Here's the scoop:

I've been eating very clean for about two weeks. My supplement regimen has been about 80-90% spot on. Occasionally I'll miss my "glamour" vitamins - ie: the anti-aging ones I take. But I always remember the basics.

This weekend we had two cheats. One was a Taco Bell run (approx 800 cals) and the other was a half pizza (approx 700 cals).

For the past few weeks especially and this morning was bad - I've been awfully tired. I was so sleepy this morning, I got up for my 7am conference call, went back to bed at 7:30 and slept til 9:45! That's crazy. Thank God I work at home for myself - or I would be FIRED.

I've been consistent in my workouts 3-4x week Tae Bo Bootcamp ELITE with resistance bands. It's awesome for someone just getting back into the swing of things.

My weight is still staying strong around 140.

Help!

Hi Rachel. So, you've been doing 50/20/30 split for the past 2 weeks? With this particular diet, you WILL get lethargic and hungry. You can benefit from cheats, but they need to be spread apart. Every 3rd AND 4th day would be the best days to have your cheats. That will help keep your energy levels higher for longer periods in between cheats rather than having a cheat meal or two in a row. The whole idea behind calculated cheat meals is to give your metabolism a RE-FEED because the 50/20/30 caloric split is a glycogen leecher!!

Keep it up, you should have lost at least 2 lbs, but every one is different. If your weight or bodyfat does not change over the next 2 weeks, then you've got a problem on your hands and something needs to change.

You've got to stay consistant if you want to make changes in your physique. Curious, post EXACTLY what you are doing on a daily basis for meals.

quote:

been doing 50/20/30 split for the past 2 weeks

That's going to ZAP your energy. It may be another 2 weeks before you can feel normal. Make sure you're having the carb meal, but to make things easier to break into this diet, the carb meal should be every other day, then moved to a Mon-Thurs timing.

That estimate cheat meal is about what your carb meal would end up being. As for your caloric intake, I don't think those cheat meals hurt you.

I see the lethargy as the main issue in this post. 100% from deficient diet. Post it.

I bet I could get your weight moving in the right direction with more energy, more carbs, more strength and looking better than on the 50/20/30 I know, big claim, but its true. no reason to feel like total **** while dieting, hungry yes, total **** no.

Post your stats too.

Jason

quote:

Originally posted by Jtheo:
I see the lethargy as the main issue in this post. 100% from deficient diet. Post it.

I bet I could get your weight moving in the right direction with more energy, more carbs, more strength and looking better than on the 50/20/30 I know, big claim, but its true. no reason to feel like total **** while dieting, hungry yes, total **** no.

Post your stats too.

Jason

100% agreed! I am definetly a re-born higher carb advocate.... and it's all Jason's fault.

Non workout days:
Meal #1 - 1 egg + 3 whites, 3 oz extra lean steak (every other day), 1/4 C. oatmeal + cantelope and grapes

Meal #2 - 1 Scoop PP + 1 T. PB, ice, sugar-free chocolate syrup, made into a pudding.

Meal #3 - 4-5 oz Chicken Breast, 1/2 c. rice, salad with EVOO dressing OR green beans drizzled with EVOO

Meal #4 - Protein pudding again, or occasionally some hummus and roast beef.

Meal #5 - Chicken breast or ground turkey, couscous or quinoa, broccoli, salad with EVOO dressing and some parm. cheese (1 tsp. - it's my own version of ceasar dressing)

Meal #6 - 1-2 Scoops Protein Powder in water


Workout Days:
Meal #1 - 1-2 Scoops Protein Powder in water

WORK OUT - drinking Extend (Glutamine + BCAA's before, during and after workout)

Meal #2 - 1 egg + 3 whites, 3 oz extra lean steak (every other day), 1/4 C. oatmeal + cantelope and grapes

Meal #3 - 4-5 oz Chicken Breast, 1/2 c. rice, salad with EVOO dressing OR green beans drizzled with EVOO

Meal #4 - Protein pudding again, or occasionally some hummus and roast beef. 1/2 Apple or a plum.

Meal #5 - Chicken breast or ground turkey, couscous or quinoa, broccoli, salad with EVOO dressing and some parm. cheese (1 tsp. - it's my own version of ceasar dressing)

Meal #6 - 1-2 Scoops Protein Powder in water

I think I am used to consuming more calories than this and that could be the issue.

I don't feel as if I am strictly on 50/20/30 as my carbs are still pretty decent - especially due to the fruit in season here. (=

My DH and I were talking about taking blood tests, but I really don't want the excess costs. We're going on several trips in the next few months though and I'd like to get my energy up to handle it.

I definitely didn't mean for the cheat meals to be back to back.

I want to have them on Tues nights & Friday nights. Weekend always get me when we got out on dates.

What should a cheat look like? Do I need to be aware of calories or carbs?

I love having something cheap and sinful like Taco Bell... mmm! Or a pizza. Or maybe a chili cheese dog.

((((droooling))))

Rachel, the diet looks pretty good and is close enough for macros to 50/20/30. Space your cheats, don't do it back to back! TRY! The whole idea is to stoke that fire with enough time in between so to not have your metabolism take a dump on you. Don't worry about what you eat, just enjoy it and wait for the next meal.

You just need to give it more time. 2 weeks really isn't enough time to guage wether something is working or not, UNLESS, you are taking skin folds weekly. Watch the mirror. It is more important than the weight scale.

I'm more concerned with my energy at this point then the scale. I know that I will get leaner with this regimen.

Also, my hands are like FURNACES. Sooo hot all the time. Granted it's like 110 outside during the day, but I work inside and stay in AC as much as possible. Even right now just after waking up, they are burning hot.

Should I add a fat burner/energy booster supplement?

One of my husband's friends is in Quixtar (Amway - no gracias lol) and my husband tried this drink called XS and it's like having a b12 shot, plus they taste delish!

I was thinking of drinking one of those each morning.

Please let me know how I can get my energy up... otherwise I think I'll be sleeping in a lot more often if this doesn't turn around.

Here is the nutritional info for the XS drinks:

Water, Taurine, L-Glutamine, Citric Acid, Green Tea Extract,
Natural Peach Flavor With Other Natural Flavors, Black Tea Extract, Adaptogenic Blend (Eleutherococcus Senticosus, Panax Ginseng, Panax Quinquefolium, Schisandra Astragalus, and Reishi), Acesulfame Potassium, White Tea Polyphenols, Sucralose,Niacin, Pantothenic Acid, Pyrodoxine HCL, and Cyanocobalamin.

Rachel do you know your lean body mass or thereabouts...

diet is okay, Im a firm believe if the body is trying to tell you something listen....

Jason

I have no idea.

I don't really believe in BF testing, because I've done several forms at the same time on the same day, and there was a gap of about 8%!

I'm pretty lean, here are some pics:

I went back and found your weight in another post.

I estimate you at 140 at 19%, so 113 lean body mass. 18-20 I think is a fair guess, you are quite lean but not super muscular (dont take that the wrong way you look great) as you are tall and an ectomorph. Being an ectomorph I am highly confident in the following numbers.

Training days:

140P/172C/28F

Non training:

140P/123C/28F

These would be numbers to lean you out and preserve mucle. If you want to try to add muscle add another 50 carbs to each and start there, but only do that if you go to a more traditional 4 x per week with weights to add muscle type routine.

Im on the shorter side, lol, but Im still very much ecto and I starve and am low energy on the 50/20/30 myself....which is designed for cutting, which is why you are tired all the time.

The macros I threw out would work well for you to keep off fat gain but provide much more strength for your workouts.

I should also add that a site like fitday can help you hit these numebrs as you need to account for the protein in your carbs, people dont do this and fail there. Also, spread the carbs evenly over 6 meals per day....

Jason

Stick with a 9 site reading. Take it weekly at the same time and day every week. It is a great tool to give you some idea where you stand with your diet.

I dont have access to a 9-site reading.

In fact, I don't even have access to a gym right now.

My workouts are consistent of tae-bo with resistence bands and weights, cardio, and Calisthenics. But they are INTENSE workouts - especially since my fitness level waned over the past 2 years.

I definitely say I'm around 20% bodyfat, maybe 18% on a good week - LOL.

I believe I've been down in the middle low teens, back when I had a solid two-pack (never got those lines across to make it a "six pack" lol). And my arms and legs were pretty cut...and my weight was closer to 130-132.

I'd like to get down to that, ...I've been thinner (say 120-125lbs) but that's too boney for my taste.

Yeah 120s is too low for you, 5'11".

I still stick by my marcros above even if only doing cardio and tae-bo. Ive leaned girls out just using 20 min pilates tapes at home on those macro formulas I used to get your numbers. And they all felt great while doing it.

Meal 1: Eggs/oats/1 yolk
Meal 2: lean ground turkey/white potato/broccoli
Meal 3: muscle provider/sweet potato
Meal 4: chicken/brown rice/broccoli
Train
Meal 5: lean 96% ground beef/white potato
Meal 6: Muscle Provider/oats

Use those foods and the macros above and build your diet in fitday, you wont be sorry.

Good Luck!

Trust J, my gf lost 3 pds of fat and gained muscle on the first week of his plan and she was already in pretty good shape!!

quote:

Meal 1: Eggs/oats/1 yolk
Meal 2: lean ground turkey/white potato/broccoli
Meal 3: muscle provider/sweet potato
Meal 4: chicken/brown rice/broccoli
Train
Meal 5: lean 96% ground beef/white potato
Meal 6: Muscle Provider/oats

Above is your plan, what about this:

I have to train in the morning around 7:45 am. I usually get up at 6:40 to be on a conference call at 7:00 which allos me plenty of time to eat a light meal before training.

How can I work the above regimen with MY workout schedule?

Do I have to have cards pre-workout? I am not very hungry until after my workout, about 30-45 minutes later.

I don't love sweet potatoes, largely because I haven't found a way to prepare them without a ton of maple syrup/sugars/marshmellows (lol). Do you have any recommendations? Can I make a mass quantity and then break out 1/2 C. portions...how long does cooked yam last for?

I love fruit, where can this fit in on my diet?

I think my body (ectomorph) could stand higher carbs, but I really want to try this 50/20/30 for a while longer.

I had my cheat tonight - fish tacos (2 tortillas, 2 pieces of breaded cod, cabbage and a light chipotle mayo) and some chips & salsa.

We're going to have something good on Friday night too... probably pizza.

Thanks for ALL of your help guys!!! you really are sooo awesome!

quote:

don't love sweet potatoes, largely because I haven't found a way to prepare them without a ton of maple syrup/sugars/marshmellows (lol). Do you have any recommendations?

You need to try the sweet potato with whipping cream and UMP. Add pumpkin spice. Mix all together and you have a treat! I haven't tried it with MP.