Powerlifter Needs Help Dropping A Weight Class

T-Nation please help me. I am trying to drop down to the 242 weight class. This is for health reasons. This has been my diet for about 2 months and I am not going anywhere. Please critique and give me some advice.

Here’s an example of what I eat:
Breakfast 3 eggs, slice of american cheese, 2 slices 100% whole wheat toast
snack
1/2 cup of low fat cottage cheese with a fruit cup mixed in
Lunch:
Sandwich
Turkey, ham, tuna, 2 slices of bread and low fat mayo
Green salad with lots of meat on it
Snack
2 scoops of protein poweder mixed in water
Dinner:
Some kind of meat with veggies or salad
Snack
1/2 cup of cottage cheese with a fruit cup or if a workout day 2 scoops of protein powder mixed with 1% milk, ice, low sodium peanut butter, banana, and 1/2 cup of cottage cheese.

Ok I’m bored at work so I added this stuff up for you, here’s my calorie counts. I took some estimates for things like “fruit cup” and “light mayo” but it should be close:
on your non workout days your getting

156g protein
35g fat
71g carbs
total: 1223 calories
on your workout days (adding milk/pb/banana/cottage cheese):
your getting
180g protein
54g fat
119g carbs
total: 1686 calories

Bottom line: you’re not eating enough!
this is the diet of a guy who wants to maintain a total of 100 pounds.

If my numbers are correct and you’ve been eating this for two month straight then your body’s probably shutdown it’s metabolism and is grasping to store as much as you give it.

My advice would go as follows

  1. take at least a week off, eat at “maintenence level”

  2. after the week find a diet on T-Nation and follow it (I’d suggest something like the T-Dawg Diet)

Good luck man, sorry if I’m way off on my calculations

What is your height and weight now?

Also read Massive Eating for advice on Fat and Carbs…you SHOULD NOT be mixing the two, or at least that’s the general consensus of this group.

5’11"
280

I think that Berardi’s “No Nonsense Nutrition” DVD set would be well worth your money.

5’11 280 lbs?? holy shit im 6’1 240 and i need at least double those calories to not starve to death. My only suggestion is to maybe clean it up and replace carbs with protein powder.

[quote]StrongrThanDeth wrote:
Ok I’m bored at work so I added this stuff up for you, here’s my calorie counts. I took some estimates for things like “fruit cup” and “light mayo” but it should be close:
on your non workout days your getting

156g protein
35g fat
71g carbs
total: 1223 calories
on your workout days (adding milk/pb/banana/cottage cheese):
your getting
180g protein
54g fat
119g carbs
total: 1686 calories

Bottom line: you’re not eating enough!
this is the diet of a guy who wants to maintain a total of 100 pounds.

If my numbers are correct and you’ve been eating this for two month straight then your body’s probably shutdown it’s metabolism and is grasping to store as much as you give it.

My advice would go as follows

  1. take at least a week off, eat at “maintenence level”

  2. after the week find a diet on T-Nation and follow it (I’d suggest something like the T-Dawg Diet)

Good luck man, sorry if I’m way off on my calculations[/quote]

If you are going to offer advice, at least get some of the numbers right.

I see 4 slices of bread, at 18 g carbs each, thats 72 g carbs in bread alone.

As well as getting your metabolism in gear and looking at separating your ingestion of fats and carbs, you may also want to make sure you are getting your EFA’s in decent ratios.

You didn’t really go into supplements much, but if you aren’t getting them, EFA’s, your body may also be making adjustments such as not bothering to make any useful hormones – because the raw materials aren’t present.

Heh, I’m kidding but I’m not.

There is a ton of fantastic nutrition advice on here. Go through the library and use the search feature – some of the good ones might be buried pretty deeply by now.

Seriously, if you want it, the information is here for you and we’ll answer questions and help out where we can. If you have the desire and the disclipline any reasonable goals you have are now just a matter of time.

[quote]Atreides wrote:

If you are going to offer advice, at least get some of the numbers right.

I see 4 slices of bread, at 18 g carbs each, thats 72 g carbs in bread alone. [/quote]

Thanks for so politely correcting my mistake. The 100% whole wheat bread I buy has 12 grams of carbs in it, so I used that. And I missed the two on the sandwhich. So you’re right, add 2 more slices of bread (look on the package for grams)…either way he’s undereating.

I have an idea! try out the Warrior Diet and see how that works for you. Order the book, for some endomorphs it works wonders.

Hey, there, nhiron. How much time do you have to lose the 38 pounds? Is it for a meet or for health issues, as you alluded to?

I’m worried about how much you’re eating, too. How long have you been dieting and following the example you gave us?

Are you doing any planned-for/scheduled cheat days, or do you find that you break down periodically, losing control and going on an unplanned for rampage-type refeed?

How are your energy levels?

Are you keeping a daily food log and weighing and measuring the food you eat?

Are you doing any cardio? If so, how much and what type and at what intensity?

What are your workouts like; how long and how often?

Get me the answers to my questions, and if you like, I’d be glad to make some recommendations.

Tampa-Terry wrote:
Hey, there, nhiron. How much time do you have to lose the 38 pounds? Is it for a meet or for health issues, as you alluded to?

I’d like to get to 242 by February but I don’t think that is realistic so by summer time is fine.

I’m worried about how much you’re eating, too. How long have you been dieting and following the example you gave us?

I’ve been eating under this plan for about 2 months.

Are you doing any planned-for/scheduled cheat days, or do you find that you break down periodically, losing control and going on an unplanned for rampage-type refeed?

I do use scheduled cheat days

How are your energy levels?

They are not high but I would not say they are low.

Are you keeping a daily food log and weighing and measuring the food you eat?

No

Are you doing any cardio? If so, how much and what type and at what intensity?

Yes. 15 minutes of low intensity walking prior to weight workout

What are your workouts like; how long and how often?

4 times a week at least an hour very intense Westside style workouts.

Get me the answers to my questions, and if you like, I’d be glad to make some recommendations.

nhiron,

As has been stated above, it looks as though you need to really bump up your protein intake. Remember, protein is the most thermogenic macronutrient…make use of it! I would ESPECIALLY focus on getting more first thing in the morning. It looks as though you are only getting like 18g with the eggs, so bump that up to kick-start your metabolism.

If you are looking to shed weight, I would first and foremost clean up your diet and then see where things are at (not saying it’s necessarily bad, just not optimal). I would start with JB’s “Seven Keys” article and see where that puts you. From there, it’s really just figuring out what manipulations you need to make either way.

Some low-intensity cardio for longer duration may be of benefit following your workouts as well. I see that you walk pre-workout, but you could also walk for up to an hour post workout; you’ll lean out while also doing some active recovery.

Try some of these things out and then let us know where you stand!

Stay strong
MR

Hey, there again, nhiron. A belated Merry Christmas!!! (grin)

Well, I’m glad to hear that you’re flexible on your timeframe, considering the fact that you’re in a bit of a metabolic pickle. If the goal is to lose 38 to 40 pounds by May, that’s about 10 pounds a month. That’s very common-sensible and do-able if we get everything dialed in.

First off, your metabolism is shot because of your dieting at ultra-low calories and working out. Since I know you’re holding on for dear life, I hope you’ll give some of my recommendations some serious consideration.

I know that you are probably highly motivated and have great strength of will when you set your mind to something. But that strength of will can work against you if it’s not properly/wisely applied. The problem with dieting at too-low calories is that your body starts to slow down and run colder and burn less calories. It’s trying to make sure you don’t starve to death. Your body doesn’t know (or care) that you’re trying to drop a few pounds to look better and improve your health, so it’s working against you. In years gone by, people with superior fat stores were able to survive famines and perpetuate the species. So blame your current situation on your ancestors. (grin)

Okay. So your body has down-regulated itself to conserve its fuel stores. You’re working out 4 days a week for at least an hour and throwing some cardio in on top of that. Resistance training by its nature is catabolic (chews up muscle to raise blood glucose levels). When dieting, your workouts shouldn’t be any more than 45 minutes in duration. NOT OVER AN HOUR!!! Right now you have to decide whether your WS/PL goals are more important or your body composition goals are more important. If it’s the later, you need to shorten the duration of your workouts.

You can do a 5-minute cardio warm-up prior, but cardio should be done on non-workout days to give your metabolism a bit of a boost on off days. You can walk for up to an hour, if you want. You can even break it up into two 30-minute sessions. When you walk (low intensity) you draw on fat stores and create a deficit without overly depleting muscle glycogen stores. You want to save the glycogen in your muscles for your resistance training.

Protein. Huge problem, here. And if you are serious about dropping that 38 pounds by May and repairing your “shot” metabolism, you’re going to need to keep a food log, weigh and measure your food, and eat to HIT NUMBERS.

What’s going on that I have a problem with and what Mike Robertson alluded to is that you’re not taking in enough protein to repair the muscle damage you’re doing in your workout! Doing so causes your body to FURTHER protect itself and FURTHER down-regulate your metabolism. So with that in mind, Recommendation #1 is:

Eat 1g of protein per pound of TBW. Divide it into 6 or more meals. So if you’re 280 pounds, eat 280 grams of protein. Divided by 6, that works out to about 45g per meal

You’ll need a nutritional reference or something like www.fitday.com to determine how many grams of protein are in a x ounces of the protein you’re eating.

Make sure you’re eating every 2.5 to 3 hours. Carry a kitchen timer or an alarm clock if you have to. Even some watches have an alarm feature.

An option I’ll give you is that you can have smaller protein meals (say 25g per meal) during the day and then have larger protein meals at the time of day you are hungriest – say before you go to bed or in the middle of the night. Just make sure you’re hitting your TBW x 1g of protein every day.

Another thing you need to do is optimize PWO nutrition. I know you’re being careful/stingy with your carbs, but I’d rather see you cut out all carbs except for green-veggie carbs during the day (including and especially dairy and bread!!!) and then FEED YOUR MUSCLES PWO!!! This is a huge area of opportunity!

PWO I want to see you eating sweet potatoes, oatmeal or brown rice. And on days you workout, you should be taking in at LEAST 200g of carbs – the vast majority in a PWO Surge or Surge-type drink and the whole-food P+C meal after that.

On days you don’t work out, stick to green veggies, all you want. Avoid the sauces and dressings (use lemon & crushed garlic or balsamic vinegar + Splenda on salads). You get the idea: Low/no calorie dressings, flavorings and sauces. Learn to eat your food “nekkid.”

However, if you are feeling a bit too deprived on your diet, go ahead and get JB’s new eBook with gourmet recipes.

An act of faith, here, but I’d like for you to drop the bread and the dairy. You can add it back in down the road after your body is losing 2 pounds per week.

Cheat meals. I know it’s a lot to ask. I used to do cheat meals, and I was quite emotionally attached to the normalcy of a REAL FOOD meal. (sigh) But right now it’s more important that you increase your protein intake and get your PWO nutrition optimized and a decent/sufficient amount of carbs for your BW.

See, the thing is we’ve got to increase your carbs a bit over what you’re taking in. Taken too low, carb restriction results in your body down-regulating itself. The trick with carbs is to eat the right types at the right time and manipulate the amount. PWO nutrition is critically important to recovery, to building and/or maintaining muscle and to keeping your metabolism cranked up, fired up and running hot, burning calories.

I haven’t really addressed fat, but at the very least, make sure you’re eating some red meat every day, at least one meal. Lean is fine. The egg meal is fine, too. Additionally, add in at least 2 tablespoons of flaxseed oil OR fish oil providing you with 6-9g of EPA and DHA combined. It’s necessary for health and will suppress inflammation and, believe it or not, support weight loss! What’s not to love? (grin)

Finally, weigh yourself every week. Same day of the week, same time. Out of bed, hit the restroom, jump on the scale sans clothes (means “nekkid”). Record the number. If you keep a food log and implement the changes I recommend, I’ll help you if you hit a plateau.

Okay, I know it’s a lot to digest (pun intended, of course), but please give it some serious consideration. And if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask.

Terry,

I was hoping you would stop by. It’s nice to see you in the power sports forum.

Side note- You will like JA. Trust me.

Nhiron- Take Terry’s advice to heart. She helped me drop 75 pounds, two years back. She’s the best.

Some of the others have mentioned you are undereating. You’re getting some good help here.