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posted by Big A

Pre AM workout - Whey Protein Shake

Meal 1.half dozen egg whites, a bowl of oatmeal and a glass of non fat milk/OJ.

Meal 2. should be something like a shake with high protein and low fat

Meal 3. 2-3 chicken breasts, or 2 cans of tuna, or 3 fish fillet, or an 8 oz steak w/ 3-4 oz of shrimp, with a half a sweet/any potato, a cup or any type of rice but not white, and a cup of broccoli

Meal 4. Shake 50 grams+

Workout

Meal 5. 2-3 chicken breasts,or 2 cans of tuna, or 3 fish fillet, or an 8 oz steak w/ 3-4 oz of shrimp, and the rest same as meal 3 or a large salad

Meal 6. a Shake or a small meal like above minus cabs salad only

^^thanx to canibalistic_js for this suggestion

today the diet starts i used cani's diet suggestion and on days when im doing the early AM cardio im adding in the protein shake before hand, but other than that im sticking with that plan, ill get some starting pics of myself hopefully tonight, ill also get a starting weight and everything.

posted by president_fad

i dont think you have enough fat in your diet. I think you need to incorpate flax or evoo or something like that.

posted by Big A

you reccomend more even though im looking to cut somewhere around 80lbs?

posted by president_fad

yea i am. Do you know the benefits of fat in your diet??

posted by Enickma

Ideally you want to save the shakes for morning and post workout. That's what they're best for. Spread the food protein sources out a bit. Instead of having 2-3 chicken breasts or cans of tuna in one sitting try 1-2 and eat the other one in place of the shake. You said in another post that you're doing an initial cut down from 300lbs+ right? In that case you'll want to focus on small amounts of clean solid food every couple of hours. That will keep your metabolism running high while minimizing fat spillover from macronutrients above and beyond what your bodies short-term needs are. You need to maintain an overall daily caloric deficit, of course, It seems like you're already taking GI into account, and that's good. Sticking with low GI carbs will keep your insulin levels on an even keel. When your body reacts to high GI carbs and spikes insulin you start storing fat.

When Pres said you need more fat, you've got to make sure it's the right kind. Avoid Saturated fat and Trans Fat like the plague. Look for mono and polyunsaturated fat, EFA's...etc. Good sources are Almonds, fish, fish oil, flax oil, oatmeal..etc. Just look at the labels.

If you haven't already, go sign up for a free account at fitday.com.
http://www.fitday.com/

Especially when you're getting started it's a great way to organize your food intake and really helps you tweak your diet, while providing you a visual representation of your macro / micro nutrient intake.

Calculate your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) here:
http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/

That will tell you approximately how many calories you body uses just to run itself every day. That's not taking activities into account. Any physical movement you do will add caloric needs to that, but not at the rate most people think it does..;) I say take 500 cals off of your BMR and shoot for that as a daily caloric intake. If anything, that will be on the low side, so make sure your protein intake stays high. And as always make sure you're drinking enough water. It's a double edged sword when you're losing fat. Too much of a caloric deficit and you risk losing muscle mass and therefore also experiencing metabolic slowdowns, too little of a caloric deficit and you won't be losing fat as fast as you'd probably like to. Overall just focus on cardio, eating right, and lifting hard. It'll work out for you.

Good Luck! We're all happy to help. :thumbs:

posted by Big A

ok i know i do need a certain amount but i just figured that what i was eating/drinking would be enough but if you guys think i need to add in more then i will calculate that in. thanx a lot for the links ill check those bad boys out

posted by Big A

wow i now see that after reading small guys post "why Cant i grow" and doing the fit day thing i do need to incorporate more fat, i only have about 30g thus far on the day and im into the later half of the day

thanx again for the input on that guys

posted by Big A

what would you say would be better to get flax or fish oil? and what should normal dosage be?

posted by Enickma

Normal dosage on that is about a tablespoon at at time, once or twice per day. Most people like to mix it in their whey shakes or oatmeal, and some advocate it right before bed because it burns slow and it's believed to keep the metabolism active overnight. Flax or Fish doesn't make that much of a difference. I believe fish oil is supposed to have a better balance of omega 3 / 6, but I could be wrong about that. Either way, go for the actual liquid oil in a bottle over the pills. You get ALOT more bang for your buck.

The best is probably a whole food approach. Honestly I personally think that if you keep tuna / fish and oatmeal as part of your regular diet and throw in some almonds and natty PB, you should be fine....but that's JMO.

posted by Big A

well Flax just tastes awsome!!! i think im gonna get a drink out of the toilet now...blah

i believe you are right about the fish oils being more 3/6 i got both fish and flax, i got the caps of Fish Body Oils and the liquid Flax Oil so now im set with those. here is what im doing today same as yesterday just changing things and adding things

Meal 1: Oatmeal, 1 can of Tuna, glass of OJ & Flax 7:30 AM

Meal 2: can of tuna 9:30am

Meal 3: 2 cans of tuna and a Tuna steak w/ lemon pepper sauce, and a fish body oil gel cap 11:30am

Meal 4: can of tuna, and some M&M's 1:30pm

Meal 5: can of tuna 3:30pm

Workout at 5:15 or 5:30
Protein Shake

i gotta add in some green stuff which i will add in tonight for supper i forgot to bring any to work with me today. and something else aside from tuna im about fished out for the day need some chicken or something just woke up late.

one question as far as cals go do i want my daily activities to use more cals than basal?

posted by cwshorns

r u going to eat anything else, like meat? I'm a fan of the tuna, but you're not going to want to eat this 7 days/wk, 5 times/day. Number one youll get tired of it! Number 2 it wont be healthy to eat that much tuna

posted by Big A

lol, yeah tell me about it im gonna eat other stuff i just didnt have time to make my chicken before i left this morning so i thought quick and grabbed tuna, believe me im about fished out for the day. im gonna go home and slam down some chicken after i workout that will be

meal 6: Chicken, Shrimp, and some veggies, and some NF milk

posted by Big A

im looking at about 2500 cals that way

posted by canibalistic_js

Do you know your maintenance cals?

posted by Big A

yeah both say i use about 2950+ to keep myself alive, so i figure if i can pull 2500cals then that should be a good round number to work with

thus far i have used about 1355, and after my post workout shake im looking at about 1620

posted by illsniggles

nicee

posted by Enickma

Sounds good to me man. :thumbs:

posted by Big A

breakdown - about 2425cals - 21%fat, 23% carbs, 56% protein

posted by Big A

wow i found my new friend, 8oz boneless venison steak, 389cals, 8.37g Fat, 0carbs, 73.31g protein

just about any venison is nuts

posted by Protein

.......

posted by Big A

nice they are just right up the road from me

daily breakdown - 2507cals, 25% Fat, 19% Carbs, 57% protein

334 down from 337 since monday

posted by Protein

LMAO yeah thats what i was gonna say.If you order by credit card youll prolly get your package within a day and a half.:thumbs:

posted by Big A

as soon as i get rid of the GNC stuff i got ill be all over it, that chocolate shake sounds freakin awsome, and so do a lot of those other ones

posted by Big A

thursdays breakdown - 2197cals, 24%fat, 24% carbs, 51% protein

my workout sucked i wanst feeling as strong as normal last night, i dont know for sure but it may have been because i didnt take the muscletech candy i have right before hand, cause i know the hydroxycut has 300mg caffiene in it but i dont know

posted by Enickma

Yknow... I get the same thing from time to time. Sometimes ya got it...sometimes ya don't. Even if you feel like you're not at 100%, do the best you can, it'll prolly be better next time.

posted by Dex

300mg of caffine? sheeesh thats too much

posted by Big A

really you think that is to much? cause i end up with about 600 in a day

yesterdays breakdown - 2675 cals, 20% fat, 30% carbs, 50% protein

todays breakdown - 2531 cals, 19% fat, 24% carbs, 57% protein

little over my goal on the last 2 days, friday was a cheat day

posted by brsett

300 isn't very high. You can go up to absurd levels safely. Taper down or life will suck.

I'm getting ready to do another set of the EC which means a minimum of 600mg a day.

posted by Big A

i was wondering im like there are ppl that drink that much 2-4 times a day from starbucks.

yesterday's breakdown - 2735 cals, 19% fat, 34% Carbs, 46% protein

checked my weight this morning 331 not bad a 6 pound drop in my first week

posted by Dex

awesome bro. keep it up!

posted by Big A

thanx man im gonna really crank down on myself this week, i got my meals set up so hopefully i can maximize this diet crap, and make it work rather quickly

posted by Big A

todays numbers- 2517 cals, 17%fat, 13% carbs, 70% protein

posted by Big A

todays numbers - 2549 cals, 22% fat, 34% carbs, 43% protein

posted by Enickma

How ya feelin?

posted by Big A

i have found that i need to change up my lifting schedule a bit, becuase i was lifting at about 8:30pm-10pm somewhere around there and afterwards i was starving so i decided to drag my lifts back to 5:30pm-7:00pm so i would still have a meal left to eat afterwards.

all and all i feel good, really good, little down cause i know that on the 25th the diet goes out the window, and today i have a carry-in at work, so these 2 days are gonna discourage me a bit, but i figure 2 days wont kill me. at least as long as i get right back to it, plus im gonna do my cardio in the morning, lift in the evening, then cardio again on friday morning.

I have noticed that with the bench workout im on i keep getting stronger, but im still not really pressing any heavy weight yet, i maxed at 270 the other day and if the program goes as its supposed i should jump that by 20-40lbs once i get ready to max again. im on week 4 doing 190x7x3 which turned into 190x7, 190x7, 190x10, and i felt comfortable with it resting about 30 sec's or so between sets.

ive also jumped up on box sqauts only problem is ive maxed out the bar with 45's now so im as high as i can go with it which is only 370 so next its onto regular squats. i did 3 sets 10 reps with that.

i also jumped the weight up on leg press, i went up to 755x10x2

all and all im happy with what im doing, and i feel good doing it

posted by Big A

hell yeah down 11lbs total tonight good cardio in the morning if i can force myself to get up at 4:30am again, was at 337 now at 326 not bad for lil over a week, now the real test will be over christmas, that will be a cheat day :D

i think on the carry-in day i still was under my 2500 cals, but im not 100% sure.

posted by Dex

good job bro. its awesome seeing progress eh???

posted by Enickma

If you want to minimize the impact of your christmas "cheat meal" lift balls out as close to right before the meal as possible. Your body will be in a better state to use a higher amount of intake :thumbs:

posted by Big A

Dex - hell yeah results are awsome man, ill be happy as hell if i can keep dropping 6lbs a week.

Enickma - i may put that to the test, plus im gonna keep it under control, im not gonna fly off track

posted by Big A

back in action im trying to get the diet straight again

i gained 3lbs over the holiday so thats not to bad i can live with that

yesterdays numbers - 1740 cals, 32% fat, 31% carbs, 36% protein

it was an odd day things werent working out like i had planned but i busted ass put in about 45min on the eliptical runner in the AM then back that evening to lift my balls off.

posted by Big A

things are looking good since i got to my parents the other day i have dropped 4lbs,

yesterdays numbers 2556cals, 13% fat, 31% carbs, 57% protein

posted by Big A

this is getting to be BS i drop weight, and then the next week i will be the exact same weight i started at. i lost a total of 7lbs and i have kept that off but as far as going lower and staying lower its not happening. Ive been as low as 325 but cant seem to maintain it, im holding strong at 330, but i have been hearing a lot of comments recently about me losing weight, so i guess im still turning it into muscle, but its still kind of discouraging to step on the scale every week and weigh the same. im gonna start that ECA stack as soon as it gets here, and i think i might drop my cals a bit more like 100 - 150 and see if that does anything for me.

posted by Enickma

Drop your cals a bit more and keep up with your routine. You'll hit little plateaus like that all the way down. Stay focused and you'll bust through them every time. It's easy to get impatient when you're working so hard. Remember you're looking for 1-2 lbs per week. The ECA stack will help. Also make sure you're weighing yourself at the same time each day and under similar conditions. I notice weight differences in myself based on time of day, water / glycogen stores, proximity to eating and taking a poo...etc.

posted by Big A

yeah i think a drop in cals from 2500 to 2350-2400 will be a good spot to work from, since im actually eating more to keep myself near 2500, plus im also shutting off carbs after my workout, to see if that will help as well

posted by Big A

ha that worked like a charm, i think the scales that i have been using at the gym have been FUBAR, i stepped on em Monday 330, stepped on em last night 322, im like there is no way i dropped 8lbs yesterday, so i used the scales at my house 319. 18lbs in a month i can live with, im still gonna drop my cals down to like 2400 and cut out the carbs after i workout in the evening.

posted by Big A

well im not at 317 thats 20lbs since 12/11/06

posted by Big A

well 310 was the lowest i got, i took last week off from lifting and i actually gained 8lbs :mad: my diet stayed about the same and i still put on weight like a mad man. so here i am back at 318 starting again after 1wk off from lifting. while i was off i did do cardio, so i dont know what my deal is, also i was off the ECA

posted by canibalistic_js

You can't use your weight as a measurement of health. No, can't do it. Maybe you put on muscle with the rest. Have you joined the dark side yet?

posted by Big A

well im still married so that should answer that question :banghead:

as far as muscle gain i would love it if that were true but i dont think it is, if it is i dont know where it went to, hopefully once i get going on it again ill drop like i did when i first started, droppin under 300 would be stellar

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