Questions About Fat Loss

Training
122

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
Here are my recommendations:

  • Start at 1.25g of protein per pound NOT including para-workout nutrition
  • Consume between 60 and 80g of fat per day
  • Set carbs at around 150g on workout days as follow:

40 min pre-workout 1 FINiBAR (39g)
30 min pre-workout SURGE WORKOUT FUEL 1 SCOOP (21g)
15 min pre-workout SURGE RECOVERY 1 SCOOP (25g)
During the workout SURGE RECOVERY 1 SCOOP (25g) + 20-30g CH

Total = 110g para-workout

Then have 2 portions of fruit with a whey shake 60 minutes after the workout.

The rest of the day is low-carbs
[/quote]

Thibs, got a few really quick questions about this above approachā€¦

  1. On non-training days, do we simple drop the para-workout?

  2. Do we count the fat we are consuming from solid protein sources such as chicken, eggs, beef, etc. or are we to add in an additional 60-80g of fat on top of what we may be consuming from meat?

  3. If protein pulsing is added to this approach, do we count the protein during those times towards the 1.25g per pound?

Thanks Thibs!

123

[quote]pumped340 wrote:
If this method is followed when cutting, how do you prevent the metabolism from slowing down if calories are generally pretty constant and go down together? (Whereas other methods would possible have a refeed to avoid this)[/quote]

  1. Metabolic slowdown is VASTLY exagerated and mostly comes from:

a) losing muscle mass (muscle is like an engine, the bigger the engine, the more fuel you burn)
b) losing weight (even if itā€™s only fat, the fact that you have less weight to carry around all day decrease the amount of calories you burnā€¦)

YES excessive dietary practices can lead to some metabolic changes that will reduce energy expenditure (mostly coming from lowered T3 levels), but even that is seen as bigger than it really is.

  1. You can reduce food intake (lower carbs, mostly) as fat loss slows down. But I wouldnā€™t do so before having tried increasing activity levels (no exceeding acceptable levels).

  2. The actual impact of refeed on resting metabolism is highly debatable. Sure it sounds good in theory and it justify pigging out once a week. But I am yet to see any solid evidence that increasing calories once a week will have any significant impact on basal metabolic rate.

Furthermore, the low protein day is high in carbs which accomplishes the two most important things that refeeds are supposed to do: refill muscle glycogen and increase the conversion of T4 to T3 thyroid hormone

124

[quote]Italiano wrote:

Thibs, got a few really quick questions about this above approachā€¦

  1. On non-training days, do we simple drop the para-workout?[/quote]

Yes, although I would add a protein pulse at that time.

[quote]Italiano wrote:
2. Do we count the fat we are consuming from solid protein sources such as chicken, eggs, beef, etc. or are we to add in an additional 60-80g of fat on top of what we may be consuming from meat?[/quote]

The 60-80g is the total fat intakeā€¦ it includes everything

[quote]Italiano wrote:
3. If protein pulsing is added to this approach, do we count the protein during those times towards the 1.25g per pound?

Thanks Thibs! [/quote]

Actually thatā€™s a good question. The 1.25g includes EVERYTHING EXCEPT PARA-WORKOUT NUTRITION.

125

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
pumped340 wrote:
If this method is followed when cutting, how do you prevent the metabolism from slowing down if calories are generally pretty constant and go down together? (Whereas other methods would possible have a refeed to avoid this)

  1. Metabolic slowdown is VASTLY exagerated and mostly comes from:

a) losing muscle mass (muscle is like an engine, the bigger the engine, the more fuel you burn)
b) losing weight (even if itā€™s only fat, the fact that you have less weight to carry around all day decrease the amount of calories you burnā€¦)

YES excessive dietary practices can lead to some metabolic changes that will reduce energy expenditure (mostly coming from lowered T3 levels), but even that is seen as bigger than it really is.

  1. You can reduce food intake (lower carbs, mostly) as fat loss slows down. But I wouldnā€™t do so before having tried increasing activity levels (no exceeding acceptable levels).[/quote]

  2. If metabolism doesnā€™t slow down much why is it that when I diet my weight loss halts about a few weeks after having the same calories, especially if daily calories are constant? Not trying to argue, itā€™s just what I noticed. I mean literally just from a few pounds of weight loss Iā€™ll go from losing over a pound a week to not losing anything unless I drop calories again or significantly increase activity.

  3. I wasnā€™t really thinking of dropping calories, I just meant the refeeds being significantly higher as weekly calories goes down so metabolism would stay ramped up

126

TC,

What is your opinion on the Anabolic Diet? Do you believe it can really improve body composition when a personā€™s priority is fat loss and muscular development 2nd?

127

Hey coach another one for you:

Are frequent carb re-feeds really necessary when following a diet (1.5g-1.8g protein/lb, 50 carbs, rest effas) ? And when carb re-feeding do the calories need to go up aswell or just the carbs while simultaneously reducing fat/protein?

I read that the leaner you get the more carbs will be needed(on your refined physique transformation article youā€™ve stated every 5 days or so but Iā€™m having a really hard time chowing down more than 200g carbs daily and I donā€™t feel like I need to whatsoever.

This is mainly due to really hot weather and it makes me force-feed myself like a baby!

Any suggestions on how to carb refeed and is it really important, or can I go through without carbs?
ps. For the notice Iā€™m at 9% BF and need to lose 5 more lb to get to 7% --thatā€™s what my goal is to stay at.

Thanks in advance as always.

128

CT, this is a tough questionā€¦if someone is in the very bad position of not being able to train pretty much at all (I have a low back injury, a glut injury, and a shoulder/scap injuryā€¦that basically covers the whole body) what can you do nutrition-wise to maintain decent body comp while healing? Would you go very low carb? I find that I start to feel really run down and get sick when I eat no carbsā€¦

I can do a bit of low intensity cardio. Would you do that?

Also, this is unrelated, but if you do a cheat meal and it is big (like 2000 cals from mixed fats, carbs, and protein) and then you go to sleep, will all the excess be stored as fat by morning? Or can you make up for it by doing some cardio after eating some whey?

129

[quote]sarah1 wrote:
CT, this is a tough questionā€¦if someone is in the very bad position of not being able to train pretty much at all (I have a low back injury, a glut injury, and a shoulder/scap injuryā€¦that basically covers the whole body) what can you do nutrition-wise to maintain decent body comp while healing? Would you go very low carb? I find that I start to feel really run down and get sick when I eat no carbsā€¦

I can do a bit of low intensity cardio. Would you do that?

Also, this is unrelated, but if you do a cheat meal and it is big (like 2000 cals from mixed fats, carbs, and protein) and then you go to sleep, will all the excess be stored as fat by morning? Or can you make up for it by doing some cardio after eating some whey?[/quote]

As for your first question; the best way to answer it is ā€œeat for what you are about to doā€. Protein and fat should be fairly constant (1.25g of protein per pound, around 0.5g of fat), carbs fluctuate depending on needs. To maintain youā€™ll need around 1g of carbs per pound, start at that point and adjust from there.

As for the cheat meal question, everything is pretty much stored after a 4 hours period.

130

[quote]therajraj wrote:
TC,

What is your opinion on the Anabolic Diet? Do you believe it can really improve body composition when a personā€™s priority is fat loss and muscular development 2nd?[/quote]

I discussed this issue in depth in the past. Without going into too much details as I hate to repeat myself:

  1. low carbs dieting (of which the anabolic diet is part of) if very effective at dropping fat, but it it not optimal to build muscle
  2. The carb-up period is too long and excessive; a lot of people screw up their week by over-binging over the weekend.
  3. The original AD is a high fat diet, but doesnā€™t differenciate between the types of fats
131

[quote]pumped340 wrote:

  1. If metabolism doesnā€™t slow down much why is it that when I diet my weight loss halts about a few weeks after having the same calories, especially if daily calories are constant? Not trying to argue, itā€™s just what I noticed. I mean literally just from a few pounds of weight loss Iā€™ll go from losing over a pound a week to not losing anything unless I drop calories again or significantly increase activity. [/quote]

DID YOU READ MY POST AT ALL, or do you have the reading comprehension of a 3rd grader???

I said that since you are dropping weight, the caloric cost of doing an activity decreases. For example, if you lose 15lbs (be it fat, water or muscle) that is 15lbs that you donā€™t have to carry anymore.

Try wearing a 15lbs vest all day you will feel a lot more tired BECAUSE THE ADDED WEIGHT MADE YOU BURN MORE FUEL DURING YOUR DAY.

Losing weight = everything is easier = you burn less calories = you stimulate less fat loss.

132

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
Pickles wrote:
Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
G87 wrote:
Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
BulletproofTiger wrote:
Dear Coach,

What are your thoughts on ā€œAmino Pulsingā€ while on a diet?

I already answered that one earlier.

CT - or anyone else - which thread was this talked about in? Iā€™ve looked and looked and canā€™t find it.

Iā€™m sitting at about 10-11% BF after ā€œGet Jacked Fast.ā€ Iā€™d like to lose a few more pounds of fat, but I donā€™t think I can hack the mental strain of low-carbing for more than a few weeks. I actually donā€™t consume any carbs outside of fruit, but I get terrible cravings for them and was going nuts in the final weeks of GJF.

Coach, do you think that restricting my carbs to 2 fruit portions a day and pre-workout (i.e. pulsing) would allow me to get to 8% BF while retaining/gaining lean mass? I can get some peptopro, pending Anacondaā€™s release, Finibars, basically anything thatā€™s commercially available.

G

You can reach your goal by consuming as much as 150g of carbs per day provided that they are well timed, of the right type and that the caloric intake for the rest of the day is correct.

Here are my recommendations:

  • Start at 1.25g of protein per pound NOT including para-workout nutrition
  • Consume between 60 and 80g of fat per day
  • Set carbs at around 150g on workout days as follow:

40 min pre-workout 1 FINiBAR (39g)
30 min pre-workout SURGE WORKOUT FUEL 1 SCOOP (21g)
15 min pre-workout SURGE RECOVERY 1 SCOOP (25g)
During the workout SURGE RECOVERY 1 SCOOP (25g) + 20-30g CH

Total = 110g para-workout

Then have 2 portions of fruit with a whey shake 60 minutes after the workout.

The rest of the day is low-carbs

CT,
This is very similar to what I am using at the moment with great results.

I want to raise my intake to transition to gaining strength and lean muscle.
For someone whoā€™s not very carb tolerant (but better than I thought after trying this protocol), would you keep the Fat grams the same and just increase para-workout Carbs? or would you keep para-workout carbs the same and increase fat grams? Or what ratio would you use to increase both at the same time?

Iā€™m guessing that the response is ā€˜try each one yourself and see what worksā€™ but Iā€™d like your input on what youā€™ve found has worked in the past to give me a head start.

Many thanks

Gradually increase carbs pre-workout on the training days; increase fat slightly IF YOU ARE UNDER 80g on the off days. If you are over 80g/day, add some fruit with breakfast[/quote]

Thanks CT,

My plan is to set protein at 1.25g/lb on off days, fat 0.5g/lb on both training and off days.
From this point iā€™ll gradually increase workout carbs and fruit at breakfast.

Questions
I train in the morning, would fruit around 90 mintues before training effect the para-workout window?
This could be serious paralysis by analysis but when calculating g/lb I base my weight on the lowest weight of the week (Saturday am after a long sleep and furthest away from a cheat meal), is this a good idea?
last one - if I have an unplanned cheat meal would you suggest reducing carbs for a few days afterwards?

Thanks again!!!

133

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
pumped340 wrote:

  1. If metabolism doesnā€™t slow down much why is it that when I diet my weight loss halts about a few weeks after having the same calories, especially if daily calories are constant? Not trying to argue, itā€™s just what I noticed. I mean literally just from a few pounds of weight loss Iā€™ll go from losing over a pound a week to not losing anything unless I drop calories again or significantly increase activity.

DID YOU READ MY POST AT ALL, or do you have the reading comprehension of a 3rd grader???

I said that since you are dropping weight, the caloric cost of doing an activity decreases. For example, if you lose 15lbs (be it fat, water or muscle) that is 15lbs that you donā€™t have to carry anymore.

Try wearing a 15lbs vest all day you will feel a lot more tired BECAUSE THE ADDED WEIGHT MADE YOU BURN MORE FUEL DURING YOUR DAY.

Losing weight = everything is easier = you burn less calories = you stimulate less fat loss.

[/quote]

I read what you said and if you look at what I said I said that Iā€™m only talking about a few pounds of weight loss (1-3lb) before what Iā€™m doing stops working, not 15lb. so my only conclusion from that is that my body has gotten used to the lower calories already

134

[quote]pumped340 wrote:
Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
pumped340 wrote:

  1. If metabolism doesnā€™t slow down much why is it that when I diet my weight loss halts about a few weeks after having the same calories, especially if daily calories are constant? Not trying to argue, itā€™s just what I noticed. I mean literally just from a few pounds of weight loss Iā€™ll go from losing over a pound a week to not losing anything unless I drop calories again or significantly increase activity.

DID YOU READ MY POST AT ALL, or do you have the reading comprehension of a 3rd grader???

I said that since you are dropping weight, the caloric cost of doing an activity decreases. For example, if you lose 15lbs (be it fat, water or muscle) that is 15lbs that you donā€™t have to carry anymore.

Try wearing a 15lbs vest all day you will feel a lot more tired BECAUSE THE ADDED WEIGHT MADE YOU BURN MORE FUEL DURING YOUR DAY.

Losing weight = everything is easier = you burn less calories = you stimulate less fat loss.

I read what you said and if you look at what I said I said that Iā€™m only talking about a few pounds of weight loss (1-3lb) before what Iā€™m doing stops working, not 15lb. so my only conclusion from that is that my body has gotten used to the lower calories already[/quote]

Not likely. A 1-3lbs loss is not significant enough to cause a metabolic shift or caloric habituation.

Chances are that your activity level or caloric deficit wasnā€™t important enough when you first started.

135

[quote]Pickles wrote:

Questions
I train in the morning, would fruit around 90 mintues before training effect the para-workout window? [/quote]

No, at least not in a negative way.

[quote]Pickles wrote:

This could be serious paralysis by analysis but when calculating g/lb I base my weight on the lowest weight of the week (Saturday am after a long sleep and furthest away from a cheat meal), is this a good idea?[/quote]

Man, that is some SERIOUS over analysis. I donā€™t see a problem doing it this way, but the sheer mental and anal strain would have me regurgitate at least 0.67g/lbs of those carbs :slight_smile:

[quote]Pickles wrote:
last one - if I have an unplanned cheat meal would you suggest reducing carbs for a few days afterwards?

Thanks again!!! [/quote]

I donā€™t like to make up for a mistake by making another mistake.

Ok, cut your carbs after a cheat day, then what? Youā€™ll get ravenous cravings within daysā€¦youā€™ll cheat againā€¦ itā€™s a vicious cycle.

Furthermore, cutting the carbs might negatively affect the quality of your workouts.

What I would suggest is having a monster training session after the cheat (if you have not worked out yet) or the day after.

136

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:

Not likely. A 1-3lbs loss is not significant enough to cause a metabolic shift or caloric habituation.

[/quote]

Thats exactly what Iā€™m saying, that itā€™s not the weight loss causing my fat loss to stall but the fact that my body is used to the calories.

If Iā€™m at 3200 calories and drop to 2700 and then in 2 weeks I stop losing weight (but that weight loss was only 1-3lb) then I would assume my body just got used to 2700 calories which goes back to my original post about how as the calories get lower (maybe 2200 in the next 3 weeks after that) metabolism is slowing down with it and if calories are pretty constant each day as they drop (like with the method mentioned with carbs only around workouts as opposed to a method with a large refeed) I figured you would need a way to stop/lessen this metabolic slowdown.

137

Christian, ive been pondering for a few days now and i finally have the opportinity to ask:
I am taking 20g slow carbs 30mins pre and 20g fast carbs 15mins pre, and ofcause 30g fast post.
What i dont know is, for both slow and fast absorption carbs, whether high sugar carbs (eg. cookie) or low sugar carbs (eg. rice cracker) are preferable?

138

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
Pickles wrote:

Questions
I train in the morning, would fruit around 90 mintues before training effect the para-workout window?

No, at least not in a negative way.

Pickles wrote:

This could be serious paralysis by analysis but when calculating g/lb I base my weight on the lowest weight of the week (Saturday am after a long sleep and furthest away from a cheat meal), is this a good idea?

Man, that is some SERIOUS over analysis. I donā€™t see a problem doing it this way, but the sheer mental and anal strain would have me rigurgitate at least 0,67g/lbs of those carbs :slight_smile:

Pickles wrote:
last one - if I have an unplanned cheat meal would you suggest reducing carbs for a few days afterwards?

Thanks again!!!

I donā€™t like to make up for a mistake by making another mistake.

Ok, cut your carbs after a cheat day, then what? Youā€™ll get ravenous cravings within daysā€¦youā€™ll cheat againā€¦ itā€™s a vicious cycle.

Furthermore, cutting the carbs might negatively affect the quality of your workouts.

What I would suggest is having a monster training session after the cheat (if you have not worked out yet) or the day after.
[/quote]

Haha, got me with the Anal strain! This is the problem when you like a good bit of spreadsheet p*rn that spits out the g/lb and ratios of all your macro nutrients etc.

I like the idea of the monster session after the cheat meal, shouldā€™ve thought of that one!! good excuse to treat myself to a random unscheduled crazy deadlifting session.

Iā€™m in the process of getting my para-workout nutrition nailed down to a fine art, actually eating carbs regularly again (feels really weird) and working in some protein pulsing & a lower protein day.

Iā€™m thinking of the following:

Monday - Heavy Lower body + conditioning/GPP
Tuesday - Off
Wednesday - Heavy Bench & Upper
Thursday - Off
Friday - Lower Speed
Saturday - Upper Speed + conditioning/GPP
Saturday night - Cheat meal post workout (not excessive, just for psychological break)
Sunday - Low Protein day, fruit, Veg, few nuts etc until a decent slab of meat in the evening.

Off days are a pulse followed by a solid meal 1/2-1 hour later 3 x per day. Fruit in first meal if required.

Training Days
5am pulse
530am - whey, + a bit of peanut butter/fish oil or Fruit (if required)
630am - Workout fuel
7am - Recovery
during - Recovery
9am - Pulse

  • same solid food as off day over rest of day

Appreciate that you may not be able to respond to a complex one like this as youā€™re a busy man, but thanks again for your advise.

139

The stuff that is coming out of T-Nation and your brain is fantastic, i canā€™t get enough of it.

So i have been around 240lbs and 13% body fat (bodpod) for the last year, and decided i was going to make a change and get in the single digit bf%. I see every coach saying there is no reason to really get above 10% to gain muscle, and i like being ripped, so i am going to take that advice.

So i decided to jump on the velocity diet, mostly to break my cravings of bad food. What i have noticed is that i hold a larger amount of my fat on my chest area (if this has been asked before i apologize). I hold a lot more fat there than any of my training partners. Luckily my chest is well developed so it does not look bad.

Now obviously as i get more lean the fat there will diminish. But what i am wondering is, does this mean i have some type of hormonal inbalance? Besides continuing my fat loss is there anything you would recommend specifically for this? I have read in places that Zinc can help, but i donā€™t understand why.

I really appreciate your help and I am stoked to get on your workout nutrition protocols once i finish this damn diet! Thanks!

140

CT

(Transitioning off Anabolic diet related question, sorry if youā€™ve already addressed my concern in a previous post)

Iā€™ve been on the AD for a few months and am about 5ā€™8 170lbs at 9-10% bf. I want to get down to about 6-7% but would like to transition into incorporating para-workout carbs because I feel like the intensity/productivity of some of my workouts at the end of the week are really suffering due to the lack of glycogen. However, I am a little worried about all of sudden adopting a full blown para-workout supplement/carb protocol (should I be?) given that Iā€™ve been on the AD for a while. How would you recommend going about this transition while keeping in mind I would like to drop body fat but keep my workouts as productive/intense as possible?

141

For someone only looking to lose a little fat (say 5-7lbs), would you recommend going the all out for 2 weeks approach, or the do the minimum needed to lose weight at an acceptable pace over a longer period of time approach?