So I set a goal to lean out from 230 to 190, I started lifting and dieting at the end of February. As of today (4 weeks later) I’ve gone from 230 midday to 218 in the morning. Here’s what I’ve been doing:
10x BW calories
100-120 g fat
50-100 g carb
200+ g protein
Gym 5 days a week, no cardio
I’m pretty pleased with my results so far, I have to say. I’ve seen decent muscle gains from the high protein, but it is stalling already. I don’t want to be 190 and a moderately better composition having lost both fat and muscle, I wanna be 190 and jacked, with muscle gains. After some educating, I decided to try my first supplement venture, and got cyclic dextrin and some BCAA’s @ 2:1:1.
I was hoping for input on how to use them effectively to mitigate protein breakdown so I can keep making muscle gains and still lose fat at a healthy rate. Or at the very least should I be doing this or just continue my regimen unchanged? I’m going to be taking 7g of BCAA’s (so 3500 Leucine, 1750 each of the others) during my workout and 35g cyclic dextrin + 40g whey protein in a PWO shake.
Yep that should work fine, I would also try taking some or 1/2 the cyclic dextrin midworkout -will allow you to tolerate more volume and gives a huge pump
People worry a LOT about losing muscle, needlessly. If you have a good training plan and consume quality carbs around your training window, you’re not going to lose muscle, you won’t. People look smaller than they think they are after losing considerable amounts of fat because there’s always more fat to lose than people realize, and extra water, etc. Additionally, there can be fat UNDER the muscle, like in the mid section.
I remember John Meadows (I’m pretty sure it was JM) once wrote in an article that a lot of bodybuilders are surprised how much smaller their arms look once they get close to the show. Is it because they lose muscle? No, there’s just always more fat than people think. So, even if you already have some definition, there’s still a lot of fat to lose. Unless you’re laying in bed for weeks or not training at all, you’re not going to lose muscle. You may not GAIN considerable LBM, but you’re certainly not going to lose anything.
It sounds like you’re on the right track. If you want to get there a little quicker, try cutting carbs a little more significantly on non-training days, like doing veggie carbs only on non training days, no starches. Be sure to compensate with a little extra protein and higher fat macros on that day. Maybe throw in one low calorie day per week? I like to do that on Sunday, no training and I sip on MAG-10 and Metabolic Drive shakes all day. This adds another few pounds a month of pure fat loss.
Once you get down to 10% or whatever you’re going for, it’ll be easier to add more carbs back in and maintain. But, to get down there you’ll have to cut more carbs, I recommend cutting them on non training days so you can ensure you get the most out of your sessions.
Thanks for all the replies, I have to say this stuff makes recovery so much easier! By the next day It feels like I didn’t even go to the gym. And my lifts have been going through the roof, 50 pounds on my total in about 4 weeks.
I’m going to begin using the dextrin intra-workout and see how it goes for me. It’s just so gross to drink, stays really lumpy and sticks to my blender ball.