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Thread: Intermediate lifter at a crossroads

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2020
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    Default Intermediate lifter at a crossroads

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    Hey there Robert,

    Current stats:
    6'1, 224lbs 41yrs
    DL - 510X3
    SQ-405-3x2
    Bench- 250 3x5/292.5x1 (long arms)
    Press - 3+3+2 202.5

    Testosterone in the high 400s tested a month ago; went on TRT replacement 2 weeks ago w/ T3/T4 & DHEA or whatever it is

    You helped me a month or two ago with a consult. At that time my diet was pretty crappy (Dominos, Sonic, Chipotle etc.). I was actually starting to lose weight because I wasn't eating enough. Fatigue, depression, etc etc. It was a combination of sleep/diet/hormones. At the time we spoke I was at that point where I knew (and was ready) to make a change and I've done that. I've been preparing all my own meals and my diet now consists of (A LOT) of beef stew & roasts w/ lots of veggies (carrots, cabbage, zuchini etc), salmon a few days a week, chicken stew when I feel guilty about eating too much beef stew and on special family meal nights I do fish tacos. Asparagus, collard & beets are my favorite for side veggies. Lots of white basmati rice and fresh bread from the bakery for carbs. Pineapple, watermelon, berries etc. for treats/snacks between meals. scrambled eggs, breakfast tacos, wheat bran cereal for breakfast.

    The change in diet and me getting better about my sleep has already had a significant impact on my fatigue & depression. The weird thing is I kept losing weight even though I was eating more frequently. I went from 245 to 225. Despite that I did get stronger. My last (I don't know what we call it, would it be a mesocycle?) I capped on my DL at 485x3, SQ I was doing singles by the time I was into the 400s, Press was 192.5 for a single. Bench was actually the same. Anyway I'm at the point where I am failing my lifts again and my coach is going to be adjusting my programming. To me it makes sense this would happen. I've been on intermediate programming now for several "mesocycles?" and the gains come consistently at the end of every cycle (which usually takes about 2-3 months) and results in a few lbs getting added before I start failing again.

    Maybe this is more background information than you need but my question is this. At 225, am I at the point where I need to start gaining more weight again to continue making progress? I am pretty sure the answer to this is yes, but I would refine the question further; if my goal is to try to push my squat up past 500 and my DL up past 600, what do you think my goal weight should be approximately?

    I also have a few random diet questions if you don't mind :

    I'm finding that I love love love fresh bread. I eat a few slices with my stews. It helps me fill up (the stew isn't very filling) but of course I like the white stuff (french, italian etc). I also much prefer white basmati rice to brown rice. I do like an occasional bowl of wheat bran but that is about the only whole grain I am eating right now. Should I care?

    The crock put has changed my life and I could eat beefy stew meat for 5 meals a day, but is it possible I am overdoing the beef? The argument that red meat gets a bad rap and a healthy diet can include more of it than conventional wisdom suggests is one that makes sense to me, but I would imagine there is still an upper limit to this right? How much red meat is too much in your view? Or is there no upper limit so long as your diet is balanced and you are not "over-eating?"

    Again, just want to say thank you for the consult, it was a major help in getting me to turn things around and thank you too for the excellent pod-cast. Always look forward to it.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
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    Hey man glad to hear from you and glad things are going well. I don't think there is such a thing as "too much red meat" but you do need to watch the fat content and also give blood periodically to prevent excess iron storage. I do think you should start pushing your bodyweight and eating more again at this point if you are leveling off. Should help get you over the hump. Do you have a macro count?

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2021
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    Quote Originally Posted by Robert Santana View Post
    Hey man glad to hear from you and glad things are going well. I don't think there is such a thing as "too much red meat" but you do need to watch the fat content and also give blood periodically to prevent excess iron storage. I do think you should start pushing your bodyweight and eating more again at this point if you are leveling off. Should help get you over the hump. Do you have a macro count?
    Robert how do I go about donating blood and training? Do I have to skip a workout after donating blood because I will be too weak or it has no impact on performance? Sorry if it's a silly question, I've never done it!

  4. #4
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    Feb 2020
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    I don't. I haven't been tracking macros since I was a novice. Since I cleaned up my diet I just try to get all my meals in and follow my hunger cues. My plan to gain weight was to just start eating a little more than what I felt was comfortable and just keep watching the mirror, the scale and my lifts. I am consuming a lot of fat I am sure. The 4lbs of beef chuck I put into the stew is close to 400g of fat and I can consume that in as little as 2 days if I'm hungry. Should I be concerned about that? Should I look for a leaner meat? I figured as long as I am eating healthy food I probably don't need to track my macros but maybe I am wrong to assume that?

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by sasha View Post
    Robert how do I go about donating blood and training? Do I have to skip a workout after donating blood because I will be too weak or it has no impact on performance? Sorry if it's a silly question, I've never done it!
    You may want to. Depends on how you respond to it.

    Quote Originally Posted by Steven Z View Post
    I don't. I haven't been tracking macros since I was a novice. Since I cleaned up my diet I just try to get all my meals in and follow my hunger cues. My plan to gain weight was to just start eating a little more than what I felt was comfortable and just keep watching the mirror, the scale and my lifts. I am consuming a lot of fat I am sure. The 4lbs of beef chuck I put into the stew is close to 400g of fat and I can consume that in as little as 2 days if I'm hungry. Should I be concerned about that? Should I look for a leaner meat? I figured as long as I am eating healthy food I probably don't need to track my macros but maybe I am wrong to assume that?
    Following hunger cues will not help you eat enough carbohydrates and protein because protein and fat are very filling. You will need to track again and to get a handle on what sufficient carbohydrate and protein intake looks like. If you are concerned about fat gain yes you should look for leaner meat.

  6. #6
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    Apr 2020
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    Quote Originally Posted by Robert Santana View Post
    Hey man glad to hear from you and glad things are going well. I don't think there is such a thing as "too much red meat" but you do need to watch the fat content and also give blood periodically to prevent excess iron storage. I do think you should start pushing your bodyweight and eating more again at this point if you are leveling off. Should help get you over the hump. Do you have a macro count?
    Rob - do you think its safe to just donate on a regular schedule for us guys that eat red meat close to daily? Or should we get iron levels tested? My insurance apparently doesn't cover basic tests for vitamin D and iron levels and so forth, the scammers.

  7. #7
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    It can't hurt to donate semi frequently. Safe to assume you are storing it so may as well especially if you can't measure. The accumulation takes time too so you may not see it in a lab test when you are young.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Robert Santana View Post
    Following hunger cues will not help you eat enough carbohydrates and protein because protein and fat are very filling. You will need to track again and to get a handle on what sufficient carbohydrate and protein intake looks like. If you are concerned about fat gain yes you should look for leaner meat.
    Thank you Robert, I will start tracking and yeah I don't want to put on too much fat so I'll start using leaner cuts of meat. Given that I tend to prepare my food in large batches is there any harm in tracking my macros in 2 or 3 day intervals? The stews are a mix of meat & veggies so kind of hard to know the macros from meal to meal but I should be able to get pretty precise if I am calculating the whole batch. Or am I just being lazy?

  9. #9
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    starting strength coach development program
    That is fine. The main thing is you have to put in the work up front to make sure your staples are providing you with a ballpark of what you need. Once you establish the routine you don't really need to track, just stay on top of your meals and keep them consistent. Tracking and planning are important in the beginning when you have no routine or are unsure if your routine is sufficient. Once you establish that it is you just have to focus on consistency from there.

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