I'm failing my diet because I can't comply on the weekends

[deadlyapp]

Usually my diet would go kind of like this: Mon-Fri - Low-ish cals, maybe like 1700cal per day, Work out 3x per week. Low carb, high fat, medium protein. Sat-Sun: Total reverse. High calorie, high carb, low protein, medium fat.

So over the course of months... I was slowly gaining weight b/c my metab was being kept lower from eating so few calories, but then I was spiking up all my weight gaining hormones and signaling my body to retain weight on the weekends.

Now I'm just an even 2400 cals, every single day for the past 2 weeks now. Body weight hasn't really changed much other than an initial 1-2lb weight gain. Some days I'll be as much as 202lb, but I'm not too concerned. I like to judge myself more by how I feel, how clothing is fitting, and how I look.

Today is my check in with him, and we'll see if he keeps me at 2400 cals or bumps me down a bit. I was hoping that I could lose 8-10lb by mid July when my baby is born but that's def not happening now. I'm okay with that, as really my long term goal of getting to like 180lb is still out there, I just hope the lack of sleep and whatnot doesn't kill my progress.

That's good. Even 2400 is probably too low for you if you are still getting some exercise or activity. I think my average has been around 2900-3000 for maintenance and dropping 100-200 cal / week for a cut. 2400 is my baseline but I adjust up based on my activity levels.

 

[z1ggy]

That's good. Even 2400 is probably too low for you if you are still getting some exercise or activity. I think my average has been around 2900-3000 for maintenance and dropping 100-200 cal / week for a cut. 2400 is my baseline but I adjust up based on my activity levels.

I think you're right. He bumped me up to 2500 and I haven't gained any weight still. I think he's probably going to push my calories until my weight hits about 202lb on a consistent basis, then we will start to cut. I'm still hovering around 19% body fat, 199-200lb.

"back in the day" when I was lifting like 6x a week and going beast mode, I was eating 3200 cals and I think that year over 8 months I gained about 15lb (8lb muscle according to calipers), so I kinnddd of know that my limit is probably somewhere between 2500-2700 assuming I'm going to lift 4x a week and keep fairly active outside of work.

 

[deadlyapp]

Yeah - and realize that generally lifting, unless you're going to RPE 7+ and high volume sets, your heart rate probably isn't going to get much higher than 120 or so and the actual caloric expenditure is going to be relatively low. A two hour workout where you never exceed 120BPM is a lot less calories burnt than a 20 minute workout at 170 BPM.

 

[z1ggy]

Yeah - and realize that generally lifting, unless you're going to RPE 7+ and high volume sets, your heart rate probably isn't going to get much higher than 120 or so and the actual caloric expenditure is going to be relatively low. A two hour workout where you never exceed 120BPM is a lot less calories burnt than a 20 minute workout at 170 BPM.

Yup, totally. Although "back in the day" when I was like.. 24-27 years old, I was somehow going straight savage mode, lifting 5-6x day a week, going jiu jitsu a few days a week and I'd play hockey 1x a week in my men's league. I know on some days, I'd do a full work out around noon, then skate around 9pm that same night. Those days I ate about 3500-3700. Figure a game is taking 500-800 cals out of me... Now of course with the lock down, no hockey at all. :-/

 

[Anikethkumar]

I tend to have this thing lately where I end up binging on weekends, feeling guilty then going super low calories during the week... give in to cravings on weekends, rinse and repeat. I've gained about 15lb over the past 3 years due to a bit of lower activity but also I think from switching to a much more stressful job and a few other external things that caused me stress. Working on getting a new job but in the mean time I'm trying to figure out how to lose weight and keep it off. By the time Friday comes around, I spend the weekend just stress eating.

Diet is as follows:

31yo male, roughly 5 foot 9, weight 198 (3yr ago I was about 184)
View attachment 5990

Then absolute free for all on the weekends. Chinese food, pizza, pretzels, Cold Stone ice cream... just anything and everything, I eat it.


I know the calories above are too low, and my carbs are also probably a little low but with my current mental state and this weekend crap I'm doing, I feel like I have to eat this little or else I'll start gaining. I've been lucky enough to sit around this 197-198 range for about 8 months now with the gym every so often, and my adult hockey games, 1-2x per week. I need to figure a way to keep things more level instead of this yo-yo stuff.

Another annoying thing is I'm trying to only eat chicken, turkey and salmon only, no steak, no pork and I really don't like much other seafood. Personal choice thing.

Has anybody struggled like this? I'm considering maybe going in for a mental health check up. I never struggled like this before... I've bulked and cut at least two times in the past with minimal issue. Just had blood work done, too. No abnormalities.

I understand your problem. But whatever the stressful life you have, you need to cope up with that. you've mentioned that you've a stressful life but there are somethings that could help you in reliving with stress. Some of the steps are practicing regular exercise, doing yoga, meditation, eating healthy food and spending sometime with loved ones.

Eating an healthy food is quite boring, but you can make it interesting. Put a lot of veggies while you make curry and add some spices (not too much) as it increases the taste and can be consumed easily.

 

[ArchAngel777]

A two hour workout where you never exceed 120BPM is a lot less calories burnt than a 20 minute workout at 170 BPM.

I do not agree. I am not sure how you figure this.

Let me put this into perspective with hard numbers.

I can row 130 watts at 110-120bpm for over an hour, easily. 130x3.6 (look up this 3.6 value, if you are not sure where it comes from) + 300 kcal to operate 30 SPM for an hour. You end up with 768 kcal per hour.

My best 5k row is 19:45, which was 210 watts. I was tired and tanked. HR 166-182 at the end.

((210*3.6) + 300)*.334 (20 min) = 352 kcal

People way over estimate max effort exercise. Slow and steady, if you have the time, is superior. That isn't to say some HIIT is bad. But it should not be done to excess, as it places a lot of stress on the body. Much of this *hard exercise* is what feeds the urge to binge on sugar and sweets. It is primarily a glucose driven metabolism. If you are a professional athlete, or your goal is to be elite, then it may be a necessary evil, but most people would be much better off keeping HIIT short, like 4 minute tabata once or twice a week, and then using slow steady state cardio to improve heart and burn extra calories the other 4-6 days if the week.

That said, no matter how you run the numbers, you can burn way more calories by keeping intensity low, as you can do almost endless amounts of it without impacting recovery.

If you try 20 min of HIIT every day, your body will start to break down, injury will occur. This is not the case with low intensity cardio. So even if you burn 1/2 the calories in the same amount if time, the fact that you can do it for hours, each and every day makes it superior unless you are super crunched for time. That said, most people claim they have no time, but then bullshit around wasting time on FB or what not.

 

[Muse]

I'm older, can hit 160bpm, even a bit more for a moment or two, I guess, but lately I've only maybe hit 150+ a few times near the end of my bike trainer sessions, which have been ~25 minutes. Yesterday was kind of slack, I just didn't feel like getting close to reaching my medium session, maybe because I'm doing some semi-physical projects around the house.

Before the lockdown I was hitting 150-160 on my bike to the gym, both ways, at least part of the time, a 5 mile distance each way.

I'm not supposed to exceed 144bpm, but I'm stronger than that. I think I can pretend to be 15 years younger and do fine, maybe more.

Takes me 10+ minutes to get my heart rate up. I ease into it.

I'm watching Ken Burns' Natl Parks series, almost done now, on the bike trainer. My BPM goes up when it gets exciting! That's pretty funny. Makes me want to go see all the national parks... hope I do! Got a big box fan in the room, that really helps. Noise isolating earbuds block the LOUD fan noise!

 

[deadlyapp]

I do not agree. I am not sure how you figure this.

Let me put this into perspective with hard numbers.

I can row 130 watts at 110-120bpm for over an hour, easily. 130x3.6 (look up this 3.6 value, if you are not sure where it comes from) + 300 kcal to operate 30 SPM for an hour. You end up with 768 kcal per hour.

My best 5k row is 19:45, which was 210 watts. I was tired and tanked. HR 166-182 at the end.

((210*3.6) + 300)*.334 (20 min) = 352 kcal

People way over estimate max effort exercise. Slow and steady, if you have the time, is superior. That isn't to say some HIIT is bad. But it should not be done to excess, as it places a lot of stress on the body. Much of this *hard exercise* is what feeds the urge to binge on sugar and sweets. It is primarily a glucose driven metabolism. If you are a professional athlete, or your goal is to be elite, then it may be a necessary evil, but most people would be much better off keeping HIIT short, like 4 minute tabata once or twice a week, and then using slow steady state cardio to improve heart and burn extra calories the other 4-6 days if the week.

That said, no matter how you run the numbers, you can burn way more calories by keeping intensity low, as you can do almost endless amounts of it without impacting recovery.

If you try 20 min of HIIT every day, your body will start to break down, injury will occur. This is not the case with low intensity cardio. So even if you burn 1/2 the calories in the same amount if time, the fact that you can do it for hours, each and every day makes it superior unless you are super crunched for time. That said, most people claim they have no time, but then bullshit around wasting time on FB or what not.

I was exaggerating a bit, as well as not clarifying that when I said 2 hour workout with 120 bpm, I meant PEAKS of 120bpm but average of 90-100.

Despite that, the overall point was that people who are doing something like walking for an hour to burn calories, where they never elevate their HR above 100 or so, are overall getting much less benefit than spending 10-20 minutes at a much higher elevated heart rate. Ignoring just the pure caloric burn, you get much more benefit in health, as well as longer term metabolic benefit through the day when you spend

Saying that doing 20 minutes of HIIT will cause you to break down and have injuries is just false also. Yes, rest days are important. Yes, recovery is important. But if you move correctly, don't overload yourself to limits where the form breaks down so significantly, then 20 minutes HIIT daily has no more impact on injury or longevity then spending an hour jogging each day. This false stereotype is what gets people into the wrong mindset. Spend time doing EVERYTHING.

Yes, I can row for an hour+ at 1000 cal/hr, probably never have my HR exceed 140, and feel great after. Yes, I can accomplish the same amount of calorie expenditure in 30 minutes if I keep my HR about 160-170, which I absolutely can do and I'll be burnt at the end, but I'll recover just perfectly fine and the benefits through the day as well as on my heart are much higher.

 

[ArchAngel777]

Saying that doing 20 minutes of HIIT will cause you to break down and have injuries is just false also. Yes, rest days are important. Yes, recovery is important. But if you move correctly, don't overload yourself to limits where the form breaks down so significantly, then 20 minutes HIIT daily has no more impact on injury or longevity then spending an hour jogging each day. This false stereotype is what gets people into the wrong mindset. Spend time doing EVERYTHING.

I don't know anyone who recommends doing HIIT every day. Most resources suggest a maximum of 3 times per week.

If you can do HIIT every day, then my guess is that you are doing MIIT. M for medium intensity.

HIIT is very taxing on the nervous system. Again, you may be able do it every day for a while, but it is not sustainable. But that is OK if you are an athlete peaking for your season. I don't think it is a stereotype at all. I welcome a diverse set of opinions, but I don't share them with you in this particular topic.

Also, just because something is possible doesn't mean it is beneficial. I was able to do things that were ridiculous hard, fitness wise, just to prove they could be done. And I did them. But they were not the wisest thing to do and in some cases, I paid the consequences of it in the form of an injury. Sometimes I walked away unscathed. Again, you can do many things that are not good for you, the body is marvelous... But just because you can doesn't mean you should.

 

[Muse]

There is a saying about/from marathoners that running a marathon is like pulling up the carrots to see how they're growing. You pay a price for that kind of exertion!

 

[z1ggy]

My anecdotal input to that convo is that my coach is not recommending I do any HIIT. Right now he told me to take cardio out as we've actually built up my caloric "resistance" so I can start the cut at a higher amount of food, but when we do add cardio he strictly said to only do low intensity, longer duration.

So we spent about 8 weeks as said before, building up my body to get ready for a cut since I had essentially spent the past... long time, only eating about 1800-2000 cals regularly, while intermittently eating tons of bad food. Right now my cut started at 270c, 215p, 65f, no cardio, lifting 3 days on, 1 day off.

Here in NJ, I don't think gyms are open but when they do... I think very strict distance requirements will be enforced, making using the gym still a PITA. It REALLY sucks not being able to do heavy weight. I do unilateral movements where possible with whatever heavy stuff I can find around the house that I toss into my sturdy tool bag, but it's just not the same. The only lift that hasn't taken a beating is pull ups, so I think my back development is still coming long okay. Legs, chest, shoulders are definitely going to fall behind. Arms maybe a little bit but probably not much.

My coach pointed out we shouldn't entirely focus on my body weight, and my bf % but really to focus on how I'm looking, and how I am feeling. Our long term goal is to lose as little muscle as possible by cutting fairly slow (over the course of 6+ months) until I achieve my desired look. I would assume this would be around the 10-12% fat mark, but who knows it could be less... could be more. Maybe my looooooong term goal would be to get down to 8% for a beach season at some point, but I don't think I have any desire to jump on stage. I have too many other hobbies.

 

[JEDIYoda]

I usually wake up and have a cup of tea! Then i run a half marathon before lunch! After Lunch I run a whole marathon and swim 5 miles!
Then after dinner I get on the old bicycle and Bike 100 miles before going to bed and waking up the next day and doing the same thing!.....

 

[Muse]

I usually wake up and have a cup of tea! Then i run a half marathon before lunch! After Lunch I run a whole marathon and swim 5 miles!
Then after dinner I get on the old bicycle and Bike 100 miles before going to bed and waking up the next day and doing the same thing!.....

I literally swam 5 miles on my 50th birthday. At the time I was swimming 2 miles/day, 7 days a week, 365/year. That was after 1.5 hours in the weight room, also every (EVERY) day. Not making this up. After my 5 miles I was taken out to dinner at Chez Panisse by my GF, who then took me to see Jurassic Park (she didn't want to, but I insisted... she hated Spielberg!).

 

[daveybrat]

Most of us are dieting for a few days, and then we fail because we're weak.

If only we had a website that could give us some tips on losing weight.

 

[Torn Mind]

I tend to have this thing lately where I end up binging on weekends, feeling guilty then going super low calories during the week... give in to cravings on weekends, rinse and repeat. I've gained about 15lb over the past 3 years due to a bit of lower activity but also I think from switching to a much more stressful job and a few other external things that caused me stress. Working on getting a new job but in the mean time I'm trying to figure out how to lose weight and keep it off. By the time Friday comes around, I spend the weekend just stress eating.

Diet is as follows:

31yo male, roughly 5 foot 9, weight 198 (3yr ago I was about 184)
View attachment 5990

Then absolute free for all on the weekends. Chinese food, pizza, pretzels, Cold Stone ice cream... just anything and everything, I eat it.


I know the calories above are too low, and my carbs are also probably a little low but with my current mental state and this weekend crap I'm doing, I feel like I have to eat this little or else I'll start gaining. I've been lucky enough to sit around this 197-198 range for about 8 months now with the gym every so often, and my adult hockey games, 1-2x per week. I need to figure a way to keep things more level instead of this yo-yo stuff.

Another annoying thing is I'm trying to only eat chicken, turkey and salmon only, no steak, no pork and I really don't like much other seafood. Personal choice thing.

Has anybody struggled like this? I'm considering maybe going in for a mental health check up. I never struggled like this before... I've bulked and cut at least two times in the past with minimal issue. Just had blood work done, too. No abnormalities.

The member is likely no longer active here but damn, this diet profile is going to leave someone fat, hungry, and vitamin-insufficient all at once.

Eating foods like ice cream inhibits fat loss because insulin blocks certain processes that you want to happen, like lipolysis. It shuts down fat metabolism in favor of glucose metabolism. If you want to get muscle and fat, that's when you eat simple carbohydrates and their slightly more complex but digestible cousins.

Swap out the "binge" starches for sweet potato and low-sugar fruits. The rationale is that If you really need a sweet fix, then get some vitamins to go along with it. Beans can also be a way to try and curb the binge fix.

One of the problems of making fat difficult to burn even in a caloric deficit is eating carbohydrates. The release of insulin puts a huge damper on trigylceride hydrolysis in fat cells and also stimulating hy

People who fucking takes out yolks....commits a sin against culinary goodness and good nutrition.
You're binging because you're eating only empty calories

There is likely massive vitamin insufficiency in such a protocol, which why you suddenly crave sweets. But you don't eat fruit but rather ice cream, thus one remains unsatisfied.

If calories are an issue, than it is wise to consume nutrient dense foods. Start off the day with a pasture raised egg or two with yolk(you get a hit of all the most of the fat soluble vitamins(A, D if the chicken was outside, E, K2). Eat the fatty fish with it(salmon here, but sardines or anchovy are lower on the food chain). Use grass-fed butter like Kerrygold. Your bones will thank you for such a combo of foods.

The chili sauce should be eliminated and replaced with alternative spices. Switch either to more protein or fresh cruciferous vegetables. Try out some cheesy broccoli to get calcium along with the nutrients from the broccoli.

Introduce peanut butter with only peanuts(or grind them yourself) as a sweet yet filling food.

Vegetables should be steamed to minimize vitamin C loss.

LIver is another nutrient dense option but it obviously is an acquired taste; not every one can handle it.

Fiber, fat, protein all are filling and thus one will eat less.