Eat more, less or stay at same level. Want more definition.
nagniho
Posts: 132 Member
Hi Sara, SS! Need you advise on whether I should eat at the same level or reduce. I am not sure if I am eating right or not for my goal which is to get leaner. You can see my profile pic and I carry my weight real good!! I am NOT skinny at my weight and height (just sayi' because when people see my weight the first response is "THAT IS TOO SKINNY:-( )
Provide your stats (height/weight/age/bodyfat% if you know it/etc)
Height 4'11.75
Weight 94lbs
Age 42
Body fat -21.3% ( hydrostatic testing 3 months back)
What's your current gross intake of calories, on average?
I average around 1400-1450 a day. On days I am unable to workout it stay a bit low.
What's your current average intake of protein (109gms), carbs (145gms), and fats (45gms), in grams? - I generally go higher in carbs:-( but get pretty close to protein and fats.
Do you use a food scale and measure everything?
Yes, everything. Except when I go out for dinners at friends or restaurants. then I try my best over-estimate so that I have a margin.
Do you track all of your intake, daily? (Everything?)
Yes, Everything even the number of peanuts and almonds I eat!!
Do you take cheat days or days off?
Kind off- 1 day over the weekend but I never go over my maintennance which is 1670 per Haybales spreadsheet
How much weight have you lost so far and over what time period?
Lost approx. 8 or 9lbs.....but have been same weight since Oct of last year. I do not want to lose weight but still want to drop BF.
Describe your activity (exercise and non exercise) and did you change that activity withing the last couple of months?
I am doing progressive load program: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=147447933 - 3 days/week and i try and get cardio at least 2 to 3 days /week anywhere between 40 to 60 mins/day
How long have you been stalled and if it is not a complete stall please be very specific as to how much you have lost over the stalled period.
No exactly stalled but seem to have maxed out on most upper body lifts and don't see much change in body comp.
Are you breastfeeding?
No
Do you have thyroid issues/risks or PCOS?
No.
Provide your stats (height/weight/age/bodyfat% if you know it/etc)
Height 4'11.75
Weight 94lbs
Age 42
Body fat -21.3% ( hydrostatic testing 3 months back)
What's your current gross intake of calories, on average?
I average around 1400-1450 a day. On days I am unable to workout it stay a bit low.
What's your current average intake of protein (109gms), carbs (145gms), and fats (45gms), in grams? - I generally go higher in carbs:-( but get pretty close to protein and fats.
Do you use a food scale and measure everything?
Yes, everything. Except when I go out for dinners at friends or restaurants. then I try my best over-estimate so that I have a margin.
Do you track all of your intake, daily? (Everything?)
Yes, Everything even the number of peanuts and almonds I eat!!
Do you take cheat days or days off?
Kind off- 1 day over the weekend but I never go over my maintennance which is 1670 per Haybales spreadsheet
How much weight have you lost so far and over what time period?
Lost approx. 8 or 9lbs.....but have been same weight since Oct of last year. I do not want to lose weight but still want to drop BF.
Describe your activity (exercise and non exercise) and did you change that activity withing the last couple of months?
I am doing progressive load program: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=147447933 - 3 days/week and i try and get cardio at least 2 to 3 days /week anywhere between 40 to 60 mins/day
How long have you been stalled and if it is not a complete stall please be very specific as to how much you have lost over the stalled period.
No exactly stalled but seem to have maxed out on most upper body lifts and don't see much change in body comp.
Are you breastfeeding?
No
Do you have thyroid issues/risks or PCOS?
No.
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Replies
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Please open your food diary.0
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Opened. I make my exercise notes in the "Today's Food Notes" Section.0
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Do you take body measurements and if so, have any of your measurements changed in the past two months?
Can you see any difference in body composition in the past few months?
EDIT: How long have you been lifting for?0 -
Do you take body measurements and if so, have any of your measurements changed in the past two months?
[Niva] No, I have not taken any body measurements, but my clothes fit the same. Though I do feel that my shirts are a "bit" tighter.
Can you see any difference in body composition in the past few months?
[Niva] - No:-(
EDIT: How long have you been lifting for?
[Niva] - This particular routine - since Feb of this yr. Before that I was doing SL0 -
^^fixed quotes0
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How long were you doing SL for?0
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How long were you doing SL for?
From Sept'12 to Jan'13. I did take a 10 day vacation in Dec.0 -
bump....
not being pushy but would really appreciate some help!0 -
You claim that you don't want to lose weight but you do want to lose bodyfat. This complicates things.
It's still possible but it's not as efficient if you literally want your bodyweight to stay where it is during the process.
Your options are as follows:
1) Eat at an energy deficit in which case your weight will go down, you will lose fat (get leaner), and hopefully you will retain your muscle mass.
2) Eat at maintenance (with some type of cyclical intake perhaps) which would in theory, keep you at the same weight and you would hopefully slowly lean out if you dial your training and nutrition in. (You are indirectly saying you want to do this option)
3) Bulk, which would cause you to gain muscle mass, a little fat, and gain weight, followed by a cut (see 1 above) which would in theory, land you around the same weight you are now with less bodyfat and a bit more muscle.
The way I see it, you are basically going to do 1 of those 3 choices and each one has it's pros and cons.0 -
Hi SS! You are right in your comments that #2 is what I would prefer. I am open to #1 as well but not sure how much "less" from my current intake (1450) I would go.
#3 would be difficult since my weight is monitored very closely by my dance grp and any big bump up would freak them out as summer is where all the performances happen.0 -
Hi SS! You are right in your comments that #2 is what I would prefer. I am open to #1 as well but not sure how much "less" from my current intake (1450) I would go.
You don't necessarily have to reduce intake to cut further. You can increase activity and leave intake the same.0 -
I am lifting 3 days /week ( min 1hr) and then running/strenuous hikes the remaining 2 to 3 days. So should I increase my cardio? If so then by how much? Do you think that the current 1450cals is OK for the exercise level that i am at?0
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I am lifting 3 days /week ( min 1hr) and then running/strenuous hikes the remaining 2 to 3 days. So should I increase my cardio? If so then by how much? Do you think that the current 1450cals is OK for the exercise level that i am at?0
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Sorry about the duplicate post, not sure what happened:-(
I have been thinking about what you said. I already exercise quite strenuously 5 to 6 days a week and am eating at apprx. 13% deficit ( TDEE at 1670). I am thinking of switching to P90x- 3 days/week and cardio 2 to 3 days. My day job is very demanding and requires a lot of travel as well but I try my best to keep my workout schedules. Should I try dropping to 1400cals and see if it makes a difference? I recently upped to 1450 as I was always hungry:-(
Per your request i opened my diary so any suggestions will be appreciated.0 -
Why do you want to switch to P90x?0
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***Looking sheepish** because I read good things about it.....**Looking more sheepish*** but mostly because I have maxed out on all my upper body lifts:-( on the current program...
The program I had listed has the following lifts and my current weights....(probably not very impressive but to me these are high!)
Squats - 80lbs - This is my 5th week of the cycle with 12 reps ( I think i can go higher if I start a new cycle)
Bench - 65lbs - could barely complete the 12th rep w/o sacrificing form
Bent over rows - 65lbs (tough:-( )
Over head press - 40 lbs - last 2 reps ( 11 and 12th) were tough today
SLDL - 80lbs - can go higher if I start a new cycle
upright rows - 40 lbs
calves0 -
Can you clarify please: are you breaking form and/or failing to hit reps now, or is it that you're just about failing but barely managing to hit your reps? It sounds like the latter. This isn't a bad thing.
All Pros >>>>> P90X. If you aren't enjoying it though, that's valid reason to program hop.0 -
How long are your current cardio sessions?0
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How long are your current cardio sessions?
I'm also curious about this only because 2-3 days per week at 40 to 60 minutes can vary from 80 minutes to 180 minutes.
Is there a way you could narrow this down or is there this much variance?0 -
SS -I am barley managing to hit the last 2 reps on the heavy lift day. For instance today for bench press I had to put the bar back after the 10th rep and then wait for 30 secs before squeezing out the last 2 reps.
I really enjoy this program. Makes me feel strong:-)
Sara- On the question of Cardio. It is usually 60 mins run 2 or 3 days. However, if I have to travel on my cardio day then I do a 40 min run on strength training day.0 -
Bumping this up to the top so we don't forget about this. We will get back to you soon.0
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Thanks SS! I know you guys are busy and I am patient since I value your advise and want to do it right!0
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Ok here's the issue:
The most efficient methods of making progress will consist of either bulking or cutting and rotating cycles of this to achieve the body composition you desire.
If you decide to try and cut further to lean out, you're going to need to either increase activity or decrease calorie intake but it sounds like neither of these options are appealing to you.
The only thing you're left with is to recomp, which is to stay eating at maintenance and keep lifting heavy and take your time. You can choose this option and it sounds like this is what you want, but you have to realize that results are much slower so you're just not going to see the kind of week to week progress that someone on a cut or bulk will see.
This is purely anecdotal, but in the case of eating at maintenance you may be better off eating slightly higher calories on training days and slightly lower calories on rest days to balance out at your current intake. Something like 10 to 20% higher on training days and reduce rest day intake to cancel out that surplus.
Keep in mind with the previous statement: I'm a firm believer in simplicity however with recomping it does make some sense to me to take any theoretical advantage that you can get, and that's sort of where the above recommendation comes from.
If I were in your shoes which I clearly am not and therefore it's not up to me to decide you goals, I would increase activity either through NEAT upregulation (move more during the day) or add another cardio session to try and lean out more but if this isn't appealing to you then your only other choice is the previous method or to keep your intake as is and just be patient, keep lifting on your program, and observe results over the course of 4-6 months rather than weeks.0 -
Just got off a flight and saw your response......Thanks for the feedback!
I understand your points above. Through the course of one year I have seen that I lose when I cut my intake down to 1350 and stop losing when I increase over 1400. So I do have the option of going down to 1350 if needed but i had noticed that I am ravenous at that level and low in energy.
My day job is quite sedentary (Marketing-semiconductors) though extremely demanding and requires traveling, but I tr to fit in my workouts some time during the day. I will take "if I were in your shoes" option and put in one more cardio, it might have to be split over 2 lifting days as follows:
Monday- Heavy Lift
Tuesday - 60 mins cardio
Wednesday - Medium lift + 30 mins Cardio
Thursday - 60 mins cardio
Friday - Light lift + 30 mins Cardio
Saturday - 60 mins Cardio
Sunday - Rest
Does the above look OK?
On the intake side should I continue eating at 1450 or drop it to maybe 1400? Does my Diary/Macros look OK??
Thanks soooooo much for your help!!!
Niva0 -
I would start by adding the cardio just as you have it laid out and see if you can make a few additional opportunities to get to move a bit more outside of the gym. Even if its something small that seems pointless like parking your car further from the door/etc those things add up.0
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Got it!!
Thanks again! and have a wonderful vacation!0 -
Locking so we can keep track of active threads. If you wish for the thread to be unlocked should you have further questions, please feel free to PM either myself or SideSteel, including a link to this thread and we will unlock it so you can pose them.
Also, we would love for you to give us an update in a couple of weeks to see how you are doing.0
This discussion has been closed.