Diet Help for a friend

[dvj81]

Hey Guys,

Well i am posting this for my bestfriend/brother n law. Just a little background info on him, about 18 months ago he was in a bad car accident, blew out both ACL's cracked ribs, the whole deal. He was always in tremendous shape, a complete gym rat but after 18 months of not much activity he gained about 25 lbs and lost his body. Well about a 45 days ago he began working out again, his starting weight was 190, he's down to 170 already. He;s 5'9"

His Trainer at the gym had him on a very low cal diet which i didn't agree with but he dropped the weight but still doesnt have his old body back which obviously will take time. 2 weeks ago he came to me and kept saying im so tired im so tired. So i gave him a diet that was given to me to cut body fat but keep my weight from you guys on the threads here and it worked wonders for me. I'm personally down to 12%. He's been doing the diet for 2 weeks and has lost a lb but you can see his body is tightening up and he even said his waist is down to a 30 again. Now we took his BF% monday and it was 23.5% (he's gonna post pics later). Anyway i told him thats not so bad, considering we dont know where he started when he was 190 since he didnt take it.

His workout regiment is like this now.

6:30 A.M he does "insanity cardo" on an empty stomach (mon-sat) 45 min to 90 min depending on the video

12:30 P.M. he has a lifting session (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday Friday) 1 hour

8 P.M. (He has an ab workout he does with this abcoaster piece of equipment) only about a 20 min workout.


Here is what his diet look likes, again this worked for me but any changes please post back that could help him. His trainer keeps saying it's way to many calories for what his goal is but with his workout i think he needs the calories or he's going to wither away.

TDEE = 3050. His current weight is 170 so ideally he'd like to get to 165.

So i have him consuming the followng.

Meal 1 - After Cardio Workout
1 Cup Oats, 2 Scoops Whey, 1 TBSP natural peanut butter
616 calories, 59 carbs, 55 proteins, 2 fats

Meal 2 - 3 Egg Whites, 1 Whole Egg, 1/2 grapefuit (this probably has to go)
173 calories, 7 Carbs, 16 proteins, 8 Sugars

Meal 3 (Pre Lifting Workout Meal)
8OZ super lean burger (95/5) 1 cup whole grain cheerios, 1 cup veggies
505 Calories, 20 Carbs, 52 proteins, 16 fats

Meal 4 (Post Workout Meal)
1 Cup Oats, 2 Scoops Whey, 1 TBSP natural peanut butter
616 calories, 59 carbs, 55 proteins, 2 fats

Meal 5 - 8oz grilled chicken salad (2TBSP light dressing - i think this has to go too)
330 Calories, 4 Carbs, 47 proteins, 12 fats.
(the dressing has 90 cals, 8 fats, 4 carbs)

Meal 6 - sometimes he'll eat the salad again or just do grilled chicken with 2 cups veggies and olive oil so it's about the same cal intake.
330 Calories, 4 Carbs, 47 proteins, 12 fats.
(the dressing has 90 cals, 8 fats, 4 carbs)

Meal 7 (about 9pm an hour before bed and an hour after his ab workout)
1 scoop casein protein
150 cals, 10 carbs, 25 proteins.

Totals - 2720 Calories
163 Carbs
297 proteins
44 Fats
10 Sugars

What could he cut out or add to lower his BF and keep his weight. i tried to keep him at about 2700 calories to slowly bring him down to 165 and his TDEE to maintain weight of 165 is like 2750 so it should slowly get there. I mean should we just tweak this or go his trainers route which i think we'll tire him out so bad and not give him the cals he needs.

[vdom32011]

Hey Guys,

So im the one who needs some help here. The trainer is telling me it's to many calories, but his diet had me so drained, atleast my brother n law's diet has given me the energy to do the workouts and i have noticed over 2 weeks my body tighten up a little.

I'm having a hard time posting my pics here i took. i have them saved to my desktop, i could email them to you guys who post with advice, or just give me an idea of how to do it on here.

Again i appreciate all your feedback that you guys will give. Look forward to hearing back from you guys.

thanks Again,

[jngymrat]

I think your okay for the most part, there could definitely be some light tweaking in there with some of the food choices but your not that far off, can you list the times you eat? And by the way, 190 to 170 in 45 day is right on task IMO. Good job.

[gbrice75]

DV, are you the one who sent me a message today? For some reason I couldn't reply. Did I give you the diet you mentioned above that worked out well for you? (couldn't possibly be the above diet; i've never recommended cheerios lol!).

If I have the wrong guy, my mistake.

[vdom32011]

jngymrat i usually eat at 7:30, 9:45, 12:00, 2:00, 4:30, 6:45, 9:00.

Gbrice, DV did message you for me since i'm the one who needs the help. His diet didnt have cheerio's he actually just did oats for every carb he ate. But i asked about cheerio's and he said well i only did oates but when we looked at the whole grain plain cheerio's nutrition value it didn't seem far off from the oats but if it's no good i will def stop eating them. I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get to where i use to be. He tried to help me with what i been eating and just kind of give me some direction but he said i should come on here and get advice from you since your the man to ask about any sort of diet.

What changes would you recommend for me. I'm actually thinking i'd like to drop another 10 lbs and then just drop body fat. With both knees having surgery and since i'm back into playing sports i'd rather be a little lighter with less stress on my knees ya know. I'm going to recalculate my TDEE for what it should be at 160lbs.

With my current diet what would you change to achieve these goals?

[jngymrat]

If GB already has you, I'll let him work.

[gbrice75]

jngymrat i usually eat at 7:30, 9:45, 12:00, 2:00, 4:30, 6:45, 9:00.

Gbrice, DV did message you for me since i'm the one who needs the help. His diet didnt have cheerio's he actually just did oats for every carb he ate. But i asked about cheerio's and he said well i only did oates but when we looked at the whole grain plain cheerio's nutrition value it didn't seem far off from the oats but if it's no good i will def stop eating them. I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get to where i use to be. He tried to help me with what i been eating and just kind of give me some direction but he said i should come on here and get advice from you since your the man to ask about any sort of diet.

What changes would you recommend for me. I'm actually thinking i'd like to drop another 10 lbs and then just drop body fat. With both knees having surgery and since i'm back into playing sports i'd rather be a little lighter with less stress on my knees ya know. I'm going to recalculate my TDEE for what it should be at 160lbs.

With my current diet what would you change to achieve these goals?

See below. I took the liberty of adding the time of day for each meal based on the above. PS - cheerio's and oats not even close to equal. Not that cheerios are horrible, but they are a processed food. I like to stick with whole/natural foods as much as possible. I'll admit to honey nut cheerio's as a cheat though. =) See below

His workout regiment is like this now.

6:30 A.M he does "insanity cardo" on an empty stomach (mon-sat) 45 min to 90 min depending on the video

Not sure what this consists of, but it sounds very intense. I would not be doing anything other then low intensity cardio on an empty...

12:30 P.M. he has a lifting session (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday Friday) 1 hour

8 P.M. (He has an ab workout he does with this abcoaster piece of equipment) only about a 20 min workout.


Here is what his diet look likes, again this worked for me but any changes please post back that could help him. His trainer keeps saying it's way to many calories for what his goal is but with his workout i think he needs the calories or he's going to wither away.

TDEE = 3050. His current weight is 170 so ideally he'd like to get to 165.

Are you SURE his TDEE is 3050? How did you arrive at that? What is his/your current bodyfat at 5'9 170lbs?

So i have him consuming the followng.

7:30am Meal 1 - After Cardio Workout
1 Cup Oats, 2 Scoops Whey, 1 TBSP natural peanut butter
616 calories, 59 carbs, 55 proteins, 2 fats

Drop the peanut butter. The fat will slow protein absorption, definitely not what we want FASTED after cardio. Based on the reply about cardio, I will recommend adding a pre-cardio meal. Also, how many days/week is the cardio? For the record - the fat macro is WAY off. 1 cup of oats alone has 5g fat. Add 1tbsp of natty PB we're looking at 8g more. This meal has 13g fat plus whatever is in the whey

9:45am Meal 2 - 3 Egg Whites, 1 Whole Egg, 1/2 grapefuit (this probably has to go)
173 calories, 7 Carbs, 16 proteins, 8 Sugars

Yep, drop the grapefruit. This meal is nearly useless. Not enough protein, hardly any carbs, and the carbs you do have are all sugar. Replace with 4-6oz lean protein (keep the egg whites if you want, just add more) and 30-40g complex carbs or 10-15g healthy fats. Not both.

12pm Meal 3 (Pre Lifting Workout Meal)
8OZ super lean burger (95/5) 1 cup whole grain cheerios, 1 cup veggies
505 Calories, 20 Carbs, 52 proteins, 16 fats

Bad bad preworkout meal IMO. Firstly, although the beef is lean, i'd go with a faster protein here - chicken, white fish, etc. I might even do chicken in meal 2 and do the egg/whites here. Either way, drop the cheerios and go with a quality complex carb to fuel the workout - sweet potato, oats, yam, quinoa, lentils, beans, even brown rice. Nice with the veggies - green veggies?

2pm Meal 4 (Post Workout Meal)
1 Cup Oats, 2 Scoops Whey, 1 TBSP natural peanut butter
616 calories, 59 carbs, 55 proteins, 2 fats

Good, but drop the PB again here. We want fast absorption PWO, not slowed by fats. Also, fat macro is off again

4:30pm Meal 5 - 8oz grilled chicken salad (2TBSP light dressing - i think this has to go too)
330 Calories, 4 Carbs, 47 proteins, 12 fats.
(the dressing has 90 cals, 8 fats, 4 carbs)

PPWO i'd do carbs, but I don't want to overload the diet with carbs. If you want to keep this a pro/fat meal, drop the dressing and use olive oil and some vinegar or something. Olive oil and lemon juice is nice too.

6:45pm Meal 6 - sometimes he'll eat the salad again or just do grilled chicken with 2 cups veggies and olive oil so it's about the same cal intake.
330 Calories, 4 Carbs, 47 proteins, 12 fats.
(the dressing has 90 cals, 8 fats, 4 carbs)

I like this meal pro/fat but without the dressing. Do carbs at 4:30 then make this one pro/fat

9pm Meal 7 (about 9pm an hour before bed and an hour after his ab workout)
1 scoop casein protein
150 cals, 10 carbs, 25 proteins.

This is fine, but i'd do it closer to 10pm/bedtime. 3 hours after your last meal is acceptable. HERE is where you can add back in a tbsp of natty PB, or a serving of nuts, etc - some healthy fats to slow protein absorption overnight while you sleep.

Totals - 2720 Calories
163 Carbs
297 proteins
44 Fats
10 Sugars

Protein is high for your weight IMO. Otherwise, macros are decent. I really can't advise on totals until I know the BF% though. If you don't know, post up some pics for a decent estimate.

What could he cut out or add to lower his BF and keep his weight. i tried to keep him at about 2700 calories to slowly bring him down to 165 and his TDEE to maintain weight of 165 is like 2750 so it should slowly get there. I mean should we just tweak this or go his trainers route which i think we'll tire him out so bad and not give him the cals he needs.

What does his trainer want to do? Lower calories? Again, I can answer better once I have all the pieces of the puzzle. Lowering calories might actually be an option. 2700 calories is generally a bit high for a cutting diet TBH. One change i'd make is eating before that cardio - i'm SURE it's very intense, and you're going to burn LBM that way.

If GB already has you, I'll let him work.

jng, feel free to jump in bro, I don't mind. It's how we learn, and check eachother - we can all make mistakes, give bad advice from time to time, or just plain miss something. =)

[jngymrat]

Thank you GB. I looked this over twice and IMO, your spot on. I think your right on target with meal one, also at around 600+ calories this just sounds too big for me, IMHO, I would like to see right after cardio (since he works out with cardio and weights every day six days a week) a 1/2 to 3/4 scoop of whey with some BCAA"S, Glutamine, Arginine, Just to help the body absorb some essentials and get the blood under control before deluging it with 600 calories all at once. Normally, I rarely like to see any meal over 500 calories especially for someone @ only 170# with the goals he has in mind. After the whey and BCAA/GL/ARG, wait about ten to 15 minutes, not long, and then eat the rest of your meal. And I couldn't agree with GB more on this, lose the PB in the shake especially with the whey. I like PB with a single slice of whole grain bread for a snack only because they have nearly the same absorption rate, but to put that with whey other than a snack, well, I just don't think it benefits the gaol well enough.

Also, GB is right about the pre workout meal, horrible! excellent suggestion on the replacement. Same with the salad dressings and the times you are incorporating the PB with your schedule, GB your spot on in my opinion with absorption rates and suggestions here.

I again agree with GB in the end of it regarding the BF%, there is something amiss here with the numbers, I have been wrong before, but you should be at a very decent BF at 170# 5'-9", so maybe some pics, but I'm guessing, (because of the recovery, surgery etc.) you should be no more than 15-16 ish' depending on age of course, can you give some clarity here please. You can guesstemate this for me, you may have already said and I missed it, pictures or something would be helpful.

I also would like to know what your calling intense cardio, and am I hearing this right? your doing it 6 days a week? This may definitely need to be discussed and ironed out. I think most would agree that with two-a-days and intense HIIT cardio (if thats what it is) which I doubt at 45-90 minutes, just seems like way too much to me but take the opportunity to let us in on it.

Thanks GB, excellent advise from you as always.

[vdom32011]

Hey Jngymrat,

would also like to thank you for posting advice and taking the time. greatly appreciated man.

insanity is a hgih intensity cardio workout, lots of plyometrics, pushups, pretty much reminds me of my football days, up downs, etc. etc. it's actually 5 days a week of hard work - the one video is like a recovery day when it's alot of stretching (which i need for my legs at this stage) and just a light day. so it's truly 5.

i did repost this on the boards under "dropping body fat % - repost" where i posted some pics.

my surgeries pretty much had me out of real working out for a solid 15 months. i mean for a solid 15 months all i was able to do was get around, for 2 months i slowly got back into walking fast and then last month i went balls to the ball after i got the go ahead and dropped the 20 lbs.

but yeah my pics are up on that other post, disgusted that my bodyfat is so high but it is what it is and i got to put in the work, i just need to realize it took 15 months to get that to point and it might take 15 months to get back to where i was before the accident.

[gbrice75]

Thanks for the kind words jng! =)