Spendius

Thank you all for the replies, I'm gonna do a reboot, take it easy for a week, try to eat more and 'balanced' to start repairing my metabolism, and then hit the gym again. This time however, I'll keep a very tight record of my nutrition along with my gym log. So I'll be posting again when I come up with my new plan.

*sigh* ok, seriously how do you guys track your foods? do you use an inertial spectrometer paired with an electron microscope? nevermind, you say I'm lying, fine by me, really, I know I'm not, maybe I should have posted a picture of EVERY MEAL I've had... Since apparently I'm not to be trusted then, please, pleaaaaaaaaaase help me with these rather generic questions, I'll figure something out by myself and try it out, we close the thread and this will be the end of it. I'm also going to give my current understanding, and you'll know (hopefully) I'm not that lazy guy who asks on forums without investigating first, however there is a lot of information out there, and since I'm not an expert I don't know what to believe: Nutrition - How many calories should I've be eating daily? Disil suggested 2k-2.5k calories depending on the day. I think it's quite a lot TBH, I'm not really used to eat like that, however, I know nothing, I'd gladly try that if you guys see it fit. I'd say, according to conventional knowledge, 500cal below my BMR is the rule of thumb, however my metabolism is probably wrecked and I can't accurately approximate this number ATM. - How many gr of protein should I take on workout and non-workut days? I'd say 1.5gr of protein per kg of lean body weight? I'ts just for maintaining muscle, but I'm not sure if I should have more protein in workout days or if it's irrelevant. - What would be an optimal percentages of protein, carbs, and fats? Lots of different articles on this one, I'd say F:40% P:30% C:30%? - How many meals should I have a day? Studies say it's irrelevant, conventional knowledge says 6 times a day. I'd say 3 times a day is ok? - Am I eating too fast? is there any importance on how fast you eat? No clue, I guess I eat at normal speed, and I'm not sure this is even important. - Is it better to eat less towards the evening, or is it irrelevant? No clue, all I've found is inconsistent on this one. - Is there any specific food timing when taking workouts into account? So far I've been having a pre-shake with carbs 1.5 hours before, and just protein right after workouts. I think this is not so bad, correct me if I'm wrong. - What kind of carbs should I be eating, also, would you consider using higher-GI carbs during pre/post workout window? I'm not a fan of sugar or sweet stuff, but according to what I've read, I should eat high-GI pre-workout, and low-GI post-workout, however I'm not confident on the accuracy of this, comments? - Should I use whey, or should I get those calories from food instead? considering my goal is to lose fat, while retaining muscle as much as possible No idea, some people say to go full natural, some other say whey is natural enough. - Cheat meal or not? Many sources say yes because it helps preventing the body going into starvation mode, but honestly I'm not sure on this one. Exercise - Should I continue with strength training? The thing with strength training is that it focuses on improving your 1RM and not on the total work. I've forced myself to be at a 3x5 rep scheme, instead of moving into 1x5 for the previous reason, however, workouts get insanely difficult. Should I consider any other rep scheme that targets fat loss in a better way? - Should I continue with progressive loading? No idea, maybe with a REALLY slow progression? I mention this because is impossible to keep schemes like 4x8 for too long while progressive loading. - How hard should I train? Honestly I'd like a little break, last 3 weeks have been awful, last friday tears came out of my eyes while finishing my deadlifts, it was brutal. However, if you guys think I should be working hard I'll keep doing it. - How many times should I train a week? I've ALWAYS trained 3x per week, I think is good for strength training. However, should I go more times? if so, how would the training change? no clue on this one. - Should I add more cardio? should I continue doing cardio acceleration? I really like cardio acceleration because regular cardio is fucking boring and I hate it, this way I can get a steady 12-13mins of high intensity cardio in each workout. Do you think this is acceptable? should I do it more times a week? Side note, my left knee is delicate, I have no problem at all squatting heavy, but if I go for a jog twice a week I'll get pains. So far, my cardio is done on an elliptical machine, I think this is ok as far as I get my hear rate go high, is this reasonable? Misc - Supplements? I currently take just Omega3, mainly because of an old injury on my left knee, should I consider something else? remember just for fat loss and maintaining muscle. - Should I consider cold showers or any other means to burn more calories? I read somewhere that swimmers burn a lot more calories because of heat transfer in water, is this something that can be exploited? - I'm currently a bit stressed, should I be worried? Some sources say cortisol is your enemy, some other say that a little stress is actually helpful. Should I consider some cortisol suppressant? (I'm just brainstorming here) @Waldo Now that you mention it, my sex drive has indeed been low in the past months, I never gave it any thought until now, but it's not so bad that I can't get a hard on. EDIT: Typo

This is what I've been trying to figure out all this time :@

Oh I just refreshed and saw new posts @Disil Ever since I can remember I've been a fatty, throughout my life I've learned to eat relatively little and avoid unhealthy stuff just to maintain my weight, for instance, I can't remember the last time I drank a soda, or put sugar in a coffee. The difference between how I eat now and before is that I restricted carbs even further (not knowing what else to do) as I mentioned, I've always stuck in the low-GI side of the spectrum, with the possible exceptions when hanging out with friends. @DerekP You have no idea how though it was for me last week at the gym. Last friday tears came out of my eyes right after finishing my deadlifts (I shit you not), it was ridiculously tough...

Thanks for your replies: @wovercast This post is a summary of a week following my regime http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/54759-what-am-i-doing-wrong/?p=1243659 which I've been doing for 3.5 months. The only differences between each week are: 1) the weight I use in my lifts (which I increment slowly), and 2) the cheat meal I decide to take on saturday. I lost 2kg the first 2 weeks (2 out of 14 weeks as of today), which I attribute to water loss thanks to sodium decrease. I weigh myself every other day, I know weight alone is not a good measurement that's why I mention my BF% approximate, I don't know exactly how much it is, I can only guess from googling pictures of other people. Nevertheless, eating as little as I do, and working out as hard as I do (hey, maybe I'm a pansy and the workouts don't look hard to anyone else, but to me they are ridiculously challenging) I expected to see more significant progress. Before trying this diet, and since a long time ago I've eaten considerably healthy. For instance, on a regular day I'd drink anything else than water, or I'd never eat stuff like rice, bread, pasta, I don't even like milk, and I find most fruits too sweet for my taste, and I hate sugar, my carbs usually are low-GI, like veggies or lentils. Of course this is on a regular day, if I go out with friends or on a date I'd be less restrictive, I don't want to be "that guy", who cant have a beer or won't share a pizza, however, as of now I've restricted myself to do this just once a week, and with lots of moderation on my part. So the reasoning behind my current protocol was to reduce carbs even further, as I said, I already was eating healthy and I had no idea what else could I change. @Disil People said in posts before that maybe some calories were sneaking in and that maybe I was overlooking some stuff, which I believe I wasn't. The reason was reluctant to do calorie counting is because the way I see it, that would be more appropriate for guys around 10%BF not fat old me. Nonetheless, I'm willing to admit I'm no expert and that I know nothing. Because my meals have been always the same, and I've been very consistent (http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/54759-what-am-i-doing-wrong/?p=1243659) here comes the acclaimed calorie counting: Non-workout day = 3 eggs + 220gr of tuna + lettuce = 3*91 + 198*220/100 + 0 = 708.6 calories Workout day = non-workout day + 150gr of whey protein + 30gr of oats + 8gr omega3 fish oil = 708.6 + 98*150/25 + 372*30/100 = 1408.2 calories Saturday = 3 eggs + 110gr of tuna + lettuce + a little indulgence = 3*91 + 198*110/100 + 0 + 800(guesstimating) = 1290.8 calories Average = (NWD*3 + WD*3 + SAT)/7 = 1091.6 calories Should I really cutoff more? I think I'm eating too little TBH, however, I never starved or felt cravings. The only downside was the challenging workouts at the gym and the monotony, honestly I would've gone like this for a whole years if I saw good progress, but since it wasn't the case, why should I :S? @Dradis I honestly don't feel comfortable cutting out more, I think I'm eating too little as of now. I've already done data collection here: http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/54759-what-am-i-doing-wrong/?p=1243659 @Freemont I honestly think the only gain I've accomplished is psychological endurance. I haven't made any real gains on strength, before starting my diet I decided to reduce the weight on my lifts to compensate for the reduction in carbs, for instance, 6 months ago I could lift more and with less effort, the workouts weren't THAT much challenging back then. I've lost 2Kg ok, but that was the first 2 weeks, my clothes feel the same, and my big belly looks the same as 2 months ago (I took pictures). EDIT: Typo

Update: My weight today 90.5Kg, BF% around 25-35, exactly the same as 2 weeks ago. This past week the workouts were insanely hard, and while I enjoy lifting heavy, it's very demotivating at the same time because no matter how hard I try I can't seem to get leaner. Logging all the data was an interesting exercise, these last 2 weeks made me realize I wasn't going outside the protocol I initially set for myself, it's just that the protocol itself doesn't work. So fuck it, I'll start eating like a normal person again and take it down a notch with the weights, I'm sure I'm not going to improve my looks, but at least I'm not going to be miserable. Sorry to say this, and don't take it the wrong way, but the replies here were fruitless to me. I came here asking for advice but the thread turned into a physiology lecture. Sure, it's interesting to know how your body works (or how it's supposed to work anyway) but the fact remains that I still don't know what else should I try now.

So, from what I've read here I have to change stuff a little bit, I'm cool with it TBH. Can you recommend me any nutrition/workout plan that focuses on losing fat? The more specific it is the better. I'd like to reduce errors on my part as much as possible BTW I'm not a preacher of keto diets or anything, I'm just trying things out to see if I can someday find something that works for me. I gave a shot to this CKD, but it's not working, so cool, moving on...

120gr of tuna. The can says it has 480gr of dried tuna, so I drain the oil and divide it by 4, which lasts for 2 days.

Alright, back as promised! Lots of chatter while I was gone, I'll address them in a separate post, but first I'll post the protocol I followed last week: (metric units) Schedule Non-workout days Wake up @ 8:00 Meal A @ 8:30 Meal B @ 14:00 ± 10min Meal B @ 20:00 ± 10min Sleep @ 00:00 ± 15min Workout days Wake up @ 8:00 Meal A @ 8:30 Meal B @ 13:00 ± 10min Meal B @ 17:00 ± 10min Shake A @ 19:00 Workout @ 20:30 Shake B @ 22:00 ± 10min (right after my last set) Sleep @ 00:00 ± 15min Meal A: 3 scrambled eggs with lettuce. Spices: a pinch of salt, a bit of extra-virgin olive oil, paprika, parsley, pepper. https://i.imgur.com/FAr3luI.jpg Meal B: 120gr of tuna with lettuce. Spices: Pepper flakes(aleppo), oregano, basil, thymus. https://i.imgur.com/eIjG2fW.jpg The tuna comes with a bit of sunflower oil, so I drain it as much as possible with a pasta filter https://i.imgur.com/vwFC8hV.jpg Shake A: 30gr of non-instant oats + 50gr of non-isolate whey protein. Shake B: 100gr of non-isolate whey protein + 8gr Omega3 fish oil. https://i.imgur.com/8tdQp1S.jpg (both here) Hydration: 4L of water daily, +2 cups (250ml) of tea (green, black or red) Saturday: Pretty much the same as the non-workout days, but substituting the Meal B @ 20:00 by this delicious burger + a 500ml beer https://i.imgur.com/ub03A2F.jpg Needless to say, the highlight of my week =( Workouts Monday, Sept/29 Squats: 3x5 @ 142.5Kg Shoulder Press: 5x5 @ 51.25Kg Deadlifts: 3x5 @ 152.5Kg Cardio: 15min, and 11min @ 175bpm My weight 90.5Kg Wednesday Squats: 3x5 @ 132.5Kg Bench Press: 5x5 @ 83.75Kg Cable Rows: 5x5 @ 80Kg Cardio: 17:20min, of which 13min @ 175bpm My weight 90.6Kg Friday Squats: 3x5 @ 145Kg Shoulder Press: 5x5 @ 52.5Kg Deadlifts: 3x5 @ 155Kg Cardio: 15min, and 11min @ 175bpm My weight 90.5Kg * All exercises include 4 incremental warm-up sets of 5, 5, 3 and 2 reps not shown above. ** I do 1:20min of cardio after each set on an elliptical machine. Takes 20secs for the machine to get into the highest difficulty, so I do 1min @ 175bpm on each "cardio set". Afterword My weight today, Monday, Oct/06: 90.6Kg I waited at the gym long enough to see another guy using the scale, just to check if it was broken, it wasn't. This experiment went pretty much as I thought it would. I didn't do any calorie counting whatsoever, but TBH I don't think I'm eating an excess considering all the exercise, besides I'm around 25-30% BF I don't think one should start counting calories at this point, IMHO. I never felt hungry, starved, cranky, with cravings or anything out of the ordinary. help me!

Challenge accepted, I'll be back in a bit more than a week with a very (VERY) detailed report containing everything I eat, and every workout I do, not changing anything, just logging every detail. I'll be absolutely OCD about this. Honestly I don't know why is so hard for me, I'm not even aiming to look ripped, 20%BF and I'd be the happiest guy ever, but FFS I look obese, despite eating like a bird and working my ass of in the gym. Thx JPrev!

Hey JPrev, Thanks for your comment. I know about the calorie deficit, but I wonder if it's healthy to eat less in my case. Everyday I eat 3 or 4 eggs, around 250g to 350g of tuna, and lettuce, distributed in 3 or 4 meals. This is not counting the shakes on gym days, but I think is not a lot of food either way. Truth is, I've always been sort of a fatty, ever since I was a kid, I can't really remember any time when I was lean. I used to eat a lot worse back in the day, truth, but I don't know what else should I remove now. I mean, should I eat less even if it makes me hungry?

Hello rebels, The time has come for me to ask in forums what am I doing wrong. I've read a lot and I've tried a lot, but it seems I can't lose fat. This is what I've been doing for the past 3 months: Stats Age: 28 Height: 5'7" (170cm) Weight: 198Lbs (90Kg) BF%: Around 25%-30%, eyeballing from here http://www.builtlean.com/2012/09/24/body-fat-percentage-men-women/ Diet My diet consists of eating eggs, tuna, and lettuce, that's pretty much it. I never starve neither I eat too much, I got used to eat the same stuff over and over, and I don't really have cravings anymore. Additionally, I drink 1 scoop of whey protein (50gr non-isolate) with 1oz of oatmeal (28g non instant) about 1.30 hours before gym, and 2 scoops of whey right after workout (100gr non-isolate) along with 8g of Omega-3 oil, mostly for the joints. I take these shakes 3x a week, not daily. I only drink water, around 1gal per day (4liters), no sugar or sweets (hate them TBH), and I use very little salt. However, I have one cheat meal a week, usually a pizza or a burger, nothing fancy, and 1 or maybe 2 beers. Workout I basically follow a modified version of stronglifts. I'm not a newbie, I consider myself intermediate, right now I'm squatting around 315lbs (140Kg) 3x5 @ 3x a week. About one month ago I decided to try cardio acceleration, which basically consists of doing 1min of high intensity cardio in between sets, it's brutal at first, but I'm improving my resistance and I'm getting a hang of it. On average I do 12mins of cardio @ a heartrate 175BPM. My resting heart rate is around 50BPM at the moment. Results My weight has been around the same all this time, sometimes goes a little bit up or down, but always the same. Have I lost fat? debatable, my belts and pants don't feel any different to me than 3 months ago, and my big fat belly looks exactly the same. Muscle gains? hard to tell, as I've said, I'm an intermediate lifter so I guess I'd say yes, but little if any. Strength and cardio improvements, yes, however, considering I was under a different training 3 months ago, I'm not sure how significant these improvements are. For instance, my 1RM squats in 2012 was around 405lbs, but I don't really think I can make it right now. All is relative at this point. ADVICE PLS I'm open to any suggestion, really, anything, I'd like to tackle this once and for all. I feel tempted to go for more cardio on my rest days, but I'm a bit concerned about overtraining, and honestly I don't know what else to do =( Should I weigh my food and count every calorie? should I remove some whey? should I exercise more? I took a thyroid blood test around 6 months ago when I was trying another training plan but results were not out of the ordinary, so maybe that rules out thyroid issues? UPDATE: 1 week of data http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/54759-what-am-i-doing-wrong/?p=1243659