My boyfriend is 6’1" 300lbs. and upper teens/low 20’s body fat. He would like to lose a significant amount of fat. After some thorough research, we have decided it will be best to start him on the 2.0 T-Dawg diet. My question is about macronutrient intake on this diet.
I’ve multiplied his weight by 15, getting 4500 calories for the first week. We drop that to 4000 calories after that. At 1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight, he will be eating 450 grams of protein a day. On training days, 100 grams of carbs gives us 200 grams of fat. On non-training days, 70 grams of carbs gives us 214 grams of fat.
I just want to make sure my numbers are right and I’m not missing anything before we start. If I’m leaving out any critical information, let me know.
This has got to be one of the best newbie post I have ever seen;). I think your on the right track. But, I am not the expert on the T-dawg Diet. Maybe Tampa-Terry can help out here.
No, the math doesn’t work perfectly if a person is really fat. He might be better off going x 12 for calories and 1 x for protein.
This is why I hate giving numbers. There’s really no way you can get it right unless you keep a food log and experiment based on weekly results. But, everyone wants a place to start so we provide formulas.
BTW, I find there’s little difference between super complicated formulas and simple ones. Both provide a place to start and only personal experience and constant experimentation can sort out what’s right.
Note: One reason why complex formulas aren’t very valuable is because people lie to themselves when doing the numbers: “Hmm, bodyfat percentage? Oh, I’d say about 12 percent.” Yeah, right.
Thank you Chris, I had a feeling there were some intital modifications we could make in his case. We do plan to keep a log and make tweaks based on his results. And I’m here to make sure he’s not lying to himself.
I understand the difficulty in giving calorie intake guidelines because everyone’s body is different and there are so many different factors that will change an individual’s requirements. Trust me, I’ve had to do much tweaking in my own diet to find what’s right for me.
My question stemmed more from the amount of fat grams that my inital ratios (with the 4000 cal) said he should be eating. I understand that this is a reduced carb/higher fat diet, and I am rather new to researching anything lower-carb. I just wanted to make sure that if his body weight really did lend him to eating 4000 cals, he should stick at the 70/100g carbs with such a large amount of fat gram intake.
I think now we’ve got a good starting place. I did get him to take pictures, but they’re on a disposable that he doesn’t want to develop until he starts seeing progress. We’ll do measurements this weekend.
Shanny, most of the time when I’m running the numbers on T-Dawg, I like to use LBM. At 300 pounds and 20% BF, that would be 240 pounds of LBM.
If I were running the numbers, I’d go with 360g of protein per day, 50g at each of 7 meals, one of which was a “get up in the middle of the night to hit the restroom and chug down a pre-made protein shake.” The other meals should be 3 hours apart.
Carbs are pretty straightforward. Focus on those green veggies for maximum satiety and satisfaction. Choose from fresh and frozen sources.
For fat, I’d go with .4g of fat x LBM. That works out to 96g of fat. A tablespoon flaxseed oil is 15g per. Meeting fat requirements won’t be hard, especially since you’ll get fat in the meat and eggs you eat as well.
The thing is that whatever numbers you pick, you stick with those numbers for two weeks to see how you (or your boyfriend, in this case) settle into new eating patterns and macronutrient percentages. From there you make slight adjustments, increasing calories if weight is lost too quickly and lowering calories if weight is lost too slowly.
KraigY, it looks like a solid approach. And if you’re getting good results, all the better.
If you get a chance, read John Berardi’s “Solving the Post Workout Puzzle.” You will very likely trade in your PWO protein shake for some Surge. (grin)
I was going to comment on what Terry said a little earlier. Are you sure his bodyfat is 20%? I’m sure its absolutely possible, but keep in mind that is 240 lbs of lean body mass. If he was in a ripped condition, he would be the same size as Arnold at his competitive peak. Needless to say, while not insanely large like today’s professionals, Arnold was a big boy.
Its probably likely that 4,500 calories would be too much. I myself have been placed on a diet by a well-known bodybuilder with the express intention of getting very lean; it is similar to T-Dawg 2.0. I am 6’2, 240 at about 15%. I’m not taking in anywhere close to that total. The difference between he and I with your stats would be 36 lbs, or anywhere from 44-54 grams of protein more than I which translates to about 200 calories max. If you add the calories for fat and keep the carbs the same, you aren’t going to be near 4,500.
The advice to start with a multiplier of 12 is probably better than starting at the max.
He’s going to need to lift 4-5 times a week intensely, and he’s going to need to do very frequent cardio to lose fat at an appreciable rate. If he was willing to do a lot of cardio, its probably reasonable to keep calories higher and still make a similar rate of progress. Also keep in mind that if he hasn’t worked out a lot lately and he’s fairly overweight, its quite possible with a good diet to add muscle and burn off fat for a while “at the same time”; that’s always a nice thing if you are wanting to see gains in a timeframe that adds drive to one’s motivation to continue. Dieting isn’t easy.
Dr. D-Lo, that’s fair, but all any of us can do is work with the BF% we’ve been given.
Whatever numbers Shanny, I or anyone else would come up with, they’ll very likely need to be adjusted (up or down) after a couple of weeks. That’s why your (and everyone else’s) thoughts, different though they might be, are so valuable.
TT: Absolutely; I just thought the 240 LB number on the lean body mass was probably off and wanted to provide an example of something I’m doing even though my numbers aren’t the same. Your advice is always very well thought out and good.
Thanks to everyone for the recommendations. They helped to put us at a much better starting place. I spent the weekend planning, shopping and cooking and he just finished his first day of eating. For all of the worries he expressed this weekend about not having enough food, I sure did hear “I’m so full” a lot today.
As for the bodyfat percentage, that was just a concensus the two of us and our workout partners came up with, without calipers or measurements. An educated guess I’d say, though I’m sure we could be wrong. For what it’s worth, he does carry that 300 well. I can post photos on that forum, if anyone is interested in giving us a better educated guess before we head to the calipers.
Currently, he is lifting 4-5 times a week intensely, but there is very little cardio being done (read: pickup basketball games at the gym once a week or so, walking to and from school). He gets on cardio kicks now and then, but it never lasts. I’m such a proponent of the diet being such a huge part of the whole puzzle that I’ll take this for now.
I really appreciate everyone’s help. This whole site has given me such valuable information!
This is my first post as well. I started T-Dawg two days ago and am in pretty much the same shape as Shanny’s boyfriend. I tried to use a caliper, but it told me i am 49 percent body fat. Is that possible for a 6’1; 280 lb guy? I have before pics but don’t want to gross anyone out.
vaticstatic, yes, it’s possible. Consider having someone experienced test your BF for you. Self-testing is challenging and problematic, especially for someone who is not experienced or who is at a higher BF%.
Let us know if we can help in any way!!! Congrats on starting the diet. T-Dawg will get you great results without your feeling too terribly deprived.
