Advice: Back in MMA & out of shape

[kinetic]

Hi all,

I figured since Thandie was kind enough to extend a platinum membership to me this week, I should post here for advice on nutrition and supps for my specific situation. I am also very busy, full time student, interviewing sometimes twice a week, and working part time, plus starting to train again MMA.

My main goal is to drop bf and get in better overall shape as quickly as possible given my limited time to train. (This is actually my spring break!) Unlike some women, I have no problem putting on muscle and gaining strength - whereas Cardio and Endurance have always been huge problems - so I think I should focus on that first.

So, I'll be doing martial arts training and outside cardio and only including mild weights for the time being so I'm not too sore, or having shaky legs, while I spar. Once I get down in bf, I want to work on emphasizing strength and muscle mass more. I'm built like a lil sumo really, about 5'2 around 170 - I'm happy at 150, I look really good at 140 - not exactly a standard BMI case lol. Whenever I ate a lot of protein I got strong but also fatter, I have practically no metabolism for burning so please bear that in mind. This was a problem even when I played multiple sports or 4x a week eliptical.

I'm vegetarian but have the following sources of high protein:

Egg whites
low fat cottage cheese
nigari high protein tofu
tempeh

whey protein <--- this is good post workout, right?
protein blend with why, egg whites, casein <--- is this good for night and to drink in the morning if I'm not working out in my smoothie, or should I get 100% casein instead?

I eat EFA's in my diet, flax seed meal - walnuts/almonds - pumpkin/sunflower seeds
but would I still be better off buying Udo's oil or something?

I'm considering Xtend for BCAA's - heard really good things but Expensive. I took BCAA in pill form some years ago while lifting heavily but didn't notice anything. Are there other brands that you recommend for this?

I take vit C as EmergC drinks, 1-2 times a day
and I'm going to take Zinc and Magnesium at night

I eat a lot of greens and vegetables and fruit smoothies. I also have Ezekial Sprouted Bread, it has higher protein and fiber and non-processed carbs. As far as snack carbs for school - what would be best, something like lowfat triscuits? The food on campus is atrociously bad for you.

I typically eat small meals throughout the day so that part of arranging a nutrition plan won't be challenging.

I was considering the Agx stack of Liposhred, or just the two lipoflame and lipostim3. They are suppose to help lower bf while providing energy and increasing cardio capacity. Any thoughts? With the Xtend, I thought this might be a good combination because it's suppose to aid in recovery time a lot.


One more thing, I was drinking sugar-free/lo carb energy drinks sometimes because of school and my crazy schedule. Thandie said this would actually cause me to retain body fat!?! What are some alternatives?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Sorry for the long post, but I noticed that if people didn't list foods or stats, they are asked for later on anyway.

 

[Thandie]

Hi all,

I figured since Thandie was kind enough to extend a platinum membership to me this week, I should post here for advice on nutrition and supps for my specific situation. I am also very busy, full time student, interviewing sometimes twice a week, and working part time, plus starting to train again MMA.

My main goal is to drop bf and get in better overall shape as quickly as possible given my limited time to train. (This is actually my spring break!) Unlike some women, I have no problem putting on muscle and gaining strength - whereas Cardio and Endurance have always been huge problems - so I think I should focus on that first.

So, I'll be doing martial arts training and outside cardio and only including mild weights for the time being so I'm not too sore, or having shaky legs, while I spar. Once I get down in bf, I want to work on emphasizing strength and muscle mass more. I'm built like a lil sumo really, about 5'2 around 170 - I'm happy at 150, I look really good at 140 - not exactly a standard BMI case lol. Whenever I ate a lot of protein I got strong but also fatter, I have practically no metabolism for burning so please bear that in mind. This was a problem even when I played multiple sports or 4x a week eliptical. (It's great you'll be doing Martial arts, but you can incorporate weight training with it. If you want to get great results, train heavy. Mild weight will not get you anywhere and heavy weights will not make you big and bulky.)

I'm vegetarian but have the following sources of high protein:

Egg whites
low fat cottage cheese
nigari high protein tofu
tempeh
(You can also have Kemp seeds, endemame, beans, Any sprouts)

whey protein <--- this is good post workout, right? (Yes)
protein blend with why, egg whites, casein <--- is this good for night and to drink in the morning if I'm not working out in my smoothie, or should I get 100% casein instead? (Go more for whole foods and only one shake. No processed food or very minimum)

I eat EFA's in my diet, flax seed meal - walnuts/almonds - pumpkin/sunflower seeds
but would I still be better off buying Udo's oil or something? (Flaxseed oil, olive oil, pumpkin/sunflower seed, fish oil are all good for you, but be careful not to over doit with fat. That's one area where vegetarians and vegan fall into as a result of trying to get enough food and protein in their diets.)

I'm considering Xtend for BCAA's - heard really good things but Expensive. I took BCAA in pill form some years ago while lifting heavily but didn't notice anything. Are there other brands that you recommend for this? (Most brands are good. You decide which one works best for you.)

I take vit C as EmergC drinks, 1-2 times a day. (Too much sugar. drink water instead)
and I'm going to take Zinc and Magnesium at night (great)

I eat a lot of greens and vegetables and fruit smoothies. I also have Ezekial Sprouted Bread, it has higher protein and fiber and non-processed carbs. As far as snack carbs for school - what would be best, something like lowfat triscuits? The food on campus is atrociously bad for you. (Great, but beware of too many smoothies. Lots of sugar in them. If you have 5 meals a day, you'll be fine)

I typically eat small meals throughout the day so that part of arranging a nutrition plan won't be challenging. Perfect

I was considering the Agx stack of Liposhred, or just the two lipoflame and lipostim3. They are suppose to help lower bf while providing energy and increasing cardio capacity. Any thoughts? With the Xtend, I thought this might be a good combination because it's suppose to aid in recovery time a lot.(I'm only familiar with lipoflame and lipostim)


One more thing, I was drinking sugar-free/lo carb energy drinks sometimes because of school and my crazy schedule. Thandie said this would actually cause me to retain body fat!?! What are some alternatives? (and will also make you crave more sugar)

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Sorry for the long post, but I noticed that if people didn't list foods or stats, they are asked for later on anyway.

Hi Kinetic, Good to see you posting and welcome!
I'm going to highlight somethings you can do.

Incorporate your weight training with cardio and the martial arts you're looking to do and it will help you burn fat more effectively.

 

[needtogetaas]

Welcome to the forum girl. Make some friends,get some advice. Keep coming back.

 

[the_alcatraz]

Welcome to EF.

I used to be a fighter and then I retired.

I'm back to mma now and I'm just getting back into shape.

Send me a PM sometime, we'll talk.

 

[kinetic]

Thanks for the assistance.

What do you all think I should shoot for in terms of calories per day? I'll only be working out 3 - 4 days/wk.

And what ratio of calories should be protein? If I shot for say, 1650 - and 60% protein - that would be 250g!!! right? That seems really high to me, but let me know if I'm close or way off in terms of what I need to do. Thanks

 

[Tatyana]

Thanks for the assistance.

What do you all think I should shoot for in terms of calories per day? I'll only be working out 3 - 4 days/wk.

And what ratio of calories should be protein? If I shot for say, 1650 - and 60% protein - that would be 250g!!! right? That seems really high to me, but let me know if I'm close or way off in terms of what I need to do. Thanks

There are three different methods in the diet sticky as to how you can sort out how many calories you need each day, one is more complicated based on lean tissue and activity levels.

The easiest way is to multiply your weight in kilos by 15.

This is a fairly good approximation for fat loss.

1 kilo = 2.2 pounds.

 

[Thandie]

Thanks for the assistance.

What do you all think I should shoot for in terms of calories per day? I'll only be working out 3 - 4 days/wk.

And what ratio of calories should be protein? If I shot for say, 1650 - and 60% protein - that would be 250g!!! right? That seems really high to me, but let me know if I'm close or way off in terms of what I need to do. Thanks

If you're trying to lose weight/bf, 250g protein is way too high. I'd do 130g for now.

 

[kinetic]

Yeah, I realized that its 1.5 -2 x (lean body weight). Thanks. Any suggestions as far as total calorie intake? I know that if I go too high I won't lose progressively, and if I go too low then my body will be in a state to want to store fat instead of burn it. I read all the calculation sticky's regarding this and some other sources. I'm seeing 1400-1650 as far as progressive fat loss with moderate exercise is concerned.

 

[Thandie]

Yeah, I realized that its 1.5 -2 x (lean body weight). Thanks. Any suggestions as far as total calorie intake? I know that if I go too high I won't lose progressively, and if I go too low then my body will be in a state to want to store fat instead of burn it. I read all the calculation sticky's regarding this and some other sources. I'm seeing 1400-1650 as far as progressive fat loss with moderate exercise is concerned.

Keep your calories at 1400 for now. You'll burn fat with those numbers.

 

[slat1]

Something to keep in mind is that your body can only process so much protein in one sitting. Anything extra will turn to fat. It is important to keep everything in the proper range to maximize your results.
Best of luck!