My Experience On the Anabolic Diet

Nutrition
6602

Hey guys,

I’m finding this diet incredibly hard to maintain now.

I am in law school. I began the diet about a month ago. Summer classes were over, I had time on my hands, nothing to do but dick around on T-Nation and eat.

Now I’m back in grind, I have a tough schedule, and this diet just feels so hard now. I’ve been undereating because I haven’t been able to get the calories in, while sticking the required protocol.

How do you guys pack lunches, etc. on this diet? I pack a salad (spinach and chicken w/ cheese, dressing) and low carb tortillas w/ peanut butter, but c’mon, I’m barely getting the calories in.

Once I get home, sure I can cook, but I also can’t spend all night cooking.

I’ve gone off the diet twice now. I’ve had a lot going on in my life – got back from vacation (the diet kinda hampered some of the fun), lawschool, now some personal issues, – I’ve cracked the last two thursday nights, while going back to it on friday and having shitty carb-ups on the weekends. I just started getting back into training, as I didn’t train while on vacation and right before I was recovering from a powerlifting meet.

Can I get some advice on getting in the fat calories, keeping the carbs low, etc while maintaining a busy schedule? Should I just be carrying around a bottle of EVOO?

I’m also trying to balance somewhat of a social life. Lawschool means limited social time, and an even more limited pool of people to hang out with, and to retain my sanity I need to go out to eat/drink, etc. and it seems Thursday is when everybody cracks and wants to go out. This is hard to do. I’m getting tired of ordering salads.

Fuck.

On the flipside, I feel more motivating just reading this thread. I haven’t read T-Nation in over a week, so just reading the the thread helps.

Sorry for such a long post.

6603

I feel ya, it does take some time and planning…but it’s worth it. You know that.

I make sure and get a LOT of my calories at breakfast before I leave home.

For lunch - I’m like you. I bring something similar. But I also keep a small bottle ( I used an empty medicine bottle) with Olive oil and have a tablespoon to measure it out. I also carry whey and keep my psyllium on my desk to add as fiber. If you don’t have room for the huge ass whey canaster…just take some in a baggy or in the bottle you will mix the shake with. Also have my fish oil caps.

All this stuff really doesn’t take that much space if you use baggies and bag it the night before.

You can do it. Hang in there.

[quote]TravisCS84 wrote:
Hey guys,

I’m finding this diet incredibly hard to maintain now.

I am in law school. I began the diet about a month ago. Summer classes were over, I had time on my hands, nothing to do but dick around on T-Nation and eat.

Now I’m back in grind, I have a tough schedule, and this diet just feels so hard now. I’ve been undereating because I haven’t been able to get the calories in, while sticking the required protocol.

How do you guys pack lunches, etc. on this diet? I pack a salad (spinach and chicken w/ cheese, dressing) and low carb tortillas w/ peanut butter, but c’mon, I’m barely getting the calories in.

Once I get home, sure I can cook, but I also can’t spend all night cooking.

I’ve gone off the diet twice now. I’ve had a lot going on in my life – got back from vacation (the diet kinda hampered some of the fun), lawschool, now some personal issues, – I’ve cracked the last two thursday nights, while going back to it on friday and having shitty carb-ups on the weekends. I just started getting back into training, as I didn’t train while on vacation and right before I was recovering from a powerlifting meet.

Can I get some advice on getting in the fat calories, keeping the carbs low, etc while maintaining a busy schedule? Should I just be carrying around a bottle of EVOO?

I’m also trying to balance somewhat of a social life. Lawschool means limited social time, and an even more limited pool of people to hang out with, and to retain my sanity I need to go out to eat/drink, etc. and it seems Thursday is when everybody cracks and wants to go out. This is hard to do. I’m getting tired of ordering salads.

Fuck.

On the flipside, I feel more motivating just reading this thread. I haven’t read T-Nation in over a week, so just reading the the thread helps.

Sorry for such a long post.

[/quote]

6604

[quote]natural59 wrote:
franchise95p wrote:
How long did you guys stay on the diet before you decided you were acclimated enough to either cut or bulk?

I’m about to hit my 3rd carb-up this weekend, and I’m kinda torn on a direction to head.

I’m leaning towards bulking, personally. I can see the outline of my abs, but no real visible definition in between each. I’m 5’-10", 211 lbs as of last Saturday.

I’ve been cutting off & on for quite a while, so that leads me to think a bulk is in order and, with the AD, would be fairly beneficial if done decently.

However, the one gnawing aspect is I know I’m not 10%, like written in the book, and if I hadn’t been cutting as regularly without a good, serious bulk, I’d definitely head that direction now. Most of my lifts had hit a plateau as of late as well.

Any ideas on which direction would be most beneficial at this point, and how much longer I should wait to make that distinction? Most of the things I’ve read say not to tinker until 2 months into this.

The next time someone says to you, you need to “bulk up,” cover your ears with your hands, say, “la la la la, I can’t hear you,” then run (don’t walk) away…

Here is a good article on the subject:

http://www.T-Nation.com/readArticle.do?id=1021940

Although, CS uses extreme examples to stress his point, don’t be distracted by them…IT IS NOT NECESSARY TO ADD BEAUCOUP POUNDS OF UNWANTED FAT IN ORDER TO PACK ON LOTS OF LEAN MUSCLE MASS.

Personally, I think somewhere around 10% bf is a good off-peak bf percentage. That is an acceptable “bulk.” More than that, and you are just kidding yourself, and adding unnecessary fat that will take you MONTHS to remove later.

Stay around 10%bf, and if you want to peak, you can cut to 4-6%. For a 200lb. man, that’s still 8-12lbs. of fat, and depending on your metabolism, diet, etc., 6-8 weeks of cutting. Or you can add 30+ lbs. of fat, like many do, and spend 5-6 months trying to remove it.

Your choice…

-james

[/quote]

now from what you believe how would me , 5’10 170-175lbs ~12% bf go about adding mass/ losing some fat? or do you believe i should cut a little?

6605

[quote]TravisCS84 wrote:
Hey guys,

I’m finding this diet incredibly hard to maintain now.

I am in law school. I began the diet about a month ago. Summer classes were over, I had time on my hands, nothing to do but dick around on T-Nation and eat.

Now I’m back in grind, I have a tough schedule, and this diet just feels so hard now. I’ve been undereating because I haven’t been able to get the calories in, while sticking the required protocol.

How do you guys pack lunches, etc. on this diet? I pack a salad (spinach and chicken w/ cheese, dressing) and low carb tortillas w/ peanut butter, but c’mon, I’m barely getting the calories in.

Once I get home, sure I can cook, but I also can’t spend all night cooking.

I’ve gone off the diet twice now. I’ve had a lot going on in my life – got back from vacation (the diet kinda hampered some of the fun), lawschool, now some personal issues, – I’ve cracked the last two thursday nights, while going back to it on friday and having shitty carb-ups on the weekends. I just started getting back into training, as I didn’t train while on vacation and right before I was recovering from a powerlifting meet.

Can I get some advice on getting in the fat calories, keeping the carbs low, etc while maintaining a busy schedule? Should I just be carrying around a bottle of EVOO?

I’m also trying to balance somewhat of a social life. Lawschool means limited social time, and an even more limited pool of people to hang out with, and to retain my sanity I need to go out to eat/drink, etc. and it seems Thursday is when everybody cracks and wants to go out. This is hard to do. I’m getting tired of ordering salads.

Fuck.

On the flipside, I feel more motivating just reading this thread. I haven’t read T-Nation in over a week, so just reading the the thread helps.

Sorry for such a long post.

[/quote]

I’m in law school in NY and on the law review, so I have even more responsibility than last year. I live 5 minutes from school, and my schedule is such that I don’t have more than two classes in a row. What about you? I go home during these breaks (usually one hour) and get a good AD meal in.

If I have to bring something, think some kind of cheese (3oz cheddar cheese is good), pepperoni, almonds/other kinds of nuts, etc. Protein shakes are good as well. When I have to be in the library for a few hours, I make sure to bring a meal with me and maybe leave it in my car in the parking lot.

I cook up my meals during the week when I have time, and just re heat it when i’m on break. It can be done, trust me. Good luck!

6606

Hey guys,
I have slowly been reduced my calories over the past few weeks, but its time to get a bit more serious. I have started cutting full swing as of the start of last week. Instead of 4 heavy days and no cardio, I am doin 3 heavy days(supersetting antagonist muscle groups) and 2 circiut training days, which I felt was far more energy expensive, so I did not drop the calories much to begin with and continued with a 1.25 day carb up(which I got down to over the weeks).

I did not lose any weight, but have measured SLIGHTLY smaller in the midsection and waist. I have taken my very first bf% test today at home, and using online calculators I am at a wopping 23% bf!! which I did not expect. I was expecting to be under 20%. I am 6.1ft and 225lbs flat on a sat morning.

My question is:
Now that I want to reduce the calories more(ie. 250 cals) Should I make that reduction from weekly calories and minimize the carb up to 1 day? I have read, the fatter you are, the less carbs you should ingest, but I did not want to make too big a reduction to begin with…

Thanks,
GJ

6607

hey guys, fiber doesnt count as carbs right? So in my natural peanut butter, it has 6g carb (3g dietary fiber, 2g sugar) Does that mean only 3 of the 6g carb will be count towards my daily limit of 30 since there are 3g of fiber

by the way, what’s heavy cream? is that basically whip cream? i still need to muster enough courage to add olive oil in my pwo shake!

6608

[quote]i0wny0uall wrote:
TravisCS84 wrote:
Hey guys,

I’m finding this diet incredibly hard to maintain now.

I am in law school. I began the diet about a month ago. Summer classes were over, I had time on my hands, nothing to do but dick around on T-Nation and eat.

Now I’m back in grind, I have a tough schedule, and this diet just feels so hard now. I’ve been undereating because I haven’t been able to get the calories in, while sticking the required protocol.

How do you guys pack lunches, etc. on this diet? I pack a salad (spinach and chicken w/ cheese, dressing) and low carb tortillas w/ peanut butter, but c’mon, I’m barely getting the calories in.

Once I get home, sure I can cook, but I also can’t spend all night cooking.

I’ve gone off the diet twice now. I’ve had a lot going on in my life – got back from vacation (the diet kinda hampered some of the fun), lawschool, now some personal issues, – I’ve cracked the last two thursday nights, while going back to it on friday and having shitty carb-ups on the weekends.

I just started getting back into training, as I didn’t train while on vacation and right before I was recovering from a powerlifting meet.

Can I get some advice on getting in the fat calories, keeping the carbs low, etc while maintaining a busy schedule? Should I just be carrying around a bottle of EVOO?

I’m also trying to balance somewhat of a social life. Lawschool means limited social time, and an even more limited pool of people to hang out with, and to retain my sanity I need to go out to eat/drink, etc. and it seems Thursday is when everybody cracks and wants to go out. This is hard to do. I’m getting tired of ordering salads.

Fuck.

On the flipside, I feel more motivating just reading this thread. I haven’t read T-Nation in over a week, so just reading the the thread helps.

Sorry for such a long post.

I’m in law school in NY and on the law review, so I have even more responsibility than last year. I live 5 minutes from school, and my schedule is such that I don’t have more than two classes in a row. What about you? I go home during these breaks (usually one hour) and get a good AD meal in.

If I have to bring something, think some kind of cheese (3oz cheddar cheese is good), pepperoni, almonds/other kinds of nuts, etc. Protein shakes are good as well. When I have to be in the library for a few hours, I make sure to bring a meal with me and maybe leave it in my car in the parking lot.

I cook up my meals during the week when I have time, and just re heat it when i’m on break. It can be done, trust me. Good luck!

[/quote]

Well It seems the logical thing to do here is switch your carb up to thursday/friday right? If it isn’t easy just make it easy.

Why the fuck are you ordering salads? Why not steak sandwich minus the sandwich? Do you have meat snacks available at all times? be sure to bring a bin of steak nuggets or jerky or chicken etc. around with you in your bag/car/stroller/etc. cheese is also hella easy as well if you are not lacto-intol.

When everything else in life is going to hell this should be your backbone of stability here. Nothing is more comforting than a good steak.

Stay in there.

-chris

6609

ok so my first day of carbing is over, i spent most of the day pretty sluggish feeling like my IQ has dropped 20-30 points same as it’s been on the high fat days.

most of my food today has been either muffins or bagels, i also had a couple bowls of cereal, a slice of pizza, and 2 large cookies, 1 peanut butter 1 oatmeal raisin. a couple veggie wraps in there too

i also noticed on my way home that my legs were much veinier than usual even my chest looked a bit veinier than usual…i dotn know if it was from the wlak home or the affects of the carb up?

also, i got really energized after having a little of my pre-bed meal (peanutbutter, cottage cheese, milk, bannana)

are these happenings side effects from the carb up or are they totally unrelated?

6610

[quote]Avocado wrote:
i0wny0uall wrote:
TravisCS84 wrote:
Hey guys,

I’m finding this diet incredibly hard to maintain now.

I am in law school. I began the diet about a month ago. Summer classes were over, I had time on my hands, nothing to do but dick around on T-Nation and eat.

Now I’m back in grind, I have a tough schedule, and this diet just feels so hard now. I’ve been undereating because I haven’t been able to get the calories in, while sticking the required protocol.

How do you guys pack lunches, etc. on this diet? I pack a salad (spinach and chicken w/ cheese, dressing) and low carb tortillas w/ peanut butter, but c’mon, I’m barely getting the calories in.

Once I get home, sure I can cook, but I also can’t spend all night cooking.

I’ve gone off the diet twice now. I’ve had a lot going on in my life – got back from vacation (the diet kinda hampered some of the fun), lawschool, now some personal issues, – I’ve cracked the last two thursday nights, while going back to it on friday and having shitty carb-ups on the weekends.

I just started getting back into training, as I didn’t train while on vacation and right before I was recovering from a powerlifting meet.

Can I get some advice on getting in the fat calories, keeping the carbs low, etc while maintaining a busy schedule? Should I just be carrying around a bottle of EVOO?

I’m also trying to balance somewhat of a social life. Lawschool means limited social time, and an even more limited pool of people to hang out with, and to retain my sanity I need to go out to eat/drink, etc. and it seems Thursday is when everybody cracks and wants to go out. This is hard to do. I’m getting tired of ordering salads.

Fuck.

On the flipside, I feel more motivating just reading this thread. I haven’t read T-Nation in over a week, so just reading the the thread helps.

Sorry for such a long post.

I’m in law school in NY and on the law review, so I have even more responsibility than last year. I live 5 minutes from school, and my schedule is such that I don’t have more than two classes in a row. What about you? I go home during these breaks (usually one hour) and get a good AD meal in.

If I have to bring something, think some kind of cheese (3oz cheddar cheese is good), pepperoni, almonds/other kinds of nuts, etc. Protein shakes are good as well. When I have to be in the library for a few hours, I make sure to bring a meal with me and maybe leave it in my car in the parking lot.

I cook up my meals during the week when I have time, and just re heat it when i’m on break. It can be done, trust me. Good luck!

Well It seems the logical thing to do here is switch your carb up to thursday/friday right? If it isn’t easy just make it easy.

Why the fuck are you ordering salads? Why not steak sandwich minus the sandwich? Do you have meat snacks available at all times? be sure to bring a bin of steak nuggets or jerky or chicken etc. around with you in your bag/car/stroller/etc. cheese is also hella easy as well if you are not lacto-intol.

When everything else in life is going to hell this should be your backbone of stability here. Nothing is more comforting than a good steak.

Stay in there.

-chris[/quote]

Ok, what are steak nuggets and by god how do I get them??
Are they similar to beef jerky? I had that once on this diet, but you have to be careful about the carbs since most have maybe 5g or more. Steak nuggets (if different than jerky) sounds awesome! please explain!

6611

[quote]LiveFromThe781 wrote:
ok so my first day of carbing is over, i spent most of the day pretty sluggish feeling like my IQ has dropped 20-30 points same as it’s been on the high fat days.

most of my food today has been either muffins or bagels, i also had a couple bowls of cereal, a slice of pizza, and 2 large cookies, 1 peanut butter 1 oatmeal raisin. a couple veggie wraps in there too

i also noticed on my way home that my legs were much veinier than usual even my chest looked a bit veinier than usual…i dotn know if it was from the wlak home or the affects of the carb up?

also, i got really energized after having a little of my pre-bed meal (peanutbutter, cottage cheese, milk, bannana)

are these happenings side effects from the carb up or are they totally unrelated? [/quote]

Many have experienced increased vascularity as a result of the carb ups.

As for your energy jolt, I get that all the time on sunday when I switch back to high fat. I feel like I drank a big cup of coffee. This makes perfect sense, as you are finally giving your body a high fat meal, which it has been using for fuel for so long. Both are side affects of the carb up.

6612

[quote]bkmacky9288 wrote:
natural59 wrote:
franchise95p wrote:
How long did you guys stay on the diet before you decided you were acclimated enough to either cut or bulk?

I’m about to hit my 3rd carb-up this weekend, and I’m kinda torn on a direction to head.

I’m leaning towards bulking, personally. I can see the outline of my abs, but no real visible definition in between each. I’m 5’-10", 211 lbs as of last Saturday.

I’ve been cutting off & on for quite a while, so that leads me to think a bulk is in order and, with the AD, would be fairly beneficial if done decently.

However, the one gnawing aspect is I know I’m not 10%, like written in the book, and if I hadn’t been cutting as regularly without a good, serious bulk, I’d definitely head that direction now. Most of my lifts had hit a plateau as of late as well.

Any ideas on which direction would be most beneficial at this point, and how much longer I should wait to make that distinction? Most of the things I’ve read say not to tinker until 2 months into this.

The next time someone says to you, you need to “bulk up,” cover your ears with your hands, say, “la la la la, I can’t hear you,” then run (don’t walk) away…

Here is a good article on the subject:

http://www.T-Nation.com/readArticle.do?id=1021940

Although, CS uses extreme examples to stress his point, don’t be distracted by them…IT IS NOT NECESSARY TO ADD BEAUCOUP POUNDS OF UNWANTED FAT IN ORDER TO PACK ON LOTS OF LEAN MUSCLE MASS.

Personally, I think somewhere around 10% bf is a good off-peak bf percentage. That is an acceptable “bulk.” More than that, and you are just kidding yourself, and adding unnecessary fat that will take you MONTHS to remove later.

Stay around 10%bf, and if you want to peak, you can cut to 4-6%. For a 200lb. man, that’s still 8-12lbs. of fat, and depending on your metabolism, diet, etc., 6-8 weeks of cutting. Or you can add 30+ lbs. of fat, like many do, and spend 5-6 months trying to remove it.

Your choice…

-james

now from what you believe how would me , 5’10 170-175lbs ~12% bf go about adding mass/ losing some fat? or do you believe i should cut a little?[/quote]

Not knowing anything about your workouts, I’d say start by adding a little cardio (HIIT, if you aren’t doing it already). First, it burns more calories. Second, it speeds up your metabolism, even when not actually performing cardio. Third, it increases your cardio/vascular capability, enhancing circulation and overall health, hence, improved recooperation, protein synthesis, etc.

I also suggest carb up days be 90% clean, eating mostly starches. Oatmeal, whole grains, pasta, rice, potatoes, yams, etc. are good choices. Pizza, cookies, boxes of cereal, etc. will be counterproductive. Have a cheat meal a day, for example, but don’t go crazy. And keep your fat intake low, around 20-30% of ingested calories on carb days, so that your body will burn adipose in its place (assuming you are fat adapted).

During the week, keep your protein intake around 1-1.5g. per pound of body weight/LBM, and your total fat calories to 50-55% of your total caloric intake.

NOTE: The above recommendation means to start with 1.5g. of protein per 1lb. of body weight (BWx1.5), and keep working slowly towards 1g.(BWx1) When/If you reach this point, and you are progressing as desired, start working towards 1g. of protein per 1lb. of LBM. I wouldn’t go below this amount.

-james

6613

I have to say, I tried one day of keeping my fat in the 50-55% range, and it wasn’t bad at all. The only thing I found difficult was hitting that and keeping my types of fat balanced. That was far more difficult. I found my calories creeping up on me while my poly & mono were about half of my saturated.

6614

[quote]natural59 wrote:
bkmacky9288 wrote:
natural59 wrote:
franchise95p wrote:
How long did you guys stay on the diet before you decided you were acclimated enough to either cut or bulk?

I’m about to hit my 3rd carb-up this weekend, and I’m kinda torn on a direction to head.

I’m leaning towards bulking, personally. I can see the outline of my abs, but no real visible definition in between each. I’m 5’-10", 211 lbs as of last Saturday.

I’ve been cutting off & on for quite a while, so that leads me to think a bulk is in order and, with the AD, would be fairly beneficial if done decently.

However, the one gnawing aspect is I know I’m not 10%, like written in the book, and if I hadn’t been cutting as regularly without a good, serious bulk, I’d definitely head that direction now. Most of my lifts had hit a plateau as of late as well.

Any ideas on which direction would be most beneficial at this point, and how much longer I should wait to make that distinction? Most of the things I’ve read say not to tinker until 2 months into this.

The next time someone says to you, you need to “bulk up,” cover your ears with your hands, say, “la la la la, I can’t hear you,” then run (don’t walk) away…

Here is a good article on the subject:

http://www.T-Nation.com/readArticle.do?id=1021940

Although, CS uses extreme examples to stress his point, don’t be distracted by them…IT IS NOT NECESSARY TO ADD BEAUCOUP POUNDS OF UNWANTED FAT IN ORDER TO PACK ON LOTS OF LEAN MUSCLE MASS.

Personally, I think somewhere around 10% bf is a good off-peak bf percentage. That is an acceptable “bulk.” More than that, and you are just kidding yourself, and adding unnecessary fat that will take you MONTHS to remove later.

Stay around 10%bf, and if you want to peak, you can cut to 4-6%. For a 200lb. man, that’s still 8-12lbs. of fat, and depending on your metabolism, diet, etc., 6-8 weeks of cutting. Or you can add 30+ lbs. of fat, like many do, and spend 5-6 months trying to remove it.

Your choice…

-james

now from what you believe how would me , 5’10 170-175lbs ~12% bf go about adding mass/ losing some fat? or do you believe i should cut a little?

Not knowing anything about your workouts, I’d say start by adding a little cardio (HIIT, if you aren’t doing it already). First, it burns more calories. Second, it speeds up your metabolism, even when not actually performing cardio. Third, it increases your cardio/vascular capability, enhancing circulation and overall health, hence, improved recooperation, protein synthesis, etc.

I also suggest carb up days be 90% clean, eating mostly starches. Oatmeal, whole grains, pasta, rice, potatoes, yams, etc. are good choices. Pizza, cookies, boxes of cereal, etc. will be counterproductive. Have a cheat meal a day, for example, but don’t go crazy. And keep your fat intake low, around 20-30% of ingested calories on carb days, so that your body will burn adipose in its place (assuming you are fat adapted).

During the week, keep your protein intake around 1g. per pound of LBM, no more than 1g. per pound of body weight, and your total fat calories to 50-55%.

-james

[/quote]

hey thanks a lot i really appreciate that…yea i figured id have to start up HIIT again, just needed to hear again…

6615

[quote]natural59 wrote:
bkmacky9288 wrote:
natural59 wrote:
franchise95p wrote:
How long did you guys stay on the diet before you decided you were acclimated enough to either cut or bulk?

I’m about to hit my 3rd carb-up this weekend, and I’m kinda torn on a direction to head.

I’m leaning towards bulking, personally. I can see the outline of my abs, but no real visible definition in between each. I’m 5’-10", 211 lbs as of last Saturday.

I’ve been cutting off & on for quite a while, so that leads me to think a bulk is in order and, with the AD, would be fairly beneficial if done decently.

However, the one gnawing aspect is I know I’m not 10%, like written in the book, and if I hadn’t been cutting as regularly without a good, serious bulk, I’d definitely head that direction now. Most of my lifts had hit a plateau as of late as well.

Any ideas on which direction would be most beneficial at this point, and how much longer I should wait to make that distinction? Most of the things I’ve read say not to tinker until 2 months into this.

The next time someone says to you, you need to “bulk up,” cover your ears with your hands, say, “la la la la, I can’t hear you,” then run (don’t walk) away…

Here is a good article on the subject:

http://www.T-Nation.com/readArticle.do?id=1021940

Although, CS uses extreme examples to stress his point, don’t be distracted by them…IT IS NOT NECESSARY TO ADD BEAUCOUP POUNDS OF UNWANTED FAT IN ORDER TO PACK ON LOTS OF LEAN MUSCLE MASS.

Personally, I think somewhere around 10% bf is a good off-peak bf percentage. That is an acceptable “bulk.” More than that, and you are just kidding yourself, and adding unnecessary fat that will take you MONTHS to remove later.

Stay around 10%bf, and if you want to peak, you can cut to 4-6%. For a 200lb. man, that’s still 8-12lbs. of fat, and depending on your metabolism, diet, etc., 6-8 weeks of cutting. Or you can add 30+ lbs. of fat, like many do, and spend 5-6 months trying to remove it.

Your choice…

-james

now from what you believe how would me , 5’10 170-175lbs ~12% bf go about adding mass/ losing some fat? or do you believe i should cut a little?

Not knowing anything about your workouts, I’d say start by adding a little cardio (HIIT, if you aren’t doing it already). First, it burns more calories. Second, it speeds up your metabolism, even when not actually performing cardio. Third, it increases your cardio/vascular capability, enhancing circulation and overall health, hence, improved recooperation, protein synthesis, etc.

I also suggest carb up days be 90% clean, eating mostly starches. Oatmeal, whole grains, pasta, rice, potatoes, yams, etc. are good choices. Pizza, cookies, boxes of cereal, etc. will be counterproductive. Have a cheat meal a day, for example, but don’t go crazy. And keep your fat intake low, around 20-30% of ingested calories on carb days, so that your body will burn adipose in its place (assuming you are fat adapted).

During the week, keep your protein intake around 1g. per pound of LBM, no more than 1g. per pound of body weight, and your total fat calories to 50-55%.

-james

[/quote]
james,

That would put him on a diet at less than 10x BW. You need to be careful when using those terms. The “per lb. LBM” and the percentages aren’t really interchangeable. The math is what dictates that.

Although once you have a baseline of cals. for the percentages, then you can manipulate the ratios(albeit minor) to suit your goals. i.e. drop 250 from fat level for fat loss, drop 500 from fat and add 250 to Pro for fat loss, drop 250 across the board for fat loss, etc. It’s highly individual so you can and should mix it up.

I hope this helps and I shouldn’t have to say it, but don’t mess with your levels until you are adapted.

Best, UE

6616

How long does the crash last? My crash started on Wednesday when I was doing squats. It has progressively gotten worse. I’m VERY irritable, constant light headache, upset stomach, dizzy / light headed and NOT hungry at all. It almost feels like I have the flu.

Today is supposed to be my first carb load day. I ate a low carb breakfast and figured I would start my carb up this afternoon. My kids made some pumpkin pies, so I ate a big piece. I’m just not hungry at all. I’m about to go force myself to eat some pasta.

Anyway, how long before I should start leveling out and feeling better?

6617

[quote]Underestimated wrote:
That would put him on a diet at less than 10x BW. You need to be careful when using those terms. The “per lb. LBM” and the percentages aren’t really interchangeable. The math is what dictates that. [/quote]

Sorry, I don’t follow your reasoning…how do you make the jump from daily protein consumption to a daily caloric intake…? Protein isn’t tied to a specific calorie count. Or if you are talking about fat consumption, what I suggested isn’t that big of a reduction.

I suggested a RANGE to allow for differences in…everything…basal metabolism, protein requirements, etc. I suggest starting at the high end of the range and customizing from there. Formulas are a good starting point, but aren’t equally applicable to every individual…

I weigh 195lbs. @ 10%bf. As far as caloric intake is concerned, in order to maintain my current bf %, yet continue to add mass, I float around 15xbw (2925cal.), and 15xLBM (2625cal.), which is a daily fluctuation of ONLY 300cal., or an average of ONLY 150cal. Not a huge difference.

Using the average of my daily caloric intake (2,775cal.), if I reduce my fat consumption, as a percentage of my overall daily caloric intake, by 5-10%, i.e., from 60% down to 50-55%, this would ONLY amount to a 139cal. (@ 55%), or 277cal.(@ 50%) daily caloric reduction. Again, not a huge difference.

As far as protein consumption is concerned, again, formulas are a good starting point, but you have to customize dietary intake to your own metabolism/biochemistry.

If the question is one of reducing fat, I don’t want to feed my fat mass, but only my LBM, give or take–to allow for a healthy amount of fat retention.

For me, 195lbs. @10%bf, somewhere around 175-195g of protein per day keeps me adding lean body mass.

175lbs. would be my assumed LBM , and 195 my bw. However, no one cuts to 0% fat. My actual cut weight would be closer to 185lbs. And 185 just happens to be the average of my daily protein intake, the average between 1g. protein per pound of bw and 1g. protein per pound LBM.

Granted, the differences will be greater for someone with a greater bf %, but this works as a good outline for my own body. I’m not suggesting that it will work for everyone, but only offered it as a starting point. But I don’t see where you get that this would result in a 10xbw daily caloric intake. Perhaps, I’ve misquoted myself…?

Goes without saying, although, bears repeating…

-james

6618

[quote]LarryJr wrote:
How long does the crash last? My crash started on Wednesday when I was doing squats. It has progressively gotten worse. I’m VERY irritable, constant light headache, upset stomach, dizzy / light headed and NOT hungry at all. It almost feels like I have the flu.
[/quote]

There isn’t a set pattern. Headaches, however, seem to be quite common. I had them for probably half of my first 12 days, but haven’t had them since my first carb up and beyond.

[quote]Today is supposed to be my first carb load day. I ate a low carb breakfast and figured I would start my carb up this afternoon. My kids made some pumpkin pies, so I ate a big piece. I’m just not hungry at all. I’m about to go force myself to eat some pasta.

Anyway, how long before I should start leveling out and feeling better?[/quote]

It’s individual. I felt fine after the 12 day, but have more trouble digesting on carb days than during the week. Carbs just seems to fill me up to the point that I can only eat about 4 meals (including protein shakes) a day, instead of my normal 6.
But I moderate this by not overdoing it on carb days.

If I get in 4 quality carb meals per day and maybe 1 snack/cheat food, I’m happy.

-james

6619

Thanks!!!

I just ate some shredded pork with BBQ sauce on two pieces of wheat bread. Along with a bowl of no sugar added peaches.

I actually feel a lot better right now.

6620

Hey Natural 59 would you mind helping me out with my bulking adventure?

I need a little help with some minor tweaks.

6621

[quote]Florida Titan wrote:
Hey Natural 59 would you mind helping me out with my bulking adventure?

I need a little help with some minor tweaks.[/quote]

I just answered your PM…just let me know. I will help, IF I’m able…

-james