Thanks for posting buddy! No need to get obese buddy, absolutely none so you won't hear that advice from me. Tell me, how much are you lifting?
✓ Member
Nutrition Strategy Sanity Check
I was hoping for some help on a nutrition plan. My situation is a little complex...
1) I'm 47.
2) I've recently lost over 50lbs on an 1800-calorie a day diet. I'm still on that diet, and it's high protein (roughly 200g/day, 35g/day fat, and 170g/day carb). A good portion of that is milk protein from skim milk, yogurt, and cheese (maybe 2000-3000 calories/week of dairy).
3) I have several obesity-related health issues (Hyperlipidemia, Fatty Liver, Type 2 Diabetes, Sleep Apnea, and a family history of men getting heart attacks in their 50s), so I'm very reluctant to take the standard advice of swigging a gallon of whole milk a day. I refuse become obese again - it will make all of those issues worse. I'm currently at about 20% body fat, slightly overweight, so I'm not far from obesity now, and my "goal" is about 17% body fat.
4) I care about health more than anything else. To me, strength is a means to that end, but I don't actually care about strength directly. I'm hoping increased muscle will help control Type 2 Diabetes.
5) I've never done barbell training or been an athlete. I'm weak and very much a novice.
6) I'm patient. Very patient. Slow progress is just fine with me, as long as I can see and measure some progress.
I just started starting strength exercise program (but not the diet) fully understanding that I'm not likely to progress very fast or very long. I'm about 1 1/2 weeks in.
So, here's my basic strategy:
1) Stay on the diet I am on for as long as I can progress with it. I'll define progression as being able to increase bench/press by at least 1lb/workout, and squat/DL by 2lb/workout.
2) When progression on two of the four lifts has stalled, increase food intake by 500 calories/day for two weeks and see what happens. Watch weight and progression.
- If progression returns, stay on that diet until it stalls again and repeat.
- If progression doesn't return in two weeks, add another 500 calories
- If body fat goes over 23%, abort the SS program and go back on a weight-loss diet. Progression ends, but hopefully the SS exercises will prevent muscle/strength loss.
- If body fat hits 17%, increase calories to 3500-4000/day and start chugging some whole milk! I can go on the full program!
Thoughts? Is there a better nutrition strategy for me?
Again, returning to obesity is not an option for me - I will choose lean and weak over obese and strong. (Although I'll take overweight and strong over lean and weak)
-->Adam
Starting Strength Coach
Thanks for posting buddy! No need to get obese buddy, absolutely none so you won't hear that advice from me. Tell me, how much are you lifting?
✓ Member
Currently 105 squat, 195 dl, 127.5 bench, and 65 press. I don't think any of those have truly pushed me yet - haven't failed a set of five, but bench and do feel like they may be close to that. My form also isn't great - working on it...
Member
"When progression on two of the four lifts has stalled, increase food intake by 500 calories/day for two weeks and see what happens. Watch weight and progression."
This is aggressive, add 500 calories then do it again? That is a HUGE jump that you will certainly gain weight from.
What is the rationale behind swigging a gallon of milk? Also wondering if the high dairy intake is for a particular reason?
Last blatant thing is your low low fat intake. Do not fear the healthy fats my friend, contrary to an unfortunately lingering but still popular belief fat does not make you fat. But starving yourself of fats WILL cause health problems, most notably low testosterone since cholesterol (obtained from healthy fats) is REQUIRED to make testosterone.
Viagra loves statins....
This low fat/low cholesterol myth is the reason the average male T levels have absolutely plummeted in the last 50 years.
Starting Strength Coach
Your bench should not be anywhere near failure at that weight. Keep on your nutrition, fix your form, and continue microloading.Originally Posted by Adam Levine
Starting Strength Coach
The idea is to gain weight since an increase in body weight is essential to getting strong. This is extensively explained across this website and we have a paper coming out on this soon.The gallon of milk is recommended for underweight males who need to gain weight rapidly in a cost effecive way. The most economical way to get 192 carbohydrates and 128 grams of protein is with a gallon of milk. If you find a cheaper and equally effective way please sure.
No one here is recommending a low fat intake. On the contrary, we are recommending that people don't overdue fat. You do not need that much fat for optimal health and the health benefits of omega 3s cannot be overstated. Instructing a male to keep fat under 100 grams per day is hardly low fat. On a 3000 calorie diet, thats ~30% of calories from fat. There is no hard evidence to support that T levels are dropping from a reduction in fat intake. It is highly unlikely given that our food supply contains much more fat in it now than it did 50 years ago. Unfortunately, we cannot measure actual intake, but given my many years of experience with diet coaching, fat is the macro that clients most commonly overeat. So the idea that T levels are dropping is based on the assumption that the average male is on a lowfat diet, which is highly improbable.
✓ Member
Robert,
Thank you - I'll stick with the plan and work on form. I'm hoping to go see an SSC coach soon (my form is bad all around).
Also, for cost of protein, there is something that might beat milk, but a terrible idea. If you can get soybeans at near market/commodity price, that's less than $10/bushel, or 60 pounds! That's close to 10,000 grams of protein, 8,000 carbs, and 5,000 fat. Of course, the protein quality is awful and I can't imagine chowing down on that many roasted soybeans... I mean, roasted/salted soybeans aren't terrible tasting, but still...
-->Adam
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