Getting Serious About Getting Better


Hey everyone,

Three years ago I weighed between 140 lbs. and 150 lbs. which, at 6 foot 3, put me firmly in the Bitchman category. As a matter of fact, the first time I went to the gym, I could only manage 1 eccentric rep of the bar on the bench (It fell on me).

So I did some very bad research and started eating everything I saw, began a 5 day split (I know, but I was brand new. And Arnold did it!), and went to a Personal Training school to learn what I could. I was working as a bartender at the time, so the late hours and excessive alcohol consumption were staples for me.

Plus I’d eat things like peanut butter and pop tart sandwiches. Hey, just eat big, right? Well, I got fat. Dammit. I was 245 lbs. at my max, with a BF around 20%ish.

I stumbled onto T-Nation a few months ago and have been reading as much as I can, learning as much as I can, and making some much needed re-adjustments to my approach to nutrition and training. And may I offer a HUGE thank-you to all the people who put this amazing site together. Y’all rock.

Anyway, I’m about to really begin my first structured nutrition program designed to get me to a single digit BF percentage, and then continue to a slow, clean bulk with a goal of 230 lbs in 18 months, and 250 lbs 18 months after that.

Currently I’m around 215 lbs with a BF of, ehh . . . 12%-16% I’d guess (going by the mirror.) I have some pics from the last few months on my profile. I’ve spent the last few months cleaning up my dies, and slowly restricting calories.

Anyway, here is my nutrition program. I took elements from Precision Nutrition, The Carb Cycling Codex, and Bernardi’s 7 habits of Highly Effective Nutritional Programs. Suggestions and comments are very much appreciated. I’ll be posting updates as I am able.

6:AM - 4 BCAA’s, 2 Spike, 2 TRIBEX

7:AM - Smoothie made with frozen fruit, oatmeal, a scoop of protein, fat-free plain yogurt, cinnamon, and Metamucil. 1 cup black coffee. GNC Mega Men Sport.

9:45 - Half a Gatorade, 4 BCAA’s, 1 Spike

10:AM - Workout

11:AM - Scoop of Protein, 1 Packet of GNC Power Load, 5 grams creatine, 4 BCAA’s, Bottle of Green Tea

12:PM - 2 TRIBEX, 4 BCAA’s

12:30 - Turkey meat and rice

2:PM - 4 BCAA’s

3:PM - Salmon fillet, and spinach salad with olive oil and balsamic vinegar

5:PM - 4 BCAA’s

6:PM - Tuna Steak, spinach salad, 4 Flameout capsules

8:PM - ZMA tablets

9:PM - Fat-free cottage cheese, bag of steamed veggies, 5 grams glutamine, 1 gram vit C, 1 tablespoon flaxseed oil.

10:PM - Bed

2:AM - 4 BCAA’s

I won’t bore you with exact amounts and rations, but it comes out to just shy of 2000 kcals, with 203 grams of protein, and a breakdown of about 40-40-20 (P-C-F).

I carry a Nalgene and drink a full one (32 oz) every hour, usually alternating ice water and green tea to keep a steady supply of antioxidants in my system. Oh, and the BCAA’s also contain 12 IU’s of vit E. If I’m feeling hungry between meals, or having a craving for Hawaiian pizza and Corona, I’ll drink some V8 juice and that kills my appetite for a while.

When I go the other direction (gaining), I’ll just begin exchanging the fibrous carbs for starchy ones, the fat-free products for regular, turkey and tuna for red meat, and increase my PWO protein and carb amounts. I haven’t figured amounts and ratios for those changes, but I’ll do the math when the time comes. Maybe drink shakes with the BCAA’s if the calories are too low.

As far as workouts go, I’ll be lifting Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, and doing something athletic from 10-11 AM on non-lifting days; backpacking, rock climbing, swimming, or whatever sounds fun at the time. I’ll also be walking 2-4 miles with a backpack with 3 milk jugs full of water (30 lbs) each morning before breakfast everyday except Sunday.
http://www.T-Nation.com/readTopic.do?id=927737

This isn’t really meant to be a “diet,” more like a change in dietary habits.

Again, thank you to all the people here at T-Nation, and any suggestions are more than welcome.

Have you added up the calories? May be light. A lot of pills but where’s the food?

And you are better off staying asleep rather then waking up to take 4 BCAA’s.

Sorry. Just reread your post. 2000 calories? 200 g protein? Forget all that crapola that comes in a bottle and get some protein FOOD and good fats in there. Otherwise you’re gonna be back to 150 pounds with that diet and that activity level. Stop reading and go have a steak man while you still have the strength to eat.

This article is perfect for you.

http://www.T-Nation.com/readTopic.do?id=1021940

Thanks for the responses, but I would like to clarify a few things: I added the supplements to give a complete picture of my plan. I’m not just eating “pills”, but eating 6 meals a day, all with a fruit or veg, all containing good whole-food protein, and I’m consuming 1 gram of protein per lb of bodyweight. I’m consuming plenty of fat (45g per day), with omega-3’s (polyunsaturated) from the salmon and Flameout, monounsaturated from the olive oil, and saturated fat from various salad dressings. I’m eating every three hours, and my PWO is taken straight out of Precision Nutrition. My carbs are grouped around my workout and the supplements are just that; supplemental. Look at my meal breakdown without all the supplements taken out, and compare it to this;

Meal 1 (upon waking up): Carbs + protein meal
Meal 2 (post-workout, around 11:00): Carbs + protein recovery drink (Surge)
Meal 3 (12:30): Carbs + protein meal
Meal 4 (15:30): Protein, fat, and green veggies
Meal 5 (18:00): Protein, fat, and green veggies
Meal 6 (21:00): Protein, fat, and green veggies
http://www.T-Nation.com/readTopic.do?id=811783

Ok, now my meal plan.

7:AM - Smoothie made with frozen fruit, oatmeal, a scoop of protein, fat-free plain yogurt, cinnamon, and Metamucil. 1 cup black coffee.
9:45 - Half a Gatorade, 4 BCAA’s
10:AM - Workout
11:AM - Scoop of Protein, 1 Packet of GNC Power Load, 5 grams creatine, 4 BCAA’s, Bottle of Green Tea
12:30 - Turkey meat and rice
3:PM - Salmon fillet, and spinach salad with olive oil and balsamic vinegar
6:PM - Tuna Steak, spinach salad, 4 Flameout capsules
9:PM - Fat-free cottage cheese, bag of steamed veggies

As for all the “pills,” it’s just Spike, TRIBEX, Flameout, ZMA, and BCAA’s!

http://www.T-Nation.com/readTopic.do?id=1329020
http://www.T-Nation.com/readTopic.do?id=1123403

And as for waking up to take them;
“Chad Waterbury has devised several BCAA protocols for his clients, some as high as 20 grams per serving and some as low as 3 grams per serving.
One of his favorites, though, is his “Mid-Sleep BCAA Protocol for Cutting or Bulking.”
“I’ve long stressed the importance of night-time feedings for growth and recovery. Problem is, most people don’t want to get up in the middle of the night and have a protein shake. But with a good BCAA supplement, all they need to do is have the pills sitting next to their alarm clock with a glass of water. They wake up briefly, take the pills, and they’re back asleep.”
Chad’s nighttime protocol calls for 1.5 grams of BCAA per 25 pounds of lean body mass. In other words, a 200-pound man would take roughly 8 Biotest BCAA tablets upon awakening.
Chad is also big on using BCAA for cutting, for which he prescribes 0.75 grams of BCAA per 25 pounds of LBM four times a day, between meals. (That equals about 4 Biotest BCAA tablets 4 times a day, for the prototypical 200-pound man.)”

Looking at calories; the v-diet goes down to 1300 kcals for someone my size, so 2000 kcals is plenty since I’m trying to loose weight right now! My goal is not simply to shoot up to 250 lbs as quickly by any means necessary, but to get down to a fairly lean look, and then bump up calories to the point where I’m gaining good mass at a steady pace - .5-1 lb a week.

When I do begin to gain, the changes I mentioned in my first post could take me to over 7000 kcals, so that’s not an issue. I hope that all makes sense, and clarifies the rational behind what I am doing, and thanks for your responces.

You’re the boss Brant. Let us know how it works out for you.

damn, 3 Spike before 10 a cup of coffee and a couple servings of green tea everyday. Wow how do you go to sleep by 10?

Well I guess I might need all those stimulants to if I was eating 1,900 calories a day…