Q&A Thread for June
Replies
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Any experience with clients that have been able to close up a mild diastasis recti? I have about a finger-width gap at my belly button from pregnancy. Baby is 18 months now so I don't think this is going to resolve completely on its own. Thanks!
And second question if you don't mind. How do you know when it's time to switch up programming? When you get bored? After a certain amount of time on a program? When goals change? I've been at SL 5x5 for 6 months and I've found myself interested in maybe switching things up more for variety than anything.0 -
I know this question is outside of goal context somewhat; however, I feel there is merit to the question based on the general recommendations that are typically given in the main forums and would like to get your input on something I am pondering that Dr. Israetel mentioned a week or so ago.
And I quote (sorry for the long quote)- "Some people have been recommending dropping volume on a cut and "holding on to your strength" by training heavier than you might on your massing phases.
"Holding onto your strength" is probably a bad idea on a cut. The MOST important variable to retaining muscle on a cut is how much volume you can recover from. The more volume you can do and recover from, provided it's past about 60% of your 1RM, the more muscle you'll keep, never mind the extra workload burning more calories!
One of the best ways to do more volume and still survive is to train at the LOWER end of the intensity spectrum, mostly between 60% and 70% of your 1RM. It's this kind of training that should be done during your cut because it allows the highest recoverable volumes.
I'm not sure what the purpose of keeping strength on a cut is anyway... that's mostly neurally mediated if no muscle changes occur, and you can get that back fast if you don't lose any muscle.
As a side note, the practice of training a bit lighter and doing as much volume as possible is near-universal in experienced bodybuilding during a cutting phase. I don't think that's entirely by accident." -Mike Israetel
Body building as in physique then is what he is talking to?
Regarding strength though, I always found this interesting from respected source.
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/training/weight-training-for-fat-loss-part-1.html/
The basic idea of increasing either training frequency or volume in the weight room while dieting is completely *kitten*-backwards on a tremendous number of levels. If there is a single time when overall recovery is going to be reduced (unless you are using steroids), it’s when calories have been reduced. Trying to train more frequently in the weight room on a diet makes no sense.
From Part 2
The basic conclusion, again from both research and practical experience is that both volume and frequency of training can usually be cut by up to 2/3rds (that is, to 1/3rd of what you did to improve it) but with one massively important caveat: the intensity of that training must be maintained.
Put another way, you could maintain volume and frequency at the same level but if you cut intensity, you will lose the adaptation. Basically any combination that’s ever been looked at only works if intensity is maintained.
Yep, I had read this from Lyle before and that's what had me taking a relook at it. I know Lyle mentions incorporating both metabolic and intensity training; but if he had to choose only one to do, to do intensity training. That's why I included Mike's whole quote as I was thinking maybe I was taking something out of context from previous or other statements. And that of course is still possible, as again, this was just a Facebook posting he did without the context of a whole conversation.
Thanks.
As a edit: I happen to run across someone posting a reference to Lyle on this exactly on Mike's Facebook post and Mike responded back with "Also, I'm not sure where Lyle got that info... I have seen very little direct evidence on that."
I like Mike's opinions and interputations of some research, but don't know what to think about him sometimes.
I share identical sentiments about the above. I like Mike, don't agree with him on everything but he's a bright dude for sure.
I got some feedback from Helms on this topic, he doesn't seem to agree with Mike on this, for what it's worth.0 -
I know this question is outside of goal context somewhat; however, I feel there is merit to the question based on the general recommendations that are typically given in the main forums and would like to get your input on something I am pondering that Dr. Israetel mentioned a week or so ago.
And I quote (sorry for the long quote)- "Some people have been recommending dropping volume on a cut and "holding on to your strength" by training heavier than you might on your massing phases.
"Holding onto your strength" is probably a bad idea on a cut. The MOST important variable to retaining muscle on a cut is how much volume you can recover from. The more volume you can do and recover from, provided it's past about 60% of your 1RM, the more muscle you'll keep, never mind the extra workload burning more calories!
One of the best ways to do more volume and still survive is to train at the LOWER end of the intensity spectrum, mostly between 60% and 70% of your 1RM. It's this kind of training that should be done during your cut because it allows the highest recoverable volumes.
I'm not sure what the purpose of keeping strength on a cut is anyway... that's mostly neurally mediated if no muscle changes occur, and you can get that back fast if you don't lose any muscle.
As a side note, the practice of training a bit lighter and doing as much volume as possible is near-universal in experienced bodybuilding during a cutting phase. I don't think that's entirely by accident." -Mike Israetel
Body building as in physique then is what he is talking to?
Regarding strength though, I always found this interesting from respected source.
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/training/weight-training-for-fat-loss-part-1.html/
The basic idea of increasing either training frequency or volume in the weight room while dieting is completely *kitten*-backwards on a tremendous number of levels. If there is a single time when overall recovery is going to be reduced (unless you are using steroids), it’s when calories have been reduced. Trying to train more frequently in the weight room on a diet makes no sense.
From Part 2
The basic conclusion, again from both research and practical experience is that both volume and frequency of training can usually be cut by up to 2/3rds (that is, to 1/3rd of what you did to improve it) but with one massively important caveat: the intensity of that training must be maintained.
Put another way, you could maintain volume and frequency at the same level but if you cut intensity, you will lose the adaptation. Basically any combination that’s ever been looked at only works if intensity is maintained.
Yep, I had read this from Lyle before and that's what had me taking a relook at it. I know Lyle mentions incorporating both metabolic and intensity training; but if he had to choose only one to do, to do intensity training. That's why I included Mike's whole quote as I was thinking maybe I was taking something out of context from previous or other statements. And that of course is still possible, as again, this was just a Facebook posting he did without the context of a whole conversation.
Thanks.
As a edit: I happen to run across someone posting a reference to Lyle on this exactly on Mike's Facebook post and Mike responded back with "Also, I'm not sure where Lyle got that info... I have seen very little direct evidence on that."
I like Mike's opinions and interputations of some research, but don't know what to think about him sometimes.
I share identical sentiments about the above. I like Mike, don't agree with him on everything but he's a bright dude for sure.
I got some feedback from Helms on this topic, he doesn't seem to agree with Mike on this, for what it's worth.
Much appreciated.
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My right front delt has been painful for a day or so now. Not sure how it happened; I lifted OHP back on Friday for the first time in a few weeks, I figure it's a contributing factor, but my shoulder didn't begin to hurt until Sunday night. Specifically, I have full range of motion if I move slowly, and I can move my arm out in a lateral raise move easily enough, but if I try to move forward quickly there's a sharp pain which lasts for a split second. In addition, keeping my elbow to my ribs while twisting out is a trifle problematic.
I figure on taking this week off from the gym entirely, see if that'll clear things up. Rather annoying, since lifting is one of my primary methods of stress relief.
I know you guys aren't doctors, but do you think what I describe could be from my lifting? I.e. sharp pain when move quickly, but dull pain or none at all if move slowly?
The week off from lifting must have been what I needed, as my shoulder is feeling much better. Not quite back to normal, but getting there. Of course, now my left shoulder is complaining, though not nearly to the same degree, so it could simply be objecting to having done everything southpaw for the past week.
Given my shoulder isn't fully back to normal, I wonder if I shouldn't give myself another week before doing any upper body work, and just hit the gym for my legs, though it's amazing how much your shoulders get involved in leg work (resting the bar, gripping DB's, etc) unless you use machines.0 -
The TL;DR: Is there an upper limit to the amount of dietary fat that you would consider healthy?
The context is that, as you may for may not know, I've been having some health issues that are limiting my ability to eat. The main problem is trouble swallowing but I also have a complete loss of appetite and a very sensitive gag reflex. The tentative diagnosis is myasthenia gravis. I'm already at a healthy weight and body fat level, and while it's probably safe to lose a little weight, I'd just as soon not. I normally love veggies and try to get plenty of them but when I'm having a flare up like this I'm unable to eat them raw, steamed, or boiled. They pretty much have to be roasted, pureed, or mixed into smoothies, and I have trouble with anything that isn't soft. I have a lot of trouble with protein too. Dairy's a good bet. Chicken is okay if it's cut up small or shredded and worked into some kind of sauce that makes it easier to swallow. It's much easier to eat cuts of meat that are fattier, like chicken thighs or salmon. I also can't do particulate foods like rice or couscous unless it's in sauce.
My diet is already fairly high in fat-- I average around 75 grams per day. I eat a lot of avocado, olive oil, dairy, nuts, etc and I tend to find fat sating so that's my natural way of eating. Since I'm having trouble meeting my calorie goal I'm getting a lot of suggestions to eat more fat, and that's the advice I tend to give people in the forums who aren't getting enough calories as well. I just wonder if it's okay to go much higher than I already do though. Doctors advice is to do what I'm already doing (regarding smoothies, purees, and soft foods) and get calories in any way I can. I did buy some foods I don't normally keep around-- poptarts, ready-made pasta and sauce, ready-made biscuits, kids cereal-- in hopes that having some food that's highly palatable will coax me into eating more. But I'd like to make sure I'm getting enough nutrients if at all possible and not rely too heavily on those foods that have less, especially since this is likely to be a long-term thing.
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In order to better manage my time, I try to work out in the morning. But I struggle with these workouts; never mind the getting out of bed part, which is hit or miss, but as the bar gets heavier, it feels harder than it should to do some of the lifts.
I know sleep is important, so I try to get at least 8 hours but sometimes get as few as 6, so I can spend some quality time with the family.
Lunchtime or afternoon workouts are great, but… yeah I work, so, they are not always practical. But during these workouts, I always feel awake and well-fueled, and my lifts usually go well.
Evening workouts cut into my family time. So I TRY to roll myself out of bed at 5:45 to get up, eat something and have coffee so I can start by 6:30 at the latest.
Who else gets up early for workouts? How do you fuel? How much sleep do you get?
Thanks!
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I get up at 5:00 AM to go lift. All I pretty much ever do is drink a cup of coffee. If I'm particularly hungry, I'll eat a banana, as I personally don't find it to be a very good experience trying to lift with a lot of food in me. As far as sleep goes, it's usually 6-7 hours the night before. I'm at the gym by 6:00, lifting by 6:15.
I think, more than anything, just the fact that I made getting up early a habit has helped. There are certainly days where I'd like to stay in bed, but I get up and do it. I'm used to it, so it's not too bad usually. Heck, there have been times where I've felt like complete garbage and figured I'd have a bad lifting session - only to hit a PR that morning. It probably helps that I'm not on a severe deficit, so I still have enough energy when I get there.0 -
In order to better manage my time, I try to work out in the morning. But I struggle with these workouts; never mind the getting out of bed part, which is hit or miss, but as the bar gets heavier, it feels harder than it should to do some of the lifts.
I know sleep is important, so I try to get at least 8 hours but sometimes get as few as 6, so I can spend some quality time with the family.
Lunchtime or afternoon workouts are great, but… yeah I work, so, they are not always practical. But during these workouts, I always feel awake and well-fueled, and my lifts usually go well.
Evening workouts cut into my family time. So I TRY to roll myself out of bed at 5:45 to get up, eat something and have coffee so I can start by 6:30 at the latest.
Who else gets up early for workouts? How do you fuel? How much sleep do you get?
Thanks!
I have a hard time with this as well. I get up fairly early (between 6 and 7 most days, earlier some days) but I tend to feel sluggish until after 9 or so. And it doesn't matter how much sleep I get. My body is just slow to get going. As a teacher, it works okay for me to just work out in the afternoons during the school year, so no worries.
In the summer, hot weather dictates a change to morning workouts. So I just bite the bullet, get up earlier, and do it. And then the eating issue comes into play. If I am running, basically I can't stand to have anything on my stomach more than a granola bar. The perfect pre-run snack for me is one of those 3-ingredient cookies made with oats, protein powder, and bananas. I also add some nuts, dried fruits, and chocolate chips before I bake it. Very yummy! And it stays down for the whole run, no matter how long.
The cookies are simple to make. You can google it for the recipe. There are several out there.
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In order to better manage my time, I try to work out in the morning. But I struggle with these workouts; never mind the getting out of bed part, which is hit or miss, but as the bar gets heavier, it feels harder than it should to do some of the lifts.
I know sleep is important, so I try to get at least 8 hours but sometimes get as few as 6, so I can spend some quality time with the family.
Lunchtime or afternoon workouts are great, but… yeah I work, so, they are not always practical. But during these workouts, I always feel awake and well-fueled, and my lifts usually go well.
Evening workouts cut into my family time. So I TRY to roll myself out of bed at 5:45 to get up, eat something and have coffee so I can start by 6:30 at the latest.
Who else gets up early for workouts? How do you fuel? How much sleep do you get?
Thanks!
When I did (very non-morning, and can't sleep at night, bad combo) manage to get up early for a decent amount of time, I had to eat decent snack right before bed.
Having dinner early and then being semi-active until bed, just left me too drained in the morning workout to think strong, and perform well.
Unless I did a simple bar and gave time to digest, which I usually didn't.
But by having a 400 cal snack right before bed, I guess it topped off liver stores and gave me enough blood sugar in the morning to work well with.
But then lack of sleep kills ya anyway, so that's out.0 -
My question centers mainly on timing.
I've just started a proper lifting routine (somewhat along the lines of 5x5 but adapted by my trainer) and I'm starting on relatively low weights (for most lifters at least, but they are challenging enough for me - my highest weight starting out is for deadlifting and its 20kg).
I've been doing Couch to 5k and have just completed Week 4 of that. Since I got my routine, I've done the weightlifting and C25K on the same day with days of rest inbetween, so I go to the gym 3 days a week. I don't feel like my performance suffers, but then again, I don't really know how I perform on days I don't do both.
It would be feasible for me to visit the gym more often as I'm only a 10 minute walk away from it.
Should I alternate days? 3 days cardio, 2 days strength training, or 3 days of each? or 3 strength, 2 cardio? Or am I okay with doing them both on one day, three days a week with days of rest inbetween? Or could/should I increase how often I train?
Ultimately, I think that I would like to focus on strength but my general fitness levels are very poor so at the same time, I think it would be prudent for me to continue with C25K.
This is very disjointed and stream of conciousness, but hopefully you can work out what I mean here
If not, ask for as much clarification as needed.0 -
Hi, thanks for answering our questions here!
Could you please share your knowledge on re-feed days?
I'm currently in week 5 of an 8 week cut, aiming for a loss of 1lb/week. I'm at TDEE -20%. I'm continuing to lift, except I've changed over to a lighter load/higher rep routine. I also run about 10 miles a week.
The scale showed no difference in week 4 and I'm worried my metabolism has adjusted to the lower caloric intake.
How do I counteract this, and what should re-feed days look like nutrition wise?0 -
Hi, thanks for answering our questions here!
Could you please share your knowledge on re-feed days?
I'm currently in week 5 of an 8 week cut, aiming for a loss of 1lb/week. I'm at TDEE -20%. I'm continuing to lift, except I've changed over to a lighter load/higher rep routine. I also run about 10 miles a week.
The scale showed no difference in week 4 and I'm worried my metabolism has adjusted to the lower caloric intake.
How do I counteract this, and what should re-feed days look like nutrition wise?
So first of all we're dealing with anecdote and opinion/strategy primarily at this point as I'm not aware of any studies specifically on refeeds. Could be wrong there.
If your weight loss is stalling then I don't think a reefed is going to do anything significant to remedy that as it's likely that you're just not in a calorie deficit (NOTE: Since it's only been 1 week I wouldn't react to this just yet -- could just be fluctuations in water). The original theory with refeeding was that short term carbohydrate overfeeding upregulates leptin and leptin is a fat hormone that decreases as you lose fat. Leptin does a variety of things but in general when leptin goes down you get hungry and energy expenditure may decrease.
I'm going to go with Lyle McDonald on this one and suggest that short term (1 day) refeeds probably don't do anything significant to upregulate leptin. It goes up in response to carb overfeeding but it then drops right back down again after the reefed (when you resume the deficit).
That being said I think there are other reasons to do a reefed. Depending on how low your carb intake is, it could be beneficial for glycogen repletion It could be beneficial for gym performance, and it could be potentially very beneficial for long term dietary adherence.
If you're going to implement a reefed I'd set calories to roughly maintenance levels or a tad higher. Typical recommendation is to keep protein relatively constant to your non reefed days, keep fats relatively low (50g or so) and bring carbs up to get calories to the desired range.
I'd either position it in such a way to take maximum advantage of it in the gym, or to maximally benefit from a personal preference/lifestyle standpoint.
Regarding the stall in body-weight I would just wait another week and then bring calories down a tad.0 -
daaaaaanielle wrote: »My question centers mainly on timing.
I've just started a proper lifting routine (somewhat along the lines of 5x5 but adapted by my trainer) and I'm starting on relatively low weights (for most lifters at least, but they are challenging enough for me - my highest weight starting out is for deadlifting and its 20kg).
I've been doing Couch to 5k and have just completed Week 4 of that. Since I got my routine, I've done the weightlifting and C25K on the same day with days of rest inbetween, so I go to the gym 3 days a week. I don't feel like my performance suffers, but then again, I don't really know how I perform on days I don't do both.
It would be feasible for me to visit the gym more often as I'm only a 10 minute walk away from it.
I generally wouldn't recommend a 5x5 done more than 3 days per week. When you are just starting out, you could probably get away with going every other day so something like a 3/4/3/4 going across the weeks but as the load gets heavier that might not be a good idea.
Now if you DO want to train 4-5 days/week the solution in my opinion would be to modify the programming to accommodate that.
Should I alternate days? 3 days cardio, 2 days strength training, or 3 days of each? or 3 strength, 2 cardio? Or am I okay with doing them both on one day, three days a week with days of rest inbetween? Or could/should I increase how often I train?
What's the goal, and what's the reason to change what you are currently doing? EDIT: NVM, you just answered that below.
Ultimately, I think that I would like to focus on strength but my general fitness levels are very poor so at the same time, I think it would be prudent for me to continue with C25K.
This is very disjointed and stream of conciousness, but hopefully you can work out what I mean here
If not, ask for as much clarification as needed.
The short answer is that if your goal is to get stronger then doing a strength training program seems like a reasonable idea and you're currently doing that. I don't see any issue with doing SL (or something similar) and doing some cardio for overall fitness. Seems reasonable to me.
If you want to try to accelerate the process I don't know that additional strength training would necessarily be the best path for that. If you are somewhat new to strength training and more specifically if you are new to squats, deads, and presses, then one very good use of additional time would be to practice those movements.
Spending time working on technique is incredibly useful.0 -
ILiftHeavyAcrylics wrote: »The TL;DR: Is there an upper limit to the amount of dietary fat that you would consider healthy?
The context is that, as you may for may not know, I've been having some health issues that are limiting my ability to eat. The main problem is trouble swallowing but I also have a complete loss of appetite and a very sensitive gag reflex. The tentative diagnosis is myasthenia gravis. I'm already at a healthy weight and body fat level, and while it's probably safe to lose a little weight, I'd just as soon not. I normally love veggies and try to get plenty of them but when I'm having a flare up like this I'm unable to eat them raw, steamed, or boiled. They pretty much have to be roasted, pureed, or mixed into smoothies, and I have trouble with anything that isn't soft. I have a lot of trouble with protein too. Dairy's a good bet. Chicken is okay if it's cut up small or shredded and worked into some kind of sauce that makes it easier to swallow. It's much easier to eat cuts of meat that are fattier, like chicken thighs or salmon. I also can't do particulate foods like rice or couscous unless it's in sauce.
My diet is already fairly high in fat-- I average around 75 grams per day. I eat a lot of avocado, olive oil, dairy, nuts, etc and I tend to find fat sating so that's my natural way of eating. Since I'm having trouble meeting my calorie goal I'm getting a lot of suggestions to eat more fat, and that's the advice I tend to give people in the forums who aren't getting enough calories as well. I just wonder if it's okay to go much higher than I already do though. Doctors advice is to do what I'm already doing (regarding smoothies, purees, and soft foods) and get calories in any way I can. I did buy some foods I don't normally keep around-- poptarts, ready-made pasta and sauce, ready-made biscuits, kids cereal-- in hopes that having some food that's highly palatable will coax me into eating more. But I'd like to make sure I'm getting enough nutrients if at all possible and not rely too heavily on those foods that have less, especially since this is likely to be a long-term thing.
I'm not aware of any concerns with high fat diets provided that you're not consuming excess calories and you're active and meeting nutrient needs.
I have seen some anecdotal info from the Nadolsky brothers on people having cholesterol problems (more specifically apo-B) when they start using bulletproof coffee, but this isn't the same as eating a high fat diet because presumably you're not ingesting 50+ grams of fat in 1 shot in liquid form and presumably you're getting a mix of fat sources.
Finally, this isn't me saying "eat all the fat you want, it's safe!" it's just me telling you my opinion on it. If you believe your fat intake is getting ridiculous, consider periodic visits to your doctor.0 -
ILiftHeavyAcrylics wrote: »The TL;DR: Is there an upper limit to the amount of dietary fat that you would consider healthy?
The context is that, as you may for may not know, I've been having some health issues that are limiting my ability to eat. The main problem is trouble swallowing but I also have a complete loss of appetite and a very sensitive gag reflex. The tentative diagnosis is myasthenia gravis. I'm already at a healthy weight and body fat level, and while it's probably safe to lose a little weight, I'd just as soon not. I normally love veggies and try to get plenty of them but when I'm having a flare up like this I'm unable to eat them raw, steamed, or boiled. They pretty much have to be roasted, pureed, or mixed into smoothies, and I have trouble with anything that isn't soft. I have a lot of trouble with protein too. Dairy's a good bet. Chicken is okay if it's cut up small or shredded and worked into some kind of sauce that makes it easier to swallow. It's much easier to eat cuts of meat that are fattier, like chicken thighs or salmon. I also can't do particulate foods like rice or couscous unless it's in sauce.
My diet is already fairly high in fat-- I average around 75 grams per day. I eat a lot of avocado, olive oil, dairy, nuts, etc and I tend to find fat sating so that's my natural way of eating. Since I'm having trouble meeting my calorie goal I'm getting a lot of suggestions to eat more fat, and that's the advice I tend to give people in the forums who aren't getting enough calories as well. I just wonder if it's okay to go much higher than I already do though. Doctors advice is to do what I'm already doing (regarding smoothies, purees, and soft foods) and get calories in any way I can. I did buy some foods I don't normally keep around-- poptarts, ready-made pasta and sauce, ready-made biscuits, kids cereal-- in hopes that having some food that's highly palatable will coax me into eating more. But I'd like to make sure I'm getting enough nutrients if at all possible and not rely too heavily on those foods that have less, especially since this is likely to be a long-term thing.
I'm not aware of any concerns with high fat diets provided that you're not consuming excess calories and you're active and meeting nutrient needs.
I have seen some anecdotal info from the Nadolsky brothers on people having cholesterol problems (more specifically apo-B) when they start using bulletproof coffee, but this isn't the same as eating a high fat diet because presumably you're not ingesting 50+ grams of fat in 1 shot in liquid form and presumably you're getting a mix of fat sources.
Finally, this isn't me saying "eat all the fat you want, it's safe!" it's just me telling you my opinion on it. If you believe your fat intake is getting ridiculous, consider periodic visits to your doctor.
From what I've learned in class, if your stool really smells, that means the fat isn't being absorbed and it's too much for you to digest. I haven't smelled it in person (it will happen in the hospital soon enough I'm sure) but I'm told its an unmistakable terrible smell. It's called steatorrhea if you want to learn more. If that isn't happening to you, it's likely that you are fine. Also 75g isn't that much fat
Also I don't get bulletproof coffee. It sounds gross and I don't see how anyone thinks that it can help with weight loss. Give me cake instead, nom nom nom0 -
My question is about the type of training I should do to drop some bodyfat and build more muscle once I am at goal (6 more pounds. I'm 5'5" and my goal is 135). I like my shape but I'm 55 and have more jiggles than I would like. I currently belong to a gym where we do small group high-intensity circuit type workouts that incorporate cardio, bodyweight exercises like planks, squats, lunges, etc., resistance training with bands, other stuff, sometimes incorporating 10-15 pound weights to these exercises. Each session is about 45 minutes. I go 2-3 times a week, and each class we do different combinations of exercise. I also do a lot of pretty serious hiking. Do I need to start doing a lifting program like stronglifts 5 x 5 as well?0
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ILiftHeavyAcrylics wrote: »The TL;DR: Is there an upper limit to the amount of dietary fat that you would consider healthy?
The context is that, as you may for may not know, I've been having some health issues that are limiting my ability to eat. The main problem is trouble swallowing but I also have a complete loss of appetite and a very sensitive gag reflex. The tentative diagnosis is myasthenia gravis. I'm already at a healthy weight and body fat level, and while it's probably safe to lose a little weight, I'd just as soon not. I normally love veggies and try to get plenty of them but when I'm having a flare up like this I'm unable to eat them raw, steamed, or boiled. They pretty much have to be roasted, pureed, or mixed into smoothies, and I have trouble with anything that isn't soft. I have a lot of trouble with protein too. Dairy's a good bet. Chicken is okay if it's cut up small or shredded and worked into some kind of sauce that makes it easier to swallow. It's much easier to eat cuts of meat that are fattier, like chicken thighs or salmon. I also can't do particulate foods like rice or couscous unless it's in sauce.
My diet is already fairly high in fat-- I average around 75 grams per day. I eat a lot of avocado, olive oil, dairy, nuts, etc and I tend to find fat sating so that's my natural way of eating. Since I'm having trouble meeting my calorie goal I'm getting a lot of suggestions to eat more fat, and that's the advice I tend to give people in the forums who aren't getting enough calories as well. I just wonder if it's okay to go much higher than I already do though. Doctors advice is to do what I'm already doing (regarding smoothies, purees, and soft foods) and get calories in any way I can. I did buy some foods I don't normally keep around-- poptarts, ready-made pasta and sauce, ready-made biscuits, kids cereal-- in hopes that having some food that's highly palatable will coax me into eating more. But I'd like to make sure I'm getting enough nutrients if at all possible and not rely too heavily on those foods that have less, especially since this is likely to be a long-term thing.
I'm not aware of any concerns with high fat diets provided that you're not consuming excess calories and you're active and meeting nutrient needs.
I have seen some anecdotal info from the Nadolsky brothers on people having cholesterol problems (more specifically apo-B) when they start using bulletproof coffee, but this isn't the same as eating a high fat diet because presumably you're not ingesting 50+ grams of fat in 1 shot in liquid form and presumably you're getting a mix of fat sources.
Finally, this isn't me saying "eat all the fat you want, it's safe!" it's just me telling you my opinion on it. If you believe your fat intake is getting ridiculous, consider periodic visits to your doctor.
From what I've learned in class, if your stool really smells, that means the fat isn't being absorbed and it's too much for you to digest. I haven't smelled it in person (it will happen in the hospital soon enough I'm sure) but I'm told its an unmistakable terrible smell. It's called steatorrhea if you want to learn more. If that isn't happening to you, it's likely that you are fine. Also 75g isn't that much fat
Also I don't get bulletproof coffee. It sounds gross and I don't see how anyone thinks that it can help with weight loss. Give me cake instead, nom nom nom
Thanks to both of you. I guess 75g doesn't seem like that much, but when I calculated my goals I only ended up getting 45g based on the .35g per pound of weight formula. I realize that's a minimum, but since I'm overshooting it, sometimes by double, I just wanted to know if there was a maximum.
Regular visits to the doctor are in my future regardless on fat intake, so I guess I will just follow the instructions to get my calories however I can and not worry so much.0 -
Hi I was wondering if you could help me shed some light on this...
Firstly, I'm 5'8.5 and currently weigh 162 pounds.
I've been dieting/training consistently for about 16 weeks now and have lost just over 30 pounds in that time (I started at 196pounds).
Training 5x a week (combo of lifting, HIIT & running). I eat 1600 cals a day and don't eat back exercise calories or track them (mainly bc I wouldn't know how much I burned to accurately track this and I find it easier to eat the same amount each day).
(Macro split of 120g protein, 53g fat, 150g carbs). I've had no problem losing this way (I've had the odd few days of going over / eating off plan recently due to special events but it's balanced out as I'm under on some days).
I'm close to where I want to be but still have some fat to shift and want to lose another dress size! However, lately my energy has dropped and I feel drained (even on days when I literally do nothing at all), my sleeping isn't that great and I'm experiencing slight hair loss (nothing major, just more comes out when I wash it which didn't happen before).
I think maybe I'm lacking a certain nutrient... but no idea what! I'm a Pescaterian & during weekdays I tend to eat the same foods and just mix up my evening meal.
Wondering whether I should do a diet break? Although I'm not sure how it works exactly or whether I should just take extra vitamin tablets and mix up my foods more / add more variety!
Any thoughts / recommendations on this?
Thanks0 -
AbsoluteTara79 wrote: »Any experience with clients that have been able to close up a mild diastasis recti? I have about a finger-width gap at my belly button from pregnancy. Baby is 18 months now so I don't think this is going to resolve completely on its own. Thanks!
And second question if you don't mind. How do you know when it's time to switch up programming? When you get bored? After a certain amount of time on a program? When goals change? I've been at SL 5x5 for 6 months and I've found myself interested in maybe switching things up more for variety than anything.
Sorry I missed this one.
Regarding your first question -- nope. I have zero experience with that and pretty much know nothing about it.
But that second question is a great one. I think there's a number of considerations:
1) Boredom. If you don't enjoy your program, pick a different program. If you hate all of them equally then maybe that's a good argument for choosing the one you deem most optimal.
2) When you stop progressing. Now, some programs have procedures for this (such as deloading on SL) but eventually it's time to move on.
And yes as your goals change that would also be time to move on.
I wouldn't base any of this on an arbitrary number of weeks though. So for example I wouldn't say "run Starting Strength for 3 months and then 5/3/1 for 5 months" because rate of progress (or more accurately knowing when progress will stop) differs a great deal from person to person.
If you're bored, try a different program.0 -
Hi I was wondering if you could help me shed some light on this...
Firstly, I'm 5'8.5 and currently weigh 162 pounds.
I've been dieting/training consistently for about 16 weeks now and have lost just over 30 pounds in that time (I started at 196pounds).
Training 5x a week (combo of lifting, HIIT & running). I eat 1600 cals a day and don't eat back exercise calories or track them (mainly bc I wouldn't know how much I burned to accurately track this and I find it easier to eat the same amount each day).
(Macro split of 120g protein, 53g fat, 150g carbs). I've had no problem losing this way (I've had the odd few days of going over / eating off plan recently due to special events but it's balanced out as I'm under on some days).
I'm close to where I want to be but still have some fat to shift and want to lose another dress size! However, lately my energy has dropped and I feel drained (even on days when I literally do nothing at all), my sleeping isn't that great and I'm experiencing slight hair loss (nothing major, just more comes out when I wash it which didn't happen before).
I think maybe I'm lacking a certain nutrient... but no idea what! I'm a Pescaterian & during weekdays I tend to eat the same foods and just mix up my evening meal.
Wondering whether I should do a diet break? Although I'm not sure how it works exactly or whether I should just take extra vitamin tablets and mix up my foods more / add more variety!
Any thoughts / recommendations on this?
Thanks
Regarding hair loss, that can be tied to a wide variety of things and while it certainly could be dietary, it also could be something else and for that reason I'd suggest a visit to your doctor just to be safe. And while I'd love to say "hey it's probably a deficiency in X" it could possibly be irresponsible of me if your hair loss is tied to a different condition entirely.
I do think you should consider a diet break. Bring calories roughly to maintenance levels for a good 2 weeks.0 -
My question is about the type of training I should do to drop some bodyfat and build more muscle once I am at goal (6 more pounds. I'm 5'5" and my goal is 135). I like my shape but I'm 55 and have more jiggles than I would like. I currently belong to a gym where we do small group high-intensity circuit type workouts that incorporate cardio, bodyweight exercises like planks, squats, lunges, etc., resistance training with bands, other stuff, sometimes incorporating 10-15 pound weights to these exercises. Each session is about 45 minutes. I go 2-3 times a week, and each class we do different combinations of exercise. I also do a lot of pretty serious hiking. Do I need to start doing a lifting program like stronglifts 5 x 5 as well?
A few points to make:
1) You should start sooner rather than later. The type of training you do to build muscle is also the type of training you do to maintain muscle during periods of dieting.
2) You don't necessarily have to do stronglifts but in general I would suggest some form of resistance training where your whole body is trained 2 to 3 times per week in total. So if that's a full body routine, 3 days per week would be great. If it's an upper/lower split, 4 times per week would be great (upper, lower, rest, upper, lower, rest rest or something similar -- point being it's getting the whole body trained twice per week).
The advantage to doing Stronglifts is that it's very efficient. You'll get strong and it's likely you'll improve your physique over time. The one downside is that there's a time investment to learning how to squat and deadlift and press properly. It's a very worthy time investment, but it's something worth noting in fairness. Not everyone is ready to commit to learning those techniques.0 -
Hi I was wondering if you could help me shed some light on this...
Firstly, I'm 5'8.5 and currently weigh 162 pounds.
I've been dieting/training consistently for about 16 weeks now and have lost just over 30 pounds in that time (I started at 196pounds).
Training 5x a week (combo of lifting, HIIT & running). I eat 1600 cals a day and don't eat back exercise calories or track them (mainly bc I wouldn't know how much I burned to accurately track this and I find it easier to eat the same amount each day).
(Macro split of 120g protein, 53g fat, 150g carbs). I've had no problem losing this way (I've had the odd few days of going over / eating off plan recently due to special events but it's balanced out as I'm under on some days).
I'm close to where I want to be but still have some fat to shift and want to lose another dress size! However, lately my energy has dropped and I feel drained (even on days when I literally do nothing at all), my sleeping isn't that great and I'm experiencing slight hair loss (nothing major, just more comes out when I wash it which didn't happen before).
I think maybe I'm lacking a certain nutrient... but no idea what! I'm a Pescaterian & during weekdays I tend to eat the same foods and just mix up my evening meal.
Wondering whether I should do a diet break? Although I'm not sure how it works exactly or whether I should just take extra vitamin tablets and mix up my foods more / add more variety!
Any thoughts / recommendations on this?
Thanks
Regarding hair loss, that can be tied to a wide variety of things and while it certainly could be dietary, it also could be something else and for that reason I'd suggest a visit to your doctor just to be safe. And while I'd love to say "hey it's probably a deficiency in X" it could possibly be irresponsible of me if your hair loss is tied to a different condition entirely.
I do think you should consider a diet break. Bring calories roughly to maintenance levels for a good 2 weeks.
Thanks for your reply. I will book a doctors appointment this week, just to be on the safe side! Do you have any useful articles/links with more info ref diet breaks? - do you think they help you lose more in the long run, or is it more of a mental break from dieting?
I think a week of eating at maintenance would be good for me right now, however I'm not exactly sure what my matienance is (I kind of just guessed 1500/1600 for weightloss and it worked - I work a desk job, so I'm not that active outside of the gym).
Thanks,
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Hi I was wondering if you could help me shed some light on this...
Firstly, I'm 5'8.5 and currently weigh 162 pounds.
I've been dieting/training consistently for about 16 weeks now and have lost just over 30 pounds in that time (I started at 196pounds).
Training 5x a week (combo of lifting, HIIT & running). I eat 1600 cals a day and don't eat back exercise calories or track them (mainly bc I wouldn't know how much I burned to accurately track this and I find it easier to eat the same amount each day).
(Macro split of 120g protein, 53g fat, 150g carbs). I've had no problem losing this way (I've had the odd few days of going over / eating off plan recently due to special events but it's balanced out as I'm under on some days).
I'm close to where I want to be but still have some fat to shift and want to lose another dress size! However, lately my energy has dropped and I feel drained (even on days when I literally do nothing at all), my sleeping isn't that great and I'm experiencing slight hair loss (nothing major, just more comes out when I wash it which didn't happen before).
I think maybe I'm lacking a certain nutrient... but no idea what! I'm a Pescaterian & during weekdays I tend to eat the same foods and just mix up my evening meal.
Wondering whether I should do a diet break? Although I'm not sure how it works exactly or whether I should just take extra vitamin tablets and mix up my foods more / add more variety!
Any thoughts / recommendations on this?
Thanks
Regarding hair loss, that can be tied to a wide variety of things and while it certainly could be dietary, it also could be something else and for that reason I'd suggest a visit to your doctor just to be safe. And while I'd love to say "hey it's probably a deficiency in X" it could possibly be irresponsible of me if your hair loss is tied to a different condition entirely.
I do think you should consider a diet break. Bring calories roughly to maintenance levels for a good 2 weeks.
Thanks for your reply. I will book a doctors appointment this week, just to be on the safe side! Do you have any useful articles/links with more info ref diet breaks? - do you think they help you lose more in the long run, or is it more of a mental break from dieting?
I think a week of eating at maintenance would be good for me right now, however I'm not exactly sure what my matienance is (I kind of just guessed 1500/1600 for weightloss and it worked - I work a desk job, so I'm not that active outside of the gym).
Thanks,
Lyle McDonald has some information on them at bodyreomposition.com. There's really not much to it though, you just bring calories up to around maintenance levels and stay there for a while.
Yes, I think they are very useful for losing more in the long run primarily for adherence reasons. I don't think it's clear whether or not there is a physiological benefit but to me they are useful regardless. I also think they are under-utilized by many people.
Think of it as pressing the pause button so that you can recharge and keep going strong.
Regarding not knowing maintenance calories, don't worry too much about it. You can always do a longer break and start with a small increase followed by another one.
For example with one of my long time clients, she was at 1670 calories when she stalled out at about 149-150lbs for about four weeks. We put her on a diet break and I did it as follows:
Week 1: 1950 calories (lost 1lb this week)
Week 2: 2050-2150 calories (weight stable)
Then she stayed here for 2-3 weeks. I'd have to check her chart but I think she ended up gaining that 1lb loss back, plus one additional lb.
We then dropped her to 1850 (180 calories higher than where she stalled out at) and she went on losing slowly for another month, hitting about 147 if I recall correctly.
Possible mechanisms? Could it be upregulated leptin? I doubt it but it's certainly plausible. But it could be improved adherence from bringing calories up. It could be increased NEAT (more spontaneous movement) due to extra calories. It could be improved training performance in the gym due to extra calories.
Bottom line, she felt WAY better post diet break.
If you do this, I'd do it for more than 1 week. At least two, if not 3.
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I have a scheduling question.
Ordinarily (when weather and life's schedules cooperate) my routine is as follows:
M-W-F run 3-6 miles
Tu-Th lift, usually hit whole body
Sa-either run or lift depending on schedule, sometimes rest or walk (2 or 3 miles)
Su-walk (2 or 3 miles) or rest
This works pretty well for me. The problem is when the weather or other things interfere and I can't get out to run. On those days I generally have to turn to dvds to get some cardio in. I usually use some sort of circuit training dvd that gets the heart rate up alternating light to medium weights and pure cardio. I also have a couple of kettlebell dvds and a kickboxing one (yuck!). So for my question--is it okay to alternate that kind of cardio with the lifting days? I've always been worried that it is too much like lifting back to back. But when I am stuck inside, those are pretty much my options! Opinion?0 -
Did you have any thoughts about my t-spine issue (first pg of thread) if not just say I need a massage so I can tell hubs its "necessary."0
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Hi I was wondering if you could help me shed some light on this...
Firstly, I'm 5'8.5 and currently weigh 162 pounds.
I've been dieting/training consistently for about 16 weeks now and have lost just over 30 pounds in that time (I started at 196pounds).
Training 5x a week (combo of lifting, HIIT & running). I eat 1600 cals a day and don't eat back exercise calories or track them (mainly bc I wouldn't know how much I burned to accurately track this and I find it easier to eat the same amount each day).
(Macro split of 120g protein, 53g fat, 150g carbs). I've had no problem losing this way (I've had the odd few days of going over / eating off plan recently due to special events but it's balanced out as I'm under on some days).
I'm close to where I want to be but still have some fat to shift and want to lose another dress size! However, lately my energy has dropped and I feel drained (even on days when I literally do nothing at all), my sleeping isn't that great and I'm experiencing slight hair loss (nothing major, just more comes out when I wash it which didn't happen before).
I think maybe I'm lacking a certain nutrient... but no idea what! I'm a Pescaterian & during weekdays I tend to eat the same foods and just mix up my evening meal.
Wondering whether I should do a diet break? Although I'm not sure how it works exactly or whether I should just take extra vitamin tablets and mix up my foods more / add more variety!
Any thoughts / recommendations on this?
Thanks
Regarding hair loss, that can be tied to a wide variety of things and while it certainly could be dietary, it also could be something else and for that reason I'd suggest a visit to your doctor just to be safe. And while I'd love to say "hey it's probably a deficiency in X" it could possibly be irresponsible of me if your hair loss is tied to a different condition entirely.
I do think you should consider a diet break. Bring calories roughly to maintenance levels for a good 2 weeks.
Thanks for your reply. I will book a doctors appointment this week, just to be on the safe side! Do you have any useful articles/links with more info ref diet breaks? - do you think they help you lose more in the long run, or is it more of a mental break from dieting?
I think a week of eating at maintenance would be good for me right now, however I'm not exactly sure what my matienance is (I kind of just guessed 1500/1600 for weightloss and it worked - I work a desk job, so I'm not that active outside of the gym).
Thanks,
Lyle McDonald has some information on them at bodyreomposition.com. There's really not much to it though, you just bring calories up to around maintenance levels and stay there for a while.
Yes, I think they are very useful for losing more in the long run primarily for adherence reasons. I don't think it's clear whether or not there is a physiological benefit but to me they are useful regardless. I also think they are under-utilized by many people.
Think of it as pressing the pause button so that you can recharge and keep going strong.
Regarding not knowing maintenance calories, don't worry too much about it. You can always do a longer break and start with a small increase followed by another one.
For example with one of my long time clients, she was at 1670 calories when she stalled out at about 149-150lbs for about four weeks. We put her on a diet break and I did it as follows:
Week 1: 1950 calories (lost 1lb this week)
Week 2: 2050-2150 calories (weight stable)
Then she stayed here for 2-3 weeks. I'd have to check her chart but I think she ended up gaining that 1lb loss back, plus one additional lb.
We then dropped her to 1850 (180 calories higher than where she stalled out at) and she went on losing slowly for another month, hitting about 147 if I recall correctly.
Possible mechanisms? Could it be upregulated leptin? I doubt it but it's certainly plausible. But it could be improved adherence from bringing calories up. It could be increased NEAT (more spontaneous movement) due to extra calories. It could be improved training performance in the gym due to extra calories.
Bottom line, she felt WAY better post diet break.
If you do this, I'd do it for more than 1 week. At least two, if not 3.
This is super helpful, thanks so much!
I will try this out for the next two weeks and see how I get on. I think it will definitely help with my performance in the gym 0 -
Other than thyroid are there other medical issues that can hinder weight lose through a calorie deficit? I met with my doctor yesterday and he is only running test for thyroid issues.0
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Other than thyroid are there other medical issues that can hinder weight lose through a calorie deficit? I met with my doctor yesterday and he is only running test for thyroid issues.
Well, even with thyroid issues if you are in a caloric deficit you should still lose weight, it's just harder to maintain a deficit because your energy expenditure drops. I believe Cushings would be another one along with a couple of genetic disorders but those things would be known shortly after birth.
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I'm having a problem with a very tight t-spine and tight shoulders. The t-spine limits my squat depth and really starts to ache after about 5 reps. I do some mobility work during warm up and stretch it between sets and then roll it nightly and use a tennis ball for self-massage. The pain is pretty much located around the medial edge of my scapulae and the R is much much worse than the left. Anything else I can do? Any good mobility drills? Or assistance strengthening exercises? My job has me at a desk about 1x every two weeks for the day and at the end of that, sitting and typing for the day I can barely sleep it hurts so much...the two pregnancies and months spent carrying a baby in front of my body with rounded shoulders didn't help either. With respect to my shoulders...it might also be t-spine mobility but I can't do an overhead squat. Not even with a broom handle. I have to lean forward. Elevating my heels helps somewhat.
Other than what you are already doing I don't really have any advice. I would say though, that I'd be curious what the squat looks like because it's quite possible that it's not T spine issues causing depth problems and it's also possible that arm placement and bar placement could alleviate some of the symptoms while you are actually squatting. Let me know if you can post a vid.0 -
Now if you DO want to train 4-5 days/week the solution in my opinion would be to modify the programming to accommodate that.
I have a question about adapting the routine.
I saw my trainer again today because she said she'd come up with something better for me. The gist of it is that she wants me to do the following:- Warm-up on the rower for 5 minutes
- 3 supersets of 15 reps of dumbell chest press on a bench with 2 x 5kg weights, and 15 reps of the seated cable row at 18kg
- 3 supersets of 10 deadlifts at 20kg and 10 clean & heave presses at 12.5kg
- 3 supersets of 15 kettlebell swings at 8kg and 10 (each leg) kettlebell lunges at 2 x 4kg
- 3 supersets of 10 kettlebell double swings at 2 x 4kg and 10 kettlebell double squats at 2 x 4kg
- Cool down on the cross-trainer
Now, I know that you said you won't build a routine for me and that's not what I want.
Instead, I feel like this isn't really enjoyable - I don't like kettlebells at all. I also feel like there's too many reps per set. When I saw my trainer I specifically said that I want to increase my general strength and my core, but it seems she somewhat ignored that. Attempted to bring it up with her but she didn't really take it on board. I reckon I probably won't be seeing her again.
It's not that I don't think this routine as it is won't work, but I've read here and there stuff about how many reps to do for strength, hypertrophy, etc. and I really want to go for strength mainly (with an element of hypertrophy - though I appreciate that this won't really happen to any real extent until I'm eating at a surplus) and I think that 15 reps per set is possibly too much?
I want to take out the kettlebells completely and add back squats, bicep curls and more core-orientated moves (these I'm still currently researching but I have some ideas) instead. I also think it might be better for me to up the weights and lower the reps on the chest presses, cable row, deadlifts and clean & presses.
Would you say that that is a good idea?0
