Any bodybuilders out there?

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ChrisRS87
ChrisRS87 Posts: 781 Member
Basically I want my cake, and eat it too. Cut off the fat without losing an ounce of muscle, and even ideally putting more muscle on. I need to upload some pics, but my regimen is currently around 2600 calories comprised of protein shakes, a few supplements, and healthy-ish meals. I try to log most days.

I work out using a variety of different styles, from HIT days to power lifting days with long breaks.

Height: 6'2
Weight: 197 (or 192 depending on the scale I believe)
Current BF%: 11%
Goal BF%: 8%

What gets me the most is that I recently dropped about 10 lb over the last 6 months eating healthy, I can lift more weight, but I probably didn't drop more then 2% in body fat. So 5 of the 10 lb I lost was lean muscle mass, wtf.

Replies

  • ChrisRS87
    ChrisRS87 Posts: 781 Member
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    Bump - no one else is out there trying to get ripped? lol
  • F__7
    F__7 Posts: 371 Member
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    I have not tried to check on body fat... how do you measure it?.. physically mainly or by the diet calculations guesstimations?..

    BTW... I will be ripped.. I have no doubt..
  • onikonor
    onikonor Posts: 473 Member
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    I have not tried to check on body fat... how do you measure it?.. physically mainly or by the diet calculations guesstimations?..

    BTW... I will be ripped.. I have no doubt..

    There are different methods for measuring body fat %. A lot of people on this forum use the military body fat calculation online which takes in various measurements over your body and uses a formula to arrive at a %. Depending on where you store fat it may not be very accurate. If you store fat in your stomach your % will be inflated. It also doesn't work for very muscular people.

    Another method is water displacement which is expensive.

    Some health clubs also do the body skin fold test on various parts of your body. They probably charge a fee for this, but this is more accurate than the online calculators.
  • onikonor
    onikonor Posts: 473 Member
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    Basically I want my cake, and eat it too. Cut off the fat without losing an ounce of muscle, and even ideally putting more muscle on. I need to upload some pics, but my regimen is currently around 2600 calories comprised of protein shakes, a few supplements, and healthy-ish meals. I try to log most days.

    I work out using a variety of different styles, from HIT days to power lifting days with long breaks.

    Height: 6'2
    Weight: 197 (or 192 depending on the scale I believe)
    Current BF%: 11%
    Goal BF%: 8%

    What gets me the most is that I recently dropped about 10 lb over the last 6 months eating healthy, I can lift more weight, but I probably didn't drop more then 2% in body fat. So 5 of the 10 lb I lost was lean muscle mass, wtf.

    Which method are you using to come up with your %? Skin fold test?
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,529 Member
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    Basically I want my cake, and eat it too. Cut off the fat without losing an ounce of muscle, and even ideally putting more muscle on. I need to upload some pics, but my regimen is currently around 2600 calories comprised of protein shakes, a few supplements, and healthy-ish meals. I try to log most days.

    I work out using a variety of different styles, from HIT days to power lifting days with long breaks.

    Height: 6'2
    Weight: 197 (or 192 depending on the scale I believe)
    Current BF%: 11%
    Goal BF%: 8%

    What gets me the most is that I recently dropped about 10 lb over the last 6 months eating healthy, I can lift more weight, but I probably didn't drop more then 2% in body fat. So 5 of the 10 lb I lost was lean muscle mass, wtf.
    Even "enhanced" bodybuilders lose lean muscle when they cut. Stick to the basics, lift heavy, eat enough protein and use a moderate calorie deficit. Rinse/repeat.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • pitbull1975
    pitbull1975 Posts: 7 Member
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    Hey guys, wanted to say hello, former competitive bodybuilder now competing in strongman, but still dieting like a bodybuilder, any questions I'll do my best to help out. Drew
  • Barkley87
    Barkley87 Posts: 126 Member
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    Basically I want my cake, and eat it too. Cut off the fat without losing an ounce of muscle, and even ideally putting more muscle on. I need to upload some pics, but my regimen is currently around 2600 calories comprised of protein shakes, a few supplements, and healthy-ish meals. I try to log most days.

    I work out using a variety of different styles, from HIT days to power lifting days with long breaks.

    Height: 6'2
    Weight: 197 (or 192 depending on the scale I believe)
    Current BF%: 11%
    Goal BF%: 8%

    What gets me the most is that I recently dropped about 10 lb over the last 6 months eating healthy, I can lift more weight, but I probably didn't drop more then 2% in body fat. So 5 of the 10 lb I lost was lean muscle mass, wtf.
    Even "enhanced" bodybuilders lose lean muscle when they cut. Stick to the basics, lift heavy, eat enough protein and use a moderate calorie deficit. Rinse/repeat.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    I've been trying to figure out my calories to lose fat and add lean mass as well. What would you call a moderate calorie deficit? 100-200 calories? Or more?
  • ChrisRS87
    ChrisRS87 Posts: 781 Member
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    I have had my bf% done by pinch test and that would come in between 11 and 13, the handheld grips would come in 12-14, and my standing scale comes in 13-15.

    A bodpod is one of the most accurate measurements you can have I know, and the ones the scales and hand grip ones use don't take into account the increased bone density in athletes, so I guestimated my BF% with just my eyes. You can search online and find pictures of what a person looks like at each bf%, I compared a picture of myself to those and I figured its around 11%.
  • ChrisRS87
    ChrisRS87 Posts: 781 Member
    Options
    Basically I want my cake, and eat it too. Cut off the fat without losing an ounce of muscle, and even ideally putting more muscle on. I need to upload some pics, but my regimen is currently around 2600 calories comprised of protein shakes, a few supplements, and healthy-ish meals. I try to log most days.

    I work out using a variety of different styles, from HIT days to power lifting days with long breaks.

    Height: 6'2
    Weight: 197 (or 192 depending on the scale I believe)
    Current BF%: 11%
    Goal BF%: 8%

    What gets me the most is that I recently dropped about 10 lb over the last 6 months eating healthy, I can lift more weight, but I probably didn't drop more then 2% in body fat. So 5 of the 10 lb I lost was lean muscle mass, wtf.
    Even "enhanced" bodybuilders lose lean muscle when they cut. Stick to the basics, lift heavy, eat enough protein and use a moderate calorie deficit. Rinse/repeat.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    I've been trying to figure out my calories to lose fat and add lean mass as well. What would you call a moderate calorie deficit? 100-200 calories? Or more?

    From everything I've read its more the content than the quantity. I've read a lot of articles which point to a diet that comprises of food that has lower glycemic index values. The basic premise is while still consuming enough carbs and protein to maintain and even build muscle, less insulin is released so less fat is being stored. I haven't applied it yet, though I think most my meals are comprised of foods that have low glycemic values already.

    My calorie goal is about 80-85% of my body's daily max consumption. I checked out a TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) calculator to figure that out. MFP's goal was pretty close, just a little under.

    Perhaps I should adjust it to 90%? It'll obviously take longer to cut up, but I won't shrink doing it at least, lol.
  • Barkley87
    Barkley87 Posts: 126 Member
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    Basically I want my cake, and eat it too. Cut off the fat without losing an ounce of muscle, and even ideally putting more muscle on. I need to upload some pics, but my regimen is currently around 2600 calories comprised of protein shakes, a few supplements, and healthy-ish meals. I try to log most days.

    I work out using a variety of different styles, from HIT days to power lifting days with long breaks.

    Height: 6'2
    Weight: 197 (or 192 depending on the scale I believe)
    Current BF%: 11%
    Goal BF%: 8%

    What gets me the most is that I recently dropped about 10 lb over the last 6 months eating healthy, I can lift more weight, but I probably didn't drop more then 2% in body fat. So 5 of the 10 lb I lost was lean muscle mass, wtf.
    Even "enhanced" bodybuilders lose lean muscle when they cut. Stick to the basics, lift heavy, eat enough protein and use a moderate calorie deficit. Rinse/repeat.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    I've been trying to figure out my calories to lose fat and add lean mass as well. What would you call a moderate calorie deficit? 100-200 calories? Or more?

    From everything I've read its more the content than the quantity. I've read a lot of articles which point to a diet that comprises of food that has lower glycemic index values. The basic premise is while still consuming enough carbs and protein to maintain and even build muscle, less insulin is released so less fat is being stored. I haven't applied it yet, though I think most my meals are comprised of foods that have low glycemic values already.

    My calorie goal is about 80-85% of my body's daily max consumption. I checked out a TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) calculator to figure that out. MFP's goal was pretty close, just a little under.

    Perhaps I should adjust it to 90%? It'll obviously take longer to cut up, but I won't shrink doing it at least, lol.

    That's realy useful, thanks. I try to eat clean anyway so I'm going to go for around 85% my TDEE for a couple of weeks and see how it goes. I don't think I could eat any less than that without being hungry all the time!
  • daharja
    daharja Posts: 15 Member
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    Yep. *waves*

    After a month of overseas holidaying where my eating was HARD (managing a bodybuilding diet where you're eating out every single meal in foreign countries is IMPOSSIBLE) I'm just getting back on track, and setting MFP up. Should help getting back into the routine I had really well established before I went on hols. I hope.
  • ali_b83
    ali_b83 Posts: 324 Member
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    My husband and I both are lifting. He's just trying to get nice muscle definition (he's already pretty big and muscular), and I'm trying to build muscle while burning fat.
  • ali_b83
    ali_b83 Posts: 324 Member
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    Hey guys, wanted to say hello, former competitive bodybuilder now competing in strongman, but still dieting like a bodybuilder, any questions I'll do my best to help out. Drew

    What would you consider the right ratio of carbs/fat/protein? I try to get the maximum amount of protein I can, but short of owning a farm, its hard to get more protein than carbs.
  • cyclingben
    cyclingben Posts: 346 Member
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    When i started realizing how much loose skin i had i started hitting the weights heavy. I have increased my protein to about 150 g a day and can definitely see definition and muscle growth. The only thing is the scale isnt moving, which is just something to mentally over come.