Fat loss

[PeterHealey]

Hi all. Great previous post on TB for the 'meathead'. On a slightly different goal what would TB for fat loss look like. I'm looking to complement my eating plan/diet with the optimal training plan for getting my body fat to a healthy 12-15% rather than the >20% I'm at now. Maybe thoughts about putting on or maintaining muscle AND losing fat. Currently on week 15 of Op/black. Preparing to switch things up after this block in 3 weeks for the purpose of fat loss. Don't need strength or conditioning for my job. Goals are well rounded strength, health, fitness and looking decent for life. Thanks in advance for any thoughts/feedback.
Pete

[Aelian]

Hi all. Great previous post on TB for the 'meathead'. On a slightly different goal what would TB for fat loss look like. I'm looking to complement my eating plan/diet with the optimal training plan for getting my body fat to a healthy 12-15% rather than the >20% I'm at now. Maybe thoughts about putting on or maintaining muscle AND losing fat. Currently on week 15 of Op/black. Preparing to switch things up after this block in 3 weeks for the purpose of fat loss. Don't need strength or conditioning for my job. Goals are well rounded strength, health, fitness and looking decent for life. Thanks in advance for any thoughts/feedback.
Pete

Reverse your mindset. Look to complement your training with a suitable eating plan. Some concepts that have helped me:

1. Pick a training plan. Strength template + conditioning protocol.
2. Calculate your daily calorie requirements. Use a calculator or appropriate website (geared to athletes).
3. Factor in your training plan.
4. Take the time to create and measure out 3-6 meals that fulfill your daily calorie needs.
5. Eat the same 3-6 meals every day.
6. Have a cheat meal or reasonable cheat day once a week. For psychological relief and fun.
7. Stay consistent with your physical training.
8. Keep a notebook or something and mark off your meals and training sessions on a daily basis.

I guarantee if you adhere to this you'll easily stay at 10% or under. Most of the time consistency and execution are where people fail when it comes to fat loss.

[Crepsucule]

Highly possible! But I've been on slow steady weight gain since I started TB. Is it all water? Don't think so. But most of it is due to carbs, creatine, and calories surplus. Frankly, I don't mind putting on some fat as long as my training go well. I just eat. Plenty.

But that's me...

Id also recommend getting a tape measure, one of those cloth/sewing ones and taking multiple measurements. ie., wrists/ankles, calves/forearms, thighs/upper arm, chest/bellybutton/neck/waist.

This is as creatine can increase muscle water retention and theres a lot of talk of it building up slowly to an absolute maximum, ie the whole "preload on 3x your dosage for 3-4 weeks then drop it to normal dosage" deal. Also you may be putting on muscle mass, I personally have found that my weight has stalled but I have gained a fair bit of size in my arms with some more size chest/legs while my midsection is SLOWLY trimming out, Im not really able to train TB as much as I want right now due to injury but I have been doing some, so while I am holding steady at 215-220lb with a reasonably clean diet I am noticing some changes in measurements and visuals anyhow.

Also with how much weight fluctuates based on food/water/hormones etc., taking measurements with tape gives a more steady baseline.

[PeterHealey]

Thanks Aelian, I have all these points in process. My thoughts were that maybe a certain cluster may lend itself a little more to losing fat than others. Adding in kettle bell swings as a finisher, certain HIC's, more/less E etc? I am reminded however that patience and consistency irregardless will be key. I have been extremely consistent with training but a little lax at times with the diet.

[Aelian]

I have been extremely consistent with training but a little lax at times with the diet.

Well looks like you have part of your answer. Regardless, it varies from person to person. You'll get a more accurate answer if you provide some basic info:

1. Height/Weight/age
2. Template/Protocol/Cluster
3. Which calculator you're using to figure out your TDEE
4. Required Daily Calorie Intake (factoring in your daily activity); how much you're supposed to be eating
5. Current Daily calorie Intake; how much you're actually eating
6. Daily macros; again what you need vs what you're eating
7. Two or three days of a food log; include calories & macros per meal
8. Two or three days of a training log

[PeterHealey]

The diet feels good and hope to give it some time to work. Open to feedback.
1. Height/Weight/age- 5'-9", 190lb, 54 y/o
2. Template/Protocol/Cluster- Operator/Black Sq/Bp/wpu/DL
3. Which calculator you're using to figure out your TDEE--TDEE Calculator.net
4. Required Daily Calorie Intake (factoring in your daily activity); how much you're supposed to be eating -2480 to maintain
5. Current Daily calorie Intake; how much you're actually eating -1980
6. Daily macros; again what you need vs what you're eating-148g Protein, 77g fat, 173g Carbs
7. Two or three days of a food log; include calories & macros per meal-
Using MyFitness Pal to track, past 2 days-day 1 protein shake during am lifting then post lifting 2 eggs, 4oz venison 4oz sweet potato, lunch-4oz venison 4 oz sweet potato 1 cup broccoli repeated 2 more times throughout the day, then 1/2 cup low fat cottage cheese and 2 tbsp peanut butter. Total 2047 calories, overshot the protein and undershot the fat. The past couple days all similar.
8. Two or three days of a training log-
Monday-Squat 235 (75%) 5x5, Bench 170 5x5, wpu 62.5 5x4, DL 300 1x5
Tuesday-HIC fast 5 on hills.

[Aelian]

7. Two or three days of a food log; include calories & macros per meal-
Using MyFitness Pal to track, past 2 days-day 1 protein shake during am lifting then post lifting 2 eggs, 4oz venison 4oz sweet potato, lunch-4oz venison 4 oz sweet potato 1 cup broccoli repeated 2 more times throughout the day, then 1/2 cup low fat cottage cheese and 2 tbsp peanut butter. Total 2047 calories, overshot the protein and undershot the fat. The past couple days all similar.
8. Two or three days of a training log-
Monday-Squat 235 (75%) 5x5, Bench 170 5x5, wpu 62.5 5x4, DL 300 1x5
Tuesday-HIC fast 5 on hills.

Sorry man, this is a real eyesore/jumble to read and it takes too much effort to try and decipher it. If you're interested try it like this instead:

Day 1

Meal 1 - Kraft Dinner
Protein =x
carbs = x
Fat = x
Total cals =

Meal 2
...etc.


In addition to the above, it'll behoove you to start a food log (or add it to your existing training log) so we get a long term picture. If you haven't been consistent with your eating plan for at least 3-6 months it's not worth assessing anything at this point because enough time simply hasn't passed yet.

Also, since bodyfat is more important than scale weight for an athlete, how are you measuring and keeping track of yours? Keep in mind it's very easy for to be scale-heavy/gain weight while in fact you're losing fat and building muscle.

[PeterHealey]

Thanks Aelian, yes I agree it has not been long enough or consistent enough to be a useful measurement. I'll track, measure and adjust accordingly for 6 months and hopefully report back with a success story.