hit a dieting plateau

[snowshark84]

So I've been dieting for the past few months, not for a comp but for summer, and I seem to have hit a plateau that is pissing me off. I dropped from 227 to 212 in no time at all, but then to get to my current weight (208) it took another month even though I dropped my daily calories another 500/ day and uped my cardio. Currently I am eating 2500 cal/day and doing 3-4 days of cardio plus a 45 min walk with my dog before going to bed. I am also taking 40mg ephedrine in the morning and 48mg in the afternoon. My question is do you think I should drop the calories more, or do more cardio? I figure keep the calories the same and bust my ass with cardio. Also I should have some clen coming in the mail this week, been 11 days since I ordered it but superior research has come through for me b4. What do you more experienced people say?

[Gort]

The nutrient breakdown and timing of meals is just as important as total caloric intake.

Have you looked into carb cycling?

[go Yankees]

when the clen comes, give it a shot

do you have your diet and stuff posted anywhere here

[Chadd77]

Post up your diet. It will be easier for us to help you that way.

[snowshark84]

it varies slightly day to day due to my schedule but this is the norm:

1)protein shake
2)6 egg whites, pb with ww bread (roughly 30 min after shake)
3)PWO- shake with honey
4)Chicken breast x2 and potato
5)chicken breast with ww bread and pb
6)cottage cheese or pb (usually pb)

I drink tons of water.
I take a multi vit, calcium, and ephedrine.

[ROCKILLER]

What times?
How much is tons?

I'm not being a jerk, the info will be very helpful in assessing your situation.

I think youre eating too much PB and your meals arent spread out well enough.

[fog_hat1981]

Originally Posted by snowshark84

it varies slightly day to day due to my schedule but this is the norm:

1)protein shake
2)6 egg whites, pb with ww bread (roughly 30 min after shake)
3)PWO- shake with honey
4)Chicken breast x2 and potato
5)chicken breast with ww bread and pb
6)cottage cheese or pb (usually pb)

I drink tons of water.
I take a multi vit, calcium, and ephedrine.

This is a pretty simple fix bro...

First of all, cycle the ECY/ECA stack with clen swapping the two out every two weeks.

Meal One - do cardio here w/o the protein shake - take a handfull of BCAA's pre-cardio if your that worried about losing muscle but it shouldn't be that big of a deal if you're just maintaining 60%-65% max hr for 45min-1hr

Meal Two - cut the bread and go with 40 grams of oats, cut the pb and add one whole egg

Meal Three - PWO seems ok

Meal Four - 6oz chicken, replace potatoe with 160 grams of green vegetables and one flaxseed oil capsule

Meal Five - Same as above

Meal Six - same as above

Meal Seven - Same as above only cut your vegetables and flaxseed capsule (I added a meal in to compensate for no longer having an am protein shake)

You're basically just manipulating carb and fat intake at this point. Keep all other things constant while changing only one thing at a time. For now, I would start with cutting the pb and starches and replacing everything like the above. Once you plateua at that point up the cardio to 6 days in the am and then when you plateua again go for 6 days am cardio with 2-3 days pm cardio (also, change what machine you're currently using and you'll sometimes break a plateua in cardio results that way).

[snowshark84]

Originally Posted by ROCKILLER

What times?
How much is tons?

I wake up around 2:30 (don't rag on me I work at night) and my last meal is usually around 3:30/ 4am, the rest of my meals are pretty evenly spread out.

I drink a good 10-15 glasses of water a day, and that is big beer glasses (bigger than the pints).

[snowshark84]

Originally Posted by fog_hat1981

This is a pretty simple fix bro...

First of all, cycle the ECY/ECA stack with clen swapping the two out every two weeks.

Yup, that was the plan.

Meal One - do cardio here w/o the protein shake - take a handfull of BCAA's pre-cardio if your that worried about losing muscle but it shouldn't be that big of a deal if you're just maintaining 60%-65% max hr for 45min-1hr

never taken them before, guess I should look into it

Meal Two - cut the bread and go with 40 grams of oats, cut the pb and add one whole egg

sounds good.

Meal Three - PWO seems ok

Meal Four - 6oz chicken, replace potatoe with 160 grams of green vegetables and one flaxseed oil capsule

Meal Five - Same as above

Meal Six - same as above

Meal Seven - Same as above only cut your vegetables and flaxseed capsule (I added a meal in to compensate for no longer having an am protein shake)

You're basically just manipulating carb and fat intake at this point. Keep all other things constant while changing only one thing at a time. For now, I would start with cutting the pb and starches and replacing everything like the above. Once you plateua at that point up the cardio to 6 days in the am and then when you plateua again go for 6 days am cardio with 2-3 days pm cardio (also, change what machine you're currently using and you'll sometimes break a plateua in cardio results that way).

Thanks for the help, this is exactly what I needed.

[xxxkazxxx]

Originally Posted by fog_hat1981

Meal Four - 6oz chicken, replace potatoe with 160 grams of green vegetables and one flaxseed oil capsule

I hate to step in on someone elses thread, but whilst it's on my mind since I just read it again, I wondered what exactly does the flaxseed oil do? I keep reading it in alot of people's diets & have wondered what purpose it serves & why it's so important?

[ROCKILLER]

Your body needs fats too. You should get the healthy ones from stuff like flax seed oil and olive oil. I'm not exactly sure biologically what they do though.

[fog_hat1981]

http://www.holistichealthtools.com/essential-fats.html

EFA's: Fats That Can Save Your Life

EFA’s help you burn excess fat, restore health to the cardiovascular system, relieve arthritis pain and inflammation, and strengthen the immune system.

If you have ever been on a diet, then you have undoubtedly become accustomed to dread the word "fat"; however, not all fat is bad for you. There is the "bad" fat that collects on your body and clogs the arteries and then there is the "good" fat – also known as Essential Fatty Acids (EFA’s).

"Bad" fats can harm you

EFA’s should not be confused with the saturated fat found in red meat, butter, cream, milk, and cheese and trans fats (also known as hydrogenated oils) found in margarine. Saturated fats and trans fats can be converted to body fat, harden the arteries, raise blood pressure, and contribute to cancer and diabetes.

The "good" fats keep you healthy!

On the other hand, without EFA’s (the "good" fats) in your diet, you could not think, see, hear, reproduce, run or even move a muscle. Hence, they are referred to as essential fatty acids - the type of fats that your body needs to function properly.

There are two families of EFA’s, Omega-3 (linolenic acid) and Omega-6 (linoleic acid).

Omega-3 and Omega-6 EFA’s are the raw materials used to make all the special fats in the structure of your brain, eyes, ears, testes, ovaries, adrenals and the membranes that surround and protect every cell in your body. You must get EFA’s from your diet, because your body cannot make them.

From Omega-3 and Omega-6 EFA’s your body makes a whole array of essential fats. Omega-3 EFA’s are found in the body oils of cold-water ocean fish like cod, mackerel, halibut, herring and tuna.

The healing and preventive abilities of Omega-3 in fish oil have been documented in countless studies in the U.S. and Europe.

Omega-3 is crucial for people concerned about heart disease.

Eskimo natives of Greenland caught the attention of Danish researchers sixty years ago. Dr. H.O. Bang and his team from the University of Alborge in Denmark observed that Eskimos consumed large amounts of fatty ocean fish, which are loaded with Omega-3. They were astonished to learn that of the thousands of Eskimos they examined only a few showed mild signs of heart disease. In fact, heart disease is so rare among the Eskimos, they don’t even have a single word in their language to describe it!

The Danish study prompted widespread U.S. studies to further evaluate the incredible therapeutic effects of Omega-3 oils found in fish.

Vanderbilt University researchers studied the effects of Omega-3 on hypertension (high blood pressure). They confirmed that Omega-3 significantly lowered high blood pressure.

According to The Nutrition Desk Reference by Dr. Robert Garrison and Dr. Elizabeth Somer, research of Omega-3 showed that it helped vision problems, yeast infections, psoriasis (a skin disease), migraine headaches, and even rheumatoid arthritis. What’s more, researchers at the Mayo Clinic concluded that Omega-3 supplementation also slows the progression of kidney disease.

The other "good" fat which works in partnership with Omega-3 is Omega-6. The most significant benefits of Omega-6 include ensuring fat regulation and energy distribution (which aids in weight-loss), reducing the intensity of PMS symptoms, and treating alcoholism and schizophrenia. The highest concentration of Omega-6 is found in borage oil, followed by safflower oil.

In addition, Omega-6 assists Omega-3 in reducing all kinds of inflammation, lowering LDL cholesterol and promotes optimal immune function.

Regular supplementation of Omega-3 and Omega-6 have therapeutic effects on chronic illnesses and conditions. By the same token, being deficient in either Omega-3 or Omega-6 is a potential risk for chronic health problems.
In summary, the following are just some of the ways that the two families of EFA’s, Omega-3 and Omega-6, can benefit you:

Burn fat: Helps the body eliminate excess fat. Provides significant amounts of energy to your heart and other organs, which in turn boosts metabolism and increases fat burn-off.

Prevent Heart Disease: Dramatically reduces the risk of heart disease by providing a slippery protective coat on the walls of the arteries, thus inhibiting plaque from sticking to arterial walls.

Relieve Arthritis Pain and Inflammation: Extremely effective in relieving the symptoms of arthritic conditions by suppressing inflammation without irritating the gastrointestinal tract with drugs.

Calm Digestive Disorders: Keeps the inflammation of Colitis and Crohn’s disease under control and decrease damage to the colon wall.

Fight cancerous growths: Helps prevent cancer from growing by blocking cells that nourish the cancer.

Reduce symptoms of PMS and Menopause: Help relieve the drying of vaginal and bladder tissues in menopausal women, which helps ward off urinary tract infections. Also helps relieve symptoms of premenstrual disorders including breast pain, premenstrual tension, bloating, depression, and irritability.

Block Symptoms of Migraine Headaches: Effective in helping decrease the frequency and intensity of migraine attacks over time. Regular consumption of fish or fish oil supplements have positive long-term effects on brain chemistry.

It’s amazing how EFA’s provide an array of significant and varied health benefits. Because EFA’s are essential for every cell in every tissue of every system in your body to function properly, it is not surprising that they have enormous recuperative and preventive effects on chronic disorders.

Are you getting enough EFA’s in your diet?

In order to get the proper levels of EFAs in your diet, the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) advises us to eat at least six servings of fish a week. This does not include fried fish since the high temperature of frying causes the EFA’s to become rancid.

Since eating 6 servings of fish is not practical for most people, daily supplementation offers an easy and effective way of getting proper levels of Omega-3 and Omega-6 to support optimal health.

EFA’s are absolutely necessary for optimum health!

Everyone should be getting enough EFA’s on a daily basis, but just as important you should be getting the proper balance of Omega-3 and Omega-6.

Master Omega Oils™ contains recommended amounts of both Omega-3 and Omega-6 oils. Plus it contains natural vitamin E derived from soy to prevent rancidity.

Even if you eliminate all the saturated fat and trans fats from your diet, you could still be at risk for serious health problems - resulting from damaged nerve cells and reduced immune function - if you do not get enough Omega-3 and Omega-6.

Deficiencies in Omega-3 and Omega-6 essential fatty acids have been linked to serious health conditions, such as:

Eczema and psoriasis

Hair loss

Water loss

Reduced immune function

Behavioral difficulties

Poor healing

Miscarriages

Circulatory disorders

Schizophrenia
Abnormal behavioral changes

Impairment of vision

Spread of rheumatic and arthritic disorders

Deteriorating motor coordination

Glandular atrophy, which in turn leads to infertility, growth deficiency and weight disorders

Epilepsy

[xxxkazxxx]

Originally Posted by fog_hat1981

http://www.holistichealthtools.com/essential-fats.html

EFA's: Fats That Can Save Your Life

That was a great read. If i am going to put something into my body, I really like to know exactly why and what it will do. I knew that everyone needs EFA's in their diet, but just didn't know how the extra EFA's benefit BB people. A couple of beneficial points for me personally in amongst that article, so that's great.

But next dumb question. And I did just read 3 articles on Flaxseed oil in particular, so I do understand why it's so popular, but does it have some property that other EFA oil's don't have? Or is it just personal preferance determined by availability, cost etc? And just to double check, my research concludes that liquid form is the most practical in regards to cost & potency? Is that correct?