You’re correct but I’ve yet to master that last part. Focusing on meat and greens is a good approach. Good luck!
I wouldn’t change anything for basketball day. You’re cutting, not training for performance.
Man, I really struggle with this (not bingeing), too. I think much of it stems from my past…in high school, I was a really good athlete and was training/moving constantly. I also worked at restaurants and would pound like 5,000 calories (no joke) on one shift, just throwing back whatever I wanted. Imagine if we still had that type of metabolism!
True. I wasn’t really thinking about my basketball performance, though – more so whether I should be adjusting carbs/calories because I’m not lifting. Think I should keep them the same?
I eat the same every day. If you want to cycle carbs up and down based on training then go for it. I just don’t think it’s worth the hassle for me.
I don’t even account for exercise anymore. I eat the same number of calories regardless of what I do during the day. I used to enter the exercise until MFP and eat more on big training days but then I’d feel like I was starving on rest days.
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Have you noticed any body-comp differences with these varying approaches to rest days?
I may have missed it but what are you using to measure body fat? We didn’t even have a scale so I bought one of those bioelectrical impedance ones off of Amazon for around $40. I don’t think it’s very accurate, I’ve been between 10.9-11.2% but I don’t look quite as lean as you at your stated 12%.
I am also using one from Amazon, a cheap one at that.
It’s far from perfect but does help me track trends, particularly when combined with tape measures of my waist. I had a DEXA a couple years ago, when I thought I was 15%, and I was actually 19.5%. So I tend to trust the higher numbers.
Interesting I have noticed the same but only when free T is above 30. Anything close to 25 or lower is normal recovery it seems.
Thanks for telling me that.
I personally would eat some carbs before any cardio. From experience it helps a ton with getting a proper session in.
The only thing that I see with the diet of yours is that shbg can be negatively impacted. I keep seeing the high shbg guys have been on a diet of low carb or keto at one point in time. You are paying attention
To this right?
Otherwise I’m amazed. Maybe one day I can find the motivation to follow in your foot steps. Partially.
Have fun. The 8% body fat will be short lived anyways so don’t emphasize to much on that state. It will be hard to stay there.
Yah me to. I just eat when hungry and make sure I get in the nutrients I need. I’m so not organized in my diet.
“Mmm I haven’t had greens in a while.
Let’s get a smoothie”.
I haven’t had protein since last night. Let’s get a steak.
Lolll
My best body comp is now and I’ve been eating the same on training and rest days. I think it’s a personal preference thing. Your body doesn’t make adjustments day to day. It adjusts in weeks and months.
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Yep, I have a feeling keto (which I followed for 2ish years) definitely contributed to my high SHBG. I am not eating high-fat now, though. My fat consumption is actually pretty low (around 20%) most days. I was just considering mixing in a low-carb day on my rest day each week. You don’t think the diet I outlined above with high-protein, moderate-carb, low-fat is problematic for SHBG, right? I think this plan should be advantageous for my hormones, provided fat doesn’t go too low.
Yeah, I don’t plan to stay at 8, but I do plan to stay quite lean. I think staying between 8-11 year-round would be optimal! Imagine being in a bulk and still feeling beach-ready. That’s the dream.
Honestly not sure. I think as long as you are eating carbs and not going to extreme
You should be fine. Sounds like you already have experience with this and know what to do. I had a feeling you mentioned high shbg before but could not recall.
Yah I’m at 13 now and I still have weight to lose I’m fat. I bet 8-11% is not hard to maintain with a good diet. We are both naturally lean and high metabolism.
Probably much harder for someone who is not.
FYI I was going to post that it seems when I first started injections and creams I had swelling in the ankles, face and nipples were still sensitive. I noticed in the last month I’ve lost tons of fat . I think I was at 18 beginning of April and now at 13. At the same time all those symptoms are gone. Before I would just lower my dose to 2 clicks if my ankle and face were fat.
Now I can take 3 clicks without any issues. Where before I would take 2 to lower the ankle from getting inflamed.
As long as I am not totally incorrect haha 
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Depends what your goals are. In my opinion if your were doing a cardio activity and was going for performance then yes eat carbs prior for the glycogen. Eating carbs before when you are going for fat loss though the body will burn the excess glycogen created by the carbs before burning fat for energy. Limit the glycogen by not consuming carbs prior and the body will turn to the fat sooner rather than later.
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Woke up surprised to see the scale had slightly budged upward, both in terms of weight and BF%, despite flawless nutrition again the day before. Granted, this measurement system is far from perfect, so I’m not reading into it too much. I’ve also been consuming way more water than usual – probably twice as much – so that may be playing a role. TMI warning: I took a huge shit shortly after measuring myself, which may have thrown off the numbers.
Day 1/Today (Day 4)
Weight: 174.8/174.6
Waist: 30.1/29.75
BF: 12.0/11.9
It might sound strange because I’m only four days into this thing and the scale hasn’t changed significantly, but I already can feel my midsection tightening up. I really do feel leaner than I did one week ago. I imagine, even if I don’t hit my 8% goal, I will see some noteworthy body-comp changes over these 8 weeks, given how vigilant I’ve been about nutrition.
An hour before basketball this morning I had a banana, chocolate mint Oatmega bar, and 0-cal Powerade. My performance was awesome. In a group of 15 guys in their 20s, I was the only one who played the whole time without a break.
I refueled with a shake, two chocolate rice cakes, and some cottage cheese mixed with blueberries, strawberries, banana, pineapple, and cinnamon (this mixture was unbelievably good).
I was an athlete all my life and never knew anything about nutrition; never knew how to fuel my body or how to recover. It’s frustrating to think about how much better I could have been back in the day! But with time comes wisdom, and I’m sure the same is the case for many former athletes who later got into fitness around here. Just grateful to finally be really discovering how food impacts my body.
Between walking to/from basketball and playing, I’ve already accrued 17K steps today. I’ll likely finish with at least 20K for the day. Woo!
Given that high level of activity, I was thinking about slightly upping my calories for the day – perhaps to 1900 or 1950 (I’ve been eating 1850). I have a feeling my legs are going to be crushed either way (I’m not at all accustomed to this much movement), but perhaps that bump could help, especially as I want to get in quality lifting sessions on Friday and Saturday. Thoughts? @jackolee @Frank_C
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Awesome and I feel the same about “only if I had known”.
If i knew then what I know now. It goes for every walk of life. Some say this in business. Others say this with family or love. It’s part of life. Regrets. Lollll
I think the cheap bio impedance scales mostly go off of weight. I’ve done morning and evening measurements and I’m suddenly .1-.2% “fatter” in the evening even though I’ve eaten at a deficit and am more hydrated. My wife stepped on it with my settings and it said she was 7% BF.
Also think you’re overthinking the exact calories a bit. While it’s great to be accurate with your plan, a 50-100 calorie difference on a day here or there isn’t really going to matter in the long run unless
you have a strict timeline.
I go based off of feel. If I find myself just absolutely starving regardless of how much I eat then I’ll go ahead and have a little more to keep me sane. I just tell myself that my body needs it or I wouldn’t be feeling the way I do. If you do go up a bit just eat quality sources and it won’t matter in the grand scheme of things.
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Good stuff, man. Appreciate the advice. I worked my body really hard today but have the willpower to keep hunger under control, if needed, because I’m focused on this BF goal. I think if I do bump up my intake, it will come either through protein at dinner time (more shrimp!) or in my pre-bed shake (more Casein).
Yeah, man – that mode of measurement is so far from ideal, but I think it (in combination with tape measurements and weekly photos) offers the best blend of accuracy and practicality. I’m not going to pay for routine DEXAs or anything…I’m too cheap for that.
Totally hear you, but I guess I have a somewhat “strict” timeline because I’m trying to drop this 4% BF in 8 weeks. But it’s not like it’s going to devastate me if I don’t get there. The overall goal – both now and for the long run – is improved body comp and health.
You’re right, brother. Thank God for the circle of life and for all it teaches us.
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