Which food should I avoid when cutting?

[v1rt]

I'm just taking down notes. Here are most of the foods I eat. Which should I avoid to become successful in getting shredded?

sweet potatoes
chicken
avocadoes
bananas
bread with butter
bread with peanut butter
brocolli
asparagus
milk
steak - I seldom eat it
fish - tilapia and tuna
any heavy juicy burger
oatmeal
scrambled eggs
boiled eggs - sometiimes I don't eat the yellow
ice cream
spaghetti
baked macaroni
any meat pizza
fajita burrito from chipotle but no rice
chicken gyro

Right now, I'm trying to gain weight so I've been eating at least 3500 cals to 4000 cals with no luck in gains. I'm 5'6" and stuck at 148-150 for almost a year now. I've even concluded that whey protein powders are all the same since it didn't do enough for me, maybe a little. I work out 5-6 a week. I was thinking I'm working out too much and burning up all the energy that's why I'm not gaining weight.

Also, I've consulted the other forum here last year and asked about testosterone. I still failed to contact a urologist since I'm afraid of going that route.

Anyways, going back to the food, which should not be taken to achieve shredded physique? And do cardio really help with losing the fats? If so, is my jogging and 5-6 times 100m sprints enough for a cardio? I'm sure this pro physique guys take a supplement to get those fats burned. It's because I have an officemate who also is a bodybuilder and he told me about diuretics something. He gave me a link on how to look dry. I was shocked last week. But he told me it's just for removing water and not fats.

Anyways, hope you can give me tips folks!

Thanks!

 

[v1rt]

I forgot to mention that 2 different people now have told me that I might not be able to gain a lot because of my small frame genetics. I wish my body was even in between ecto and meso

 

[Clipper83]

If you can fit those foods in your diet, none are really off limits. When I cut, I usually find it hard to throw in ice cream and spaghetti however.

 

[hvactech]

any food that ends up being over your daily macro goals...youre trying to cut at 150lbs?

 

[v1rt]

hi hvactech,

No, I'm just documenting on how to cut weight. Like what I said above, I'm trying to gain weight. I've been eating a lot! 4000 cals is not working for me. So today, I targeted 4500 calories. I hope it will work. Looks like it's only making my belly fat big. LOL! I also changed my creatine intake today. I've been doing 5g but today I increased it to 10g. I'll try it for 2 weeks then I'll go back to 5g again.

 

[v1rt]

If you can fit those foods in your diet, none are really off limits. When I cut, I usually find it hard to throw in ice cream and spaghetti however.

Thank you!

 

[hvactech]

hi hvactech,

No, I'm just documenting on how to cut weight. Like what I said above, I'm trying to gain weight. I've been eating a lot! 4000 cals is not working for me. So today, I targeted 4500 calories. I hope it will work. Looks like it's only making my belly fat big. LOL! I also changed my creatine intake today. I've been doing 5g but today I increased it to 10g. I'll try it for 2 weeks then I'll go back to 5g again.

if youre not gaining on 4k cals then id say your training is off....that's already a huge surplus and you already said youre gaining fat. increasing creatine intake is pointless

 

[v1rt]

if youre not gaining on 4k cals then id say your training is off....that's already a huge surplus and you already said youre gaining fat. increasing creatine intake is pointless

I'm working out 5-6x a week but looks like it's I'm not pushing myself enough.

 

[hvactech]

post your training regiment

 

[v1rt]

sorry, took me a while. I just made this program. I'm not following any program. Maybe it's hurting my gains.

Day1, Day3, Day5
squats
warm-up-30 no bar
95x8
155x6
185x6
205x5
225x5

Bench press
95x8
135x8
155x8
170x4-6 2 sets
185x1-2

Dumbelll press - I only have two 60 lbs db so total of 120lbs. I do 4 sets, 10 reps
military press
45x20 for warm-up
95x8
115x5
125x5 3 sets

seated shoulder press - 4 sets max of 60lbs db per arm
lateral raise - 4 sets max of 30-45 lbs db per arm
rear deltoid raise - 4 sets max of 30-45 lbs db per arm
upright row - max of 95 lbs x 5 reps

Deadlift
135x8
185x8
225x6
235x5
255x5
275x3

Day 2 and 4 - mostly back

bent rows
85x8
135x8
155x5
185x3-5 2 sets

wide pull ups
bodyweight x 8
plus10 lb plate x 6
plus20 lb plate x 6
plus30 lb plate x 6
plus50 lb x 3-5


lateral machine - not sure what the total weight but I do 4-5 sets too
cable row - i do 4 sets but I'm also not sure about the weight
weighted crunches - 25-45lbs plate x 5 of 4 sets
ab crunch - using the same machine as above, maybe each bar is 10 lbs. I do 6 bar of 5 reps

One arm db row - 4 sets max of 60lbs db

Day 6
Whatever I feel like working out

 

[hulkish1]

workouts look fine maybe research and switch it up it may be stagnant if you have been doing it for a long time and your body is just running through the normal motions. also by your stats it looks like your a hard gainer how much cardio are you doing? maybe slow that down and focus more on lifts.

 

[killandgo]

I'm just taking down notes. Here are most of the foods I eat. Which should I avoid to become successful in getting shredded?

sweet potatoes
chicken
avocadoes
bananas
bread with butter
bread with peanut butter
brocolli
asparagus
milk
steak - I seldom eat it
fish - tilapia and tuna
any heavy juicy burger
oatmeal
scrambled eggs
boiled eggs - sometiimes I don't eat the yellow
ice cream
spaghetti
baked macaroni
any meat pizza
fajita burrito from chipotle but no rice
chicken gyro

Right now, I'm trying to gain weight so I've been eating at least 3500 cals to 4000 cals with no luck in gains. I'm 5'6" and stuck at 148-150 for almost a year now. I've even concluded that whey protein powders are all the same since it didn't do enough for me, maybe a little. I work out 5-6 a week. I was thinking I'm working out too much and burning up all the energy that's why I'm not gaining weight.

Also, I've consulted the other forum here last year and asked about testosterone. I still failed to contact a urologist since I'm afraid of going that route.

Anyways, going back to the food, which should not be taken to achieve shredded physique? And do cardio really help with losing the fats? If so, is my jogging and 5-6 times 100m sprints enough for a cardio? I'm sure this pro physique guys take a supplement to get those fats burned. It's because I have an officemate who also is a bodybuilder and he told me about diuretics something. He gave me a link on how to look dry. I was shocked last week. But he told me it's just for removing water and not fats.

Anyways, hope you can give me tips folks!

Thanks!

Hi VR,

I'll give you my take. Might not be popular with everyone (or anyone, for that matter), but this is my own personal experience.

I started out around 150ish at 5'7" in the mid 90's in my early twenties. Smaller frame, small joints. Worked out without huge gains for a year or two. My routine was similar to yours. I worked out with my brother and a friend. All of our gains stopped and we decided it was time to either get serious or make training an afterthought. We chose the former. Since Dorian Yates was Mr. O at the time, we decided to follow his heavy duty routine.

Before, we thought we were working out hard. How wrong we were. On the Yates routine, our volume was cut in half, but our intensity tripled - this intensity did not happen overnight, we adapted to it over a period of months. We destroyed ourselves in the gym on a eight day cycle (meaning we worked out three days one week and four the next.) One set taken to absolute failure. Three-four exercises per bodypart. Short and sweet. Around 5-7 reps on our own and a couple forced/negative to top it off. Everything was focused into ensuring the muscles/bodyparts were tapped out with each session. Puking was not uncommon. No wasted energy, no running around on our off days.

I didn't really plan my diet. Once I switched to heavy duty, the hunger took care of that. I didn't count calories, I just ate like a beast. Even on my off days, I was ravenous. Our favorite post workout meal was egg sandwiches. Each one consisted of three whole eggs, two big-ass sausages fired up on the grill and two thick slices of cheese on a bun/bagel/english muffin. I would have four to six of these per meal, washed down with a liter of milk and some oj. I had two big shakes per day with Heavyweight Gainer 900, a liter of milk and ice cream. I destroyed buffets and BK burgers. BBQs were nirvana. Meat, meat and more meat.

In a year-and-a-half, I put on 75 pounds bw, around 60%ish muscle. If you eat cleaner than I did, they'll be less weight gain, but also less fat gain. You can cut after you put on some serious size. You won't have a beach body for a year as a trade-off. Alternately, you can go the slow and steady route and put on a few pounds a year and reach this same weight in about a decade.

I'm not saying to eat as unhealthy as me - in hindsight it was too extreme - but unless you're weighing your food at every meal, people tend to underestimate their calories. Though, the egg sandwich above is great food for you, maybe just use healthier sausages (like turkey ones.) Whole grain bagels. Some veggies on top. Eat with abandon. Eat, eat, eat. When you're stuffed, have ice cream or a shake. There are some great healthy weightgainers out there now, like iForce Mass Gainz.

On the training side, that's a great routine for all around strength and fitness. If you want to put on size, you'll have to up the reps a little and concentrate on working the muscle to coax hypertrophy. There are tons of routines out there - doesn't have to be heavy duty (and I wouldn't recommend it unless you have a training partner.) Aim to up the weight every week/few weeks. Doesn't have to be much, five pounds here and there will add up quickly and help new muscle growth. Concentrate on muscle stimulation, not strength, for serious muscle growth. The routine you have is good and can get you a physique like an Olympic weightlifter: solid muscle on your back and legs, but it will be hard to get that 3D bodybuilder effect and serious muscle without at least a partial bodybuilding routine.

Cut training down to three-four days a week. Cut down on cardio. If you want to do sports/extra activities, more calories must be ingested to compensate. Though, too much activity will kill growth, regardless of extra calories. I have no scientific proof of that, pure broscience, but I also believe it.

Eight to nine hours a sleep a night. No Facebook/phone in bed with you. Go to bed at the same time every night and stick to it. This is vital, if you cannot do this, cut your growth potential by 20 to 80%, depending on your genetics.

As a disclaimer, this is my personal experience and opinion. Take it as it is. I'm not a doctor or personal trainer. I did this drug-free and without any supps beside protein powder and weight gainer. You mentioned diuretics - stay as far away from that stuff as possible. It removes water from everywhere in your body, including your kidneys/organs. It has destroyed some pro bb'ers health, including Flex Wheeler. It would be safer to inject heroin in your eyeball. If you don't know what something is, don't put it in your body.

When I've been asked about gaining weight, it comes down to: 1. Calories in and calories out. 2. Too much training/extra sports/activities. 3. Too little sleep. 4. Not training hard enough. Even if you improved these four points and stuck to it around 80%, I would be surprised if you didn't gain at least ten to fifteen pounds of muscle in a year. Hope this helps.

 

[v1rt]

killandgo,

That's an awesome response! I'm seeing myself in what you mentioned below. I'm doing so much activities and not getting enough sleep. I'm only getting like 4-5 hours of sleep weekdays. I gotta get off on facebook. LOL.

By the way, I got confused with volume and intensity. Can you please site some examples?

If I am not mistaken, I should do max 4x a week of training. Correct?

Thank you so much!!!

Hi VR,

I'll give you my take. Might not be popular with everyone (or anyone, for that matter), but this is my own personal experience.

I started out around 150ish at 5'7" in the mid 90's in my early twenties. Smaller frame, small joints. Worked out without huge gains for a year or two. My routine was similar to yours. I worked out with my brother and a friend. All of our gains stopped and we decided it was time to either get serious or make training an afterthought. We chose the former. Since Dorian Yates was Mr. O at the time, we decided to follow his heavy duty routine.

Before, we thought we were working out hard. How wrong we were. On the Yates routine, our volume was cut in half, but our intensity tripled - this intensity did not happen overnight, we adapted to it over a period of months. We destroyed ourselves in the gym on a eight day cycle (meaning we worked out three days one week and four the next.) One set taken to absolute failure. Three-four exercises per bodypart. Short and sweet. Around 5-7 reps on our own and a couple forced/negative to top it off. Everything was focused into ensuring the muscles/bodyparts were tapped out with each session. Puking was not uncommon. No wasted energy, no running around on our off days.

I didn't really plan my diet. Once I switched to heavy duty, the hunger took care of that. I didn't count calories, I just ate like a beast. Even on my off days, I was ravenous. Our favorite post workout meal was egg sandwiches. Each one consisted of three whole eggs, two big-ass sausages fired up on the grill and two thick slices of cheese on a bun/bagel/english muffin. I would have four to six of these per meal, washed down with a liter of milk and some oj. I had two big shakes per day with Heavyweight Gainer 900, a liter of milk and ice cream. I destroyed buffets and BK burgers. BBQs were nirvana. Meat, meat and more meat.

In a year-and-a-half, I put on 75 pounds bw, around 60%ish muscle. If you eat cleaner than I did, they'll be less weight gain, but also less fat gain. You can cut after you put on some serious size. You won't have a beach body for a year as a trade-off. Alternately, you can go the slow and steady route and put on a few pounds a year and reach this same weight in about a decade.

I'm not saying to eat as unhealthy as me - in hindsight it was too extreme - but unless you're weighing your food at every meal, people tend to underestimate their calories. Though, the egg sandwich above is great food for you, maybe just use healthier sausages (like turkey ones.) Whole grain bagels. Some veggies on top. Eat with abandon. Eat, eat, eat. When you're stuffed, have ice cream or a shake. There are some great healthy weightgainers out there now, like iForce Mass Gainz.

On the training side, that's a great routine for all around strength and fitness. If you want to put on size, you'll have to up the reps a little and concentrate on working the muscle to coax hypertrophy. There are tons of routines out there - doesn't have to be heavy duty (and I wouldn't recommend it unless you have a training partner.) Aim to up the weight every week/few weeks. Doesn't have to be much, five pounds here and there will add up quickly and help new muscle growth. Concentrate on muscle stimulation, not strength, for serious muscle growth. The routine you have is good and can get you a physique like an Olympic weightlifter: solid muscle on your back and legs, but it will be hard to get that 3D bodybuilder effect and serious muscle without at least a partial bodybuilding routine.

Cut training down to three-four days a week. Cut down on cardio. If you want to do sports/extra activities, more calories must be ingested to compensate. Though, too much activity will kill growth, regardless of extra calories. I have no scientific proof of that, pure broscience, but I also believe it.

Eight to nine hours a sleep a night. No Facebook/phone in bed with you. Go to bed at the same time every night and stick to it. This is vital, if you cannot do this, cut your growth potential by 20 to 80%, depending on your genetics.

As a disclaimer, this is my personal experience and opinion. Take it as it is. I'm not a doctor or personal trainer. I did this drug-free and without any supps beside protein powder and weight gainer. You mentioned diuretics - stay as far away from that stuff as possible. It removes water from everywhere in your body, including your kidneys/organs. It has destroyed some pro bb'ers health, including Flex Wheeler. It would be safer to inject heroin in your eyeball. If you don't know what something is, don't put it in your body.

When I've been asked about gaining weight, it comes down to: 1. Calories in and calories out. 2. Too much training/extra sports/activities. 3. Too little sleep. 4. Not training hard enough. Even if you improved these four points and stuck to it around 80%, I would be surprised if you didn't gain at least ten to fifteen pounds of muscle in a year. Hope this helps.

 

[v1rt]

workouts look fine maybe research and switch it up it may be stagnant if you have been doing it for a long time and your body is just running through the normal motions. also by your stats it looks like your a hard gainer how much cardio are you doing? maybe slow that down and focus more on lifts.

I only do sprints once a week because I know that i lose weight too quick! I think working out without a partner is affecting my progress. However, I moved my bench to my squat rack so that I can go heavy on bench. I will push myself harder this time.

Thanks a lot!

 

[killandgo]

killandgo,

That's an awesome response! I'm seeing myself in what you mentioned below. I'm doing so much activities and not getting enough sleep. I'm only getting like 4-5 hours of sleep weekdays. I gotta get off on facebook. LOL.

By the way, I got confused with volume and intensity. Can you please site some examples?

If I am not mistaken, I should do max 4x a week of training. Correct?

Thank you so much!!!

You're welcome. Yes, train only three to four times a week max for weight gain. You grow outside the gym, not it in. Your metabolism is sky high as it is and you're conditioning your body to burn even more energy with the extra sessions.

More sessions per week work well for strength and sports-related and conditioning purposes, but not as well for weight gain. Don't look at pro bber routines, either. They are enhanced and thus have superior recovery.

Intensity can be defined in many ways. But the basic idea behind every method/explanation is this: work harder.

Volume is simply the amount of work (reps and sets) in a workout, regardless whether they were easy sets or hard sets. Volume is very useful for sports-related and strength sports to help condition the athlete. And for something like Olympic weightlifting, countless reps are needed to perfect the movements for competition.

Like I said, intensity means how hard you work each session. Each one should be balls out. Your muscles should be exhausted by the end of the workout. If you can joke around and flirt with the front counter girl after you're done your workout, you didn't do your job. Overtraining can be become an issue, that's why you only perform three-four workouts a week. If you can't recover from four, drop to three. And here's another key - keep your workouts to 60-75 mins max, warmups and all. Some people have hypothesized this maximizes natural growth hormone, test, blah, blah. I don't know if this is true or not, but I do know this - if you're in the gym, you're not eating and growing. That's the best explanation I can give.

Intensity can be measured and performed in a number of different methods. You'll have to choose which one best suits you physically and psychologically. On the heavy duty method, let's use leg press for example. Say your max is 500 pounds for five. To increase the intensity, you must go beyond your natural instincts and take the set beyond what you believe you're capable of. So, after the five on your own, you perform two forced reps, where you get a touch spot to complete the reps. By now, your legs are screaming to end the set. But, you must perform another negative or two - under control. Then, a few partials before your spotter heaves the weight up and you rack the weight. You will feel pain, good pain. Pain you have not felt before. Uncomfortable pain that will soon become your friend, because as it visits, you know new muscle will soon follow.

This type of training is extreme and very taxing on your central nervous system. But, most people cannot perform it for the biggest reason - it requires a certain mindset and can harmful psychologically and mentally if you're not prepared. It's best to use machines for this training, as forced reps can become dangerous on exercises like squats and benches.

Of course, there are other ways to increase intensity. Up the weight or reps each workout. So, if you can do 275 for three reps on squat, next workout you must do 275 for four, or 280 for three. Once you stall for three weeks, switch up the exercise (to say, leg press) and start anew. Once that stalls, you can go back to squats, or another one like front squats and continue.

Another way to increase intensity is to cut your rest between sets. If you typically do 170 for five reps for four sets with three minutes rest/set on bench, cut the rest time by thirty seconds/set and try to do the same work. You probably won't be able to do it the first time, but once you can, cut the rest time again, so now you only rest time is two minutes/set.

Or, you can do a combo of increased sets and reps and decreased rest time.

Through this all, perfect your form. None of this means anything if you get injured. You can't grow if you're laid up for six months. Don't be afraid to throw in machines and things like pulldowns and leg press. These can be safer, too, especially without a training partner. Concentrate on building muscle. Use the muscle to lift the weight, not momentum or other nonsense. Don't break form at any point. You can do the occasional set under five reps, but keep most of them around 5-8 reps, with some 10-15 rep sets after you're done your working sets to flush blood through the muscle. This maximizes muscle hypertrophy.

In the end, work harder in that sixty minute workout. Whatever method you choose, you have to leave the gym with your muscles screaming. All you want to do is eat and sleep after. If not, the intensity was lacking. However, this will not happen overnight. Like all things, intensity must be cultivated over a period of time. Learn the difference between bad pain (injury/strains/pulls) and good pain. Welcome the good pain. Learn to be uncomfortable, the most successful people are comfortable with being uncomfortable.

If you need a shock to the system that will put on muscle, try Randall Strossen's Super Squats 20 rep squat routine. The book is available on Ironmind.com. Your local library may have a copy.

Sorry for the ramble, hope you have a better sense of what you need to do. A lot of it is mental and psychological. Work harder. Cheers.

 

[v1rt]

Thanks a lot!!! I will follow everything you said.

 

[jonson789]

Hi...!
You should avoid from soda bottles,junk and fast food. For natural protein and calories try to eat fruits and vegetables .Banana is very helpful for gaining weight. And drink plenty of water .