Advice

alexsusanu

Hi all,

Noob here. Wanted to share my gym workout and mfp for some advice if anyone is willing.

Male, 5’7”, 210 pounds, 23% bf

I just started mfp and 5x5 program less than 2 weeks ago. My goal is to reduce bodyfat, not necessarily weight.

With mfp at the moment I selected weight loss and that puts me at 1,850 calories per day.
Proteins about 50%, fats 30%, carbs 20%. On rest days trying to cut out carbs to a bare min.

Here is where Im confused so to say. Since Im doing 5x5 program I use all 1,850 calories on working out days.
But on rest days Im doing 1,500 calories.

My question is: is this a good approach ? Or should I eat more/less ?

Any advice highly appreciated.

Thanks so much

Edit:
Forgot to add. Cardio on rest days as in walking, some jogging. I hit the 10,000 steps, if that makes any difference.

chestinator

Hey Alex,

I can recommend a site for you to visit - physiqonomics.com/.

If you can handle the language on there it's a great resource to sink your teeth into. He's a believer in the IIFYM protocol which is what I'm using to lose weight (also at 1850 cals) at .25 kg/week.

It is definitely possible for a "noob" lifter to gain muscle while losing fat but it wont be at the same rate for both, I.e. if you maintain a reasonable calorie deficit and train well with sufficient protein (1g/lb body weight) you could loose say 10kg of fat and gain 5 kg of muscle. I just plucked those numbers out of my *kitten* there but it's just to show you a ratio and the fact that these numbers will not be equal (without some chemical help at least!). So you will lose weight (running a deficit there is no way around that) but drop your bf% which is awesome as a general fitness goal.

Where it could get tricky is that the size of your deficit may affect the rate of muscle gain/loss over time. If you (like a lot of people) chose the most extreme rate of weight loss in the MFP 'wizard' you may not gain as much muscle (if any) compared to if you chose a more moderate rate of loss (hence my choice to lose .25 kg/week to help preserve muscle). Dropping your calories to 1500 on rest days may not be a good idea for this reason. Also rest days are where the magic happens mate and that 5x5 program can be killer both physically and mentally without your body screaming for calories.

All these MFP calculations are a good starting point but go into this for the long haul and be patient. Do what you want to do calorie wise and tinker around but only touch it every two weeks or so to allow for changes to take affect. Also play around with your carbs/fat and feel what ratio you feel more energetic with. Carbs aren't the enemy (despite the hype) so don't discount them. Stay within your macros and if you aren't seeing the results you want then change it up. Just make sure your expectations are realistic. Don't be afraid to eat your calories - you want to build a system you can maintain without killing yourself!

Good luck buddy. Check out that site - I'm not affiliated I was just impressed with the content. Cheers.

alexsusanu

Thanks so much, will have a look now

RuNaRoUnDaFiEld

That website is incredibly dumbed down, is it written for children or something or does he think adult readers brains can not handle reading a few studies?

chestinator

RuNaRoUnDaFiEld wrote: »

That website is incredibly dumbed down, is it written for children or something or does he think adult readers brains can not handle reading a few studies?

Haha fair call!

That site does appeal to the "bro's" out there, but I love that it is simple to understand and he doesn't have many of the "73 ways to grow your biceps" articles. The general punter out there isn't willing to trawl studies for the information they want. This Aadam guy presents some solid advice in an easy to read format, covering a lot of bases and an (arguably) humorous way. Doesn't rabbit on about low carb, no carb, Paleo bla bla just solid no bs information to get you on the right track.

Could you suggest any sites you've come across that have resonated with you?

RuNaRoUnDaFiEld

Alan Aragon
Brad Schoenfeld
Shredded by science

richln

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10505468/who-are-the-experts-worth-listening-to/p1

RuNaRoUnDaFiEld

Great thread, loads I've never heard of so I'll do some reading.

Thanks @richln