Gaining muscle..not losing fat. Need diet advice!!

[Chris Mason]

I too am suspect of your BF measurements. They are simply too inaccurate to tell you anything of real substance.

Your waist is a GREAT indicator of BF levels. At your current body weight is your waist (not your hips etc.) bigger, smaller, or what relative to when you were running?

Chris

[Chris Mason]

Oh, and you are eating too little in my opinion. You really can't go much lower and optimize your micronutrient intake and health. Eating so few calories is only going to suppress your metabolism and make achieving the body you want difficult.

[Dimitri Dziabenko]

Originally Posted by Chris Mason

Things like this drive me NUTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There is no exacting formula for what one's individual maintenance caloric intake levels is. You have no idea what her's is, so to suggest she does the math is really just setting her up for failure.

Yup, 2000 is an approximation, but it's a reasonable one. Also I said that not all of it will be from fat, so that needs to be taken into account. Somebody with 110lb of LBM doing a couple of lifting sessions and a few burpees here and there doesn't need 3000 calories, that's all.

10-12 * (BW in lb) is generally a good guideline for fat loss.

Frankly there are people on these boards who eat like 2800-3000 calories and wonder why they're not losing any fat. Because a) EPOC is tiny b) a 10 min metcon doesn't burn a lot of calories and c) they're eating too much.

If she wants to lose fat, she's gonna have to cut calories, whether you call it math or not is up to you. But if she cuts calories by 300 each day and pigs out at the Chinese restaurant every weekend, then yes, do the math, it won't work.

[Laura LeBlanc]

haha I don't pig out with chinese every weekend it was just an example...but I totally hear what you are saying.

I have never tried fasting but don't think I would be able to do it. Its an interesting concept though and I would be curious to see if it worked for me.

I always hear mixed things when I tell people how much I eat. Some trainers I've talked to also say I eat too little, but I just can't see how 1600 calories is not enough. I read a lot of womens health and fitness magazines and almost all of their diets hover around 1500. Even female bikini pros only eat 1500 (but of course they eat a lot of clean, lean food). Who knows... its so confusing lol

My actual waist (if we are talking smallest part) is probably around the same as it used to be. My hips, behind, and quads though are a lot bigger. A fair amount of it is muscle but sometimes its hard to tell if my fat% in those areas has stayed the same.

Whats the best way to measure body fat % thats affordable? Besides just looking in the mirror that is..

[Katherine Derbyshire]

Lifting heavy things will make your hips, behind, and quads bigger. Most of the men here will tell you this is a good thing.

I weigh less than you and have trouble maintaining on less than 2000 calories per day. Much depends on activity level.

The mirror is probably the best way to judge body fat. If you like what it shows you, who cares what the actual number is?

Katherine

[Eric Montgomery]

Originally Posted by Laura LeBlanc

haha I don't pig out with chinese every weekend it was just an example...but I totally hear what you are saying.

I have never tried fasting but don't think I would be able to do it. Its an interesting concept though and I would be curious to see if it worked for me.

I always hear mixed things when I tell people how much I eat. Some trainers I've talked to also say I eat too little, but I just can't see how 1600 calories is not enough. I read a lot of womens health and fitness magazines and almost all of their diets hover around 1500. Even female bikini pros only eat 1500 (but of course they eat a lot of clean, lean food). Who knows... its so confusing lol

My actual waist (if we are talking smallest part) is probably around the same as it used to be. My hips, behind, and quads though are a lot bigger. A fair amount of it is muscle but sometimes its hard to tell if my fat% in those areas has stayed the same.

Whats the best way to measure body fat % thats affordable? Besides just looking in the mirror that is..

There's a big difference between how figure competitors eat in the offseason vs. how they eat when cutting for a show.

[Jo Hsu]

First of all, hello from a fellow State College CrossFitter! I train at CrossFit Lionheart, but I've spoken with Bryan a few times. I've meant to visit your box once or twice just for the hell of it, but haven't gotten around to it yet-- you know, the whole great distance between South Atherton and North Atherton

Second of all. I'll echo Katherine, whose wisdom I always enjoy. I weigh significantly less than you and find that my performance suffers under 2000 cal/day. Also, my performance didn't improve until my thighs/quads/etc got bigger... and my pants started getting tighter... and I had to invest in new pants .

Honestly, what are your goals? Do you CrossFit to perform well at CrossFit or do you CrossFit to have a visibly low body fat percentage? I'm not saying one is a less admirable intent than the other, but... you may need to work towards one at a time. Perhaps your body is stronger at this bf%, and your strength may suffer if you deny it more fuel... I'm far from an expert, but that's my small assessment.

[JD Hart]

Originally Posted by Laura LeBlanc

Hi everyone I am brand new to these forums, so I thought I would introduce myself first! My name is Laura, and I am a 21 year old senior at Penn State. I have been crossfitting for 3 1/2 months now (I feel like I am in an AA meeting the way I'm talking haha). Now on to why I am posting this topic...

I was just retested at my campus fitness center for body fat, VO2 max, strength, etc. I am 5'9", 146 lbs, with 21.2% body fat. Last september when I was tested, I was 143 lbs and 20.1% body fat. I was mainly a runner back then, and would lift 2 times per week. I started CrossFit in the new year, and that's pretty much the only exercise I have been doing now (3-4 times/week and I love it!).

I have been trying to make changes to my diet, but still struggle with what I should/am supposed to eat. I have had Rheumatoid Arthritis since I was 6. After reading a few paleo books, I was convinced I needed to cut out most grains from my diet, so I did. I have noticed a huuuge difference in my knee pain, which I am super happy about! However, my main goal is still to lose body fat.

Here is what a typical day would look like for me during the week:

Breakfast:
Protein Pancake (1/2 cup egg whites, 1 scoop ON Whey Protein, 1/2 mashed banana)
Multi-vitamin, vitamin-c, calcium, fish oil supplement (too many?)

Late Morning snack:
Green Monster (1 cup almond milk, 2 cups spinach, 1 banana, flax seed)

Lunch:
Extra lean ground turkey, 1/4 cup cheddar cheese, 1/4 cup salsa

Late afternoon snack:
Almonds, or an apple with pb

Dinner:
Salad with chicken, homemade balsamic vinaigrette w/ olive oil + balsamic vinegar

Late night snack:
Greek Yogurt w/ 1/2 scoop ON Whey Protein


I've tried following a strict paleo diet and it's just too difficult for me. I guess what I'm after is what should I be changing to see some results? I aim for 1600-1700 calories a day. Some days I eat way more fruit. Is that bad for my goals? I am also not a big fan of vegetables, which I know I need to work on.

Thanks in advance for your help!!

Genetics plays possibly the most important role in maintaining low body fat. In terms of tangibles, carb cycling for short intervals has been used for a long time in fitness and strict body building to trim fat (cycling meaning low carbs 4-5 then 1.5 to 2x carbs for one day then repeat the cycle). Metabolic activity can and will adjust to low calorie, low carb diets, which is why carb cycling helps. You can also go 4-5 days with very little to no fat, sugar, or carbs at the end of a cutting cycle to shred the excess while maintaining 1g/lb you weigh of protein to reduce catabolism. With that approach your only options are really hydrolyzed whey in water, 99% lean turkey and egg whites.

If you look at Prof. Cordains list he heavily emphasizes moderation of olive oil, nuts and fruit (I think 1 cup a day max) if fat loss is the goal. A large banana can have >30g of carbs and 15+ g of sugar.

In terms of Fitness models, as was mentioned above, the diet in the off season is vastly different from when they are preparing for a show. In season fitness body builders are weighing out their portions and normally have entire weeks planned out, sometimes months of exactly what's going to be eaten. The use of diuretics pre-show is also pretty common at least in the past and training schedules often include 2 gym trips a day at least for men.