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View Full Version : A honest plea for help.



alert
03-21-2009, 04:40 PM
Hello everyone,

this would be my first post, & im abit nervous as to how you all will treat this situation of mine.
Ive been going through an eating disorder over the better part of this year.Binge eating specifically.Once every one or two weeks,ill crack and totally destroy my set diet,eating alot of bad food. I have to end this.
I live 2 mins away from a gym.I enjoy cardio. And i enjoy resistance training.
The sudden weight gains have made me go mad on the cardio.wanting to loose it.
But i feel the main issue is,my diet.

Im 5ft 11", weigh 160 lbs so 22,5 bmi. could provide photo reference if needed.

What i ask of you is to help me set a diet when combined with a 5 day a week gym schedule, could lead me to my goal.
This is 154 lbs, reducing bf% obviously.

Thank you very much for reading,

Jason

jjjohns_10
03-21-2009, 08:28 PM
Sorry to be the one to tell you this, but there are two 'modes' that you need to choose between: 1)Bulking and 2)Cutting. You can't hope to reduce your bodyfat to any serious extent, while at the same time putting on some serious muscle. Ever see pictures of off season bodybuilders? For the most part, they are soft and sometimes strait up out of shape (take Lee Preist haha). My advice, 200-250 grams of protein per day, 300 carbs, and moderate fats, divided up into 6-7 meals per day. If you choose to do cardio in the off season, 3 times per week of very light cardio is okay.

Strikerrjones
03-21-2009, 09:30 PM
Hello everyone,

this would be my first post, & im abit nervous as to how you all will treat this situation of mine.
Ive been going through an eating disorder over the better part of this year.Binge eating specifically.Once every one or two weeks,ill crack and totally destroy my set diet,eating alot of bad food. I have to end this.
I live 2 mins away from a gym.I enjoy cardio. And i enjoy resistance training.
The sudden weight gains have made me go mad on the cardio.wanting to loose it.
But i feel the main issue is,my diet.

Im 5ft 11", weigh 160 lbs so 22,5 bmi. could provide photo reference if needed.

What i ask of you is to help me set a diet when combined with a 5 day a week gym schedule, could lead me to my goal.
This is 154 lbs, reducing bf% obviously.

Thank you very much for reading,

Jason


Why are you wanting to reduce your weight? At 5'11" and 160 pounds you could probably stand to gain 20 pounds easy.

alert
03-22-2009, 08:23 AM
Thanks jjjohns_10
I guess id be going for the cutting part then,since my main goal is to shed the excess bf.
We are not talking about any on&off season here, this is straight up bf% reduction. My goal is to get to 154lbs, lean as possible. This is what i would e satisfied with.
I feel i have an issue with carbs, that would be what i tend to gorge on when the reoccuring phases come round.
If i stick to the standard low G.I types you reckon i should be allright?

Thanks Stikerrjones,
funnily im wanting to have a small but adequate build, ive attempted the gaining part in the past, but my lifestyle and work doesnt allow me to maintain the muscle.
Therefore i concentrate on cardio,as i tend to walk alot.The rest of the main muscle groups i want to reach simply an adequate level, which i should be able to arguably achieve in 7-8 weeks?

Tatyana
03-22-2009, 08:41 AM
I would focus on bodyfat reduction, not the number on the scales.

I am also finding it difficult to understand why your lifestyle does not allow you to maintain muscle.

What is your diet like?

Do you know how many calories you are eating every day? The grams of protein, carbs and fats?

There is a normal physiological response to severe dieting, which is binge eating.

alert
03-22-2009, 12:43 PM
Tatyana, i agree on the bf%>weight, i was just refering to that, as an indication of how far away my goal is.
My diet, when wanting to loose the designated weight, is arguably near abismal. Around the 1200 cal mark easily & low carb, getting what i do from fruit and veg and lactose based products basically.pr near 100& minimal fats.Avoiding all starches and grain based products.
I have a fear of carbs. I admit it. This being heavily linked with my goals.
So to reduce the designated bf% i am supposed to maintain a balanced diet?
I havent held onto a steady diet for a period longer than two weeks.
This is why i have taken the step to ask for your opinion.

Sencere apologies if all this sounds blown out of proportion.
Thank you yet again.

Adina Zanolli
03-22-2009, 03:13 PM
You are 5'11" and eating 1,200 calories a day?

That is not enough.

We need to work on the fear thing here.

Post a pic, so we can give you an honest opinion of where you are. You may not be seeing yourself the way others do.

Post an example of what you eat in a day, so we can basically rip it apart for you and get you on track.

Eating 1,200 is not where you need to be.

Frosty
03-22-2009, 03:37 PM
You are 5'11" and eating 1,200 calories a day?

That is not enough.

We need to work on the fear thing here.

Post a pic, so we can give you an honest opinion of where you are. You may not be seeing yourself the way others do.

Post an example of what you eat in a day, so we can basically rip it apart for you and get you on track.

Eating 1,200 is not where you need to be.

I agree. With calories too low what happens is you end up depleted of micronutrients which can cause problems, but you also end up depleted of neurotransmitters. This can lead to cravings for food that are as strong as a powerful drug addiction and binging is inevitable in this situation.

I'd venture to say that the depletion of neurotransmitters is a big part of why you end up binging. Eating more calories especially from protein will help correct this in the long term. in the short term, use of things like DL-phenylalanine, 5-htp, and l-tyrosine can help restore proper neurotransmitter levels. I can elaborate on this if there is any interest.

sassy69
03-22-2009, 03:54 PM
FWIW I'm a girl & 5'7" and I cut for competition (circa 6% bf) on 1800 cals. You need more cals. The body is designed to run efficiently on the right amount of cals - too few and it interprets the situation as a "drought" where the surivival mechanism kicks in to slow down metabolism to preserve the energy sources (bodyfat) that it knows it has stored.

Tatyana
03-22-2009, 03:57 PM
Tatyana, i agree on the bf%>weight, i was just refering to that, as an indication of how far away my goal is.
My diet, when wanting to loose the designated weight, is arguably near abismal. Around the 1200 cal mark easily & low carb, getting what i do from fruit and veg and lactose based products basically.pr near 100& minimal fats.Avoiding all starches and grain based products.
I have a fear of carbs. I admit it. This being heavily linked with my goals.
So to reduce the designated bf% i am supposed to maintain a balanced diet?
I havent held onto a steady diet for a period longer than two weeks.
This is why i have taken the step to ask for your opinion.

Sencere apologies if all this sounds blown out of proportion.
Thank you yet again.

You are starving yourself and this is why you end up binging.

Read/Google the Minnesota Starvation Study.

I would also recommend you get a copy of Tom Venuto's Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle. I think he has a hardcopy book out now.

I was around 9-12% bodyfat in my avatar, and I was eating 1800-2000 kcals/day and I weighed 127-130 lbs.

gman
03-22-2009, 08:01 PM
I am losing weight on 2600 a day. I agree that the O/P needs to eat more.

Mercury
03-22-2009, 08:14 PM
I agree. With calories too low what happens is you end up depleted of micronutrients which can cause problems, but you also end up depleted of neurotransmitters. This can lead to cravings for food that are as strong as a powerful drug addiction and binging is inevitable in this situation.

I'd venture to say that the depletion of neurotransmitters is a big part of why you end up binging. Eating more calories especially from protein will help correct this in the long term. in the short term, use of things like DL-phenylalanine, 5-htp, and l-tyrosine can help restore proper neurotransmitter levels. I can elaborate on this if there is any interest.


Very interesting. I'd never heard this before.

gman
03-22-2009, 08:33 PM
I was low on serotonin, and doc said that contributed to me craving carbs. something about carbs satisfying the low serotonin.

Frosty
03-23-2009, 12:02 AM
I was low on serotonin, and doc said that contributed to me craving carbs. something about carbs satisfying the low serotonin.


Yes, this is true. The lower in calories and carbs you go, the worse this gets. Try going with just protein and veggies while doing a lot of work and only one carb meal a week! That'll deplete serotonin.

5-htp works great for this. Tryptophan also works and is now on the market again as a supplement, but it's quite expensive compared to 5-HTP. I like to start with 50mg 30 minutes before evening meals to start. Going up to 100mg is fine if needed, but if 50mg does the job then no need. Before bed meal 100-150mg is fine. Some people go up to 200mg depending on how you react.

DL-phenylalanine works more on emotional eating as it affects dopamine. People that have a lot of emotional stress that causes cheating and binging this can be more useful for. This is good for people with emotional issues. 500mg 30 minutes before morning meals is a good place to start, using more if necessary. You can find smaller caps to control dosage more if you'd like. Be careful this can be pretty stimulating. DO NOT use at night.

L-tyrosine helps with brain neurotransmitters and adrenal hormones. This can be taken with the DL-phenylalanine but the dose is often higher. Starting with 500mg and going up to grams...depending on what works for you. Megadosing isn't the answer when using these types of aminos.

The 5-HTP used at night can really help night cravings especially. It can enhance sleep, especially if used with GABA before bed and perhaps a transdermal melatonin cream. Poor sleep is death on a diet....you'll start getting massive cravings that you won't be able to control with enough deprivation. So yeah, somewhere around 8 hours +/- depending on your sleep requirements is vital to balance your body and make a diet easy.

Frosty
03-23-2009, 12:21 AM
By the way, the eventual goal with this protocol is to come off it, having supplied the body with enough calories and quality protein to make these things by itself.

alert
03-23-2009, 11:50 AM
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d81/alert_one/dood1-1.jpg

photo taken on monday night,proly gained a couple of lbs in fat since the last blackout. When i say blackout, i mean it in every sense of the word. My brain functions about what is good for me totally shuts down-flipping over to the opposite,thus eating amounts and the worse food nutrition wise.

My daily menu, would be as such,
8:00
Breakfast:cup of oats, 200g low fat yogurt,handfull of berries& or portion of citrus fruit(grapefruit,kiwi,orange)
12:00+
Postworkout meal:Mixed green salad,with a can of tuna,tomatoes,balsamic vinegar
I was advised to go on a 2000-2300 cal diet.
15:00-16:00
snack:Portion of fruit,
19:00-20:00
Lean meat,mixed vegetables.

I have to point out, that this would be what my latest regime was like,ie the 1200cal.
What i could see myself adding would be the postworkout-lunch to include a carb source perhaps,& add a pot of cottage cheese to the end of the day meal.

All criticism and critique is more than welcome.Actually, i want you to do it.
Its proven i dont know what im doing, so ill listen to you.

My workout regime would consist of 1hr Low Intensity Cardio(varying when feeling not sweat indusing)+ 30 min resistance,switching muscle groups by day. This i do 3-4 times a week.

Frosty
03-23-2009, 12:11 PM
Meat is your friend. Eat lots more of it in place of most of that stuff.

Frosty
03-23-2009, 01:32 PM
By the way, I'd take at LEAST 9g of a quality fish oil. This helps with brain neurotransmitters among a ton of other good things.