FIT.Y.E.R.O. (Meathead, wellness, fitness, diet, exercise) Thread

[Bonzo Cat]

Took El Baldo here a while to understand the why behind reverse dieting, but two weeks in, already seeing positive results.

It's essentially increasing calories with an emphasis on hitting your target weight in protein. Done properly you'll increase muscle mass and thus decrease fat mass & %.

Then when it's time to cut, you lower your calories from say 3,000-3,200 at your peak to 2,600 or 2,300 with same amount of protein, and you'll cut while maximizing muscle retention.

Most folks start at a lower than needed calorie and protein intake to begin with, usually between 1500 - 1800 calories, 100g protein. So when they want to cut, they have no room to lower calories and maintain muscle mass. Going to 1,000 - 1,200 calories isn't sustainable while exercising. So yes, the scale will be a lower number, but not in a good way.

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

 

[anthonys735]

M 1500 calories
T 1500 calories
W 2400 calories
Th Either 1500 calories or 2400 calories
F 3-5000 calories
Sat 3-5000 calories
Sunday 2400 calories

Why can't I cut that last 4%?

 

[Kooky Kats]

I tried to eat more than 10oz of grilled chicken breast at a meal… just can’t do it. Like eating shoe leather.

 

[Bonzo Cat]

10oz of chicken breast yields 467 calories and 88g of protein by my app. If you can hit that at a meal, you're in a great spot. If taste is the issue, throw in a thigh with the breast.

 

[Kooky Kats]

https://a.co/d/iyyBj3L

Phil Mickelson pimping these.

 

[Kooky Kats]

10oz of chicken breast yields 467 calories and 88g of protein by my app. If you can hit that at a meal, you're in a great spot. If taste is the issue, throw in a thigh with the breast.

More texture than taste issue. If I had fresh oysters at the ready every day, then I’d be in business.

 

[anthonys735]

Then find something you like and ditch the breast. I'm with you, reheated chicken breast is terrible. There's not enough spicy mustard or bbq to change that. Shrimp, tuna, steak, ground beef, turkey, pork, chicken thighs are all good alternatives.

 

[Kooky Kats]

Yep. Salmon had been a go to, although I can’t eat more than 3x/wk. all my preferred fish (halibut) is effing crazy expensive. Pork chops and flank steak are also on the menu.

Chicken thighs are incredible tasting, but are ridiculously high in fat and calories.

 

[UK-chulo]

Then find something you like and ditch the breast. I'm with you, reheated chicken breast is terrible. There's not enough spicy mustard or bbq to change that. Shrimp, tuna, steak, ground beef, turkey, pork, chicken thighs are all good alternatives.

We do a crockpot of chicken, then shred it and put spices/seasoning. Easier to get down and much tastier than eating a dry breast.

 

[anthonys735]

Yep. Salmon had been a go to, although I can’t eat more than 3x/wk. all my preferred fish (halibut) is effing crazy expensive. Pork chops and flank steak are also on the menu.

Chicken thighs are incredible tasting, but are ridiculously high in fat and calories.

Salmon is high in fat as well. You're getting to the point you need to increase calories anyway. Focus on hitting your protein and be done with it. Eating bland ass chicken breast to hit a caloric goal isn't sustainable.


10oz Salmon - 585 Cal, 62g Prot, 35g Fat
10oz Thighs - 607 Cal, 67g Prot, 40g Fat

 

[Wodie Sloot]

I like chicken breast and reheat it in a pan or the air fryer. I use either bbq sauce or buffalo/ranch as my sauce. Just have to measure/limit the sauces.

Side of peas, kale, green beans or broccoli.

HOW EXCITING!

 

[cole854]

Wild caught sockeye salmon....8oz
10g fat
50 g protein
293 calories

 

[Kooky Kats]

Salmon fat has Omega3’s and selenium. Which is nice.

 

[anthonys735]

Salmon fat has Omega3’s and selenium. Which is nice.

Yup, big fan. It's in our rotation. Not all fats are equal. Just saying, don't be scared of thighs.

 

[anthonys735]

Great episode but they talk about this at 20:00 mark.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

Thighs are just so much better than chicken breast or tenders.. that if it means you'll actually stick to eating it (and not hating your existence), then you do it. Maybe for those trying to go for 10% body fat, it won't be ideal. But for almost all the rest of us, Chicken thighs are still plenty healthy and lean.

 

[RunninRichie]

Just measured my waist.....32. Down from 38 last year.

 

[anthonys735]

So, week 2 of project empty out the deep freeze. We had a ton of meet in that sucker. Last week was 5lbs of sirloin. This week 5lbs of ground beef. Pairing with peri peri sauce and over white rice. 700cals, 60g protein and 50g carbs. Moving my carbs to lunch, so I can follow with a 3 mile desk walk and keeping dinner pretty low carb. Body seems to like that more than late carbs.

Full body wo has settled in. We're tinkering with different sets/reps. I like it.

Today's bench:
225x4
275x6
315x4
225x15
😳
6 45s and 2 25s, whatever that equals on the belt squat last week.

Need a mini cut... soon. Keep saying I'm going to but gains are real. Grr.

Had a few cocktails and bought some of the normatec leg sleeves. Could open one of those recovery business at the house. Lol. I like em though. Especially after a long bike ride or heavy legs.

 

[Ron Mehico]

I’ve developed this habit of doing a low weight burnout set at end of my workouts. Am I actually accomplishing anything with these other than a really satisfying burn at the end of my exercise?

 

[anthonys735]

I’ve developed this habit of doing a low weight burnout set at end of my workouts. Am I actually accomplishing anything with these other than a really satisfying burn at the end of my exercise?

Absolutely. Do that but don't rabbit f*ck it. Go very slow and focus on form and range.

90# overhead DB presses x 8-12 for chaboi today. Sheesh.

One more week of increased calories then the cut. Maybe. I love food.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

I slept weird and now I have stiff neck so bad I can't move my head in any direction.

 

[pretzel__logic]

I’ve developed this habit of doing a low weight burnout set at end of my workouts. Am I actually accomplishing anything with these other than a really satisfying burn at the end of my exercise?

This is one of my former coach's go-to tricks to get additional hypertrophy work in without tearing you up too much and I can attest it absolutely works. You can also sub in a band for a dumbbell or whatever and get the reps in that way. She usually puts 100-150 reps in as few sets as possible at the end of every day - so band tri pushdowns, light banded seated hamstring curls, banded rear delt flyes/face pulls, etc.

I made it to lifting at 33 weeks and had to call it. I've felt like my pelvis is absolutely splitting in two since that week and I have absolutely NATHAN in the tank. I went for a slow walk in the neighborhood at 35 weeks and 1.4 miles took me 40 minutes and wiped me out the rest of the day. lol. Up about 35 lbs total and weight has stalled, so that's somewhat encouraging. I know the recovery period will be very difficult, but I'm looking forward to that new challenge. 36 weeks as of Saturday and this kid is sitting lowwwww, so *hopefully* not too much longer now. God willing, baby boy and I will be taking walks at least by mid-December.

 

[Bonzo Cat]

* The past month I've started incorporating barbell flat, incline and decline press for the first time in 20 years after avoiding it like the plague. Saturday rolled into Lexington and hit up Aspire for a pre-game lift with the express goal of seeing where I'm at on flat bench barbell.

225x6. 245x4. 255x2. 225x6.

Was pretty pleased with first-time benchmarks, especially when no shoulder discomfort in the days after and no issues this morning on incline bb. Nothing impressive compared to what Anth, Wayne and Kooky toss around but with the winter arc focus on adding mass, got a good barometer for where I'm at at goals (275) over the next 3 months.

* At this age my body seems to appreciate heavy weight and low reps over 12-15-20 reps. Easier to recover and thus, theoretically tack on more gains. Will increase reps to 8-10 for cuts, but that's the ceiling. Seems the law of diminishing returns kicks in as reps increase from there.

* It's been stressed a number of times here, but diet IS everything. Have kept the reverse diet up and continue to see results. Since August 8th, the peak of the summer shred, up 9 pounds of body weight to 191 and 6 pounds of lean muscle mass to 157.8, with only increasing fat % from 12.0 - 13.1%.

 

[anthonys735]

This is one of my former coach's go-to tricks to get additional hypertrophy work in without tearing you up too much and I can attest it absolutely works. You can also sub in a band for a dumbbell or whatever and get the reps in that way. She usually puts 100-150 reps in as few sets as possible at the end of every day - so band tri pushdowns, light banded seated hamstring curls, banded rear delt flyes/face pulls, etc.

I made it to lifting at 33 weeks and had to call it. I've felt like my pelvis is absolutely splitting in two since that week and I have absolutely NATHAN in the tank. I went for a slow walk in the neighborhood at 35 weeks and 1.4 miles took me 40 minutes and wiped me out the rest of the day. lol. Up about 35 lbs total and weight has stalled, so that's somewhat encouraging. I know the recovery period will be very difficult, but I'm looking forward to that new challenge. 36 weeks as of Saturday and this kid is sitting lowwwww, so *hopefully* not too much longer now. God willing, baby boy and I will be taking walks at least by mid-December.

Time to work this into the basement gym.

https://www.amazon.com/Hey-Play-Kids-Weight-Bench/dp/B0CG2GZB5P/ref=sr_1_14_sspa?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.4sRFEf1MxWb-d54n3MfNO6eE9JD92gXWWOZtHu2VnAbUaamM_X4Sap8tDhuCtEfhPhxXw2QOUcgYGI8gkcQpcVtocdcl5fd-g-DYWO1r-XMPkfyWal5dthw2SH6VPXKLrnDJv8zTf-OTCjkc9C2bf4PwDkvfYAdXcIcwJ8R1-sfdqxkClWPTVYbBeRtzH5Mb0FLXgYFvAZYWvRAI4fNWUTFl0g0rruX78mKzOnj0WcB0H6DQc-y2UpYdp7syCIiF2nlkUcygJtaFQ7NoY6n3yUPZBe4U8YNCoBzrO_6eOCA.D4SFHy2RxMwoplOtDXJ4f6-7fatHqgrZxUqam-T9BQk&dib_tag=se&keywords=dumbbells%2Bfor%2Bkids&qid=1730122494&sr=8-14-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9tdGY&th=1

 

[Caveman Catfan]

This is ultimately a goal of mine.

“Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper.” To use the old saying.

There are plenty of studies out there that say “Time distribution doesn’t matter, it’s only total calories over a 24hr period that count.”

I generally follow the science. Shit, my undergraduate degree is in kinesiology with an emphasis on exercise science. But this is one nutritional concept I just am absolutely hard headed about, can’t get behind, and call bullshit on. At least from an anecdotal standpoint. I know it’s only n=1, but I know for an absolute fact that, personally, if I shift the majority of calories to earlier in the day, fat loss and maintenance of lean mass are exponentially improved.

My main problem is, I can fast all day and eat later with no issues at all. Every time I try to shift my main calories to earlier (and I’ve done it many times), the rise then drop in blood glucose makes me ravenously hungry later. Absolute test of mental fortitude, and if I’m the least bit emotional or having a “bad day,” I say “Whatever” and just wreck the whole day on cals/macros.

- Total side note, but drove by Ford’s recently and forgot they have that outdoor workout area channeling Muscle Beach vibes. That place is so cool and legendary (to clarify, I mean Ford’s; but Muscle Beach is also legendary, of course).

My wife basically sticks to the total in/total burned model, but would also add, with regard to your king breakfast and prince lunch, it matters how you are getting those calories when it comes to how you feel later in the day.

 

[Kooky Kats]

So, apparently, after a week off the training and enduring a monster infection requiring IV meds one can expect to lose about 10% across-the-board strength.

Jesus, this morning sucked.

Example: My normal last set I do 8 reps of 90# a side on shoulder press… today I couldn’t do one.

Took it down to 80… and got 8. NTM: still being on antibiotics I was queasy the entire time.

Have to get back to it and have a killer mindset.

 

[anthonys735]

You've been sick, just take it easy. It'll come back in no time.

 

[Hank Camacho]

You've been sick, just take it easy. It'll come back in no time.

And, to piggyback, you are probably going to stay sick longer by not recovering. A long walk and a long soak in a hot tub or sauna and some sleep can be better than a workout if your body needs rest.

 

[pretzel__logic]

1000% co sign, if you're sick enough to need IV antibiotics you should expect it to take a couple weeks to feel normal again. Do not rush the comeback.

...she says to her future self too Saw the OB yesterday and baby is going to be here sooner than anticipated. Induction in t-minus 2 weeks. eeeek.

 

[Mossip]

I snapped up my mcl doing belt squats on some heal ramps yesterday. Misery loves company, kook.

 

[Hank Camacho]

I snapped up my mcl doing belt squats on some heal ramps yesterday. Misery loves company, kook.

You doing that Kneesovertoes stuff?

 

[anthonys735]

Pretzel, what were your calorie/macros when you were going for gains?

I'm trying to get to 3000 but at 2500/260g prot/150g carbs I'm ****ing stuffed.

yesterday:

greek yougurt, banana, 3 eggs, coffee, cream, oj, ag1

12oz chicken, 5oz sweet potato, green beans, 3 eggs

buffalo chick meat stick, cup of grapes, 1/4 pistachios, apple

8oz of fish, 4 oz shrimp, spinach

🤮

 

[Mossip]

You doing that Kneesovertoes stuff?

Nah. I (stupidly) broke form trying to pump out a final rep and felt the pop. Should have just let the weight fall. I have pre-existing issues with this knee, so I wasn’t even surprised.

Gonna have to tweak some programming things where the quad work comes from, but good news is, this isn’t anything that will prevent workouts.

 

[UK-chulo]

Pretzel, what were your calorie/macros when you were going for gains?

I'm trying to get to 3000 but at 2500/260g prot/150g carbs I'm ****ing stuffed.

yesterday:

greek yougurt, banana, 3 eggs, coffee, cream, oj, ag1

12oz chicken, 5oz sweet potato, green beans, 3 eggs

buffalo chick meat stick, cup of grapes, 1/4 pistachios, apple

8oz of fish, 4 oz shrimp, spinach

🤮

260g of protein? What are you weighing in at?

 

[Kooky Kats]

Tough to be passive and careful during workouts as I channel David Goggins screaming at me “Fat Pussy!!” every set.

But yeah.

Bodega salmon, bar, brown rice, steamed veg. $14.

 

[pretzel__logic]

I think my peak bulk calories were ~3200-3300 and I had to dirty up my bulk a lot more than that. More higher fat meats (80/20 beef, less lean cuts of steak), using full fat olive oils for cooking, and wayyyy more carbs than you're going for. at the peak of bulking I was probably closer to 250-275g of carbs. Lunch/dinner would be ~6oz meat, some kind of veggie (not tracked), and depending on the carb, 7+ grams, usually sweet potato or rice. I wasn't trying to hit 260g of protein and I don't think I could have stomached it, honestly. A bowl of cereal with fairlife milk after dinner was one of my go-tos to round out macros for the day. The fairlife protein shakes (they sell cases of them at costco/sam's) were lifesavers - 30g of protein a pop and easy to chug on the go since they don't require refrigeration.

f I were you, I'd think about increasing some of your carbs/fats. Also, grilled chicken is the most boring meat on the planet and unless you're a masochist, I wouldn't make it the focal point of a bulk diet. It's food for cutting. If you bump up your fats to allow for more interesting meats (steak, pork chops) you can get just as much protein without having to choke down giant volumes of boring ass chicken. If you're bulking, embrace the bulk. Don't be afraid of seasonings, dressings, etc. to help get in more food, if that's the goal. But you may have to weigh how important it is to you to try to stay xyz scale number versus getting bigger/stronger. You WILL gain weight eating like this, which means some fat gain. Not all fat gain is a bad thing - honestly, the crappiest I've ever felt as an athlete was when I was at my most shredded.

Major caveats: I was "performance enhanced," lifting ~10 hours a week, and bulking for maximum strength rather than aesthetics or health. I started around 178 lbs (5'9") and topped out around 185, I think? I respond really well to higher carb diets - if I want to cut a little bit, I just slash my fats. I put on muscle with that and stayed fairly lean, but again, that's my body's tendency and I had some pharmaceutical assistance. Unless I decide to go nuts and start Chyna's peak-DX stack, I sincerely doubt I'd be able to duplicate that effort/result at this stage of my life. The PEDs helped offset the appetite suppression I have from ADHD meds, too. Otherwise, at least before this baby (who knows about after) I've always struggled to put pounds on.

 

[Bonzo Cat]

When you were bulking Pretzel, approximately what were your daily fat macros?

The increased fat intake seems to have less impact on how I feel after a meal than carbs. Grant it I'm keeping it pretty clean with fats from eggs, salmon, avocado, 90% sirloin and chicken thighs. Really only feel that way from all the rice. Sweet potatoes don't have that effect but also don't have the carb bang needed.

Yesterday's total was 2794 calories with 210g carbs, 245g protein and 111g fat. I think I'd see just as much improvement peeling carbs back to 150-175 and increasing fats to 150.

I do know that Zypan is worth its weight in gold and a must with meals that are 700-900 calories per sitting.

 

[anthonys735]

260g of protein? What are you weighing in at?

Guessing 225 right now.

 

[anthonys735]

Kind of end rounded into a reverse diet because I was in that roller coaster 1800 calories 3-4 days a week and 2500+ 3-4 days per week. Just seems like it'd would be tough to cut or build with a diet that inconsistent. Guessing this is why I feel like I've been spinning my wheels the last 3 months.

So, thought was to stair step(2400, 2600, 2800) up to 3000 and reset the metabolism before dropping back to 2000ish for a little cut. If I can plan shorter ups and downs it's way more feasible than setting out to gain (x) PR or drop to a specific body fat over 12 weeks of chicken and broccoli.

That's what I was thinking. Have to use some calorie dense food. I had 2 lean proteins yesterday. Getting up there with whole foods is gonna be tough. I'm mainly off the chicken breast but we had a bunch left over from the weekend. Maybe some peanut butter late will work. Good for the sweet tooth.

 

[pretzel__logic]

peanut butter is a great way to fill out calories without feeling like you're housing giant quantities of food (which is a terrible feeling)

I can't recall the fat macros - it was typically whatever was leftover once the carb/protein split was set. I think I was close to 200 g of protein at some point but I couldn't get that much in, so my coach at the time knocked it back to 175ish (I think, don't quote me on exact numbers)