Cutting:Finding it hard to focus when I keep seeing so much conflicting information->

[BigRedCat]

My girl and I are both trying to cut and have been getting zero results. Our diets are clean- I have meticulously gone over them and have been following the advice of John Berardi as far as diet. As for cardio- I have been doing 4 times a week 20-30 minute sessions after weights. I do either sprints or real slow low impact(3.6mph on treadmill). What am I doing wrong? Do I need to up the cardio or what? I just dont seem to lose any fat and I am running around 3000 cals a day. I should be losing but nope. Help! Any advice?

 

[jeremys]

what are your stats and goals? if you only started coming and progress has halted, it's gotta be the diet.

have you tried a CKD diet? go to the diet board and read up. works very well for many people

 

[BigRedCat]

I am 5'11" 190 at 14-15%bf. I am looking to get to a solid 199-205 but I would like to lose the fat I have first. My girl is 5'5" 138 - same for her, she is looking to lean up first. We have been lifting heavy and busting our ass but yet no change. I even changed up my workout about 3 weeks ago. I am thinking it must be diet related as well.

 

[gymtime]

How long have you been dieting and lifting strictly like this?

 

[Haz]

Drop the calories down to 1900-2000. I know that sounds a tad low, but you'll see quicker results. My philosophy on dieting is, get it over and done with as quick as possible, then go onto a maintenance diet.

 

[spatts]

Post up the diet, please.

 

[BigRedCat]

Here is my diet:
(my girl is running around 2200cals whereas I am running aroun 3000).

Meal 1
8oz low fat cottage cheese
1 bannannnanna(I can put as many n's in bannana as I want dammit!!hehe)
1 serving Isopure Whey Protein
1 cup oatmeal with raisans

Meal 2 1/2 cup oatmeal
1 serving Isopure

Meal 3
MRP/Isopure
2tbsp natty Peanut Butter

Meal 4
Chicken breast
1/2 cup veggies

Meal 5
1 can tuna
salad
1oz mixed nuts

Meal 6
steak(filet mignon usually)
salad
1/2 cup green beans or corn or carrots.
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My girl follows this with less cals of course. Do I need to drop as low as 2000? If that is the case what does she need 1000? See, this is what I mean, I read for hours on John Berardi's site and he says the #1 reason most people cannot lose fat is they dont eat enough. So, which is it?

 

[spatts]

Some suggestions:

Ditch the fructose...period. Banananananannaa is out. Raisins are about the highest glycemic food you can eat...out.

Add more fiber.

There's no REAL food between meal 1 and 4.

Corn and carrots are starches.

I cut on about 1500-2000 but that's because I choose to create a deficit through exercise, as opposed to restriction.

Last time I cut, the diet looked like this:

http://www.asylum-strength.com/spat-cutting.htm

Cycle the carbs 3 days low (.5g/kg body weight) and 2 days high (2.0g/kg body weight), or high on training days and low on non training days. The diet in the link represents the 100g CHO median.

1Kg = 2.2046 lbs

Just what works for me....

I don't train at 6AM anymore, so ignore the strange times in the spreadsheet. The foods and ratios are the impt part. So you know, I'm a 5'9' 190 pound female at 18-20% fat. Then, I was about 200 and cut to 164 (150 pounds LBM).

 

[BigRedCat]

OK, this diet is directly from John Berardi(I modified it a bit but below are HIS suggestions):

Meal #1
8 oz. cottage cheese
1 banana
1 scoop of Advanced Protein
1 cup of oatmeal (before cooked)

Meal #2
1/2 cup of oatmeal (before cooked)
2 scoops of Advanced Protein
1 piece of flax bread
1 piece of fat free cheese

Meal #3 (post workout)
3 scoops of Biotest Surge

Meal #4
7 egg whites
2 whole eggs
1/2 cup vegetables
2 slices of fat free cheese
2 teaspoons of flax oil

Meal #5
1 can of tuna fish
Salad
1 oz mixed nuts
2 teaspoons flax oil

Meal #6
1 can of sockeye salmon (3 times per week, eat 8 oz extra lean beef instead, but take a few concentrated EPA/DHA capsules with this meal when you don’t eat fish)
Salad
1 oz mixed nuts
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Now of course I have heard the whole no fructose thing before but then someone like Berardi who is a nutritionist says eat bannanas. Labrada says its no good to eat any tropical fruits when cutting, just as Spatts has said. So who's advice do I follow? Lee Labrada? John Berardi? Spatts? Body For Life? It gets confusing and I am not a beginner either- I have been studying this stuff for some time. My girl was running around 1500 cals for awhile and same thing- no fat loss. So I had her up the cals and no change yet. Same with me. So, at 138 pounds she needs around 1600 cals to cut? Pretty low.

 

[spatts]

If that worked for him, great. It probably wouldn't work for me. Is it working for you?

Don't forget the estrogen/insulin relationship that your girl has to deal with too.