I’m in the second phase of Krypteia (I’ve had to repeat it twice due to failing a lift as well as missing a few workouts because of scheduling problems and typical fall sickness) and, while I seemed to be getting leaner for a bit, I’ve been developing some love handles and lower stomach flab despite not really changing anything about my diet.
I weigh about 185 lbs and I’ve been keeping my calories between 2500 and 2700 per day with a goal of the typical 40% carbs/30% fat/30% protein macros; this seems low to me, but it hasn’t affected my lifting and really hasn’t helped me get any leaner, either. Granted, I know I don’t get enough sleep during the semester due to my college, work, and volunteer commitments - but I’ve seen plenty of other lifters stay lean without getting the recommended amount of sleep. I’m not looking to be 2% body fat or anything crazy like that, I’d just like to get to somewhere in the 10-12% range and eliminate as much of that unwanted weight as I reasonably can. I would just lower my caloric intake further, but my strength took a hard nosedive the last time I tried that. Does anybody have any dietary recommendations? I can follow a pretty stringent meal plan, so long as it’s reasonably affordable for a college student. I know many Wendler followers don’t track macros or anything like that, but I’ve found that I generally don’t eat enough if I don’t track how much I’m eating - so if anybody has any advice when it comes to nutrition, I’d really appreciate it.
Also, I’ve been thinking of doing a few cycles of the base 5/3/1 program after I finish Krypteia and then doing six weeks of the Prep and Fat Loss program to get rid of as much excess fat as I can without ruining my lifts. Prep and Fat Loss has similar programming to Krypteia, though, so would this be an effective change of program? Any help regarding this matter would be great!
Are you pushing the assistance work hard? By the 2nd cycle Jim says it should be pushed. If youre not working as hard as it calls for your body may just he adapting to the workload.
Also are you doing any easy conditioning? Walks runs bike ect? 3 to 5 days are recommended. This helps the heart but can also burn some excess calories.
You’re saying cutting calories decreases performance but you’re complaining about carrying too much body fat. Which is your priority, strength or reducing body fat?
I’d go along with this. Krypteia should really kick your ass if you’re pushing the assistance hard. Also, krypteia is a long program (6 weeks intro, 1 week deload, 6 weeks full on, 1 week deload, 3 weeks anchor). That’s 17 weeks, so don’t worry about planning what comes next. Do this with all your focus. I did the program along with 3 days of conditioning/week and 1 yoga session/week. I didn’t necessarily lose weight (wasn’t trying to) but got leaner, stronger, and felt spryer on the soccer field.
For reference, I’m 170 lbs and did it as a 44/45 year old with the following assistance: 5x10 weighted pull ups (+35 lbs), 5x10 weighted dips (+50 lbs), 5x10 80 lb DB goblet squats, 5x10 SLDL with 50 lbs in each hand. Doing these between the main lifts and moving at a brisk (but not gassed) pace will get you leaner and stronger if your diet is anywhere near what it should be.
Why did you fail the lift? Is your TM set correctly?
It looks like your around maintenance to me. I will admit I have not typically tracked macros in the past, but I have started to more often as I think its a good way to learn what different foods are made up of.
From my experience and from what I have read its probably a good idea to increase your protein intake up to 1.5 grams per lb of bodyweight when your in a caloric deficit to help maintain muscle mass. Your percentages have you near a 1 gram per lb. Maybe consider increasing your protein intake and your strength wont suffer.
I found this article to be awesome if you have the time to read through it. Lots of good information here for a basic way to manipulate your diet.
But where are you now. Depending on your training age and strength levels you may be worrying needlessly about fat loss when you could be easily stacking on muscle and strength with minimal fat gain.
Your not plenty of other lifters, your you. Don’t compare others results to yourself. You have to do what YOU need to do to get the results you want.
You need to define some clearer goals for yourself and set some better personal benchmarks. That above statement is a terrible guiding star. Define “excess fat” is it 15% bodyfat? 20%?. What is a ruined lift? If your TM goes down 10lbs or 30lbs?
Find some general benchmarks that matter to you. One I use is I want to maintain AT LEAST a 2x bodyweight squat no matter what my weight does.
No one here can answer this for you. We have your weight and macros, but no idea about your training history, strength levels, or any physical limitations or injuries.
What I did see is you stated you had to repeat Krypteia twice due to inconsistent training. I can tell you from painful experience, worrying about what program to run is useless if you aren’t training consistently and following the program correctly to begin with. If your on track now, great, but if your still having issues your focus should be on getting the work done.
What kinda carbs we talking here? Pancakes? White Bread? SODA?!?!?!?!
Or we talking nutritious stuff, like vegetables and nuts and stuff like that?
This is the way I would go, personally. This is how my wife had to eat to lose weight after our third kid. I went low carb, but she couldn’t tolerate that for very long. The higher protein kept her fuller for longer, and the decreased carbs was easy to adjust to. Don’t get me wrong, she was pissed when I took her chocolate and Oreo’s away, but she got over it. She lost fat and had almost no cravings after about three weeks.