Any experienced folks willing to review my plan?

stumblinthrulife
stumblinthrulife Posts: 2,558 Member
edited January 8 in Health and Weight Loss
So, I've been using the MFP 2 pounds per week goal, coupled with c25k and weight lifting for a couple of months now, and I've had some success. Prior to that I was just doing portion control, moderation and daily walking, and also had success. But I think to continue my success it's time to move on to something a little more personalized to me. I wrote yesterday that I was struggling to eat all 1280 kCals set by MFP, and even as I wrote it I realized it sounded ridiculous and couldn't be good for me long term.

So here I am. I've done much reading around the internet, and come up with a slightly more tailored plan for me. If someone would be very kind and take the time to give some feedback, I'd really appreciate it -

Starting point : 189 pounds, 5'10, 27.5% body fat by tape measure. (Down from a previous 220 pounds, 32+% body fat - didn't start measuring BF until I was already down to 200 pounds)
Primary Body Goal : fat loss, minimize LBM loss, reach around 15% body fat.
Secondary Body Goal : muscle gain. If this is counter to the fat loss goal, then I'll happily shelve it until the fat is gone, but I at least want to take measures to maintain LBM or minimize loss. My muscle gain goals are moderate - I don't have stars in my eyes about being the next Mr. Universe or anything. Just want to be a little stronger, goose my metabolism a little, and yes, look a little better naked for the wife.
Primary Fitness Goal : Complete the C25k program (currently halfway through week 5), do some 5k runs for charity and fun. Again, no stars in my eyes, I won't be taking home any medals, and I'm at peace with that. Would just like to cross the finish line.
Primary health Goal : My cholesterol went from 109 to 250 in the last five years. I need to reverse that. Doctor gave me six months to make progress, or he will put me on statins. That was four months ago, my next blood test is scheduled for March.

Lifestyle : I have a desk job, and I work from home. So pretty sedentary M-F, not even a walk to/from the parking lot. On the upside, it means I have access to a fully equipped kitchen at lunch times, and complete control over my nutrition. Weekends are much more active, out and about doing chores, playing with the kids, etc...

Workout plan :
Monday, Wednesday, Friday are C25k days. I'm in MO, it's bloody cold, so this is done on a treadmill at 0 incline at the moment.

Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday are weight days. I recognize that free weights are generally considered better, but I have free access to a small gym with only a machine, so I'd like to stick with that for as long as I can continue to see benefit, before having to upgrade to a larger gym. I do 2 sets of 12 reps of the following exercises -
Leg curls, shoulder press, chest press, crunch, shrugs, seated row, upright row, bicep curl, tricep pushdown.
I have no leg press machine, and I've been avoiding leg extensions to avoid aggravating my knee issues. No back extension apparatus, so those are just done on the floor. I rest 60 seconds between sets. I lift around 60-75% of my max lift for each exercise, and generally find that the last rep is a push. I concentrate on slow form, and maintain resistance both on both the lift and the return.
Sunday is a rest day, but being a father 'rest' is a relative term.

Nutrition option A :
I read the "In place of a road map" article, and following the steps therein put me at a weekday TDEE of around 2570, so a 20% deficit puts me at 2060. I used the simplified recommendation of a 40/30/30 split for carbs/fat/protein. This would seem to be regardless of whether I am on cardio or weights in the day. I need to calculate Saturday and Sunday since they have very different activity levels, but I'll put those figures in a little later.

Nutrition option B :
I've seen some talk of calorie and carb cycling to achieve combined fat-loss and muscle gain. While this would be fantastic, it also seems a little too good to be true? The cycling plan I found would give :
Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday : 1280 kCals, 191g protein, 69g carbs, remainder fat.
Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday : 1880 kCals, 220g protein, 137g carbs, remainder fat.
It's not clear to me, however, whether these are net kCals after exercise, or gross. Since the formulas took no sort of exercise into account, can I assume I should be eating back burned Calories to make these numbers?

There's obviously a significant difference in these nutrition plans. Option B's customized nutrition per day does intuitively make sense, but option A would be easier to track and probably more sustainable for an every day guy like me. Would either be recommended much more highly than the other?

Anyway, have I made any major nutrition and/or exercise screw ups here? Would you say this plan will allow me to continue my success? Should I forget the whole thing and just go back to putting on weight until I have my own reality TV show?

Please don't take offense, but I'd appreciate a little info on your experience along with your answers, just to help me weight the value of each response. This being the internet and all...

Replies

  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
    Well, it looks like you've done some research... I think the plans you have laid out will work if you stick to them. I'll just add a few comments.

    1) your starting point versus your body goal. 189 lbs at 5'10" and 27.5% BF implies you have a LBM of around 137 lbs. That seems low to me for someone of your height, but I guess it depends on framesize. If you managed to maintain your LBM, at 15% BF, your weight would be about 158 lbs. Realistically, you WILL lose a little LBM.

    2) Best you can hope for is maintaining LBM. Buliding muscle on a calorie deficit is hard to do, and I would say nearly impossible once you get close to 15%. Still yet, you need to weight train and get enough protein to try to maintain what you have. Using machines are OK. The main difference is you don't learn stability and you tend to isolate more on machines. However, if you are pushing yourself, machines are OK. Does the gym you go to have dumbbells?

    3) I can't really talk about c25k. But, I like that you are doing both cardio and weights. I am a believer in both. As for lowering cholesterol, I think the cardio will help a lot.

    4) Your nutrition plans seem ok. The main thing is to maintain a calorie deficit - it doesn't REALLY matter how you do it, as long as you do. Whichever plan seems easier for you to stick to. You also want to make sure you are eating enough if you want to maintain muscle.

    5) I will offer an option C for you though. This is what I do. I calculate my TDEE using sedentary, log my exercise, subtract my deficit, and eat back my exercise calories. So, using katch-macardle, your BMR is 1712.5 cal/day. Sedentary TDEE is 2055 cal/day. If you want to lose 1 lb/wk, your calorie goal would be 1555 cal/day. Eat this amount, plus however many calories you gain from exercising. This just works for me and I think it is more accurate. However, like I said before, it doesn't matter how you do it, as long as you are maintaining a small calorie deficit over time. (btw, katch mcardle is based off LBM. The calories are so low because your LBM is 137lb, in case you were wondering the difference)
  • stumblinthrulife
    stumblinthrulife Posts: 2,558 Member
    Well, it looks like you've done some research... I think the plans you have laid out will work if you stick to them. I'll just add a few comments.

    1) your starting point versus your body goal. 189 lbs at 5'10" and 27.5% BF implies you have a LBM of around 137 lbs. That seems low to me for someone of your height, but I guess it depends on framesize. If you managed to maintain your LBM, at 15% BF, your weight would be about 158 lbs. Realistically, you WILL lose a little LBM.

    2) Best you can hope for is maintaining LBM. Buliding muscle on a calorie deficit is hard to do, and I would say nearly impossible once you get close to 15%. Still yet, you need to weight train and get enough protein to try to maintain what you have. Using machines are OK. The main difference is you don't learn stability and you tend to isolate more on machines. However, if you are pushing yourself, machines are OK. Does the gym you go to have dumbbells?

    3) I can't really talk about c25k. But, I like that you are doing both cardio and weights. I am a believer in both. As for lowering cholesterol, I think the cardio will help a lot.

    4) Your nutrition plans seem ok. The main thing is to maintain a calorie deficit - it doesn't REALLY matter how you do it, as long as you do. Whichever plan seems easier for you to stick to. You also want to make sure you are eating enough if you want to maintain muscle.

    5) I will offer an option C for you though. This is what I do. I calculate my TDEE using sedentary, log my exercise, subtract my deficit, and eat back my exercise calories. So, using katch-macardle, your BMR is 1712.5 cal/day. Sedentary TDEE is 2055 cal/day. If you want to lose 1 lb/wk, your calorie goal would be 1555 cal/day. Eat this amount, plus however many calories you gain from exercising. This just works for me and I think it is more accurate. However, like I said before, it doesn't matter how you do it, as long as you are maintaining a small calorie deficit over time. (btw, katch mcardle is based off LBM. The calories are so low because your LBM is 137lb, in case you were wondering the difference)

    Good feedback, thanks.

    It seems the most important takeaway is to make sure the BF% is accurate, since that is a corner stone of all the nutrition plan options. I think an investment in a BF% monitor may be in order. It wouldn't surprise me if my LBM is low, I've never been one for lifting weights at all and I've been pretty inactive for 6 years. Prior to that I did a lot of martial arts, with mostly cardio and body weight exercises.

    I figured gaining muscle while losing fat would be a difficult prospect, and I'm at peace with that. I'll just work on dropping fat and minimizing LBM loss, and move on to muscle gain later. Perhaps with laser guided nutrition and a great personal trainer it would be possible, but I doubt I can walk that tightrope alone and I'd probably end up over doing the Calories on the weights days.
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