tquill Member

+1.

A lot of people (me included) consider protein and fat macros as minimums. If I'm low on anything, it's usually carbs... and of course always try to be under your calories.

All strength training, and I've lost about 23 pounds in 3 months.

I try to meet my minimums of protein and fat... then fill my remaining calories with carbs. Since I'm still trying to lose, that puts me at: 40% protein 35% fat 25% carbs. When I start putting on weight again, the carb ratio will increase substantially but the grams of protein and fat will stay about the same.

I'm no expert, but Layne Norton claims otherwise. According to him, pre and post workout meals should contain a large portion of your daily carbs to prevent muscle loss. http://www.simplyshredded.com/layne-norton-the-most-effective-cutting-diet.html

It takes 20 years to make an overnight success.

What would you attempt to do if you knew you would not fail?

Real difficulties can be overcome; it is only the imaginary ones that are unconquerable.

It doesn't matter when you take it. I would probably just be somewhat consistent when I take it though. http://www.simplyshredded.com/creatine-guide.html

Hopefully vomiting isn't happening regularly enough for you to consider logging it vs not logging it.

I take a multivitamin, but I'm not sure how much it helps. I tried to research it at one point, but there doesn't really seem to be any strong evidence one way or the other.

Actually, the entire internet is like that. Welcome aboard!

If you're wondering why people are giving opinions... it's because the OP asked for them.

I personally don't log any excercise (I don't think it counts strength training anyway). Monitoring your weight consistently is a better indicator of how many calories you're over or under.

Bodybuilding.com is a decent source (I used to always buy from them), but lately I've been researching them at bodybuilding.com, then just buying from amazon. The prices are similar, but with amazon prime I usually get free shipping. Anyway, there all a million different brands of protein... so the options there mainly…

A gallon of water should be plenty. Loading will help saturate your muscles faster, but it's not technically necessary... you'll reach saturation with 5 grams a day too. It doesn't matter what time of day you take it. http://www.simplyshredded.com/creatine-guide.html

I don't understand all the hate for "processed" foods. One aspect of processing foods is making them safe for human consumption, i.e. cooking. Unless you're eating all your meats and vegtables raw, you're eating "processed" foods.

The scale doesn't take into account muscle mass and your body fat calculation is just an estimate. Go by the mirror, it's the only thing that really counts.

Your macro ratios could be better in my opinion. You're successfully losing weight because you have a caloric deficit, but because of your low protein... a good portion of that weight loss is likely muscle. Protein is arguably the most important macro. Try different ratios to see what works for you, but a popular one to…

Agreed.

I've probably gone through about a half-dozen large tubs of gold standard, so I have some experience with it. There are much better options out there in my opinion. I've been using dymatize and I like them a lot better (taste wise).

I definitely wouldn't drag it out a whole day. Consider the fact that a popular caloric deficit is 500 calories per day. I'm guessing a full cheat day could easily be 1000 calories over your daily maintenance. Assuming those numbers are correct, a cheat day could undo 2 or more days of "being good." It's not worth it IMO.…

I weigh-in and log it daily, but it takes a big of effort to not let the fluctuations get me down.

I just started about a month and half ago (1st post here) and I had the same question before I started. I was 6'1" 200 lbs, with a not-terrible build but with a bigger gut than I'd like. I opted to cut first so I could at least start from a decent body fat %. Of course when I bulk I'll put on fat too, but I think the gains…