Fat Loss Diet Calories

Bigger Stronger Leaner Christian Thibaudeau Coaching
1

Hello!

For my fat loss diet, im a bit confused how would be the best approach, after calculating starting calories and macros, then should I keep the calories & macros same throughout the week, or keep rest day calories lower (as common reason seems to be, because “ofc” you burning fewer calories on rest days so not need same calories than on training day…). Yet I think normal training isnt even burning that much calories many would think/or its being thing to bother thinking.

Lets say my maintenance is 2800 cals, and I start diet with 500 cal deficit 2300 cals, p210g/c220g/f65g.

My weekly schedule:

I train 4 days a week with upper/lower split, and trying to keep my daily activity/NEAT pretty stable with the following plan.

Monday: Lazy morning walking 60min, another 20-30min walk at evening (this I would say is my week only total rest day)

Tuesday: Upper body A + 30min incline walking

Wednesday: Morning fasted cardio incline
walking 60min

Thursday: Lower body A + 30min incline walking

Friday: Morning fasted cardio incline walking 60min

Saturday: Morning fasted cardio incline walking 60min, upper body B workout ~5-6 hours after.

Sunday: Morning fasted cardio incline walking 60min, lower body B workout ~5-6 hours after.

So, my goal is to get daily steps around 7-10k, and with these MISS cardios (8-10% incline, 5,8km/h speed) + at the gym I walk between my sets to get extra steps so I can keep it pretty consistent and stable.

Im doing fasted cardio because using yohimbine+rauwolscine to get some possible extra benefits from it, and weekend I like to do the cardio at morning so not need to do end of the workout.

Weekdays I do end of the workout because feels more convenient, and those steps between sets I feel I can compensate the “missing” 30min duration of the cardio itself. And the cardio is mostly because, that way I get my daily steps, my work & lifestyle otherwise is pretty sedentary so this I feel most convenient way for me get the activity each day.

How this plan look? And my biggest question, should I keep my daily calories same everyday, or lower them on rest days? I’ve seen coaches saying different styles for this, so im confused what is the best way.

2

I’d keep them the same for now.

For two reasons:

  1. It allows the rest days to be true recovery days whereas is you decrease calories on the off days, it will slow down several components of the recovery processes. Keeping the calorie higher (compared of the expenditure) on the off days will allow you to preserve (or even build) muscle better and have a better performance on the workout when back from your off day.

  2. If gives you easy room to decrease weekly calories with a smaller negative impact on workout recovery. For example, if you are ingesting 2250 calories per day (for example) and fat loss stalls, you will need to decrease weekly calories. If you kept the calories the same for all of your days, now that you have to lower calories to keep progressing you can simply decrease caloric intake on the off days. This should restart your fat loss and will not have a huge negative impact on your workout and recovery from your workouts. Whereas if you had to decrease calories on th workout days, because you already started lower on your off days, the chances of your workout and muscle mass suffering are higher.

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3

That’s good

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4

I like it. A lot of people start to become excessive with their training once they want to get lean… they’ll lift 6 days a week thinking that it will help them lose fat faster and it normally backfires badly.

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Nothing wrong with fasted cardio. I used to be against it… until I started doing it and found that reality didn’t match the “theory” that it would be catabolic.

However, I do not like your use of Yohimbe. I personally don’t like that product. Maybe because I respond very badly to it (tachycardia, mood swing, just feeling like crap overall). But its benefits are extremely minor anyway. Yes, using it with fasted cardio is the best way to use the product for fat loss. But it still only provides a minute effect that, for me, is not worth the downsides.

But the reason why I don’t like your use of the product is more general: I don’t like to introduce any fat burner as soon as you start your fat loss phase. I understand the visceral need to get results ASAP, but I believe that fat loss products (if you use them at all) are best kept for later in your phase, once results from diet, training and NEAT alone are losing their effectiveness. Adding a fat burner at that point might allow you to avoid decreasing calories and still resume your fat loss.

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