Gumbo's recomp...

[seafoodgumbo]

Hey - I'm new to this board - been a lurker for a while but decided to start a log. I'm 32, 5'8", and about 220lbs. I have done some sort of lifting/sports most my life. I was training for the Marine Corps Marathon but kinda burnt out.

I just finished a 17.75K and decided 10 miles is the perfect distance for me. My diet has definitely contributed to my burnout. I was restricting calories despite putting in 30+ miles a week. Now I'm interested in a recomp - adding some mass and strength and reducing the waist.

I've been lifting and running on a regular basis but I want to get serious. I'm going on a cruise Saturday and will start things up as soon as I get back - 18 July. You can view my routine here: tmuscle. com /readArticle.do?id=1807367 - Blending Size and Strength - V 2.0

Here is a sample of my diet:

Wake-up
Protein Shake
Skim Milk

Meal 1
2 Eggs
Ham
English Muffin
V8

Meal 2
2 Boiled Eggs
Cheerios

Meal 3
Chobani
Larabar

Meal 4
2 Chicken Breast
Green Beans
Black Beans

Meal 5
Salmon Burger
Black Beans

Dinner
2 Chicken Breast
Broccoli

Sleep
Protein Shake
Skim Milk

Pre Workout
PF Very Thin Bread
Peanut Butter
Honey

Postworkout
Muscle Milk Light Bar

Grand Total :
Cals - 3213
Fat - 86g
Carbs - 301g
Fiber -67g
Protein - 341g

I'm also taking CTD Labs Noxavol, CTD Labs Kre-Alkalyn, and Caffeine preworkout. Before bed I'm taking Muscle Pharm Bullet Proof. My proteins are Muscle Milk and ON's Pro Complex.

I'm a little nervous since I've never tried eating this many calories a day. I'm not very lean and don't want the waist to get any bigger. Along with the weights I do Jiu Jitsu twice a week and run three times a week.

I'll try to post as much as possible once I get started!

Thanks in advance!

 

[seafoodgumbo]

Pics - any advice?

 

[SouthernCharm]

Hey bro first of all welcome to AM and good luck on your recomp. That pretty much looks like me (man i need to cut lol) and the diet looks good EXCEPT I would replace the english muffin for something with whole grains, perhaps some oats, a piece of whole grain bread, or half of a whole grain bagel??

It looks like you're aiming for a low carb meal, so if you have carbs anywhere in there they should be from whole grains IMO.. Do you have your macros figured out?

Recomping is VERY hard IMO it requires you to really really know what your maintanence calories are and consume a LOT of lean protein along with healthy fats and while you may want to have some carbs, keep them on the complex side. The amount of meals looks good and no matter what your program is in the gym you wanna focus on your diet.

 

[seafoodgumbo]

Thanks man! I got the totals at the bottom - it works out to something like 40/37/23. The muffin is whole grain and has about 8 grams of fiber.

The diet killer for me has always been sugar! I got a sweet tooth from hell! If I can control that I should be ok. I have never really tried to eat this many calories but everyone swears by it...

 

[SouthernCharm]

Yeah man its what you need to feed your muscles while you try and shed some fat. I would however, try and drop about 50-60 more grams of carbs off your diet if possible. You could probably drop it significantly by dropping the muscle milk light bar (dont know how many carbs it has but sounds like it would be sugar) and replace it with some whey like nutrapro, where not only can you adjust the serving size, but you get the nutrients in your system a lot faster

Another thing I would maybe look at is upping your healthy fats. Throw in some almonds and use olive oil to cook with. On chicken sometimes I use pesto, it is loaded with healthy fats and gives good flavor. As far as the almonds go, just a handful will add about 20 grams of healthy fats. This will probably keep your calories near what you had and adjust your macros to a lower carb, higher fat ratio. It will work with weight loss..

Ok since you have a sweet tooth, remember that the body adjusts to your diet because it is a machine. After a certain routine it will become accustomed to what you're consuming and "shocking" it with a cheat meal once a week will help to throw it off, which in turn maximizes the purpose of your diet. Don't go OVERBOARD and eat 500 carbs in one sitting, but enjoy something you like to eat once a week. It will make healthy food seem appealing in addtion to watching your body composition change... Diet is the harder thing to get down but once you're there the rest is down hill.

Pound out the weights, avoid alcohol, get plenty of rest and keep your diet in check and you will start seeing progress. Good luck again bro if you have any questions just ask, this is a great place to learn, a lot of experienced individuals who can offer their advice and positive criticism. I like to think we're pretty tight knight around here, we're all here to help.

 

[seafoodgumbo]

Alright guys - I'm three days in. I just got done running some sprints. 4 - 100's and 4 - 40's... damn I'm slow!!!

I'm still sore from a heavy upper day on Sunday. I had a serious headache from dropping the sweets and sodas. It was light yesterday and pretty much gone today. It's crazy how addicting that crap is!

I took my first serving of Bullet Proof last night. I had trouble sleeping all night but around 0500 I was out. I felt a little out of it for an hour after I woke up.

I can't really tell if the Nox or Kre is working yet - I did get a small tingle from the Beta Alanine.

My diet has been on point. I'm bout to eat a small meal right now. I found a good chicken and rice recipe that I have been eating. I adjusted my calories and I'm hitting about 4K right now. I'm also getting about 350g of protein.

Thanks for tuning in!