My girlfriend has been on the T-Dawg diet for about a month now. She is eating well and keeping a good food log, but progress is kind of slow, about a 1/2 pound per week. I thought i might list some of her eating log here, and ask a few questions that maybe you can help me with.
Her diet requiements are:
Cal/day 1698
Protien 135 gr/day
Carbs
workout day 100 gr
non-work 70 gr
I’ll lay out one of her workout days using the Cal/Pr/Carb/Fat template that T-mag suggests.
Workout Day sample
Kashi and 1% milk
125/11/17/3
oatmeal
205/9/29/4
Cheese
80/5/0/7
7oz chicken
330/62/0/8
2/3 cup veggies
70/0/11/.5
Orange
64/1/16/0
hamburger-no bun
131/14/0/8
salad
159/1/2/16
3.5oz Pork chop
164/28/0/5
Cheese
160/10/0/14
Total
1488/141/75/65.5
My first concern when we started all this was adequete protien intake. I havn’t had any luck finding a protien powder she likes. Though on paper she usually meets or exceeds what she needs, i think we may be counting some stuff wrong. Should it only be counted from sources that you know have good muscle building protien, like chicken and MRP’s? Or should you count every little gram of protien in everything you eat?
On a fat loss diet such as T-dawg is protien as neccessary as on a muscle building diet? I have read that protien helps to lean you out and reduces cravings.
She has talked about wanting to try Hot Rox sometime soon. She has never taken a fat burner before, so she is kind of tentative.
Anyways, sorry for the long winded post. If anyone can offer any suggestions or sees something i am missing let me know.
A couple suggestions that I can think of right off the bat.
Good fats. Fish oil, flax oil, olive oil etc… Is she getting enough of these. This can have a great ability in helping with fat loss. Another great source in my opinion is virgin coconut oil for the MCFA’s, and the fat burning effects it has. You then need to watch your sat. fat consumption from other sources though in order to keep the polys and monos in line.
Dairy. You may want to try and limit/cut out most of the dairy. Some people just dont lose well while eating dairy products. It is worth a try.
As far as the protein pdr. If She doesnt like the taste of LC Grow I would have to say you are pretty much screwed on that point. There just isnt much better.
The protein amounts are very important to the Tdawg diet, as well as the fats and carbs are. One of the big pluses to the Tdawg has been the ability of many ppl actually losing BF% and gaining LBM. Is it possible she is gaining some lbm through her training. The scale shouldn’t be your #1 determining factor to progress. How are her clothes fitting, and the mirror is a great source also.
You are correct on the fact that protein does help burn more calories. It takes more energy to digest protein than carbs, so the TEF is greater.
As far as counting protein from sources like grains, veggies and such. Most of these are incomplete proteins and actually need multiple mixed source to complete them, so most ppl I know dont count them. That doesnt seem to be to much of a factor from the sample you posted.
So I would look at those first. The fats being a BIG one. Try and get an equal amount of poly, mono, sat. throughout the day.
As far as the Hot Rox. I havent tried it as of yet. (just got my Hot Rox prize last week, Thanks again all) But, I have heard some great results from it.
I don’t see her stats in your post. That would be a good piece of information to have.
My initial thoughts:
Ditch the milk
Ditch the fruit
7 oz chicken? Is that at one sitting? No need for her to be getting 60+ grams of protein in a sitting.
I can’t really say much more without more information.
[quote]
Should it only be counted from sources that you know have good muscle building protien, like chicken and MRP’s? Or should you count every little gram of protien in everything you eat? [/quote]
Count it all. It is incorrect to ignore it. Doing so would mean you’re ignoring the energy associated with that protein. (think calories)
[quote]
On a fat loss diet such as T-dawg is protien as neccessary as on a muscle building diet? [/quote]
Absolutely. It can be argued that it is even more important, as on a diet you do not have as many protein sparing nutrients in your day (ie. lowered carbs, etc). Protein also has the greatest TEF (thermic effect of food). Basically it costs you more energy just to digest/process it. And it has the ability to keep you more satiated.
Ah… nm. You must be using a vinaigrette dressing or something, because I was looking at your salad and seeing 16 in what I thought was the fats column, but I figured that had to be carbs. My bad.
Thanks for the advice so far everyone. I am going to try and increase the healthy fats and solve the protien powder problem. We have not tried LC Grow yet.
Her stats are:
Height: 4’11"
Weight: 130lbs
BF% not sure, the calipers at her gym were broken when she went to get is measured.
She carries most of her excess weight in her lower body, kinda like Ron Harris’s wife on www.ronharrismuscle.com, before her transformation.
How many grams of healthy fats should a person take in a day based on body weight? I have a big jar of 1000mg capsules of fish oil by Kirkland.
You will be amazed how fast that fish oil bottle you think is so huge will be gone. To equal 1 TBSP of fish oil you are talkinf about 14 of those capsules. It goes pretty quick, just another part of the game.
You may want to get fish oil in a bottle to save some cahs. I actually use both.
As far as how much fat to take in. A ball park cookie cutter figure is around .4 -.6 grams pre lb of LBM. You will want to try and get as close to equal amounts of poly, mono, and sat fats as you can. Each has it’s benefits.
I general, if you were to add a TBSP of fish oils in a day to replace some of your other fats would be an easy approach. That would give you 14g (14000mg) containing ~ 2.1grms of EPA’s and 1.4grams of DHA’s. This may or may not get you to optimal levels but is a good start.
One problem we run into alot is pre workout snacks. Its kind of like a Catch-22. She needs something to energize her, but something like cottage cheese with yogourt and fruit will put her over her carb limit by the end of the day.
I hope here soon i will find a protien powder that she likes, and i am working to increase the healthy fats.
This may seem like a stupid question, but i assume we factor the caloric intake of things like fish oil and flax oil into our daily intake?
I noticed that her sample day puts her 200 calories below target (~1500 consumed versus ~1700 target). I am not a fat loss guru, but in my handful of experiences I’ve learned that if calories are too low, fat loss can slow/stop. This is particularly true after dieting for awhile.
As to the pre workout boost, try drinking half a serving of surge 20 minutes before, hitting the workout, then slamming the other half immediately after.
This should keep you right on track with the workout.
Anyway, the TIMING of the carbs is as important as the TOTAL of the carbs, if not moreso.
As far as the actual workout, I just have her on a three day a week bodybuilding type split.
I dont have the workout in front of me, but its a basic 3-4 sets of 10-12 reps program. Just the basics like bench, shoulder press, curls, triceps excercises, etc. She has trouble with her knees hurting, so we havn’t tried squats or deads yet. The trainer at her gym gave her some excercises to get her knee tracking properly, but i dont know if they are working or what.
Thing is, she lifts at one of those Women’s World gyms, which means no guys. I would rather we lift at the same gym so i could help her out, spot, etc. But her mom offered to pay for the membership, and i am not lifting at the moment due a hurt back, she took her mom up on the offer. She is good about going three days a week, doing lifting and cardio.
I have been trying to persuade her into taking Hot Rox, thinking it might be able to jump start her body into losing some weight. She is still deciding whether to try it or not.
To me everything looks right on paper. She is taking two tablespoons of flax oil a day. The one problem i can see is lack of protien, she does not like any of the protien powders we have tried.
Hopefully i can figure something out soon, because she is starting to get discouraged.
Have you tried Low Carb Grow?? If she doesn’t like the taste of that then you probably won’t find one she does like.
I also use Optimum Nutrition’s 100% whey in vanilla and add a tsp of instant decaf cofee crystals into it…sprinkle of cinnamon and it is like an iced cappucino. SF vanilla syrup like Atkins or Davinci will help also. They can be found in the Coffee section of Super Walmart. Also sometimes in the gourmet food section of TJ Maxx or Marshalls also Ross…depending on what is available in your area. Sugar free Tang is also good with the vanilla if blended with ice it is like an Orange Julius. Get creative.
There is nothing wrong with eating real food to meet protein requirements. Shakes are convenient, so is canned tuna.
Pre-workout…how about some Almonds or Macadamias?? I know I can’t lift heavy with a full stomach.
[quote]
I dont have the workout in front of me, but its a basic 3-4 sets of 10-12 reps program. Just the basics like bench, shoulder press, curls, triceps excercises, etc. She has trouble with her knees hurting, so we havn’t tried squats or deads yet. The trainer at her gym gave her some excercises to get her knee tracking properly, but i dont know if they are working or what.[/quote]
Read Ian King’s Out of Kilter article on the knee. That’ll definitely help.