am i over training?

[umegghiu973]

sup guys im really trying to cut down now as the summer approaches and i would like to know if my routine and diet are sufficient for cutting.

my diet consists of: at least 300g of protein, 43g of carbs, and 29g of fats (also am trying to drink as little water as possible, the only water i would assume i get would be from the 3 proteins shakes a day and aroung 3 bottles of water for drinking during training and taking vitamins and such)

my training consists of: 40 min of cardio before breakfast and a 40 min workout with an additional 20 min of cardio right after the workout

now to me i feel as if my fats are a little high but the only fats i get are from the daily chicken breast and my 3 fish oil capsules a day. also as time goes on i want to deplete my carbs to nearly to 0

my stats are 6'0" and 208lbs, i dont know my bf% but if i had to take a wild guess i would think it's around 14-16%

thanx for your time guys!

 

[The Creator]

Not to be too harsh, but your diet needs a lot of work.

1. Carbs are important, even while cutting. I would up them to at least an average of 150 a day.
2. Water is VERY important and you will get no benifits from lowering it. Keep the water intake to at least a gallon a day.
3. If you doing cardio in the morning on an empty stomach, keep the intensity low.
4. Your fats are fine at 30 grams a day. I would just keep it under 50.

Hope this helps bro!

 

[Big VIC]

Not to be too harsh, but your diet needs a lot of work.

1. Carbs are important, even while cutting. I would up them to at least an average of 150 a day.
2. Water is VERY important and you will get no benifits from lowering it. Keep the water intake to at least a gallon a day.
3. If you doing cardio in the morning on an empty stomach, keep the intensity low.

Hope this helps bro!

Same as creator said what is the most important You need upwards of a gallon
One of two
You up your carbs to moderate as said above or you can cut them out and go in to ketosis witch many are trying witch you would have to up your fats depending on your weight and get in tons of fiber and try to get some mac oil. If you go with ketosis you would have to do low intesinty cardio for 45 mins. You would also have to keep your blood pressure in check with this diet.

Why do you feel that your over training are you extra sore or feel extra tired???

Hope this helps good luck.

 

[umegghiu973]

ya thanx guys it all helps alot, the reason i feel i am over training is beacause i do feel extra tired latley and it may sound silly but ive been keepin my diet pretty good for about 4 weeks and i havent noticed too many results but im hopin with time it will happen. and as for the energy i just picked up some cytolean hopefully that will help me out. i plan on gettin some creatine and NO as the diet goes on to help me out more during training and such. thanx guys any more comments will be greatly appreciated if you have anymore.

 

[The Creator]

No problem man. Whenever you are in carolic deficit while dieting, you will feel extra tired but you can do a few things to decrease this:
1) Dont make huge, drastic changes in diet. Make sure that you are only in a slight deficit and bring the calories down slowly.
2) Utilize stimulants. I dont think fat burners will burn fat but they may help give you that energy that you need to push through the day.
3) The supplement ZMA contains minerals that you may be lacking from hard training and could help supplement your diet and give you those much needed nutrients.

It is very important that you get your nutrients in with you diet while you are dieting. It is very difficult to do this when you are in deficit so you have to make smart food choices and utilize supplements where needed. Remember, the body needs a certain amount of calories (a bare minimum 1500) and the proper vitamins and minerals to carry out regulatory functions.

 

[umegghiu973]

ya i am taking a lot of supplements, 3 multivitamins and 3 fish oils pills a day and im taking the cytolean specifically for the energy aspect (im trying to take coffee out of my diet because i cant drink it black). 3 proteins shakes a day also which have a lot of amino acids in them. my meal plan for the day is usually:
8 egg whites w/ 1 rice cake
protein shake
2 pieces of chicken (1 chicken breast) w/ 1 rice cake
protein shake
2 cans of tuna (no mayo) w/rice cake
protein shake

maybe by looking at my diet you can comment if you want on anything i should add or remove from it to make it better.

 

[Bulkboy]

ya thanx guys it all helps alot, the reason i feel i am over training is beacause i do feel extra tired latley

no wonder ur feeling tired with 43 g of carbs dude, lol i think i would just lay down and die with that little carbs

 

[Big VIC]

You should Try to get some veggies In there like broc or green beans...

 

[The Creator]

You need more carbs. Plain and simple. Your fats are low and your carbs are low and that will equal muscle deterioration. This is science brother. Keep your fats where they are, bring the carbs up to at least 150 grams a day (I PROMISE you that at your weight and level of activity not a gram of that will even think of being stored as fat), and finally, exchange one of those protein shakes with another whole meal. Perhaps cottage cheese before bedtime.

 

[BigBen]

Seriously u should definately drink more water. creators suggestion of a gallon a day is a nice idea.

Secondly why not break your diet into 5 meals. Carbs at 3 of the 5 meals and keeping blood sugar on the low side u will still not get puffy bc of carbs and u wont be to tired.

carb meals can be like your first 3 meals of the day.
40 g protein 25 carbs and 10 g fats

non carb meals would be your last 2 meals
50 g protein 20 g fats

I think your best choice for fats are nuts unsalted unflavored just plain nuts. This will keep your blood sugar low but u will also have some sort of energy to work with throughout the day.

Its one way to skin the cat. Where i disagree with creator is to raise the carbs high. i think it should be the fat that gets raised, that way your blood sugar will saty lower.

Now if u wanted to do what creator said with the extra carbs to keep your blood sugar low try like 5 meals

50 g protein 25 carbs 10 g fats

only 125 carbs but the fat is lower aswell. If u keep blood sugar low insulin will be low and sugars wont be stored is the point im making.

In my experience i ate carbs based off of how i looked and performed in the gym. The fats kept my muscles full and the protein combined w the fats helped preserve my muscle. from my experience higher protein moderate fats low carbs is the best way to go. I played my carb intake by look and how far out i was from my goal. But u have been given great ideas from creator aswell. both ways will work it is really up to you waht u want to choose bro.

God bless
Ben

 

[The Creator]

^^ Solid suggestions as well I agree. We present you with two ideas that would land you close to the same calories and yield (what I feel) similar results. Just an example (and I say this not to boast but to make a point), if you look at my avatar, that pic was taken when I was averaging about 500 grams of carbs a day and feel I was still pretty lean. Even when I diet I never go below 200 grams of carbs and I have no problem getting shredded at that. Find what works for you but I can assure you that you need more water and more calories than your current diet provides.

 

[umegghiu973]

awsome guys your the best! i always love the advice and new ideas on any aspects of bodybuilding, one of the reasons why this site is so great!

 

[The Creator]

^^ Glad to help! Just keep an open mind as we all should and combine advice with trial and error to build the physique you desire!

 

[jwill0214]

creator you seem to know your stuff. I am trying to get cut with a 6 pack for this summer...what is the best approach for this?

I do 45 minutes of walking before breakfast.
I eat about 150-200 carbs a day.
I am not sure what my fat intake a day is i will have to add it up.
I train for about 1-1 1/2 hours a day for 5 days on 2 days off.
I need to drastically increase my water intake.

Anything else I need to look into to get ripped...
How important are doing ab exercises?

 

[umegghiu973]

so after days of analyzing my diet, i think i have found a good balance as long as i can keep my training up. i start school again on monday so ill be putting in a long day (5am to 12pm weekday) so ive come up with this diet. as always feel free to comment and give me advice.

10 egg whites
1 banana
1 rice cake
62g protein 52g carbohydrates 0 g fat

2 scoops of protein
3 rice cakes
48g protein 33g carbohydrates 2g fat

12 oz of chicken
3 rice cakes
75g protein 33g carbohydrates 12g fat

2 scoops of protein
1 apple
49g protein 37g carbohydrates 2g fat

2 cans of tuna
3 oz carrots
65g protein 6g carbohydrates 3g fat

2 scoops of protein
48g protein 6g carbohydrates 2g fats

Total: 2245 calories 347g protein 167g carbohydrates 21g fat

 

[The Creator]

so after days of analyzing my diet, i think i have found a good balance as long as i can keep my training up. i start school again on monday so ill be putting in a long day (5am to 12pm weekday) so ive come up with this diet. as always feel free to comment and give me advice.

10 egg whites
1 banana
1 rice cake
62g protein 52g carbohydrates 0 g fat

2 scoops of protein
3 rice cakes
48g protein 33g carbohydrates 2g fat

12 oz of chicken
3 rice cakes
75g protein 33g carbohydrates 12g fat

2 scoops of protein
1 apple
49g protein 37g carbohydrates 2g fat

2 cans of tuna
3 oz carrots
65g protein 6g carbohydrates 3g fat

2 scoops of protein
48g protein 6g carbohydrates 2g fats

Total: 2245 calories 347g protein 167g carbohydrates 21g fat

This looks much better! I would still recommend adding in a whole meal for your last meal unless you are using casein protein. Like I said before, maybe some eggs or cottage cheese for some slow digesting protein. I would also recommend that you bring your protein down just a hair to just around 300 grams a day and replace those calories with a little more fat maybe closer to high 20's per day. Besides that is looks much improved! I know carb cycling works very well for most people so you may want to look into that as well.

 

[The Creator]

creator you seem to know your stuff. I am trying to get cut with a 6 pack for this summer...what is the best approach for this?

I do 45 minutes of walking before breakfast.
I eat about 150-200 carbs a day.
I am not sure what my fat intake a day is i will have to add it up.
I train for about 1-1 1/2 hours a day for 5 days on 2 days off.
I need to drastically increase my water intake.

Anything else I need to look into to get ripped...
How important are doing ab exercises?

ab exercises are highly over rated. If you are training properly you shouldnt have to spend much time trying to isolate the core. I cant remember the last time I did "ab exercises". Post up your current stats and try to give me a little more info on you macronutrient ranges (protein intake, fat intake, overall calorie intake). Also put up a sample of a weeks workout. Getting "ripped" is really just about eating less than you are burning (caloric deficit) and making wise choices in nutrient consumption. Hope this helps and if you get those numbers up I am sure we will be able to help you out a lot more.

 

[Bulkboy]

21 g of fat is not enough imo, good fat increase test levels too, so add in a yolk maybe and take some omega 3 for one of those meals. i would aim for atleast 30-40 even while on a diet.