How do you stay lean?

[liveactioncow]

This thread is for diet/nutrition & training tips for getting and staying lean. I'm calling on everyone to chime in with their $0.02! All information; new, old, simple or advanced is acceptable, I want this thread to help any and everyone in their quest for a lean physique.

i.e.
- I like to perform 15 minutes HIIT post workout and on off days with a workout split emphasizing compound lifts for moderate to high reps with little to no rest between sets.
- Do you use peanut butter? Try switching to almond butter, it's lower in saturated fat, high in aminos and vitamin E, most people love the difference in taste!
- Don't fear the fruit! Apples, berries, pineapple; these are all relatively low GI fruits that you can incorporate into your diet, generally best early in the day. The fiber in apples and pineapple will stave off prot-bloat, and keep you from blowing your o-ring with high protein diets (srs). Berries are rich in antioxidants which will help prevent catabolism and support immunities, extremely important during extreme dieting.

 

[drinkyboy]

Well my list isn't as elaborate as yours but tuna has worked wonders for me as far as staying lean and giving me energy. I also don't eat out that often...maybe 1 a month. Packing my meals to take to work so I don't fall off the wagon is also great. Drink water and not soda. I have always preferred water over anything else.

 

[Resolve]

You're lucky you can enjoy so much fruit without gaining. The fructose and sugar can be problematic for some people, quickly limiting lipolysis.

 

[liveactioncow]

Well my list isn't as elaborate as yours but tuna has worked wonders for me as far as staying lean and giving me energy. I also don't eat out that often...maybe 1 a month. Packing my meals to take to work so I don't fall off the wagon is also great. Drink water and not soda. I have always preferred water over anything else.

Very good points regardless, especially on soda, dining out, and pre packed meals; I tend to follow each of those as well.

You're lucky you can enjoy so much fruit without gaining. The fructose and sugar can be problematic for some people, quickly limiting lipolysis.

This is a reasonable concern, however apples and berries are known to ha less than 6% fructose in their sugar content. The fiber, and the presence of an extra fat or protein source will LARGELY effect the glycemic index of the fruit. What was once a sharp insulin spike, can become smoothed out just by consuming the fruit with whey/casein, or nuts.

This is also why its important to consume higher fructose fruits, like bananas, early in the day, or around your workout sessions. This way your guaranteed to expend the glycogen before it is stored as fat!

Source: (Search "Low Fructose Fruits" on google, I cannot post links yet )

 

[PE Expert]

nice post! but how ever I can't help my self eating those fruits..anyone can help??

 

[RickRock13]

I do intermittent fasting and have for about a year now...which combined with regular cardio, has allowed me to stay lean year round even while bulking. I've managed to stay at single digits since summer with this approach.

 

[liveactioncow]

nice post! but how ever I can't help my self eating those fruits..anyone can help??

Which fruits, man? There are some reasonably low GI fruits you can enjoy more freely, but dried fruits and things like dates and figs will probably spike your insulin pretty sharply due to higher fructose content.

Try having your bananas, apples and berries early in the day, and especially around your workout.

I do intermittent fasting and have for about a year now...which combined with regular cardio, has allowed me to stay lean year round even while bulking. I've managed to stay at single digits since summer with this approach.

Very nice! I had read an article on T-Nation that made this sound very promising, I may give it a try if my current methods don't yield the results I'm after. I would try it sooner, but my day job is way too taxing physically.

 

[PE Expert]

thanks for the advice..

 

[liveactioncow]

thanks for the advice..

NP, bud.

Anyone else out there? Lend us your idears, Let's keep this thread alive!

 

[kevinhy]

If i jump directly into a bulk from a cut i blow up and get sloppy fat.

When i slowly stagger my calories back up to maintenance, and then slowly above that fat loss is reduced substantially.

 

[beastybean]

I do intermittent fasting and have for about a year now...which combined with regular cardio, has allowed me to stay lean year round even while bulking. I've managed to stay at single digits since summer with this approach.

I recently read that fasting increases blood flow to the abdominal region, thus increasing lipolysis. perhaps this is one of the reasons intermittent fasting works so well.

 

[ozarkaBRAND]

I'm a big fan of intermittent fasting. 16 hours fasted, 8 hours feeding.

 

[liveactioncow]

If i jump directly into a bulk from a cut i blow up and get sloppy fat.

When i slowly stagger my calories back up to maintenance, and then slowly above that fat loss is reduced substantially.

Great idea! I've been practicing this in reverse to drop BF without affecting my energy levels too drastically. Currently at 17%(176lbs) from 20%(184lbs) in 4 weeks

I recently read that fasting increases blood flow to the abdominal region, thus increasing lipolysis. perhaps this is one of the reasons intermittent fasting works so well.

Very interesting, please share the source on this info if you can retrieve it!

Thanks for the insight, guys! Keep em' coming!

I'm a big fan of intermittent fasting. 16 hours fasted, 8 hours feeding.

Nice, this is the exact protocol I was considering. Got all my info here: http://www.t-nation.com/readArticle.do?id=4927546

 

[kevinhy]

A very good read for those experiencing rebound after intense cutting cycles.

http://www.precisionnutrition.com/fast-weight-loss-changes-hunger-hormones

 

[ozarkaBRAND]

Nice, this is the exact protocol I was considering. Got all my info here: http://www.t-nation.com/readArticle.do?id=4927546

This is another great resource for information on IF.

 

[Gabrielle Bro]

Well, my opinion is to remove all the carbohydrate foods from your diet and add some protein rich food. Also try to exercise, swimming gives good results

 

[Gabrielle Bro]

I think exercising is very good way to reduce weight, and most especially swimming is the best exercise for weight loss

 

[tubbednova]

I just get to where i want to be(weight not much so,but strenght/leanness,wellbeing)about where im at now and just stay motivated eat the same making adjustments when needed(less/more cals)continue training intense and let everything do its job.

 

[Iron_Will]

How do you stay lean? Eat well and exercise often. Simple as that..

 

[liveactioncow]

Well, my opinion is to remove all the carbohydrate foods from your diet and add some protein rich food. Also try to exercise, swimming gives good results

Definitely advocate swimming, but what I understand from the masses is that low carb diets are a bit double edged; they can yield great fat loss in a short amount of time, but keeping it off when cycling them back in is the tricky part.

I just get to where i want to be(weight not much so,but strenght/leanness,wellbeing)about where im at now and just stay motivated eat the same making adjustments when needed(less/more cals)continue training intense and let everything do its job.

+1, I always preach consistency when it comes to reaching a goal like this. Find a diet and training plan that you can enjoy, and suits your cutting macros, and watch the transformation begin.

How do you stay lean? Eat well and exercise often. Simple as that..

...Thanks, but if you read the foreword of this thread, we are asking for specific dieting and training techniques that have gotten us as far as we've come. Let's keep this thread interesting!

 

[DerekN]

Since I'm Cambodian white rice was a big part of my diet. After getting diagnosed as a pre-diabetic in November I cut my intake of white rice down to 1/4 of what I used to eat. This combined with me starting to lift weights helped me go down from 256 to 231.

 

[liveactioncow]

Since I'm Cambodian white rice was a big part of my diet. After getting diagnosed as a pre-diabetic in November I cut my intake of white rice down to 1/4 of what I used to eat. This combined with me starting to lift weights helped me go down from 256 to 231.

Great work, man! Have you considered replacing white rice with long grain brown rice? It has complex carbs as well as a much lower glycemic index, and shouldn't trouble your insulin when combined with good fat and protein sources.

 

[Ratiocinative]

Coincidentally, I do pretty much exactly the opposite of that the Government recommends:

Avoid Fruits and Vegetables.
Stay the hell away from cereal.
Don't even think about eating Breakfast.
Put (real) butter and salt on everything.
Eat one huge meal right before bed/after workouts.
Consume lots and lots of red meat and potatoes.
Fast once a week. (Or whenever I feel I'm losing some ab definition)
Never do cardio.

 

[ozarkaBRAND]

Avoid Fruits and Vegetables.
Stay the hell away from cereal.
Don't even think about eating Breakfast.
Put (real) butter and salt on everything.
Eat one huge meal right before bed/after workouts.
Consume lots and lots of red meat and potatoes.
Fast once a week. (Or whenever I feel I'm losing some ab definition)
Never do cardio.

I can get behind a lot of that, but why avoid vegetables?

 

[Ratiocinative]

I can get behind a lot of that, but why avoid vegetables?

Mostly because they taste like crap and are expensive as hell as far as calories go. I will occasionally add peppers and onions for flavor to ground beef, but that' it. Humans are omnivores so we can eat vegetables, obviously, but being an omnivore doesn't mean you need to eat vegetables. There simply is no evidence that vegetables contribute anything to a proper diet of animal products. If people happen to like the taste vegetables, and they want to spend their own hard earned money on them, then go for, that's what freedom is all about. I do it too, on occasion. My beef (pun intended) is with people, usually government officials, who shove vegetables down peoples throats, especially kids throats, and wonder then wonder why people refuse to eat healthy. If I had to choose between being eating 5 servings of vegetables a day and being a fatty, I'd choose to be a fatty, and apparently much of American agrees with me. Thankfully, that choice is a false dilemma, and one can choose to not eat vegetables and not be fat.

 

[mattrag]

Coincidentally, I do pretty much exactly the opposite of that the Government recommends:

Avoid Fruits and Vegetables.
Stay the hell away from cereal.
Don't even think about eating Breakfast.
Put (real) butter and salt on everything.
Eat one huge meal right before bed/after workouts.
Consume lots and lots of red meat and potatoes.
Fast once a week. (Or whenever I feel I'm losing some ab definition)
Never do cardio.

Aside the avoiding fruits and veggies this is pretty much how I tend to gravitate to when I am trying to lean out.

 

[mattrag]

Mostly because they taste like crap and are expensive as hell as far as calories go. I will occasionally add peppers and onions for flavor to ground beef, but that' it. Humans are omnivores so we can eat vegetables, obviously, but being an omnivore doesn't mean you need to eat vegetables. There simply is no evidence that vegetables contribute anything to a proper diet of animal products. If people happen to like the taste vegetables, and they want to spend their own hard earned money on them, then go for, that's what freedom is all about. I do it too, on occasion. My beef (pun intended) is with people, usually government officials, who shove vegetables down peoples throats, especially kids throats, and wonder then wonder why people refuse to eat healthy. If I had to choose between being eating 5 servings of vegetables a day and being a fatty, I'd choose to be a fatty, and apparently much of American agrees with me. Thankfully, that choice is a false dilemma, and one can choose to not eat vegetables and not be fat.

Also, much of the vegetable production now is really bad. Full of pesticides, and gmo. Also devoid of nutrients because the land is just over farmed and the soil is devoid of nutrients. I still eat veggies for fiber but tbh a good multiple vitamin taken at like 1/4 dose with a heavy fat mealsm should be good. Well theoretically.

 

[VS91588]

I like to switch up my protein to Fish. Tilapia, Salmon, Shrimp, Flounder and IF I'm in a rush Tuna

 

[DerekN]

Great work, man! Have you considered replacing white rice with long grain brown rice? It has complex carbs as well as a much lower glycemic index, and shouldn't trouble your insulin when combined with good fat and protein sources.

Thanks man! I've been mixing white and brown rice together for the past couple weeks. Once I finish the bag of white rice I plan on switching to brown only.