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Hey dudes,I've been doing SA for about 6 months now and haven't had the sort of results I've wanted. I was hoping to get some advice from the board on what I can do to tweak my diet.I'm a 26 year old male, weigh about 195-200 and as of yesterday I'm roughly 16% bodyfat at 5'11". When I started working out in April '14, I was about 190-195 and , according to a sloppy measurement, about 21-23% bodyfat. I started out with density bulking but switched to SA around June because I felt the fat would come off quicker.I started out with MI40, which was a nice routine and I think helped with form and understanding muscles and the movements and whatnot. I switched to PHAT around October (?), maybe September, and it has really helped me pack on strength and I think muscle.Since about early November, my diet has looked like this:10or 11AM Wake and have coffee with 7-10g coconut oil, 7g isolate1 or 2PM 3oz 90/10 ground beef, 3oz chicken thigh, 1oz cheese 1-2oz broccoli or arugula4 or 5PM 5oz meat + 1oz cheese7PM light snack for protein. usually 20-30g of protein.8 or 9PM 7g coconut oil, coffee and workoutTrain for 1.5 hours11PM PWO: 1-2 cups skim or 1% milk, 1 scoop ON whey, 10g isolate, 40g maltodextrin 5g leucine, 5g creatine, fenugreek capsules, multivitamin, and some sweet dextrose-y calcium gummies lol. 12PM Backload with foods mentioned below1AM Something to spike insulin. Usually do milk & cake, cookies, pastries, pie, fruity pebbles, or something of the sort. Foods in a typical backload: sushi, kung pao chicken with white rice, red potatoes with chicken breast, homemade pizza, and occasionally fried chicken in cornstarch batter, French fries, and or beer. I typically get about 250-300g of carbs in a backload and, obviously, more if go out drinking.The most recent adjustment I made to my routine was making my PWO shake strictly no-solids (I used to blend bananas with my powders and milk). I don't know if it's had an impact yet. I've also switched to waiting an hour for the PWO shake to be consumed. I've never really counted calories until this last week because I really want to take things to the next level.I'm wondering what I could do with CBL to either accelerate fat loss and muscle gain or just flat-out cut down to 10 or 12%. Would CNS be worth my time if my goals are to spare muscle and lose fat? To be honest, while I actually feel as healthy as I've ever felt with CBL, I don't really feel like I've lost much fat. I can sort of feel like my belly has shrunk a teeny bit and my thighs have maybe too, but I feel like I'm mostly making modest muscle gains. I attached some pictures demonstrating my progress. They are the first and most recent pics.
Figure out your actual macro's and calories, track (even if it's not 100%, just have an idea) and adjust as needed to make progress.
I would not be doing Density Bulking. Cut back to SA version of CBL until you get the BF% down. Honestly, you say you are at 16% BF but by the pictures you are closer to 25%+.
Thanks for the input, guys.To be honest, I have an idea of my macros although I don't "track" them and obsess over them. I'd say I get around 2900 cals (110 Fat, 300C, 200P). But I don't know where to adjust....I see conflicting info: some say to cut back on ULC fat intake while others say to cut back on carb intake in CBL. Like I said, I just don't know where to go from here.I am doing SA, in that I go ULC on non-training days.As far as BF%, I'm not going to defend my claim on 16%---I don't even care about bodyfat%, I care more about what I see in a mirror. And what I see right now isn't up to par with my goals. That's what an online calculator gave on me on measurements for chest, abdominal and thigh on both the first time in April and the most recent time a week ago. So where would you recommend I go from here?
Thanks for the input, guys.To be honest, I have an idea of my macros although I don't "track" them and obsess over them. I'd say I get around 2900 cals (110 Fat, 400C, 200P). But I don't know where to adjust....I see conflicting info: some say to cut back on ULC fat intake while others say to cut back on carb intake in CBL. Like I said, I just don't know where to go from here.I am doing SA, in that I go ULC on non-training days.As far as BF%, I'm not going to defend my claim on 16%---I don't even care about bodyfat%, I care more about what I see in a mirror. And what I see right now isn't up to par with my goals. That's what an online calculator gave on me on measurements for chest, abdominal and thigh on both the first time in April and the most recent time a week ago. So where would you recommend I go from here?
I would probably drop the fat some to decrease calories.
Thanks for the input, guys.To be honest, I have an idea of my macros although I don't "track" them and obsess over them. I'd say I get around 2900 cals (110 Fat, 400C, 200P). But I don't know where to adjust....I see conflicting info: some say to cut back on ULC fat intake while others say to cut back on carb intake in CBL. Like I said, I just don't know where to go from here.I am doing SA, in that I go ULC on non-training days.As far as BF%, I'm not going to defend my claim on 16%---I don't even care about bodyfat%, I care more about what I see in a mirror. And what I see right now isn't up to par with my goals. That's what an online calculator gave on me on measurements for chest, abdominal and thigh on both the first time in April and the most recent time a week ago. So where would you recommend I go from here?
I would probably drop the fat some to decrease calories.
Okay thanks. I will try by dropping fat about 20g by eating some leaner cuts to see where it gets me in a couple of weeks.I would still appreciate input from others, if there are different thoughts.
I would not be doing Density Bulking. Cut back to SA version of CBL until you get the BF% down. Honestly, you say you are at 16% BF but by the pictures you are closer to 25%+.
Yea I agree, you look well over 20% bodyfat to me. I would recommend Carb Nite. Also, in my personal opinion, high frequency training programs like PHAT and MI40 are not appropriate for people trying to lose fat and people that are newer to training. I would recommend three full body workouts per week instead of bodypart splits.
You might check out this page for some bodyfat percentage examples.
http://www.builtlean.com/2012/09/24/body-fat-percentage-men-women/
I would not be doing Density Bulking. Cut back to SA version of CBL until you get the BF% down. Honestly, you say you are at 16% BF but by the pictures you are closer to 25%+.
Yea I agree, you look well over 20% bodyfat to me. I would recommend Carb Nite. Also, in my personal opinion, high frequency training programs like PHAT and MI40 are not appropriate for people trying to lose fat and people that are newer to training. I would recommend three full body workouts per week instead of bodypart splits.
Got it. I don't mind giving Carb Nite a shot if it means I can lean down. As far as your training recommendation, I imagine doing a heavy-weight, low-rep style of training would be more beneficial on Carb Nite. What are your thoughts on this?Also, couple more pics just for kicks
I would not be doing Density Bulking. Cut back to SA version of CBL until you get the BF% down. Honestly, you say you are at 16% BF but by the pictures you are closer to 25%+.
Yea I agree, you look well over 20% bodyfat to me. I would recommend Carb Nite. Also, in my personal opinion, high frequency training programs like PHAT and MI40 are not appropriate for people trying to lose fat and people that are newer to training. I would recommend three full body workouts per week instead of bodypart splits.
Got it. I don't mind giving Carb Nite a shot if it means I can lean down. As far as your training recommendation, I imagine doing a heavy-weight, low-rep style of training would be more beneficial on Carb Nite. What are your thoughts on this?Also, couple more pics just for kicks
I wouldn't call heavy, low rep training beneficial for Carb Nite, but you generally can't handle much volume on Carb Nite, so lower reps are kind of what you have to do. At least on the big exercises.It my opinion, when you are on Carb Nite, you should only have one tough training session a week. The other two should be relatively easy. When you are on a diet, minimizing stress is key.
I would recommend the heavy routine be performed on the day after carb nite. This definitely works best for me.
^^this is what I used to do, until I started to do my major workout before CN, and just did HIIT the day after. this worked a little better than doing the tough workout the day after CN. I believe Kiefer also recommends doing HIIT the day after CN
^^this is what I used to do, until I started to do my major workout before CN, and just did HIIT the day after. this worked a little better than doing the tough workout the day after CN. I believe Kiefer also recommends doing HIIT the day after CN
Depends on your goals. If you are training for aesthetic purposes, what you are doing is the best bet. However, if your you are training for strength, what Mac says is what you want to do.
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