‘peak’ (2 days after injection assuming you’re using cypionate)? We do that onsite for our guys if they feel either underdosed or too high. You should be targeting 900-1100 at your peak level to be in optimum range.
I would recommend an InBody or dexa scan to establish your basal metabolic rate and then multiply from there (look up guides online). That will confirm your true needs, and then run your deficit or surplus from there.
I do not use any carbs supplements but I do try to eat a balanced meal 2-3 hours before and additional fruit about an hour before training. Eating 250g-450g carbs a day.
That is helpful to know that you are maintaining with over 3,000 calories a day. Seems like my maintenance is easily 3,500 but it just seemed too high. Today is a rest day and I’ve tracked 3,000 calories and still relatively hungry at the end of the day.