A Little Motivation Please!!

[Jag]

Hi All, this is the first time i've posted in this section but been browsing and noticed there is quite a few knowlegeable people here.

I"m 44 and have 4 months to get lean before a well deserved holiday in the sun with the family.

I've always trained with weights and LOVE IT but diet is what keeps me from getting and staying lean so i need some advice/motivation to keep me on track.

I was going to start by dropping carbs a bit and adding HIIT cardio 2-3 times a week on it's own day with abs. Weights will be 3 times a week. Good idea?

I'm around 20% bodyfat right now and would like to get into single figures, even if it's 9%. I'm also clean so is this possible in 4 months? I'm not interested in getting ripped but a nice set of abs would be good.

I have used juice in the past so getting in shape wasn't even a problem. I've also been a non-smoker for 9 years.

I workout around 4:00 am, empty stomach. I have extra carbs the night before a workout which i have found is best for me. It helps me sleep and gives me good energy.

I love training and 4:00am is a great time for me to train. I don't need motivation in this area.

My main downfall is after training. For those that do fasted cardio, how do you set up your post cardio meals? I don't do much at work so i know i have to keep calories low so some low calorie snack ideas would be appreciated as well.

I know there is no secret and i probably already know the answers but i just need to hear it from someone else.

Thanks already.

Jag

 

[whiskers]

If you've got a little extra cash do the hcg diet.
I lost 45+ pounds in 40 days on it. ....only running a few days a week, which is not necessary to lose around a pound a day on it

 

[Jag]

Thanks Whiskers but i'm not familiar with it.

Do you have a link?

Jag

 

[whiskers]

I dont know how the rules go for posting links to stuff like that, but it's called Human Chorionic Gonadotropin. I believe its prescription only.

 

[MacTech]

Don't eat carbs before going to bed would be my first thing to advise against. Protein, yes, but not carbs. Eat those in the morning.

I eat as soon as I am done with cardio. But as lean as I am not, it makes no difference and I started having a banana before cardio.

 

[Jag]

thanks whiskers, i'll look into that.

MacTech, I normally only have carbs at night when i train the next morning.

The gym is open at 4:00am and i have to be at work at 7:00am so there just isn't enough time for me to eat before a workout.

I have a shake when i get home and usually a low carb scrambled egg combo (mushrooms, peppers, onions etc) at work an hour or so later.

Carbs tend to make me sleepy which is why i started having them before bed. I'm a forklift driver and they can cause a lot of damage if you're not alert so there's another reason for me NOT to eat carbs during the day. Except for some fruit. I'm addicted to apples right now!! It just made sense to me. But i know they are fuel for the next morning and i do have great workouts.

I try to have small protein/fat snacks every couple of hours at work so aside from post workout the carbs at night are pretty much all i get......on a normal day!!

I will try your "more protein" approach though when i don't train the next day.

I'm actually taking this week off and resume next week to a 4-way split from a 3-way split so i can add 10-20 min of HIIT bike which is my prefered cardio.

I like you banana idea so i might try that after my weights and before cardio. I read the other day that Hank has protein and fat pre and post workout so i was going to change to a whey, egg white, peanut butter post workout shake which would decrease carbs even less.

I wish i had the luxury to have cardio/abs only days but it just isn't possible to keep it up.

Jag

 

[MacTech]

There is evidence that points to carbs before bed causes more adipose to be accumulated as well as blunting GH release.

My first thought for anyone who is trying to lose weight and eats late at night before bed, would be to DROP the CARBS at night.

I have never known carbs during the day to cause drowsiness unless you might be very insulin sensitive and you are having a crash a short time later. Are you eating only carbs? Try to include it with some protein to help keep insulin levels lower.


After resistance training I have carbs to stimulate insulin along with a whey protein shake. A banana or any carb source will work well.

When I had fat to lose, I NEVER ate before morning cardio, maybe just some BCAAs

 

[DreamWeaver]

If you feel the need to set a time limit on fat loss and your have only 4 months to lose 10-12% your probably looking a a pre-contest type diet. Start out with a 50-30-20 split Prot-Carbs-Fat half of those carbs from fibrous sources (I know that's a lot of brocolli) and fat should be largely from omega 3's, fish oils, Olive oil etc... Mactech is right deplete carb intake as the day goes on. Start of with calorie intake about 300 below maintenance or even less depending on how much cardio you are doing. Only lower the calories when you stop dropping weight or fat loss slows down to a crawl. You want to keep your metabolism going or you will stop losing.

 

[Jag]

Thanks MacTech and DreamWeaver for your answers.

As stated above i was aware of the answers already but sometimes i just need it pointed out again so you're time has not been in vain.

There's a lot of conflicting material out there now and it's easy to get confused but once i get a common sense approach spelt out to me again i can relax and get on with the job.

DreamWeaver, I was actually considering a keto type diet as this is the only way i can blunt my appetite. I have a copy of one of Vince Girondas books which i really like his "Steak and Eggs" theory. Not a big fan of some of his training theories but his thoughts on nutrition makes a lot of sense to me.

I got very big and strong eating mostly steak, eggs and milk. Of course i was 18-19yo then.

I'm not very active at work so my 4 workouts a week are about as active as i get so i really have to watch those carbs and calories. Filling up on broccolli and other fibrous veges are no problem for me if i know i can have a cheat meal every few days. I think Vince even recommends it to.

Thanks again. Jag

 

[DreamWeaver]

Keto diets can be effective for some people but I always stalled out on them. Sure I would continue to slowly lose and it would become a good recomp situation but a time restricted run like you are looking at, you should really consider more of a precontest type in my opinion. Who knows though maybe you won't stall like I did.

 

[Jag]

DreamWeaver, I actually find myself coming around to a pre contest type of diet to meet my goals. I've always been a "steak and eggs" man so this will be interesting.

I've just been researching a bit and pre contest diets have changed a bit in the last 20 years. They used to mean starvation, anger, frustration etc. but small protein/carb meals every few hours sounds like a good plan.

I have a bit to read that i've found but if you have any specific links that would be a great help and much appreciated. If not then rest assured this thread has acheived what it set out to.

I'm getting motivated again and the thrill of testing out my discipline is creeping back as well.

Thanks again.

Jag

 

[MacTech]

DreamWeaver, I actually find myself coming around to a pre contest type of diet to meet my goals. I've always been a "steak and eggs" man so this will be interesting.

Jag

I love to eat steak and eggs and still can get lean. It's how much of it that one eats that causes a problem. In fact I just bought a rib-eye with lots of fat and at 6 wks out from a show, I still eat one a week. I eat red meat 3-4 days a week, including lean ground beef, t-bone and sirloin.

I am far from starved, angered or frustrated, but I work hard at it and that is much of the success of losing fat. Consistency and calorie counting.

Fats are essential, carbs are not. And I sure do love pumpkin pie, now that would ruin my conditioning some terrible.

 

[Jag]

MacTech, The "no carbs at night" concept makes a lot more sense to me now. I've just had to shift from one way of thinking to another to get my head around this.

Without nailing it down yet this is the plan i'll be experimenting with starting this Sunday.

Steak and occassionally salmon will definitely make up the bulk of my nightly protein meals with chicken breast fillets, egg whites and whey during the day for convenience.

Banana and whey pre workout, oats post workout, rice cakes and green salads during the day and veges (broccolli, sweet potato) at night.

Of course the protein and carbs will be combined into small meals separated by 3-3.5 hours.

Haven't perfected it yet but that's the basic plan as yet.

Jag

 

[MacTech]

Eat the egg yolks man! Sounds like a good plan.

For losing weight I would take the Whey Post-workout and just have good food intake hours prior. That whey protein after your workout is essential, at least for me it is.

 

[Jag]

Eat the egg yolks man! Sounds like a good plan.

For losing weight I would take the Whey Post-workout and just have good food intake hours prior. That whey protein after your workout is essential, at least for me it is.

I would love to have the luxury to be able to get up and eat a few hours before training but i'm up around 3:00am at the the gym by 4:00 (opening time).

I'm a big beliver in egg yolks and normally do eat the whole egg but just for a few weeks i was going top try dropping some fat out of my diet wherever i can.

I have no problem training on empty. I normally have a strong coffee and some sort of stim which is currently Basic Cuts and Geranamine. A few weeks ago i added Citrulline Malate, ALCAR and Arginine to use them up before looming expiry date. This gives me energy and also great pumps since adding these 3 aminos.

I've been interested in Beta-Alanine for anti-aging purposes so i was going to just try that with Citrulline and not reorder the ALCAR and Arginine.

If anything i'd probably just add BCAA's to the Citrulline/Beta-Alanine pre workout and again between weights and cardio.

Maybe switch to an N.O. product when i get a bit leaner.

Jag

 

[Jag]

To anyone who is interested, check out the nutritional profile of MACA in the PDF. This came from the manufaturers website.

I have so much of it at home with a Dec. 08 expiry so i was going to add 1 scoop of WPI (close to 0% fat and carbs) to 30g of MACA as post workout.

Other than B-vitamins it seems to cover most bases. Tastes alright to.

Jag

 

[MacTech]

Beta-Alanine and Citrulline Malate are two great supps for endurance.

NO is a waste of time, IMO. Tried so many, never really found one I liked, except maybe SuperPump 250

 

[DreamWeaver]

MacTech you to be more of an ecto-meso I would never be successful on the same type of diet as you. Just wanted to point out that what you eat while cutting is largely dependant on body type, everybody has to find out what works for them. I am recomp eating like you and simply reducing the caloric intake but if I have to lose more quickly I have to be much more strict. Your like my old training partner (exactly the same muscle leanness and hardness) he could eat chicken wings weeks out and still get to 4% without doing any cardio. For endo's there is some pain involved...you don't have to go hungry but you do have to eat a lot of vegtables.

 

[Jag]

I'm a bit of all body types.

As a kid i was tall and lean/muscular like an ecto/meso but as i got older i've found it easy to put on weight around the midsection and i find it difficult to get that real hard muscular look that i'm after. Almost like an endo/ecto.

Training and reasonable nutrition helps to keep things getting out of control though.

Being 6"1 helps with overall appearance in jeans and t-shirt but i really need to get my waist size down to be completely happy in myself. Last summer i spent most of the time inside regreting my poor diet so this year i want to be different.

The training side of things has NEVER been a problem.

I'm not interested in getting ripped but trying to get some nice lines, separation and of course abs.

I have the drive and the knowledge and thanks to some words in this thread i now have creeping motivation so i just need to practice what i preach.

Keeping my diet in check is my biggest challenge.

Jag

 

[Jag]

A bit of an update if you're interested.

I decided on CKD as i am a meat lover and it's working great.

I'm splitting my body up over 5 days which means one body part a day with calves and abs trained twice a week. This allows time for 30min. of incline treadmill.

1. Back-Calves
2. Chest-Abs
3. Legs (Quads-Hams) no treadmill
4. Off
5. Shoulders-Abs
6. Arms-Calves
7. Off

I don't have the energy for HIIT like i planned but i'm really enjoying what i'm doing. It's been a bit over 4 weeks and waist size/bodyfat has come down considerably, especially the last week.

I've done keto before with a horrible first week, no energy, no strength, brain-fog etc. but have not had it once this time.

The only thing i've done differently is add Beta-Alanine, Sulbutiamine and Co.Q10.

I have WPI only for post workout, bacon and eggs an hour or so later and steak, whole eggs, green salads with mayo and green vegetables whenever i'm hungry and ONLY when i'm hungry for the rest of the day.


One carb meal on Wednesday and all day Saturday. I'm sticking to mostly good carbs though with only ONE junk meal. I've actually just ordered some Na-RALA to help with refeeds.

I'm also drinking upwards of 5 litres of water every day. This helps a LOT and i think it's keeping my muscle reasonably full.

Jag