No Gains or Aesthetic

[Jonathan]

28 yr old
Male
226 lbs
20% BF
Athletic build
5/3/1 (Currently doing more hypertrophy work based)
HIIT 2 to 3x week

I have been following carb nite/ carbbackload now for roughly 2 years. I have not made any considerable muscle gains or lowering of body fat percentage. Though backloading has allowed me to enjoy dirtier foods at night my strength, muscle mass and body fat have been close to linear

I am looking to gain mass, but I find no matter how much I eat or how closely I count macros everything seem to stay the same.
Any suggestions? Increase calories during low carb? Increase carbs at night?

Just not certain anymore and would love for some outside advice. Please just let me know what additional details you need.

-Jonathan

[Tony Sangimino]

If you’re not improving with 5/3/1 and doing HIIT 2-3x per week at 20% body fat, there has to be something very wrong with your nutrition or training. There’s almost no reason to not be improving in one aspect or another.

At 20% body fat, you probably shouldn’t be focused on gaining mass either, and that mindset is probably contributing to your stall.

So, what are you eating?

[Jonathan]

Tony, Ive read a lot of your stuff and am an advocate of your work. So appreciate the response.

Normal day:
8:00 AM – Black coffee, multi V, fish oil
9:30 AM – 2 eggs, 3 strips bacon, serving of mct oil.
Noon – 12 to 15 oz Chicken (dark meat) or steak, asparagus or spinach or avocado or fiber supplement.
6:00 PM – Weight train
8:00 PM – Carb Shock, 1 Scoop ISO pure, Creatine
8:30 PM – Can(s) of Tuna or 12 to 15 oz Chicken (white meat), blackbeans or spinach or some type of fiber, jasmine rice white(300g carbs) or pancakes
10:30 PM – Drink egg whites 50g

When I was tracking I was roughly 3,600 cals
40 C – 360g
30 F – 120g
30 P- 270g

I am currently not tracking, but the foods usually stay the same.

[Robert Haas]

Tony would know better then me but I’d ditch those egg whites @ 10:30 until BF gets down some. This would give you more fasting time to get that fat mobilized.

The eyes can't see what the mind doesn't understand.

[Jonathan]

Thanks Robert! While we wait for Tonys response, do you see anything else that sticks out to you?

Again I was shooting around 300g carbs on workout evenings. No carbs on off days. Are macros % off?
5 days of weight training, 2-3x HIIT, 1-2x tennis or walking. Over training?
Sedentary stressful desk job.
Attempt to get 8 hours of sleep nightly though don’t think I’m getting a quality deep sleep. Considering a sleep study due often tiredness.

Goal is to increase muscle while lowering BF. (Or at least look like I lift)
5/3/1 optimal program? Been following 5/3/1 for a year.
Currently following a body building program after strength stalled and just to mentally switch it up. Plan to start back up shortly.

[Jonathan]

Would still really appreciate any feedback. Thanks again all

[matt Wills]

Hi Jonathan.
Let me first disclose that I am no expert. Also I apologize in advance for any “captain obvious” comments.
The first thing that stands out to me is that you are trying to add muscle while dropping body fat. In my experience it can be a bit like trying to throw and catch a ball at once. I have had the best results sticking to one or the other. http://body.io/anabolic-cardio/ In this article Kiefer discusses cycling cns and cbl on a monthly basis; fat-loss one month, hypertrophy the next.
Secondly 3600 cals seems like a lot if you are trying to drop fat. It may be a good idea to have a look at a TDEE calculator. Although not always accurate, they can be a good starting point. Here is a video from coach Dain that may be helpful; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMkr6vLB7Rg
Lastly if you are worried about over-training give Shockwave a try. On the power lifting side the cube method is also relatively low on volume.
I hope that helps man. All the best with your training and goals.
-Matt

[jdm]

Just thought Id share a quick update. Since the last post I lowered calorie intake to 2500
Currently sitting at 218.5 lbs and 17.9% BF.
Still looking for any advice in trying to maintain muscle while dropping BF now in a caloric deficit.

Thanks

[Author]

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