At Wit's End. What Am I Missing? Please Help?

MANGOSTENE

MANGOSTENE

New member
Recreate, AP, PowerFull + Jack3d--Still Need Help!

Hello Folks,

I'm fairly new to the forum. Officially my first posting. I've been following the USPLabs threads since day one I signed up. Lots of helpful information.

I'm literally at wit's end with what I'm trying to accomplish and that is to lose the last 5-7 lbs I have on me. They say the last 5 lbs are the worst to get rid of because at this point your body's pretty much hangin' on to it!

I've been rather religious in my eating/dieting and training and I'm not seeing the numbers move as much in conjunction with the intensity I put in my work outs. And I work out like an animal going as heavy as I can and pushing cardio as hard as I can handle.

I have but a few caps left of my 2nd bottle of Recreate and I originally started a stack of that with Anabolic Pump (also on 2nd bottle now) and have recently added PowerFull. I also take Jack3d prior to my workouts and follow dosing as recommended.

I just don't understand what else I am missing to burn off the remaining
5 lbs. I'm literally lean and toned everywhere else but my lower abs section where I'm literally seeing the underlying ab profile already has but this stubborn layer of fat still existing!

I work out 5 days a week, cardio for an hour Tues/Thurs. Weights on the other days. I eat clean 5-6 meals a day. Brown rice for lunch with chicken and steamed veggies, wheat bread for dinner, Glyco Maize after work outs, Casein before bed, Whey protein throughout the day.

I have a 32 inch waist, started at 192 lbs, currently at 188 lbs, have maintenance calories at 2940, eating 2430 to promote weight loss, and no visible vacating of that stubborn layer of fat. They say don't look at the scale instead, do a visual assessment. I'm just not seeing any improvements.

Jack3d is great, it does what it's advertized to do. PowerFull as far as I'm concerned does what it's supposed to! Denser, harder muscles and great sleep. Anabolic Pump, can't really give it an accurate read and Recreate gives me the pick me upper buzz but not sure if it's doing what it's supposed to.

I'm lost at this point. Should I lower my calories even more? How am I affecting the efficacy of the products I'm taking by cutting my calories below maintenance? Am I rendering them useless?

Please help! Close to losing my motivation but I want to hang on to it!


MANGO
 
First off, Congrats for getting this far! I'd say if you've stopped seeing results for over a week or so, first call would be to try dropping another 100 calories off your daily intake. Try for a week or two, gauge results, rinse and repeat as needed.

Cutting calories won't render anything useless. Cutting out carbs will make AP less effective. Hang in there. Hardest the first time you cut this much, enjoy the learning experience.

Aside from this, on the supplement side, give you case as a USP customer in the OEP thread to get in on testing it and/or watch out for the return of VAT attack.
 
Thank you! I don't have problems motivating myself to run or pick up the weights, never have. It's the lack of results from so much knee buckling workouts that makes me just wanna put my hands up and give up.

Can't really say I'm cheating myself because I've been pretty strict with just about everything. I ease off in a timely manner if I feel like I'm overtraining too.

What's VAT Attack if you don't mind me asking? Is it from a different company?

I've gone down to 2200 cal(from 2400) this week and I'm really feeling it. Can't lift as heavy. Body's definitely asking for food and cravings go up. Cardio stays strong though thanks to a combination of Recreate, Jack3d, A.Pump, and PowerFull! Mostly the first two.

Macronutrient ratio is at 50% protein/40% carbs/10% fats. Should I injest more carbs to allow AP do its job more effectively?


MANGO
 
I'm sure a rep will chime in on this. You want to be taking AP 15 minutes before your carb meals, 40g of complex carbs should be just right.

Vat Attack is by USPowders, USP Labs bulk powder line. I was kind of a limited run, but is set to return. It's one of the ingredients in Recreate, but you can take at higher dosage and is stim free so can be taken a night. Truely killer stuff and super cheap. Should be returning soon.

Actually on that note, Camphibolic (USP Labs old night-time thermo fat burner) is set for a limited time internet only comeback, so maybe worth checking out. You can search the USP forum here for both products and information.
 
I'm pretty much following the instructions on all the USPLab products I'm taking and to your point, for AP, 15 min prior to a carb containing meal and at 40g, that's about the right amount for my solid food meals.

I try to load up a bit more (basically an indulgent meal) that has a bit more carbs and calories once a week to keep the anabolic cycle primed and not trigger starvation mode.

I've gone ahead and posted on the O-E-P thread to see if I can still get on the Beta testing that's being done.

Sheesh, short of liposuction, I'm looking for alternative help. Clearly it's not the lack of motivation to work out/eat clean/ or cardio!
 
MANGOSTENE said:
Thank you! I don't have problems motivating myself to run or pick up the weights, never have. It's the lack of results from so much knee buckling workouts that makes me just wanna put my hands up and give up.

Can't really say I'm cheating myself because I've been pretty strict with just about everything. I ease off in a timely manner if I feel like I'm overtraining too.

What's VAT Attack if you don't mind me asking? Is it from a different company?

I've gone down to 2200 cal(from 2400) this week and I'm really feeling it. Can't lift as heavy. Body's definitely asking for food and cravings go up. Cardio stays strong though thanks to a combination of Recreate, Jack3d, A.Pump, and PowerFull! Mostly the first two.

Macronutrient ratio is at 50% protein/40% carbs/10% fats. Should I injest more carbs to allow AP do its job more effectively?


MANGO
Click to expand...

increase healthy fats bro.....olive oil, fish oil, Udo's oil, etc...IMO 10% is too low...have you also thought about INCREASING exercise intensity instead of dropping cals to low...go back up to 2400 and increase intensity and healthy fats
 
Thanks for the tip R-Mac. I'm going to look into adding more healthy fats.

Yep, my exercise intensity have been rather extreme. I almost feel like I'm overtraining myself which is where the second guessing comes in. I come in rather hard and fast where my workouts on average are an hour at the most.

There are days when my workouts have left me depleted and spent where I have to take the next day off just so I can give my system time to recover. Taking the USPLabs products have shortened the downtime and sped up recovery in some instances. Recreate and Jack3d definitely light me up on days when I just need to get over the soreness from the day before and mask the achey feeling.

I'm actually recovering from 2 months of Achilles tendonitis from a few months back from having to do cardio runs at full tilt and my tendons finally gave in. Recreate and Jack3d really ramp up the work outs, either cardio or weights, til the wheels fall off. Literally!

In my effort to try and burn off the last remaining pounds, I ended up injuring myself by trying to crank up the dial on my work outs. Like I said, it's not the quality of the work outs or eating that's lacking. There must be something else! What is it?!!!

MANGO
 
Try doing intervals for your cardio. Warm up for a few minutes then do one minute sprint, one minute jog, one minute sprint, one minute jog, etc. for at least 20 minutes. It's the best cardio to cut the body fat while preserving muscle. Maybe even try a low carb / no carb diet. Just make up for the lack of carbs by increasing healthy fats (almonds, cheese, eggs, etc.).
 
MANGOSTENE said:
Thanks for the tip R-Mac. I'm going to look into adding more healthy fats.

Yep, my exercise intensity have been rather extreme. I almost feel like I'm overtraining myself which is where the second guessing comes in. I come in rather hard and fast where my workouts on average are an hour at the most.

There are days when my workouts have left me depleted and spent where I have to take the next day off just so I can give my system time to recover. Taking the USPLabs products have shortened the downtime and sped up recovery in some instances. Recreate and Jack3d definitely light me up on days when I just need to get over the soreness from the day before and mask the achey feeling.

I'm actually recovering from 2 months of Achilles tendonitis from a few months back from having to do cardio runs at full tilt and my tendons finally gave in. Recreate and Jack3d really ramp up the work outs, either cardio or weights, til the wheels fall off. Literally!

In my effort to try and burn off the last remaining pounds, I ended up injuring myself by trying to crank up the dial on my work outs. Like I said, it's not the quality of the work outs or eating that's lacking. There must be something else! What is it?!!!

MANGO
Click to expand...

no problem....let me just say that I feel the pain with the Achilles..I tore mine completely 2+ years ago and had to have surgery....

here is a solid omega fish oil to grab Invalid Link Removed

throw down an example of your meals for a given day
 
All what I was going to recommend has been covered. I would move to a 50P/30F/20C ratio or 50/25/25 to get your natural test levels up and balance hormone levels; that got me past my plateau of 210 and made it to 199 in about five weeks after the change. Also, you can still use AP with your carb meals even if you only have enough for 2 in a day. Focus those around pre/post workout or one for the first meal and one either pre or post workout.

Also, HIIT or interval training is amazing when it comes to fat burning and muscle sparing. My only other suggestion is to train fasted in the AM with AP, PF, and Jack3d along with BCAAs drank throughout. This is proven way to deplete your glycogen and stimulate the burning of fat for fuel, especially during HIIT cardio after weights. Lots of avenues left to try before you throw in the towel, hang in there and you found the right place and company to work with.
 
Man, I woke up this morning with a headache and I have an idea what caused it. Body asking for more food I think. As soon as I had my breakfast, it dissipated.

Here's what it's looking like for me meal-wise for a day. This is at 2200 cals a day.


Breakfast (530 cals)

-One scoop ProComplex protein
-One scoop Oatmeal/Whey
-Handful of Walnuts (sometimes swap this with FlaxOil)

* I got rid of a banana to shed calories

MidMorning (300 cals)

-One scoop Oatmeal/Whey
-One cup Soy Milk

Lunch (530 cals)

-Brown rice, grilled chicken, steamed broccolli, carrots, cabbage

MidAfternoon (270 cals)

-One scoop ProComplex protein
-One scoop Glyco Maize

Dinner (370 cals)

-6 inch wheat bread, grilled chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, green peppers, red onions,
pickles

BeforeBed (220 cals)

-Casein protein
-One cup of soy milk


I'm trying to keep my protein intake high to spare my muscles but I think I'm already below the 1g of protein per pound of bodyweight guideline. So if I go with a 50/25/25 ratio, where should I cut out the carbs and up the fats in my meal plan?

I've done HIIT as well as interval training. Plyometrics for a whole hour non-stop every Tuesday. It's a killer workout, you feel like your heart is gonna bust out of your chest. Jump knee tucks, squat switch pick ups, the works!

By the way, the FlaxOil I use is from Trader Joe's shoud I go for something else? 200 cals a tablespooon.
 
Ok, pic 2 or 3 places to have your carbs with AP and bring the total to 30 grams, it still will work just fine. I would use fibrous carbs in place of regular carbs all other places less your last meal, that tends to keep you more full for longer. Also, I tend to cook vegetables in olive oil or put some on them at least one meal a day. If you have a Tbsp that is a good dose of quality fats plus what you get from fish oil; my suggestion is 2 caps with all meals less post workout.


MANGOSTENE said:
Man, I woke up this morning with a headache and I have an idea what caused it. Body asking for more food I think. As soon as I had my breakfast, it dissipated.

Here's what it's looking like for me meal-wise for a day. This is at 2200 cals a day.


Breakfast (530 cals)

-One scoop ProComplex protein
-One scoop Oatmeal/Whey
-Handful of Walnuts (sometimes swap this with FlaxOil)

* I got rid of a banana to shed calories

MidMorning (300 cals)

-One scoop Oatmeal/Whey
-One cup Soy Milk

Lunch (530 cals)

-Brown rice, grilled chicken, steamed broccolli, carrots, cabbage

MidAfternoon (270 cals)

-One scoop ProComplex protein
-One scoop Glyco Maize

Dinner (370 cals)

-6 inch wheat bread, grilled chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, green peppers, red onions,
pickles

BeforeBed (220 cals)

-Casein protein
-One cup of soy milk


I'm trying to keep my protein intake high to spare my muscles but I think I'm already below the 1g of protein per pound of bodyweight guideline. So if I go with a 50/25/25 ratio, where should I cut out the carbs and up the fats in my meal plan?

I've done HIIT as well as interval training. Plyometrics for a whole hour non-stop every Tuesday. It's a killer workout, you feel like your heart is gonna bust out of your chest. Jump knee tucks, squat switch pick ups, the works!

By the way, the FlaxOil I use is from Trader Joe's shoud I go for something else? 200 cals a tablespooon.
Click to expand...
 
MANGOSTENE said:
Man, I woke up this morning with a headache and I have an idea what caused it. Body asking for more food I think. As soon as I had my breakfast, it dissipated.

Here's what it's looking like for me meal-wise for a day. This is at 2200 cals a day.


Breakfast (530 cals)

-One scoop ProComplex protein
-One scoop Oatmeal/Whey
-Handful of Walnuts (sometimes swap this with FlaxOil)

* I got rid of a banana to shed calories

MidMorning (300 cals)

-One scoop Oatmeal/Whey
-One cup Soy Milk

Lunch (530 cals)

-Brown rice, grilled chicken, steamed broccolli, carrots, cabbage

MidAfternoon (270 cals)

-One scoop ProComplex protein
-One scoop Glyco Maize

Dinner (370 cals)

-6 inch wheat bread, grilled chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, green peppers, red onions,
pickles

BeforeBed (220 cals)

-Casein protein
-One cup of soy milk


I'm trying to keep my protein intake high to spare my muscles but I think I'm already below the 1g of protein per pound of bodyweight guideline. So if I go with a 50/25/25 ratio, where should I cut out the carbs and up the fats in my meal plan?

I've done HIIT as well as interval training. Plyometrics for a whole hour non-stop every Tuesday. It's a killer workout, you feel like your heart is gonna bust out of your chest. Jump knee tucks, squat switch pick ups, the works!

By the way, the FlaxOil I use is from Trader Joe's shoud I go for something else? 200 cals a tablespooon.
Click to expand...

Nice job with the clean food selection Mango....couple suggestions the bulk of your protein comes from powders...not a bad thing but maybe switching things up with more whole foods would be a good idea to see how your body responds...

maybe try eggs in the morning say 2 whole + 3 eggs whites (scrambled, omlett or hard boiled)

If you are a fan of cottage cheese, maybe substitute that at mid morning with your oatmeal....

also chicken is great i love it and its my favorite, but i'd say incorporate more red meat...90% or 93% ground beef/sirlon and lean steak like top sirloin or something...

I'd also increase veggie intake( all I see is a slice of lettuce in a sandwich) its also a great way to increase food intake and satisfy hunger with minimal impact on calories...broccoli (cold or cooked), celery(this ones is nice and easy)

other option for more whole food is fish..you like fish? salmon or talapia are great in addition you will get a great dose of essential fat too

Also since you shop at trader joes like I do, pick up the "just chicken" containers and use this in place of the powders at your "mid-meals"

another option to try to work through this weight loss plateau it to cycle carbs....with a couple high and low days bracketed around your normal intake

and don't forget a few cheat meals!

And to answer your question on flax oil its good but there are other beneficial oils out there too, another option is Flora Udo's choice Omegga 3, 6, and 9 fatty acids oil blend (comes in liquid and caps)..its a blend of several essential oils

hope this helps.
 
R-Mac,

Thanks! I didn't get a chance to check out the "Just Chicken" containers at T. Joes this weekend, perhaps tomorrow. You are right about the protein. At this point, breakfast and mid meals are pretty much protein powder based. Something that grew out of necessity in keeping up with a hectic work schedule. Shake and chug.

When you say to cycle on certain days high and low carbs, are you refering to high glycemic/low glycemic?

I'm definitely an advocate of cheat meals! I usually have mine either on a Friday night or Sat night when out and about.

Question. I obviously down Casein Protein with soy milk before bed. PowerFull suggests the last dosage before bed on an empty stomach. Is this a conflict? If so, when can I take one before the other or vice versa?

Last thing I need is wait past midnight after the casein for an additional two hours just so I can take the PowerFull caps!


MANGO
 
MANGOSTENE said:
R-Mac,

Thanks! I didn't get a chance to check out the "Just Chicken" containers at T. Joes this weekend, perhaps tomorrow. You are right about the protein. At this point, breakfast and mid meals are pretty much protein powder based. Something that grew out of necessity in keeping up with a hectic work schedule. Shake and chug.

When you say to cycle on certain days high and low carbs, are you refering to high glycemic/low glycemic?

I'm definitely an advocate of cheat meals! I usually have mine either on a Friday night or Sat night when out and about.

Question. I obviously down Casein Protein with soy milk before bed. PowerFull suggests the last dosage before bed on an empty stomach. Is this a conflict? If so, when can I take one before the other or vice versa?

Last thing I need is wait past midnight after the casein for an additional two hours just so I can take the PowerFull caps!


MANGO
Click to expand...

with carb cycling I am talking about the volume of carb's not the type....in terms of grams of carbs...cycle them...high day, low days etc.

if you are ingesting the last dose of powerfull pre bed taking with food it is a conflict, you arent getting the full benefit of the pre-bed dose...you need to adjust the timing of that meal or all meals for that matter so you can get the full benefit od pwfull and get to bed at a reasonable time....personally I give myself 2 hours away from food pre bed before my last does of pwfull
 
Thanks R-Mac,

Went to the PowerFull thread. An hour at least after injesting a low carb meal/drink.
In my case, the only carb present in the Casein drink I take before bed is the 5g from the soymilk.

Since I'm ramping up the reduced calories (way below 2400), do you think I'm shortchanging the benefits of PowerFull (GH production) by going so low on calories? Does GH production need a surplus of calories to tap from or it doesn't really matter?

MANGO
 
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