Started the T-dawg 2.0 diet on Sunday and plan to do it for a few weeks before possibly trying the Cheater’s Diet again in May. This will be my blog to keep myself accountable and see if double dose Surge can help me keep or maybe even gain some muscle during a calorie restricted diet.
Calcs for Diet
158 # and 16.8% BF
Week 1 Kcal 2350
Protein 240 per day
Carb 70 on non workout; 100 on workout
Fat 125 on non workout; 110 on workout
Week 2
Plan to decrease Kcal by 500 but will see how week one goes and adjust from there.
Day 1–Sunday 4/1
No workout today
Fell a little short of kcals because i slept in.
Total Kacl=1876
Pro=179
Carb=74
Fat=96
Day 2–Monday 4/2
Started CW’s 10x3 for fat loss program
Exercises (all 10x3 with 45 sec rests)
Deadlifts
Pull-ups
Front Squats
Decline Bench
Preworkout drink
Couple sips of Spike Shooter before leaving house then
1/2 serving of Surge in ~ 500 ml after warmup and before 1st working set
Periworkout
Same as above but sipped throughout.
It was challenging to drink this one because i felt pretty full from the pre workout drink
Postworkout
1 FULL serving of Surge in about 1 L of water.
This was more concentrated than I usually like my Surge to be, but i took it down anyway.
Workout notes:
Workout went well. I hadn’t worked out in a couple of weeks other than just some chins and push ups so the 10x3 was really a bear.
Extra Surge seemed to keep me from tiring as rapidly as usual, but it could have been placebo. I was able to complete all reps of all sets with what I deemed appropriate weight after a brief 3 week layoff.
This will be a true test of the double dose protocol for recovery.
Surge notes:
After the full serving bolus I became pretty chilled and fatigued. It was obvious that I was experiencing some hypoglycemia. I know this is sort of the desired effect of the product, but having the insulin rush really hit me hard for about 35-45 minutes afterwards. Hopefully this is not the case with future days.
Diet
Total KCal 2220
Pro 218
Carb 139
Fat 88
Went a bit over the 100 g/day carb allotment with the double dose protocol. I’m thinking this will be ok because they are used during the workout window. It also allows be some other small carbs during breakfast.
Day 3–Tuesday 4/3
Day 1 post workout.
DOMS that is increasing by the hour. I guess the double dose Surge didn’t do much to help that. Then again I hadn’t been to the gym in a while and the workout was pretty intense. Hopefully I won’t be this sore with future workouts
Total Kcal 1924
Pro 206
Carb 56
Fat 97
Fell short on Kcal again. Not sure why. I have been keeping a log on Fitday. I may need to start setting a watch timer to eat.
Day 4, Wed
Total Kcal 1934
Pro 178
Carb 75
Fat 76
EtOH 34 g
Had to travel today for an interview and ended up being low on kcal again. Had a couple of beers with an old friend from school.
Was still pretty sore today even though it was about 48 hours post workout. Thighs and Hams were especially tender.
Day 5, 4/5–Did not record foods as I was out of town for a job interview.
Legs were still sore on this day, I did have a chance to sit in a hot tub for about an hour. Not sure if it helped.
Day 6, 4/6
Even though I am keeping this log, it doesn’t seem to be helping me stay on track with the diet. Went out for a girl’s bday party and while I did have a few drinks I kept it limited. Got in a workout before going out
All 10x3 with 75% 1RM and 45 sec rests
Squats
Bent over bar rows
DB Shoulder Press
Romanian DLs
Was able to complete all reps of all sets despite some residual soreness from Mondays workout.
For the Surge, this time I put 3 scoops in 1 L of water. Drank 1/2 during warmup and other half during WO. Came home and downed the other full serving. Did not crash nearly as hard as the first time I tried this protocol.
Diet
T Kcal 3200
Pro 235
Carb 190
Fat 133
Day 7, 4/7
Did not feel as sore today after last nights workout as I did Tuesday after the monday workout. It helped that I got more sleep and that I went a bit high on Kcal after the Friday workout.
Diet
Tkcal 2276
Pro 197
Carb 67
Fat 136
Was a little low on protein but covered it up by being a little over on fat.
Will post again with week 1 results after tomorrows measurements
Day 8 Week 2-4/8
Week 1 results
Weight 156 (started 158)
BF 16.3% (started 16.8%)
Down 2 lbs about 1.3 of fat and about 0.7 of LBM which I assume is mostly water/glycogen.
THoughts: Overall I am pleased with the results of week 1. I lost 2 lbs despite not being perfect for the week. I definately was low on calories a few times and there was about 1.5 days where I deviated from the diet.
The workouts were difficult, but I was able to complete both of them. I am even more impressed with the results considered that I didn’t add in any cardio, BCAA, or HOT-ROX Extreme during week 1. I figured that these could be saved for a later time if I feel I hit a wall or am losing too much LBM.
Plan for week 2 is to continue to follow the diet as prescribed which means decreasing calories by 500 per day. This would drop me to 1850. I will do this for a week and make adjustments if I feel too sluggish or lose too much LBM.
Day 8 Diet
Tkcal 1902
Pro 215
Carb 40
Fat 98
Day 9 Diet
Tkacl 1888
Pro 221
Carb 44
Fat 92
Having some trouble keeping the fats low after eating so much of it last week, but will make some alterations to some meals and hope to hit closer tomorrow.
Day 10 4/10
Tkcal 1809
Pro 208
Carb 71
Fat 77
Started to feel a little bit run down on this day so I decided to curb the workout and planned for wednesday instead.
Day 11 4/11
Tkcal 1842
Pro 215
Carb 70
Fat 78
Stayed home from work today and thus didn’t get my workout in. I’m thinking this little bug could be due to lack or nutrients (esp veggies/fruits) maybe leading to some compromised immune fxn. Plan to go back to work tomorrow and workout right after, but will depend on how I feel.
Day 12 4/12
Tkcal 1819
Pro 220
Carb 66
Fat 75
Still didn’t feel well enough to hit the gym. I’m starting to get frustrated about this cold. Hoping to gym it up on Friday.
Day 13 4/13
Didn’t feel well on this day. Again no workout. Didn’t do a very good job of keeping track of my intake either, but I know I ended up low on calories. Plan to keep a good tally on Saturday and FINALLY get back into the gym.
Haven’t worked out in a while + Caloric Deficit = Cold.
Seems like you might want to spend a while getting used to lifting again on at least a maintenance level of cals before trying to cut. It’s hard on your body to do everything at once.
I had similar experience a couple of months ago.
Day 14-4/14
Finally got to the gym for a workout. It actually went pretty well. Kept the weight the same as the previous workout but cut the rest intervals down 5s as described in the article.
Did the double dose Surge again. I feel more of a pump especially towards the end of the workout, but I’m not sure I like the full servig afterwards.
I think part of it is due to the fact that i am on a reduced carb diet already. That 50 g bolus of malto really hits me hard.
Also went out to eat last night and stuffed my face. That also did a number on me.
Kept track of calories before dinner. At that point i was at
Tcal 1500
Pro 141
Carb 98
Fat 60
With the dinner, I easily went over 2500. Measurement tomorrow, probably not ideal to measure the day after a workout and a cheat meal, but i’ll do it anyway just for record keeping purposes.
Day 15–4/15 AM measurements
Weight was down a small amount to 155, but BF had crept up just slightly. Basically I didn’t notice much of a change. However I had been sick during the week and only worked out 1 time so I wasn’t expecting much change from last week. If anything, it is probably good that i didn’t lose more weight.
I’m thinking it was kind of a waste to do measurements a day after a hard workout (muscle breakdown) and a huge cheat meal (some increased weight from glycogen storage and food). These measurements don’t really do anything for me so I guess I will continue this next week as planned with 1850.
Cold is almost gone now so i should be a little more active this week. Updates with todays diet later.
Day 15–4/15
Tcal 1887
Pro 229
Carb 65
Fat 79
Starting another week today.
Day 16–4/16
Tcal 1697
Pro 197
Carb 63
Fat 73
Fell a bit short on everything today as I had to stay very late at work and didn’t prepare enough food in advance. I am traveling on 4/17 and 4/18 so hopefully I can keep good track of things.
Day 17–4/17
Diet went well for the first part of the day, but I ended up eating a cheat meal on this evening that consisted of salmon, asparagus, some rice and some chicken wings.
Day 18–4/18
I attended a job interview on this day and thus was unable to stick to the regualr T-dawg plan. Back on board tomorrow and hopefully I’ll get a workout in too.
Day 19–4/19
Tcal 1905
Pro 209
Carb 49
Fat 97
No workout today, had to stay really late at work.
Day 20–4/20
Did not keep a log this day.
Day 21–4/21
Tcal 1581
Pro 129
Carb 102
Fat 73
Day 22–4/22 Measurements
Weight 154.6
BF 16.1%
Lost close to a lb of FM and gained about 0.5 lbs of LBM so I’m happy.
Weather is starting to get nicer so my NEPA should increase as well as the amount of time spent doing cardio. So far I have just been lifting without cardio or even HIIT, so i think once i have a chance to start doing some of that, things should progress faster.
Overall I have been please so far. I have not been 100% with the diet or in getting to the gym these last few weeks, but am losing weight slowly, which is encouraging.
The plan will be to continue down the same road for at least another 2 weeks without adding in HRX or other supps. At that point I may consider switching over to the Cheater’s diet for a month. I did it last year and it was the easiest and most effective diet I have ever tried. I’m almost looking forward to doing it again.
Diet
Tcal 1900
Pro 237
Carb 111
Fat 56
Day 23–4/23
Tcal 1785
Pro 211
Carb 60
Fat 78
Day 24–4/24
Tcal 1838
Pro 220
Carb 73
Fat 74