Trying to lose BF...Need Help

[SonofBone]

This is lengthy, but I'm trying to provide everything I can in hopes those in the know can make some good suggestions.

My goal is too basically drop my fat %. In 12 weeks I'd like to go from 26% to 11.5%. Also, I'd like to preserve and gain if possible any lean muscle.

I am 33 years old, 5'10" and weigh 192 lbs. A year ago I was doing triathlons and then I tore my ACL playing flag football. My BF% at the time was 12%, but I got a little discouraged due to the injury and basically just shutdown. I had surgery this summer and finally decided to put int behind me and I've been exercising for 2 months. I've been doing a lot of cardio on a elliptical machine because it doesn't bother my knee and some weight training as well.

4 weeks ago my BF% was 26, and I weighed 194. Now, I weigh 192 and my BF% is 23.15%. Unfortunately, last week my BF% was 22.9%, so it went up this past week. This could be because of upping my calories and cardio was same as week before.

On my diet, I'm using a zigzag method on calories. I was constantly hungry on weeks 1 - 3. I wasn't progressing as fast as I thought I should be, so I thought I'd increase my caloric intake. I bumped it from an avg. of 2045 calories (weeks 1-30) to 2170 calories (week 4).

On my training, I'm doing 8 cardio sessions for 240 minutes, and I've been doing weights 3x/week. One week I'm doing legs 2x and upper body 1x...the following week I'll do upper body 1x and legs 2x. On days I do weights, I only do 1 cardio session & on the off days I'm doing 2 cardio sessions.

I'll list measurements and my diet below. Also, I'm listing both legs because of my injury and atrophy that has occurred to my right leg. Also, I'm a little concerned because some body parts initially increased in size and now they're decreasing.

What recommendations would you make? Should I do more/less cardio? Consume more or less food? More proteins, carbs, fat? Is it normal for body parts to initially increase and then decrease in size...does this indicate too much cardio?

Measurements:
Body Part Before Wk1 B4 Wk4 B4 Wk5 Now
Upper Arm inches 15 15 15
Chest relaxed 41.25 41.125 40.25
Chest Flexed 43 42.5 42.5
Waist 36 35 34.5
Quad (L) 20 20.75 20
Quad ® 18.5 19 18.25
Upper Leg (L) 25 25.25 25
Upper Leg ® 23.5 24 24
Calf (L) 14.5 14.75 14.75
Calf ® 14.75 14.75 14.5


Here is the diet I've been following both weeks.
************************************************** *****
Weeks 1 - 3
Day 1, 3, & 4
Breakfast -- 5 egg whites, 1 apple, 1 cup oatmeal
midmorning -- Lean Body MRP
Lunch -- 5 oz. can chicken, Myoplex MRP, can of turnip greens
Midafternoon -- Lean Body MRP
Early Evening -- 1.5 cups of pintos
Dinner -- 1 Chicken Breast, 4 cups of cabbage
2030 calories, 48% protein, 44% carbs, 8% fat

Day 2
Breakfast -- 7 egg whites, 1 apple, 1.5 cup oatmeal
midmorning -- Myoplex MRP
Lunch -- 5 oz. can chicken, Myoplex MRP, can of turnip greens
Midafternoon -- Myoplex MRP
Early Evening -- 2 cups of pintos, apple
Dinner -- 2 Chicken Breasts, 1/2 bag Brown rice
2870 calories, 40% protein, 51% carbs, 9% fat

Day 5
Breakfast -- 6 egg whites, 1.5 cup oatmeal
midmorning -- Leanbody MRP
Lunch -- 10 oz. can chicken, 1 bag Brown rice
Midafternoon -- LeanBody MRP
Early Evening -- 2 cups of pintos,
Dinner -- 2 Chicken Breasts, 2 cups cabbage
2435 calories, 46% protein, 45% carbs, 9% fat

Day 6
Breakfast -- 3 egg whites, 1 cup oatmeal
Mid Morning -- 2 egg whites, Apple
Lunch -- 1 Chicken Can 5 oz., Turnip Greens Can
Mid Afternoon-- 2 egg whites, Apple
Early Evening -- Lean Body MRP
Dinner -- 1 chicken breast, 1 can green beans, 1 small salad
1210 calories, 45% protein, 42% carbs, 13% fat

Day 7
Breakfast -- 5 egg whites, 1 cup oatmeal, orange
Mid Morning -- 2 egg whites, pear
Lunch -- 1 Chicken Can 5 oz., Turnip Greens Can, apple
Mid Afternoon-- Lean Body MRP
Early Evening -- 1 5oz can chicken, 1/2 bag Brown rice
Dinner -- 1 chicken breast, 2 cups cabbage
1630 calories, 45% protein, 46% carbs, 9% fat

7 day average 2045 calories, 46% protein, 46% carbs, 9% fat

************************************************** *****
Week 4
Day 1, 3, & 4
Breakfast -- 7 egg whites, 1 apple, 1 cup oatmeal
midmorning -- Myoplex Lite MRP, apple
Lunch -- 5 oz. can chicken, Myoplex MRP, can of turnip greens
Midafternoon -- Myoplex Lite
Early Evening -- 3 egg whites, 1.5 cups of pintos
Dinner -- 1 Chicken Breast, 4 cups of cabbage
2180 calories, 46% protein, 47% carbs, 7% fat

Day 2
Breakfast -- 10 egg whites, 1.5 cup oatmeal
midmorning -- Myoplex MRP, apple
Lunch -- 10 oz. can chicken, 1 bag Brown rice, pear
Midafternoon -- Myoplex MRP, apple
Early Evening -- 1 can 5 oz chicken, 2 cups of pintos
Dinner -- 1. 5 Chicken Breasts, 2 egg whites
3020 calories, 47% protein, 45% carbs, 8% fat

Day 5
Breakfast -- 8 egg whites, 1.5 cup oatmeal
midmorning -- Myoplex MRP, 3 egg whites
Lunch -- 10 oz. can chicken, 1 bag Brown rice, 1 apple
Midafternoon -- Myoplex Lite MRP, 3 egg whites
Early Evening -- 2 cups of pintos
Dinner -- 1 Chicken Breast, 4 cups cabbage
2435 calories, 43% protein, 49% carbs, 8% fat

Day 6
Breakfast -- 5 egg whites, 1/2 cup oatmeal
Mid Morning -- 3 egg whites, Apple
Lunch -- 10 oz can Chicken, Turnip Greens Can
Mid Afternoon-- 3 egg whites, Apple
Early Evening -- Myoplex MRP
Dinner -- 1 chicken breast
1300 calories, 63% protein, 29% carbs, 8% fat

Day 7
Breakfast -- 6 egg whites, 1 cup oatmeal
Mid Morning -- 3 egg whites, pear
Lunch -- 1 Chicken Can 5 oz., Turnip Greens Can, apple
Mid Afternoon-- Myoplex MRP
Early Evening -- 1 5oz can chicken, 1/2 bag Brown rice
Dinner -- 1 chicken breast, 2 cups cabbage
1729 calories, 51% protein, 41% carbs, 9% fat

7 day average 2170 calories, 48% protein, 44% carbs, 8% fat


Thanks for all of your help...SonofBone

[JACKAL]

my first suggestion would be to add more healthy fats--- omega 3's, flax seed, and maybe supplement with some CLA.

[Pumpdogg]

Try adding in Fish Oil and adjust your carbs accordingly. I would also drop the piece of fruit at lunch on days that you do not weight train. Also I think you need to get more of your proteins from whole foods and not soo many MRP's. They do not contain enough fiber and I think you will make better gains period. You can also add 2 tblsp of virgin oilive oil to your dinner time, and I think you should rotate your food choices as well. Just my 2 cents

PD

[SonofBone]

Thanks Pump & Jackal. A few more questions...

Jackal do you have any recommendations for those good fats? Should I consider a product like Labrada's EFA Lean that has Omega -3, 6, & 9, CLA, & Vitamin E or do you recommend taking each component separately?

Pump what do you mean by rotate foods? Do you mean add more variety or change the % of calories for each meal. I'm currently trying to eat 25% at breakfast & lunch, 10% for midmorning and midafternoon, 20% for early evening, & 10% for dinner.

I'll drop a few MRP's, and I'm also going to hit the weights more frequently w/fewer body parts in each session and a minimum of 3 days off per part.

[Pumpdogg]

You can labrada's efa lean, and the rotation of food is variety. Too many people ( bodybuilders) eat the same thing day in and day out because they have found something that works. That is fine and all however we have allot of foods to choose from when you look at it. Try all of your green vegies, you can also eat chicken, steak, tuna, fish,pork loin, lean turkey etc... for different protein sources. I think you will see a marked improvement with more fats and better food choices. Nutrition is a major componet lacking in many bb's arsenal. It is a must for optimum growth and repair. You may consider training every bodypart once every 5-7 days and no more than that. We only grow during our time away from the gym. I dont reccomend cardio on the days that you weight train, try doing it on non weight training days only first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. Good luck and continued success

PD

[SonofBone]

Thanks PD...I agree w/what you're saying, and I'm trying to glean everything from your advice vs. what I'm doing. I appreciate you taking the time to respond.

I guess I was just using the same foods to make my calories workout on a spreadsheet and because it is easy to boil about 40 eggs at the beginning of the week and get a lot of chicken ready. I do agree though that variety is the spice of life and I'm sure my body adjusted to the same foods especially after seeing my body quit responding to what I was doing.

Do you see an issue w/my zigzag method? If not, I'm going to hit the weights on 2 high calorie days and 1 other day that isn't super low. So it'll be back/tris, chest/bis, legs/shoulders and cardio for 30 min. upon wakeup the other 4 days.

I'm excited to see where I'll be in 3 to 4 weeks in terms of BF%.

[Jordan]

i hate to add this but theres no way you can go from 26% to 11% in two months. You can definately make some excellent progress in that amount of time but 26 to 11 is pushing it, especially natural. Having said that, best of luck and keep at it.

[SonofBone]

My goal was to do it in 3 months. I was baseing it off of a program called the Leanness Lifestyle where the author states that you could lose 33% of your BF% in 8 weeks, so I was thinking roughly 50% in 12 weeks.

He states that if you zigzag your calories then your dropping of body fat shouldn't be halted. Also, he went from 20+% to 7%...I believe he weighed 220 and ended up at 175. I'm not sure of the timeframe. And what works for one may not work for another.

Obviously, it hasn't been working for me. That is why I'm here, and I think my goal of 3 months may have been a little over zealous.

My goal is to eventually get to single digits but more importantly to just make consistent progress. It doesn't have to be 3 months for 11.5%, but if I set a goal, I want to hit it. I guess I have to set achievable goals...bottom line that is why I'm here to learn from the best.

[Pumpdogg]

Hey Bone, I do not see problems with differences in your caloric intake on non weight training days. When I cut bf I will take in much less carbs on those days ( non weight training) and do cardio only twice per week. When I do cardio I either do interval sprints on the treadmill or the exercise bike. Seeing how you have had knee surgery and all I would stay away from the treadmill for now. Try warming up on the bike and once you begin : 15 sec sprint (80-85%)- 45 Sec Jog Pace (60%)repeat cycles for 20 minutes, on day 2 try this :10 sec sprint (80-85%)- 30 sec jog pace (60%)repeat cycle for 20 minutes. This should really aid in your fat loss. I would also reccommend using supersets in your workouts this will keep your heart rate up more, do not rest for more than 90 seconds after a superset and try adjusting your tempo's every 4 weeks. If you want more specifics regarding anything let me know. I hope this helps you.

PD