low carb diet of mine is not working that well

[Rockin Z28]

hello all, i've hit a crappy plateua with my diet and training and im stuck at a high bodyfat even while doing cardio 5 days a week (roughly 20% ) my current weight is 228 first thing in the morning and it's been this way for about 3 weeks..here is a basic guideline for my diet give or take

meal 1. two atkins protein bars
meal 2. two turkey sausages and 2 scoops of natural peanuts butter
meal 3. a chicken breast
meal 4. protein shakes or supreme protein bar, or a repeat of meal 1
meal 5. usually another shake or another chicken breast

somedays i may eat more or less but generally this is pretty steady, may 1st i was 258 pounds and currently i am 228 so while this may seem like a dramatic weight loss, a lot of the weight was water from being on a cycle, the trainer at my gym tells me i am not eating enough calories or protein but honestly even with this amount i feel like i am overeating (many times im forcing the 5th or 6th meal down), the trainer at my gym also takes an obscene amount of steroids so i feel like i can only take his advice with a grain of salt (even though he does compete in shows), could i cut my calories even further? should i just be more patient? or should i just jack my calories through the roof

[bigrich4]

I would lay off the bars all together, I am forced to be on a low carb diet because of diabeties and cant touch them. Why not have eggs for breakfast instead of the bars? Just because there atkins doesnt mean there good. Try oats, they are slow digesting carbs with good fiber.

[Twist]

this diet is shit. eat real food. and you are under eating

[aaron1mix]

Low carbs??? That's almost no carbs! You need carbs. They give you energy, they help you burn fat... I think you need to do some more research.

[Rockin Z28]

well research on the internet is a huge toss up, everyone kind of has their own opinions and there's tons of contradictory scientific evidence pointing you in all kinds of directions, and i posted this question for tips not just "that diet is shit" so would it be wise to add a complex carb with all of these meals i listed?

[Phate]

well research on the internet is a huge toss up, everyone kind of has their own opinions and there's tons of contradictory scientific evidence pointing you in all kinds of directions, and i posted this question for tips not just "that diet is shit" so would it be wise to add a complex carb with all of these meals i listed?

that would depend, are you trying to run a ketogenic diet or just one that has high protein, low carbs and moderate fats?

do you care about maintaining or building muscle mass on this diet?

what are your complete stats?

[Rockin Z28]

i was doing a keto diet, i am 5'11-6 foot (i'd wager 5'11 is more accurate) and 228 pounds 25 years old with about 20% bodyfat i got up to 25-26% bodyfat on cycle but i was also fairly massive and could lift a ton (for me, at the peak got 225 on FB for 23 reps), hitting this plateua is really depressing for me, i am not someone who is kind of lean and struggles to get big, i stay strong and big, but if i have a cheat day i can gain upwards of 7-8 pounds in one day (lol i wish i was exaggerating), and so far i have found i lose bodyfat decently well on a keto based diet, or at least i did last year when i got down to 16% bodyfat (leanest i've been my entire life), on a side note, i will have some condiments to get the chicken down as i dont cook it with anything not even olive oil, usually a low carb ketchup and lite BBQ sauce

Edit: i want to maintain the muscle i have, building would be a a plus to me while trying to cut down, but i told my girlfriend no anabolics until i got down to a reasonable bodyfat level

[Phate]

i was doing a keto diet, i am 5'11-6 foot (i'd wager 5'11 is more accurate) and 228 pounds 25 years old with about 20% bodyfat i got up to 25-26% bodyfat on cycle but i was also fairly massive and could lift a ton (for me, at the peak got 225 on FB for 23 reps), hitting this plateua is really depressing for me, i am not someone who is kind of lean and struggles to get big, i stay strong and big, but if i have a cheat day i can gain upwards of 7-8 pounds in one day (lol i wish i was exaggerating), and so far i have found i lose bodyfat decently well on a keto based diet, or at least i did last year when i got down to 16% bodyfat (leanest i've been my entire life), on a side note, i will have some condiments to get the chicken down as i dont cook it with anything not even olive oil, usually a low carb ketchup and lite BBQ sauce

Edit: i want to maintain the muscle i have, building would be a a plus to me while trying to cut down, but i told my girlfriend no anabolics until i got down to a reasonable bodyfat level

so do you want to continue with a keto? if so then post it and we'll critique it

[jamyjamjr]

let's get a bmr/tdee


BMR formula #1 (if you bf is high, use this one... you need an accurate bf reading)


BMR (men and women) = 370 + (21.6 X lean mass in kg)



in order to figure out your bmr, you need to know what your lean body mass is.. so, in turn, u need to know what your body fat percentage is...

if you dont know your bodyfat percentage, go to your gym and get tested (please dont use electronic scales to get your bf checked, they're horrible)

if you cannot find a gym to get tested at, please post up a picture for estimates, we're pretty good at it (you also have the option of pming it to me if you have more then 25 posts)

Total weight x bf in decimel form = total bf weight

Total weight - total bf weight = total lean body mass

if your total lean body mass is in lbs, u can divide it by 2.2 to get it in kilograms..

for example..

i am 6'4 275lbs at 14% bf... so i would multiply 275 by .14 (converted from percent to decimal)= 38.5lbs

275 - 38.5 = 236.5lbs lean body weight

236.5 / 2.2 = 107.5 lean mass in kg

370 + (21.6 x 107.5) = 2692 BMR (this is high for the average person, im a big guy)




BMR formula #2 (only to be used if your bf is low)

Men: BMR = 66 + ( 6.23 x weight in pounds ) + ( 12.7 x height in inches ) - ( 6.8 x age in year )


female BMR = 655 + ( 4.35 x weight in pounds ) + ( 4.7 x height in inches ) - ( 4.7 x age in years )


TDEE

Once u have you bmr, u need to calculate your TDEE, this is simply done with some multiplication...

you can multiply it by an activity number to figure out your daily caloric expenditure, be honest here as this is the very cornerstone of your diet, if you are between two of the below activity levels then just multiply by a number in between them

To determine your total daily calorie needs, multiply your BMR by the appropriate activity factor, as follows:


If you are sedentary (little or no exercise) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.2
If you are lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.375
If you are moderatetely active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.55
If you are very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.725
If you are extra active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.9

[Narkissos]

hello all, i've hit a crappy plateua with my diet and training and im stuck at a high bodyfat even while doing cardio 5 days a week (roughly 20% ) my current weight is 228 first thing in the morning and it's been this way for about 3 weeks..here is a basic guideline for my diet give or take

meal 1. two atkins protein bars
meal 2. two turkey sausages and 2 scoops of natural peanuts butter
meal 3. a chicken breast
meal 4. protein shakes or supreme protein bar, or a repeat of meal 1
meal 5. usually another shake or another chicken breast

Now I understand why you were hating on this guy: http://forums.steroid.com/showthread.php?t=390580

Of course other people's (natty) results (or results period) would appear 'fishy' if your own crappy diet had stagnated.

Straight off the bat, your diet needs to be stripped down.

I'm curious to see what pics of 'roughly 20%' look like as well.

somedays i may eat more or less but generally this is pretty steady, may 1st i was 258 pounds and currently i am 228 so while this may seem like a dramatic weight loss, a lot of the weight was water from being on a cycle

You were on cycle?

I'd also like to see pics of you at "25-26%". Do you have any?

could i cut my calories even further? should i just be more patient? or should i just jack my calories through the roof

None of the above.

Strip your diet down.

What you have right now is not a diet.

When last have you had a re-feed?

Prior to these past 3 weeks, what did your diet look like?

[Rockin Z28]

i say "roughly" because i've been caliper tested by a few different sources and they are +/- 1%, my diet has been this way for about the past 3 months not weeks, and i have a cheat day once a week as my re-feed i guess, and i PM'd you a picture of said 20% (this would have been 19% pre cycle but it goes to show i have an idea of what general bodyfat levels look like, just dont mind the super shitty cell phone quality lol)

[Rockin Z28]

i say "roughly" because i've been caliper tested by a few different sources and they are +/- 1%, my diet has been this way for about the past 3 months not weeks, and i have a cheat day once a week as my re-feed i guess, and i PM'd you a picture of said 20% (this would have been 19% pre cycle but it goes to show i have an idea of what general bodyfat levels look like, just dont mind the super shitty cell phone quality lol)

Edit, usually i will read a lower bodyfat on a 3 comp and about 1-2% higher on a 9 point, lower back gets me

[FireGuy]

Edit, usually i will read a lower bodyfat on a 3 comp and about 1-2% higher on a 9 point, lower back gets me

If you are over 14-15% bodyfat calipers will not give you an accurate reading, you will actually be much higher than the reading you are getting from them.

[Rockin Z28]

[QUOTE=FireGuy1;4811062]If you are over 14-15% bodyfat calipers will not give you an accurate reading, you will actually be much higher than the reading you are getting from them.[/QUOT

so you're saying someone with an accurate 16% bodyfat cannot be accurately calipered bodyfat because someone can't use calipers correctly and therefor must be by default much higher? if that's the case 80% of the people on this board are impossible to determine their bodyfat..i are you making sure these people you're testing are coming in fresh with no physical activity, and contracting the muscle then letting it loose for good pinches?

[FireGuy]

[QUOTE=Rockin Z28;4811082]

If you are over 14-15% bodyfat calipers will not give you an accurate reading, you will actually be much higher than the reading you are getting from them.[/QUOT

so you're saying someone with an accurate 16% bodyfat cannot be accurately calipered bodyfat because someone can't use calipers correctly and therefor must be by default much higher? if that's the case 80% of the people on this board are impossible to determine their bodyfat..i are you making sure these people you're testing are coming in fresh with no physical activity, and contracting the muscle then letting it loose for good pinches?

Thats EXACTLY what I am saying. It has nothing to do with the persons ability to use calipers though. When your bodyfat gets over 15% you can not pull the fat away and get accurate measurements. I have calipered over a thousand people and can assure you this is the case. Many people find their measurements actually go up as they get leaner. This is because of the false readings they have at a higher bodyfat percentage. If you are above 15% and want an accurate reading get hydrostatic tested or go in a bod pod.

[FireGuy]

http://forums.steroid.com/showthread.php?t=382456

[Rockin Z28]

this is 26% bodyfat as 9 point calipered, this was also about 14 pounds ago

[FireGuy]

I hope you are not asking me to make an assessment on the accuracy from a pic of your upper arm.

[Rockin Z28]

I hope you are not asking me to make an assessment on the accuracy from a pic of your upper arm.

nope i am not, just posting the only one i had for narkissos of the 26% bodyfat that he asked for

[FireGuy]

I can assure you Nark isnt going to be able to tell you much from that picture either. If you want to get some accurate advice it would be helpful if you took two pictures. One from the front, one from the back. Relaxed, shirtless and shorts.

[DSM4Life]

I hope you are not asking me to make an assessment on the accuracy from a pic of your upper arm.

[Rockin Z28]

well that is the only one i have from that high of bodyfat, i can take new ones of my lower bodyfat on tuesday if you stay subscribed(girlfriend has the digital camera), but i think we're derailing from the topic a little aren't we

[Rockin Z28]

i have since cut out diet sodas(after reading about the mild insulin spike, i had no idea, was sucking down like 8 diet mt dews a day) from my diet and added a complex carb with my first 3 meals of the day, will update with pics soon

[art]

I've found in a shop a diet soda of local manufacturer with no carbs and only 0,5 calories per 100 ml
I don't now but it sounds unbelivable.

[Undercover]

i have since cut out diet sodas(after reading about the mild insulin spike, i had no idea, was sucking down like 8 diet mt dews a day) from my diet and added a complex carb with my first 3 meals of the day, will update with pics soon

I would add some veggies as well. You eat none.