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[mdsfx]

Ugh, dieting sucks. I feel like I hardly get halfway through the day before I start approaching my caloric max. Any suggestions for healthy snacks?

Try waiting longer to eat in the morning. The sooner I eat, the harder it gets for me to control hunger throughout the day. No idea why. Now I wait until at least 10, if not lunch to start. That way I get 2-3 bigger, more fulfilling meals.

As for snacks, 1 cup 0% fat Greek yogurt is 20g+ protein and pretty filling for only 120 calories. Some people feel better after 1-2 Tbs of peanut butter (90-180cal). Drinking more water/coffee also helps. I use flavor in my water to not go crazy.

 

[New002]

Ugh, dieting sucks. I feel like I hardly get halfway through the day before I start approaching my caloric max. Any suggestions for healthy snacks?

Quitting weed has made it easier though, less prone to reckless binges. Otherwise I've been on a major health-kick recently; got back into running after a new tattoo stopped me lifting for a while and now I run 5km every time I go the gym.

You could try experimenting with consuming all of your calories within a single 4 hour eating window, most likely in the evening. I shifted to this a few months back (M-F atleast) and it has been a gamechanger for me.

mdsfx's suggestion of Greek Yogurt is spot on. A cup of it is a ton. I personally add peanut butter, honey, and a bit of splenda to mine.

Steamed broccoli is another great snack. Suuuper filling and negligible calories.

 

[lenovox1]

You could try experimenting with consuming all of your calories within a single 4 hour eating window, most likely in the evening. I shifted to this a few months back (M-F atleast) and it has been a gamechanger for me.

mdsfx's suggestion of Greek Yogurt is spot on. A cup of it is a ton. I personally add peanut butter, honey, and a bit of splenda to mine.

Steamed broccoli is another great snack. Suuuper filling and negligible calories.

Steamed veggies in general. Rice cakes. Air popped popcorn with salt.

A single solitary fruit prepared however you like.

Wasabi peas. Sunflower seeds. Pumpkin seeds. Edamame.

Decent beef jerky.

Veggie juice is my favorite beverage.

 

[Psychotext]

If I've nearly run out of calories I go for things like pickled onions, pickled red cabbage and celery with hot salsa. Virtually no calories in them, but it can feel like you're eating a lot.

That said, plan better.

 

[SpecX]

Glad I found this thread. I've reached a point in my life I need to turn things around and get healthy and fit again. Long story short, I'm 6'3", 31, always been chubby and lost a good amount of weight getting to my all time low of 199/200lbs when I was considering joining the military back in 04/05. I never got into weight lifting, just extreme cardio and was just slim. Got into a relationship and the weight came back to the point I reached 330lbs.

I carry my weight well since I'm overall a big dude, but I'm no longer happy being this size and want to get into shape. My Dr. has also told me my blood pressure is high and I will need to go on meds unless I get things under control. Life after 30 for me is starting to suck.

A coworker saw potential and really started pushing me to go to the gym with him, but I rejected his offers and decided to try things out on my own at home at my pace. I've been able to drop nearly 10 lbs in the past 1-2 months, but I honestly feel I could lose more if I go to the gym where they have all the equipment I would need.

Finally accepted my coworkers offer and hit the gym this morning with him. He's into weight lifting competitions and is crazy fit, so my goal is to utilize his momentum, encouragement, and assistance to get myself in the best shape of my life. I honestly feel really good about myself after doing this and really am dedicated to sticking with this. I want to be done with my man boobies and have some good tone/fitness to me at least once before I get older.

I'm really hoping to stick with this and will keep posting my status along the way here.

 

[MrToughPants]

Quest bars are the go to for you guys? I'm looking to buy some for preworkout snacks. Kinda lame how expensive these things are. Any other brands that are recommended?

Kirkland protein bars from Costco are great, sticky but on par with Quest. The macros are amazing.

 

[Disxo]

Doing straight arm pullivers and feeling my sternum deform.
Is this normal with pectus excavatum? :/

 

[poppabk]

Quest bars are the go to for you guys? I'm looking to buy some for preworkout snacks. Kinda lame how expensive these things are. Any other brands that are recommended?

I go with 'pure' protein bars. They probably aren't quite as good as quest bars but they are a damn sight cheaper.

 

[Psychotext]

I wonder if they have those bars in the UK Costco.

Edit - Seems not. Weak.

 

[GrapeApes]

Kirkland protein bars from Costco are great, sticky but on par with Quest. The macros are amazing.

This has replaced Quest for me. Less flavors but the price is right. The brownie flavor sucks but 20 seconds in the microwave makes it much better.

 

[Tater Tot]

This has replaced Quest for me. Less flavors but the price is right. The brownie flavor sucks but 20 seconds in the microwave makes it much better.

never would have thunk about this. Thanks

 

[Dracula's Nether Region]

I usually do Pure Protein, don't have access to a Costco =/ I did get a box of Robert Irvine's Fit Crunch recently and it's probably the best tasting protein bar I've ever had. I can only speak for the peanut butter, but that said they aren't the cheapest on the market and might be on the heavier side for some people.

 

[SeanR1221]

Kirkland protein bars from Costco are great, sticky but on par with Quest. The macros are amazing.

I second these. Obviously you're stuck with two flavors but the price and taste is good (especially warmed up)

 

[Caderfix]

Hi all. I check this community every now and then, but this is my first time posting here.

Going to the gym is becoming harder due to time restraints, so I'm thinking about doing supersets, however, I heard that is not a good thing for strength, it's mostly for growth.

Can anyone confirm or deny that?

 

[mdsfx]

Hi all. I check this community every now and then, but this is my first time posting here.

Going to the gym is becoming harder due to time restraints, so I'm thinking about doing supersets, however, I heard that is not a good thing for strength, it's mostly for growth.

Can anyone confirm or deny that?

You may work super long hours for all I know, but have you tried adjusting your sleep schedule to wake up earlier? With a full time job and 3 kids, it's the only way I can make it work without sacrificing the quality and duration of my workouts.

 

[Caderfix]

You may work super long hours for all I know, but have you tried adjusting your sleep schedule to wake up earlier? With a full time job and 3 kids, it's the only way I can make it work without sacrificing the quality and duration of my workouts.

I actually go to bed right after work. I'm living on a different continent for a while and currently working during the night shift, so I need to sleep during the day while still having a few hours to do anything else I need to before the stores, banks and whatever else is closed.

I don't have many options haha

 

[LogicStep]

I second these. Obviously you're stuck with two flavors but the price and taste is good (especially warmed up)

I wonder if Sam's has an equivalent. I ordered some MyBar bars online that had good reviews and seem to taste good from what the reviews said.
I'll get some from Sam's if they have any to try them out and compare.

 

[mdsfx]

Wife has gotten into running recently and keeps signing us up for races. I'm currently at 16 events total for this year and climbing :/

Now she's asking about us doing team relay duathlons/triathlons. WHAT IS GOING ON. Is this like when parents try to make something "uncool" by pretending to be interested in it? Lol

 

[Noks415]

I know this has probably been asked a million times, but WTF is up with belly fat?! I weighed around 175 in Jan and now weigh 158. I'm actually satisfied with the way I look right now except for the stomach area. My body fat seems to be consistent everywhere except in that area.

I don't want to keep losing weight because im deff gonna start looking frail soon lol, but that fucking small pouch of fat is driving me insane. I know this area is usually the last place to lose fat but c'mon it almost comical how the rest of my body looks compared this small area.

Anyone have tips that has worked for them? thanks

 

[New002]

I know this has probably been asked a million times, but WTF is up with belly fat?! I weighed around 175 in Jan and now weigh 158. I'm actually satisfied with the way I look right now except for the stomach area. My body fat seems to be consistent everywhere except in that area.

I don't want to keep losing weight because im deff gonna start looking frail soon lol, but that fucking small pouch of fat is driving me insane. I know this area is usually the last place to lose fat but c'mon it almost comical how the rest of my body looks compared this small area.

Anyone have tips that has worked for them? thanks

My understanding is there's no way around the bolded. If you want to those abs to show through you need to get your body fat % lower.

One thing you could consider is shifting into a clean bulk. Do that for a few months and put on some muscle mass so that when you cut low enough to see your abs you won't feel like you look frail.

Sometimes people will think they can just work their abs a ton, but all that does is push out the fat on top of your abs.

How tall are you? Also, congratulations on the weight loss. Almost 20lbs in 3 months is super solid progress.

 

[Psychotext]

Sounds like you might be skinnyfat. Try recomp for a while.

 

[Disxo]

I know this has probably been asked a million times, but WTF is up with belly fat?! I weighed around 175 in Jan and now weigh 158. I'm actually satisfied with the way I look right now except for the stomach area. My body fat seems to be consistent everywhere except in that area.

I don't want to keep losing weight because im deff gonna start looking frail soon lol, but that fucking small pouch of fat is driving me insane. I know this area is usually the last place to lose fat but c'mon it almost comical how the rest of my body looks compared this small area.

Anyone have tips that has worked for them? thanks

Cut the sugar or alcohol.

 

[Psychotext]

Cut the sugar or alcohol.

Scientifically speaking, that doesn't make a difference. It's been tested to death and it's got no bearing on where you actually get fat. That's all genetics.

Alcohol can affect your fat metabolism, but that's a slightly different story.

 

[Noks415]

My understanding is there's no way around the bolded. If you want to those abs to show through you need to get your body fat % lower.

One thing you could consider is shifting into a clean bulk. Do that for a few months and put on some muscle mass so that when you cut low enough to see your abs you won't feel like you look frail.

Sometimes people will think they can just work their abs a ton, but all that does is push out the fat on top of your abs.

How tall are you? Also, congratulations on the weight loss. Almost 20lbs in 3 months is super solid progress.

Cut the sugar or alcohol.

Yea it seams like I might just need to keep dropping , I guess the upside will be eating like a beast to get my weight back up.Thanks for the advice.

I haven't had a drop of alcohol in over 3 months, and I love me some bourbon . Now sugar on the other hand.. I don't think I consume a crazy amount of sugar but its something I now I should cut out completely.

And to anyone trying to lose weight , please don't give yourself some unrealistic timetable for gains or loss, just stick to your routine and gradually adjust if you need to. I can't stress enough how important diet is.

 

[Psychotext]

Just as a counter to that, I eat sugar all the time (sports gels and the like) and I drink fairly regularly... and I'm around 10% body fat right now. Calories still count.

 

[Disxo]

Just as a counter to that, I eat sugar all the time (sports gels and the like) and I drink fairly regularly... and I'm around 10% body fat right now. Calories still count.

Well...
😐Its safe to say our bodies are quite different.

 

[Psychotext]

I'm enjoying a delicious porter right now... it goes well with my 1750kcal intake today. lol

(After the day I've had, I don't mind wasting 150kcal and being stricter elsewhere)

 

[mdsfx]

The fat around my belly / mid section is always the last to go and it's stubborn as hell.

After losing what I wanted, I basically eat whatever I want within my target calories for the day. Today I've had a donut, banana bread, and I'm about to have icecream. I do try to hit at least 100g protein and keep carbs from skyrocketing over 200g. I've been maintaining just fine so far.

 

[ExplodingKetchup]

the best part about sleeping in way too late is now you can eat all your calories at once! it's cookie time

 

[poppabk]

I know this has probably been asked a million times, but WTF is up with belly fat?! I weighed around 175 in Jan and now weigh 158. I'm actually satisfied with the way I look right now except for the stomach area. My body fat seems to be consistent everywhere except in that area.

I don't want to keep losing weight because im deff gonna start looking frail soon lol, but that fucking small pouch of fat is driving me insane. I know this area is usually the last place to lose fat but c'mon it almost comical how the rest of my body looks compared this small area.

Anyone have tips that has worked for them? thanks

Yeah it sucks. I never have managed to get rid of those last few pounds, especially in my love handles.

 

[Dead Prince]

made a video of me benching. the bar path looks fine. so i don't have to worry so much if i'm doing it right or not lol.

 

[Tater Tot]

Anybody got any tips to sticking to a diet? The last couple of hours of the day or right before I go to bed is usually when I get hungry again. I am tracking all my macros and been right on target but man is it tough near the end of the day.

 

[entremet]

Any of you can squat ass to grass?

I've been messing weightlifting (clean and jerks, snatches) and my flexibility, which is needed for them, sucks. I can only squat slightly below parallel.

 

[FallingEdge]

Squats. 3x2 @ 405. 1x1 @ 415.

Goal is gonna be 3x3 @ 405.

 

[Disxo]

Anybody got any tips to sticking to a diet? The last couple of hours of the day or right before I go to bed is usually when I get hungry again. I am tracking all my macros and been right on target but man is it tough near the end of the day.

Its not hunger, but apetite.
Drink lots of water, or just enjoy a little bit of fasting.
You will get accustomed to it.

 

[TheSecondSpitter]

Squats. 3x2 @ 405. 1x1 @ 415.

Goal is gonna be 3x3 @ 405.

Can you wear skinny jeans? I'm currently squatting about 2/3 of this and I am starting to have trouble fitting in pants, especially around the calves.

 

[FallingEdge]

Can you wear skinny jeans? I'm currently squatting about 2/3 of this and I am starting to have trouble fitting in pants, especially around the calves.

Never tried skinny jeans, but I do wear slim fit. I have some Banana Republic jeans that have some polyester in them so they have a bit of a stretch to them. Essentially a toned down version of jeggins except for men. They are amazing. I tend to size up and then tailor them from the knee down.

I am also 6'3 so my girth on my legs isn't as aggressive as others. But I be working on them!

 

[Cooter]

Guys, I miss you. Been taking a ton of days off with frequent lapses in nutritional discipline. Hence, I haven't been posting much. Starting to get back in the groove though. I haven't put on much weight surprisingly. Still 179 but I think I've lost a bit of muscle. Lifts are down 5-10% and it bothers me. Still got 455x3 today for DLs but it`s a far cry from the 515x3 I did about a year ago. My daughter kicked ass today and got a PR of 235. It was a solid pull. Really proud of her.

 

[Psychotext]

Monstrous amount of weight for her.

 

[velociraptor]

Anybody got any tips to sticking to a diet? The last couple of hours of the day or right before I go to bed is usually when I get hungry again. I am tracking all my macros and been right on target but man is it tough near the end of the day.

Intermittent fasting has been a godsend for me.

 

[Szu]

Cooter, nice to have you back. Yeah, you're in horrible shape. You're so weak that you can only lift 2.5 times your body weight.

I've been in a similar slump for most of the year with my constant back injuries.

However, I've actually got a positive progress report. Due to the injuries, I had to adjust my workouts around it. I kept up with squats, but at a low weight.

Last night, I felt great and I tested my limits. I got up to 295x2 raw. I felt like I could break 300, but I still decided to be safe.

The best part is I barely feel any soreness right now. If seems that I recovered well.

 

[Psychotext]

I've lost 30% of my OHP since breaking my rib again. Shrug.

I guess it's meaningless in real terms so I'm not going to let it get to me.

 

[ExplodingKetchup]

uuuuuugh i failed deadlifts 195x3 today. i think it's because of the conditioning work i did yesterday, which has my abs sore. i was able to nail squats 195x3 and 200x2 though, so i dunno what's up.

i couldn't have lost 10lbs off my deadlifts in a week, so it MUST be my abs.... i hope. weirdly, my sticking point was right at my knees, not at my waist, which is where I would think my abs would create a problem. Whatever! bodies are weird.

 

[Cooter]

Damn, still battling injuries guys? Super sucky. I'm on the verge of perfecting a youth elixar so when I crack it we can stop being old men and get back to our kick ass younger selves.

Intermittent fasting has been a godsend for me.

I second this. Health, convenience, results... It's the way to go.

 

[FallingEdge]

Damn, still battling injuries guys? Super sucky. I'm on the verge of perfecting a youth elixar so when I crack it we can stop being old men and get back to our kick ass younger selves.

that already exists, it is called TRT

 

[Cooter]

that already exists, it is called TRT

lol. Well mine can be made with a few simple ingredients from Walmart. It's gonna change the world.

 

[Randolph Freelander]

Speaking of injuries, I should have switched to low bar squats a long time ago*. I said it previously in the thread, but my back has been so much better since I've been doing low bar. It's basically not a concern at the moment.


(*Long time ago, as in months, since I haven't even been squatting for a complete year.)

 

[TheOfficeMut]

I have a question about protein consumption:

It is normally recommended to consume approximately .8-1g of protein per pound. If I follow that advice, how can I be sure that my body is consuming all of that protein and not storing it? How much of a workout must I do in order to not worry that it's turning into fat instead? How would I even measure that?

Is it 2 hours of intense weight lifting? What is it?

 

[LogicStep]

How's this look? Today is a lift day.

I have fitness pal set at 2,010 calories. Originally I asked it for losing 1 lb a week and it gave me that number. I'll have around 200-300 calories left after I put in the calories I burn at the gym.

 

[ShadowgeistX]

Dunno how many female trainees there are in here but Bayesian Bodybuilding posted a pretty cool article for female trainees. I'm obviously not female but I like Bayesian Bodybuilding's articles so I read through it a bit:

http://bayesianbodybuilding.com/menstrual-cycle-periodization/?platform=hootsuite