Total Transformation - Cutting Diet

[yogiart]

Hi Guys,
Today is my first day on my total transformation diet.
Status:
Weight: about 245 lbs ruffly.
Target: below 200lbs, 14%bf range
41 yo male with a busy life style

I am on low carb diet (below 30g of carbs) until 9/30 (see below) then I moved into a low cals diet starting on 10/2.

Little about me:
I used to do weight lifting for many years. I was very dedicated. I've done two cycles of AAS. I stopped going to the gym for about 3 years now. I have been eating very badly and I went back to smoking. This thread is about total transformation of my habits and life style. I will stop smoking, I will reach my body weight goals and I will developed best food plan and an exercise routine that fits my fast and busy life today.

Please pay me a visit once in a while. I appreciate your suggestions. I have never been motivated as I am today. With your help I will reach my goals.


Here is my body weight progress spread sheet which I will update frequently: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/...hl=en_US#gid=0

Here is my Workout split spread sheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/...hl=en_US#gid=0


Yogi

[yogiart]

Day 1
Keto diet
I ate so far chicken, eggs, salad with ranch dressing and broccoli spread into three meals. If I feel like eating tonight I'll have some casein protein shake before I sleep. No macros necessarily on keto diet but I believe I had enough protein.
Weight lifting: none (feel a little sick after the vacation and still jet lagging)
Aerobics: none
Vitamins: yes (I haven't been taking vitamins regularly for 2-3 years.
Smoking: yes, I know I will leave this habit very soon.
Tomorrow: I will try to push for more meals during the day. I will better manage my meals.

[Back In Black]

Day 1
Keto diet
I ate so far chicken, eggs, salad with ranch dressing and broccoli spread into three meals. If I feel like eating tonight I'll have some casein protein shake before I sleep. No macros necessarily on keto diet but I believe I had enough protein.
Weight lifting: none (feel a little sick after the vacation and still jet lagging)
Aerobics: none
Vitamins: yes (I haven't been taking vitamins regularly for 2-3 years.
Smoking: yes, I know I will leave this habit very soon.
Tomorrow: I will try to push for more meals during the day. I will better manage my meals.

You may have enough protein. Do you have enough fat and do you know how many g's of carbs you are having? Macro's on keto are as, if not more, important than on a normal cutting diet.

Have you adjusted your training for a keto diet?

Do you intend a CKD (having a 24-48hr refeed once a week)?

[yogiart]

You may have enough protein. Do you have enough fat and do you know how many g's of carbs you are having? Macro's on keto are as, if not more, important than on a normal cutting diet.

Have you adjusted your training for a keto diet?

Do you intend a CKD (having a 24-48hr refeed once a week)?

I am not sure about the details since I ate an entire roasted chicken that I bought ready. I just removed skin. I also had 4g of fish oil and one egg yoke and about 6g of fat from salad dressing. As fare as carbs, approx less then 30g from green viggies, coffee creamer, tomatos (very small portion), and salad dressing (about 4-5)

No refeeding

Why would I need to adjust training when I am on a consistent very low carb diet? iow, no cycling and no refeeding.

I am doing an Atkin's style of keto which in this case we don't count calories however if I need to do so I will.

[Back In Black]

If you are purely doing an Atkins and no refeed and not counting calories or macro's then you are likely to lose a fair amount of LBM.

And you'll need to be real careful that you start reintroducing carbs slowly, possibly over a 4 week period, so you don't regain a load of weight.

Don't get me wrong, Atkins style diet has it's advantages, but a proper CKD with measured calories and macro's is much better for people who lift.

Just my .02!

[yogiart]

If you are purely doing an Atkins and no refeed and not counting calories or macro's then you are likely to lose a fair amount of LBM.

And you'll need to be real careful that you start reintroducing carbs slowly, possibly over a 4 week period, so you don't regain a load of weight.

Don't get me wrong, Atkins style diet has it's advantages, but a proper CKD with measured calories and macro's is much better for people who lift.

Just my .02!

SteM, you are making a good point and you got my attention.
I will do some research on CKD and carb cycling today. Can you help me and give me links to good threads, articles, source of info about these two?
Could you give me a suggestion of what to do tomorrow or the following few days while I am doing my researches? I will be not training in the next few days. I am sick and doing very little activities now

[yogiart]

The other solution is to stay on Atkin's diet for a longer period, maybe 6 months at the least. A person suggested that I stay for at least 1 entire year.

[Back In Black]

I've done CKD. It worked. But a hated the carb load, it was too much food and, despite the fact you could eat cornflakes and white bagels, I couldn't habdle the volume. The midweek moderate protein and high fat aspect was fine and I didn't feel unwell as my body converted to burning fat for fuel rather than carbs and fat. But you probably need to keep total carbs UNDER 30g. I kept mine at about 20g per day. Search for 'The Cyclic Ketogenic Diet' in the search function started by Top. That's where most my info came from.

You would need to adjust your training regime though.

What is your current bodyfat btw? And what does your normal diet look like?

I much prefer a more balanced diet approach. Should my bodyfat go up too much I stick to a 40/40/20 split over 5 meals until I get to about 12%. After that I drop carbs from meal 5 and add another protein meal at bedtime. That's what works for me.

[yogiart]

thing is, I have a lot of cutting to do. My current old scale is saying that I am 236lb. I believe that my bf is mid %30s. I need to go below 200lb. I am expecting my new digital scale in the mail in the next couple days. I needed to diet before knowing receiving my new scale and knowing my exact status.

[SlimmerMe]

I much prefer a more balanced diet approach.

I agree as this has worked for me too. As with you. Yogiart, I too am after a new lifestyle. And slow wins this race. Consistency too.
And fasted cardio helped me get some BF down real fast in the beginning.

[Back In Black]

I agree as this has worked for me too. As with you. Yogiart, I too am after a new lifestyle. And slow wins this race. Consistency too.
And fasted cardio helped me get some BF down real fast in the beginning.

All true.

OP, what is your current workout regime? How many days do you lift and how many cardio sessions do you do. Also, can you advise time of day you do these workouts. Also what you do for a living?

Let's get a plan together. There are 3 months til Santa comes down the chimney. We can make amazing changes to you by then if you have the Desire and are prepared to be Dedicated and Disciplined. The 3D's will get you a long long way!

[Atwood]

If you want to slim and smart just use the yogurt daily in your breakfast and make a proper diet plan in order to get the good results.

[yogiart]

I agree as this has worked for me too. As with you. Yogiart, I too am after a new lifestyle. And slow wins this race. Consistency too.
And fasted cardio helped me get some BF down real fast in the beginning.

Consistency! I get very dedicated at the beginning then somehow I lose it. That is why I created this thread. I will keep motivating myself. it is one day at a time

[yogiart]

All true.

OP, what is your current workout regime? How many days do you lift and how many cardio sessions do you do. Also, can you advise time of day you do these workouts. Also what you do for a living?

Let's get a plan together. There are 3 months til Santa comes down the chimney. We can make amazing changes to you by then if you have the Desire and are prepared to be Dedicated and Disciplined. The 3D's will get you a long long way!

As I mentioned before, I used to go to the gym 5-6 days per week for years. Now I have to create everything from scratch again. I was planning on visiting the gym 4 times per week for weight lifting and do 5-6 fasted cardio at home on my treadmill.

[yogiart]

All true.

Let's get a plan together. There are 3 months til Santa comes down the chimney. We can make amazing changes to you by then if you have the Desire and are prepared to be Dedicated and Disciplined. The 3D's will get you a long long way!

I appreciate your insights here. I will share with you more when I get my scale. Right now I am sick and not working out at all. I am still on very low carbs every day and was planning on carbing up on the weekend. I'll derive my cals as high as I can without increasing fat consumption. I will actually decrease fat consumptions. I'll be ready hopefully by Monday for any changes. Thanks again and yes 3D's

Something I need to clarify, I need to get my diet to a point that it is mindless so I don't have to think much. I am a very busy person.

[Back In Black]

Consistency! I get very dedicated at the beginning then somehow I lose it. That is why I created this thread. I will keep motivating myself. it is one day at a time

So, what you need to do is create a plan that you stick to, that you enjoy, that gives results.

Can you put a diet together that has:-

a) 6 meals.
b) incorporates 40g of protein per meal
c) Has 50g of complex carbs in meal 1 and also in the pre and post workout meals
d) has 70g of (mostly) healthy fats
e) Has a fair share of green fibrous veggies in 3 of the meals
f) has some berries at breakfast.

Put that together, with foods you hopefully won't get sick of, that you can plan ahead for and list it here. Detail macro's for each meal and daily totals.

I like your workout plan. And IF you can add 20 mins cardio at the end of each lifting session then so much better.

[yogiart]

So, what you need to do is create a plan that you stick to, that you enjoy, that gives results.

Can you put a diet together that has:-

a) 6 meals.
b) incorporates 40g of protein per meal
c) Has 50g of complex carbs in meal 1 and also in the pre and post workout meals
d) has 70g of (mostly) healthy fats
e) Has a fair share of green fibrous veggies in 3 of the meals
f) has some berries at breakfast.

Put that together, with foods you hopefully won't get sick of, that you can plan ahead for and list it here. Detail macro's for each meal and daily totals.

I like your workout plan. And IF you can add 20 mins cardio at the end of each lifting session then so much better.

Yes, I can do that. I will create one and share it with you. But I need to know my maintenance level. I believe I won't be able to do that until I get my scale in the mail. I will create this though and share maybe tonight

[SlimmerMe]

Sounds like you are getting things all lined up~

[yogiart]

Alright! Let's do some math

I just got the scale and here are the results:
Body Weight: 242.60lb
BMI: 35.30
BF%: %37.50
Resting Metabolism: 2122 Kcal
Body Age: 76 y/o (F*** THAT!)
Now I need to calculate my maintenance level of Kcal. I don't know how to do it but I am researching. I should subtract 500kcal and create my food plan from there.
I would ignore all these results and focus on bf% and body weight, especially the body age, retard!
Remember that my goal now is not about weight as it is about bf%. I need to go down in the range of 14-16%, that would be sweet
I also want to keep muscles as much as I can. I know that muscles have memory and I wonder what will happen if I hit the gym 4 days/week for a while

Please help with the math

[Back In Black]

Depending on your daily activities at work I would think your maintenance cals are in the region of 2900 per day.

The figures qupted in my suggested meal plan will come to approx 2200. For now, you could add 50g carbs to one of the other meals too. That should bring you to about 2400, 500 under maintenance.

Write a diet using the above criteria and let's have a look!

And get in the gym!

[SlimmerMe]

I know this sounds a bit undesirable but getting your BF down first is paramount over being concerned about losing muscle. More than likely you will lose a bit in the process as most do while trying to cut unless you are an absolute pro at this and count every single macro and prepare every single meal to a T and workout perfectly. It sounds to me this is more of a lifestyle change which IMO, getting the BF down is the priority as you try to keep as much muscle as possible.

Hope this makes sense.

[yogiart]

I know this sounds a bit undesirable but getting your BF down first is paramount over being concerned about losing muscle. More than likely you will lose a bit in the process as most do while trying to cut unless you are an absolute pro at this and count every single macro and prepare every single meal to a T and workout perfectly. It sounds to me this is more of a lifestyle change which IMO, getting the BF down is the priority as you try to keep as much muscle as possible.

Hope this makes sense.

True.
I am just wondering what will happen when I get back to the gym and have enough protein. I had more muscles in the past and I can feel that I can regain muscles quickly.

[SlimmerMe]

Are you back in the gym yet? confused a bit~

[yogiart]

no, I am still sick and smoking but still on a very low carb diet which I will change next week to a more consistent approach. I will stop smoking on Oct 1st. I still have my gym membership I will go back. My studies have ended and I am not as busy as before.

I know myself, when I go to the gym I am all in! the only problem that I may face is if I get a full time job however, it is still manageable. I will post my challenges here. I am already busy without full time job but not as busy as before. I just need to do some time management.

[yogiart]

Here we go, here is a start for the food plan:

7:00 am Cardio
8:00 am Breakfast
1 whole egg, 4 egg whites
1/2 C Oat meal
Strawberries and blue berries
1/4 C of soy milk
1 scoop of whey
fish oil
totals for M1: P 55, C 41, F 14. Total cals: 510

10 am Pre WO nitro glycerin and such
11 am Work out

12:30 PM PWO
1.5 scoop of whey, .5 casein protein, a large banana or an apple, 2 slices of whole wheat bread
Totals: P 70, C 63, F 6, cal: 562.00

3:00 PM
option 1: chicken breast and cooked green beans or broccoli
Option 2: Tuna salad
Option 3:
Not sure about the macros yet

5:00 PM
one or two hi protein bar
Not sure about the macros, haven't shopped yet

7:30 PM
Brown rice and chicken and veggies
not sure yet about the macros

10:30 PM
1/2 scoop of whey + 1.5 scoop of casien protein, 2g fish oil+ vitamins and supps
Totals: P40, C 4.5, F 5

Totals should be in this range:
P 300, C 209, F40
cals: P1200 + C836 + F360 = 2400

[yogiart]

Here we go, here is a start for the food plan:

7:00 am Cardio
8:00 am Breakfast
1 whole egg, 4 egg whites
1/2 C Oat meal
Strawberries and blue berries
1/4 C of soy milk
1 scoop of whey
fish oil
totals for M1: P 55, C 41, F 14. Total cals: 510

10 am Pre WO nitro glycerin and such
11 am Work out

12:30 PM PWO
1.5 scoop of whey, .5 casein protein, a large banana or an apple, 2 slices of whole wheat bread
Totals: P 70, C 63, F 6, cal: 562.00

3:00 PM
option 1: chicken breast and cooked green beans or broccoli
Option 2: Tuna salad
Option 3:
Not sure about the macros yet

5:00 PM
one or two hi protein bar
Not sure about the macros, haven't shopped yet

7:30 PM
Brown rice and chicken and veggies
not sure yet about the macros

10:30 PM
1/2 scoop of whey + 1.5 scoop of casien protein, 2g fish oil+ vitamins and supps
Totals: P40, C 4.5, F 5

Totals should be in this range:
P 300, C 209, F40
cals: P1200 + C836 + F360 = 2400

Please critique and understand the following:
1) meal 3 might be hard sometimes. I may need to buy something ready. Any suggestions?
2) Cooking is the hardest thing for me with my busy life. I need to learn to cook once or twice per week.
3) I truly think that 2400 cals are high for me. Remember that I have a lot of fat weight rather than muscle weight. Maybe I should go down to 2000-2200 range while doing cardio and lifts
4) I have a desk job. I don't move much. So if I am not exercising, I am not doing any activities beside 1/2 hour of yoga few time per week

[yogiart]

Another important questions:
I am still on a low carb diet. I am most probably on cals deficit since my fat is below 100g and my protein comes from the 4 egg-whites, 2 whole eggs in the morning, whole chicken, and a couple of shakes.
Here is my questions: Should I carb up/cheat? I was planning on increasing carbs on Friday night with some brown rice then add as much carbs on Saturday as I can while keeping low far and drive my cals beyond maint. level then start my new diet on Sunday. What do you guys think? What is the best way to switch to the next food plan mentioned above?

[SlimmerMe]

You are getting more on track daily. This is great to see. AND LUV the fasted cardio! PERFECT!

My question is this: how hard core do you want to do this? I know for me since a lifestyle change as opposed to preparing to getting on stage for a competition, I wanted to make sure that I picked food which would keep me on my program. To me this is crucial and the key to success. So depending on your answer, will depend on how we respond I suppose. Think about it unless you know already how strict you want to be. For example, for strict? no bread for now. And try to pick raspberries over blueberries for example. I learned all of this in my log. have you read my log? Might help you get some tips.

[yogiart]

SlimmerMe,
I want to do this as best as I can. I have already decided that I must decrease my bf as fast and as consistent as I can. The issue here is which food plan works best for me? KCD, carb cycling or low cals. For now, I am still leaning towards a form of low carb because I believe it is more mindless and therefore, the possibility of falling off the wagon is lower.

Yes, I peaked at your log. It is too long but I am reading. Everything will happen to me one day at a time. tomorrow for example, I am kicking smoking out of my life. I will also start doing the morning cardio as I am already started to feel better. It is going to be low intensity for 20 minutes. I will pump this up to 30 in a week or so especially that I will start feeling better with my new smoke-free lifestyle

I am dedicated, your help is very appreciated

[SlimmerMe]

Day by day. And figuring out what works is the secret. Plus this takes awhile to figure out so patience is needed especially in the beginning. And for you to stop smoking is the best thing you can do for yourself.

You have already begun this journey so know this is the first step so now it is a matter of tweaking here and there.
And you are most welcome.

Did I ask you if you like pancakes? and if so, do you want a great recipe which is pre-approved here?

[yogiart]

Did I ask you if you like pancakes? and if so, do you want a great recipe which is pre-approved here?

Yumm! sure I do. send me a link or PM me.

[SlimmerMe]

Oat Pancakes:

1 cup oats
1 cup egg whites
1 cup fat free cottage cheese

splash of water if need be for batter consistency
Splenda all you want
nutmeg, dash if you so desire
drop of vanilla, if desired

First: Blend the oats in a blender until real powdery (no water just blend dry )
Add all the above ingredients and blend until a good consistency for a pancake

Cook on griddle/pan which should be real hot sprayed with Pam....and then cook like a regular pancake

TOP with:
Sugar free syrup and banana or raspberries
and dollop of plain Greek yogurt to spread around the pancake and sprinkle some splenda on top of the yogurt

ENJOY!

MAKES 3 BIG PANCAKES! so good for 3 meals.

[yogiart]

Oat Pancakes:

1 cup oats
1 cup egg whites
1 cup fat free cottage cheese

splash of water if need be for batter consistency
Splenda all you want
nutmeg, dash if you so desire
drop of vanilla, if desired

[/B]

a whole cup of egg while! how many eggs approx? I will try this soon (hopefully tomorrow) and I'll let you know my opinion
thanks for the recipe

[yogiart]

My status now are:
weight: 239.6 which is 3lbs less from two days ago. Sure this is water weight.
bf$ 36.6 also less than a couple of days ago
tomorrow plans
1) Starting Cardio in the am, Fasted for 20 minutes, low-mid intensity (I'll increase gradually with time)
2) I will not smoke (first day of non smoking). If I cheat, I will tell.
3) I'll try to hit the gym if I feel good in the am. Today I feel better already and not that sick.
4) I will use the food plan mentioned above and I will post the details. Maybe I'll have an apple instead of bread in the am.

Small progress and consistency rather than perfection

[Back In Black]

Please critique and understand the following:
1) meal 3 might be hard sometimes. I may need to buy something ready. Any suggestions?
2) Cooking is the hardest thing for me with my busy life. I need to learn to cook once or twice per week.
3) I truly think that 2400 cals are high for me. Remember that I have a lot of fat weight rather than muscle weight. Maybe I should go down to 2000-2200 range while doing cardio and lifts
4) I have a desk job. I don't move much. So if I am not exercising, I am not doing any activities beside 1/2 hour of yoga few time per week

I'll have a look at this sometime over the weekend but you need to list the missing macro's. Also some of your timings are not ideal. Can you workout and take your meals at any time of day?

[SlimmerMe]

a whole cup of egg while! how many eggs approx? I will try this soon (hopefully tomorrow) and I'll let you know my opinion
thanks for the recipe

cup of egg whites is about 7 large eggs

and I forgot to mention if you want to add some baking powder. I just started doing this myself....about 2 teaspoons.

and the batch makes 3 huge pancakes so this way you will have batter left over and ready for 2 more meals. Also I like the Chobani plain greek yogurt for the topping since it has more of a whipped cream texture then I sprinkle splenda on top of it and I can tell you if anyone sees you eating this pancake and you tell them you are trying to shed BF they will have a hard time not saying anything to keep you from it! Once a friend popped in just after I had my plate with a HUGE pancake on it topped with banana slices and yogurt and the expression on my friend's face was priceless.

I ate these pancakes thru out my challenge guilt free enjoying every single bite as the ingredients are all good for you and tasty too which helps to keep this new lifestyle on track.

Also, hope it is easy for you to find sugar free syrup.

HOPE you enjoy them!

[yogiart]

I'll have a look at this sometime over the weekend but you need to list the missing macro's. Also some of your timings are not ideal. Can you workout and take your meals at any time of day?

The best thing work for me now is to do the cardio first thing in the am then have my breakfast, two hours later I should take per workout supplements, one hour later I should be at the gym.
I'll try to do the macros tonight or tomorrow if I can.

[yogiart]

Today was totally cheat day. I went on a date with my wife while had a baby sitter at home with my son. I ate steak, jumbo crab, salad and sweet potato fries. At night I went with the family to a local festival. We ate a whole bunch of junk. I wasn't sure what to eat on my cheat day since I am switching from low carb to low cals.

Good news:
I did not smoke today. I was irritable but I did not smoke. This is HUGE for me!
I did my first 20 minutes fasted cardio
No lifting yet

Tomorrow:
I will not smoke. It will get better.
I will do fasted cardio.
I will try to hit the gym after my breakfast
My cals will be between 2200-2500 divided by 6 meals. Protein will be at least 250g, all carbs are from good sources: brown rice, oat meal, fruits

One day at a time, small progress, consistency

[SlimmerMe]

Today was totally cheat day. I went on a date with my wife while had a baby sitter at home with my son. I ate steak, jumbo crab, salad and sweet potato fries. At night I went with the family to a local festival. We ate a whole bunch of junk. I wasn't sure what to eat on my cheat day since I am switching from low carb to low cals.

Good news:
I did not smoke today. I was irritable but I did not smoke. This is HUGE for me!
I did my first 20 minutes fasted cardio
No lifting yet

Tomorrow:
I will not smoke. It will get better.
I will do fasted cardio.
I will try to hit the gym after my breakfast
My cals will be between 2200-2500 divided by 6 meals. Protein will be at least 250g, all carbs are from good sources: brown rice, oat meal, fruits

One day at a time, small progress, consistency

I repeat and will repeat: SLOW wins this race. You are on the right track.

[yogiart]

I did not notice that there is cottage cheese. I can't eat it because I am lactose intolerant. Maybe I can replace with whey? Casein?