Cutting and gaining muslce diet advise?

[DMB Member Find all posts View Profile Close DMB]

Hey JM,

36
201 lb's
about 19 - 21% BF

I can see the top abs but not the bottom.. my goal like most, is to cut that belly fat and still grow some muscle.. I realize I probably wont get a ton of lean muscle though..

Am I on track to still build muscle and cut that lower belly fat? I feel like I'm hitting my macro's but am I??..

I also know that this is probably under the amount of cals needed to grow being that I am cutting the cals so much with my runs.. So what I dont want is to end up with is a stand still..

ideas, thoughts? would greatly appreciated..

workouts

Mon - Friday, with a daily run of 30min = 500 - 700 cals a day..

Diet:

1500 - 1900 cals

200 - 225g of protein
100 - 150g of carbs
20 - 30g of fat

Diet example


before workout:

Amplified Wheybolic Extreme 60 - Vanilla, 1.5 Scoops = 1/2 serving for about 30g of protein..

Breakfast:

Fat Free Milk 0%, 1.5 cup
Flour Tortillas - Fajita Size, x 2
Egg, Jumbo, x 2
Liquid Egg Whites x 3
Fruit - Banana, 1 medium

Lunch:

Extra Lean Ground Beef 96/4, 6 oz
Ragu - Sauce, 1/2 Cup (128g)
Frozen Vegetables, 150 g. (3/4 c)
Grilled Chicken Breast Strips, 3 oz.

Dinner:

Boneless Chicken Breast Strips, 10 oz. 2
Yam Patties, x 2 patty (56g)

[xamo Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close xamo]

What you're eating a day is... not enough... your problem probably comes from there... try to take in less carbs for more calories as well...more proteins too... what are your work outs like?

My point is... you're not meeting your maintenance as it is... and making what seems to be a huge deficit already... see my point?

[DMB Member Find all posts View Profile Close DMB]

thanks for helping.. Im in FL too, so I hope this damn storm dont last too long.. messin with my workout mojo...

yeah I knew I am way under the cal amounts, but I thought thats how you get rid of the belly fat..??

I'm not sure how I take in less carbs for more cals??

Work outs as it stands right now..

each run by it self is no less than 500 cals burned.. and usually comes in around 700 because I up the incline on the treadmill..

Mon - Chest + 30 min run
Tue - Legs + 30 min bike or run
Wed - off but I was thinking of doing some cardio
Thur - Arms + 30 min run
Fri - Shoulders + 30 min run
Sat - off and sometimes 30 min run
Sun - off..

another idea I was thinkin is run to a cal amount vs time..
Supplements being taken is that Super DMZrx.. I bought some before my injury and am just now trying it out.. Sunday will be my first week completed..

I feel that if I up my cals to what 3000 or so I will never lose the belly fat or am I not thinking correctly?

[xamo Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close xamo]

That's the mistake many people make...eating less doesn't mean actually losing fat faster on the contrary you'll hit a plateau and might lose muscle mass over fat as there's no way your metabolism will stay anabolic on such low calories...

What you want to do is make a deficit from your lowest caloric intake, in brief...you need a minimum intake for your body to work properly... then make a small deficit from it... but as you're making a huge deficit every day I'd suggest your finding your minimum required and add a 400-600 calories surplus to it. Then make a 200 calories deficit frm your minimum... so you'll burn let's say 800 calories a day, you'll have either a 400 or 200 calories deficit... fat loss is a slow process as you also want to minimize muscle breakdown...

Cardio every day isn't the best option in my opinion... your cardio days should be 1 on 1 off and you should be doing HIIT training instead of consistent running... plus it'll work on your athletic abilities as well so it's an overall better cardio work out. Keep in mind that some areas of he body depending on your genetic are harder to get rid off... so it takes time and as your body fat lowers, slowly that area will as well...

Play with your diet... there are several tools online that will help you find that BMR... look it up on google... BMR tool... then give that a try, prolly add calories to that and as the weeks go by depending on the results adjust your macros... weight loss is about experimenting as everyone is different... playing with your macros, and with your food... see what gives best results.


As for your last point, before I got interested into diets and stuff I would like you not eat enough... I'd eat 1600 calories top a day and wonder why I wouldn't lose any more fat. Later, on a 2600 calories intake a day, I got rid of the fat in no time. Some people eat over 6000 calories a day and gain no fat whatsoever, even cut... it all depends on how active you are and how well you control your metabolism.

Also... to run to a cal vs time imo is useless.. do your HIIT, and your work out, and don't count so much, just take a look in the mirror and see from there. Numbers and transformations don't go well together.

[DMB Member Find all posts View Profile Close DMB]

Okay let me see if I can work an example.. I had an idea that my BMR is around 2000 cals a day which is why I was staying under that amount to lose that belly fat.. but I get what your saying about losing muscle and plateauing.

the BMR calculator at http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/

Shoot holes in this workout and diet plan suggestion..

says 2016 cals a day for maintenance for ease of numbers lets say 2000 cals

So if I understand what your suggesting.. add 400 - 600 cals a day to my BMR at 2000, that which would look like something around 2600 cal's a day approx..

so then during workouts make a deficit of say 800 cal's.. meaning 2600 minus 800 which will net me around 1800 cals?

Question: on HIIT run days do you eat more or keep the same cal' amounts?

Suggested work out?

Mon - Chest + 30 min HIIT run
Tue - Legs
Wed - rest
Thur - Arms + 30 min HIIT run
Fri - Shoulders
Sat - back + 45 min HIIT run
Sun - off..

hows that all sound?

[xamo Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close xamo]

yes exactly, what you want to aim is that deficit for the whole day. As for on the HIIT days... nah.. I mean that's up to you and the results you get from that diet... if you find yourself with a lack of energy I'd say yes if not then no need to add anything...

As for me my work out schedule is different... so it's all up to you in the end... I do 1 day weight,1 day HIIT, etc til sunday and sunday off... never both the same day

[DMB Member Find all posts View Profile Close DMB]

cool, one issue I see is.. its hard to judge how many cal's i'm burning lifting..

and one other question is.. do you still eat the 2600 cals on off days?

[xamo Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close xamo]

On off days I'd go maintenance or a little over it... as for how many cals you burn... trust me it won't matter much... I mean if you're remotely working out hard, and that for an hour, you should easily burn them... and on the HIIT days.. you'll prolly burn in between 800 to 1000 calories...

[xamo Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close xamo]

I forgot to mention... eat small but often... learn how to play with your metabolism... 8 meals a day is a must if you aim to cut

[kjtex Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close kjtex]

xamo chime in on this if you'd like.. but would you also say that the 30-45 min HIIT is a little much? If its truly HIIT I Mean.. I usually shoot for 10-20 minutes tops..

[xamo Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close xamo]

Football players do it all the time..I don't think it's too much. It really depends on your goals... you'll definitely be more athletic the more you do it... just make sure nutrition follows and make sure it's not too harsh on your joints

[kjtex Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close kjtex]

Yeah i definitely agree with that as far as athletic performance is concerned.. Oh how I miss (and at the same time dont miss lol) those football practice conditionings.. hah but on a body building aspect? sorry should have been more specific

[sebaco2011 Member Find all posts View Profile Close sebaco2011]

As long as your not near your not to past genetic potential and using the right gear this is definitely possible, training and diet is key , you can still gain when in a calorie defecit as long as its not too much of one, Xamo 8 meals is NOT any better then eating 3 whole sqaure meals a day especially when cutting maybe when bulking I can see the benfefit but lets be real, theres no more benefit then eating 3 meals , and I'm not sure about you but id rather eat 3 - 4 700 calorie ish meals when cutting then 8 275 calorie ones LOL. Not only that but how annoying is it to prepare 8 meals as compared to 3 or 4.

Main point is yes its possible with proper nutrition , gear, and depending on how conditioned your body is , and genetics. Even people with half ass genetics do this while on gear with a decent diet and the right substances.

[lardycake Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close lardycake]

I have been cutting with leangains. I have more energy than I expected from it, you just need to make sure to get plenty of carbs on the workout days.

[xamo Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close xamo]

As long as your not near your not to past genetic potential and using the right gear this is definitely possible, training and diet is key , you can still gain when in a calorie defecit as long as its not too much of one, Xamo 8 meals is NOT any better then eating 3 whole sqaure meals a day especially when cutting maybe when bulking I can see the benfefit but lets be real, theres no more benefit then eating 3 meals , and I'm not sure about you but id rather eat 3 - 4 700 calorie ish meals when cutting then 8 275 calorie ones LOL. Not only that but how annoying is it to prepare 8 meals as compared to 3 or 4.
Main point is yes its possible with proper nutrition , gear, and depending on how conditioned your body is , and genetics. Even people with half ass genetics do this while on gear with a decent diet and the right substances.

Your metabolism gets better if you are to eat 8 times a day compared to 4 times only. Obviously it depends on the body type as well. 4 meals a day doesn't do the job for me. And obviously eating more often doesn't mean eating the same amount I never said I'd eat double. Instead of having 4700 calories spread in 4 meals I'd have it in 8. It's as simple as that.

I can't give any advice to him bodybuilding wise... but as far as performances and being athletic is concerned there is NO way one can remain athletic while on a deficit diet. So considering gaining lean mass...No way. But again... I'm talking for athletes.