Problem: Getting Weaker With Diet

Im new to this forum and I just started to take my physique seriously. I am 20 years old, 6’3’’ and about 190 lbs. I just made the drop to 190 from 205 and am hoping to reach 185 before bulking up. I am on a 1000 calorie a day diet and trying to just eat as healthy as a college student can. However, everytime i lift i feel weaker and weaker, barely able to curl 30 lbs and bench 135. I assume its from a reduced calorie diet but I am unsure.

I can’t stand losing this much strength but I need to cut my body fat before I worry about my muscles. Any advice or tips would be amazing. thanks all

IMO up the calories, you will have more energy and will be able to loose weight a lot easier, just eat “healthy calories”. Im a college student too, and I understand the deal with the money and time. Just buy cheap protein mix it with 1/2 cup of raw oatmeal, milk or water, with all natural peanut butter. Thats what i usually do when i do when I do not got much cash or time. Good luck.

[quote]El_Won_foolio wrote:
Im new to this forum and I just started to take my physique seriously. I am 20 years old, 6’3’’ and about 190 lbs. I just made the drop to 190 from 205 and am hoping to reach 185 before bulking up. I am on a 1000 calorie a day diet and trying to just eat as healthy as a college student can. However, everytime i lift i feel weaker and weaker, barely able to curl 30 lbs and bench 135. I assume its from a reduced calorie diet but I am unsure.

I can’t stand losing this much strength but I need to cut my body fat before I worry about my muscles. Any advice or tips would be amazing. thanks all[/quote]

What satanic force of vacuity has crawled inside of you and made you believe that someone who is 6’3" needs only 1,000cals a day to survive? There are women over a foot shorter than you who need over 1,000cals MORE than you are eating now.

True that, triple your calorie intake…

[quote]satanic force of vacuity[/quote] they told him to.

The reason you are tired and weak is because you are slowly dying due to calorie restriction.

I totally agree you need way more calories. I did just about the same thing that your doing once and definatley got weaker. Up the food and you should be ok

This was a gem also. Whatever author/trainer/mollusk made you believe that should be left off of your myspace friends list.

[quote]El_Won_foolio wrote:
However, everytime i lift i feel weaker and weaker, barely able to curl 30 lbs and bench 135.[/quote]

Bye bye muscle mass

I’m pretty sure.

[quote]
Any advice or tips would be amazing. thanks all[/quote]

Stop doing what you are doing immediately. I eat about 2500-3000 calories more than you and am losing body fat while I slowly(not optimally) put on muscle. Let some cardio and SMART diet manipulations take control of your body fat and stop starving yourself. What do you think is going to happen when you go on your “bulk”, that because you are slightly leaner when you double-triple-quadruple your current caloric intake that you somehow won’t lay down mostly fat? You are wrecking your metabolism right now and setting yourself up for failure in developing a good physique if you use this sort of plan whenever you want to lean out slightly.

Please define barely able to curl 30lbs or bench 135? Are you exagerating? What does this mean you can’t bench more then 10 reps? 20 reps?

If your not exagerating, then 1000 calories or not your just weak in those areas and need to change your routine or mental strength or something.

If it’s just the problem of feeling heavier then it did in the past but you can still lift it with no problem then yes it’s because of the calorie reduction. Either fight through it, or eat more or whatever you want to do.

What’s your bodyfat look like? I can’t imagine it that high at 6’3 190.

1000 calories a day…that must be a misprint (mistype?). By lunch I eat more than that and I’m only throw two meals…and I’m currently 139 lbs and 5’6"!!!

I’m 5 foot 8 @ 183 and take in between 2200 to 2400 (non training then training days) and I’m still losing 2 to 4 pounds of fat per week.

you should easily be eating more then me.

I’ll just throw in here and say that I haven’t always gone along with everything everybody has said on this site, but I cannot believe anybody here would ever tell you that 1000 cals a day was even healthy for a guy your height.

Please read this:

http://www.musclewithattitude.com/article/training/metabolic_damage_part_i

It was on the girls site, but applies here as well.

1000 was a typo, i meant to hit 2000. Like i said im brand new at this and am seriously just going by what i thought different articles were telling me. I guess i just don’t know what kinds of things to eat because from my understanding you need a caloric defecate to achieve fat loss which is my primary goal right now and it seems like with even so called ‘healthy’ foods you jack up calories way fast.

heres what i eat on an average day
breakfast:
1 egg
1 fruit (orange, apple, banana, etc.)

brunch-ish:
handful of carrots

lunch:
small piece of chicken (maybe 6 oz.)
1/4 cup of rice (if even that much)
1 fruit

afternoon:
1 fruit or
some beef jerky

I usually work out about now then have a protein shake.

dinner:
1 chicken breast
small salad
steamed veggies

So i figure this adds to about 2000 calories…unless i really suck at math or just don’t get what foods are full of what. I guess im just really confused about what exactly i should be doing. If i really am screwing up that bad please be constructive.

That isnt even close to 2000 unless your shake is massive. I would eat more than that or your going to have problems if you keep up at this rate. There is also no good fats in there and that is not good either.

You need a new plan of attack from what i am seeing with your diet

[quote]El_Won_foolio wrote:
I guess i just don’t know what kinds of things to eat because from my understanding you need a caloric defecate to achieve fat loss which is my primary goal right now [/quote]

At your weight and height, why is this your primary goal right now? Why are you dieting down before you have even built any muscle mass?

[quote]Professor X wrote:
El_Won_foolio wrote:
I guess i just don’t know what kinds of things to eat because from my understanding you need a caloric defecate to achieve fat loss which is my primary goal right now

At your weight and height, why is this your primary goal right now? Why are you dieting down before you have even built any muscle mass?[/quote]

Well I suppose if he was super skinny-fat then he might feel the need (~ 25%+ bf). In general I completely agree with you though.

[quote]El_Won_foolio wrote:
heres what i eat on an average day
breakfast:
1 egg [/quote]------------------ 70 cal.[quote]
1 fruit (orange, apple, banana, etc.)[/quote]-- ~70 cal.

[quote]
brunch-ish:
handful of carrots[/quote]--------- ~40 cal.

[quote]
lunch:
small piece of chicken (maybe 6 oz.)[/quote]— ~170 cal.[quote]
1/4 cup of rice (if even that much)[/quote]---- ~100 cal. IF uncooked when measured[quote]
1 fruit [/quote]------------ ~ 70 cal.[quote]

afternoon:
1 fruit or[/quote] ------------- ~70 cal.[quote]
some beef jerky [/quote]---------- ~280 cal if you eat the whole bag at once. 80 cal per serving.[quote]

I usually work out about now then have a protein shake.

dinner:
1 chicken breast [/quote]-------------- ~170 cal[quote]
small salad [/quote]-------------- ~ nothing[quote]
steamed veggies [/quote]--------- ~ 30 cal.


                         = 1070 calories, being generous and not counting your PWO shake. It is unlikely that your shake makes up any more than 300 calories.

See my calculations in your modified post above. I know a 105 lb girl that eats more than you, and she doesn’t even work out. When I was your weight I used to diet for fat loss on more than 3 times what you are using. [u]Use a freaking food log man.[/u] It will prevent stupid stuff like this from happening. Besides, you should be aiming for fat loss of only ~ 1 lb a week.

ok well instead of fucking doggin on me can anyone actually tell me what a healthy diet would look like? this website is full of “eat fats but dont eat carbs, eat protein but not this” but i can’t find where it says what exact foods are ok to eat.

I am worried about putting on more fat if I eat too many calories even if i am lifting diligently. I really do weigh 190 but i am not skinny/fat, i still feel like i have a large frame with nasty flab handles and i don’t want my flab to be amplified with more calories and lifting.

why should anyone tell you what kind of diet you should eat? the web site is full of nutrition articles. when you say you are eating 1000 cals a day they are going to tell you JUST EAT because at that point you do need to JUST EAT: whether you are eating another 1000 cals from ice cream or clean foods, you just need to EAT.

but now that it has been stressed, like i said, go read some articles this site has to offer. go read the physique clinic diets. then adjust everything you read to yourself.

6’3 190 i assume you need 3500 cals for maintenance. eat 3000 cals/day and lift heavy and you should lose fat

[quote]El_Won_foolio wrote:
ok well instead of fucking doggin on me can anyone actually tell me what a healthy diet would look like? this website is full of “eat fats but dont eat carbs, eat protein but not this” but i can’t find where it says what exact foods are ok to eat.

I am worried about putting on more fat if I eat too many calories even if i am lifting diligently. I really do weigh 190 but i am not skinny/fat, i still feel like i have a large frame with nasty flab handles and i don’t want my flab to be amplified with more calories and lifting.[/quote]

We aren’t here to do basic nutrition 101 with you. Search for Berardi’s 7 Tips for a Highly Effective Diet and learn a thing or two.

Carbs won’t make you fat, fat won’t make you fat, protein won’t make you fat, being an idiot will. There are about 1000 ways to eat in a reasonable fashion if you put some effort into it.