Surgery recovery then the BULK!!

[The Titan99]

Hi Guy's,
About 5 weeks ago I had spine surgery for some long time nerve problems. The surgery was a 100% success and the Dr. said I could go back to heavy training. I've been advised to take a 2 month break from training but 2 weeks was all I could do. I've started a 4 week low volume, 80% max prime. My stats are as follows..

Age:45
Weight:230
Height:6'2"
BF%: 11-12

Cycle exp. 3 cycles - 12 week Test/Deca

I was on week 18 of two 8 week cycles with a 2 week bridge in between when I had the surgery. I'm now on a 500 mg Sustanon 250 bridge until the end of the month, then I see the Doc and will start 8 weeks of high volume, high weight training with 1 gram Test/750 mg Deca/40 mg Anavar ed/ 100 mg Proviron / HCG 250 iu's twice a week. Week 9 and 10 will be lower volume training and 500 mg Test followed by 6 weeks PCT Colmid and Tamox. Whew!!

Now, my TDEE is 3700 cal and I've been on a slow cut of 350p/230carb/85f. The last 2 weeks of my prime I was wanting to drop the protein and raise the carbs to prepare for the big burst. So 230p/330carb/85f. Does this sound good? For my bulk cycle I was wondering how you guys might suggest changing the macros? Maybe leave everything the same but roll protein up to 380/400? Here's my diet currently. It really doesn't change much and it's all clean with the exception of a few beers here and there.

Cardio

Meal 1
1 scoop whey protein
1 cup orange juice
1/2 cup o% milk
10 egg whites

Meal 2
110 grams multi grain bread
220 grams extra lean ground beef

Meal 3
215 grams grilled chicken breast
3 cups salad
1 tbs. olive oil
35 grams raw cashews

Workout

Meal 4
2 scoops whey protein
1 cup OJ
1/2 cup 0% milk
10 egg whites

Meal 5
2 cups boiled shrimp

Meal 6
3 boiled eggs

Any input is greatly appreciated, especially if you see any glaring problems.

[gbrice75]

Hi Guy's,
About 5 weeks ago I had spine surgery for some long time nerve problems. The surgery was a 100% success and the Dr. said I could go back to heavy training. I've been advised to take a 2 month break from training but 2 weeks was all I could do. I've started a 4 week low volume, 80% max prime. My stats are as follows..

Age:45
Weight:230
Height:6'2"
BF%: 11-12

Cycle exp. 3 cycles - 12 week Test/Deca

I was on week 18 of two 8 week cycles with a 2 week bridge in between when I had the surgery. I'm now on a 500 mg Sustanon 250 bridge until the end of the month, then I see the Doc and will start 8 weeks of high volume, high weight training with 1 gram Test/750 mg Deca/40 mg Anavar ed/ 100 mg Proviron / HCG 250 iu's twice a week. Week 9 and 10 will be lower volume training and 500 mg Test followed by 6 weeks PCT Colmid and Tamox. Whew!!

Now, my TDEE is 3700 cal and I've been on a slow cut of 350p/230carb/85f. The last 2 weeks of my prime I was wanting to drop the protein and raise the carbs to prepare for the big burst. So 230p/330carb/85f. Does this sound good? For my bulk cycle I was wondering how you guys might suggest changing the macros? Maybe leave everything the same but roll protein up to 380/400? Here's my diet currently. It really doesn't change much and it's all clean with the exception of a few beers here and there.

I never play with the protein macro. Once you find the number that's good for you (1.5g/lb, 2g/lb, whatever you choose) it remains constant. If you want to up carbs, then lower the fats, and vice versa.

Cardio

Meal 1
1 scoop whey protein
1 cup orange juice
1/2 cup o% milk
10 egg whites

Drop the OJ - why consume pure sugar? Eat 1 cup oats instead. Add berries if you'd like

Meal 2
110 grams multi grain bread
220 grams extra lean ground beef

Make sure the bread is the best quality you can find. Something flourless like Ezekiel is a good choice

Meal 3
215 grams grilled chicken breast
3 cups salad
1 tbs. olive oil
35 grams raw cashews

You didn't post macros so I can't tell for sure, but this meal might be a bit too fat heavy - usually don't need 2 fat sources in a single meal. Furthermore, this being your preworkout meal, i'd recommend dropping all the fats and going with a good complex carb to fuel your workout. Sweet potato would be an excellent choice. Some people do well on pro/fat meals pre workout, but I don't believe it's the popular choice for a reason

Workout

Meal 4
2 scoops whey protein
1 cup OJ
1/2 cup 0% milk
10 egg whites

More forgiving about the OJ here, but i'd still rather see a better carb source

Meal 5
2 cups boiled shrimp

That's it? No carbs? no fats? No greens?

Meal 6
3 boiled eggs

Eggs are pretty fast digesting - something slower before bed would be ideal - casein, cottage cheese, lean beef, etc. You can keep the eggs and do a casein shake if you want

Any input is greatly appreciated, especially if you see any glaring problems.

Congrats on the surgery bro! I hope you're being careful in being back in the gym so soon against dr's orders.

Anyway, comments on your diet above in bold. There are improvements that can be made IMO

[The Titan99]

Sweet Bro!!! I will implement immediately!!!

[cue_artist]

Gbrice has you in good hands bro. For your last meal you can have two whole eggs and 1 scoop casein protein or just lean beef would more ideal.

[The Titan99]

Thanks for taking the time man. I'll definitely go with the beef for the last meal. I also forgot to mention in that first meal I always add a cup of oatmeal. Do you think I should add an additional one for the post workout shake? Oh, and I live in Thailand so that shrimp is mixed with chilis cilantro, onions and a little lime juice. Spicy Thai salad thing. And by the way, the Doc was the only one to approve hitting the gym hard again. Everyone else says to take 2 months off. I've been REAL careful and doing about 80% weight though. Only getting 12-18 reps so maybe I needed to change it up a little.

One more question though, I've been carb cycling ala Ronnie Rowland for about 4 months now. Just swapping the carbs and protein on mondays and Thursdays. I'm sure you know about it but I was wondering what you thought? It seems strange to me to go under a gram of protein at ANY point, let alone on Back and Leg day.

[gbrice75]

I would definitely drop the OJ PWO and add 1/2 to 1 cup oats. The shrimp is fine for a protein source, but the other ingredients aren't doing you any good (or harm). How about some rice? Or do a pro/fat meal and use some olive oil?

Well, how has the carb cycling worked out for you so far? Personally, i'm a fan of a consistent type diet that only changes when it needs to - i.e. as your body composition changes, so will your nutritional needs. Not saying there's anything at all wrong with carb cycling, just that i'm a fan of a steady diet.

[The Titan99]

Gotcha, OJ is out, oats are in PWO. (Too bad, it taste so good!!). On the Shrimp meal, maybe sautee with olive oil, garlic, pepper?

On the carb cycling, it went great. Although I was about 25% BF so anything would have helped, as opposed to BBQ ribs, pizzas and big indian currys.... I've dropped to 12-13% BF(My avi was about12 lbs fatter) and gained quite a bit of lean muscle so that's cool, especially at my age. 5-6 days of fasted cardio probably didn't hurt either.

The thing is, I've never been truely lean AND big, so after this next bulk, I'd like to get down toward 7-8% BF and maybe the carb cycling can take me only so far. Maybe I should try the cosistent thing.

One more question, I had a guy tell me I was off my TDEE by 1000 cals. Do you calculate this by LBM or total weight. I've been cutting BF at 3300 cals, but he says my TDEE is more like 2700. What's the story here? I'm going to try and here...

[gbrice75]

You can cook the shrimp that way, but my suggestion would be to sautee in just a tiny bit of oil (enough to cook it obviously) and then drizzle fresh olive oil over the dish once it's through cooking. The reasoning is that cooking the olive oil pretty much destroys the benefits of the healthy fats it provides.

Congrats on the loss so far, that's awesome! Would love to see current pics! Yea, i'm doing fasted cardio now too - only in a couple weeks now, but hoping for good things.

TDEE - firstly, I find the TDEE formulas to always come out too high - more calories then most people need. That said, it depends on what formula you use. Harris Benedict accounts total body weight and is therefore less accurate. Katch-McArdle only uses LBM (requires you to know your BF%) and is therefore more accurate. However, they usually aren't too far off... from eachother.

Provide me with your stats (height, weight, current BF%) and I can give you a good idea of your TDEE using a different method. We'll see how close you are at 2700. Cutting BF at 3300 calories? That's insane! Do you run marathons for a living?

[The Titan99]

Gotcha, OJ out, oatmeal in for PWO. (the OJ tasted good though...) On the shrimp meal, maybe sautee in olive oil, garlic pepper?

The carb cycling went great, but I think anything would have worked. I was about 25%BF and in denial about it. I'm down to 12-14% now going by one of those waist/neck/weight formulas. 5-6 days aweek of AM fasted cardio probably didn't hurt either.
on now
By the way, I had a guy say I was 1000 calories high on my TDEE. You think that's correct? I don't see how I could have lost the BF I didif it is. He said to calculate from LBM not total weight. Said he thought I should be about 2700. I've was 350p/200c/80f but felt like I was losing a lot of strength and fading near the end of heavy workouts so I added 30 grams of carbs and 5 to fat. I weighed more then. Based on my stats, you think I should adjust anything? 1.5 grams of protein is just about right for 230 lbs. Could you give it a quick look and get back to me? Thanks a million man, this is priceless...

[The Titan99]

You can cook the shrimp that way, but my suggestion would be to sautee in just a tiny bit of oil (enough to cook it obviously) and then drizzle fresh olive oil over the dish once it's through cooking. The reasoning is that cooking the olive oil pretty much destroys the benefits of the healthy fats it provides. Yea, I knew that. That's how I'll do it then.

Congrats on the loss so far, that's awesome! Would love to see current pics! Yea, i'm doing fasted cardio now too - only in a couple weeks now, but hoping for good things. I'll take some pictures tomorrow and post them!! Lost my camera soI'll have to borrow one.

TDEE - firstly, I find the TDEE formulas to always come out too high - more calories then most people need. That said, it depends on what formula you use. Harris Benedict accounts total body weight and is therefore less accurate. Katch-McArdle only uses LBM (requires you to know your BF%) and is therefore more accurate. However, they usually aren't too far off... from eachother. Yea, I used the Harris Benedict. I figure I must be about 13% BF, best guess.

Provide me with your stats (height, weight, current BF%) and I can give you a good idea of your TDEE using a different method. We'll see how close you are at 2700. Cutting BF at 3300 calories? That's insane! Do you run marathons for a living?

I'm 6'2" 230 lbs 45 years old and like I said 13% best guess. we'll see what you think from the pics tomorrow. HA! I'm a dive shop manager. I used to dive every day but when I started managment that contributed heavily to the 25% BF problem...

I was taking Clen for the first time but after a week I started to get such bad stomach cramps I had to stop. Too bad because it was really working. Can't get any Taurine or potassium on my island, so that's it for the Clen I guess...

[The Titan99]

You can cook the shrimp that way, but my suggestion would be to sautee in just a tiny bit of oil (enough to cook it obviously) and then drizzle fresh olive oil over the dish once it's through cooking. The reasoning is that cooking the olive oil pretty much destroys the benefits of the healthy fats it provides. Yea, I knew that. That's how I'll do it then.

Congrats on the loss so far, that's awesome! Would love to see current pics! Yea, i'm doing fasted cardio now too - only in a couple weeks now, but hoping for good things. I'll take some pictures tomorrow and post them!! Lost my camera so I'll have to borrow one.

TDEE - firstly, I find the TDEE formulas to always come out too high - more calories then most people need. That said, it depends on what formula you use. Harris Benedict accounts total body weight and is therefore less accurate. Katch-McArdle only uses LBM (requires you to know your BF%) and is therefore more accurate. However, they usually aren't too far off... from eachother. Yea, I used the Harris Benedict. I figure I must be about 13% BF, best guess.

Provide me with your stats (height, weight, current BF%) and I can give you a good idea of your TDEE using a different method. We'll see how close you are at 2700. Cutting BF at 3300 calories? That's insane! Do you run marathons for a living?

I'm 6'2" 230 lbs 45 years old and like I said 13% best guess. we'll see what you think from the pics tomorrow. HA! I'm a dive shop manager. I used to dive every day but when I started managment that contributed heavily to the 25% BF problem...

I was taking Clen for the first time but after a week I started to get such bad stomach cramps I had to stop. Too bad because it was really working. Can't get any Taurine or potassium on my island, so that's it for the Clen I guess...

[The Titan99]

I just caculated my TDEE again using the Katch-McArdle. 105 kg -13% is 92. 92 x 21.6 = 1987 + 370 = 2357 x 1.55 = 3653. This is using the moderate exercise figure, which with all the AM cardio and a 5 day split I think is conservative. It would be over 4000 if I went to the next level. I must be jacking this up...

[gbrice75]

Nah, that's what I mean about those formula's they ALWAYS come out high IMO. I'm thinking your TDEE is right around 3000kcal. Reduce or increase from that point depending on the goal, and monitor closely then make adjustments as needed (only after a few weeks though).

[The Titan99]

I'll have my pics posted Thursday. I'm going with 3000 cals for a couple of days, then shaving 100 a day to 2500. It's kind of a relief to not be eating so much, but I'm watching closely. I did cut BF at 3300-3500...