New To The Site...and a Question!

New to the site and just wanted to introduce myself. I have been training for almost two years. I originally lost about 70 lbs and have put back on about 15 pounds and now sit at about 188 (5'9"). My wife and I have done it together and she has lost a whopping 115 lbs. I train a five day split: chest/tris; back/bis; legs; shoulders; yoga/lagging body part cycle and try and do cardio three days a week.

Here's my question: I don't have the patience to cut. Although I eat pretty clean, it would drive me crazy to follow a diet. I have a high stress job (I work in sports) and its a struggle to eat 5-6 times a day. What else should I do? Increase cardio? Accept that I am going to be stuck at my current BF (16%). Any thoughts would be appreciated.

welcome to the site, and congratulations on your weight loss!

No I would not increase cardio, unfortuantely your diet is the key here. I have no idea what your diet is, but as far as eating 5-6 times per day you can accomplish this with bars, shakes and/or bringing pre-made 'meals' to work.

Why don't you post your current diet, or a daily sample of what you might eat.

My food plan changes daily depending on availability and cash flow, but here is a sample day (today actually). I usually make huge batches of food (leftovers, chicken breasts, brown rice, etc.) and heat and eat every three hours. Know it is not perfect, but it has gotten me this far.:

Meal One:6:00am
Peanut Butter Sandwich
Tea

WORKOUT

Meal Two: 9:00am-10:00am
Protein Shake with 50g protein (drink on the way to work)
1 Cup Oatmeal (eat once I get to work)
Piece of Fruit

Meal Three: 1:00pm
6oz Chicken Breast
3/4 cup rice pilaf
1/2 cup salad

Meal Four:4:00pm
Shrimp and Brown Rice (1 cup rice/10 shrimp)
Protein Shake - 20g Protein

Meal Five: 7:30-8:00
6oz Salmon
Veggies
1 cup rice

Meal Six: 10:30 (this doesnt always happen, but it can be bad news)
Protein Pudding-Fat Free Pudding with 15g protein
(sometimes I will have either Ben and Jerry's Frozen Yogurt or 2 Snackwell's Vanilla)

If you cannot be converted to a true cut, one very simple method would be to eat as you are, but on every third day eliminate ALL carbs. ALL.

This will drop your weekly caloric intake signicantly and control insulin at least part of the time. And while that third day might suck, it is only a day.

Originally posted by Prince
welcome to the site, and congratulations on your weight loss!

No I would not increase cardio, unfortuantely your diet is the key here. I have no idea what your diet is, but as far as eating 5-6 times per day you can accomplish this with bars, shakes and/or bringing pre-made 'meals' to work.

Why don't you post your current diet, or a daily sample of what you might eat.

Click to expand...

Welcome to IM

...Prince is very correct, we use tupperware, ice chests, insulated lunch bags, and shaker containers (often pre-filled)....to were all all it takes is a little planning. We don't always cut, often maintenence and progress only require a "lifestyle" comittment.

When you look at it that way, once you have frequency down (important for metabolism)....food choices mean "everything".....

If you can do some reading.........

http://www.ironmagazineforums.com/showthread.php?threadid=5121

http://www.ironmagazine.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=18

I'll try to come back to give you more dirrection when I'm done at work

DP

I think this belongs in the diet & nutrition forum...moving...

Originally posted by Twin Peak
If you cannot be converted to a true cut, one very simple method would be to eat as you are, but on every third day eliminate ALL carbs. ALL.

This will drop your weekly caloric intake signicantly and control insulin at least part of the time. And while that third day might suck, it is only a day.

Click to expand...

Twin Peak, I feel like your suggestion would be easier for me to handle since it is so straightforward (cut and dry would be another way to put it) But a few questions for you: On the no carb day, does that include no veggies either. And what do I do about my protein shakes, which have some carbs in them? Can you lay out some sample meals using this strategy? And how do you handle your post workout meal? Still no carbs. Has anyone else had success with this strategy?

Looking at your diet, it shouldn't be impossible for you to switch to a productive cutting diet. You can keep the format the same, just switch around what you put in the meals. For example.

Originally posted by eskimo515
Meal One:6:00am
Peanut Butter Sandwich
Tea

Click to expand...

Instead of a peanut butter sandwich, have a tunafish sandwich. Tuna with mayo on whole wheat bread. Its still a sandwich, except now its clean food.

WORKOUT

Meal Two: 9:00am-10:00am
Protein Shake with 50g protein (drink on the way to work)
1 Cup Oatmeal (eat once I get to work)
Piece of Fruit

Click to expand...

The shake is fine, maybe get some dextrose and drop the oatmeal and fruit. That way you slam the shake down in the locker room or on your way to work. Its still a shake, except now its conducive to growth.

Meal Three: 1:00pm
6oz Chicken Breast
3/4 cup rice pilaf
1/2 cup salad

Click to expand...

Looks good. Add some olive oil to the salad, it acts as a dressing and a source of fat.

Meal Four:4:00pm
Shrimp and Brown Rice (1 cup rice/10 shrimp)
Protein Shake - 20g Protein

Click to expand...

Get some flax for fat and switch from shrimp to tuna or chicken.

Meal Five: 7:30-8:00
6oz Salmon
Veggies
1 cup rice

Click to expand...

Looks good

Meal Six: 10:30 (this doesnt always happen, but it can be bad news)
Protein Pudding-Fat Free Pudding with 15g protein
(sometimes I will have either Ben and Jerry's Frozen Yogurt or 2 Snackwell's Vanilla)

Click to expand...

If you are at home, make yourself some real food. Maybe some more tuna salad or something. Be creative.

Where in NYC are you?

I would basically just eat what you normally eat (looking at your diet) sans the carbs. Even veggies, though salad would be fine.

Personally, I would always recommend as a better course a more detailed diet, lifestyle, as DP suggests.

That said, this approach should prove convenient and simple. I have been a proponent of a similar, though more structured cyclical carb diet. I have used it successfully for years and others here have tried it. You can read more about it in my old journal titled "Ripped".

Originally posted by Dr. Pain
...Prince is very correct, we use tupperware, ice chests, insulated lunch bags, and shaker containers (often pre-filled)....to were all all it takes is a little planning. We don't always cut, often maintenence and progress only require a "lifestyle" comittment.

Click to expand...

I feel like I have already made the "lifestyle" changes, otherwise I would still be eating the Popeye's Fried Chicken that I used to eat twice a week ("Ummm, Popeyes!") That said, my strategy from the beginning has been to tackle this is stages. First, I wanted to lose the nasty weight and change my eating habits, which I have done. Then, I wanted to put some muscle back on, which I have done/am doing. Now I feel like "cutting" is the next level. But my strategy was to never make this process a chore and following a strict diet would be too much for me. I am not doing this to compete or anything else, I am simply doing this for me (and my wife I guess) so I am looking for a happy medium.

Peak, as for where I am in NYC, I work in midtown and live in Harlem. I train at the Bally Sports on 50th and the Crunch on 83rd Street (although I like to bounce around to keep my surroundings fresh.

K...I can see that a more moderate approach the the guys are offering is gonna work well for you

My deal is/was that: whether your are a high performance racing car, or a clunker....we want to give you "fuel injection"....

When you are ready, we are here to help.

DP

You guys have inspired me. Thanks for the help. I am going to try my first reduced carbs day today. I'll let you know how it goes.

did you ever let us know how your low carb went?

It has gone pretty well. I have made some nice gains and lost about 3% of BF. I am still working on it. The only problem has been I have been travelling a lot for work and it has thrown me off quite a bit. Thanks for asking.

great job!