My girlfriend has been following a TAP style spread for ~1 year with fine results (better body comp), but recently experiences hunger pangs later in the day if she sticks to the diet, although her weight is pretty constant.
Could some of you (women ??) take a look at these stats and let me know whether or not it looks OK ??
She lifts 2-3 days a week, and has recently added 2 HIIT sessions (on stationary bike) to lose a bit of BF, - so simply raising her calories would in principle be counterproductive. Is it possible that that extra HIIT alone has raised her basal metabolism so significantly that it makes a big difference even on off days ?? Can any of you check whether the numbers make sense for a woman in the first place ??
Based on the book “Testosterone Advantage Plan”, - but slightly modified calculation for my girlfriend. It basically ends up with something in the vicinity of 33/33/33 macronutrient spread, depending on your goals (bulking, maintaining, cutting). This was my introduction to “clean eating”.
First, I know nothing about TAP. But food choices are important, not just macronutrient ratios. So what is she eating and when?
Second, when I begin some sort of workout, whether it’s getting back to the gym after doing nothing for awhile (shameful, I know!) or adding sprints (like I did last night), my appetite always skyrockets. So the hunger pangs could be due to that.
Third, when I am dieting I feel hungry a lot. Or at least, I never feel “full.” (See my thread on “Hot-Rox effects - ravenous hunger.” I’m not so ravenous any more, thankfully.) 5-HTP was recommended; perhaps your girlfriend should try it. Also my meal frequency (5-7 a day) saves me; it’s never very long till my next meal.
She is, like me, eating “clean” (oatmeal, vegetables, lean meat, nuts and all the other good stuff) and with ~6 meals a day. So I guess you are right, its probably simply the HIIT that makes the difference…
I can second the appetite increase with working out increase…
I upped my cardio this week by five or ten minutes a day and have been STARVING in the evenings. Grr. Very frustrating, especially since I know I ate too much yesterday in a fit of pique over it all.
Mix two heaping tablespoons of guar gum (soluble fiber) into a tall glass of Crystal Light. Mix quickly and chug it down even MORE quickly, as it gets thick FAST. You’ll go from ravenous to content in 30 seconds. It’s a good idea to follow the guar gum and Crystal Light with another full glass of water to keep the fiber from binding or constipating the “pipes.”
Pick up protein to 1.5g per pound of TBW and reduce carbs so that you keep calories the same. For best effects, take the majority of your carbs in fasted state and post workout. That’s when we’re most insulin sensitve (a good thing) and best able to process (and benefit from) carbs. I’d actually recommend 2 P+C meals and 4 P+F meals.
The 5-HTP suggestion by Andersons was also a very good suggestion. You should see benefit from 5-HTP in 3 days. Start off with 100 mg twice per day and if it doesn’t seem to help, feel free to raise that number higher (to 400 or 600 mg in divided doses; i.e., 3 times per day).