Losing fat NATURALLY!! I'M A FAT BODYBUILDER

**jennythemodel2** · 12-07-2010, 03:22 PM

Alright guys, I might have exaggerated on the fat Bodybuilder part, but I am quite on the heavy side.

Earlier this week I was convinced that to reach my goals I needed to do AAS and posted a thread on this same forum asking for advice on what steroid would aid me in cutting fat. The thread got kind of heated by the way. I found out from the guys and girls that posted something that the problem was just my diet and bad habits.

Here is the scoop. I have about 22% body fat, lots of muscle, am quite tall, weigh around 240 lbs, and have been lifting weights for many many years now. I also don't sleep as much as I should.

I saw a few posts on "Cutting Diets," but I would like to turn this one into a "Losing Fat without the Risk of Losing Muscle Diet."

I would like some input on what you guys would do if you were in my situation. If you had plenty of muscle, but plenty of fat to go along with it too. What would your diet look like if you wanted to lose the fat as fast as possible without losing so much muscle. Its probably an overused question, but give it a shot.

If you guys can post's some diets here please do. It will benefit many of us. We would like to see number of daily carbs, grams of protein, calories, etc. It would help us figure out our own diets.

Some guys have mentioned to me before that in a couple of hours they cook their diet for the whole week. Have you done this, and if so what did you cook.

Also, is sleep really that important? Is 5-7 hours not enough?

**gbrice75** · 12-07-2010, 03:35 PM

Welcome to the board, you're in the right place for help. First, I have to ask - are you a guy or girl? Your stats tell me you're a guy, but the username is throwing me. This is important to know, because 22% bodyfat isn't insanely high for a girl unless of course you are a serious bodybuilder looking to compete.

There are plenty of people in the same boat as you - a good bit of muscle but too much bodyfat to appreciate it. My plan of attack would be getting the diet nailed down, and making sure my workout and cardio routine especially are in check.

On to the diet - what we need you to do is post up a typical day's diet. We need to see how you're eating now so we know what we're working with. I can't just start recommending foods that you might not like, not have access to, etc.

Also need to know your height and age, years lifting, etc.

When you post up the diet, please include time of day for each meal, time of day for your workout, and complete and accurate macro nutrient info for each meal. We'll help you sort it out from there. If it SO bad that it needs to be completely scrapped, i'll post up some useful info that will help you construct your own diet, and we can then go through the steps above.

I cook everything in bulk on Sunday. Chicken breast, flank steak, etc.

Sleep - it's individualistic. Some people do fine on 5 hours. Due to my schedule, I only get 6 and that's best case scenario. I'd rather get more, but i've adjusted. The old 'you need 8 hours of sleep' thing is just that - OLD. It's too general, 8 is not a magic number. I believe anywhere from 6-8 is good, anything more is too much and counter productive. There are actually studies showing that people who sleep LESS (6 hours as opposed to 8 for instance) live longer. *shrug*

Get your diet posted and we'll get you on the right track.

Good luck!

**jennythemodel2** · 12-07-2010, 04:06 PM

Hello gbrice. Thank you for taking your time to reply. It makes me feel great that there are people willing to help.

My diet is horrible and it does need to get scrapped. I haven't even been dieting in the last few days because of all the traveling and work. I do go to gyms everywhere I travel to whenever I do travel, but the diet is hard. Aside from that here is the info.

I am a Male. I'm 27 years old. Am 6'1" and have been lifting for over 7 years. I think it might be nearing 8 years. At first I would lift on and off, but since a couple of years ago I have been very consistent. Yes, the name throws people off, but its just a user name I have been using for a while. I thought of it because my brother used to date a stunningly hot model who's name was not Jenny by the way. haha. It just makes the user name seem more anonymous.

I had been doing some very repetitive diets before and by the second week I end up hating it. So I end up not wanting to do it anymore and just get back to the old habits. In my old habits I just try to stay away from the super fatty foods with lots of calories.

Here is what I have been eating lately which is horrible. I know better and I have done better diets. I shouldn't even be posting it, but I figure you will get a kick of it and see what my day looks like.

Morning:
Drink glass of water, take a shower, eat: Baked Potato w/ table spoon of Olive Oil, and half a cup of cottage cheese. I also eat an apple and maybe some orange juice. The orange juice just adds a bunch more carbs to that first meal so I try to stay away form it. The potato combo is delicious by the way.

Snack: 10am
Apple with a protein shake (Protein shake contains 23 grams of protein, 5 grams of carbs, and 120 calories per scoop) Its not bad. Its the walmart kind. Much cheaper and I can always have plenty of it.

Noon Meal: Sometimes I eat a chicken salad with olive oil and cheese. I don't put the croutons or anything else. Just lettuce, chicken, some cheese and olive oil. When I just don't feel like drinking water I drink a diet coke. I know, I'm probably gonna get kidney stones, but sometimes I don't feel like drinking water and when dieting I feel like my body needs to have something sweet. Its like a craving. Its horrible.

Also, sometimes I skip this meal because I don't feel like spending so much money. So instead I go and buy some peanuts from a gas station or something.

Snack: 3pm
1 Scoop of Protein Shake

Evening Meal: 5:15 pm after getting home.
This is where I mess up. I live with lots of Mexican family members and there are a lot of women living there. When I get home they have something cooked so its very hard to say no. I eat things like, enchiladas with rice, rice with corn tortillas, beef and corn tortillas, or maybe another potato. It just messes my whole day up. But I try to stay away from breads or flour tortillas.

Workout: 7pm
I lift very very hardcore. I lift very heavy, do lots of super sets, and alternate quite a bit. I keep the rest to a minimum and just go to other machines instead of resting. I do about 50 minutes lifting weights and about 10-15 minutes cardio. Running hurts my knees very bad so I do a stepper or something. I hate cardio though. I wish I didn't have to do cardio.

8:15pm
2 Scoops of Protein

10:30
1 Cup of Cottage Cheese

and if I feel like I didn't intake enough protein I drink another scoop at midnight.

When I travel this diet gets much worse. More carbs, less protein, less working out.

You know, genetics play a big part. My younger brother doesn't work out, eats whatever he wants, has very little activity during the day, and he still has a good amount of muscle and is shredded. He has amazing abs. He has worked out before, but doesn't really need to maintain.

**Rizdizzle** · 12-07-2010, 05:03 PM

Good for you for making this thread! Most people who ask for help on the AAS board usually wont listen to anyone and only accept what they want to hear.
Im sure with these guys' help you will achieve your goals there are some very dedicated knowledgeable people in here.

Im very happy to see your thread in here. "At least some listen to what they dont want to hear

"
Good luck with your training and diet

**gbrice75** · 12-07-2010, 05:39 PM

Originally Posted by jennythemodel2

Hello gbrice. Thank you for taking your time to reply. It makes me feel great that there are people willing to help.

My diet is horrible and it does need to get scrapped. I haven't even been dieting in the last few days because of all the traveling and work. I do go to gyms everywhere I travel to whenever I do travel, but the diet is hard. Aside from that here is the info.

I am a Male. I'm 27 years old. Am 6'1" and have been lifting for over 7 years. I think it might be nearing 8 years. At first I would lift on and off, but since a couple of years ago I have been very consistent. Yes, the name throws people off, but its just a user name I have been using for a while. I thought of it because my brother used to date a stunningly hot model who's name was not Jenny by the way. haha. It just makes the user name seem more anonymous.

I had been doing some very repetitive diets before and by the second week I end up hating it. So I end up not wanting to do it anymore and just get back to the old habits. In my old habits I just try to stay away from the super fatty foods with lots of calories.

This is the first problem. I'd rather use the word consistent then repetitive, but yes... we're talking about basically eating the same things every day. That's why it's important to come up with a diet you don't HATE. Yes, you will eventually get sick of the foods that you choose, and will have to make changes. But take it as far as you can first. Staying away from fatty foods/high calories etc. is what works for 'regular' people trying to maintain a 'healthy' lifestyle. A bodybuilder is a whole different animal. I probably don't need to explain this to you, you already know but just haven't committed. You will need to count calories. You will need to count macros. You will need to be very strict. But this won't be forever. It's a million times easier to maintain a relatively low BF% then to achieve it from a higher one. The 'suffering' is temporary, and after a while most people just become numb to it anyway

Here is what I have been eating lately which is horrible. I know better and I have done better diets. I shouldn't even be posting it, but I figure you will get a kick of it and see what my day looks like.

Morning:
Drink glass of water, take a shower, eat: Baked Potato w/ table spoon of Olive Oil, and half a cup of cottage cheese. I also eat an apple and maybe some orange juice. The orange juice just adds a bunch more carbs to that first meal so I try to stay away form it. The potato combo is delicious by the way.

Ok, first meal is pretty bad. You've been fasting all night (sleep) and need to get protein and nutrients in your system fast. Cottage cheese is slower absorbing (casein mostly) and not ideal. To make matters worse, you are purposely eating fat which slows absorption even further. A better meal would look like:

2 whole eggs (yes I know they have fat too but I believe in whole eggs, yolks are very nutritious)
4-6 whites
1/2 cup oats w/ 1/2 cup of your favorite berries

OR you can have fewer eggs (maybe 1 whole and 2 white for instance) but add a whey shake for a fast protein blast.

If you want to stick with a potato, make it a sweet potato, not white.

Snack: 10am
Apple with a protein shake (Protein shake contains 23 grams of protein, 5 grams of carbs, and 120 calories per scoop) Its not bad. Its the walmart kind. Much cheaper and I can always have plenty of it.

Now this ISN'T an ideal time for a shake. Time for real food. I'd move this shake to meal 1 and add some eggs/whites like I mentioned, and eat real food here. Any lean protein source like chicken breast, fish (tuna is quick and easy), turkey breast (no cold cuts), lean beef/steak, even more egg whites if you can tolerate them. Also, drop the apple and do a good complex carb here. Personally, i'd do 4oz of chicken breast or fish and a sweet potato or beans with some leafy green/fiberous veggies, if possible

Noon Meal: Sometimes I eat a chicken salad with olive oil and cheese. I don't put the croutons or anything else. Just lettuce, chicken, some cheese and olive oil. When I just don't feel like drinking water I drink a diet coke. I know, I'm probably gonna get kidney stones, but sometimes I don't feel like drinking water and when dieting I feel like my body needs to have something sweet. Its like a craving. Its horrible.

This meal is fine, but lose the cheese. Make sure it's grilled chicken, and hopefully it's decent lettuce and not something devoid of nutrients like iceberg. If you're pretty sedentary during this time, stick with the salad and oil and leave carbs out. Also, there's nothing wrong with a diet soda here or there, I drink 1 a day usually too.

Also, sometimes I skip this meal because I don't feel like spending so much money. So instead I go and buy some peanuts from a gas station or something.

THIS is bad. Don't skip the meal, and don't replace it with peanuts! Lean protein source should be in EVERY meal. I'd rather see you have a shake here then nothing at all, although ideally you want whole food meals at all times except PWO, and possibly 1st thing in the morning or right before bed (more on that later)

Snack: 3pm
1 Scoop of Protein Shake

Make this a real meal. Shakes are supplements, not meal replacements. 4-6oz lean protein + either complex carb or healthy fat. Add more veggies

Evening Meal: 5:15 pm after getting home.
This is where I mess up. I live with lots of Mexican family members and there are a lot of women living there. When I get home they have something cooked so its very hard to say no. I eat things like, enchiladas with rice, rice with corn tortillas, beef and corn tortillas, or maybe another potato. It just messes my whole day up. But I try to stay away from breads or flour tortillas.

Ok, you need to work this out the best you can. I can appreciate your situation, but you need to find the strength to turn it down and eat your own food. You're not a 18 year old kid who is at the mercy of what his parents/family cooks. Buy your own food and eat that. Have something like this as a cheat meal with the family once a week or something, but this will destroy you if it's all the time. This meal should be lean protein and DEFINITELY complex carb (yam, sweet potato, lentils, beans, brown rice, quinoa, etc) to fuel your workout

Workout: 7pm
I lift very very hardcore. I lift very heavy, do lots of super sets, and alternate quite a bit. I keep the rest to a minimum and just go to other machines instead of resting. I do about 50 minutes lifting weights and about 10-15 minutes cardio. Running hurts my knees very bad so I do a stepper or something. I hate cardio though. I wish I didn't have to do cardio.

Ok, you're cardio really sucks, this is another big problem for you. 10 mins of cardio is hardly a warm up, no way you're burning any fat in 10 mins. 15 isn't much better. You should be doing AT LEAST 30 mins, ideally 1 hour. I'm currently doing 1 hour fasted in the morning, and 45 mins in the afternoon. I have a crappy schedule too but I make it work someway, somehow. Get your cardio in check and you will see changes!

8:15pm
2 Scoops of Protein

Make sure this is whey protein. Also, even though it's late in the day, I feel it's important to have some carbs PWO. Add 3/4 cup oats to your PWO shake. I mix them in and chew them right up in the shake

10:30
1 Cup of Cottage Cheese

THIS is a good time for the cottage cheese. Depending on your fat needs, you might even be able to add a tbsp of Olive oil here, or a serving of nuts or 1tbsp of natty PB. HOWEVER - since this is your last meal, and the meal before it wasn't really food (whey shake), your best option here by far would be lean beef. Very slow digesting, will keep you good pretty much all night. I know it's tough to eat beef/steak before bed, but if you can, I would.

and if I feel like I didn't intake enough protein I drink another scoop at midnight.

Make this casein, not whey

When I travel this diet gets much worse. More carbs, less protein, less working out.

You know, genetics play a big part. My younger brother doesn't work out, eats whatever he wants, has very little activity during the day, and he still has a good amount of muscle and is shredded. He has amazing abs. He has worked out before, but doesn't really need to maintain.

Thanks for clarifying, and here's the good news - your diet isn't all that horrible IMO. Very scattered and needs alot of work, but i've seen MUCH worse. I'm going to try to work with it, at least for now.

Based on your stats, I believe your maintenance calories are around 2800 calories. I'd start you at 2500 (small deficit, 300) and you need to KILL the cardio to widen the deficit further. Bold comments above

**Ajaxx** · 12-07-2010, 06:51 PM

You can do it man

!!! I had similar stats by the end of August this year. I joined this forum and also watched Milos Sarcev's vids on the stickies. I have gone from about 240 down to about 222. Eating grilled chicken everyday isn't that bad really, you can also switch it up with fish and lean beef throught the day. Also, one cheat meal a week isn't going to murder your diet and will keep you sane. Notice I say MEAL not cheat DAY lol. All it takes is a little discipline and the fat will melt off you like candle wax. Best of luck to you bro!

**tbody66** · 12-08-2010, 06:42 AM

Just here for support, unless you want some help with a workout, then I'm here for that. I think your stats and the point you are currently in your goals and the decision you have made to go about accomplishing them the right way, make you sound like a perfect candidate for the remote trainer challange, I wish you'd consider participating in that. I also think at the end of the twelve week challange you will be ready for that cycle.

**jennythemodel2** · 12-08-2010, 11:02 AM

I dont know what that challenge is but lets do it

**jennythemodel2** · 12-08-2010, 02:47 PM

Alright guys. I started the diet today. Had some eggs, protein shake, oatmeal, tuna, and some brown rice. I feel pretty good. One more thing though. In a few days I will be in a place where there are going to be different kinds of AAS easily available. I know I'm not supposed to take any until I'm down to about 12% body fat or something, but maybe I can get a head start on buying them now since I will be there and won't be going back soon. Well, it depends also on what you guys think. If you guys recommend I stay away from them completely and for good I will do so. If you think I should do a cycle of something after I get to 12% then please recommend me something now so I can acquire it and put it away until I reach my goal. It will be an incentive as well. Its psychological. I wouldn't like to inject anything though. Maybe some pills or something. By the way, I have a history of Alopecia due to not sleeping enough and stress. Also, I already have some Gyno because I was a fatty when I was in puberty. Just want to hear what you guys think.

I'm gonna go check out that remote challenge right now too.

**SlimJoe** · 12-08-2010, 09:08 PM

Good luck!

**tbody66** · 12-08-2010, 09:20 PM

Like I have already said, I think you'll be ready after the challange, if you give it your all, you might find that during that you still have room to make gains without, in which case I would say, go until you stop growing naturally. As far as the other, I am just the opposite, all of the worst side affects come from the orals, I don't want to risk any of the things that go wrong from your body processing anabolics when going through your digestive system, kidneys/liver etc... So I'll not weigh in on that part, unless you change your mind on injectibles, if you do let me know and I'll give you my opinion then.

**jennythemodel2** · 12-09-2010, 09:39 AM

Well, I might do injectables if that's whats needed.

The diet is going well by the way. I'm on day two.

**jennythemodel2** · 12-09-2010, 04:04 PM

Guys, I know there is no excuse, but I have been fighting fatness or obesity since I was a child. Now, I'm doing fine with the diet, but I get horrible cravings. Like if I was a drug addict that needed a fix. How do I stop these. I still seem to be cycling the carbs right but still get really bad urges.

This dieting stuff is about knowledge, but it has to do a lot with psychology.

How do I stop the cravings. I would hate to fall back after two days of dieting. I can't just tell my employees to stop bringing fattening food or baking cookies. I don't think they would be too happy. I have to find a way around the cravings. Maybe this is like an induction phase or something. Maybe I just have to wait two days until I get accustomed.

**tbody66** · 12-09-2010, 04:36 PM

The only thing I can say is that when that happens I know that my diet must be working and I am thinking if I just make it through this craving there's some more fat that went bye-bye!

**gbrice75** · 12-09-2010, 06:37 PM

Originally Posted by jennythemodel2

Guys, I know there is no excuse, but I have been fighting fatness or obesity since I was a child. Now, I'm doing fine with the diet, but I get horrible cravings. Like if I was a drug addict that needed a fix. How do I stop these. I still seem to be cycling the carbs right but still get really bad urges.

This dieting stuff is about knowledge, but it has to do a lot with psychology.

How do I stop the cravings. I would hate to fall back after two days of dieting. I can't just tell my employees to stop bringing fattening food or baking cookies. I don't think they would be too happy. I have to find a way around the cravings. Maybe this is like an induction phase or something. Maybe I just have to wait two days until I get accustomed.

I have terrible cravings too bro. Sometimes I cave, it happens to most of us. The point is to make these occurrences few and far between.

Now, that said - you JUST started dieting, so you should have no slip ups - zero. I went a LONG time before I started caving here and there. I am a firm believer in a single cheat meal a week, anything you like - have a full meal too, with dessert. That's one major thing you can look forward to when you feel these cravings. "Mmm, i'd love that slice of pizza, but all I have to do is wait until Sunday and i'll have it, AND I think i'll have some ice cream too"! This kind of thing.

Another thing that helped motivate me was just looking at the disgusting slobs eating all of that crap. Just look at their bodies. Think of the instant gratification food brings... you feel good eating it for the few minutes it lasts, then you feel like shit physically for a while, and even longer mentally due to the guilt. It's simply not worth it. Fight off the cravings for a few minutes, and you will feel EMPOWERED, I promise.

**jennythemodel2** · 12-09-2010, 10:21 PM

Thanks. The physical part is the easy one. The psychology behind it is whats tough. Its like having a very hot nude woman in front of you asking for it. Lol. Thanks for the support though. I wont give in.