This is my problem; I’m fat and have always been big, not always as fat as I am now!
I need some input on my current set up.
My story, I’m 32 year old male. I’m in the recovery phase for Stage 3 Hodgkin’s Disease. I’ve been off Chemo Therapy since March of '03 and started training November of '03. I started back with some circuit training to get my body used to what was going on. I then got bit by the bug to start power training again and started power lifting again in January '04 and competed in April of this year (squat 875, bench 530 and dead 606).
I wanted to get stronger than I had been in the past. Only this time I would not use the assistance of illegal drugs/steroids. I’m on a quest to get stronger so I can prove you don’t need drugs. I also wanted to do some public speaking to teens and young people to help then understand the dangers of what could happen. So far things are going well. My lifts are good, my squat is better then I’ve ever done before and my bench is about 100 pounds better, my dead lift on the other hand has not come around.
My goals are realistic! I’m 325 pounds now and want to get to 300 or a little lower. I want to compete in the 308 pound weight class. I tried to see a professional at a local sports rehab/fitness place. He gave me a running plan (which killed me in the beginning) and a diet lay out.
The basic of his principle was carbs until noon and then taper off or just cold turkey by the evening. Easier said than done! I’ve always been a carb guy and still crave carbs in the evening. I mean really bad, if I don’t have any carbs at night I get like a crack addict! I go hunting for cookies and milk.
He thought I could get to 300 lbs within a few months by eating 4114 - 5093 calories a day. carbs= 617g-764g, prot= 308g-382g and fat 45-91g & 57-113g.
I normally do well during the morning and lunch. Then I’ll have a weight gainer before and after training and not eat until 8 pm at night and then go to bed. It’s hard eating all the time, I’m in a new career position and I don’t always have time to pack and go. Eating out healthy is a real pain.
The diet is a blocked chart that says:
Morning: 2 breads, 2 fruit, 2 meat and .5 fat
AM Snack: 1 fruit, 1 dairy or 1 meal substitute.
Lunch: 1 bread, 2 veggies, 3 meat, .05 fat
PM Snack: 1 bread, 1 dairy or 2 meal substitute
PM Snack: 1 veggie, 1 meat
Dinner: 2 veggies, 2 meat, .05 fat
Bread (1 portion) = 1 cup oatmeal, 1/2 bagel, 1 slice toast, 1 muffin
Fruit (1 portion) = banana, apple, raisins, 1 cup juice
Veggie (1 portion) = 1 cup of broccoli, asparagus, squash, tomato, zucchini, cauliflower, lettuce, greens
Meat (1 portion) = 3 eggs (2/1 yolk/white), 1 boneless chicken breast, 1/2 can tuna, 8-10 oz of beef, 1/2 cup black beans
Dairy (1 portion) = 2 cup non-fat milk, 1 cup non-fat cottage cheese, 3 string cheese, 1/2 cup low fat cheese
Fat/Sweets (1 portion) = 1 tbsp. butter/oil/dressing, 1 tbsp peanut butter, 2 low fat cookies, 2 low-fat graham crackers, 1 cup flavored jell-o
Meal substitute (1 portion) = 25-30 grams of protein power or 1 low-carb protein bar
I dropped 2 pounds within the first 6 weeks, but I could tell a difference in he mirror and clothing. My strength was also going up, but just eating was good enough, he did a weekly diet log and I was eating 1800 calories a day! So I think by jumping in with both feet my body responded quick.
I’ve read the diet things online and I guess I’m wondering am I still on the right track. I use Cyto-Gainer for extra calories and MuscleMilk for protein. I also take a good multi vitamin/Vegi style, Vitamin C, BCAA’s, Glutamine, Gluco/Chondro. I was taking Arginine, but recently stopped since I had a porta catheter removed from a vein in my neck, also used to take ZMA, but that or the creatine raised my kidney functions on my blood work! Go figure!
My cardio is broken down into 3 days, once low/moderate heart rate for long periods of time (60-90 minutes), and then moderate/high heart rate for lower times (30-75 minutes). Then on the last day it’s a recovery/ply metric/agility day. I do a warm up stretch routine, then agility work, then 100 yard pyramid run/sprint and then jumping/plyo work. This is the hardest thing. The workout is very long and total fries my legs to the point I just can’t or haven’t finished everything in one session.
Besides the cardio I train 3-4 days a week and follow a free weight and jumpstretch band program. I do one week of free weight with squat and bench. It’s a pyramid system starting with higher reps and ending a 3 month training cycle with lower reps to help the body peak. I do band work the other week and pick 3 heavy combos and rotate each workout with a 1-3 rep max. The third day of the workout is for Goodmornings which I skip most of the time for recovery/running work. The last workout day is for closegrip tricep work. So it’s Tuesday - dead/squat, Thursday - bench and Sunday - triceps/back.
I hope this gives enough info that someone could help assist or tell me I’m already moving in the right directions.
Thanks Allen