Confused

[Thistime]

Ok, first off I apologise for asking a question that's probably been answered a million times but I'm confused to where to actually begin. There's so many pros and cons for each method I'm needing a direction I can focus in on.

I've read the stickies but still have questions.

About me, I'm 29, 6 foot 1 and weigh 205 lbs. I'm needing to lose the fat. I've had a stressful few years and my diet has been bad.

I'm doing the strong lifts 5x5 program and currently squatting 150lbs, bench press, 130. Overhead press 90 and dead lifting 190.

I feel I'm making decent gains but my diet is what's killing me.

I've recently started a low carb diet, with ham and eggs in the morning, cheese string for snack, tuna salad for lunch, nuts for snack then chicken and salad for dinner.

Does this seem decent to lose weight?

I'll also add I work for a craft brewery and maybe once a week have a pint or 2. I work in sales and have no choice(ok I have but you get my point). To make sales and money I need to occasionally socialist with accounts and that means beer, this is a fact I'm hoping to off set with either cardio or good diet 90% of the time.

Anyway, thats my story.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

[Maximi11ion]

Sounds OK to me, you're cleaning up your diet , taking exercise & following a decent program. If you want to be sure then calculate you calorific expenditure using an on line tool and then log a weeks food on a site like food focus or fitday. it's free and you'll see if you're reducing your calorie intake by enough (or too much) you don't need to over do it. This will also show your macronutrient consumption (fat, protein, carbs) to check you are getting enough protein etc

Since you are resistance training you might want to concern yourself with overall body composition as well as total body weight. In other words it's fat loss you want to be concerned with rather than your overall weight which is made up of all the other stuff (muscle, water, bone, breakfast) too. Take measurements and photos, log progress to keep track of changes.

Best of luck

[evo2008]

I'd eat some starchy carbs post-workouts because in my experience your training intensity will suffer otherwise. It's also worth nothing that while diet is important to health and fat/weight loss, calorie intake is very important too; that said....better to eat more and train more/harder than go very low kcal....which leads me to:

Gflux Redox over at T-Nation is a great read in my opinion

T NATION | G-Flux Redux

Testosterone: So back to our example of the guy whose fat loss is stalled out. He should just exercise more?

Berardi: Generally, the best fat-loss approach is this one:

First, be sure you're eating enough nutrient-rich food to begin with. Typically 12 to 18 calories per pound of body weight is in the ballpark of where you should begin a fat-loss plan. If you're not doing this, this is where you start. Spend a few weeks eating a high-quality, sufficient-calorie diet.

Also be sure you're exercising about five hours a week to begin with. If not, when it's time to start losing fat, begin by getting your exercise volume up to five hours per week.

Follow the plan above. If progress stalls out for more than a week, it's time to drop the calories a bit. Taking them down by about 10 to 15 percent will do the trick to get your progress kick-started again.

[Was_once_fat_dave]

how long you been lowcarbing bud?

[Thistime]

I've just started low carbing this week. 5 days now. I've lost 5 lbs since Friday last week.

My 5x5 has began to hit a wall though. Do you think I should stick with this or is there something else you guys recommend considering I'm on calorie deficit and not bulking?

Also, how much cardio you think I should do? My job is extremely flexible so I can workout every morning if need be.

Thanks

[SeanC]

what craft brewery do you work for

[SpiderDan]

Quote

I've just started low carbing this week. 5 days now. I've lost 5 lbs since Friday last week.

My 5x5 has began to hit a wall though. Do you think I should stick with this or is there something else you guys recommend considering I'm on calorie deficit and not bulking?

Also, how much cardio you think I should do? My job is extremely flexible so I can workout every morning if need be.

Thanks

If you're used to having a good portion of carbs in your diet and then you low carb your training will take a hit.

The body has to learn to oxidise fat for energy as opposed to glycogen and this can take time.

Personally I wouldnt switch to low carb approach and go straight into a calorie deficit as it will make the transition much harder. The more fat you eat the quicker the body will switch primary fuel sources.

I know you've listed a bunch of foods but what is your actual intake? have you worked out your calories and macros? Low carb makes it a little easier to free wheel a diet due to increased satiation but some people run the risk of not actually eating enough. Do that and let us know.

Regarding your food intake:

Ham, Chicken, tuna, string cheese - all fairly nutrient deficient protein and fat sources, if you plan on keeping up low carb you'll want to expand your horizons a little. Organ meat, lamb, beef, pork and salmon are all good starts.

[Was_once_fat_dave]

Quote

If you're used to having a good portion of carbs in your diet and then you low carb your training will take a hit.

The body has to learn to oxidise fat for energy as opposed to glycogen and this can take time.

Personally I wouldnt switch to low carb approach and go straight into a calorie deficit as it will make the transition much harder. The more fat you eat the quicker the body will switch primary fuel sources.

I know you've listed a bunch of foods but what is your actual intake? have you worked out your calories and macros? Low carb makes it a little easier to free wheel a diet due to increased satiation but some people run the risk of not actually eating enough. Do that and let us know.

Regarding your food intake:

Ham, Chicken, tuna, string cheese - all fairly nutrient deficient protein and fat sources, if you plan on keeping up low carb you'll want to expand your horizons a little. Organ meat, lamb, beef, pork and salmon are all good starts.

not quite word for word but thats the sentiment I was going to get at!

days 10-20 are generally the worst, you will feel like you have a heavy cold, really ran down and lethargic. Suddenly, a few days later you will feel more clear than ever and totally energised...stick at it bud