Advice please

[Falco]

All right - I've posted my less than stellar results in the Results forum, but here they (embarrassingly) are again:

My Results

Yeah, I’ve lost a lot of weight over the past year (about 30 lbs), but once I whittled down the fat, there wasn't left, and I still don't have abs. I figured for sure when I was in the 180’s that if I got down in the 150’s I’d be ripped – not so.

So I decided what I needed was more muscle and tried my 1st HST cycle. I added a little weight, but I had to eat about 3200 cals/day to put on most of that – and most of that time I felt really bloated trying to eat that much. Plus – I could tell my waist was expanding, it’s always the first place I gain weight and my biggest trouble area. I must have a lot of visceral fat, cause it’s not flabby, but more rounded and distended and I have never been lean.

After 9 days of SD at 2500 calories, most of the weight fell off and I’m back to 160. I’ve started my 2nd HST cycle as a fat loss cycle, thinking what I have to do is lose more weight (although I’m gonna look like a stick figure if I lose too much more). I’m eating between 2100 – 2500 calories/day and adding cardio back in (20 min HIIT 3x/week, 45 minutes indoor cycling 2 x/week). I don’t think my diet can get much ‘cleaner’ than it already is. I’ve also started using creatine, hoping it will help me retain what little muscle I’ve already got.

Is this the right approach to take? I want to be bigger, but not at the expense of having a big gut again, plus I’ve got this thing going on with my lower chest, it just always seems so out-of-proportion to the rest of my frame. My hope is that if I can get down to like 6% –8% bf, I’ll have some decent abs, the chest will tone up, and I’ll be able to bulk without adding everything right to my waistline.

Thanks for your opinions!

 

[Ignorant]

thanks for your post.

Give us more details :

1 -- How tall are you?
2 -- What is (or was) your routine like? (exercises + weight progression for each of them)
3 -- How do you calculate your caloric intake?
4 -- What is your macronutrient ratio (carbs% / fat% / prot%) and what type of food do you eat?
5 -- Do you measure body parts? (Waist? Arms? Legss? Etc.)
6 -- How is your chest like? Is it muscle, or fat?
7 -- have you had your testosterone level checked?


PS : it’s okay to diet. BUT : make sure that you don’t overdo it. Eat enough : if you eat right, you’ll loose fat and very very very little (if any) muscle. For me 13.5-14x BW is what I need to loose weight on HST, with NO CARDIO. 13.5xBW is more than the recommended 11-12xBW. It means that one has to be vigilant, measure and weigh oneself regularly!

Quote[/b] ]I’m eating between 2100 – 2500 calories/day

That is not precise enough. 2100-2200 would be acceptable. BUT 2100-2500 is 400 calories apart!!! That's too much. 300 calories can make the difference between getting fat and getting leaner.

Also, from 3200 (during your cycle) to 2100- 2500 there is a reduction of betwen 700-1100 calories. In my opinion, that is waaaaay too drastic (especially if it's 1100!!!! ).
Keep in mind that many HSTers, during the first SD week, eat as if they were training. They only reduce their caloric intake to maintenance levels during the second half of SD.

also : when you take before/after pictures, make sure the light (orientation, intensity) is the same. Light can turn me into a bodybuilder (a huge accomplishment). It is hard to judge with a different lighting for each picture.

Abs are generally not that visible if you don’t tense them up.

 

[Jester]

You're not eating anywhere near enough and doing too much cardio to get bigger. You're going to have put on some fat (not a lot, but some) with muscle, or just stay leaner and smaller.

 

[Ignorant]

Quote[/b] (Jester @ Mar. 18 2005,6:59)]You're not eating anywhere near enough

Isn't that a huge assumption? Man, he went from 156 lbs to 165 lbs. That's not nothing. That's almost 10 lbs uin one cycle.

Quote[/b] ] and doing too much cardio to get bigger.

isn't that for his next *fat loss cycle*??

Also (even though his weight increase is what opne should really look at) : 3200 cals is not exactly a small amount when you weight 156 lbs (especially if part of it is fat -- 12.5% in his case).

Anyway... "Eat more" can often be a good advice, but not always, especially when you don't know all the important variables. It could be true... But do we know enough?

 

[Jester]

Quote[/b] ] I want to be bigger, but not at the expense of having a big gut again, plus I’ve got this thing going on with my lower chest, it just always seems so out-of-proportion to the rest of my frame.

To get bigger, he needs to eat more or cardio less right? So I'd say that if the fat is starting to pile when he bulks, then he's over bulking perhaps, and is now underbulking to compensate.

Quote[/b] ]I’m eating between 2100 – 2500 calories/day and adding cardio back in (20 min HIIT 3x/week, 45 minutes indoor cycling 2 x/week). I don’t think my diet can get much ‘cleaner’ than it already is. I’ve also started using creatine, hoping it will help me retain what little muscle I’ve already got.

Simply not enough food to bulk/put on significant muscle mass.

Not criticising, but that's just what stands out from the post, to me.

 

[Falco]

Quote[/b] (Ignorant @ Mar. 18 2005,5:45)]1 -- How tall are you?
2 -- What is (or was) your routine like? (exercises + weight progression for each of them)
3 -- How do you calculate your caloric intake?
4 -- What is your macronutrient ratio (carbs% / fat% / prot%) and what type of food do you eat?
5 -- Do you measure body parts? (Waist? Arms? Legss? Etc.)
6 -- How is your chest like? Is it muscle, or fat?
7 -- have you had your testosterone level checked?

1 - 5'9"
2 - 1st HST cycle was: Squat, SLDL, Incline DB press, Military Press, Lat Pull Down, Bent Over Row, EZ bar curl, tri extension, Abs. Used the HST calculator to set up the program. I've made some changes for the 2nd cycle
3 - Fit Day
4 - Macros shifted alot, but during that time anywhere from 30 pro, 40 carb, 30 fat, to 25 pro, 50 carb, 25 fat - always got at least 1 gram of protein per lb of body weight
5 - No
6 - mostly muscle, but more fatty around the nipple
7 - No

Here's the deal with my calories:
I had been "dieting" and lifting for years and going nowhere before I got on BFL and got serious. During that time I hit a lot of plateus and kept lowering my calories. Anyway, at the time I hit 156, my calories were REALLY low - like 1400 - 1500 per day. Anything more and I was just not losing weight. When I got on HST, I stopped the cardio and started eating 2500/day. I immediately gaind 4 pounds (in like 4 days) probably water and rebound fro dieting. Then the weight gain stopped. So I upped to 2800 for a couple weeks - no gain. So for the last month I upped to 3200 & the scale moved again. As soon as I came back down to 2500, the weight started coming off, & I'm back to 160 - right where I was 4 days afer starting HST.
I know it doesn't seem possible - couldn't lose on more than 1500, and couldn't gain on less than 3200. But there I was.
Right now I'm eating 2100 on cardio days & 2500 on lifting day, hence the disparity.

 

[Ignorant]

Thanks.
Stuff seems okay in general.

But:

-- when you change your caloric intake, do it gradually, over a few days. Allow your body to adapt.

-- decide whether you want to loose weight or gain. Whatever you decide, stick to your decision for an entire cycle. It's easier to compare between results afterwards.

**If you're trying to gain, aim for about 1-1.5 lbs per week. you might find that 2lbs (depending on your size, of course) is a bit too much and might make you a bit too fat. Adjust your caloric intake accordingly. Don't make drastic changes. Eat the same amount everyday : less complicated with better or similar results. But don't forget to adjust your intake if you're not gaining or getting too fat! decrease/increase by 100-200 cals. be patient.

**If you're trying to get leaner, just do HIIT (or some other cardio : 45 min ,3-4 times a week) + HST. Loosing about 1-2lbs/week is a good aim. More than that could mean loosing too much muscle mass. Adjust your caloric intake accordingly. Don't make drastic changes. Eat the "same" amount everyday : less complicated, better/similar results. (you could follow UD2 if you're really into loosing weight...)

-- Make sure that you SD properly (this is MOST MOST important), and make sure that you follow ALL HST principles. Favor big increments over tiny ones, and try to take advantage of the two weeks of negatives. Add drop sets if necessary.

-- Don't lower your caloric intake for the first few days (even a week) of SD. You shouldn't loose much more than 2-3lbs during a 9-14 days SD. Otherwise it might very well mean that you're eating under maintenance levels.

-- Take some body parts measurements (say, every 2 weeks), weight yourself and keep a record of it. Remember with accuracy how you made your measurements (when, how). Otherwise, it's useless. If you can monitor bodyfat too, it's even better. No need to do it everyday.

SO : Always check your caloric intake. Always eat enough protein (between 0.7 and 1g /lbs BW) Always up the weights in good increments (every WO or every second WO). Always stay short of failure. Always measure your progress. Always SD between cycles.

If you follow that, I don't see why you wouldn't gain.
Very low testosterone levels could be one reason. But before checking that, check everything else. (Although you could check your levels anyways : it won't do you any harm)

I hope these advices will be of some help. Maybe other experts could complement my post.