Going on beach vacation in 4 weeks - help!

[coreJack]

5'7", 150, 17% bf - measured using calipers, but it was my first time, so could be off. Most of the excess fat is stored in the midsection with virtually none in the butt, legs, chest or arms. No visible abs. I don't want to get shredded, but would like some visible abs and a big reduction of the muffintop/love handles. After the vacation, I'm back to bulking, so getting super lean is a waste of time.

EDIT: OK, I've read some of Lyle's stuff. RFL sounds a bit too extreme, and I don't think I can eat such a protein rich but low fat diet. Plus, it seems like a lot of guys need stimulants to get by on that diet. And I don't need to lose a lot of fat - just 5-7lbs. Using some of the concepts Lyle advocates, here's what I'm thinking:

Meals: Protein+fat source (eggs, steak, chicken, fish, pork) and veggies (no carbs)
Milk: Only with breakfast and during workouts (8oz with breakfast every day, 8oz with 3x/week workouts)
Supplements: Daily multivitamin, fish oil capsules
Workouts: 3x/week (so no reduction in frequency)
Sets/reps: instead of 3x5, drop to 3x3 (or 2x3 if I find myself dragging)
Intensity: maintain same weight on bar for lifts I find heavy. Continue progression for lifts I find relatively easy.

In summary, reduced carb diet, with slightly reduced workout volume with no reduction in intensity, with the goal of shedding about 5-7lbs of fat (3-5% of total bodyweight) over 4 weeks, while maintaining strength. Thoughts?

[Nauticus]

5'7", 150, 17% bf - measured using calipers, but it was my first time, so could be off. Most of the excess fat is stored in the midsection with virtually none in the butt, legs, chest or arms. No visible abs. I don't want to get shredded, but would like some visible abs and a big reduction of the muffintop/love handles. After the vacation, I'm back to bulking, so getting super lean is a waste of time.

For the next several weeks, I'm ok with lifting the same amounts for those lifts at which I'm near my 3x5 max (and for which increases are going to require lots of food), and I'd like to continue to make progress on the lifts where I'm far from my max.

I'm thinking cutting out most of the carbs, including my morning oats (keeping the eggs, etc.). The thing I'm most worried about cutting back on is the milk. I'm drinking 1/4 - 1/3 gallon of whole milk a day. Will cutting back on the milk force me to decrease the weights?

Check this out: http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss

The general advice given here, which is influenced by Lyle's own writings: Lower caloric intake, keep protein intake very high, eliminate carbs. Your workouts should include less volume while keeping up the intensity.

[Mr.City]

Actually, I take that back. How bad could you be at 160 lbs?

[coreJack]

Actually, I take that back. How bad could you be at 160 lbs?
150lbs. Shockingly bad for that height/weight - but that's because my body stores most of the excess fat in the gut. I envy the guys who store some of their excess fat in their butt and thighs.

[PVC]

150lbs. Shockingly bad for that height/weight - but that's because my body stores most of the excess fat in the gut. I envy the guys who store some of their excess fat in their butt and thighs.

I store some of my excess fat in my tits. How do you think I feel?

And 17% bodyfat at 150 lbs sounds a bit sketchy to me. How old and how tall are you?

[coreJack]

I store some of my excess fat in my tits. How do you think I feel?

And 17% bodyfat at 150 lbs sounds a bit sketchy to me. How old and how tall are you?
LOL, you just need a bro, and you're set.

36, 5'7". The 17% could be wrong since it's my first time using calipers, but whatever the bf% is, it is not a pretty sight.

[Dastardly]

I say fuck cutting. Fuck it to hell.

Continue bulking till you are such a great hulk that small children will cry and women will collapse at your feet.

All the 90's skinny anoerexic guys with "teh 8 pack abs" will scuttle away and hide like hermit crabs.

Me and you have similar height to weight ratios, and I also carry all my fat on my belly. But it has always been clear to me that the only option is to grow. You and I could lose so much weight till we are at deaths door, like walking skeletons but we would still probably not have visible abs. When the belly fat dissapears, we die. It is our last/most important reserve of bodyfat.

If you want a manlier stronger look. You need to grow so much that your gut starts to look small. I have not lost any bodyfat since training but my belly looks smaller and smaller due to the fact eveything else is slowly growing.

My belly now even has a rectangular shape which suggests a set of very well developed abdominal muscles deep inside the blubber.

Oh, and you may want to do the PP novice programme which involves pull ups.

[coreJack]

Me and you have similar height to weight ratios, and I also carry all my fat on my belly. But it has always been clear to me that the only option is to grow. You and I could lose so much weight till we are at deaths door, like walking skeletons but we would still probably not have visible abs. When the belly fat dissapears, we die. It is our last/most important reserve of bodyfat.
I've gotten down to the skeleton look before (35lbs ago), and the abs were pretty defined - a 6 pack, but not an 8 pack. I'm not trying to go there again, but I do want to be temporarily leaner around the belly. We can rant about 90s small, but the reality is that women, especially young women, like teh abz on guys. Rightly or wrongly, they have been conditioned to find pecs, arms, and abzors more attractive than thighs and a functionally strong core.

[Koalala]

Who cares what women think really...
I am not training for them I am training to get my 200kg deadlift.

[EJLouis]

I say fuck cutting. Fuck it to hell.

Continue bulking till you are such a great hulk that small children will cry and women will collapse at your feet.

All the 90's skinny anoerexic guys with "teh 8 pack abs" will scuttle away and hide like hermit crabs.

If you want a manlier stronger look. You need to grow so much that your gut starts to look small. I have not lost any bodyfat since training but my belly looks smaller and smaller due to the fact eveything else is slowly growing.

+1


We can rant about 90s small, but the reality is that women, especially young women, like teh abz on guys.

You're 36. Fuck what the young girls want. It's most likely not you anyways.
Enjoy the sights and don't loose weight. Eat everything in sight. Hopefully you're going to an all you can eat resort. (BTW I'm 35, was 5'11" skinny fat with no abz always around 160 to 175 -- now I'm 205 with a bigger gut, but with arms and shoulders coming in <-- this is much better!). In a word, there will be other beach vacations that you will be physically better prepared for to come.

[coreJack]

Who cares what women think really...
Since I'm not willing to put my sex life on hold while strength training, I do.

You're 36. Fuck what the young girls want. It's most likely not you anyways.
2 out of the last 3 girls I've slept with are in their early 20s, so yeah, I still care what the young-ins think.

[coreJack]

OK, I've read some of Lyle's stuff. RFL sounds a bit too extreme, and I don't think I can eat such a protein rich but low fat diet. Plus, it seems like a lot of guys need stimulants to get by on that diet. And I don't need to lose a lot of fat - just 5-7lbs. Using some of the concepts Lyle advocates, here's what I'm thinking:

Meals: Protein+fat source (eggs, steak, chicken, fish, pork) and veggies (no carbs)
Milk: Only with breakfast and during workouts (8oz with breakfast every day, 8oz with 3x/week workouts)
Supplements: Daily multivitamin, fish oil capsules
Workouts: 3x/week (so no reduction in frequency)
Sets/reps: instead of 3x5, drop to 3x3 (or 2x3 if I find myself dragging)
Intensity: maintain same weight on bar for lifts I find heavy. Continue progression for lifts I find relatively easy.

In summary, reduced carb diet, with slightly reduced workout volume with no reduction in intensity, with the goal of shedding about 5-7lbs of fat (3-5% of total bodyweight) over 4 weeks, while maintaining strength. Thoughts?

[EJLouis]

Since I'm not willing to put my sex life on hold while strength training, I do.

2 out of the last 3 girls I've slept with are in their early 20s, so yeah, I still care what the young-ins think.

Ah OK. Didn't fully appreciate the short term goals of your vacation. Maybe "nineties small" (not used despairingly) and abs are the way to go for you considering your target audience.

+1 Lyle's Body Recomp

[coreJack]

Ah OK. Didn't fully appreciate the short term goals of your vacation. Maybe "nineties small" (not used despairingly) and abs are the way to go for you considering your target audience.

+1 Lyle's Body Recomp
LOL, yeah, young women will be out in large numbers where I'm going.

[Mr.City]

How I predict this vacation turning out

http://www.crossfitoakland.com/old_site/archives/atlas.jpg

[slughammer]

...In summary, reduced carb diet, with slightly reduced workout volume with no reduction in intensity, with the goal of shedding about 5-7lbs of fat (3-5% of total bodyweight) over 4 weeks, while maintaining strength. Thoughts?

If you are not looking to progress your lifts, you should be able to make at least one day a recovery day (80% intensity). Just going off what I'm doing right now. I box tues and thurs, so I'm now lifting Sat and Mon. Sat is my "heavy" day 3x3. Mon is my recovery day (80% intensity 3x3). I was having recovery issues doing the 3 day 3x5 plus the 2 days boxing. By backing off I have started adding weight to the bar again.

[coreJack]

Yeah, I can't do RFL. Just had a 1/3lb burger with cheese, onions and side of spinach drenched in olive oil (no bread). And I'm still sorta hungry. If this was an RFL meal, I'd be hungry for sure.

[PVC]

You've got 4 weeks left until your vacation. I don't know exactly what your program looks like...but in 4 weeks on SS your squat and deadlift could be 60 lbs heavier, press and bench press could be 30 lbs heavier, and you could have some more muscle mass.

How long is your vacation anyway? Is it worth pissing away a month of training for a week of looking scrawny instead of skinny-fat?

I know I'm probably not going to convince you, and I might be coming off as an asshole in the process of trying. It's just that I've been in the same boat as you before - 150 lbs, and afraid of gaining weight because of how you'll look with your shirt off - and trying to be "thin" has always proved to be a poor decision for me, both short term and long term.

[coreJack]

You've got 4 weeks left until your vacation. I don't know exactly what your program looks like...but in 4 weeks on SS your squat and deadlift could be 60 lbs heavier, press and bench press could be 30 lbs heavier, and you could have some more muscle mass.
I'm not squatting temporarily - long story, it's in my log, so I'm missing out on the benefits of that.


How long is your vacation anyway? Is it worth pissing away a month of training for a week of looking scrawny instead of skinny-fat?
It's a week. You make a good point. Maybe once I lose the muffintop (but no visible abz), that will be good enough. But the muffintop is pretty ugly, even with a t-shirt on.


I know I'm probably not going to convince you, and I might be coming off as an asshole in the process of trying. It's just that I've been in the same boat as you before - 150 lbs, and afraid of gaining weight because of how you'll look with your shirt off - and trying to be "thin" has always proved to be a poor decision for me, both short term and long term.
Thanks for the insights. Truth be told, the idea of cutting back my training doesn't appeal to me. Perhaps I'll drink more milk than I planned, and just cut back on non-milk carbs.

[Mr.City]

Yeah, I can't do RFL. Just had a 1/3lb burger with cheese, onions and side of spinach drenched in olive oil (no bread). And I'm still sorta hungry. If this was an RFL meal, I'd be hungry for sure.

I don't think you know how RFL works. It's basically taking in enough protein to preserve LBM and eating plenty of fibrous veggies. Once you got enough lean protein, you're done eating for the day. The first day or two sucks, and you basically live from cheat meal to cheat meal, but you eventually settle into a grove. An EC stack, made of no doze and bronkaid, makes you feel right as rain. I'm on day 11 and I'm down 15 lbs. I squeeze my weightlifting belt one notch tighter than even before.

If you want this shit fast, you are going to pay for it.

[coreJack]

Yeah, I know the RFL basics. When I said "I can't do RFL", I was alluding to dealing with the hunger, but like you said, there's a price to be paid if you want fast fat loss.

15lbs in 11 days? Wow. What was your weight when you started RFL? Have you had to decrease the weights for any lifts? How much have you cut down volume?

[Mr.City]

Welp, I weighed 240 lbs and am around 225 lbs or so. Hunger is not really a problem anymore as is the urge to eat. I miss food. Although, the lack of hunger may be due to the EC stack.

I'm on SS, so I cut my sets down to one of 5 and maybe one slight heavier single, just for the hell of it. I did a set of 305x5 and then a single of 335 lbs today. As for bench, I did a set of 215x5, which felt easy, and then a single at 235 lbs, also easy. For the record, My 5RMs before doing RFL were for 315 for the squat and 225 for the bench. I do notice a difficult at the end of the squat set.

I blew my deadlifts today because I used way too much volume warming up and I made things harder by having my shoulders behind the bar. You're very sensitive to overtraining on this diet, so you got to really watch the volume.

I'm ending the diet this week because I miss making progress on my lifts and I think 2 weeks is a long amount of time spent on this diet. I have a different attitude toward food now, a strong discipline you could say, which a lack of got me into this mess in the first place.

[SamGriffin]

I think you should carry out your plan if it makes you happy and comfortable in your own skin.

In reality I don't think 5 or 10lbs either way will make or break you with the ladies, even sober, and these chicks are gonna be drunk off their asses. Just wear a t-shirt and go to teh bar.

Whereabouts are you headed?

[JLascek]

In reality I don't think 5 or 10lbs either way will make or break you with the ladies, even sober, and these chicks are gonna be drunk off their asses. Just wear a t-shirt and go to teh bar.

Whereabouts are you headed?

This is probably the most useful part of this thread.

I just find it weird that a guy is asking questions about body composition on a strength training forum when he weighs 150 pounds.

[Webbie]

This is probably the most useful part of this thread.

I just find it weird that a guy is asking questions about body composition on a strength training forum when he weighs 150 pounds.

Seriously core, you're 36 now...this is the point where you're supposed to have accumulated a good bit of money, unless you've been fucking around too much at the beach in your twenties...the young girls will say something like "well, he has a little gut but he's fucking loaded"

How big of a gut can you have at 150? I haven't weighed 150 since the 9th grade.

Money (some visible success in a chosen career) and a giant back squat (the appearance of being physically useful) are more of an attractant than abs. Absent Money(not easily acquired in 4 weeks), I'll still take the giant back squat over abs.

[Sgsolberg]

I'll second what webbie said, but add that in my experience, the ladies love the squat ass and the well defined arms from the chins.

[coreJack]

How big of a gut can you have at 150?
http://startingstrength.com/resources/forum/showthread.php?t=14988 You may want to shield your eyes. :D

[timt]

I found by dropping the carbs for a week or two downto eating only 50g a day i can loose 1-2 belt sizes. This is due to the water bloat so maybe just give it a shot before your vacation, of course you don't actually loose the fat but you look less bloated.

[coreJack]

I found by dropping the carbs for a week or two downto eating only 50g a day i can loose 1-2 belt sizes. This is due to the water bloat so maybe just give it a shot before your vacation, of course you don't actually loose the fat but you look less bloated.
Yeah, I'm down a few pounds in a few days, so I figure that's mostly water weight. I've eliminated most of the non-milk carbs, and mostly limiting milk to breakfast and workouts. Lots of meat, green veggies, eggs, nuts and some fruit.

I want to keep progressing on the lifts, so I'll stick to this modified low carb diet until I start hitting the wall on several lifts.

As an aside, now I can somewhat relate to an overweight person on a diet - carbs have been calling out to me in a way I've never experienced before; for example, at the grocery store, my eyes immediately stop at carb rich foods.