Badgerman Posted August 12, 2013 Share Posted August 12, 2013 All, My main question, is my diet plan enough for me to build muscle without unwanted fats and is the temporary gain to my belly temporary or not? I am working out 5 times per week as of last week, heavy weights with 4 x 8 reps as a general rule. Please see my meal plan for today, I did a 10 day juice fast a few weeks ago to clear my system out and have a general detox. I was 76kg's before the fast and 64kg's afterwards. I wanted to gain good clean lean muscle without storing the toxins. I eat a predominantly raw food diet with an occasional cooked meal in the evening. I have on 6lbs since last week but I have noticed this is going to my belly area slightly. I was nearly seeing my 6 pack after the juice fast (if I strained hard enough the top to rows were there). I want to get back around the 75 to 80kg mark but with well defined muscles of course. I don't wish to get very big at all, more of a cover model physique I guess. Meal 1Protein Shake - HempMorning Smoothie - Chlorella, Hemp Milk, Maca, Flax OilOats Meal 26 Brazil Nuts10 Almonds1 Apple Meal 3 1 Soya SausageCourgette (Zuchini to those not in the UK)MushroomsTomatoBroccoliSprouted LentilsPad Thai Sause (sesame oil, tamari, lime juice, honey) Meal 4Homemade Protein Bar (nuts, dates, hemp protein, buckwheat, raisins) 20g protein per bar1 Plum Meal 52 Slice of Sourdough BreadSlow roasted Vegetables, onion, courgette, tomato, Meal 61 Piece Raw Chocolate2 Rice Cakes with peanut butter Energy Calories: 3458 Protein: 142.9 gCarbs: 424.8 g Fat: 136.2 g Another question, the aristocracy in the UK would say shooting rabbits, this translates to farting. Is it normal to fart this much and with the added bonus of smelling like a sewage pipe? Thanks in advance, any guidance appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Morgan Posted August 14, 2013 Share Posted August 14, 2013 Your dietary fat intake seems on the high side for someone trying to minimize fat gains. That is 35% of your diet coming from fat. If you are at around 70kg I don't see why your fat intake would need to go above 70g of fat for optimal hormone production. Your protein intake is probably higher than necessary for someone at your weight, but it's not outrageous at all. Though that probably is why you're experiencing so much gas. In terms of training, there are some really great training programs out there that have become gold standards because they work. Beginning or novice lifters are best served by doing a program like starting strength by Mark Rippetoe, or stronglifts 5x5 (both have websites) or something where you are taking major compound lifts and doing them 3x's per week. 5 day a week body part splits in my opinion do not work as well unless you are already pushing weights that majorly turn heads in the gym. They work, but if a beginning lifter can squat 3x's a week and add 2kg's to the bar all 3 day's they are going to make majorly quick gains. If you are squatting once a week, your gains are going to be much slower. Same principal applies to other lifts, though squatting is the only one that's usually recommended to do 3x's/week. Below I've pasted the basic starting strength program, but you would be well served by getting the book, and setting out on a long term goal of improving technique in each lift. They all require attention. *Alternate the workouts 3x's/week ABA, BAB, ABA A lot of people don't do power cleans because they think it's too hard to learn the form. There is more technical skill involved, but they are also effective muscle builders. This program has built a lot of total body muscle for a lot of people. You can mess with it, or add exercises, but chances are if it's worked for 1000's of other people as it is, it will work for you too. (starting strength, stronglifts 5x5 is also a very fine program) Workout A3x5 Squat3x5 Press (over head, standing)1x5 Deadlift / 5x3 Power Cleans (Alternating) Workout B3x5 Squat3x5 Bench Press3x5 Rows (Pendlay rows, off the ground) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Morgan Posted August 14, 2013 Share Posted August 14, 2013 P.S. I would keep my caloric intake the same, so increase carbs. If you follow the program outlined above you'll need the additional glycogen to make it through the workouts. And the dietary changes would have you at about 65% carb, 20% fat, and 15% protein. That is the standard recommendation by ACSM (American college of Sports Medicine). Also, after you fast you colon was almost completely empty. Suddenly you start filling it and your stomach up with fiber and yea, your stomach will stick out some. In fact any time you eat your stomach will push out some if you eat enough. It should go away after a couple hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badgerman Posted August 17, 2013 Author Share Posted August 17, 2013 Justin, Thank you for the in depth response and guidance, I believe you must be right about the fat content as my BMI has gone from 13% to 15.5% in the last 10 days or so. I will address this and go for your recommended split of carbs, fat and protein. I have done 5x5 before and did see some impressive strength gains. I will keep everyone posted on the progress. Thanks once again. Nathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badgerman Posted August 17, 2013 Author Share Posted August 17, 2013 Justin, Do you have an example day of food with this balance? Also I would love to do the 5x5 again but I suffer from lower back pain and although I really focus on form doing squats does put some stress on the back and this can put me out of action sometimes. Any suggestions? Thanks Nathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Morgan Posted August 17, 2013 Share Posted August 17, 2013 Hey Nathan, Really the training is probably the most important issue here for adding muscle to your body (assuming you eat enough calories). 3500 seems like a very reasonable number for a healthy active adult male. You can use cronometer.com (it's free, just plug your food in) to get a good feel for what you are currently eating and then you can really just eat the foods you like in the quantities you want and just shift their ratio's around some. You sound like you are eating whole unprocessed foods for the most part, and apart from getting a feel for things I don't think it necessary to count and delegate every macro/calorie if you just want to look good and get strong. If at some point you want to compete in bodybuilding or strength athletics then it may become more significant. With the squats I'm somewhat timid about giving you direct advice because I don't know the extent of your injury or pain. But in my experience people with lower back injuries at the very least are able to perform box squats without great pain. And as the lower back muscles become stronger they usually find that they have less pain over time. 2 pretty good resources of information that you might try is messaging "veganessentials" at this site. There are other people here that have great information, but he has personally given me some pretty good tips on fixing my squat when I've posted small issues. And Kelley Starrett is a physical therapist that has written a great deal about biomechanics in weight lifting. He seems like a little bit of a douche, and he's really into "Paleo" dieting, but all that aside he seems nice and he's a wealth of information in biomechanics, so reviewing information at his site http://www.mobilitywod.com/ (just search "lower back pain") might help you trouble shoot why you might be experiencing pain and provide you with tips and ideas on how to progress and improve. Hope that's helpful, and yes please keep us posted on your progress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badgerman Posted August 21, 2013 Author Share Posted August 21, 2013 Justin, Thanks for the response I will check out your recommendations and see how I get on with the 5x5 this time around. As you say your back will get stronger the more you work it out, I was seeing this but it just went one morning when I got out of bed and that was it for 6 weeks. Hence I am tentative now going back on the weights again. Thanks for advice though. Nathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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