My girlfriend's Plan (Very Detailed)

[Emerge]

My girlfriend wants to get down to 125 and is currently somewhere around 155. She'd really like to get it done before summer (specifically June). I don't know how realistic that is because I know that women have a much harder time losing weight than men do, but that will not stop us from trying.

Currently, she eats 5 to 6 meals a day. None of them being more than 300 calories, and most of them being more close to the 150 calorie range. The meals are spaced 2 - 3 hours apart from each other. We both try to drink 2 liters a day of water and sometimes we reach the goal, and sometimes we don't. We don't drink to discomfort or anything like that. The current supplements that she takes are:

• GNC Women's Multivitamin
• Cascara Sagrada
• Milk Thistle
• Papaya Extract
• Bee Pollen
• Acidophilus
• Spirulina
• Dandelion Root
• Bromelain

When I met her she was 170 and a smoker who ate horribly and took diet pills. These pills were from Mexico, and they had no nutritional facts so I had no idea what were in them. The results of a blood test during that time said that she had a hyper active thyroid. She ate one huge meal a day and did not exercise. She also suffered from anxiety and constant anxiety attacks.

Since then, I got her to quit smoking, go to the gym 6 times a week, and eat much healthier. She eats organic fruits and vegetables whenever possible. A recent blood work test showed that her thyroid activity is back to normal. She rarely has anxiety attacks and when she does they are a fraction of what she felt before.

She alternates between HIIT cardio (1 min @ 5mph, 1 min @ 6mph, 1 min @ 7mph, 1 min @ 8mph then repeat), bicycling for an hour, and another HIIT-like session (1 mile at 5mph, .5 miles on 15 incline at 3mph, and .5 miles at 7mph), and swimming.

Her weight training is split between two days:

1. Legs (Squats, Leg Presses, Leg Extensions, Leg Curls, Calf Raises, those machines that you close your legs and open them against resistance, lunges, and plyometrics) Her leg days are heavy and she trains very hard on them. Each exercise typically has 3 sets and roughly 15 to 5 reps each until failure.

2. Upper body (dumbell presses, dumbell curls, lateral pull downs, dumbell military presses, tricep pull downs, good mornings, and oblique crunches followed by a half mile run) Her upper body days are very light (20 -100 reps) and she does one of each exercise for a set. It's like one huge megaset with no breaks in between to keep her heart rate up the whole time.


Based on what I have told you, what types of supplements are safe for her to take with little to no side effects?

Are her workouts optimum for her goals?

Is her diet optimum for goals?

Anything you would do different, any advice or suggestions?

I would appreciate any help and I hope my detailed post made it easier for anyone to help them help us. Also, we can provide any other information if need be as well. She records everything about her workouts in a notebook, so we could do a log here too if you guys were interested in that.

Thank you.

 

[Rodja]

First, drink more than 2 liters of water; you can easily lose more than 1 liter during a good training session. Second, what does her diet consist of?

 

[Emerge]

This is what she ate last week:

Tuesday:
1. A cup and a half of blue berries
2. A fiber one bar
3. 1 Cup Kellogs Antioxidant Cereal with 1/2 Cup of Organic Vitamin D Milk
4. Couple of whole organic carrots
5. Chicken and rice (portions not written down)

Wednesday:
1. Two apples
2. A couple of carrots
3. A cup of organic yogurt
4. A cup and a half of blue berries
5. Spaghetti (portions not written down)

Thusday:
1. Protein Shake
2. Two cups of strawberries
3. A fiber one bar
4. Two apples
5. Too tired to eat

Friday:
1. Quaker weight control oatmeal one packet
2. A fiber one bar
3. A cup of yogurt
4. 1 Cup Kellogs Antioxidant Cereal with 1/2 Cup of Organic Vitamin D Milk
5. Undocumented



That is what she has been typically eating since January. However, she enjoys eating this way and knows that she can make a bigger sacrifice to reach her goals.

 

[Emerge]

I also forgot to add that she uses a sweat suit 5 times a week. And, I'm guessing she needs to up the water intake even more because of that, right?

 

[Rodja]

Protein needs to be increased severely. In fact, she is barely eating anything. Have her aim for 1500-1700 kcals a day, but tell her to slowly increase her eating to reach this goal.

 

[Emerge]

So between 1500-1700 calories, what should her ratio be from: Proteins/Carbs/Fats

She also likes to eat almonds and the like.

Also, if I may ask (purely out of curiosity), if she is barely eating much in comparison to what she should be eating, wouldn't she be dropping fat exponentially?

 

[Rodja]

So between 1500-1700 calories, what should her ratio be from: Proteins/Carbs/Fats

She also likes to eat almonds and the like.

Also, if I may ask (purely out of curiosity), if she is barely eating much in comparison to what she should be eating, wouldn't she be dropping fat exponentially?

Unfortunately, fat loss is not linear. Extreme diets work for a certain period before the body attenuates and, in her case, then goes into starvation mode, making fat loss very difficult.

As far as ratios go, start at 40/40/20 C/P/F and then adjust along the way. Cycling carb intake is also a good idea (e.g. 75g one day and 150g the next).

 

[Emerge]

That's very interesting. The weird thing is that she pushes the envelope in the gym ridiculously. I mean, each week she adds 10 more pounds to each set for her squat and just seems to be getting stronger and stronger with no bounds. I am quite jealous at times, lol.

Unfortunately, being full time college students and working part-time the bulk of our diets (as you can see) are quick ready to go type of meals. With that said, can she benefit from MRP's as much as natural animal proteins? We can try to cook, but I'm not sure if we will be able to do it consistently.

Are there any other rules we could also strive to reach such as 1g of protein per 1lb of body weight? Or one for carbs or water intake? Our goal is to lose weight but not at the expense of healthy nutrition.

Also, based on the data, which types of supplements would work well for her?

 

[Rodja]

That's very interesting. The weird thing is that she pushes the envelope in the gym ridiculously. I mean, each week she adds 10 more pounds to each set for her squat and just seems to be getting stronger and stronger with no bounds. I am quite jealous at times, lol.

Unfortunately, being full time college students and working part-time the bulk of our diets (as you can see) are quick ready to go type of meals. With that said, can she benefit from MRP's as much as natural animal proteins? We can try to cook, but I'm not sure if we will be able to do it consistently.

Are there any other rules we could also strive to reach such as 1g of protein per 1lb of body weight? Or one for carbs or water intake? Our goal is to lose weight but not at the expense of healthy nutrition.

Also, based on the data, which types of supplements would work well for her?

SesaThin and DCP would work well for her. They're non-stimulant and outstanding for fat loss. Protein powders/MRPs are a great way to increase your protein intake and to keep your metabolism high. However, avoid MRPs that contain maltodextrin.

 

[Emerge]

I'm guessing maltodextrin is some type of sugar like substance?

Thanks for your input man, it is very much appreciated.

The weight training and cardio work outs are fine though? Sometimes I feel like she isn't getting the most out of her time, but she has seen pretty good results and she is very satisfied (at least with her lower body) with her progress.

 

[Rodja]

I'm guessing maltodextrin is some type of sugar like substance?

Thanks for your input man, it is very much appreciated.

The weight training and cardio work outs are fine though? Sometimes I feel like she isn't getting the most out of her time, but she has seen pretty good results and she is very satisfied (at least with her lower body) with her progress.

Diet is the biggest hurdle for everyone. Training is much easier to adjust and it sounds like she does not have a problem with increasing intensity.

Also, maltodextrin is a high-glycemic carb derived from corn.

 

[Emerge]

Tell me about it man, it's hard for me too. I feel like I'm either bulking, or cutting. I don't allow myself the luxury of just being in the middle or getting complacent.

 

[crader]

She should be eating 6 meals a day with 25grams of protein per meal.

To get my am protein I eat a bowl of oatmeal with chocolate protein powder and natty peanut butter all mixed together

DCP and fish oil with sesathin would be a good start. I stack that with Levi Reloaded but that has stims in it. I'm not sure if that would trigger panic attacks? She could try it though. Keep her water up!!

As for workouts...AM cardio if she can for 30 min HITT is fine

Leg day is fine, but she needs to shoot for 4 sets of 10-15 if possible.

However one big upper body day won't cut it. She needs to break it up into say
Mon-Legs
Tues-Shoulders
Wed-Chest
Thur-Back
Fri-Arms
with 5 groups of exercises and the 4 sets of 10 reps. Abs can be thrown in every other day.

Cardio can be done 4-5 days a week. If she is going to be doing cardio then she should throw some Extend in to drink while doing cardio to keep from going catabolic.

But yeah, her diet sucks..she should be getting in chicken, fish, oatmeal, sweet potatoes, protein drinks(pure pro RTD is good) and brown or long grain rice.

Let me know if you need any more help.

 

[Emerge]

By 5 group of exercises and 4 sets of 10 reps, do you mean something like:

Standing Cambered Bar Curls: 4x10
Standing Dumbell Curls: 4x10
Piston Dumbell Curls: 4x10
Preacher Curls: 4x10
Reverse Curls: 4x10

For the first half of an "arms" day?

I also need to find a way to convince her that she won't get bulky. I can't get her to do anything less than 20 reps to failure for an upper body exercise out of fear that she will get bulky. For her legs, though, is a different story. She is comfortable with going all the way to the 4-6 rep to failure range without any fear.


Today (in the morning) she had a protein shake and a cup and a half of blueberries. Then in the afternoon I had her eat a turkey burger patty with a cup of mixed vegetables with butter mixed in and pepper. Is that more along the lines of what a meal should look like?

Thanks crader!

 

[crader]

The ex you have is correct. LOL she will not get bulky, I'm on cycle and I'm still not bulky.

As for the meals, lol drop the butter, go with a olive oil substitute like Smart Promise?.

I train at the moment with a personal trainer and she is training me for lean hard muscle. So if anything I'm losing bulk that I had. I'm doubling my training to 2 days a week that I go to the gym twice. I train 5 days a week and I'm 5'3" and weigh 122lbs.

Let me know what else I can do to help

 

[Emerge]

As far as water intake, what specifically should she be aiming for on a daily basis?

 

[Rodja]

As far as water intake, what specifically should she be aiming for on a daily basis?

Rule of thumb is 1 gallon.

 

[Emerge]

Shouldn't it be according to weight or something more customized per person? I find it hard to believe that my girl who weighs 150 needs the same amount of water as I do at 175.

 

[crader]

Shouldn't it be according to weight or something more customized per person? I find it hard to believe that my girl who weighs 150 needs the same amount of water as I do at 175.

Nope a gallon is standard! Drink up

 

[Emerge]

I stand corrected. Thank you both, you have been very helpful!