Stuck at 230. Suggestions?

Bigger Stronger Leaner Competitive Bodybuilding
1

Hello…I am in need of some advice.

I’ve been working on getting into better shape now since May 2006. I seem to have hit a plateau in my fat loss and mass gaining. Let me give you some numbers and info:

Age: 26
Sex: Male
Height: 6’1"
Weight: 230 lbs
BF %: 29% (According to my home scale)

I’ve been stuck at 29-31% body fat and 228-232 lbs for at least two weeks.

I started out in May with these numbers:

Weight: 252
BF %: 41%

I started out by just cleaning up my diet and working out with free weights and doing HIIT. That worked great for a while, but then I got stuck and couldn’t drop any more fat.

At the begining of July, I switched my diet to the T-Dawg 2.0 diet. I believe I have been following the intake suggestions very carefully. I’m getting 1.5 grams of protein per pound of LBM and I’ve been sticking to the 70/100 grams of carbs depending on the day.

My intake looks like this:
(Calculated using Berardi’s BMR formula minus 500 calories)

Calories: 2433
Protein: 244 gr
Carb: 70/100 gr depending on day
Fat: 117/130 gr depending on day

I also take flameout, HRX, 1 serving of Surge on workout days, and metabolic drive protein two-three times per day to supplement my protein intake. These are all factored into my food intake.

As for training:

I have been following Waterbury’s TBT 7 weeks. I have seen strength increases and I know I have gained some LBM. I realize this may not be the appropriate program for fat loss and plan to switch to a new routine this week or next.

I also do 20 minutes of HIIT cardio twice per week on non-lifting days.

So there it is… Hope I gave you enough information to make some suggestions about what I should do next. I’m open to ideas on training, nutrition, supplementation (or lack there of), etc.

Like I said…I’m stuck. No noticable or calculatable change in weight, body fat %, or measuring tape.

Help me out guys. I want to get myself down below the 20% mark. I’m extremely dedicated and will do whatever it takes. I’ve already sacrificed a lot to get as far as I have. I’m in it for the long haul. Perhaps I just need more patience.

Thanks.

2

Congrats on your progress so far!

Whats your weight training look like?

3

Do you ever cheat? Do you eat vegetables? Maybe try morning cardio on an empty stomach. Do you keep a food log or is this jsut a guess?

4

Well, if you’re following T-Dawg 2.0, it doesn’t look like you’re getting enough calories or protein.

If you’re currently 230 pounds and your current intake is:

Calories: 2433
Protein: 244 gr

Then you’re off.

230 x 15 - 500 = 2950 calories.
230 x 1.5 = 345 grams protein.

Not sure if this has anything to do with your current state, but it you want to follow T-Dawg 2.0 you may need to make some adjustments.

5

[quote]whatsmybodyfat wrote:
Do you ever cheat? Do you eat vegetables? Maybe try morning cardio on an empty stomach. Do you keep a food log or is this jsut a guess?[/quote]

Fasted Cardio is not that benificial.

http://www.T-Nation.com/readTopic.do?id=1074246

6

You may want to look into a heart monitor and find your target HR for fat loss. Spend 20 or 30 minutes doing the lower intensity cardio right after your workout (so your glycogen levels will be depleted and therefore dig straight into those stubborn fat cells). Generally, unless you’re an athlete or are in phenomenal shape, you’ll lose fat better with the lower intensity cardiovascular workout than with HIIT.

The HIIT may burn more calories over a 4 hour period, but you shouldn’t be going that long without food. the benefit for the lower intensity cardio will be that you’re burning the fat for energy and not entering those now-depleted glycogen levels (you’re not taking carbs in until after the cardio session this way).

Keep doing some HIIT if you want for general health and stamina, but try it out for a few weeks and see if that helps bust through the plateau.

The diet looks alright as long as the p/c/f intake is clean. about 1g per pound will be plenty if your goal is to cut down some. the only thing i might suggest is taking in some more carbs, just be careful in the sources and the timing. sweet potatoes, brown rice, oats are all good. Zigzagging calories is another option.

Zigzagging would be where you start with X calories, let’s say 3000. take 2800 the next day, 2600 the next, 2500, 2400, 2300 and so on for a week. when the week’s up, jack it back up to 3k or wherever you started, which should be your BMR (just make sure the caloric intake doesn’t get TOO low). The body will have a hard time adjusting and won’t get used to the lower calorie days and, as such, shouldn’t spike insulin triggering the body to store extra fat when you increase your calories again.

gl, hope that helped

7

the fasted cardio was in regards to eggs (majorly protein) and not carbohydrates which would make a difference. the carbs → glycogen → primary energy used. when that’s gone, then you’ll break into the fat stores (assuming you’re not catabolic, which is why early morning no food workout is rough). if you do morning cardio, i’d at least take in half to a whole protein shake as soon as you wake up.

avoiding catabolism is #1 goal. keep the number of meals high (6+) with ideally a casein protein before bed to last you through the night (a good blend or maybe cottage cheese)

8

[quote]jbodzin wrote:
whatsmybodyfat wrote:
Do you ever cheat? Do you eat vegetables? Maybe try morning cardio on an empty stomach. Do you keep a food log or is this jsut a guess?

Fasted Cardio is not that benificial.

http://www.T-Nation.com/readTopic.do?id=1074246[/quote]

People have conflicting theories. What one guy thinks doesn’t mean its right. I don’t believe in cardio anyway. Just a suggestion.

9

Get some calipers. Those scales suck balls.

some ways to break a plateau

add 10 min of steady state cardio after weights

drink ice cold water

Chew lots of gum

Get a weighted vest and do HIIT in that

Make sure your are progressing in your HIIT

add 40 min of non weights physical acticity a day.

Also consider dropping back to maintenance for 2-4 weeks and then starting the cut again. Thibs talked about this a long time ago. If one starts above 20% this is the way to go.

10

Take a look at “New Rules of Lifting” by Cosgrove & Shuler. The Fat Loss Programs are pretty effective. Rather than focus on cardio, they take you to metabolic overload thru different weight training programs.

11

Hello again.

Thank you to everyone who has already replied. I thought I’d better clear up a couple questions.

First off, when calculating my caloric needs, I used my Lean Body Mass instead of total body weight. I’ve heard varying opinions on this, but it seems like I actually gained fat using the other calculation.

My food intake is extraordinarily clean and I use a spreadsheet with all my foods and their nutritional values in combination with a scale for meat and measuring cups for veggies to plan my meals on a weekly basis. I eat nothing that is not factored into my spreadsheet and I can tell you the caloric and nutritional content of every meal I eat to within marginal error.

Here are my meals on a weekly basis. Same thing every day, more or less.

8:30AM -
1/4 cup (uncooked qty) oatmeal
Omlette with 2 egg whites and 2-3 whole eggs depending on day. 1 cup of veggies and 2 ounces of lean ham. 1/4 cup of cheese. Water.

11:00AM -
Metabolic Drive Protein Shake (each day)
1/2 cup Celery with Natural peanut butter (only on lower carb day).

1:30PM -
7.5 ounces of chicken breast. 1 tbps natual peanut butter. 1.5 cups of veggies (usually broccoli and bell peppers). Water

4:30PM -
Metabolic Drive Protein Shake.

6:00PM -
If lifting day, 1/2 serving Surge while I workout. 1/2 serving Surge immediately after workout.

8:00PM -
7.5 ounces of chicken breast. 1 tbps natual peanut butter. 1.5 cups of veggies (usually broccoli and bell peppers). Water

10:30PM-
Metabolic Drive Protein Shake right before bed.

I also eat one meal per week that is higher in carbs, as suggested in the T-Dawg 2.0 diet. It is usually mexican food on Saturday night. Corn chips and salsa. I probably get an extra 80 grams of carbs in that meal.

The rest of the week is very very strict. I never cheat or eat anything I haven’t planned into my intake already. I also only drink water. No soda, no juice, no alcohol…only water.

Doc.

12

I wouldn’t worry about this “plateau” too much. I started a weight loss crusade of my own in May (May 1st) from 260 lbs, and by some time in late juny/july i’d hit 227. I was 227 lbs for 20 days. Literally. I couldnt explain it, I was training just as hard (if not harder) and eating really well. Then, eventually one day the wall broke down and I’m now 214 and steadily progressing once again.

I guess what I’m trying to say is it seems we’re in similar situations, and don’t get discouraged. Keep doing what you’re doing and I suppose add supplementary cardio if you’re up to the task. (For the record, I have a cheat day once a week.)

13

[quote]jbodzin wrote:
whatsmybodyfat wrote:
Do you ever cheat? Do you eat vegetables? Maybe try morning cardio on an empty stomach. Do you keep a food log or is this jsut a guess?

Fasted Cardio is not that benificial.

http://www.T-Nation.com/readTopic.do?id=1074246 [/quote]

Blanket statements are jsut the best. Why did Shugs use it on his Velocity diet so???

As for catabolism, I think he recommeded half a scoop of protein.

And to tthe OP, fantastic work. Now keep it going!!

14

Before you start getting too concerned and making changes to your diet, get yourself a set of calipers and start measuring your bf% that way. The scales are hopeless for anyone carrying more than average muscle. You could be still losing fat without the scales showing it.

15

Two weeks is hardly a plateau. It’s not that unusual for the body to make adjustments periodically during fat loss and for you to seem stuck sometimes. This may simply be your body’s way of trying to adjust to your current diet and exercise plan. Remember that your body is very efficient at regulating metabolism when it thinks it needs to.

One way to shake things up is simply to change around your diet or exercise somewhat. This will often be just what you need to kick start the loss again. It may be as simple as adding or deleting some calories or carbs, or adding in or deleting a bit or cardio. You need to keep your body guessing!

16

I started “10 x 3 for fat loss” last night. I’m hoping the change in workouts will kickstart my system. If nothing else, it will at least shake things up a bit.

17

[quote]Magister Ludi wrote:
Take a look at “New Rules of Lifting” by Cosgrove & Shuler. The Fat Loss Programs are pretty effective. Rather than focus on cardio, they take you to metabolic overload thru different weight training programs.[/quote]

I just bought this book and really like it. I would suggest (like others) focusing on weight training. Big muscles (legs, lats, chest) will give you the best results.

Also, for monitoring diet and exercise, check out www.fitday.com (free online software for monitoring diet and exercise).

Dont give up - you’re really doing a great job and the new Doc is within reach.

18

What is up with the recent trend of beginners giving advice (and really bad advice) to other beginners? Is that what this forum is turing into? another bodybuilding.com?

To the OP- the answer you seek is relatively simple. READ this site. There are plenty of actual articles on here by actual smart people. You’re looking for advice before you even try to educate yourself. Once you read up you’ll understand what a plateau even is, and the suggested ways of breaking out of it.

You obviously have read some, as you are doing the T-Dawg diet, but just not enough.

Here’s a little hint though… your calories are way off. Which direction is up to you to find out.

19

I thought I heard Berardi mention that if worst came to worst with losing fat, cutting out the PWO shake might be helpful. I know that’s contrary to what we all think and believe, but I swear that’s what he mentioned. Of course that’s if everything else has been screwed down and that sounds like the case.

How much water are you intaking?

-T