Do you notice anything wrong

[hellomoto]

Hey, i started correcting my diet over the past few weeks. I used to be a very good athlete, maybe couple of years from national contention till age 14. I fractured my left wrist, and then recurring injuries to my ankles slowed me down. Then I kinda turned to food to cope with my disappointment..

My stats:
5'8
19yrs
male

Over the past 23 days, I managed to lose exactly 14.7lbs. (i went from 202 to 187) It wasn't too hard. I have a very active lifestyle, and I just stopped having sodas/candy/deep fried stuff and replaced that with water/fruits and vegetables while maintaining my usual workout. I understand that my weight loss has been faster than normal, but I eat in excess of 3000 calories a day - is it an issue then?

I've been working out in the gym for a little over 18months now, and my body fat % was around 22% 3 weeks back, which is decent. I have pretty good muscle definition except around my abs

Just wanted run my schedule by you guys, for any tips/suggestions.
I get up pretty late, and usually have cornflakes for breakfast.
Do some work on my computer, then for lunch I'll have grains, lentils, some vegetables, dry fruits
After a couple of hours I play tennis for an hour or two.
Then I head to the gym, where I do cardio for like 10mins (warmup)
Lift weights, upper and lower body. (I work on two muscles a day, and i go to the gym everyday)
And then again cardio for 20mins.
I then swim for about 30mins
After that I have dinner, usually lots of fresh fruits and sometimes something more exotic.
I also have fruits in small portions throughout the day (whenever I'm hungry, basically)

I was just wondering if you guys thought I should rearrange my schedule or make some other changes.

My aim is to lose approx 20 more pounds over the next 12 weeks. I'm also looking to cut down my body fat % to approx 12-15. I want to try out for the varsity team next year ...

Thanks

 

[CoachCrimson]

It is pretty hard to say how effective this will be. Firstly, though you haven't been real specific about your diet, from what you have mentioned it seems as though you are sorely lacking in protein. which could be very detrimental to someone as active as you are. on top of that, the actual intensity levels of the various activities you do will have a major factor in how effective this is. Is your hour or two of tennis letting the ball double or triple bounce and just swinging a racket around for fun? Or is it played competitively, making active effort to get to every ball, hit as hard as you can, etc? how intense is your weight workouts? hour long brutality like your a powerlifter? the cardio session after a light walk or a 20 min HIIT session? and that goes for the swim too. and then, as if that isnt enough, lol, when you say you go to the gym everyday, is that literally 7 days a week? and do you do all those other activities 7 days a week as well?

From the looks so far, I think I would be most concerned about overtraining. If you arent having planned rest periods, and are going full intensity in each of these workouts, you probably arent getting enough calories, or eating well enoough to support this amount of activity. This in turn, in as little as 2 or 3 weeks depending on overall intensity, will actually cause your progress to slow, halt, and reverse.

There are a couple of things you can do to prevent yourself from overtraining, and prolong your progress. This is assuming you are training intensely for each workout. Firstly, youve got to have some days without activity to let your body rest. Secondly, your nutrition has got to be spot on so you can properly fuel your body and keep it rebuilding what you are consistantly breaking down. Also, you can switch some of the workout around, by either having them on different days, or by putting more time in between them on each day (and ensuring that you eat proper between sessions). for instance, tennis in the morning and weights in the evening one day, tennis in the morning and cardio/swimming in the evening the next.

There are a lot of various ways to approach this, but most importantly, if you make sure to eat right, and you listen very closely to your body, you should be able to make progress consistantly. If you know your body well enough, you should be able to tell when you need a rest, when you need to switch things up, and when you can increase the intensity a bit. When your physical body is telling you to take it easy, listen to it! note that it is different from when your conscious mind is just being lazy, you should be able to feel effects of overtraining encroaching upon you. soreness in joints, general fatigue, cloudy thoughts, stints of depression. the symptoms are numerous and varied, but should become somewhat obvious quick enough to take some rest and prevent the real nasty effects of over stressing your body from happening.

 

[corndogggy]

I understand that my weight loss has been faster than normal, but I eat in excess of 3000 calories a day - is it an issue then?

You're losing alot of water weight at this point. It will get alot harder.

usually have cornflakes for breakfast.

eat more protein.

then for lunch

normally you'd want to have had a snack between breakfast and lunch

I work on two muscles a day

Why the isolation? You need to be spending your weight lifting time hitting large muscle groups, not two single muscles. It's like the difference between a squat vs. a leg extension.

Also should probably have a snack after working out. Unless you're eating dinner immediately after all your workout stuff, then you probably need something beforehand. Most people hit a protein shake at this point, within 30 minutes.

After that I have dinner, usually lots of fresh fruits and sometimes something more exotic.

Hopefully "something more exotic" means "something with some actual protein in it".

I also have fruits in small portions throughout the day (whenever I'm hungry, basically)

Ah, there's the snacks. I've got to mention though... I did the fruit thing this winter, and it was kind of a mistake. Not the fruit in itself, but BY itself was a mistake. Try to get some protein during these snack times. Not only will it feed your muscles better and more consistent but digesting this stuff takes energy, so if you eat more consistently throughout the day and double the meals you're eating, you're making your digestive system burn alot more calories.

 

[hellomoto]

Well I should have been more detailed...

Thanks guys.

Protein intake is an issue for me, especially since I'm vegetarian.
My major sources of protein right now are nuts, milk, soya beans, and of course whatever little might be there in vegetables. I really don't know what else I can have. I used to take protein shakes last year, when i started weight training and also because I had gone to college and my diet was in a mess. But I found out that those shakes were like 3500cals, which was way more than I required at that point of time ..

As far regularity of my exercises go, I realize that I need rest days, I started alternating my swimming and tennis (they are pretty strenuous), and on Sunday's I take the complete day off, to recharge.

In the gym, the cardio exercises I do are mainly for warm up and "cool down", usually running at 8mph. I work on two muscles a day as in, chest-tricep, back-bicep, shoulder-legs. I usually do 4 exercises for each muscle so around 8-9 exercises a day. As for intensity, for example I can bench press around 140lbs, bicep curls 35lbs, leg press 400lbs, pull ups 140lbs etc. It's pretty intense, and I have a trainer at the gym so I do have proper guidance there.

As for eating, I don't starve myself I eat a lot and try keep sweat stuff out. Obviously I need to increase my protein intake and any suggestions would be awesome!

However, I'm pretty sure I get around 100-120grms of protein a day.

 

[corndogggy]

Protein intake is an issue for me, especially since I'm vegetarian. My major sources of protein right now are nuts, milk, soya beans, and of course whatever little might be there in vegetables. I really don't know what else I can have. I used to take protein shakes last year, when i started weight training and also because I had gone to college and my diet was in a mess. But I found out that those shakes were like 3500cals, which was way more than I required at that point of time ..

Since you apparently don't have a problem with milk, then start hitting dairy sources. Eat cottage cheese. Use whey protein for shakes (about 100 calories per 18-25 gram scoop). Use yogurt for smoothies.

Also don't forget peanut butter. Black beans, rice, and picante sauce is good. You can get soy protein powder, but most guys are scared because soy has compounds that are very similar to estrogen, and they fear that their testosterone will drop. Yet, synthetic testosterone is made out of soy... ironic.

Some vegetarians don't have a problem with fish and/or eggs... are you one of them?

I made this earlier today for breakfast, it's good, blend it all up together into a smoothie... supposed to make two big glasses, 220 calories each, 12 grams protein, but it seems like more.


1 cup milk
2 tablespoons vanilla yogurt
3/4 cup cooked oatmeal
2 teaspoons peanut butter
2 teaspoons chocolate whey protein powder
6 ice cubes
6 big blackberries

 

[Michelle01]

They make whey protien bars, too. I think they taste terrible compared to the soy protien bars, but it's worth considering.

I was a vegetarian, too, until about three months ago. Nearly three years, and just added back in chicken. Always ate eggs and cheese though. Getting enough protien then was hard. But since I started lifting weights I knew my protien levels were definitely inadequate. Still struggling, but I'll get there, too.

 

[PinkRoses]

If you cut out fizzy drinks etc you most likely replaced it with water, possibly clearing up some water retention and making your weight drop a bit ? Might explain it...
Either ways, maybe eat a little less and workout less, to avoid overtraining (My next plan, since 8months in im almost dead now)

 

[hellomoto]

Well I've been making an effort to understand my body better, so that I can realize my limits. I really understand your concerns that I might be overtraining, but I'm really not feeling too tired. I've had extremely rigorous schedules before and this really isn't showing any negative signs (touch wood)

Here is my new plan/idea:
I've decided to go to the gym in a 3 days workout - 1 day rest cycle. that way, I can work on each muscle group 3 times in 2 weeks which is decent. My aim is to increase muscle weight and make sure that I'm not loosing lean muscle, during my other activities.
My tennis training however has to continue on a daily basis (except sat-sun), if I'm to compete again.
As for swimming, I've started using the session more for stretching my entire body and for just same plain fun at the end of the day.

I want to add a cardio session in the morning though (instead of doing it mid day like I used to). It was recommended by my tennis coach, since that's an area I need to improve (I need to get lighter to run faster basically). I was thinking about HIIT sessions. I do have a couple of questions about it though (I'm new to the concept of hiit). Should I eat anything before a session, and how long should I wait after the session to eat breakfast?
Is this a hiit session, say for example 5 mins: 30sec jog - 30s sprint and repeat 4 times?

Also if you have any suggestions on how to maintain muscle mass during such periods, I would appreciate. Got one so far - stock up on proteins

Thanks.

 

[corndogggy]

I was thinking about HIIT sessions. I do have a couple of questions about it though (I'm new to the concept of hiit). Should I eat anything before a session, and how long should I wait after the session to eat breakfast?
Is this a hiit session, say for example 5 mins: 30sec jog - 30s sprint and repeat 4 times?

Personally I wouldn't worry about intervals right now. I mean, you're losing over half a pound a day, which is mostly water, but still. I'd save the intervals until things got alot more stubborn.

Also if you have any suggestions on how to maintain muscle mass during such periods, I would appreciate. Got one so far - stock up on proteins

Weight training on large muscle groups is supposed to be one of the most effective ways, along with consuming the proper amount of protein, and so many other things that several entire books are written about it.

 

[hellomoto]

I did manage to get hold of some Whey protein. I've started taking them, around 20g X 2 on the days I workout. Well it's been approx 8 days since I started this thread and I've lost 2 more pounds, and I've lost 1.5-2" off my waist

Been lifting heavier weights at the gym too, hopefully this nice trend will continue for a long time

 

[hellomoto]

Hey, its been a while. But I wanted to run by some weight lifting issues if any of you guys know anything about this, please chime in

I changed my gym routine to mainly compound exercises (The Rippetoe program). So according to the program guidelines, I've been taking a calorific excess in order to increase weights with every workout.
So now I've kinda hit what I think is my upper limit on most of the compound lifts,
Bench - 180lbs
Squat - 200lbs
Pull Ups - body weight - 12 reps
Pendlay Rowing - 120lbs
Military press - 110lbs

Now the question is if I keep lifting these weights, and go into a calorific deficit will I lose a large % of muscle mass? (provided I still keep up my protein intake)

I'm currently at 178, and I feel my metabolism has increased due to the increase in my muscle mass. Been eating in excess of 4000 cals some days .
I plan to 'cut' again seriously, and just wanted to be sure if I stick to the current weights I won't loose too much muscle mass.

Thanks