Completely Lost Diet Wise....

[Loadedyup]

I am a solid circuit trainer at the gym. I basically do P90x with weights. So instead of regular push ups I do cable type push ups with say 8/10 rep sets. I do not stop during workouts and feel I am in extremely good shape as far as what I can do in the gym. I do 6 days of workouts for 1:15 / 1:30 mins each.

I am stuck at 14% bodyfat and have been for about 6 months. Obviously my diet is the issue.

I'm 175lbs
14% bodyfat
RMR 3200 cals

I have cut out sugars, and eat about 150/200 grams of protein daily. I strive for 3000 cals but it is often difficult because clean eating just does not deliver the calorie load as easily.

All this being equal, I cannot seem to lose a pound of weight. I'm working my butt off in the gym and I have very little to show for it.

I eat very few carbs. I have a feeling that this is the problem with my diet. I do not understand the ratios that I should be shooting for and have looked around on the flagged portions of the website, but most of the information is on gaining not cutting.

Example of my diet :

Breakfast :
Clif Bar - 250 cals, 42g carb, 6g fat, 11g protein
-Workout- 9-10:30
Postworkout Meal
Isopure 160 cals, 40g protein
Lunch
Chicken Breast 8 oz 216 cals, 8g Fat, 32g protein
Egg whites 3 - 51 cals, 10g protein
Snack
Sintha 6 Protein *2 400 cals, 28g carb, 12g fat, 44g protein
Bulgarian Yogurt 90cal, 8 carb, 8 protein
Benefiber 60cals, 14 carb
Dinner
Chicken breast 216 cals, 8 fat, 32 protein
Egg Whites 51 cals, 10g protein
PB&J 400cal, 90g carb, 20g protein, 20g fat
bedtime meal
2 Scoops Casein protein 240cal, 48g protein, 6g carb

Are there any resources that I might be able to use as a reference to design a diet or are there any sample diets that I can take a look at? I'm really getting frsutrated. Short of starving myself, I have never been really solidly under 14% BF. It's really pissing me off. I'm not really gaining or losing anything.

[musclestack]

I haven't looked over the entire posted diet. I will when I get home from work later. I just noticed that your TDEE is 3,200. How did you come up with that number? Unless you are exremely active throughout your day, I would take LBM (in pounds) x 15 as a starting point, which would put your TDEE around 2,200. That's about a 1,000 calorie difference to what you're eating now. I have roughly the same stats as you, and I'm bulkingright now at 3,300 cals! This may be the problem. Start with a 40/40/20 split---pro/carb-fat, and recalculate. You may just be eating too much and not burning enough in order to lose weight.

Like I said, I'll check out the diet in detail when I get back. Cheers!

[musclestack]

I am a solid circuit trainer at the gym. I basically do P90x with weights. So instead of regular push ups I do cable type push ups with say 8/10 rep sets. I do not stop during workouts and feel I am in extremely good shape as far as what I can do in the gym. I do 6 days of workouts for 1:15 / 1:30 mins each.

I am stuck at 14% bodyfat and have been for about 6 months. Obviously my diet is the issue.

I'm 175lbs
14% bodyfat
RMR 3200 cals

I have cut out sugars, and eat about 150/200 grams of protein daily If you're eating 200 grams of protein on a 3,000 calorie diet, this is only 27% of your total calories, which means carbs and fats are too high imo. Let's look further..... I strive for 3000 cals but it is often difficult because clean eating just does not deliver the calorie load as easily. If you truly need 3,000 cals/day, then you just need to suck it up and eat, bro. I still don't think you need that many cals, but let's keep looking....

All this being equal, I cannot seem to lose a pound of weight. I'm working my butt off in the gym and I have very little to show for it. What EXACTLY do you do in the gym. Be specific with the intensity and the duration. Then we can guesstimate how many cals you're burning.

I eat very few carbs. Well, with your protein only taking up about 27% of your calories, this must mean your fats are out of control!I have a feeling that this is the problem with my diet. not necessarily I do not understand the ratios that I should be shooting for and have looked around on the flagged portions of the website, but most of the information is on gaining not cutting. Regardless of whether you're cutting or bulking, it doesn't mean the split needs to change between the two at all; only the quantities of the foods you're eating. Many people recommend a 40/40/20 split, but imo, this is individualistic. You need to find out what works for you. When I cut, I had the best results with a 60/20/20 split, but hey, that's just me.

Example of my diet : This is an EXAMPLE? Or is this what you eat everyday? If you're unsure why you're not losing weight, you need to try and eat the exact same thing everyday. This will eliminate a lot of variables when it comes to figuring out the problem. If you're constantly changing what you eat everyday, how will you know what variable to change to fix your diet?

Breakfast :
Clif Bar - 250 cals, 42g carb, 6g fat, 11g protein Dont' know what this is, but I would scrap it. All bars you're going to find in a supplement store or online have a bunch of additives, sugar, sat. fats, etc. Not to mention they are a far inferior body building food. Change this meal to a quality protein source, along with some good complex carbs to fuel your workout and get you going for your day.
-Workout- 9-10:30
Postworkout Meal
Isopure 160 cals, 40g protein I'm not a supplement guru, but if it's Whey post workout, then I'm okay with it, but add some more complex carbs here to replenish glycogen in the muscles.
Lunch
Chicken Breast 8 oz 216 cals, 8g Fat, 32g protein
Egg whites 3 - 51 cals, 10g protein You only have protein here. You need a 'vehicle' to distribute all this protein to your body. That's why protein-only meals are worthless. I would make this meal pro/fat since you are cutting. Try to keep your carbs surrounding your workout time.
Snack
Sintha 6 Protein *2 400 cals, 28g carb, 12g fat, 44g protein Drop it and replace with a quality, lean source of protein. Chicken breast, tilapia, lean beef, etc.
Bulgarian Yogurt 90cal, 8 carb, 8 protein Never heard of it. From the nutrition facts you've listed, it actually doesn't sound that bad, but you're cutting now, so I would stay away from all dairy. Not to mention, we want to keep carbs around workout time alone. Drop carbs from this meal, and keep it pro/fat.
Benefiber 60cals, 14 carb Again, you're cutting. Get rid of the carbs here. This sounds like a processed carb anyway, which is inferior to other complex carbs like sweet potato, oats, brown rice, etc.
Dinner
Chicken breast 216 cals, 8 fat, 32 protein
Egg Whites 51 cals, 10g protein
PB&J 400cal, 90g carb, 20g protein, 20g fat PB is fine, as long as it's all natty pb. Definitely drop the jelly. No need for carbs here; especially not plain sugar!! Drop all sugar from your diet, especially if your weight loss has stalled and you 'don't know why'.
bedtime meal
2 Scoops Casein protein 240cal, 48g protein, 6g carb Not bad; you could even add more pb here if it fits into your daily fat allotment.

Are there any resources that I might be able to use as a reference to design a diet or are there any sample diets that I can take a look at? Just read the stickies at the top of the page in the diet section, bro. Nearly all the information you need is there. Myself and others will help you with the rest I'm really getting frsutrated. Short of starving myself Don't stop eating altogether!!! Starvation diets do not work, and you'll sacrifice LBM. Don't worry; we'll sort this out., I have never been really solidly under 14% BF. It's really pissing me off. I'm not really gaining or losing anything.

Like I mentioned above, use the stickies in the diet section and the tips I gave you above to construct a better diet. Make sure and list all pro/carb/fat/cals for each meal, along with the totals for the day. I still think you're eating too many cals at 3,000, but then again, at the end of the post, you say you're starving yourself, so I don't really know how much you're eating everyday. My guess is you're bouncing all over the place and don't really have a plan. Take my advice here, and come back with a solid diet plan. If you do the leg work, I will help you from there.

[cmdace18]

i'm the last person here who would offer "expert advice", but from experience, I got one word for you: CARDIO

if you are truly committed to shedding the weight, you need to wake up before work (or whatever) and run for 45 minutes or go to the gym and do elip/bike for 45-60 minutes on an empty stomach.

if you can do this 3-4x a week for a sustained period and have a "solid" diet (let the guys help), you will torch the fat my friend.

use the pissed off thoughts and turn it into a cardio workout. remember to either do HIIT (high intensity interval training) or moderate cardio pace to target the fat burning.

[Loadedyup]

I do appreciate the comments. I am all over the place, that's why I'm having trouble...

I used the calculator in the Hardgainer sticky to come up with the diet RMR's. I should have been more clear. RMR 2005, RMR + activity costs 3208.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/berardi41.htm

In the gym I do 24 sets of 8/10 reps. 3 days a week, and then 3 days of Stairmaster for an hour each day. Occasionally on these days, I will evening with an hour of Spin class. I'd say I do evening spin 2 days per week.

So my routine is
1 chest back =1.25 hours cable presses with arms in different positions, with pull ups in between each of these sets finish with ab workout
2 stairmaster / spin = 2 hours cardio 1 morn 1 hour evening.
3 back biceps = 1.25 hour circuit training same story finish with ab workout.
4 stairmaster / spin =2 hours cardio
5 legs back = 1.25 hour of leg presses, curls, calf raises, squats, etc 24 sets, with pull up sets in between each set. ab sets to finish
6 stairmaster =1 hour cardio
7 off

I keep track of every set and every rep, so if you want me to get more elaborate I definitely could.

Target heart rate is 138/145 = bpm. normally get to about 135/138 and stay there. I'm 32, 175 lbs again. This is every day. I do not stop during my workouts. People at the gym say I train like an mma fighter.

I checked out the stickies in the diet section a few times. I feel that the gaining section is very detailed with sample diets etc, and the cutting one is lacking a little...unless I'm missing something. I understand it's all conceptual and should be fairly simple to design. You are about the same size, you say, Musclestack. You got any posts with your diet up I might be able to reference?

I feel like without the carbs, I'm going to hit the floor a lot of days. I get dizzy and headaches just come and go almost all day. I'm terrible with the balancing part, and I think your outline of my post is starting to bring that out! I think that's why I'm having such a difficult time because between seeing no results and feeling like crap when I actually do feel like I'm sticking with my diet plan...it just falls apart.

Thanks again