Built thankyou so much, maam. In terms of my goals, what do you suggest? I definitely need to lose more fat. It would kill me to lose more fat. Right now at 163, If I lose say 16 more lbs than I would be around 10-12% bodyfat. If I lost just fat I would be down to around 147-150. Thats all well and good but then I would be too scronny. I know you talk about either one or the other.... but If I made sure to get my 150-200g of proten, I could gain muscle at the same time?
If you run AAS while you're juicy, you'll aromatize to much of your test and you'll have to run SERM/AI to protect you from gyno.
Regardless of how much protein you consume, you really can't count on gaining muscle and losing fat to any appreciable degree concurrently.
If you could, you'd see a lot of happy, lean, jacked freaks walking around and ALL of the really strong people would be ripped to shreds.
Go to a mall or a gym sometime and just look around to test this conjecture.
also...
Once I have cut down to about 10-12% bf at around 150, yes I would like to start a cycle, eat more and gain "weight" but how to I make sure all the weight I can is muscle and not fat?
You can't. But you can minimize your fat gains and maximize your muscle gains with some strategy: monitor your calories and your weight daily, take pictures, look in the mirror... if you train properly and eat properly, you'll gain muscle. Do these things and run your AAS and you'll gain more.
As an aside, whoever set up your first cycle is either
a) using too much and too many drugs to compensate for the ineffective training he uses on his clients
b) selling them to you
c) or both.
If you're buying your cycle from the guy who's training you, he's either one HELL of a salesman or you have a LOT of money to part with.
What's the rush - got a big movie part coming up? You barely know how to train or diet, and you're already planning to run GH!
Maybe even lose some more body fat in the process? If I cant lose more bodyfat in the process, and say I actually gain a few % back up to around 15%...when I cut up again and lose fat, how do I make sure I don't lose the muscle I have gained from the cycle?
Same way you avoid excess fat gain: proper training, careful diet.
Bulking or cutting, diet is 90% of this game. Surprised? Most are.
Built, "Do it Yourself Diet".. great read. I gained alot of knowledge. Interesting...about the maintence calories.. 13-15X your bodyweight. Is that assuming no exercise is being performed that day.
Nah. I pretty much ignore caloric expenditure from exercise.
13-15X bodyweight is just a ballpark. Ideally you track your intake to find maintenance. I offer the shortcut if you just want to get started and don't feel like investing the few days of monitoring.
Another words say a 200 lb man 15 X 200 = 3000 ..so if he ate 3000 calories, he would stay the same that day? The next day he eats 3000 calories but jogs a few miles and burns 500 calories? So does that mean he was minus 500 calorie deficient? So then he sticks to that routine and will lose a lb after 6 days?
We're athletes, babe. We do this stuff all year. It's a sunk cost. I ignore the expenditure entirely. It's like paying rent - you're always paying it; it's not like you get to bank that money.
The other thing is..so you dont put any merit into small frequent meals, the old addage that your metabolism is like a fire.. to keep it burning you need to keep throwing logs on the fire sort of deal?
It's not that I don't put any merit in it - it's simply not true.
Um... water has no... um... calories?
3000 including unrefined carbs vs 3000 calories including refined carbs?
Either/or. 3000 calories is 3000 calories.
To quote the formula from your article.....
Set protein at no lower than a gram per pound of lean mass.
Set fat at no lower than half a gram per pound of lean mass.
Set fibre at or around 25g - this has to come from food, not fibre supplements!
Fill the remainder of your calories by comfort.
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Built, but for the next few weeks or so..1 month..whatever...I am trying to lose fat...so I will fill in the remainer of calories with very few carbs..but why then would I make sure to get ATLEAST a half gram of fat per lb of lean mass? If I am trying to lose fat, wouldn't it be better If I cut my fat to like under 30g daily?... Basically..when trying to lose fat..why should I be putting a minimum on anything? (the minimum protein and fat) Is it to keep from losing muscle??? Is that the whole reason behind the formula?
Protein and fat are essential. Carbohydrate is not. Furthermore, protein and fat are satiating, where carbohydrate can stimulate hunger, particularly while we're over-fat and cutting.
You want protein high to protect lean mass, correct. Fats you need for your endocrine system, and for comfort.
Carbs don't matter. Eat 'em or not, as desired and as your calories allow. If they make you hungry, but you feel you want to keep them for your lifting, eat them in the meal before and the meal(s) after you train.
Gain sorry to bombard you with all these posts and questions..its just that I am very eager and excited to get started...
You mentioned the hardgainer needing 500 more than his maintence to gain
EVERYONE needs to eat over maintenance in order to gain.
"weight" ...by weight I assume your referring to muscle? When you talk about "weight", surely even a very lean fella, you dont want him to put on 500 calories weight of fat?
Weight is muscle and fat. And bone. And skin. There's no way to ONLY gain muscle. Sorry.
Could you please clarify the diet based on days of weight training vs idle days?
It doesn't matter. If you're cutting, you can go high and low for your calories if you like. The carb cycling article on my blog gets into that, but it's just for comfort.
If above I understood you correctly, than if the hardgainer is training, the 500 calories over his maintence..that would convert to muscle?
Some will.
Doesnt that depend on how well he trains?
To a certain degree, yes.
What if he had 1000 calories over his maintence? Does that mean he could gain 1000 calories worth of muscle?
No. You have to spend it to make it, friend. Just like money.
Or is that too much extra calories and the other 500 might go to fat? Sorry for all these posts..I figured it would be better to break them up into segments rather than post one ginormous post..thanks so much in advance for all your feedback and advice....
(BTW unfortunately I am a hardgainer when it comes to putting on muscle, but have alot of bodyfat too. I'm not one of these hardgainers that can't gain weight! I can gain weight all right! About 4-5 months ago I was almost 190... So I am Juicy now at 163 at around 20% bf-- I was 190 and about 35% of it was bodyfat,)
I was forty percent when I started, and middle-aged and female and natural. Don't even TALK to me about being a fat hardgainer... <shakes tiny fist in rage>
Last one then I will shut up...promise..
What about genetics...you mention "hardgainer" (someone who eats alot but doesnt gain weight I assume)
I actually don't believe in hardgainers. I think they're just undereaters. They INVARIABLY aren't eating NEARLY as much as they think they are.
but if you say all they have to do is eat more calories than their maintence than they'll gain weight, than that would suggest than the reason they are thin is because they are dont eat over their maintance, than they would be a "hard gainer' just somone who doesnt eat enough..
Bingo.
another words if the Smith brothers eat the same food and Johnny is fat and Timmy is skinny..which ofcourse is the case in many scenarios..where does genetics and metabolism come into play? The fact that one is skinny and one is fat, have nothing to do with the diets often times..... sorry, I dont want to come off as contrary to what you are saying, just trying to understand it a bit more.. Thanks so much
If you eat more food than YOU require you will gain weight (muscle and fat). If you eat less food than you require, you will lose weight (muscle and fat).
If you overeat and lift weights, some of this weight will be muscle.
If you undereat and lift heavy weights, you will retain a bit more muscle than your body would otherwise prefer - and so, you will starve off some fat. Bodybuilders call this "cutting".
With all due respect, and I'm really quite charmed that you're actually engaging in this process and reading, you are nowhere NEAR ready to run a cycle yet.
Wait until you have at least a solid year of heavy compounds and careful diet behind you before you even consider shoving a needle into your ass, okay? You have plenty of natural gains ahead of you. Get your diet and your training worked out and your friends will all THINK you're on a cycle.
Welcome to the lifestyle.
