help with final weeks of dieting?

[buffmaxwell]

so last year i decided to go on a diet along the lines of daves keto diet. my diet resembled this.

Meal 1 - protein shake 52g whey isolate
Meal 2 - salad with topped with a packet of tuna no dressing
Meal 3 - 8 - 10 oz grilled chicken
4:00 pm Gym
Meal 4- Grilled Chicken or Talapia w/ greens beans/ protein shake
Meal 5 - normally just a cup of hot water w/ some chicken boulin. i found it would trick me into thinking is was full so i wouldnt go to bed hungry. no calories just a lot of sodium.

keep in mind i was still in high school then, so eating during school was fairly hard. i think i dieted for about 9 weeks. and i would usually do cardio everday working up to about 40 to 45 minutes a day. I managed to go from about 206 to 175.http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a330/iansizemore/picture332390.jpg
206lbs Feb 08
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a330/iansizemore/picture332392.jpg
Feb 08
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a330/iansizemore/blah007.jpg
May 17, 08
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a330/iansizemore/blah005.jpg
May 17, 08

I was just wondering anyone could help maybe dial in my diet to help burn more fat and retain more muscle, and also how much longer i would have to diet to have a visible sixpack.

any help is greatly appreciated

[Frosty]

I'd say you should diet another 8 weeks or so. the impressiveness of your abs will take some time as lots of time under heavy ass squats, deads, chins, and bench will develop a solid looking core.

Have you stalled in your diet?

are you doing cardio at 120 bpm or less?

Have you added up your protein, fat, and carbs? What are the totals?

[buffmaxwell]

i didnt really stall. i just kinda had a lot of shit happen in my life all at once and it made it nearly impossible to go to a gym or stay on a diet. i forgot to mention that im in a touring band. so im on tour a lot. so i dont have readly access to a gym or the money to eat really clean all the time. but ive just started it back and i have until about july before i have to leave for tour again.

id say right now im taking in about 250 to 300 grams of protein. and my fats are probably around 50 or less. and carbs are probably only coming from my shakes and a little bit from ketchup.

also last time i didnt use any kind dieting aid. i was thinking about incorperating an eca stack. one of my friends goes to UT's pharmacy school. and recommended it as long as your smart about it and dont cycle it too long.

also would using creatine help me retain some mass, since im on such low carbs?

[Frosty]

Use www.fitday.com to add up your food. I don't see where you're getting that much protein you're claiming based on what you posted. It looks more like 200g. Fats are too low. Put it in that site and find out the real totals because it sounds like bad guessing is going on. Are you using fish oil? At least 9g a day of that.

Is your cardio under 120 bpm? You can do 2 hours a day of that if you have time.

I think you need to make sure your diet and cardio is in line before we talk ECA and creatine.

[buffmaxwell]

the diet i listed up there was the old one. im on a different one now.more protein now. sorry i didnt clarify. so your saying i shouldnt go over 120 bpm. i have heard low intensity cardio is the way to go do minimize muscle loss. its just i really dont think i have enough time to do 2 hrs a day. thanks for the help.

is the fish oil for Omega 3's?

[Frosty]

Yes fish oil is for omega-3.s 9g a day of that at least. You don't have to do 2 hours. 1 hour is fine.

What are your current macros and food choices?

[red barraca]

so last year i decided to go on a diet along the lines of daves keto diet. my diet resembled this.

Meal 1 - protein shake 52g whey isolate
Meal 2 - salad with topped with a packet of tuna no dressing
Meal 3 - 8 - 10 oz grilled chicken
4:00 pm Gym
Meal 4- Grilled Chicken or Talapia w/ greens beans/ protein shake
Meal 5 - normally just a cup of hot water w/ some chicken boulin. i found it would trick me into thinking is was full so i wouldnt go to bed hungry. no calories just a lot of sodium.

keep in mind i was still in high school then, so eating during school was fairly hard. i think i dieted for about 9 weeks. and i would usually do cardio everday working up to about 40 to 45 minutes a day. I managed to go from about 206 to 175.http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a330/iansizemore/picture332390.jpg
206lbs Feb 08
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a330/iansizemore/picture332392.jpg
Feb 08
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a330/iansizemore/blah007.jpg
May 17, 08
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a330/iansizemore/blah005.jpg
May 17, 08

I was just wondering anyone could help maybe dial in my diet to help burn more fat and retain more muscle, and also how much longer i would have to diet to have a visible sixpack.

any help is greatly appreciated
wheres your EFA's?

[buffmaxwell]

how many carbs can you consume in day to stay in a ketogenic state?

[Frosty]

how many carbs can you consume in day to stay in a ketogenic state?

I'd go no more than (body weight in pounds)*0.25.

[tammyp]

where is your fat? damn i diet on more than that.

[Angela123]

great job at the weight loss thus far! you did great being in high school, not having much money and touring in a bad. props to you my dear!

remember that a 6 pack is hard to maintain tho! once you have it, that doesnt give you free reign to end your diet. a couple days or for some even one day, of eating too many carbs, sugar and even extra sodium, can make abs look not as flat or defined. just keep that in mind. abs fluctuate all the time, depending on how you eat. and you dont even have to eat bad for your abs to look bad...for some people extra sodium will bloat them and make their abs less crisp. do you train them religiously right now? so when you do shed the last bit of fat from your midsection, they will appear.

that diet you used to lose the weight looked rough. im sure you were probably starving. but your diet is different now, you say? im hoping you get to eat more? have you notcied that you have gained fat from eating more? im sure you havent. ill mimic everyone, where are your efa's. and 4meals only?

and no. when you do a ketogenic diet (but you need fats!! you shouldnt just be on no fat days), you cant do high intensity cardio. some stay under 130. i stayed under 120 when i did mine. always start cardio at lower amount and taper up by 10-15 min, if you are not seeing results or have stopped seeing results.


there have been different thoughts on how many carbs you can eat to remain in ketosis. i think dave says up to 50. john says up to 60-70. and ive done my own research and read for SOME people, they can do up to 80-100, but at that high of a number, sometimes you start to feel worse, bc you sometimes are going in and out of ketosis at that time.

[buffmaxwell]

thanks a ton to everyone for their help.

[buffmaxwell]

if anyone wants to design a diet they feel would work best feel free! im open to anything

[buffmaxwell]

what kind of calorie range should i stay within?

also i read in flex today that kippered hearing is a pretty good subsitute when you run out of tuna, tilapia, etc... i looked up the nutrional facts and it was something like 8 grams of fat and 16 grams of protein.

[Frosty]

Go with

(bodyweight in pounds)*1.5 = (grams of protein)
(bodyweight in pounds)*0.5 = (grams of fat)

[buffmaxwell]

i know this doesnt really coincide with what my thread was about but. i have a question about arms. i ve been training them once a week never twice for fear of overtraining them. but i swear they just dont seem to grow like my other body parts my chest and everything else pretty much grow with little to no effort. ive read before that branch warren trains his arms twice a week so i was wondering if anyone was opposed to my starting to train them twice a week?

[Frosty]

Your arms are proportional to the rest of your body. To see real size gains in your arms you need to gain lean body mass. Now is not really the time to be trying to do that. You'd have to lay out your entire training program in order to see what might be wrong with it anyway.