Time to trim the schmoe

[Tre]

Did a little weight loss thing earlier this year, but this time, it's for real. I've got 5 weeks to tighten up and I've got a lot of fat to trim.

After the trip to Chicago, my weight is only 205 now. I got in all my meals - and plenty of extra carbs! - but didn't drink nearly enough water. So, I'll likely gain a few lbs as I rehydrate over the next day or so.

I upped my protein to 300g/day about a week ago, but haven't noticed or felt any real changes yet. I've been tapering down my sweets the past couple of weeks and I'm now ready to cut them out altogether...no Paydays, no trail mix or anything.

Training wise, I plan to alternate heavy, low-volume workouts with lighter, high-volume workouts for each bodypart. I'm starting with 30min/day of moderate cardio and plan to gradually increase to 90min/day, intense.

I will continue using the OTC tren for the next 5 weeks (been on it for about 7 weeks, so far).

Here's the diet:

#1 - 50g protein shake

#2 - 8 egg whites, with spinach, tomato, and cheese

#3 - 50g protein shake

#4 - 7-8oz (cooked weight) steak, lots of salad or steamed veggies

#5 - 50g protein shake

#6 - 6-7oz chicken breast, salad or veggies

#7 (optional) - 50g protein shake

Additionally, I've started drinking green tea and will start the cinnamon tea later this week. I'm taking 2 EFA tablets 3x/day.

Questions: I'd like to keep having oatmeal (for brain function and energy), but don't need it every morning. Should I alternate days? Or maybe only have oatmeal on my heavy lifting days?

And what about rice for my pre-workout meals? Should I omit it if my energy levels are high? Maybe include it for heavy lifting days?

My only snack is raw almonds. I'm assuming that I can eat as much as I want, but I'm not going crazy with it.

I'm open to any suggestions you guys might have to help me move this process along. I don't have a target weight in mind, but do have a mental picture of how little fat I'd like to carry, while still maintaining my strength levels.

Thanks in advance.

[gman]

I think you need more fat in the diet, but it looks ok other than that. Maybe the almonds could do it, a 1/2 cup a day max. A few fish oil tabs too

[sassy69]

I agree on too low fats.

Have you put the above in a food counts program like www.fitday.com (http://www.fitday.com) to know the macros & total cals? It helps to have some baseline numbers to compare to if / when you want to tweak things.

[dvsness]

Tre, that looks like low fat AND low carb. I'd suggest you pick one or the other. :)

What are your total cals and macros?

[esplendido]

Tre, what's in 5 weeks? And how much schmat are you looking to lose? I'm seeing a combo of "I know what the hell I'm doing" and "WTF am I doing"...especially with the "unlimited" consumption of almonds. You do have, as has been mentioned, a hybrid diet of limited fat/limited carbs. The diet looks a whole lot like a keto diet. I'm wondering what you are expecting...especially with the comment that you weren't noticing anything following the increase in protein. If you're dieting to lose fat, you won't gain size/strength during the diet.

You mentioned your training, but didn't mention if you were hitting bodyparts once a week or twice a week. In addition, with a 5 week deadline on the weight loss, your cardio might need to be 6xweek and at least 60-90min/day.

So, if you could fill in the blanks, we could give you a more specific hand.

[Tre]

Thanks for the responses, everyone.

Well, I know what I'm doing with respect to getting my protein, but I'm clueless on the rest. ;)

I'm not taking any fish oil, but can easily add that. My little EFA tabs give me about 10g fat per day. My other fat intake is pretty random: an unmeasured amount of cheese in my eggs, ~1/2-1 cup of almonds throughout the day, and whatever fat there is in my steak.

This is the first time I've dieted hard in about 9 years, and my body has changed a lot since then, so the old way of simply cutting out sweets and doing the cardio isn't likely to give me the same results.

Sassy - I haven't counted my total calories, but since my weight has very slowly climbed to the 205-210 range, I've been working on the assumption that adding cardio to my daily routine will lower the weight/cut the fat without making significant changes to the current diet. Up until recently, I was eating plenty of sweets, so I might end up losing more weight than I want to, as I don't plan on replacing those calories.

V - I need to do the math, but shouldn't be too difficult when I'm eating this simply. I hate low carb, but I'm willing to do it, as I think that'll be the quickest way to drop the most fat.

Esplendido - Well, we've got Muscle Mansion out in Vegas in 4 weeks, but I'm ready for that. In 5 weeks, though...family reunion. I was always one of the most athletic in my family, but then after a 10-year absence, I showed up a couple of years ago and was barely recognizable. Yeah, chock it up to my own insecurities and ego, but it was pretty embarrassing to be a fatass like all the old heads who drink too much.

I'd love to be able to hang onto what little bit of muscle I have while burning the fat around it. It's going to suck to lose superschmoe strength, but if that's the price, I'm willing to pay it.

I can up the cardio, but since I haven't been doing any at all, I didn't want to overdo it too quickly in the program.

I was hitting each bodypart once per week, but I felt that was giving myself too much recovery time. I'm now doing something on the order of 4-on/1-off, and will take an extra off day if I'm worn down or traveling.

[esplendido]

Tre, do you have a recent pic we can see? It would help. And you're safe posting one here. We're all in the same boat in the Masters.

Since you're trying to make a drastic change, the cardio is necessary as I have outlined. And I would stick with the once per week on the bodyparts. The Keto diet cannot be outdone for solid and rapid fat loss. If you'll post the picture, I'll set up a diet plan and cardio plan for you. If you can't bring yourself to post a pic, tell me how much weight you want to lose.

[Tre]

Tre, do you have a recent pic we can see? It would help. And you're safe posting one here. We're all in the same boat in the Masters.

Since you're trying to make a drastic change, the cardio is necessary as I have outlined. And I would stick with the once per week on the bodyparts. The Keto diet cannot be outdone for solid and rapid fat loss. If you'll post the picture, I'll set up a diet plan and cardio plan for you. If you can't bring yourself to post a pic, tell me how much weight you want to lose.
Can't post a current pic - remember, I'm originally from GetBig and would get ROASTED beyond belief when it got out! lol - but can email you. PM your email addy and I'll send 'em over.

[AnglicanBeachParty]

Any updated status, Tre?

How is training going for you?

Me, I'm "fat" again ... for some reason I really rebounded hard from my show. I weighed 150 pounds at weigh-in 9 days ago, and 172 pounds this morning. D'oh!