Eating advice

stuie

stuie

stuie

Soldato
Joined
29 May 2012
Posts
3,298
Location
Dorset
Hi guys question for the gym rats nutrition guys.

30 y/o
175cm

Stats last november

82KG
25%bf
mm around 0%

Lifts
Myself, out of bed, most days


Current stats

70kg
bf 17.5%
mm 42%

Max lifts
Squat 107.5
dead 115
bench 60

Now the story and question

I started lifting mostly for improved golf performance ive since dropped 5 shots off my handicap in around 8 months which is great but ive decided I really wanted to look better as well.
My current diet consists of gym and non gym days where I basically eat around 1500 kals on non gym days and around 2000 on gym days with a spare day on saturday when I play golf and normally something at the club more often and not chicken and rice based but as im not doing the portion sizes you guess is as good as mine.

Point is Ive been eating way below what I should be but ive dropped bf weight and generally looking better however every time I try to up calories my bf% sores.

My question really is 2 fold, ive kinda hit the limit on my lifts and muscle mass without eating more however at what I feel is still a high bf% I dont want to be adding more to it so do I either, carry on lifting and eating as is and hope to drop down a couple more % over the next few months before adding mass again or do I say to hell with it no 5ft9 man should way 150 pounds and start lifting and eating like a horse and worry about dropping the belly later?
 
mrthingyx said:
When you say "up my calories," what does this mean?
There is "eating a carefully calibrated and balanced/targeted increase" or "I just ate moar."
Click to expand...

I was going to just increase portion sizes a bit and maybe swap from having semi skimmed to full fat milk and maybe add a protein shake or 2 which is basically what ive done before

Uriel said:
How was your BF% measured?
Click to expand...

The most inaccurate method known to man, with a set of salter bathroom scales
 
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stuie said:
The most inaccurate method known to man, with a set of salter bathroom scales
Click to expand...

You say that...

I use Salter bathroom scales too (specifically these: http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/8313892.htm). Great scales for weight. Consistent, precise and accurate - vs checked against calibrated scales at the gym.

I have a spreadsheet for converting BF% to fat and lean body mass. My weight has fluctuated a lot since getting them (a 3 stone range) but LBM has always been remarkably consistent (a roughly 3 lb difference). The behaviour is consistently precise and predictable though - at least in normal mode. I do more resistance training and the LBM seems to get a wee boost in a reasonably timely fashion. I can't comment on absolute accuracy but my sister (who works in a university exercise science department) has told me she might be able to arrange for me to use their BodPod one day. It will be interesting to compare them. I get the same BF% to within 1% when using a hand to hand BIA machine at the gym that automatically measures height and weight.

I will say this though. The scales BF% on normal algorithm seems to correlate with BMI very closely (at least for me). It wouldn't surprise me if the algorithm was calibrated using BMI, using impedance as a modifier. If the relationship I've observed continues I will hit a BMI of 25 and 20% BF at the same time, which just happen to be the respective upper normal limit for both measures. From playing about with conductive stuff when measuring I'd say there's a fairly defined (and relatively low) upper limit for LBM by height - so you are not going to get an accurate reading for bodybuilders etc.

Athlete mode is hilarous. It has me at 11% body fat. My belly says otherwise.
 
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Most people hilariously overestimate the calorie surplus required to gain lean mass.

Eat more than you have been when losing but not as much as you were when trying to gain as obviously it is too much if you are seeing notable weight gain quickly.

There will be an initial small jump as you refill, mostly though carbs (glycogen and water) but after that it should level off, if it doesn't and continues rocketing upwards you're over eating.

The amount of calories you need to maintain weight at 17% bodyfat will be significantly less than that of 25%, so bear this in mind when establishing your new maintenance calories.

Bio-impedance bathroom scales are an acceptable measure for bodyfat but do not expect accuracy from them. If they are consistent in their readings then they are still a useful tool to gauge your progress. Try to measure with similar levels of hydration as this can skew results massively.
 
My main question was if I should be continuing to drop weight and in turn bf or it at my weight I should be focussing on maintaining? Ive read an awful lot about how above 15% bf attempting any sort of bulk can cause massive fat gain
 
No need to 'bulk' at 15% imo, just eat a sensible surplus and focus on increasing lean mass for a year. It's a slow process so don't kid yourself that a 10KG gain is mostly muscle because in reality it'll be far from it.

Commit to either dieting down to a lower weight or building as much lean mass as possible. Don't yo-yo every few months. You've been dieting almost a year so if it were me I would come up and maintain for a short while, have 2-3 months in a small surplus and then reevaluate your goals.
 
BennyC said:
The amount of calories you need to maintain weight at 17% bodyfat will be significantly less than that of 25%, so bear this in mind when establishing your new maintenance calories.
.
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Assuming he managed to maintain his LBM - why?

Edit: In fact I estimate 3.75 kG lean mass lost if the scales are accurate.
 
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stuie said:
Ill attempt to get some pics up later

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q13/stuie_green/Mobile Uploads/IMG_20150914_165252.jpg
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q13/stuie_green/Mobile Uploads/IMG_20150914_165241.jpg
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q13/stuie_green/Mobile Uploads/IMG_20150914_165241.jpg
Click to expand...

You've not made your goals that clear - are you just hoping to look better? Going by the pics I'd say cut another 5%-ish BF level. Like you said the Salter scales are inaccurate but they're consistent with themselves at least so keep going by the same set. Try maintaining your lift numbers during the rest of your cut. Then get on the winter bulk and get your lifts up.
 
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