Need help with a big boy diet

[bigsea]

Hey Guys,

Please help me with my diet!

I'm 6'3, 347 pounds, and 27 years old.

What I want to to is shed the fat and not the muscle. I work out 5 days a week and train with heavy weight and i do some cardio. I do 15 minutes of staggered cardio 5 days a week. I was told that if I did much more then this i can put my body into a catabolic state and start burning muscle instead of fat.

Here's my daily diet.

4 eggs and a cup of oatmeal for breakfast.
Protein Shake for snack.
3 Beef patties, veggies, and a piece of wholegrain toast for lunch.
Protein Shake for Snack.
3 Beef patties, veggies, and a piece of wholegrain toast for supper.
Protein Shake for Snack.

Is this a good diet.. I used to eat a lot less but now i eat more to boost my metabolism. Give me any advice you might have.

Thanks!

 

[UncleBee]

Give us some background info of yourself and your end goals in more detail please,that should help us give you better advise.

 

[enacer420nj]

Why are you training with heavy weight? At your size I would be concerned with a low cal diet and large amounts of cardio. How long have you been on this diet and do you cheat? When you say beef patties are you talking about hamburgers? You should be eating LEAN protein but you surely are not taking in as much protein as you need

 

[bigsea]

Give us some background info of yourself and your end goals in more detail please,that should help us give you better advise.

Sure...

I basically want to become ripped! But due to the fact that I have lots of skin i know that if i get down to 200 pounds (like I did when i was 20) that I will still need to add muscle to have the body I want. This is because I have the amount of skin of a 350 dude. SO i need lots of muscle as well to fill out that skin.

My initial goal is to get down to 250 pounds with 15% body fat or so. My bodyfat if i have done the calculation correctly is currently 40%.

Once i've done this then i will be ready to take "the next step" at which time i'll be checking out the gear forums.

Do you need to know anything else? Just let me know.

Thanks guys!

 

[bigsea]

Why are you training with heavy weight? At your size I would be concerned with a low cal diet and large amounts of cardio. How long have you been on this diet and do you cheat? When you say beef patties are you talking about hamburgers? You should be eating LEAN protein but you surely are not taking in as much protein as you need

I train heavy because i was told that the more muscle you have the more fat you will burn. Plus i don't want to lose my muslce while i burn fat. I do deadlifts and squats since i was told these are real calorie burners.

The beef patties are made from lean ground beef and are cooked up on a fat draining grill.

I did the math using the diet guide on this site and it came up with 4645 calories that i need to intake and right now i take in 2997. That's up from the 1200 I used to take in. I hope that info helps.

 

[UncleBee]

ok, lets see, you are currently consuming 2997 cals and you were at 1200, right? why at 1200 and when were you on that and for how long? Did it work for you losing weight? Also, lifting heaving is not for you, YET! Stick with low-moderate weights because being in a caloric deficient state you will not gain the muscle mass you think you will, Your goal like already said should be to do lots of cardio, keep your diet in check with plenty of protein, and still getting all the other nutrients you need. Do not cut your carbs yet, your not at that point. You have quit a road ahead of you and you need to take it one step at a time. Do your cardio and diet for as long as it takes you to keep losing, once you stop losing we'll change things up and see where you are. Also, keep you weight traing to a moderate level. Don't go heavy, keep your sets 3-4, and your reps 8-15 or so, and total # of exercises per workout to 3-4, NO more than that. Eat often, and with as much REAL food as your lifestyle allows. Keeps your protein up to say 250-350g a day. You need your protein to keep from losing muscle but your won't get anywhere if you consume too much cals from pro and not enough from fat an carbs. You'll need energy to do your cardio. Oh, cardio, do atleast 45-60 mins of cardio at a moderate pace 5-6 times a week to maximize weight lose, but change up your routine every 3 weeks or so to keep your body from becoming complacent. Your cals seem to be better now but if you feel you are doing ok at that level and considering the exercise your doing and you are not ever dizzy or lightheaded, then you can fine tune it down by 100 a week until you find the sweet spot for your body. And don't worry about extra skin, your no where near that point yet and if you werent that heavy for tto long your skin can still bounce back quite well.

What was your weight like in your teens before you got big? and what is your reason you got big?(ie. stoped playing sports, accident, health probs, life stress, et cetera)

Hope this helps and keep asking questions cause there are a lot of knowledgable peeps on this board.


GOOD LUCK!!

 

[dabuffguy]

Hey Guys,

Please help me with my diet!

I'm 6'3, 347 pounds, and 27 years old.

What I want to to is shed the fat and not the muscle. I work out 5 days a week and train with heavy weight and i do some cardio. I do 15 minutes of staggered cardio 5 days a week. I was told that if I did much more then this i can put my body into a catabolic state and start burning muscle instead of fat.

Here's my daily diet.

4 eggs and a cup of oatmeal for breakfast.
Protein Shake for snack.
3 Beef patties, veggies, and a piece of wholegrain toast for lunch.
Protein Shake for Snack.
3 Beef patties, veggies, and a piece of wholegrain toast for supper.
Protein Shake for Snack.

Is this a good diet.. I used to eat a lot less but now i eat more to boost my metabolism. Give me any advice you might have.

Thanks!

Eat chicken and fish, not beef. At your size, I would be more concerned with cardivascular health and choleterol. Therefore, chicken and fish are a more appropriate choice.

Having said that, I'd also do more than 15 minutes cardio. I'd do 30. You'll drop a tone more fat really quick because of your size. Once you get to a lower BF, then back off on the cardio.

 

[bigsea]

ok, lets see, you are currently consuming 2997 cals and you were at 1200, right? why at 1200 and when were you on that and for how long? Did it work for you losing weight? Also, lifting heaving is not for you, YET! Stick with low-moderate weights because being in a caloric deficient state you will not gain the muscle mass you think you will, Your goal like already said should be to do lots of cardio, keep your diet in check with plenty of protein, and still getting all the other nutrients you need. Do not cut your carbs yet, your not at that point. You have quit a road ahead of you and you need to take it one step at a time. Do your cardio and diet for as long as it takes you to keep losing, once you stop losing we'll change things up and see where you are. Also, keep you weight traing to a moderate level. Don't go heavy, keep your sets 3-4, and your reps 8-15 or so, and total # of exercises per workout to 3-4, NO more than that. Eat often, and with as much REAL food as your lifestyle allows. Keeps your protein up to say 250-350g a day. You need your protein to keep from losing muscle but your won't get anywhere if you consume too much cals from pro and not enough from fat an carbs. You'll need energy to do your cardio. Oh, cardio, do atleast 45-60 mins of cardio at a moderate pace 5-6 times a week to maximize weight lose, but change up your routine every 3 weeks or so to keep your body from becoming complacent. Your cals seem to be better now but if you feel you are doing ok at that level and considering the exercise your doing and you are not ever dizzy or lightheaded, then you can fine tune it down by 100 a week until you find the sweet spot for your body. And don't worry about extra skin, your no where near that point yet and if you werent that heavy for tto long your skin can still bounce back quite well.

What was your weight like in your teens before you got big? and what is your reason you got big?(ie. stoped playing sports, accident, health probs, life stress, et cetera)

Hope this helps and keep asking questions cause there are a lot of knowledgable peeps on this board.


GOOD LUCK!!

When i was in high school i gained quite a bit of weight. I played sports but i ate way too much crappy food and played too many video games. I was 6'3 330 by grade 12 (my football coach loved it as I was a tackle).

Despite being heavier then that now I am in much better shape then I was then because i was all flab in high school but now I'm quite muscular in addition to being fat

Eating 1200 a day and I wasn't losing any weight plus i feld dizzy in the gym sometimes. Since increasing to 2997 i am getting amazing strength gains in the gym.

When you say moderate cardio speeds what do you mean by this. Should I be going by heart rate?

Thanks!

 

[dabuffguy]

When i was in high school i gained quite a bit of weight. I played sports but i ate way too much crappy food and played too many video games. I was 6'3 330 by grade 12 (my football coach loved it as I was a tackle).

Despite being heavier then that now I am in much better shape then I was then because i was all flab in high school but now I'm quite muscular in addition to being fat

Eating 1200 a day and I wasn't losing any weight plus i feld dizzy in the gym sometimes. Since increasing to 2997 i am getting amazing strength gains in the gym.

When you say moderate cardio speeds what do you mean by this. Should I be going by heart rate?

Thanks!

Because eating 1200 calories a day is starving yourself. Your body goes into survival mode because it thinks it is starving. Less does not always equal more. 3000 calories for your weight to drop fat and still build muscle is pretty decent.

 

[UncleBee]

well,moderate means if you were to do an all out sprint for x amount of distance and at the max your body outputs in energy and your highest pulse rate before dying, that would be maxing, or extra high intensity. If you give that kind of performance a rating of ten, then moderate would be a 4-6 depending on how you feel that day. Do not do long light cardio, this won't help you much, and you'll not get the added benefits of a stronger heart health. when you were 20, did you go on a diet to get down, and when did you put back on the weight. Also, listen to Buff, eating hearth healthy lean meats is better for you anyday when on a cal deficit, not until your down where you want to be and to build lots of mass would you want to use red meat.( although the occasional 93% lean meat is ok from time to time, but not everyday) Also, don't get into many diet pills just yet, loss what you can before you take that route and you'll have better results overall. Again,also, since you are or have always been mostly a bigger guy, have you ever had your thyroid levels checked? If not, the next time you go to your doc ask him to check just in case, it won't hurt. Id opt for more cardio than Buff, but I'd ease into those ranges rather than jumping right in and then burning yourself out. Some around here would say keep your cals higher like around 3000+, but you really don't need that much. Yea if you go too low your body will enter a starvation mode,However, you only NEED enough cals for all your bodily functions, and that number is based upon your BMI, but here is the secret, fat doesn't count as much as muscle when adding up your BMI total. So when you figure out your Basic Metabolic Rate you need to take into account, fat is calculated differently, and I have yet to see anyone one here post the formula with that taken into consideration. Iknow Tatyana has some great info for this though.

 

[bigsea]

Thanks!

What do you guys know about vegatable juicers?

Here's the thing.. I get awfully tired of eating vegatables I'd sooner just blend up some brocolli with water and chug it down then have to chew brocolli time in and time out.

What kind of blender or vegatable juicer do you guys recommend?

 

[bigsea]

well,moderate means if you were to do an all out sprint for x amount of distance and at the max your body outputs in energy and your highest pulse rate before dying, that would be maxing, or extra high intensity. If you give that kind of performance a rating of ten, then moderate would be a 4-6 depending on how you feel that day. Do not do long light cardio, this won't help you much, and you'll not get the added benefits of a stronger heart health. when you were 20, did you go on a diet to get down, and when did you put back on the weight. Also, listen to Buff, eating hearth healthy lean meats is better for you anyday when on a cal deficit, not until your down where you want to be and to build lots of mass would you want to use red meat.( although the occasional 93% lean meat is ok from time to time, but not everyday) Also, don't get into many diet pills just yet, loss what you can before you take that route and you'll have better results overall. Again,also, since you are or have always been mostly a bigger guy, have you ever had your thyroid levels checked? If not, the next time you go to your doc ask him to check just in case, it won't hurt. Id opt for more cardio than Buff, but I'd ease into those ranges rather than jumping right in and then burning yourself out. Some around here would say keep your cals higher like around 3000+, but you really don't need that much. Yea if you go too low your body will enter a starvation mode,However, you only NEED enough cals for all your bodily functions, and that number is based upon your BMI, but here is the secret, fat doesn't count as much as muscle when adding up your BMI total. So when you figure out your Basic Metabolic Rate you need to take into account, fat is calculated differently, and I have yet to see anyone one here post the formula with that taken into consideration. Iknow Tatyana has some great info for this though.

Here's what i did when i was 20... i ate very littile.. maybe 1200 calories per day. I worked out doing sets of 8 to 10. I took up smoking (i don't smoke anymore). I used hydroxcut with eff. And i jogged on the treadmill at level 5 for 25 minutes 5 days a week.

The result of this phase was that i got down to 235 pounds but was quite weak. I certainly lost muscle and fat during this phase.

Then I did a cylce of sustanon. After this I was 200 pounds and much more muscular then when I was 235.

I haven't done any steriods since.

Then I had a surgery and couldn't work out for a year in which time i gained 60 to 70 pounds. After that I got really busy with life and work and couldn't focus on the gym to much. Now i am settled into my career and have the flexibility i need to be serious about dieting and working out again.

 

[UncleBee]

well, I don't know much about them but I have a few things to say. One, if your looking to drop weight, why take away from a process that(although minimal as it might be) that help you burn cals. Two, I myself have to watch what I eat because of a bacteria I have in my intestines, but eating whole foods is better for your digestive tract than blending it into a liquid. All the fiber gets broken down by the juicer and not you, thus less effectivefor overall health. Also, you dont get your saliva mixed into the mix to help you digest properly. Mixing up a protein drink and adding in some veggies or fruit time to time is one thing, but totally subbing your veggie consuption with a juicer is another. PLus, taking the time to eat veggies fills you up and keeps you from over eating later on, a plus plus situation. Trust me, you'll learn to LOVE veggies. I know almost everyong here does, it's the name of the game bro.

 

[UncleBee]

Here's what i did when i was 20... i ate very littile.. maybe 1200 calories per day. I worked out doing sets of 8 to 10. I took up smoking (i don't smoke anymore). I used hydroxcut with eff. And i jogged on the treadmill at level 5 for 25 minutes 5 days a week.

The result of this phase was that i got down to 235 pounds but was quite weak. I certainly lost muscle and fat during this phase.

Then I did a cylce of sustanon. After this I was 200 pounds and much more muscular then when I was 235.

I haven't done any steriods since.

Then I had a surgery and couldn't work out for a year in which time i gained 60 to 70 pounds. After that I got really busy with life and work and couldn't focus on the gym to much. Now i am settled into my career and have the flexibility i need to be serious about dieting and working out again.

Ok try some natural test boosters to up your test and free test levels, that sounds like an issue here. You'll find some offered here and there worth a try. Id stay away from using too much stuff though at this point in time. A little creatine or arginine would be enough. and a multi.

 

[bigsea]

Ok try some natural test boosters to up your test and free test levels, that sounds like an issue here. You'll find some offered here and there worth a try. Id stay away from using too much stuff though at this point in time. A little creatine or arginine would be enough. and a multi.

Yeah.. I'm staying away from gear for now.

I started taking some tribulus 4 days ago and i'm also taking effedrine, glutamine, and isolate shakes.

Excuse my ignorance but what does creatine and arginine do exactly?

 

[bigsea]

Also..

I had my doctor test me for everything about 6 months ago. And this was before i was back in the gym.

I got a fully clean bill of health and he said that my thyroids were not a problem.

 

[UncleBee]

ok, I'd stay away from ephedrine at this point in time, let your body loos as much weight as it can without any metabolic enhancing help. That way when you plateu you'll have something to help get you past that. If you start with it now you may find you will stop losing at a point and have little to help you proceed. Second, what does creatine and arginine do, well creating helps your muscles keep energy stores more efficiently, thus longer workouts at a higher intensity, it is like a buffer for the muscles. Arginine or any other NO2 supplement will help your muscles blood flow and nutrient delivery. More blood to the muscles means more oxygen, better perforing muscle. There are lots that they both do but that is a summary. Research them to find out more. Oh, stay away from creatine monohydrate, sit will bloat you some and you probably don't want that hunh? Tribulus is good but try to find an OTC AI it will work great while using trib as well. Check out the sponsors on here for some great options.

 

[UncleBee]

AI is an aromatase inhibitor , keeps your estrogen in check to be blunt about it. Your ratio of test(free test) to estrogen determines it effectiveness. Too much estrogen=bloat, bitch titties, flabby gut, poor anabolism. Less estrogen and more test= more muscle building and fat burning, better sex drive (YEAH!!)

 

[bigsea]

AI is an aromatase inhibitor , keeps your estrogen in check to be blunt about it. Your ratio of test(free test) to estrogen determines it effectiveness. Too much estrogen=bloat, bitch titties, flabby gut, poor anabolism. Less estrogen and more test= more muscle building and fat burning, better sex drive (YEAH!!)

The stuff i'm using is called Novetest. It comes with an AI. Dihydroxyflavone (Chrysin) and DIM (Diindolymethane). Is this good enough?

 

[UncleBee]

It'll work for now, yeah. It's not like blocking a cycles worth of estrogen so youd be fine with that.

 

[bigsea]

It'll work for now, yeah. It's not like blocking a cycles worth of estrogen so youd be fine with that.

So did my first workout now using the advice from this site.

Worked out shoulders. I did 5 different excercises using lighter weights. 3 sets of each and 8 to 12 reps. I also took shorter breaks then usual in between reps and it really gave my workout a faster pace and made me sweat more.

Then I did 50 minutes of cardio. Boy was I sweating!

 

[UncleBee]

Awesome bro, sounds like you on the right path. I like to see that you took shorter breaks between sets, that real help keep your heart rate up and in itself becomes aerobic.

Keep us updated on your progress.

 

[bigsea]

I will keep you updated for sure.

I'm going to switch from beef to bison which is much leaner.

I also picked up Kre-Alkalyn and L-Arganine today to stack.

 

[UncleBee]

Bison? I guess there is a lot of that up there ey?

 

[bigsea]

Bison? I guess there is a lot of that up there ey?

Yeah.. It's fairly easy to get a hold of in Manitoba. It's not very common for regular people around here to eat instead of beef but it's great for body builders. It tastes similar to beef but is dryer.

Quick question.. Is there anything that is ok as a snack in the evening? Almonds??

 

[legendz]

Yeah.. It's fairly easy to get a hold of in Manitoba. It's not very common for regular people around here to eat instead of beef but it's great for body builders. It tastes similar to beef but is dryer.

Quick question.. Is there anything that is ok as a snack in the evening? Almonds??

Just make sure whatever snack you're eating in the evening doesn't have much carbs or fat, as there's less opportunity (i.e., time left in the day) to burn it off.

Lots of people swear by cottage cheese for a bedtime snack, though I find I don't like the taste and it gives me lactose-related problems. But, maybe you'll like it. Other sorts of cheese may be good. A tall glass of low- or no-fat milk would help. Perhaps nuts, but many of them seem too high in fats or carbs. You may also prepare something easy to make like shrimp or tofu. Even a can of tuna (a mainstay for many), oysters (my preference) or sardines can go a long way. When all else fails you could have a low- or no-carb protein shake, mixed with fat-free milk.

There's always something you can have. Snacking smart is the name of the game.

 

[bigsea]

Just make sure whatever snack you're eating in the evening doesn't have much carbs or fat, as there's less opportunity (i.e., time left in the day) to burn it off.

Lots of people swear by cottage cheese for a bedtime snack, though I find I don't like the taste and it gives me lactose-related problems. But, maybe you'll like it. Other sorts of cheese may be good. A tall glass of low- or no-fat milk would help. Perhaps nuts, but many of them seem too high in fats or carbs. You may also prepare something easy to make like shrimp or tofu. Even a can of tuna (a mainstay for many), oysters (my preference) or sardines can go a long way. When all else fails you could have a low- or no-carb protein shake, mixed with fat-free milk.

There's always something you can have. Snacking smart is the name of the game.

Thanks for the tips. I think I'll start with cottage cheese but i'm going to have to learn to like seafood. Even if it kills me

 

[djeclipse]

There is absolutley no reason you can't train heavy, doing compound movements while loosing fat/ doing cardio.

In fact it would be better to train heavy to keep as much muscle/ strength as you can while loosing the weight.

Good training is good training regardless of your caloric/ body fat goals.

Good training stays the same, to loose fat or gain body weight, calories eaten vs calories burned is the variable.

 

[dabuffguy]

There is absolutley no reason you can't train heavy, doing compound movements while loosing fat/ doing cardio.

In fact it would be better to train heavy to keep as much muscle/ strength as you can while loosing the weight.

Good training is good training regardless of your caloric/ body fat goals.

Good training stays the same, to loose fat or gain body weight, calories eaten vs calories burned is the variable.

Yes!

Training with heavy weights is always better than going light weight. You'll get stronger, bigger muscles AND lose fat faster.

 

[fortunatesun]

Yes!

Training with heavy weights is always better than going light weight. You'll get stronger, bigger muscles AND lose fat faster.

Just to pile on this last point.

Though to be fair, after a while your body adapts to the same routine and progress slows. Which is probably why your last workout was so effective: new stimulus. Unless you're making huge progress one way or the other you might want to try cycles. Something like 8 weeks moderate, 8 weeks heavy, followed by 2 weeks light, called a deload, where you use a combination of lighter weight and/or less reps. This allows you to recover and return to peak efficiency before going at it again.