Diet + Exercise = not enough?

[blakeslee]

Ok, I've researched and looked over a lot of the topics and replies here. I've tried to figure this out on my own (since I know, that's a preference around here - research, research, research). But now, I need help.

So...

...is it possible that diet and exercise is not enough? Meaning, I diet properly (not extreme tho) and I exercise regulary and properly. Now, I know what you are thinking, "..explain properly."


Diet: (intake between 1750-2400 calories/day) <--I jump up once a week by adding more to my portions.

Morning (after workout) - 2 egg whites, 1 w/yolk and mushrooms
Mid Morning - 1 cup of oat meal (plain)
Lunch - 6 oz. of chicken (plain) with mushrooms or brocolli
Mid afternoon - Turkey Sandwich w/cheese, wheat bread (plain)
Final meal (around 5pm) - 6 oz. of chicken or steak or fish (plain) with mushrooms or brocolli

Exercise:

Monday - gym: chest (upper), bi's, abs, 30 minutes of split cardio
Tuesday - gym: lower body, sprints (20 minutes)
Wednesday - gym: shoulders, tri's, abs, 30 minutes of split cardio
Thrusday - REST
Friday - gym: chest (lower), bi's, abs, long distance run (slow pace)
Saturday - gym: back, lats, abs, 20 minute slow jog
Sunday - REST


I know I'm not on a perfect diet (if there's such a thing) and I'm fairly certain I'm not over-exerting myself with the exercise. After 6 weeks on this strick diet, I still see no progression. Prior to this commitment, I ate fairly healthy, but nothing to write about. Being military, I've been working out over the past 7 years. Also, I do change up my routine from time to time. I go from free weights to machines to alternate types of workouts. I know that variety is the key to working different muscles.

Stats:

I'm 30, 5'11", and fluctuate between 220-217lbs. According to the Army BF tape test (height, age, neck and waist measurements) I'm about 21% BF. My waist tends to measure around 38 inches (ouch, I know) and my neck measure about 16.5 inches.

If you look at the pic below, the problem lies in my lower abs. It just seems I can't shake off the excess fat deposits and love handles. I've got the top abs tone, just cannot get over this brick wall.

Is it truly possible that I need to look into other avenues of approach? Do any of you gurus have some helpful insights or adjustments? I'm at the end of my rope and I'm open to any and all ideas.

Does anyone else run into this problem? Do genetics stop well-deserved progression?

Thanks for you time and help and if you're repeating yourself from prior threads, I apologize.

Randall

 

[alex2678]

Everyone's different but for me 20-30 minutes of cardio doesn't burn fat on my body. It's gotten a bad rap over the years, but my strength stays the same doing 60 minutes daily on a the treadmill when I'm cutting. You'll have to experiment. Some people lose strength on that amount. But most likely if you keep your reps and sets low you shouldn't have a problem. I'm sure someone else will touch on your diet some more, but I'd add a whey protein shake to your post workout first meal and some EFA's throughout the day with your food meals. Good luck.

 

[JKurz1]

Screw exercise.....seriously....DIET is enough and 99% of this game...until you master that part, all the rest dont mean didddly

 

[alex2678]

For some people. But usually if your an endo/mesomorph you do need some type of cardio to get really ripped. I envy those people who were born with fat free DNA. LOL. One guy I know diets down for a show for 4 weeks...And by diet I mean he just stops eating McDonalds everyday.

 

[JKurz1]

no one needs cardio.........trust me...........if your diet is on point and you are just moderatly active during the day, it can be done.

 

[SgtSlaughter]

just for reinforcment:


Diet, Diet, Diet... keep manipulating. It seems as though you may not be taking in enough calories at all! Get your BMR (basic metabolic rate), there's calculators around here somewhere.... if i get a chance to find 'em I'll link them here, otherwise do a quick search!

As you said, you haven't mastered the diet yet. Time to master it bro!!

I'm doing the same right now... sucks ass dieting, but time to get ripped!

 

[alex2678]

no one needs cardio.........trust me...........if your diet is on point and you are just moderatly active during the day, it can be done.

Hmmm. Just started dieting this week myself. I don't think I ever dieted without cardio before, but maybe I'll give it a try this time for a few weeks and see what happens....My BF went from 40% down to 6% throughout the years (11% at the moment) with tons of cardio/wrestling/sparring, but nowaday it's just the treadmill. (Which has to be the biggest pain in the ass) It's worth a try...

 

[blakeslee]

just for reinforcment:


Diet, Diet, Diet... keep manipulating. It seems as though you may not be taking in enough calories at all! Get your BMR (basic metabolic rate), there's calculators around here somewhere.... if i get a chance to find 'em I'll link them here, otherwise do a quick search!

As you said, you haven't mastered the diet yet. Time to master it bro!!

I'm doing the same right now... sucks ass dieting, but time to get ripped!

BMR = 1804.7

Thank you very much.

It's crazy to think that I'd have to actually master the diet portion to get my desired results. I was told earlier today, "...if you want to look like a pro, you have to diet like one."

Great advise --


BTW - thanks for the reponses thus far.



Randall

SSG/Cadet

 

[Swanson Smash]

different in dieting and cutting

dieting you loose weight..cutting you loose that fat that you just cant stand as you mentioned the love handles and lower abs

i maybe wrong but you possibly need to check out the cutting diets that are posted and give them a try or come up with your own that suits you...that may get you over the last hill

good luck with it

 

[lacoste]

Just a quick look at your diet and it looks like maybe only 1200-1300cals. Way low. I think you should be somewhere closer to 2600cals for a BMR. And there is no PWO shake in there. Its tough when you are dieting because many times because you eat frequently you might feel that you are eating too much. But if you dont eat enough your body will feel starved and it will just cling onto that fat. There is alot of good people on here that can help ya bro.

 

[blakeslee]

Just a quick look at your diet and it looks like maybe only 1200-1300cals. Way low. I think you should be somewhere closer to 2600cals for a BMR. And there is no PWO shake in there. Its tough when you are dieting because many times because you eat frequently you might feel that you are eating too much. But if you dont eat enough your body will feel starved and it will just cling onto that fat. There is alot of good people on here that can help ya bro.

Thanx!

I did forget to mention the protien shakes before and after my workouts.

I was hoping I wouldn't need to cross into "cutting." I figured, with 21%BF, I need to lose some serious body fat. Am I wrong in that assumption?

Anyhow, looks like I need to read http://www.elitefitness.com/forum/showthread.php?t=454158

 

[velvett]

just for reinforcment:


Diet, Diet, Diet... keep manipulating. It seems as though you may not be taking in enough calories at all! Get your BMR (basic metabolic rate), there's calculators around here somewhere.... if i get a chance to find 'em I'll link them here, otherwise do a quick search!

As you said, you haven't mastered the diet yet. Time to master it bro!!

I'm doing the same right now... sucks ass dieting, but time to get ripped!

Something is off with the diet and your numbers - put that through fit day and post up what the calories and ratios are - at a glance I think I eat more than you.

What's your lifing like? What kind of reps and are you training heavy?

I have to agree with a lot of what has already been said - I would edit the diet and drop the cardio down to two to three days tops and train hard and heavy 4 or 5 day split.

And alternate the cardio - one day steady state, one/two day HIIT - but don't go crazy with it.

 

[Lifterforlife]

One thing to always keep in mind. The body is "programmed" from early days to survive, not look good at the beach. (running from predators, endless deserts, etc.) At some point, it will try dam hard to keep stored fat in favor of muscle. So, keep at it, you will actually at some point have to force the body to burn its stored fat, but if you keep at it, it will do so.

 

[blakeslee]

Something is off with the diet and your numbers - put that through fit day and post up what the calories and ratios are - at a glance I think I eat more than you.

What's your lifing like? What kind of reps and are you training heavy?

I have to agree with a lot of what has already been said - I would edit the diet and drop the cardio down to two to three days tops and train hard and heavy 4 or 5 day split.

And alternate the cardio - one day steady state, one/two day HIIT - but don't go crazy with it.

I sat down and recalculated (adding in the 2 protein shakes and my morning coffee) and everyone is absolutely right - of course -- looks like I'm only really taking in approximately 1200 calories (if that). For some odd reason, I calculated more than that prior to me seriously dropping down my intake.

Lifting - I alternate weekly between going heavy and going light for the endurance.

Cardio - velvett, I'll follow your advise (as well as everyone elses) and give it a shot.

I assumed that, after 3-4 weeks of a low calorie intake and burning more than I consume, my body would eventually look to the fat for the energy my body needs. I don't feel "weak" considering I seriously under estimated my calorie intake.

Again, I really appreciate everyone's time (for repeating yourselves from previous threads I'm sure). I'll heed all the advise and in a month or so, share my progress. Once I get over this hurdle, it'll be time to take the next step towards getting a little bigger

 

[Swanson Smash]

my bad i may of missed it...i didnt know you was 21% bf...yeah cutting shouldnt be necessary yet, but you may want to give it a try anyhow

 

[Gymgurl]

Make sure that you are eating ENOUGH to lose weight....play with the numbers...I have a high cal day then lower cal and mix em up so my body doesn't get used to it...you have to play with it until you find what works for YOUR body..everyone is different

 

[timtim]

no one needs cardio.........trust me...........if your diet is on point and you are just moderatly active during the day, it can be done.

this is completely wrong and bad advice to give. not everyone is genetically lean so most people will require cardio to lose weight. for someone with so many posts and so much time on this board you really gave a bullshit answer here. so chris aceto, chad nichols, swole cat, and all these professional body consultants are wrong? they are lying about the need to do cardio? doubt it.

not to mention that these same people who require cardio would more than likely need to restrict calories so much without cardio that their metabolism would slow down making losing fat impossible. what do they do then?

oh yeah, a spot on diet would fix that. wrong. i'll stick with proven advice over advice from someone who is genetically under 10% year round. might want to include that information in your post when you tell someone with 21% bf that they don't need cardio. the guy would be dieting for years trying to get lean listening to this advice.

 

[featherz]

Definitely eat some more. I eat more than you even when cutting and I'm 38 years old, 124# and female.

When I am maintaining, I eat twice your intake!

 

[KIAN]

Age: 30
Height: 5'-11"
Weight: 220 lbs

BMR: 2134.3

Daily Caloric Intake (to maintain current weight) = 3308 (moderate exercise 3 to 5 X per week)
Daily Caloric Intake (to reduce current weight) = 2808

If you have calculated your nutritional intake at bewteen 1750-2400 calories per day and your progress has stopped then:

• your current level of physical acitvity is insufficient for your chosen goal
• your current nutritional intake has been miscalculated
• your metabolic rate is actually lower than what has been calculated (the value above is a general guideline)
• all of the above

Your options would be:

• maintain your nutritional intake at 2808 and increase your level of physical actibivity
• decrease your nutritional intake by a further 500 calories and maintain your level of physical activity
• decrease your nutritional intake by a further 500 calores and increase your level of physical activity

The third option would produce more dramatic results. Whenever you reach a plateau in your training (cutting), either increase the level of activity, decrease your nutritional intake, or do both. Just make sure that your loss in weight is one to two pounds per week. Anything more than this and you are going to start dropping significant amounts of mass. You would also benefit more from moving your cardio routine to first thing in the morning when you wake up. Perform this at a high intensity for 30-60 minutes followed up with a healthy breakfast. Try to keep food inside of you at all time throughout the day, even when cutting. Make sure that your food sources are coming from low to moderate glycemic, complex carbs. They will leave you feeling fuller and will help establish more uniform blood sugar levels. Keep yourself properly hydrated throughout the day.


________________

KP--Fitness Basics

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[KIAN]

Another thing to consider if you are still having difficulties at lowering your bodyweight (since you mentioned that you have been at it for 6 weeks) is that you may have an undiagnosed case of mild hypothyroidism. If this is the case then your physical activity and daily caloric intake values will need to be pushed even further than expected before you start to notice significant changes in your physique. To rule this out as a possible cause, consult with your physician and have your T4 and TSH levels checked.

But before you do that, have a second look at getting your nutritional intake and physical activity level sorted out first and see if you can make any progress.

________________

KP--Fitness Basics

.

 

[cyrex]

You are the 3rd person that has come in here in the last 30 days or so talking about having problems losing weight and it turns out you are taking in way to FEW calories! I LOVE IT.
Not your situation, but it's CLEAR PROOF that to lose weight you MUST EAT.

If you would like some awesome advice send a PM to either Mr. X or The Shadow for some top notch diet advice.