beginner/intermediate fatloss help

Hi everyone…I’ve been reading t-mag for several months and think its the best source of info out there. And after reading the forums a bit i’d like to post a question.

I’ve been lifting on and off my whole life but really got back into it seriously 2.5yrs ago. Before finding t-mag its been pretty unstructured…i’m in the middle of doing the T-mag Beginner Blast just to get something foundational started and get my butt moving in the right direction. I’ve been eyeing the Meltdown Training for awhile and I think i may give it a go after i’ve been at the Blast for 6 weeks.

My goal is to lose 25-30lbs of fat…i’m female, 5’8, 37%bf give or take, and i log my nutrition and workouts. I take in about 1500 cals a day…but i may need to increase it b/c i seem to be wiped out after 2-3 workouts weekly. I’ve tried low-carb and i just can’t swing it…it leaves me with absolutely no energy. I tend to go high intensity every week with every workout and recently i’ve been warned against that. I plan on trying Biotest Classic GROW and i have a Prolab Therma-Pro fatburner and will be adding EFA’s to my diet.

Would Meltdown Training be ideal for my goal? since it’s short term what would be a good supplemental training method? i read MT is best when a strength program is completed beforehand. perhaps my question is broad but i’m trying to learn as i go :wink: thanks for your input and patience.

First of all, let me say that I suspect Tampa-Terry will be coming along shortly with a wealth of information to offer, but I’ll throw in my zwei Pfennig.

First of all, don’t worry so much about the supplements right now. Compared to squaring away your diet, they’re of negligible importance. What I recommend, first of all, is a food log. Yes, everyone says to start one. Yes, they are annoying as hell, but they’re vitally essential, particularly for fat loss.

You need to get on a fixed program where you know exactly how many calories, fat, protein and carbohydrate grams you’re ingesting, and you need to stay at this level for a while (at least 2 weeks) to observe how you react to it. From there you can start making adjustments based on your empiricle observations. You can start experimenting with up’ing or lowering calories, trading carbohydrate calories for fat, etc, etc.

Regarding meltdown training, it is verymuch a ‘work your ass off’ program. Considering how you’re getting hammered by your 2-3 workouts/week right now, I wouldn’t go on meltdown without increasing calories. It’s simply brutal. It also fits into the ‘accumulation’ catagory of training, which means you’ll want to both proceed and follow it with intensification phases. Those are geared more toward development of relative strength. Investigate Joel Marion’s 5x5 program, as well as Poliquin’s “Maximal Weights” protocols, both found here at Tmag.

If I missed anything, forgot to address a question, just post a response. I tend to get carried away and forget where I was going! :slight_smile:

Hi, there, KC. Welcome to T-Nation. The forum and the archived articles are an incredible resource for those of us who have body composition goals. I have to say that it’s turned MY life around.



Great advice from Ike. He’s a mainstay 'round here and always has/had a kind word for me.



My thoughts? You’re doing some awfully good things. You’re doing your research and chose a great get-started program. You’re keeping a food log. Additionally, if you try a new program every 4 to 6 weeks, you’ll start to learn what your body responds best to.



Meltdown is a good program, and you only asked about a program. But equal (greater?) consideration needs to be given to your diet (to the amount of protein you’re consuming, how often you’re eating, your level of carb intake, the types of carbs you’re eating) and cardio (some is beneficial; too much can actually work against your goals).



But back to your program, I liked Meltdown. It hits hard and fast. It’s efficient. I sweated. I felt like I really worked out. But if energy is a problem, I might recommend that you save it for down the road. Meltdown is a program that is complementary to fat loss. Hypertrophy programs are not complementary to fat loss. Joel Marion’s program (Ripped, Rugged & Dense), a 5x5 strength program) is highly complementary to fat loss. You’d do well with either one, but energy would be less of a problem with the 5x5 program. Read up on it and let me know what you think.



Even if you’ve done poorly with the low-carb route in the past, take a look at T-Dawg 2.0. It is carb restricted, but reasonable, and people are getting good results. The bottom line is that it’s going to be more difficult to lose weight if your carb intake is high, so once again, take a look and give it some consideration. It might take a week or two, but your body actually makes a metabolic shift and you’ll find that you actually have higher energy levels and less brain fog.



Good luck to you, KC, and if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask. As I love to say, most of us here are on the same journey, myself included.