View Single Post
      06-26-2020, 05:24 AM   #9
RMNB
Lieutenant Colonel
RMNB's Avatar
365
Rep
1,649
Posts

Drives: 2021 440xi CPE BSM
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Maryland

iTrader: (0)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rmtt View Post
Don't worry so much about counting right now. When I used to be a personal trainer, I would tell people to "log" what they ate for two weeks (only calories at the time as that was all I needed to know) along with what they weighed at the end.

I would average a daily number...and that would give me a "dirty" estimate of what their TDEE was. You are used to meal prepping....so I assume you have a scale.

I would then take that number....subtract 500 calories per day from it and tell them to eat at the new number and according to the Macros I listed earlier and let's see where they were in two weeks time so that we could start dialing things in.

I can say just following that approach at you current BF levels can get you to down to 12-14% pretty easy if you do this day in and day out. Diet is 80%+ of all this. The gym is the easy part. And 12% is an easy level to hold pretty much indefinitely if you want to.

Also don't guess at what you eat. I have heard it all from I eat like crazy and can't gain...to I barely eat and can't lose. Most people have no idea the amount of calories they are truly taking in until they see it on paper.

Getting below 10% is where it gets a little trickier. I have hired a coach one time in my life...and it was when I wanted to get as lean as I could. And it wasn't because I needed to know what to do...I needed a second pair of eyes to guide me as a "seasoned' coach will see where you are at when you may feel like second-guessing yourself and that will ultimately sabotage your efforts.

Once you do it the first time....it gets easier after that. I got very lean that time (<6%)...and I held it for as long as I could until my body adapted to it.

After that.....it's just been years of training my body to handle higher amount of calories and process them more efficiently in the off-season.

Years ago...I would have to start a diet in the 2K calorie range to start cutting. Over the years ...I have it now where I have to eat at least 3500+ calories to maintain my current body weight.

Once you are at that point...it's a lot easier to go on a diet when you are still able to eat 3K calories a day. It feels like you aren't dieting at all.

Over the course of my cuts....I typically have to make adjustments twice to get where I want to be. These days it usually just beach season. So I will go down to around 8%. This is more healthy than going too extreme.

My wife doesn't like anything lower than that as I tend to be naturally vascular....and it gets very exaggerated looking once I go below 10%.
^ Pretty much what he has been saying. Remember everyone is different based upon genetics and heredity.

Learning how to weigh and measure your food is what most people fail on. Don't guess, be precise! It's easy to fall back to a lazy state and do this. Once I started this process I knew exactly how to dial in my macros and calories. Once you master this then you can progress towards a better looking body. Building muscle takes time so just remember to always progress on your lifts, vary your sets/reps every time you workout. Keep pushing and tricking your body with variation. As long as youre eating enough in protein you will grow. When you get older it's a bitch to lose fat and it takes longer. Drink plenty of water, sleep 8 hours, reduce salt intake, eat tons of veggies (green) which keep you fuller longer. Lifting either heavy or light will work either way as long as you're going to failure on your last couple of sets. I've tried both and both work with increasing muscle mass. it's about intensity and tearing muscle fibers, blood flow to those muscle which makes the difference. Do you think Arnold was a pussy in the gym? Good luck.
Appreciate 0