Dieting
=====
There are many diet strategies, some of them are proven and work very well. Some are posted and discussed here already. If you are getting solid results with them, you can skip this section. But if you're wondering why you're not getting results like others, this might help. Here are my experiences with various things:
Intermittent Fasting
-----------------------
First thing I tried, and still do (skipping breakfast). It gave me limited success at first, but not below 20% BF. I had to take into account other things.
Calorie Counting
-------------------
Above 20% mark, you can get quite lean, even down to about 15% or so without any calorie counting. As long as you eat good quality food, you will get leaner.
Below that though, you will need to count calories, at least at first (after a while you can estimate). You need to know your macros: Protein / Carbs / Fats or P/C/F.
I use MyFitnessPal to record mine. I also have a small kitchen scale at home, and I do a best estimate while I'm eating out. You develop a skill for eyeballing propotion sizes and guessing their macros eventually.
I refused to do this for the longest time thinking of it as a massive inconvenience, but eventually caved in and found that it only took me less than 2 weeks to make it an easy habit like brushing my teeth.
Fats vs Carbs
---------------
We learned a few years ago that Fat is not the enemy, but Carb is. Now you start to hear respectable fitness gurus speaking up for Carb, saying that it is NOT the enemy.
So why do people succeed on either method? Both work, actually, just not together. Your average person gets really fat because they eat a high carbs AND high fats diet. To get lean, choose either a high fat, low carbs diet, or a high carbs low fat diet (protein is always reasonably high in both).
I started with the former, but now I do the latter. I find it easier to maintain, because I like fruits, bread and ice cream more than fatty cuts of meat. My current P/C/F (at 157lb) is 200g/330g/77g and increasing weekly. Some days if I'm more active than usual, I'd get into the 400+ g of carbs range. More on this later.
Caloric Deficit
----------------
As my DEXA scan doctor pointed out from day one, a 500 calories deficit per day is half a kg or roughly 1lb of fat loss per week, which is plenty and maintainable. He also gave me some numbers on my BMR and how much less I should be eating.
He's right, but it misses a few things, as I later found out.
Firstly, my best fat loss cycle happened when I had a very small daily caloric deficit, <150 calories, but sustained that mode for a long period.
Secondly, my second best fat loss cycle happened when I ate way more than my estimated BMR, and while the DEXA chart guessed that I ate 150 calories less per day. In reality, my BMR got higher, and I had no intention of having a caloric deficit.
Never stay in a caloric deficit more than 8 weeks (usually 6 weeks is ideal if you cut slowly, 3-4 weeks if you cut more aggressively), your BMR will tank.
While under a caloric deficit, you must increase food quality, to get the most bang for bucks. Choose foods rich in micro-nutrients. That way you won't feel the effect as much.
BMR - Base Metabolic Rate
------------------------------
500 calories deficit per day has many variations, depending on your BMR.
If your BMR is 2000 calories, -500 puts you in 1500 and that's poverty macro range for a man. If it's 2500 calories, you get 2000 on a deficit, and that's more maintainable. If it's 3000 calories and you're my size, 2500 calories on a deficit is not even noticeable. If it's 3500 calories like one of my friends (also my size)...
The idea is to constantly raise your BMR to ridiculously high numbers so that when you cut, it has no effect on your training and lifestyle. And this is exactly how you get lean, stay lean while cutting and enjoying healthy normal meals socially i.e nearly all of my ambitious goals stated in the first post.
Which means I don't like solutions like the following:
Rapid Fat Loss
----------------
I tried it for a bit, bought the book and everything. Didn't like it because I got really weak during those weeks. It makes sense as Lyle McDonald doesn't really understand strength training nor cares about it (see his discussion vs Rippetoe).
I regained most of the fats I lost afterwards during maintenance, as my body was probably anxious to get back to the previous BMR!
Anything with a Refeed / Cheat Meals
------------------------------------------
Much the same, I found myself regaining fats easily during a refeed / cheat meals, probably due to depriving myself of those foods for so long. When asked, people told me it's because my metabolism has slowed down in my late 20s, early 30s... Hah, couldn't be more wrong!
I used to do this strict dieting a lot before powerlifting comps to fit in the weight class (most powerlifters do this) and after looking really lean on comp day, I'd go cheat-eat for a day or two to celebrate, and ended up in a worse position than previously. It may sound impossible to gain so much fat in a short period, but apparently it's possible even among bodybuilders, if you listen to Layne Norton's youtube channel.
I much prefer and have adapted these methods instead:
IIFYM - If It Fits Your Macros
--------------------------------
Macros here = Protein / Carbs / Fats in grams, e.g mine is currently 200 / 330 / 77.
The idea is that you eat whatever you like, as long as the total fits in that daily macro. Nothing is technically off-limits.
The skill is in choosing the ratios. If you choose the right one, they have certain implications. If you look at mine for example, it implies:
- High protein and low fat mean I need to eat leaner cuts of meat, which means healthier foods (preferably homecooked) in general because takeaway foods are very fatty
- Requirement for lean proteins means sometimes I eat chicken organ meats because they have high proteins, low fats and are very cheap. When I cook meat, I also rinse and cut the fats out.
- Certain food groups like nuts are restricted, because of high fat content
- High carbs mean lots of fruits, and sometimes I "have to" eat ice cream to make up for my daily carbs intake.![[Image: tongue.gif]](https://rooshvforum.network/images/smilies/tongue.gif)
- High carbs require me to be very physically active, which I am.
How to choose: one good method is to start with your bodyweight in lb for grams of protein, half of your bodyweight in lb for grams of fats, and say 1.2x your bodyweight in lb for grams of carbs. Then slowly increase them all (see next section).
Reverse Dieting
------------------
This is by far the best thing I've ever done for my dieting. This essentially combines everything above and then some. It's helped me achieve all of my goals and I wish I knew this from the beginning. I bought the book through Layne Norton's recommendation on his Youtube channel. It's written by one of his students, with his contributions. The book is targeted towards females and specifically female figure athletes but it works wonder for us too.
First you need to know your macros and have been calorie counting. Then you start with a cut. It should be moderate, like a 500 calories daily deficit, for X weeks (I did a less aggressive one which lasted about 7 weeks). Your macros during this period should be high on protein, low on fats, and moderate on carbs.
As soon as it ends, keep your protein the same, or even reduce it a little bit (I took 10% off mine) and add 10% to both carbs and fats. Go for 1-2 weeks, weighing yourself each week to see if anything changes.
After this, every week or 2, add a couple of % (or just 10g of carbs in my case) to your carbs and maybe a tiny bit of fats macros. e.g I just went like this (ratios are all P/C/F)
End of cut: 220/170/70
Post-cut: 200/187/77
Week 1: 200/200/77
Week 2: 200/210/77
.....
If your weight remains roughly the same (I kept losing) keep going.
What does this do? After a cut, you still have this momentum of losing fat, but you're slowly increasing calories to reset your BMR to a higher rate. You're boosting your metabolism while potentially losing some extra fats at the same time (the body is slow to change), and setting yourself up for a much easier cut later. But you have to go really slowly, or this won't work.
With the additional carbs, you can take on more physical activities too. If you're doing something aggressive like boxing, and have been feeling like you're passing out on low carbs diets, this is the solution.
I now have the metabolism of a teenager (which I never actually had as a teenager) thanks to Reverse Dieting.
What my meals look like
---------------------------
Breakfast: skip, just coffee
Lunch: burgers and chips, good sandwiches from cafes, subways, rice + vegs + chicken / beef (homecooked), bread + eggs + deli meat
Dinner: similar to lunch, plus other dishes like steak, stir frys, pizzas, pastas i.e general foods you get socially at restaurants. If it fits my macros...
Snacks: fruits (a lot), ice cream (lots of good gelato places here), chocolate, caramel slices, tarts
Note: I have excellent portion controls with the "bad" foods because I can eat them regularly without fear. Having said that, I do not have them stocked at home, as a rule.
Drinks: I regularly drink red wine (2 glasses at home, more if I'm out) and whisky. Not much of a beer drinker.
Supplements
---------------
I found BCAA and Creatine useful when I was on low carbs, but now I don't need them.
I have WPC somewhat regularly to hit my protein macro, but not relying on it so much. Usually taken post-WO.
I take Vit D, Zinc and Fish Oil. Occasionally Magnesium.
My Pre-WO and during-WO are fruits.
=====
There are many diet strategies, some of them are proven and work very well. Some are posted and discussed here already. If you are getting solid results with them, you can skip this section. But if you're wondering why you're not getting results like others, this might help. Here are my experiences with various things:
Intermittent Fasting
-----------------------
First thing I tried, and still do (skipping breakfast). It gave me limited success at first, but not below 20% BF. I had to take into account other things.
Calorie Counting
-------------------
Above 20% mark, you can get quite lean, even down to about 15% or so without any calorie counting. As long as you eat good quality food, you will get leaner.
Below that though, you will need to count calories, at least at first (after a while you can estimate). You need to know your macros: Protein / Carbs / Fats or P/C/F.
I use MyFitnessPal to record mine. I also have a small kitchen scale at home, and I do a best estimate while I'm eating out. You develop a skill for eyeballing propotion sizes and guessing their macros eventually.
I refused to do this for the longest time thinking of it as a massive inconvenience, but eventually caved in and found that it only took me less than 2 weeks to make it an easy habit like brushing my teeth.
Fats vs Carbs
---------------
We learned a few years ago that Fat is not the enemy, but Carb is. Now you start to hear respectable fitness gurus speaking up for Carb, saying that it is NOT the enemy.
So why do people succeed on either method? Both work, actually, just not together. Your average person gets really fat because they eat a high carbs AND high fats diet. To get lean, choose either a high fat, low carbs diet, or a high carbs low fat diet (protein is always reasonably high in both).
I started with the former, but now I do the latter. I find it easier to maintain, because I like fruits, bread and ice cream more than fatty cuts of meat. My current P/C/F (at 157lb) is 200g/330g/77g and increasing weekly. Some days if I'm more active than usual, I'd get into the 400+ g of carbs range. More on this later.
Caloric Deficit
----------------
As my DEXA scan doctor pointed out from day one, a 500 calories deficit per day is half a kg or roughly 1lb of fat loss per week, which is plenty and maintainable. He also gave me some numbers on my BMR and how much less I should be eating.
He's right, but it misses a few things, as I later found out.
Firstly, my best fat loss cycle happened when I had a very small daily caloric deficit, <150 calories, but sustained that mode for a long period.
Secondly, my second best fat loss cycle happened when I ate way more than my estimated BMR, and while the DEXA chart guessed that I ate 150 calories less per day. In reality, my BMR got higher, and I had no intention of having a caloric deficit.
Never stay in a caloric deficit more than 8 weeks (usually 6 weeks is ideal if you cut slowly, 3-4 weeks if you cut more aggressively), your BMR will tank.
While under a caloric deficit, you must increase food quality, to get the most bang for bucks. Choose foods rich in micro-nutrients. That way you won't feel the effect as much.
BMR - Base Metabolic Rate
------------------------------
500 calories deficit per day has many variations, depending on your BMR.
If your BMR is 2000 calories, -500 puts you in 1500 and that's poverty macro range for a man. If it's 2500 calories, you get 2000 on a deficit, and that's more maintainable. If it's 3000 calories and you're my size, 2500 calories on a deficit is not even noticeable. If it's 3500 calories like one of my friends (also my size)...
The idea is to constantly raise your BMR to ridiculously high numbers so that when you cut, it has no effect on your training and lifestyle. And this is exactly how you get lean, stay lean while cutting and enjoying healthy normal meals socially i.e nearly all of my ambitious goals stated in the first post.
Which means I don't like solutions like the following:
Rapid Fat Loss
----------------
I tried it for a bit, bought the book and everything. Didn't like it because I got really weak during those weeks. It makes sense as Lyle McDonald doesn't really understand strength training nor cares about it (see his discussion vs Rippetoe).
I regained most of the fats I lost afterwards during maintenance, as my body was probably anxious to get back to the previous BMR!
Anything with a Refeed / Cheat Meals
------------------------------------------
Much the same, I found myself regaining fats easily during a refeed / cheat meals, probably due to depriving myself of those foods for so long. When asked, people told me it's because my metabolism has slowed down in my late 20s, early 30s... Hah, couldn't be more wrong!
I used to do this strict dieting a lot before powerlifting comps to fit in the weight class (most powerlifters do this) and after looking really lean on comp day, I'd go cheat-eat for a day or two to celebrate, and ended up in a worse position than previously. It may sound impossible to gain so much fat in a short period, but apparently it's possible even among bodybuilders, if you listen to Layne Norton's youtube channel.
I much prefer and have adapted these methods instead:
IIFYM - If It Fits Your Macros
--------------------------------
Macros here = Protein / Carbs / Fats in grams, e.g mine is currently 200 / 330 / 77.
The idea is that you eat whatever you like, as long as the total fits in that daily macro. Nothing is technically off-limits.
The skill is in choosing the ratios. If you choose the right one, they have certain implications. If you look at mine for example, it implies:
- High protein and low fat mean I need to eat leaner cuts of meat, which means healthier foods (preferably homecooked) in general because takeaway foods are very fatty
- Requirement for lean proteins means sometimes I eat chicken organ meats because they have high proteins, low fats and are very cheap. When I cook meat, I also rinse and cut the fats out.
- Certain food groups like nuts are restricted, because of high fat content
- High carbs mean lots of fruits, and sometimes I "have to" eat ice cream to make up for my daily carbs intake.
- High carbs require me to be very physically active, which I am.
How to choose: one good method is to start with your bodyweight in lb for grams of protein, half of your bodyweight in lb for grams of fats, and say 1.2x your bodyweight in lb for grams of carbs. Then slowly increase them all (see next section).
Reverse Dieting
------------------
This is by far the best thing I've ever done for my dieting. This essentially combines everything above and then some. It's helped me achieve all of my goals and I wish I knew this from the beginning. I bought the book through Layne Norton's recommendation on his Youtube channel. It's written by one of his students, with his contributions. The book is targeted towards females and specifically female figure athletes but it works wonder for us too.
First you need to know your macros and have been calorie counting. Then you start with a cut. It should be moderate, like a 500 calories daily deficit, for X weeks (I did a less aggressive one which lasted about 7 weeks). Your macros during this period should be high on protein, low on fats, and moderate on carbs.
As soon as it ends, keep your protein the same, or even reduce it a little bit (I took 10% off mine) and add 10% to both carbs and fats. Go for 1-2 weeks, weighing yourself each week to see if anything changes.
After this, every week or 2, add a couple of % (or just 10g of carbs in my case) to your carbs and maybe a tiny bit of fats macros. e.g I just went like this (ratios are all P/C/F)
End of cut: 220/170/70
Post-cut: 200/187/77
Week 1: 200/200/77
Week 2: 200/210/77
.....
If your weight remains roughly the same (I kept losing) keep going.
What does this do? After a cut, you still have this momentum of losing fat, but you're slowly increasing calories to reset your BMR to a higher rate. You're boosting your metabolism while potentially losing some extra fats at the same time (the body is slow to change), and setting yourself up for a much easier cut later. But you have to go really slowly, or this won't work.
With the additional carbs, you can take on more physical activities too. If you're doing something aggressive like boxing, and have been feeling like you're passing out on low carbs diets, this is the solution.
I now have the metabolism of a teenager (which I never actually had as a teenager) thanks to Reverse Dieting.
What my meals look like
---------------------------
Breakfast: skip, just coffee
Lunch: burgers and chips, good sandwiches from cafes, subways, rice + vegs + chicken / beef (homecooked), bread + eggs + deli meat
Dinner: similar to lunch, plus other dishes like steak, stir frys, pizzas, pastas i.e general foods you get socially at restaurants. If it fits my macros...
Snacks: fruits (a lot), ice cream (lots of good gelato places here), chocolate, caramel slices, tarts
Note: I have excellent portion controls with the "bad" foods because I can eat them regularly without fear. Having said that, I do not have them stocked at home, as a rule.
Drinks: I regularly drink red wine (2 glasses at home, more if I'm out) and whisky. Not much of a beer drinker.
Supplements
---------------
I found BCAA and Creatine useful when I was on low carbs, but now I don't need them.
I have WPC somewhat regularly to hit my protein macro, but not relying on it so much. Usually taken post-WO.
I take Vit D, Zinc and Fish Oil. Occasionally Magnesium.
My Pre-WO and during-WO are fruits.