[FType22]

Spoiler Alert: I think the answer has been a unanimous YES

Background: I've been working out for probably 16 years in a gym + sports up until a few years ago. I'm now 29. Weight is 177.5 BF% is about 11% HT: 5'10 Sleep: 8-8.5 hours.

Lately I've been increasing my cardio to prepare for summer but I've noticed a tremendous lack of energy. This was happening a month or two back when I was trying to cut calories but maintain my workouts, I also noticed my strength dropping but my weight remaining the same.

Now: I've been aiming for about 10k steps a day + 90-120 minutes of weight training 4-5 days a week. I get my steps with a 30 minute walk during the day and anywhere from 30-40 minutes of running/HIIT/walking depending on how I feel each day, but I usually run at least 2.5 miles a day post workout.

I've changed my diet to

Breakfast:
1 8oz protein + berry + almond milk shake

Snacks:
low fat yogurt w/ high fiber cereal (its about 150 calories per serving but I can only handle about 1/4 cup of the stuff which is 1/3rd of a serving)

Rice cakes or a protein bar (power crunch, say 150-200 calories, maybe 2-5g of sugar).

Lunch:
Chicken breast w/ rice or steamed veggies

Snack:
rice cake again

Dinner:
Chicken breast + carbs (either green salad w/ carrots cucumber red pepper and olive oil/vinegar dressing, or 1 cup of cooked rice, or about 3 cups of steamed veggies)

later snack:
1 8oz protein + berry + almond milk shake


It sounds like I'm eating a ton, but I think calorie wise I'm a bit low. I'm estimating I burn roughly 3k calories on most of my hard cardio days. Weekends I tend to drink alcohol with no soda mixers (friday and saturday night).

Goal:
Lost about 2% body fat while growing lean muscle mass.

TLDR:
Am I eating enough to lose fat + gain muscle based on my diet?

I figure a few of you guys here must have more than just an opinion but some good knowledge on this subject. Thanks for your help.

[JN1]

I use FitnessPal app to help me, I know I'm undereating. I know Steve Sedan_Clan is good at this stuff

[overcoil]

Two things you don't mention are, sleep and rest days.
Protein supplement can be an unknown quantity.

How tall are you?

[Delta0311]

Are you training for the concentration camp Olympics?

What exactly is your goal because this is a starvation diet. You weight train for 90min - 2hrs. That's some serious over training even if you're on steroids. Low fat should not even be in your vocabulary, FAT IS NOT BAD FOR YOU.

Protein wise you should aim for 1g for every pound of body-weight. Chick breasts, veggies are good for you but don't pack a lot of calories. Rice cakes? That is something I'd picture an anorexic model eating and not a guy trying to put on lean muscle.

Your problem is that your workouts are way too long and the foods you are eating have a very low caloric density.

Throw in some fish and beef into your diet.. Add some rice and sweet potatoes.
For shakes I usually do this
1 or 2 scoops of Impact Whey protein (flavorless) after doing a lot of research I found their isolate to be the best
mix of veggies: broccoli, carrots, celery, kale
mix with some almond milk
add some peanut butter or almond butter for extra calories

Cut carbs too much and your energy will suffer. Cut fats and your joints will suffer.

[FType22]

Originally Posted by ScottSinger

Two things you don't mention are, sleep and rest days.
Protein supplement can be an unknown quantity.

How tall are you?

Sure thing, will add those in:

2-3 rest days. By rest I mean no weights. Been kicking up a 6th day of cardio but sat/sunday off for weights. sleep, according to my fitbit has been excellent, averaging 8-8.5 hours these last 2 weeks. Prior to that just under 7.

Protein is gold standard whey, i think its 30grams per scoop

[FType22]

Originally Posted by Delta0311

Are you training for the concentration camp Olympics?

What exactly is your goal because this is a starvation diet. You weight train for 90min - 2hrs. That's some serious over training even if you're on steroids. Low fat should not even be in your vocabulary, FAT IS NOT BAD FOR YOU.

Protein wise you should aim for 1g for every pound of body-weight. Chick breasts, veggies are good for you but don't pack a lot of calories. Rice cakes? That is something I'd picture an anorexic model eating and not a guy trying to put on lean muscle.

Your problem is that your workouts are way too long and the foods you are eating have a very low caloric density.

Throw in some fish and beef into your diet.. Add some rice and sweet potatoes.
For shakes are usually do this
1 or 2 scoops of Impact Whey protein (flavorless) after doing a lot of research I found their isolate to be the best
mix of veggies: broccoli, carrots, celery, kale
mix with some almond milk
add some peanut butter or almond butter for extra calories

Cut curbs too much and your energy will suffer. Cut fats and your joints will suffer.

First off LOL @ concentration camp olympics. That's the feeling I was getting and why I didn't think I was eating enough. When I meant avoiding fats I meant bad fats, stuff in fried food, from processed sources, etc. I will eat pistachios all day if I can.

Just to clarify the 90-120 includes cardio. I do about 6 exercises per muscle group which includes push ups and pull ups, even though I generally don't consider those an actual exercise but rather something I do between rests.

I love me some peanut butter, I might try and create a shake with that in mind.

I eat rice pretty regularly, I'd say at least 4 days a week I'm having some rice in my diet. I just might be deficient on protein. Thanks for the suggestions.

[fecurtis]

Originally Posted by DJP86

Now: I've been aiming for about 10k steps a day + 90-120 minutes of weight training 4-5 days a week.

Either you aren't going in hard enough with the weights and the reps or you are going to seriously hurt yourself, holy hell that's a long ass time.

[FType22]

Originally Posted by fecurtis

Either you aren't going in hard enough with the weights and the reps or you are going to seriously hurt yourself, holy hell that's a long ass time.

6 exercises, 3 x 15 + warm up some days its 4x depending on muscle group. I spend about 10-15 minutes per exercises + breaks.

[Frozen]

Damn, no wonder you don't have any energy. You aren't eating any fat. I used to eat like you when I thought I was a bodybuilder. The way you're eating is a recipe for low energy. Lean Protein, Carbs, and No fat? Rice Cakes and Cereal? Come on man.

Try having some eggs over easy for breakfast and eat the yolks, have some bacon, even put butter in your coffee like that Bulletproof coffee and you'll get your energy back.

The high fat diet on "My diet is better than yours" TV show blew the other ones away:

http://fatburningman.com/new-abc-sho...ng-abel-james/

[Frozen]

Originally Posted by Delta0311

Are you training for the concentration camp Olympics?

What exactly is your goal because this is a starvation diet. You weight train for 90min - 2hrs. That's some serious over training even if you're on steroids. Low fat should not even be in your vocabulary, FAT IS NOT BAD FOR YOU.

+ 1000

This guy is killing himself. No fat and overtraining. He's using old and dated bodybuilding advice from Muscle and Fitness magazines.

[FType22]

Originally Posted by e90m305

Damn, no wonder you don't have any energy. You aren't eating any fat. I used to eat like you when I thought I was a bodybuilder. The way you're eating is a recipe for low energy. Lean Protein, Carbs, and No fat? Rice Cakes and Cereal? Come on man.

Try having some eggs over easy for breakfast and eat the yolks, have some bacon, even put butter in your coffee like that Bulletproof coffee and you'll get your energy back.

The high fat diet on "My diet is better than yours" TV show blew the other ones away:

http://fatburningman.com/new-abc-sho...ng-abel-james/

Yea I watched that show, but I feel like these guys are all on "diets" I'm not on a diet, I just have an eating regime.

I don't drink coffee either, but I could add butter into my diet in other ways, I would just prefer to add a healthier source of fats. I'm not a huge fan of eggs but I started adding them into a stir fry I'll occasionally make. It just might have to be more usual.

[Delta0311]

Originally Posted by DJP86

First off LOL @ concentration camp olympics. That's the feeling I was getting and why I didn't think I was eating enough. When I meant avoiding fats I meant bad fats, stuff in fried food, from processed sources, etc. I will eat pistachios all day if I can.

Just to clarify the 90-120 includes cardio. I do about 6 exercises per muscle group which includes push ups and pull ups, even though I generally don't consider those an actual exercise but rather something I do between rests.

I love me some peanut butter, I might try and create a shake with that in mind.

I eat rice pretty regularly, I'd say at least 4 days a week I'm having some rice in my diet. I just might be deficient on protein. Thanks for the suggestions.

I agree with you on the fried and processed shit, I avoid that like a fat kid avoids changing for gym class. As far as the cardio goes, what I'm seeing is that most of your energy is spent on cardio. Now given how much time you spend doing cardio and your caloric intake, it is now wonder why you feel weak once you hit the weights. By that point you're pretty much running on fumes. If you can then split your work out, do cardio early in the AM and weights in the evening. If you don't have the time for that then split your days so that weights and cardio have their own days.

[Frozen]

Originally Posted by DJP86

Yea I watched that show, but I feel like these guys are all on "diets" I'm not on a diet, I just have an eating regime.

I don't drink coffee either, but I could add butter into my diet in other ways, I would just prefer to add a healthier source of fats. I'm not a huge fan of eggs but I started adding them into a stir fry I'll occasionally make. It just might have to be more usual.

It isn't a diet to simply switch from being carb adapted to fat adapted. Just change the types of food you eat. It should look something like this:

Breakfast:
Coffee Blended with grass fed butter and Coconut or MCT Oil (This is what I do) or 3 eggs with yolks, bacon, butter, avocodo or protein shake made with coconut milk (full fat) with some berries, banana, greens supplement.

Lunch:
Chicken/Steak/Fish with a salad or mixed vegetables with butter. Olive oil on the salad and maybe an avocado.

Dinner Post workout:
Chicken/Steak/Fish with mixed veggies and a sweet potato or two with butter and cinnamon.

Snacks.
Don't snack. Eat until you are full at your meals.

[Wolf 335]

Originally Posted by DJP86

...but I usually run at least 2.5 miles a day post workout.

I think this is your problem. You should not be doing cardio every day after a workout.

With all the walking you are doing as is, limit your cardio days to 2days/week, maybe even 1day/week.

[Delta0311]

If you want to put on muscle then you will need to intake roughly 4k calories a day and having about 1g per lb of body weight of protein in that mix. You won't gain muscle mass on calorie restricted diets, even if you are on steroids. If you are burning more calories then you are putting in then growth is not going to happen. It's like trying to build a house with cement but no bricks.

The keys to gaining muscle are

caloricaly fulfilling diet, with a good ratio of nutrients, which include fats, carbs, proteins (amino acids), vitamins, minerals

a solid workout routine, that offers variation and the movements are executed properly

rest/sleep

[overcoil]

I don't think his diet is poor.
And his wrkout is comparable or less to someone who does hard manual labor for a living.
Adjusting cardio or resistance routine or manipulating the diet but not by much could increase energy
It just might be the psychological component, a completely new wrkout routine or completely new diet may get him out of the funk.
Alcohol could also be the issue.

[FType22]

Originally Posted by JNM3

I use FitnessPal app to help me, I know I'm undereating. I know Steve Sedan_Clan is good at this stuff

I was looking for information on this, it is made by under armor? does that sound correct?

[FType22]

Originally Posted by Delta0311

I agree with you on the fried and processed shit, I avoid that like a fat kid avoids changing for gym class. As far as the cardio goes, what I'm seeing is that most of your energy is spent on cardio. Now given how much time you spend doing cardio and your caloric intake, it is now wonder why you feel weak once you hit the weights. By that point you're pretty much running on fumes. If you can then split your work out, do cardio early in the AM and weights in the evening. If you don't have the time for that then split your days so that weights and cardio have their own days.

lol again. I should have clarified my strenuous cardio comes after my weights.

[FType22]

Originally Posted by Wolf 335

I think this is your problem. You should not be doing cardio every day after a workout.

With all the walking you are doing as is, limit your cardio days to 2days/week, maybe even 1day/week.

Yea makes sense, I just really enjoy doing cardio and watching sports. Lately it's basketball but I enjoy watching any sport and running. It's one of those "my life is at peace" moments when I can do some HIIT and want to die but I'm not bored because there's some entertaining stuff on the boob tube.

[JN1]

Yeah that's it.
https://www.myfitnesspal.com

[FType22]

Originally Posted by JNM3

Yeah that's it.
https://www.myfitnesspal.com

Wheres the "Thanks to this app I gained 35lbs of lean muscle!" app?

Otherwise, handy if I'm not too lazy to use it properly. I already have a bit bit telling me I've burned 3k calories a day this week with an app I can use to input food but when I make stuff at home I'm like "ehh 1/2 cup of rice? or was it 3/4 cup, what kind? the brown kind...nvm screw this"

[Sidewinderpb]

Originally Posted by Delta0311

Are you training for the concentration camp Olympics?