a few questions?

[BUFF]

i wanted to post my current diet, i'm 7 weeks out and i am curious as to any helpful input anyone could give.

i changed a few things last comp and came in fuller, good in some areas (legs, arms) but others i wasn't satisfied with. (abs)


0400 wake up
0500 cardio (45-60mins) abs 45 mins
0730 eat (4-5 eggwhite omlete-1/4cup oatmeal)
1000 eat (4oz ck breast-4oz sweetpotatoe-1cup broccoli-1cup greenbeans) 1/2 grapefruit- sometimes.
1100-100 workout major muscle group
100 eat (same as above)
300 (protein shake)
330-530 workout other major muscle group
600 eat (same as above)

730 not everynight- hit the gym 30 minutes of cardio abs- or if i missed an earlier workout i'll finish it now

900 protein shake or 4oz of chicken.
930 sleep
(distilled water also, 1/2-2gallons a day.)

I pretty much eat like this on and off season, i try to keep it as clean as possible. of course there are differences. ice cream is a must off season. sometimes i might eat tuna replacing chicken.
i stay away from sugar if i use any flavor it's all salt free- ms. dash or crushed red pepper, onion powder. i usually eat 2tablespoons of natural unsalted pb (no sodium 1gm of sugar), usually in my shakes. if i use sweetner it's splenda- in my coffee i use non dairy creamer---

i pretty much know about the pb healthy fat/ what coffee does and doesn't do for the body,

these are some of the little things that i changed 1-3 show, and i always second guess myself if these little things are why i looked alittle different,, it's always good to get a 2nd, 3rd, 4th opinion. :)

question #1 should i cut out the pb,
question #2 i have coffee here and there, but i use splenda and non dairy creamer,
question #3 should i cut the grapefruit? if not now when...

thanks for everyones help. i appreciate the imput....
if you haven't seen my pic they are in the members pic gallery. let me know.... thanks.....

buff

[Scrumhalf]

Hi, I don't have any advice for you as you probably know a lot more about nutrition than I do based on your pictures, but I as curious about your choice of drinking distilled water.

What's the reason for this? I have always read that distilled water, since it does not have any salts or minerals, will leach minerals from your body.

[Face]

Isn't 45 minutes of abs overdoing it somewhat?

[ZHowitzer!]

you know I thought that about distilled water ... until I actually read YJ's post about it in the nutrition forum....I read it in my #2 office at work! Water is a question of taste...or that o2 filled stuff would be more expensive than beer!


Buff... I am going to let the Nutritional guru's help with this one... Good luck with your next show... your pics are amazing --I had fun watching them go from 167 different threads with POSTER sized posts into one nice and tidy thread :)

Do the Marines leave you alone as far has having to do PT and all of that kind of crap that might jack up your training?

[BUFF]

i was told when i started that distilled runs through your system so you don't retain it like you would regular water, it hydrates you but at the same time it's brief and then flushes out of your system. true your not getting all the benifits that you would with regular water but for a show all the little things help... i've read also that it is not good to be on it all the time, so i do switch it, but this close to a show its distilled.

45 mins no way,, they are a muscle too.. one of the fastest healing, so those like your calves can be trained more .

as far as the marines messing with me... i lift on the marine corps bodybuilding team, so i'm paid active duty pay and benifits to train all day. i still have to run a pft but this is my regular pt session.

[Scrumhalf]

Cool... thanks for the info!

[Bouncer]

You have a few things wrong here. Dont get me wrong, you look great in your pics but you will only look better if you correct a few problems.

1. You are simply over training. 45min of abs is way over board and will not improve them. They need a quick 5-10 min blast every other day. They are a muscle and need time to recover.

2. For the way your training, your cals are to low. I can guarentee your body is a muscle burning machine right now. I realize your 8 weeks out but you are waisting muscle at a fast rate with that schedule.

3. Distilled water is worthless. It offers nothing to your body.

[BUFF]

i'm at about 1700 cal right now..give or take a few what should i take it up too. and when should i start dropping, 4 weeks out?

i feel like i'm retaining more weight this time in my mid section, and for burning like i'm suppose to be now, i'm not loosing i'm staying pretty steady with my weight.. we are going a lot heavier than the last , i can see the muscle growing, but also am disappointed with the extra layer that is surrounding the area.. i would think from previous dieting that it would be a smaller layer...... any suggestions are appreciated...

[BUFF]

by the way thanks.

[Bouncer]

Originally posted by BUFF
i'm at about 1700 cal right now..give or take a few what should i take it up too. and when should i start dropping, 4 weeks out?

i feel like i'm retaining more weight this time in my mid section, and for burning like i'm suppose to be now, i'm not loosing i'm staying pretty steady with my weight.. we are going a lot heavier than the last , i can see the muscle growing, but also am disappointed with the extra layer that is surrounding the area.. i would think from previous dieting that it would be a smaller layer...... any suggestions are appreciated...

you are holding that extra layer because you body is trying to keep you ballanced. your body's first priority is to keep you alive and keep you healthy. with all that over training your body is holding on to anything it can. trust me, cut back a little with the 45min ab crap and get in an out of the gym. sometimes our minds do the opposite of what are body wants. you would think that the more you train the better you look. but thats not how it works.

[BUFF]

last question, promise,,
about the calories, stay around 1700 or up it to around 1900-2000

[Bouncer]

Originally posted by BUFF
last question, promise,,
about the calories, stay around 1700 or up it to around 1900-2000

its not really the cals that is the problem. your diet is fine.

its the training 4 hours a day that is outrageous. Then after that you do an hour an a half of cardio plus 45 min of abs!!!!!

you are waisting so much muscle.

you should be weight training at the most an hour and a half a day. 1 hour of cardio is fine. and cut that 45 min ab workout out.

keep the diet the same for now and stop killing your muscles.

[BUFF]

thanks again

[Bouncer]

Originally posted by BUFF
thanks again

are you going to change anything up or no?

[redsquirrel]

Re: a few questions?

Originally posted by BUFF

0400 wake up
0500 cardio (45-60mins) abs 45 mins
0730 eat (4-5 eggwhite omlete-1/4cup oatmeal)
1000 eat (4oz ck breast-4oz sweetpotatoe-1cup broccoli-1cup greenbeans) 1/2 grapefruit- sometimes.
1100-100 workout major muscle group
100 eat (same as above)
300 (protein shake)
330-530 workout other major muscle group
600 eat (same as above)

730 not everynight- hit the gym 30 minutes of cardio abs- or if i missed an earlier workout i'll finish it now

900 protein shake or 4oz of chicken.
930 sleep
(distilled water also, 1/2-2gallons a day.)

question #1 should i cut out the pb,
question #2 i have coffee here and there, but i use splenda and non dairy creamer,
question #3 should i cut the grapefruit? if not now when...

buff

In answer to these questions:
1) maybe if you cut the PB and replaced w/ flax oil, you may heed some better results.
2) Non dairy creamer and Splenda will have little impact on your diet, but would cut the creamer 4 weeks out
3) Grapefruits have special fat burning properties and have a very low GI, so if you're eating it in the morning, there is no negative impact. But would also cut this 4 weeks out.

I know I'm getting in on the tail end of this, but Bouncer is absolutely right. You are doing wayyyy too much cardio, and not eating NEARLY enough food. I just finished my contests for the year, and didn't do all you're doing. The most total cardio I would do in an entire day was 1 hr 10 minutes. I would be in the gym for a MAX of 45 minutes. Doing 2 major muscle groups in one day is assonine. Even a male doing tons of AAS wouldn't be able to keep muscle with that amount of exercise daily. I was also eating more food than you...and I think I'm shorter and smaller. I was eating AT LEAST 6oz of protein per meal, and doing less cardio.

Your body is holding onto anything you put in it, plain and simple. THe amount of activity you are doing is just too much, and your body will shut down and stop responding...and it sounds like it already has. The trick is to keep your body in ketosis long enough to burn fat and not muscle. The risk you are running is simple: if you continue this regimen, you will look emaciated on stage. It happened to a girl I was against at my 2nd show. She started dieting at 170lbs, and weighed in at 125....she did 2.5 hrs of cardio/day, and worked out. The problem was- she had gained too much fat. So in order to lose the fat and make weight (which she shouldn't have done) the huge amount of cardio was necessary..but her physique suffered greatly.