I actually had a thought that has not yet been brought up: TT I don’t recall seeing your thoughts on glutamine supplementation for preserving LBM while reducing calories - is this something you advise or not at this point for T-bow?
I am truly ashamed of myself…I should have eaten more and went 10 lbs or so over 
Very curious about my T levels so I am going to get a blood test this week so I know for sure.
I was thinking of ordering and doing the 1 bottle test but I think I’ll see whether I really need it as Biotest stuff is very expensive in Australia unfortunately.
Been wakeboarding all day so I am totally wasted, time for bed.
Hey Bow what type of workouts are you doing?
Hogan, David Barr wrote a compelling article (actually 2) on glutamine. And John Berardi, as well, has weighed in on the subject. Check out the 3 links below and tell me what you think.
The funny thing is that I don’t recommend glutamine by itself. However, a BCAA formula I loved did have a little glutamine in it, along with the BCAAs. BCAA supplementation prior to workout or cardio I do feel would be protective of LBM.
Bump
Sorry to resurect this thread but another thread today got me thinking.
I am wondering if the question should be should I even diet?
Without any real time pressure to lose BF I am thinking I like Patricia’s approach to the whole skinny-fat thing.
Hey Bow I was thinking the same thing after reading that post, but I still want to get a little lower in bodyweight, then I will begin to workout different.
P.S. How is your diet coming along?
T-Bow, it’s a valid approach, one I support. If you want to go that route create a slight surplus in your diet, say 250 calories per day. Increase caloric intake slowly in conjunction with a well-designed bulking program. As a general approach, keep the same eating patterns, taking in the majority of your (starchy-type) carbs in PWO, green veggie carbs at other times, and running lower on calories on non-workout days, higher on workout days. When weight gain stops for more than one or two weeks, increase calories again by about 250 calories or so.
It is also dependent on how lean you are @ the time
Patricia’s response was to directed toward someone whom had allready dieted down to the mid teens.
I dont think her statement is a blanket one that can be taken out of its context and used for every situation. If someone the person was lets say 25% bf she might have had different advice.
Just my 2cc.
Bow hows it coming anyhow.? This thread just vanished all the sudden.
Phill
Just wanted to add one more thing.
One reason for the differing response to someone with a higher BF% is, when BF is fairly high it is possible to actually lose good amounts of fat and gain LBM @ the same time. Your body can get a large amount of the extra fuel needed from the extra fuel you are carrying around.
Your thinking is right on in one aspect. Anyone interested in getting and staying lean will benefit from adding LBM, and the benefits it brings.
Phill
Phil,
OKay I get the issue now re starting BF levels.
I have decided the best thing for me is to continue the exisiting plan.
I haven’t been following it 100% so my results have reflected this by basically staying the same at 79kg/26%.
You get out what you put in so I’m not complaining.
Bow, only you know what you “should” do, whether it’s lose BF or gain muscle. If you want to be both huge and ripped eventually, then you gotta do both; it’s just a question of order. If you want only to be huge and strong, then you don’t need to worry about losing BF, as the post you quoted advised. If you want to be lean but not huge, like a Men’s Health cover model, then you primarily want to lose BF right now.
There are people here who want to be big and strong and don’t care if they look lean. And there are people who want to look lean, and don’t care so much if they are big and strong. Who’s right? There’s no “right” goal. If you primarily want to be lean and are dieting to achieve low BF and preserve muscle mass, why should anyone tell you that you “shouldn’t” have that goal?
It can be good to re-evaluate your goals and your motivation to achieve them. But you decide. It’s your body and your life.
You bring up a great point, and I think Terry hit the nail on the head.
When people read stuff like what Patricia wrote, they tend to second guess themselves and think, “well hey I need to gain some weight!” So they go out and get Chinese buffet, which is not what she’s saying at all (Patricia, correct me if you thought otherwise).
A much better approach is to carefully analyze your current situation and goals, and then decide on a smart meal plan and solid routine.
Take myself for example. I’ve been trimming the fat for a couple of months and right now I’m sitting between 10-11%. Sure I could now begin to up the calories a bit and put on some LBM, but I’m going to stick to Terry’s plan of a little bit lower calories on non-training days, and a little bit higher on training days - but maintain overall: main reason being I have a 7-day cruise coming up in the beginning of March. During the cruise I have no intentions of staying on any type of diet whatsoever though 
People rush in too quickly to cut fat when they’ve been bulking, or bulk as soon as they’ve cut the fat. Maintain for a short time and then reassess what you need to do.
Hope that made sense - still a bit light headed from my leg workout just now.
Hey, Hogan, your brain may be fuzzy from your workout, but that post sure wasn’t!!! (grin)
Pretty solid advice and real world application.
I’m back on track now and have decided to give tribex a try.
Should I change anything eat more etc or just eat as normal? Normal as per TT’s guidleines that is.
I wouldnt change your diet. Stick with the same and see how the Tribex effects you befor you go and change anything. Better to change one thing @ a time so you can see how it actually effects you. If you go and change multiple things, then you aren’t really sure which change led to the effects you got.
Phill
Thanks Phil,
I will do that, change only the supps and see if it kickstarts my fat loss.
T-Bow, it’s the New Year and you’re getting back with your program. You’re starting to lift again, do your cardio, and you’re settling back into your eating patterns. It’s as if you’re starting out fresh. You need 2 or 3 weeks before we start making changes, if indeed those changes are needed.
I know you stayed pretty much the same weight over the holidays (you lucky devil!), but record your weight this Friday, and we’ll use that as your starting number.
I actually cannot believe that we are already through the month of January.
Been interesting looking at the posts since then and I have noticed one thing and that ther appears to be 2 schools of thought.
- The eat heaps of clean food,train heavy and let LBM worry about the BF% . Lets call this group the traditionalists.
2)The scientific approach, caloric deficit monitor your diet pretty hard in terms of macronutrients. We’ll call this group the scientists.
Since I seem to be one of those people that seems to strive for equilibrium, still the same 79kg’s and 26% BF I’d like to propose something.
I’d like to be try and be a guinea pig and implement both schemes and see which ones works best for me if followed consitently.
Set the time period for 4 weeks each and compare results at the end of each period with before and after pictures…faark!
Is this a dumb or something approaching sense as I never will know if a method works for me if I haven’t tried it.
Also by following both methods I’ll have an idea of the way that each will fit into my lifestyle or whether it can become a lifestyle.
Opinions?
T-Bow, that’s a FABULOUS idea! That’s how I’ve learned what my body responds to best. I’m experimenting constantly with my cardio, my diet and my workouts.
Take pictures and measurements to track your progress and let us know how it turns out for you.
Good luck!!!