RFL Diet Question

[33sun33]

Hello all,

Today is my first day on Lyle MacDonald's Rapid Fat Loss (RFL) diet. Ive read the book, but the way I have set up my diet seems to involve too many calories. The RFL book states that for most people, the diet will entail around 400-800 calories a day, but in order for me to consume enough protein (1.25g x lean body mass), it seems I have to consume 5 "meals" per day, with a total macro of 1120 calories per day, with 204g protein. I could drop the salad dressing and just eat raw veggies, saving 50 cals.

I am a category 2 dieter who lifts, and my lean body mass is about 187/190lbs, and my body fat is around 16/17%.

Here is my current planned diet. I know Lyle disfavors protein shakes, but for me it seems the easiest way to get enough protein during the day.

How does this look (is it too many cals for rfl?):

Meal 1 (Wake-Up): 1 scoop whey protein: 120 cals; 24 g. protein; 3 carbs; 0 fat

Meal 2 (Breakfast): 1 scoop whey protein; egg whites with mushrooms or onions; 6 fish oil caps; multivitamin; ECA stack: 240 cals; 50 g. protein; 5g carbs (mostly from veggies); 6 g fat

Meal 3 (Lunch): Grilled chicken breast, salad, 1 tbsp salad dressing; ECA stack: 290 cals; 45 g. protein; 5g carbs (veggies); 5g fats (salad dressing)

Meal 4 (Dinner): Same as above (although at times may switch to a lean grilled fish filet or tuna); raw veggies instead of salad; ECA stack

Meal 5 (Pre-Bed): Cottage cheese with cinnamon dusting: 230 cals; 40g protein; 0 carb; 4g fats

TOTALS: 1120 cals; 204 g. protein; negligible carbs (@15 g mostly from veggies); 20 g fats

 

[johnc602]

I've read RFL as well and plan on starting it in a few weeks. Here are my .02 cents:

According to the book, I think you're carbs and fat are on target, but I think your protein may be slightly low...

187*1.25 = ~234 g protein daily

234 g Protein * 4 (cal/g protein) = 936 cal
15-20g carbs * 4 (cal/g carbs) = 60-80 cal
20 g fats * 9 (cal/g fat) = 180 cal

Total Daily Cal Intake = ~1196 cal

From what I took away from the book, I wouldn't worry so much about hitting the 400-800 cal/day guideline as he's writing this book for a wide audience. Most people probably aren't carrying quite as much LBM as you are an therefore will have to diet on fewer calories. I'd say you're diet looks about right and focus on keeping the protein at the correct level (in your case ~ 234 g / day) and keeping fats and carbs to a minimum.

 

[33sun33]

Thanks John! I think you are absolutely right- I upped my protein so that Im consuming around 240 grams per day. This is my fourth day on RFL, and it is working like a charm (Ive lost @ 6-7lbs so far, hopefully some of it being fat).

That said, I think Im hitting a wall! My energy is so low, I feel lightheaded throughout the day, and I am irritable as f*ck! I think I may have to do a refeed soon, or at least a cheat meal.

 

[johnc602]

Nice work so far. I'm hoping I see similar results when I start in a few weeks.

As for your energy level, make sure you're cutting back your workouts to the recommended 2 per week. Your symptoms sound like your body is adjusting to the lack of glycogen in your body (which is what you want).

As a category 2, remember you get 1 free meal a week, so after another day or so, you may want to think about a refeed or free meal.

Best of luck!

 

[Built]

Excellent advice so far. You got the macros worked out for your five-hour refeed? Keep protein and fat as they were for the day, and consume anywhere from about 275g to about 560g of carb, going by your posted stats (I used 185 lbs lean mass as a baseline):

6"3, 218lbs, ?? bodyfat (@ 16%?), and still 5 weeks left in my bulk (before cutting for summer!

I highly recommend training in the middle of the carbup, and after OR before the cheat meal. If you do the cheat meal or the carbup after you train, go for a walk after you eat it - you'll improve glucose uptake because movement increases the action of your glucose transporters (GLUT4). I also highly recommend loading 25g of creatine during the carbup - not only might it enhance reglycogenation (it improves glucose uptake in T-2 diabetics), it's an opportunity to load in the creatine.

LOTS of water, okay?

 

[33sun33]

Thanks all! I did the 5 hour refeed per the guidelines, and felt/feel a lot better. I did gain a bit of weight back, but that is to be expected. I will also use one of my allotted cheat meals later this week (to correspond with one of my 2 workouts), and keep pushing on this diet.

It definitely works, but I need to figure out how to deal with the mental fuzziness and irritability that I get around day 4 of no carbs! EC helps a ton, but only for the first part of the day.

 

[33sun33]

RFL While Injured

Oh, one additional question for those in the know. One thing that motivated me to start my cut was an injury I suffered last Wednesday while benching. After some research, Im 95% certain that I have some tendinitis/inflammation of the pectoralis tendon (right side). There is small-moderate pain under the armpit where the tendon meets up with the top of the bicep while benching, and some slight soreness to touch. Otherwise, it is barely noticeabel on a day to day basis.

Ive stopped doing upper pressing movements, and am taking anti-inflammatories. I may see a doc to verify all this, and Im sure he/she will just say rest and anti-inflammatories is the way to go.

Anyways, my question is whether doing a cut while being unable to do upper pressing movements (due to slight injury) is actually a bad idea (ie, not giving body enough nutrients, etc... to properly heal). I thought it was a good idea originally since I was going to have to take 1-2 weeks off from pressing anyways, so thought Id cut some BF in the process!

But if I am slowing down my healing, etc..., then I guess Im open to coming off RDL (despite my continued gains) and just eating at maintenance until fully healed.

What do you think? Built - it is rumored you had an injury during a UD2 cut - did you stop the cut altogether when that happened?

Thanks