Journey, Not A Destination

Hi Steve

I'd like to get your opinion on calories and nutrition. Below is the food I had yesterday. I think I'm getting a good amount of healthy food, although my dinners are a little lacking lately.

Breakfast: Protein shake - 1 scoop Protein powder (26g protein), banana, frozen blueberries and 2% milk.
Snack: Banana and 1/3 cup of almonds
Lunch: Tuna wrap (1/2 can of tuna, low fat mayo & some relish and alfalfa sprouts) with a baby spinach salad (olive/flax oil, balsamic vinegar), two homemade oatmeal raisin cookies
Snack: Baby carrots (snack bag) and 1/2 cup cottage cheese
Meal: Tuna wrap (1/2 can of tuna, low fat mayo & some relish and alfalfa sprouts), yogurt and an orange
Meal: 2 slices of cheese pizza, 2 homemade oatmeal raisin cookies, glass of milk
Oh yeah: 4 mugs of coffee (and that is cutting wayyyy back with 1 milk, 1 cream, no sugar) and a large mug of green tea. Lots of water too.

Calories Eaten Today
grams cals %total
Total: 2466
Fat: 90 810 34%
Sat: 24 218 9%
Poly: 18 162 7%
Mono: 40 358 15%
Carbs: 293 1053 44%
Fiber: 30 0 0%
Protein: 138 554 23%

I'm a 34 yr old male, 216lbs and my goal weight is 185. I estimate that I'm running around 30% bf and obviously need to reduce that to a healthier level.

At 216 and 30%bf, that would mean lean body mass of approx 151lbs. Based on 1 gram per protein of lean body mass, I was short by 17g of protein yesterday. So I guess I should aim for 6 meals at 25g of protein per meal.

Although I've had a low level of activity over the last couple of months (injury, hours at work, blah blah blah, exccuses, excuses) I'm getting back on track next week.

My planned typical weekly activity:
Weight training 2-3 days per week (legs each day for injury rehabilitation, then the remainder would be compound, freeweight exercises likely split into a 2 day cycle as I'll be working out at lunch and want to keep the workouts at 45min)
Martial arts - 3 times per week
Core conditioning class at lunch once per week

What are your thoughts?
 
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Hey Steve. I've been lurking about your journal and just thought I'd say hi. It's been a rough week and I'm feeling so directionless right now. Hoping you can help me get back on track....

Got a big snowstorm up here in Maine on Wednesday night- I still don't have power, which means no heat, no water...but just another reason to go to the gym- to get a shower!!:)

Enjoy your weekend with the fish and the family.
 
Sounds like a great plan, Steve--enjoy!! Having dinner with the BF's family Sat night, Sunday going to my hometown to see my parents and grandparents. Gonna be fun, love both our families! :)
 
Hi Steve!
Just dropping by to let you know I'm back and will need your help more than ever!
Thank you for writing to me even when it was such a long time I didn't show around here. I appreciated it a lot.
 
Hi Steve! Enjoy your day fishing! Thanks for all of your advice and time! Implementing weight training into my workout this weekend. Finally. :rolleyes:
 
dariqueen said:
Sounds like a good day. The sun is shining here; but it's at least -15 Celcius. :eek: I'm hoping if there's no wind I can get out walking today.

Lunch with the family sounds good. We haven't planned anything at all yet.
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Thanks Dari, enjoy your weekend! :)
 
12packAbs said:
Hi Steve

I'd like to get your opinion on calories and nutrition. Below is the food I had yesterday. I think I'm getting a good amount of healthy food, although my dinners are a little lacking lately.

Breakfast: Protein shake - 1 scoop Protein powder (26g protein), banana, frozen blueberries and 2% milk.
Snack: Banana and 1/3 cup of almonds
Lunch: Tuna wrap (1/2 can of tuna, low fat mayo & some relish and alfalfa sprouts) with a baby spinach salad (olive/flax oil, balsamic vinegar), two homemade oatmeal raisin cookies
Snack: Baby carrots (snack bag) and 1/2 cup cottage cheese
Meal: Tuna wrap (1/2 can of tuna, low fat mayo & some relish and alfalfa sprouts), yogurt and an orange
Meal: 2 slices of cheese pizza, 2 homemade oatmeal raisin cookies, glass of milk
Oh yeah: 4 mugs of coffee (and that is cutting wayyyy back with 1 milk, 1 cream, no sugar) and a large mug of green tea. Lots of water too.

Calories Eaten Today
grams cals %total
Total: 2466
Fat: 90 810 34%
Sat: 24 218 9%
Poly: 18 162 7%
Mono: 40 358 15%
Carbs: 293 1053 44%
Fiber: 30 0 0%
Protein: 138 554 23%

I'm a 34 yr old male, 216lbs and my goal weight is 185. I estimate that I'm running around 30% bf and obviously need to reduce that to a healthier level.

At 216 and 30%bf, that would mean lean body mass of approx 151lbs. Based on 1 gram per protein of lean body mass, I was short by 17g of protein yesterday. So I guess I should aim for 6 meals at 25g of protein per meal.

Although I've had a low level of activity over the last couple of months (injury, hours at work, blah blah blah, exccuses, excuses) I'm getting back on track next week.

My planned typical weekly activity:
Weight training 2-3 days per week (legs each day for injury rehabilitation, then the remainder would be compound, freeweight exercises likely split into a 2 day cycle as I'll be working out at lunch and want to keep the workouts at 45min)
Martial arts - 3 times per week
Core conditioning class at lunch once per week

What are your thoughts?
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Your plan of attack sounds pretty good overall. Calorie intake seems right. You know you should be getting your protein up a bit. During weight loss (energy deficit), protein intake should actually go up a bit, above 1 gram per pound.

I would start taking some fish oil pills each day. 6 grams or so.

You could certainly improve your food choices. Cookies and pizza obviously, but it is not going to kill you. Just don't make it a daily occurrence.

What happened to your leg?
 
patsfan said:
Hey Steve. I've been lurking about your journal and just thought I'd say hi. It's been a rough week and I'm feeling so directionless right now. Hoping you can help me get back on track....

Got a big snowstorm up here in Maine on Wednesday night- I still don't have power, which means no heat, no water...but just another reason to go to the gym- to get a shower!!:)

Enjoy your weekend with the fish and the family.
Click to expand...

Bummer on the snow storm! I PMed you back after your last message to me and I never heard back from you? Maybe it had something to do with the loss of power.
 
Venice girl said:
Hi Steve!
Just dropping by to let you know I'm back and will need your help more than ever!
Thank you for writing to me even when it was such a long time I didn't show around here. I appreciated it a lot.
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Hi Nora! So glad to see you back around here. I hope everything is well. How is the thyroid issue? I look forward to hearing from you. :)
 
I have a partially torn ACL and fluid build up from a sparring injury at a karate training camp. I'm going to see a sports doctor about the MRI results and it'll probably be lots of physio, so I'll do most of my rehabilitation on my own at the gym.

For supplements I take a multi, Omega 3-6-9 capsules. I took a Greens supplement for a while, but I ran out and haven't bought more just yet.

When I plan my meals properly I eat quite well, but there is always an occaisional treat here and there.
 
12packAbs said:
I have a partially torn ACL and fluid build up from a sparring injury at a karate training camp. I'm going to see a sports doctor about the MRI results and it'll probably be lots of physio, so I'll do most of my rehabilitation on my own at the gym.

For supplements I take a multi, Omega 3-6-9 capsules. I took a Greens supplement for a while, but I ran out and haven't bought more just yet.

When I plan my meals properly I eat quite well, but there is always an occaisional treat here and there.
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No, it sounds like you are doing well. I have taken a Greens supp before, good stuff! I'd get some more.

Bummer about the knee. If you need a bump in recovery, I would def. check out an ART certified chiropractor. Great for soft tissue work!

Let me know how the weight loss is going.
 
Thanks Steve.

I like the pushing/pulling structure of your training, so I'm going to structure my program around that with basic compound exercises - I think it'll work out well.

What kind of set/rep range would you recommend? I was initially thinking 3x8 reps...but you have me reconsidering lower reps and more sets.
 
12packAbs said:
Thanks Steve.

I like the pushing/pulling structure of your training, so I'm going to structure my program around that with basic compound exercises - I think it'll work out well.

What kind of set/rep range would you recommend? I was initially thinking 3x8 reps...but you have me reconsidering lower reps and more sets.
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If you are cutting down, I actually like total body training better. No need to train 4 days per week and breakdown the body into sections. Muscle maintenance is all you can hope for and to maintain, you don't need much.

I am currently bulking and hence, following a 4 day upper/lower split. When I do this I break it up like this:

DAY 1 - UPPER - HEAVY HORIZONTAL, LIGHT VERTICAL

DAY 2 - LOWER - HEAVY QUAD, LIGHT POSTERIOR CHAIN

DAY 3 - UPPER - HEAVY VERTICAL, LIGHT HORIZONTAL

DAY 4 - LOWER - HEAVY POSTERIOR CHAIN, LIGHT QUAD

By heavy, I usually stick with 4-6 sets of 4-6 reps. By light, I usually stick with 2-3 sets of 8-15 reps, depending on movement.

When I am cutting, I get rid of all auxiliary work like bicep and tricep work.

I mean, it would be nothing for me to go in and bust out squats and bench and go home, all heavy work. Again, it doesn't take much to maintain muscle and I am more about managing neural fatigue than anything else while dieting, since muscle maintenance is so easy, relatively speaking.
 
Ok - another question.

I may start tracking my calories...haven't done that before. Not sure if I'll be able to keep it up long term, but I'll try to for now. Here's my question. In calculating how many calories I need and how much to eat to have a caloric deficit of, say 250 calories...how do I calculate that?

I've looked at the online BMR calculators, but the problem that I have with this is that it results in the same BMR for two guys that are both the same height and weight. (Same problem I have with the BMI index). Say the first guy has 30% bf and the other guy has 15% bf. Clearly the guy with way more lean body mass will require way more calories to maintain current weight. This calculation gives me 2057, and for a moderately active week = 3,188...that seems like too many calories for me. I'm positive my bf would go through the roof at that calorie level.

Then I found something that suggests using lean body mass, and multiplying by a factor of 1.15 for "ideal" body weight (for someone with 15% bf). This calculation gives me 1808, and for a moderately active week = 2,802. This seems a little more realistic to me.

What do you suggest?
 
12packAbs said:
Ok - another question.

I may start tracking my calories...haven't done that before. Not sure if I'll be able to keep it up long term, but I'll try to for now. Here's my question. In calculating how many calories I need and how much to eat to have a caloric deficit of, say 250 calories...how do I calculate that?

I've looked at the online BMR calculators, but the problem that I have with this is that it results in the same BMR for two guys that are both the same height and weight. (Same problem I have with the BMI index). Say the first guy has 30% bf and the other guy has 15% bf. Clearly the guy with way more lean body mass will require way more calories to maintain current weight. This calculation gives me 2057, and for a moderately active week = 3,188...that seems like too many calories for me. I'm positive my bf would go through the roof at that calorie level.

Then I found something that suggests using lean body mass, and multiplying by a factor of 1.15 for "ideal" body weight (for someone with 15% bf). This calculation gives me 1808, and for a moderately active week = 2,802. This seems a little more realistic to me.

What do you suggest?
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Blah! That is why I don't spend a lot of time or energy in selecting an initial caloric intake. All the equations are merely estimates. Unless you want to spend the money and get hooked up to some fancy equipment, don't sweat your starting point. It is not like you are locking yourself into some contract that limits what you can do. You select something that you think will be in line with your goals, monitor your progress, and if things are not heading in the direction that you had hoped for, you modify your intake. It's that simple.

This is why I like to use 14-16 calories per pound of body weight for maintenance. Anything under that is a deficit. The more weight you have to lose, the deeper of a deficit your body can tolerate. I think, if I remember correctly, you were right around 11-12 calories per pound of body weight with the menu you had laid out earlier. Sounds good to me for weight loss. Monitor your progress, and modify as time goes on.

I am all for tracking calories. I think it is the only way to know exactly what direction you are heading in. However, I am not all bout making a science out of it. Too much wasted effort.

I can send you some equations that take into account body fat and whatnot if you'd like. But again, I don't think it is necessary.
 
hey Steve I'm getting a body fat test tomorrow....don't know how they are going to do it, but you're probably curious, so I'll let you know in here if you like. Whenever you come back to a computer, of course!
 
Curvie Girlie said:
hey Steve I'm getting a body fat test tomorrow....don't know how they are going to do it, but you're probably curious, so I'll let you know in here if you like. Whenever you come back to a computer, of course!
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Yea, I'd be curious to know what they test you at. Do you have any guesses?
 
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