Meltdown and T-Dawg Diet Questions

[Wulfgar]

I wanna get leaner so I’ve been thinking seriously about trying this out. Actually, I’m anxious to get it on. If anyone can give answers to at least one of the questions, PLEASE DO, I could really use the help. So, here goes:

This one is my biggest problem. I’m supose to count calories while on the T-Dawg diet. Where the hell do you get the data? Drop a link if you know of a good website that contains comprehensive data about this subject. And yes, I know that 1 gram of carbs and protein is 4 calories and fat is 9, but if I eat 100 grams of meat where 20 grams is protein, what’s in the other 80?

T-Dawg diet questions:

“Your total carb allocation for your workout day, including your post-workout shake, is about 70 grams: 30 from your regular diet (or your regular diet and one pre-workout serving of Ribose-C) and 40 from your post-workout shake (the carbs found in Grow!, with some added maltodextrin or one serving of Ribose-C).”

Can I have those 30 grams in the morning, before workout, for example 3 spoons of oat flakes with some milk? Please read on, the rest of the questions are not this idiotic. ;D

How bad do I need folic acid, flaxseed and fish oil capsules and alpha lipoic acid? I could probably find the most of them, but I never heard about the “folic acid” thingy and I’m not sure how available it is in my country. Also, my pocket ain’t that deep, and all that stuff could be more than I can handle moneywise.

“4) Take this number and multiply it by your bodyweight. Don’t make the same mistake that NASA made and get the metric system mixed up with pounds, or you could end up crashing into Mars instead of losing some bodyfat. The number that you come up represents the number of calories that you need to take in each day in order to maintain your weight.”

Well, what is it then, kilograms or pounds?

Meltdown questions:

Walking lunge with dumbells.
Is there an alternative to this? The gym where I workout is packed (mostly with some useless machines ::snort::), you can barely find a place to work with free weights, let alone walk more than 2 meters in a straight line. There’s no way I can make that one work.

Dips and chin up.
What if I really, and I mean REALLY can’t make the reps? I could probably do it in the first set with a bit of help, but I fear that with the tempo prescribed and the short rest periods the spotter will be doing more work than me in the second and third set.

And of course, the final question - how much has the workout/diet been usefull to you, if you’ve tried it?

[vroom]

Wulfgar,

I don’t have all the information you are looking for, but I have a couple pointers:

I’m supose to count calories while on the T-Dawg diet. Where the hell do you get the data? Drop a link if you know of a good website that contains comprehensive data about this subject.

The government has a good site, just make sure you know your portion sizes and you are all set…

http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/

Can I have those 30 grams in the morning, before workout, for example 3 spoons of oat flakes with some milk?

Morning is a great time to dump in some carbs. As long as you aren’t talking about those sweetened oat-candy breakfast packets you’ll be fine.

How bad do I need folic acid, flaxseed and fish oil capsules and alpha lipoic acid?

If you find yourself having to make choices, I’d suggest trying to get in either the fish oil, the flax oil or both. The others certainly won’t hurt, but you’ll make progress without any supplements if you work out and eat right. It just might not be as fast and could plateau earlier.

What if I really, and I mean REALLY can’t make the reps? I could probably do it in the first set with a bit of help, but I fear that with the tempo prescribed and the short rest periods the spotter will be doing more work than me in the second and third set.

A couple different ways to handle this. One is to do what you can. Then add in a bunch of extra sets (with one or two reps) to get the total volume to a reasonable level. The other is to use assistance or replacement exercises. You could do lat pulldowns for example, or “bench dips” instead of “real dips”.

Most people around here sort of frown on the assistance and replacement exercises, as they may not really transfer to the prescribed exercises very well. If you can do any dips and chins give it a shot.

[AKA]

Can I have those 30 grams in the morning, before workout, for example 3 spoons of oat flakes with some milk? Please read on, the rest of the questions are not this idiotic. ;D

You shouldn’t really have carbs + fat on a diet, so just eat the flakes raw

I could probably find the most of them, but I never heard about the “folic acid” thingy and I’m not sure how available it is in my country. Also, my pocket ain’t that deep, and all that stuff could be more than I can handle moneywise.

Folic acid is a B-Vitamin - just goto a health store and they’ll find you what you need. I doubt you won’t be able to find it; it’s imperitive for pregnent women. Shouldn’t cost too much either.

Meltdown questions:

Walking lunge with dumbells.
Is there an alternative to this? The gym where I workout is packed (mostly with some useless machines ::snort::), you can barely find a place to work with free weights, let alone walk more than 2 meters in a straight line. There’s no way I can make that one work.

The closest thing is proberbly dynamic lunges. Search T-Mag if you have never heard of them.

[Wulfgar]

Guys, thank you both. Vroom, the site is great, just the kind of thing I’ve been looking for.