I'm at a loss (advice for shorter guy)

[dargerak]

Guys,
I have been dieting for 4 months now. I am 5'4 125lbs I estimate I'm at 14% bodyfat. Initially I dropped about 5lbs but I have stalled bad. It seems like my diet is doing me no good at this point I only have a chance of loosing weight if I do cardio everyday ie walk 300-500 calories burned which I really dont want to have to do an even then I'm not guaranteed results. My estimate for maitenance calories is 125 x 15 = 1875. So minus 500 for a deficeit my calories should be around 1250. I just feel like I should be leaning out quicker an getting more out of my diet. Im thinking about slowly lowering the calories more on my diet an need someone who knows what they are doing to give me advice. Goal is to get down to 7% bf. My concern is I've read a male should never go below 1200calories a day but I am shorter only 5'4 so does that apply to me? So my question is two fold. What should I cut from my diet if anything(i was thinking the almonds) and if I do cut something I know will be hungry is that normal on a cut or is it a sign of bad diet? Diet is below
Also of note I train hard 3-4 times a week my training is fine an do hiit 2twice a week. Please only responses from people who have been there an done it thanks.

breakfast
2whole eggs = 160calories
2egg whites =35 calories
1 slice non fat cheese = 25
1 slice toast (ezekiel bread wholegrain)=80
4 strawberries =50
total = 350

lunch
8 oz chicken = 250
1 slice ezekiel bread with 1 tablespoon peanut butter = 140
cup of brocolli
2 tablespoon nonfat sour cream =30
total =410


snack
1 quest bar = 190

dinner
1 large salad - lettuce tomato, 8 oz chicken and 3 eggwhites
probably around 350 calories
1 quarter cup almonds 200calories (thinking about dropping these)

total calories 1500

(sometimes after my salad if im hungry ill have a cup of ezekial cereal which is an added 190 calories)

 

[hvactech]

i would give yourself a day or two to refeed... also at that low of cals i would replace the quest bar with whole food, but this is my opinion

 

[dargerak]

yea love the quest bar not gonna happen...I do refeeds once in a while...so are you saying my diet is too low in calories to lose weight?

 

[GD67]

I'm certainly no expert for starters but it looks like you might want to increase healthy fat intake. You don't mention any liquids consumed. If you're not drinking enough water that could help a lot. I track my calories very closely and average every week to evaluate my progress. IMO it's best not to look at daily calories but the average over at least a week. In early Spring I began to experiment with IF (intermittent fasting) @ 170 lbs and that was a big winner for me. Soon after doing IF I discovered Alphamine and fat dropped faster than I expected. Fighting off hunger has never been difficult for me while doing IF but 2 servings of Alphamine will allow me to forget about eating completely for over 6 hours.

I've discovered that my body likes a 200 to 300 calorie average deficit for fat loss while still keeping energy levels high. I'm 6 foot @ 155 lbs currently and around 10 %. 46 years young.

 

[OrganicShadow]

If calorie intake is causing stall maybe you want to come with a new number. I like this site for calculations http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/
From there you can find your TDEE (low ball it, if you think you're Very Active just put Moderate) from there figure out your macronutrient goals.

The only thing that may come from being shorter, per say, is your generaly body type: endomorphic, mesomorphic, or ectomorphic. Guys who are shorter, more stocky, easily gain weight but cant shed it as easily are primarily endomorphic with a slightly slower metabolic rate. Mesomorphs are the guys who look like have been lifting even when you just lied on the beach all summer, they easily gain and shed weight but reaching extremes are hard. Ectomophs are your "hard aginers" who burn through calories like dried leaves. Usually more tall and lanky, they can lose the excess fast but putting on is a challenge.

From what you're describing, you may be primarily endomorphic. No one is fully one way or another. There's a numerical system 1-7 I can't remember like 4:6:2 endo:meso:ecto for a linebacker and 2:4:7 for a point guard.

Also, be aware that after being that low in calories the body begins to fight back. It knows energy intake does not match that of expenditure. Therefore, the body will look to store any and all energy as fat sources to maintain storage. Either the metabolism slows to compensate or nutrients go to other places other than somatic muscle tissue to be stored. The body requires 1500 cal just to carry out everyday activity of metabolism. Anything less than a 15% deficit from your TDEE for long periods of time can end up hurting your homeostasis (leaned that the hard way).

Hey GD, I just started Alphamine and do IF 6/18. Could you PM me some feedback? Thanks.

 

[dargerak]

thanks for all the insite guys. I actually think I am an ecto-meso. Actually a funny thing happened when I started writing this out I decided to really write out everything I ate in a day. I still think I am in a deficiet but I think there are days when Im not as much as I thought. Also I think there is room to add one more protein meal in my diet. To everyone that responded though if im 125lbs x15 = 1875 -600 = 1275 sound pretty accurate a calculation for me?

 

[xR1pp3Rx]

sounds fine. you should try some iforce isotean as a additional prot. also add some dexaprine to your supplement regimen.
you will get diced soon enough, remember this take a bit of time and tweaking to get it all right.

 

[dargerak]

I would can't tolerate stims though

 

[xR1pp3Rx]

you could still add tt-33 wich is a non stim thyroid enhancer. also there are various non stim fbs out there to try.

 

[dkgreene88]

I would give TT-33 a shot!

 

[LivingStrongE]

Try having a refeed day. There are days my results stall but once I hit a refeed day everything looks amazing. I've went up on my cardio from 70 mins per day to 90 mins but that's just me. I've used Dexaprine XR towards the end of my contest prep instead of doing it at the beginning and it has worked well. If you cant tolerate stims then try TT-33.

 

[Jiigzz]

Oohh shilling in the nutritional section.

Google TDEE calculator and see if that number is close to your own calculations. Personally I think that 1200-1500 is too low. But that will change depending on how active or inactive you are.

 

[dkgreene88]

And if youre not stim sensitive I would add Dexaprine XR to your regime. Itll help curve that appetite as well as help shed a few extra lbs! good luck man!

 

[veaderko]

I would can't tolerate stims though

you could still add tt-33 wich is a non stim thyroid enhancer. also there are various non stim fbs out there to try.

Yup TT-33 would be the way to go IMO for added fat loss.

 

[laneanders]

I would can't tolerate stims though

Definitely try TT-33 if you can't handle the stims.

 

[michaelawlker]

Clean is best for weight loss, a little calorie bad diet regime, lots of proteins and many excellent cardio, based around a great training plan. Both the training in addition to diet regime pieces in this article deliver wonderful info on this theme.