# Crazy diet for low body fat?



## Rook (Jul 25, 2012)

So my strength training is going very well, I'm getting results in every sense and my arms and shoulders particularly are looking a lot more toned.

I feel now's a good time to start trying to figure out what to do about my leftover excess. I'm not fat by any standards, many would tell you I'm actually very thin, but I still have plenty of squishy bits, so here are my questions:

Is it a diet thing? My diet's decent and balanced, but isn't a 'low carb' or 'low fat' diet at all. I'm losing weight at the moment, very slowly, but I'm certainly not getting any fatter. Do you actually just have to be on one of those zero fat diets? Not looking to get to 1% bodyfat or something, just less flabby lol.

Is it just a matter of working and toning the flabby regions more specifically? 

Would introducing more regular cardio into my workout make the difference? Up to now I do like 10-15 minutes of actual cardio a week. Would it be worth just nothing this up to 20 minutes per session (3 a week) or maybe go for 5 cardio sessions a week?

I can't trust myself to change my diet much because I'm so busy, but it's not bad. If I can just work harder or differently and build it into my workout that's the route id take...


----------



## Winspear (Jul 25, 2012)

Zero fat diets are silly. If anything reduce the carbs. But most of all just worry about the calories.

It's not fat that makes you fat. It's excess calories. Which you are likely on if you are gaining strength. 

You can't spot reduce fat (i.e. don't do situps to lose a stomach). You just have to lower your overall bodyfat. 

Yes cardio would make a difference as you'll burn more calories and thus wont be eating so far over maintenance unless your diet changes. It also ups your metabolism.


----------



## troyguitar (Jul 25, 2012)

Yep, burn more calories than you eat. I've lost 30 lbs of fat so far this year on a high fat diet


----------



## Winspear (Jul 25, 2012)

Yeah I lost 20lbs without altering my fat intake (which is pretty high) or doing any cardio. Same heavy lifting routine. All I did was cut out a large amount of my carbs.


----------



## Rook (Jul 25, 2012)

Excellent stuff. I realise spot reduction doesn't exist, but my arms are much tighter than say my stomach, and they get worked a lot more. I guess it's just spread more thinly over my arms.

In that case I'll step my cardio up a notch.

Is there a staple amount of cardio I should be doing? I remember being told 30 minutes x 5 days a week, that bout right? Any exercises better than others? I tend to cycle (stationary bike) and row because it's easier on my screwed up left leg (nasty break a long time ago, I still can't walk in the morning).


----------



## Winspear (Jul 25, 2012)

Yeah if you have more arm muscle then that helps. But also you put fat on your stomach a lot easier than arms. Which is why it's one of the last and hardest places to tone up haha. 

No advice about cardio sorry, never looked at it


----------



## Tiger (Jul 25, 2012)

Im cutting down to 5...eat this twice a day and fast the other 19-20 hours.







Expect to lose about 4 ounces a week when it starts to get super low, I have a minimum of 500 calories lost a day. Doing it on a stationary is fine, I love mine.


----------



## Infamous Impact (Jul 25, 2012)

Tiger said:


> Im cutting down to 5.


5%? Are you planning on competing in a bodybuilding competition soon? That's ridiculous, and that's coming from someone who fluctuates between 7-8%.


----------



## eventhetrees (Jul 25, 2012)

What everyone saying here is correct.

Another reason why zero fat diets and diets are silly is cause that's not how you'd normally eat. The moment you go back to a normal eating habit all that weight comes back, hence why diets "don't work". Key thing is to make an entire life style change and enforcing "everything in moderation", have a cheeseburger combo every once in awhile, don't do it all the time. Don't just eat a certain food and cut other stuff out completely. Just watch the overall calorie intake. 

Say if you're in my situation (in the midst of losing 60 pounds) when I reach my goal weight, I still can't eat as much calories in a day as my buddy who is my goal weight that always has been. His body is accustomed to that intake. My body will slowly accustom to a greater intake without weight gain over a couple years of maintaining the habits and such. 

There's no secret to losing weight. Eat less, move more. Sounds like your doing good so far though, just keep at it man and those "flabby" parts will slowly go away. As someone said there's no such thing as targeted fat loss, you just lose overall fat when it's lost.

HERE'S SOMETHING THAT HELPS A TON. Green Tea. Just plain Green Tea. 3 cups a day. It helps in numerous ways but especially to cleanse your body (control cravings) and improve your metabolism (lose "belly fat", you just look less bloated, cause your not as bloated).

So far I've lost about 10lbs (in like a month) which is a good loss, I could be more consistent with my efforts though. But having been enforcing moderation and drinking 3 cups of green tea a day help me appear like I've lost more weight than I have, cause I'm actually losing fat and unwanted stuff, not just water weight. I'd have days where I eat like shit (and fittingly so, feel like absolute shit after) but I don't exceed my calories for the day (cause well I ate nothing all day, then something shitty and felt like shit cause of it), it's not good for me, but I didn't really suffer from it by like a mass weight gain or whatever. 

But yeah my main point is, there's no secrets really, just be logical and eat in moderation and stay on top of a fitness regime. Green Tea really helps control your cravings and helps your metabolism (if your a chubby bloated guy like me).


----------



## Infamous Impact (Jul 25, 2012)

Contest Preparation - Bodybuilding.com Forums
Also, read the logs there for pre-contest cutting. They know what to do when cutting at such low body fat.


----------



## Tiger (Jul 26, 2012)

Infamous Impact said:


> 5%? Are you planning on competing in a bodybuilding competition soon? That's ridiculous, and that's coming from someone who fluctuates between 7-8%.



I want to see what its like to race super low and maintain it. Ive met enough ultra runners who are that low to make me know its not only doable but a huge advantage.

I've got big race plans for 2013


----------



## Infamous Impact (Jul 26, 2012)

Tiger said:


> I want to see what its like to race super low and maintain it. Ive met enough ultra runners who are that low to make me know its not only doable but a huge advantage.
> 
> I've got big race plans for 2013


That makes a ton of sense. Good luck!


----------



## Greatoliver (Jul 26, 2012)

I would also say that it's better to change your lifestyle than to go on a diet. If you can change what you eat during normal days, you will find it easier to stick to, rather than going on a hard diet and then coming off it when you are at the desired weight.

But pretty much what everyone else said: just be calorie negative. Cardio will help, but as EE said, anything that burns calories will help - heaving lifting is a good way of burning calories too.


----------



## TheBigGroove (Aug 3, 2012)

tiger is living proof that the lean gains system works wonders.


----------



## Tiger (Aug 3, 2012)

Not just me, theres some amazing body building types over at bodybuilding.com who use it to some impressive extent. I dont know too many endurance athletes using it unfortunately.

It works though, thats for sure.


----------



## Marv Attaxx (Aug 4, 2012)

I went vegan once (it was a bet lol, usually I'm an ovo-lacto-vegetarian) and got down to 4,5% bodyfat.


----------



## Tiger (Aug 5, 2012)

Cooked this for the wife and I...stuffed with brown rice, lentils, steak, kale and spinach, great stuff and healthy.


----------



## Infamous Impact (Aug 5, 2012)

Tiger said:


> Cooked this for the wife and I...stuffed with brown rice, lentils, steak, kale and spinach, great stuff and healthy.


Everything you make looks delicious. Where did you learn to cook like that?


----------



## Winspear (Aug 5, 2012)

+1
One day maybe I'll have the motivation to try something outside the boring old chicken+rice bodybuilding diet. Can't help but think it would be far far more expensive though, which is my main reason for staying boring haha.


----------



## jeremyb (Aug 5, 2012)

Your body actually needs fat(s), check out the 4 hour body diet or similar high protein diets


----------



## octatonic (Aug 5, 2012)

How many lbs do you have to lose?

If approaching 12% body fat then you may have to introduce carb cycling.
Start doing 3x 30mins High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) cardio as well as the weight training?

10-15 mins a week of cardio isn't particularly useful for fat loss.
I'd suggest doing 30 mins of steady state cardio a min of 3 times a week at an absolute minimum.

Ideally you'd be doing 45mins-60 mins of SSCV or 30 mins of HIIT 4-5 times a week (mix up between them).
Fat loss from HIIT is much better than from SSCV.

Spin classes are fantastic high intensity cardio- a 45 min class 4 times a week will have you shedding body fat quickly if you have your diet bang on.

I don't rate very low carb/high fat (ketogenic/atkins) diets.
Carb cycling can be helpful though and has worked for me.


----------



## Tiger (Aug 5, 2012)

Infamous Impact said:


> Everything you make looks delicious. Where did you learn to cook like that?



Nowhere really, if Im ever unsure of something I just google it. Honestly, hit up the produce section and glue your choices together in as creative a way as possible. Color is a good thing to look for and I am definitely eating to lose weight.

To do that dish I just boiled my rice and lentils, George Foreman grilled a steak, combined them all in a bowl with shredded spinach/kale/onion, flavored with sour cream/chili sauce/tomato paste. Boiled the peppers 5 minutes, then stuffed everything in to them. The corn and tomatoes just have olive oil and sea salt with seasoning on them. Stuck them in the oven for 40 minutes on 400'. 

Because of my job my wife does most of the cooking and she kicks tremendous ass at it, now that shes at the very end of her pregnancy Im trying to pull as much household duties as I can to let her chill. We try to eat smart for athletic/health reasons but also we want our kid to not be a fatass.


----------



## Infamous Impact (Aug 5, 2012)

Tiger said:


> Nowhere really, if Im ever unsure of something I just google it. Honestly, hit up the produce section and glue your choices together in as creative a way as possible. Color is a good thing to look for and I am definitely eating to lose weight.
> 
> To do that dish I just boiled my rice and lentils, George Foreman grilled a steak, combined them all in a bowl with shredded spinach/kale/onion, flavored with sour cream/chili sauce/tomato paste. Boiled the peppers 5 minutes, then stuffed everything in to them. The corn and tomatoes just have olive oil and sea salt with seasoning on them. Stuck them in the oven for 40 minutes on 400'.
> 
> Because of my job my wife does most of the cooking and she kicks tremendous ass at it, now that shes at the very end of her pregnancy Im trying to pull as much household duties as I can to let her chill. We try to eat smart for athletic/health reasons but also we want our kid to not be a fatass.


Didn't think making food like that was so simple. The most I do is boil water for oatmeal. 
Good call on having your family eat healthy, I'm the only one in my family who's remotely athletic, and my mom only really makes curry and rice, so it'd be nice to be able to make something else.


----------



## Tiger (Aug 5, 2012)

Its super easy to cook man, Id rather do that than pay 3x the price at a restaurant.


----------



## Fiction (Aug 5, 2012)

+ cooking is extremely fun, you know what's healthy, so just put various healthy products together and make anything. 

Love the idea of the filled peppers.


----------



## troyguitar (Aug 5, 2012)

or be lazy like me and eat the same thing almost every day 

There are so many obstacles to eating an interesting and healthy diet that I just can't be bothered to do it. Mostly that it takes more time, more money, and more thought/effort/creativity.


----------



## Infamous Impact (Aug 5, 2012)

The most creative I've been is combining the only things I ever cook... Raw oatmeal in an egg omelet. 
It was delicious.


----------



## satriani08 (Aug 5, 2012)

Balanced diet is a must. if you are trying to build more muscles then your diet should be high protein.


----------



## Captain Shoggoth (Aug 6, 2012)

@Infamous Impact: With food you can actually do some really interesting stuff if you look around. I can guess your kitchen can't be too dissimilar to mine, considering you've said that you're Muslim and your mum only makes curry, so when you're making stuff, hunt around for seasonings and spices that don't contain salt or additives, mixes up cooking quite nicely.


That's obviously advice for anyone though. Just think 'how can I make this taste nicer without compromising nutrition?' and there's loads of stuff you can find.


----------



## UnderTheSign (Aug 6, 2012)

Marv Attaxx said:


> I went vegan once (it was a bet lol, usually I'm an ovo-lacto-vegetarian) and got down to 4,5% bodyfat.


How long did you maintain this, any pics?


----------



## Marv Attaxx (Aug 6, 2012)

^ that was back in the days when digital cameras were not invented yet 
I have to go through my old photo albums lol
I did that for around 10 months I think. Lost the fat after a few weeks and stayed at 4,5 the whole time afterwards.
Note: I did not do any heavy lifting, that started later. Now I have like 18% bodyfat and have a lot more muscle mass.


----------



## TankJon666 (Aug 6, 2012)

Tiger said:


> Im cutting down to 5...eat this twice a day and fast the other 19-20 hours.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



How many calories are you consuming on a daily basis with this method? Obviously its a very balanced meal but do you not get hungry the rest of the time? Does it affect the intensity of your training? Also, are you still able to retain your muscle mass with this approach?

I'm curious to see how well this would work when in the cutting phase for a show. I'd probably cram more protein in myself though.


----------



## Tiger (Aug 6, 2012)

Ive been doing IF for years, not always to cut. I have been cutting most of this year on it. I always consume about -200 to -400 expenditure for the day. I never drastically cut and as Ive gotten lighter its become more important to NOT try to under eat.

I train great in a fasted state and arguably better. I never experience hunger at this point, 18+ hours of not eating feels fine. From a bodybuilding viewpoint, there are tons of guys geared towards that who already use IF.


----------



## Ryan-ZenGtr- (Aug 7, 2012)

All you chefs out there should look into Greek and Turkish food. Everything you have shown so far is from their staple diet. You will get a lot of good ideas. Fish and salads, basically, but very, very nice! 

To make a Turkish dish, you take a Greek dish and pour lemon juice all over it, then get another lemon and pour that over it... and repeat... 

Basically Lemon on EVERYTHING!!! Even a lentil soup! No food is safe from the lemons...






Lemon is also good for cleaning guitars.... 

Here's a recipe for Lemon Mousse - No bake!!!
foodessa

Ahhh, the crazy **** you can find on teh internetz... _"No Bake!!!"_ 


Lemon on EVERYTHING is actually quite cool, you get a minefield of strong flavours, never able to predict the flavour of the next bite of your meal. The "Minefield" concept is the key to good food. 

Substitute the lemon for something more suitable, though, unless you truly <3 the lemon.

I think visiting Turkey has affected me....


----------



## Ryan-ZenGtr- (Aug 7, 2012)

See also here:
http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/ge...lls-like-cigarettes-remedies.html#post3134469

Where I'm promoting the cleaning properties of Lemon. I guess I have a new obsession. 

/derail

Topic is Lemons nutrition.


----------



## TankJon666 (Aug 7, 2012)

Tiger said:


> Ive been doing IF for years, not always to cut. I have been cutting most of this year on it. I always consume about -200 to -400 expenditure for the day. I never drastically cut and as Ive gotten lighter its become more important to NOT try to under eat.
> 
> I train great in a fasted state and arguably better. I never experience hunger at this point, 18+ hours of not eating feels fine. From a bodybuilding viewpoint, there are tons of guys geared towards that who already use IF.


 
I have read a lot from people who stick to an IF diet get good results. I think I've just gotten so used to eating every 3 hours that I'd probably not get on too well with it. Probably worth trying though.


----------



## Tiger (Aug 7, 2012)

Life definitely gets a lot simpler once you're only feeding twice a day, I know that.


----------



## Tiger (Aug 21, 2012)

More pictures of food I make to lose weight!


----------



## Infamous Impact (Aug 21, 2012)

Tiger said:


> More pictures of food I make to lose weight!


I tried making food like that starting yesterday (end of Ramadan), the best I've got is steamed broccoli and turkey breast slices with sour cream. Why are you so good?


----------



## Tiger (Aug 21, 2012)

Dude I have no formal training or anything like that, seriously all I use is a George foreman grill, a stove top and an oven with a few pots and pans. Just check out stuff online and go for it.


----------



## Infamous Impact (Aug 21, 2012)

Tiger said:


> Dude I have no formal training or anything like that, seriously all I use is a George foreman grill, a stove top and an oven with a few pots and pans. Just check out stuff online and go for it.


Seems like a good idea. Any meals you'd like to share?


----------



## Rook (Sep 2, 2012)

Bump

I've taken to basically:
-avoiding fizzy drinks
-upping water intake
-upping milk intake (though I already drink loads). I'll have the odd full fat glass too if I've been working out that day
-crucially, cutting carbs - no fries, vastly less bread if any. I only really eat carbs in the morning in breakfast cereal
-5 fruit and veg a day
-I eat a shit load of fish hahaha

Seems to be working, but it's not going fast. I don't mind not fast though it seems to be consistent, I've lost about half a stone in the last 6 odd weeks (14st to about 13 1/2, im 6'2, medium build) and have actually been getting better strength results out of the gym (broke 70k on my bench woop).

Anything I should add/change?


----------



## Murmel (Sep 2, 2012)

^
Don't use stone as a measurement, it's even more retarded than LBS  Brb, gotta google the weight


----------



## Maniacal (Sep 2, 2012)

Tiger, it's great to see so much care going into what you eat!

It certainly beats my tuna + rice, tuna + rice, tuna + rice, tuna + rice, eggs+banana diet, tuna + rice diet.


----------



## Winspear (Sep 2, 2012)

Maniacal said:


> It certainly beats my tuna + rice, tuna + rice, tuna + rice, tuna + rice, eggs+banana diet, tuna + rice diet.



This.
Milk..chicken..tuna..rice...repeat


----------



## Tiger (Sep 2, 2012)

Well, at the end of the day if it was just me Id probably cook more in bulk, with a family its different.


----------



## bluediamond (Sep 17, 2012)

I did carb-free diet for 1 week. I mean no carb at all, only fat and protein. Lost 5 kg instantly. But I become too dizzy/weak to do any workout, let alone concentrate long on something. Give me problems with temper as well.


----------



## avenger (Sep 17, 2012)

I've gained 5.5 lbs in 6 weeks, trying to go fairly clean bulk (~20lbs) then re-cut. I went to hard when I lost my first round of weight (fat slob at 200 down to 160) and sacrificed a lot of strength and muscle mass with it. 

Now gotta build up the muscle then SLOWLY cut back the fat gains that come with any bulk.

Currently up to 167lbs aiming to get to 180/185 then back down to 170ish depending on how clean I can make my gains.


----------



## bob123 (Sep 17, 2012)

avenger said:


> I've gained 5.5 lbs in 6 weeks, trying to go fairly clean bulk (~20lbs) then re-cut. I went to hard when I lost my first round of weight (fat slob at 200 down to 160) and sacrificed a lot of strength and muscle mass with it.
> 
> Now gotta build up the muscle then SLOWLY cut back the fat gains that come with any bulk.
> 
> Currently up to 167lbs aiming to get to 180/185 then back down to 170ish depending on how clean I can make my gains.




To bulk up and "diet" is a rather difficult thing to do. If you're not eating enough, you're not going to bulk, pure and simple. If you're concerned about fat, eat lots and lots of baked chicken and egg whites. Im allergic to fish, so Im not sure what to suggest in that market, but Im sure its terrific to eat.

Also, if you have time, after you do your weight training, spend 15-20 minutes doing cardio, your body is triggered into a fat burning mode after you lift a lot of weight. 

Frankly at your weight, unless you're 5'2", you shouldn't concern yourself with getting "fat" if you're honestly working at bulking.


----------



## Bevo (Sep 17, 2012)

Not to preach or talk down to anyone but I have to comment...

One thing I have noticed in a few posts are the speed at which people want things to change as above.
It took you how long to get to where you are, you need to take the time to get back down. If you work hard it will be faster than it took to put the weight on and it will stay off because you adjusted your life.

Also extremes do not make sense, cutting something completely out of your diet or trying to yo yo up and down in bulk is not healthy.
If your doing 1-2 pounds per week that is really really good, there is no need to go after more fat loss.

Take the time to learn what your body needs then do simple math to see how much extra or less you need to ad or remove weight..simple as that BUT it takes time.

I like to run but want to increase my muscle so a bit of a oxymoron but I have a plan. My watch tells me how much I burn so that day I eat that much more calories to make it back up again...simple... except yesterday I burned 2800 calories plus my normal 2400 made for lots of food!!!

Hope that helps


----------

