Losing Weight

Whats the best nutritional outlook on losing weight?  I'm going to read Dan's post on it soon but Im wondering if there are any more tips.  I know you have to eat about 300 less than what you start with so I'd be eating 5000-300 = 4700 cals

i seriously doubt that u could lose weight with 4700 calories a day. even when im active 6 days a week with intense exercise i only eat roughly 2200 calories to lose wieght. obviously every1's different but i dont think u would need more than 2x wat i would need.

Duke of the Emancipation Detoxification

yeah, but is it wise to drop from 5000 cals all the way to 3000 or so in a day?

no i just meant that 4700 is not going to be an amount where u can just leave it at if u want to lose wieght. but yes you do need to do a transition from bulking to cutting so what u said b4 would be good just dropping it 300 every 1-3 days should be fine.

Duke of the Emancipation Detoxification

 

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In the last year you gained around 35 pounds of muscle!
                          
                       
        
                          
 
Wish there were before and current pics.
Take a pic now!
 
 

Whats the best nutritional outlook on losing weight?  I'm going to read Dan's post on it soon but Im wondering if there are any more tips.  I know you have to eat about 300 less than what you start with so I'd be eating 5000-300 = 4700 cals

 
First forget about figuring out metabolic rate BME/GRE etc.
 
If your body is burining 5000 calories a day and you are at maintenance ...that is your current metabolic rate.
 
Got it?
 
 
Goal..you need a goal!
You are 218
BF% 18%
Lean Mass - 178
Fat mass - 40
 
Lets say you want to lose 20 pounds of fat...
Making you around 198 at around 10%
 
That can take about 20 weeks or two cycles +-.  You can do it faster, but you have to give up some muscle along the way for that!
 
I am afraid david is waaay off here:

i seriously doubt that u could lose weight with 4700 calories a day. even when im active 6 days a week with intense exercise i only eat roughly 2200 calories to lose wieght. obviously every1's different but i dont think u would need more than 2x wat i would need. ....no i just meant that 4700 is not going to be an amount where u can just leave it at if u want to lose wieght. but yes you do need to do a transition from bulking to cutting so what u said b4 would be good just dropping it 300 every 1-3 days should be fine.

 
A few rules:
ONLY change your calories when indicated by a fat-loss plateau.
Remember, you need to Vary your training weekly.
Very gradually increase cardio times when you start cardio.
In fact do everything gradually to milk every step!
 
Now...where to begin a cut?
 
Take a week off.
 
Come back with a new 10-week lifting plan.
That plan should include training the whole body at least 2x a week 3x a week is ok
One low weight and one higher weight day for each bodypart
 
Lower weight helps to maintain muscle mass
Higher weight helps to stimulate the other fractions of muscle that are more efficient at burning fat.
 
Lifting routines not to exceed 40 minutes.
 
Start training at your current maintenance figure. 4700 or 4500..just guess.  IT does not matter.
No cardio the first week.
Go a week and see what happens.
Adjust calories if you are still gaining weight, unless it is just muscle.
If you are losing weight, monitor it to be sure it is not muscle.
Go another week with no carido.
 
Ok, now you are in control and starting off at a good place.
You will find a link to HIIT training in the losing fat post.
Week 3 start the 8 -week HIIT.
 
Remember that though it has a variance built in to it..you can vary the type!
Jumping rope, jogging, swimming, etc...
 
Monitor your body changes week to week.
The goal is 1/2 to 2 pounds loss a week.
 
Use the rules given in the lose fat thread...
Basically if you are losing fat, don't change anything.
If you slow fat loss below 1/2 pound, drop 300 calories.
 
There are a few refinements we can talk about.
 
First what does your diet look like now? 
Can you post it including the ratio and amounts of protein carbs and fat?
 
This was a bunch of info...we can talk about rest when you are clear on all this.

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Thanks for the reply Dan,
 
Nutritional Daily Intake Meal Plan:
 
Meal One Pre W/O 4:30 AM
30 G Whey Protein
3 Bananas
43 G Creatine
Multivitamin
 
Meal One Breakdown
92 g Carbohydrate (just realized the creatine added a LOT of carbs, but I can use the creatine without the sugar added its just really gritty)
30 G Whey Protein
5,250 mg Creatine Monohydrate
 
Meal One Postworkout 5:00 AM
3 Bananas
30 G whey protein
60 G carbs 30 G protein
 
Meal Two 6:00 AM
3 cups of brown rice
1/2 cup walnuts
1 can tunafish
1 cup brocolli / cellery
108 G Carbs 34 G complete protein (12 G simple proteins) 36 G Fat
 
Snack 9:00 AM
20 G Whey protein
1 Cup Cellery
20 G Protein
 
Meal 3 11:45 AM
3 Cups Br. Rice
1 Cup Cellery/Broccoli
1/2 Cup Walnuts
1 Can Tunafish
108 G Carbs 34 G complete protein (12 G simple proteins) 36 G Fat
 
Snack 3:00 PM before bus ride
20 G whey protein
1 cup cellery
20 G Protein
 
Meal 4 4:00 PM
3 cups Br. rice
1/2 cup walnuts
1 can tunafish
1 cup brocolli / cellery
108 G Carbs 34 G complete protein (12 G simple proteins) 36 G Fat
 
Meal 5 7:00 PM
3 cups Br. rice
1/2 cup walnuts
1 can tunafish
1 cup brocolli / cellery
108 G Carbs 34 G complete protein (12 G simple proteins) 36 G Fat
 
As you can tell I dont really change many components of my diet because I dont have much money for the things I get as it is.  I find these things are the cheapest for where I live.
 
Total Breakdown: 584 G carbs (2336 cals) 144 G Fat (1296 Cals) 236 G Complete Protein (944 cals) 48 G simple carbs (192 Cals)
Total Cals = 4698 discluding the carb amt. in veggies so probably about 4800 cals, a bit less than i thought i was taking. And i've been getting good gains with around this amt. of cals.
 
I was surprised when you said it would take about 20 weeks to drop down to about 10% BF.  Thats quite a long time!  Also, when you said to do high weight and low weight for training, does that mean low reps and high reps and rotate them for each week of training along with a varied intensity?  I thought for losing weight u just worried about high reps.  Also I read your article on losing weight and it talked about taking your carb for pre w/o during workout and not taking a post workout carb?  Maybe I read that wrong though.  As you may have noticed in the meal plan I do workout first thing in the morning so I should have that slight advantage you talked about.

43 G Creatine

 
Was that a typo..that is totally wacked!!!

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I was surprised when you said it would take about 20 weeks to drop down to about 10% BF.

1/2 to 2 pounds a week.  Average is about 1.  Once you GET IT you can do 1-2 pounds a week.  I used 1 a week to be conservative and reasonable.
 
Look, you gained 3/4 pound muscle a week...that was a reasonable ongoing gain.  You hit some plateaus.
 
You might do better.  But why worry about it.  Like I said you can go faster, but it will cost you more muscle.
 

Also, when you said to do high weight and low weight for training, does that mean low reps and high reps and rotate them for each week of training along with a varied intensity? 

That means, say, hitting the WHOLE body 2x a week a week would include: 
Cycle 1- reps in the 15-25 range
Cycle 2- reps in the 9-12+- range
 
You want the higher reps to stimulate oxidative muscle...
You want the lower reps to maintain (and maybe grow) the muscle you already have.
 

Also I read your article on losing weight and it talked about taking your carb for pre w/o during workout and not taking a post workout carb? 

Lets look at what you have:
 

Meal One Pre W/O
92 g Carbohydrate
30 G Whey Protein

I would say you are a bit carb heavy here.
Maybe shoot for 60g carbs
This should be 30 minutes pre W/O
 

Meal One Postworkout 5:00 AM
30 G protein
60 G carbs

OK.
 
They look good from an optimal anabolic standpoint.
However, you may not want all the carbs there and so, though you may start this way, perhaps if fat loss is not happening at the desired pace...after the second week of cardio...this is one area to adjust.

The slight advantage comes from doing Cardio first thing in the AM on an empty stomach.
Followed by a supportive meal.

 
20 G Whey protein
1 Cup Celery
20 G Protein

 
What is the story with these "snack" meals?
Those are not ideal.  But they look like fillers until you can get to a meal. I would understand that.
 
Now for some menu critique...buckle yourself in!
Granted from a performance perspective the menu is almost fine.
 
Problem #1 - 3
1
You need to get other types of protein in there.
Beef, turkey, chicken, etc.
 
Tuna has too much toxic load to eat that much!
Especially while cutting!
This by itself will cause you to store more fat and resist fat loss....the body uses fat to immobilize toxins.
 
2
And...What about switching up the starch?
3
AND...What about switching up the vegetable!
 
Meal 2
Hard boiled or scrambled egg
Oatmeal
various veggies
 
Meal 3
Turkey
Baked sweet potato
Red pepper
 
Meal 4
chicken or beef
Rice
Broccoli
 
Meal 5
Tuna
Sweet potato
salad
 
I would guess buying a whole turkey cost less than tuna per gram of protein!
Same with a chicken!  Eggs are questionable...as far as price.
 
#4
Now, do you go to bed at 8 or 9?
Otherwise what is with the last meal so early.
That is another potential trouble spot.
 
Total Cals = 4576
584 G carbs (2336 cals) 51%
144 G Fat (1296 Cals) 28%
236 G Complete Protein (944 cals)  21%
 
??? How do you get 4800?
 
What is with the simple carb figure..are you not including that in your total carbs?
Total carbs is TOTAL carbs.
 
OK I'm done!!!
 

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The simple carbs was a typo, it was supposed to say simple proteins.  I didnt think you needed various carbs or proteins, I will buy chicken and turkey and I eat eggs once and a while.  I have trouble finding sweet potatoes without the added syrup.  Whats wrong with only eating brown rice?  I thought it was one of the best carbs to have?  I suppose I can buy more carbs aswell, and veggies.  Snacks are because Im at school and passing times between classes arent long enough to have a decent meal.

The simple carbs was a typo, it was supposed to say simple proteins.

Ok, then what the heck is simple proteins?  Did you include them in total proteins?
Total protein is TOTAL protein.

 Snacks are because Im at school and passing times between classes arent long enough to have a decent meal.

Cool.
 

 I have trouble finding sweet potatoes without the added syrup.

Can you buy them fresh and bake em yourself?  That would be best.  I just baked 4 huge ones for the week
 
 

Whats wrong with only eating brown rice?  I thought it was one of the best carbs to have?

Nothing is wrong with it.
 
HOwever, you are not getting enough variety in you foods and are likely to end up with nutritional, enzyme, and other defieciencies.  That means the body won't run at optimal....
 

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Oh I see...  Well honestly I just guessed that im about 18%, when I use my calipers it says 12-14% depending on where I do it on, I read the manual but I still dont know where exactly is the place to measure bodyfat.  I do it on the side of my body under my ribcage midway between hip and ribcage.  The reason I think im around 18% is because I used an electric one and it said 24% bf but that seems a bit high.  Anyways, if I could figure out how to use these damn calipers I should figure it out. 

You have the "gun" with the book?
skinfold Calipers <---??? this one

Taking the measurements on yourself?

Look at this page...
http://www.linear-software.com/online.html

Read it.

You can easily use Jackson/Pollack 3 and/or Jackson/Pollack 4
Do them both to get a range.

There are graphic representations on how to get chest and ab...just click the "blue word" links for those.

For thigh it shows how that is taken as a vertical fold at the front midpoint of the thigh.

For triceps, I hold the arm out to the side with palm up and use the caliper to get the pinch.
That is also an vertical (along the axis of the bone) pinch at the back of the arm at the midpoint...as on the picture!

Any questions about that?

Those electrical scales DO NOT WORK for people of bodybuilding stature!  Period.
(When I am at 13% by all other methods they show me at much higher!)

What you need is to keep a running log of all the caliper measurements and compare from week to week. 

The changes in fold thickness are the biggest help when cutting!!!!

Take as many of these points as you can every week!
Chest - Diagonal fold, midway between upper armpit and nipple
Midaxillary - Horizontal fold, directly below armpit
Bicep - Vertical fold, halfway between shoulder and elbow, directly on bicep
Abdominal - Vertical fold, one inch to the right of navel
Suprailiac - Diagonal fold, directly above iliac crest
Thigh- Vertical fold, midway between knee cap and top of thigh
Calf - Vertical fold, inside of leg on largest part of calf
Subscapular - Diagonal fold, directly below shoulder blade
Tricep - Vertical fold, midway between elbow and shoulder
Lower Back - Horizontal fold, directly over the kidneys, and 2 inches to the right of spine

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i dont have the gun type, i have the ones that look like a < symbol.  Im having troubles figuring out how to do this.

i tried it with these calipers but i didnt no how far down i was supposed to go from the skin, like how far under the reg. skin?  Ah this is confusing to me :|