Here’s me prior to any exogenous Test or additional “help”. 5’10 and 170. I was pretty lean. I started at 135lbs and it took me years to realize I had not been eating enough.
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@aaronca - I had some bullet points to your question… But damn dude after you posted those pics the answer is really just to look like you did there…haha. looking great.
I’m about 19% BF. I’d like to get that down to 15 if I could…add some more lean mass and get to looking more astetically pleasing/tone/in shape… Whatever the terms are, at 170. So, I guess a recomp while building more lean mass.
I’m clearly not doing it right, that much is certain… Haha.
Thanks for taking the time to respond, very much appreciated.
Damnnn, killing it. I need to get my ass to the gym haha
More or less. I can’t eat much at once so to get more than that I have to eat a little bit constantly. I’m sure I’d get used to it but I’ve just never been fixated on food, I forget to eat lunch or dinner sometimes and hours later it’s like oh yeah I’m dizzy, guess I need to eat something.
Though I guess that’s the only reason I get away with eating fast food and sweets like I do.
I’m not that size anymore, but was rather just a reference point as we are similar height and I was at one point a similar weight. But thank you.
I think you’re starving yourself, and this potentially retaining some fat. Another big part is training, fat is tougher to lose with diet alone. Training should be on point to maximize loss.
Here’s the deal though, true recomp is tough to do at all once. It’s a slower process. I would suggest eating more, keeping food healthy and nutritionally beneficial (all food you eat should have a purpose), and then do a proper workout program for your goals and stick to it. At 19%, I think you should very well be able to lose fat and build muscle simultaneously.
Thank you. I’ve lifted on and off the better part of the last 15 years. Over that period of time, I’ve been in really good shape and as kids came, not so good shape…but as they are getting older, I’m getting a little off my life back and am back to where I am now.
The same stuff I used to do doesn’t seem to have the same effect now, so I’ve recently switched it up. I’m 35 days into an Athlean X program and really enjoying the variations and program in general.
I appreciate the helpful advice. Seems like I’m not too far away from what I want, I just need to think more about my diet…and really improve there. Thanks again.
Getting older makes it harder, but kids are the real game changer for sure. I have two both under 4 years old, definitely makes it tough some days!
Any advice on how to make it work? I don’t have any yet
I bet you probably get lost in your work - that happens to me sometimes too. Easiest way to diet is to work on something challenging that takes your focus off of food.
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Yeah man, half the country will be clinically obese by 2030 - insane to consider. We’re living in strange times. Just allows guys like us to stand out more in all arenas of life. You don’t have energy to perform if you’re unhealthy.
Honestly, the hardest part for people wanting to recomp is getting enough protein and training consistently with good programming. It sounds like you’re well ahead there. All you have to do is the easy part: eat more (good) fats and (good) carbs.
For fats with meals, just add some olive oil or grass-fed butter. For carbs, I’m big on oatmeal and potatoes in all forms. I often get fats/carbs through my go-to snack: plain-ass rice cakes with natural peanut/almond butter and sugar-free jelly. It’s soooo good.
Be careful with olive oil, the vast majority at the local grocery stores is junk and not pure/actual olive oil. The health studies of olive oil are for REAL olive oil.
Avocados IMO are tough to beat! Eggs, fish, some red meat, all has some fat. But avocado is a go to for me.
This sounds delicious. I love PB&J…How many do you eat in a sitting? I feel like this is something I could easily over eat…haha
I love the Teddie PB…so good.
Oh yeah, you’ve gotta be careful - I typically only eat it with protein so I’m satiated, otherwise you could go all day. I typically have 2 rice cakes with 1 tbsp PB & 1 jelly.
1tbs of PB and 1tbs jelly on each of the rice cakes or 1tbs if each split between the 2 rice cakes?
This is a great snack suggestion, but please don’t just rely on this to up your calories to where they need to be.
You really ought to try to eat more rice, oats, potatoes, turkey, fish, chicken, beef, broccoli, avocado. These are meals of true substance and nutritional value. Rice cakes and peanut butter are a great snack to satiate in between meals, or in a pinch, but without knowing you at all, I’d guess you should be eating 2400-2800 calories a day. Sounds like you need to get a solid daily routine of eating in order.
Only trying to help, sorry to interject.
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1 in total split between the 2
You’re definitely right - whole meals are the way to go.
I think I have some meals nailed down, but others are tough sometimes.
Dinner tonight will be 250g chicken, 85g green beans, 112g mashed white potatoes. Desert will be 160g unflavored fage greek yogurt, 25g vanilla protein powder mixed into the yogurt. Totals will be:
610 calories
99g protein
23g carbs
13g fat
Sounds like I need some grass fed irish butter on my taters and more taters??
Your comments are always welcome @aaronca. You and @bkb333 know a ton more about how to eat right than I do. Trying to learn and I appreciate both of what you are suggesting. Thank you.
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That would be an incredibly healthy meal for almost anyone I know. The only issue, as you know, is that you’re undereating carbs and fat. Yeah, I would put 1 tbsp butter on there, eat some more potatoes and put some fruit (berries and bananas are my favorite) in the yogurt.
Backward as it may seem, I would probably reduce the protein powder (keeping some in for flavor, or eliminating it and using a sweetener like Stevia) so you have the appetite to eat all of this. Protein is very satiating, which is why you feel full despite eating so little.
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