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View Full Version : Struggling with dieting, looking for help.



The Underdog
12-21-08, 3:14 am
Like I'm sure a lot of guys have, I've put on some unsightly holiday pudge over the last few months. I've been fighting like hell to get rid of it but nothing's working. I've tried carb cycling and low carb diets and I can't do it more than a week without hitting a wall (I've tried really hard and used plenty of supplements; it just falls through). I lose so much energy and motivation for the gym and it really messes with my mood and sleep habits. I do great in the gym when I'm eating a lot more and I notice solid strength gains, but my main goal is to shed body fat (I'm at 20.5% right now which isn't healthy). A guy I used to work out with suggested a "clean bulk" diet to help with my dieting problems and fat loss. Any ideas?

Little Z
12-21-08, 4:47 am
Like I'm sure a lot of guys have, I've put on some unsightly holiday pudge over the last few months. I've been fighting like hell to get rid of it but nothing's working. I've tried carb cycling and low carb diets and I can't do it more than a week without hitting a wall (I've tried really hard and used plenty of supplements; it just falls through). I lose so much energy and motivation for the gym and it really messes with my mood and sleep habits. I do great in the gym when I'm eating a lot more and I notice solid strength gains, but my main goal is to shed body fat (I'm at 20.5% right now which isn't healthy). A guy I used to work out with suggested a "clean bulk" diet to help with my dieting problems and fat loss. Any ideas?

Whats your height, weight, and your current diet look like.. give us an idea of what a day looks
like for you, then we will be able to help you out a whole lot more bro.

The Underdog
12-21-08, 5:12 am
Whats your height, weight, and your current diet look like.. give us an idea of what a day looks
like for you, then we will be able to help you out a whole lot more bro.

Right now, I'm at 6'2, and about 210. My most recent diets were both low carb and carb cycling related...One was around 2,200-2,300 cals, going 100 carbs (oatmeal, broccoli, yams) or less for 5 days and then around 300 carbs for 2 days. I kept my fat intake around 60-70 grams (almonds,ect.) and my protein (chicken breast, whey, lean ground beef) at about 1.5-1 a day. It was a very clean diet and I got good results on it for two weeks or so, but then I would start having the energy problems I was talking about earlier and that killed the results I was getting. I tried a three day carb cycling diet (similar macros, but less fat on the highest carb day and greater fat on the lowest) and it worked a little better, but after about two weeks on it, I only found myself having energy to do anything after eating my high carb foods. Like I've been saying...i've lost some body fat doing these diets, but after a period of time, the trade off wasnt worth it. Besides, I'm not the strongest guy in the gym and another big goal of mine besides getting lean is increasing my strength, which obviously isn't going to happen if I'm in the rut I'm in.

Little Z
12-21-08, 6:42 am
how many meals were you consuming a day? sounds like your body was hitting those walls due
to not having any fuel.. what made you honestly stop the former diets, what made you think
it wasnt working for you anymore.. tryin to get as much info as possible to help out bro.. gotta
get you goin again so you can lean out and get some strength.. and also.. there will ALWAYS
be someone bigger and stronger than you, so dont let that get you down at all bro!

The Underdog
12-21-08, 1:29 pm
how many meals were you consuming a day? sounds like your body was hitting those walls due
to not having any fuel.. what made you honestly stop the former diets, what made you think
it wasnt working for you anymore.. tryin to get as much info as possible to help out bro.. gotta
get you goin again so you can lean out and get some strength.. and also.. there will ALWAYS
be someone bigger and stronger than you, so dont let that get you down at all bro!

Thanks for the help and encouragement buddy, I appreciate it.

I was trying to eat every 2.5-3 hours...which I was able to do with no problem, but by the time I got to my final meals of the day I was so hungry I could barely do anything (carb cravings were nasty). I sucked it up and stayed with the diets for a couple weeks. I just lost so much strength and energy and started having a lot of mood issues, which I've heard can be related to going low-carb for too long. I can write up my entire diet and post it here if it helps...I'm trying to find out if I can eat enough food to really boost my strength as much as possible, but while staying as lean as possible too.

MELTDOWN
12-21-08, 2:17 pm
with almost 20 years of weight training, the diet factor is always the hardest. figuring your system out takes time and alot of effort. i've tried it all, low carb, no carb, pizza diet, vinegar and lemon diet, eat it all and dream it away diet, blah blah blah. it takes time to see what you body reacts to. mine now is a simple and really cleaning up my meals, lowering weight and upping reps in the gym, and cardio'ing my arse off for about 7-9 weeks. every year (for the last 7) i gain to about 240 (and no it doesn't bother me 'cause i'm big and strong as sheet). the week after Christmas and all the eating i make the switch and it all starts to peel off. others make those new year's resolutions while i call mine an annual revolution. meals are frequent, 7-8 per day, with 2 shakes and i end up killing 2 cans of Cuts.. typically the week after valentine's i arrive at my target weight and i may tweek it by a few pounds depending on what i feel.
again, keep diggin and trying as each body is different. and omst of the time, there's something simple you can add or subtract the flips the switch. and when (not if) you hit that dreaded wall, think of it as that extra forced rep or 2 in the gym. it may hurt like poo at the time, but in the end the results are worth it.
Carry On !!

The Underdog
12-21-08, 2:28 pm
with almost 20 years of weight training, the diet factor is always the hardest. figuring your system out takes time and alot of effort. i've tried it all, low carb, no carb, pizza diet, vinegar and lemon diet, eat it all and dream it away diet, blah blah blah. it takes time to see what you body reacts to. mine now is a simple and really cleaning up my meals, lowering weight and upping reps in the gym, and cardio'ing my arse off for about 7-9 weeks. every year (for the last 7) i gain to about 240 (and no it doesn't bother me 'cause i'm big and strong as sheet). the week after Christmas and all the eating i make the switch and it all starts to peel off. others make those new year's resolutions while i call mine an annual revolution. meals are frequent, 7-8 per day, with 2 shakes and i end up killing 2 cans of Cuts.. typically the week after valentine's i arrive at my target weight and i may tweek it by a few pounds depending on what i feel.
again, keep diggin and trying as each body is different. and omst of the time, there's something simple you can add or subtract the flips the switch. and when (not if) you hit that dreaded wall, think of it as that extra forced rep or 2 in the gym. it may hurt like poo at the time, but in the end the results are worth it.
Carry On !!

Good words of encouragement. Thanks

MELTDOWN
12-21-08, 11:02 pm
no worries, and thanks. at 23, your body is probably just starting to 'sort itself'. that said, you should be able to add or subtract pounds much easier than we at mid 30's and up. patience is the word, take good of notes on food, supps and training. then push thru the frustration especailly when you see no results or go in the other direction. there's tons of info here on the FORVM and questions net answers. the only dumb questions are the un asked ones.
Carry On !!