on the right track ???

brough.h

Hi all

Any comments criticism or help you guys want to give would be good,
i've just started a cutting deit i'm now on my 4th week i'm down from 109kg to 98kg i'm 6ft and 28yrs old i can't notice much of a differance in the mirror just wondering if i'm on the right track here's my training and diet over the last 4 weeks,

DIET

i've cut my carbs down to 150g a day, protein 400g, fats 80g i stick to this 6 days a week mon to sat, on sunday i re-feed all stays the same accept carbs which i double to 300g day to day looks something like

6.30 60g whey in water
2 x scotch pancakes (30g carbs)

9.30 1 medium jacket ( about 135g)
1 tin tuna
60g whey in water

12.00 110g brown rice
180g chicken breast

2.00 110g brown rice
180g chicken breast

4.30 60g whey in water

5.00 train 45- 60mins weights (3 days per week), 40 mins cross trainer heart rate at steady 125-130bpm (5 days per week)

7.00 1 med jacket
180g chicken breast
small bag mixed veg

10.00 60g whey in water,

TRAINING

tue chest and bi's

thur back and tri's

sat shoulders and calvs ( can't train rest of legs at mo due to knee injury)

all large body parts 4 exercises 4 sets small body parts 3 exercises 4 sets sticking to compounds mainly,

like i said any views criticism or help would be great

thanks Brough

Bodyworks

dude, you've dropped 11kgs in 4 weeks and you can't see much of a difference ? better get to specsavers. that's some going buddy. i wouldn't recomend losing it any quicker than that. you must be on the right track cos that's quite a difference in such a short space of time. your diet doesn't look bad to me at a glance, my only change would be to down your protein and up the carbs further on sundays, but bottom line it's working so why change it ?

Tall

If it works don't change it. Any changes may only confuse you.

Couple of comments:

I'd get rid of the Scotch Pancakes for 50g of Oats added to your shake making a P+C meal.

Where you have Whey+Water as a meal on its own take 8 Fish Oil Caps, making a P+F meal.

I can't back this up at the moment, so its only an opinion, but I'm sure that when the body is presented with a Protein (P) only meal it tries to convert the Protein to Glucose for energy. By 'buffering' the protein with an energy source such as Carbs (C) or Fat (F) (which are both 'protein sparing') you will get more benefit out of the protein (build/repair/maintenance of muscle mass, thermogenisis etc)

As Bodyworks says - you may need a higher carb count on Sundays for a refeed.

Youngster

You're doing excellent mate keep it up! Remember you see your body everyday so improvements may seem less obvious to you.

scottswald

it's a good point that youngster makes.

brough.h

thanks all for your reply,
BODYWORKS how much higher would you suggest on carb's another 100g?, i can see a slight differance in upper chest and shoulders, but i'm the type of person who's never happy, it's my stomach that is the hard part to shift!

TALL i just started taking fish oil tab's this morning but i'll change it to when i have my protein only meal and see how that works

once again thanks for your kind remarks

Ali M

Iv read a good article on this and excess protein can convert to carbs, like you it's something im still researching. Think a lot depends on your diet, im still very low carbs at the moment and getting leaner and more cut by the day.

Tall

Have you got a link mate...?

brough.h

what amount of carbs/protein you takin in at the mo mate

Pikey

Hi Brough

No problem at all, firstly 11Kg in four weeks is some going, as bodyworks said don't drop any faster than that! Are you starting this from scratch i.e. to get in shape or have you been training a while?
The rapid weight loss suggests you were carrying quite a bit of water, What is you current condition like? A couple of photo’s – relaxed from front and side would be useful to see what your condition is like.
What do you have a manual job? I only ask as this will have a baring on energy requirements.

I’m not sure how you are weighing carbs, the most accurate is to weigh them dry – i.e. looking at the weights you’ve given for rice I think you’re weighing it cooked?
Before rice etc is boiled and before potatoes are cooked. Measured dry rice is about 70% carbohydrate, cooked so it’s fluffy about 35% and potato uncooked is about 17.5%, baked becomes about is about 21%. Oats are approx 70% carbohydrate un cooked) As the amount of water varies its much better to weigh and calculate carbohydrate loads pre cooked. I’ve recommended basmati rice as it’s lower GI than normal white, brown basmati would be preferable.

Also get hold of a good multi vitamin and mineral supplement and omega 3 supplementation wouldn’t hurt, if for the final meal you eat oily fish (salmon, mackerel etc) you can forget the omega 3)

Cardio for fat loss is best performed on an empty stomach and at a moderate intensity ( you’ll see different opinions on here regarding intensity but I don’t know of any competitive bodybuilders who use HIT to assist fat loss whilst sparring muscle loss) I perform my cardio as soon as I get up, for me that means taking the dogs out for a brisk walk for at least 30 minutes, closer to a show this is in creased to 1-hour and at weekends with a further 45 minutes on a treadmill if my condition is lagging.

My opinion is you are relying on whey protein to much for your main protein source, I know it’s dead easy and convenient but aminos from whey hit the blood stream fast and can effect blood chemistry which can cause muscle loss when dieting (without going into why...)

The diet below forms the basis of my diet plan; I’ve adjusted the protein down by about 15% and carbs up by the same from my basic cutting diet. Once I know your condition and how the weight loss is progressing I’ll adjust it for you.

A few more things
No alcohol – max allowance 1 glass dry white wine per week
No Weed etc – no idea if you use or not but it messes with male hormones and causes the munchies
No milk in any drink – drink only black tea and coffee, diet pop ok but make sure you drink 3 litres of water per day – tap water is fine.

½ hour cardio every day – walking

Meal 1 10 egg whites 2 yolks
100gram oats in water (dry weight)
1 grapefruit

Meal 2 75 gram Whey Casein mix

Meal 3 200gram 8oz Chicken breast (cooked weight)
Salad
200gram 6oz Baked potato

Meal 4 175 gram Whey Casein mix

Meal 5 200 gram 8oz Chicken breast
60 gram / 2oz basmati rice

Meal 6 Post workout 100gram Whey

Meal 7 200 gram 8ozChicken, or 10oz Fish
Broccoli and fibrous veg
200gram baked potato

If you let me know how advanced you are with training I’ll critique the workout.

Thought I'd post up as well as reply direct as there will be varrying opinions...