Why am i getting fatter!!??

[fathead]

so ive been dieting down as per usual. about 18 weeks or so at this point. slow and steady progress. I plateaued at about 10% body fat as i often do and then tweaked the diet a bit and made pretty good progress for about 2 weeks (down to about 8%.) after that initial break thru of the plateau i've stalled out again and infact over about the last 2 weeks, i feel as though ive backtracked and become less crisp. i doubt ive actually gained any fat, but i feel bloated/watery especially in my mid section whereas before my skin was much thinner and abs much crisper.

what i was eating that got me down to 10%:

10am egg white/oats(post am cardio)

1pm chicken/rice (touch of sauce like teryaki)

4pm chicken/rice (touch of sauce like teryaki)

7pm fish/rice (post training) (touch of sauce like teryaki)

10-11pm isolate/peanut butter (pre bed)

I enjoyed this diet, found it easy, and felt good. once i stalled out a basically starting swapping out the carbs for veg (green beans+carrots or brocolli) and dropped the sugars from the sauces. I didnt do this all at once, kind of one carb meal for veg meal at a time. i am now at this and looking "lousy" compared to where i feel i was a couple weeks ago:

egg whites/oats

chicken/veg

chicken/veg

chicken/veg

fish/veg

isolate/peanut butter


looking at this i realize the calories are pretty low. im not sure if its my body fighting back or what? my weight is really the same and if i pinch at my skin i dont feel any fatter, i just look smoother. i am at 1 hour cardio am and have added 15 minutes post workout as of this week. i do have planned refeeds/cheats, which im sure id have to drop if i wanted to make more progress, but those havent changed so really im trying to assess why i feel like ive backtracked for a couple weeks...

guys with experience and knowledge pls chime in!!! im considering adding carbs back in for next week to see what happens. my carbs are about 40g/meal and none in the last meal.

ps- last year at about this point i swapped from the carb+pro approach above to the basic palumbo template and was not happy with the results, very similar to what im describing above...

currently, approximately 5'9, 190lbs, 8%ish

thanks all

[Andre Gregoire]

Sounds like you are just flat/carb depleted. How big are your refeeds?

I would start by adding a little fat in your diet since your carbs are now low and I would do 1 huge refeed once per week. Hit like 800-1000g of carbs, very low fat, med protein, that should fill you out. 24hrs after back on the diet and bloat is gone you should look your best for that week.

Did I get that right you are having 40g of carbs per meal, 40g from veggies?

[fathead]

Sounds like you are just flat/carb depleted. How big are your refeeds?

I would start by adding a little fat in your diet since your carbs are now low and I would do 1 huge refeed once per week. Hit like 800-1000g of carbs, very low fat, med protein, that should fill you out. 24hrs after back on the diet and bloat is gone you should look your best for that week.

Did I get that right you are having 40g of carbs per meal, 40g from veggies?

no, when i was eating direct carbs in my meals it was around 40g/meal worth in the form of rice/oats or very rarely potato/yam.

the refeeds are pretty big. truthfully they are moreso what i want to eat instead of strictly for benefit. keeps me sane. like i said id have to drop/modify these if i wanted to get shredded like the pancakes+syrup thing, but again they havent changed so still wondering why the steps back last couple weeks. last nite i had a wack of rice at a sushi joint (large chicken+rice bowl, teryaki sauce, and 3 rolls), probably 50-60g protein, and there is also some fat in there from the chicken/sushi. not ideal im sure.

[JonnyO]

Why did you drop out all of your carbs if you were making progress and looking decent? Doing this you threw your body right off, hence why you look a bit worse.

Try going back to the carbs, but gradually drop them each week. You could also try carb cycling too it works great at sticking points.

If you intend to follow the no to low carbs I agree with Andre, you need to add some fats in there because your going to lose muscle.

Also how about supplements...what are you taking for fat burners?

[L3]

i wouldnt do a pro/fat diet without AAS... thats just asking for serious muscle breakdown :S

well, now that i think about it.... i woudlnt diet using any method, without AAS

[ironwill]

education is the key!!!!

[Delt King]

sounds like you're flat and depleted to me. also is your water intake consistent day to day?

[fathead]

Why did you drop out all of your carbs if you were making progress and looking decent? Doing this you threw your body right off, hence why you look a bit worse.

Try going back to the carbs, but gradually drop them each week. You could also try carb cycling too it works great at sticking points.

If you intend to follow the no to low carbs I agree with Andre, you need to add some fats in there because your going to lose muscle.

Also how about supplements...what are you taking for fat burners?

i dropped the carbs when i stalled out at about 10%. like i said i didnt drop em all at once, i took them away from one meal at a time until they were gone except meal #1. somewhere in this process i got leaner... and then after a couple weeks at the lowest end of the carbs ive rebounded/softened up/etc

fat burners: im trying to use clen. ive used it years past with great results and no issues but as i posted on here a while ago for whatever reason its not agreeing with me anymore it makes me feel like ive been beat up. that said im back on it this week and none of those issues so hopefully that works, alternately id be up for any suggestions

[fathead]

sounds like you're flat and depleted to me. also is your water intake consistent day to day?

water intake is an issue for me these days. i probably have 2 liters in the am and 2 liters while training afternoon/evening. other then that i may have a glass here or there and a couple diet pops a day

im having some bladder issues that my doc is trying to figure out, i piss non stop, so having a massive water intake would likely make my life even more irritating

why do you ask specifically and what do you suggest

[Praetorian]

As Dk said you feel watery etc because you are flat and depleted. The reason for this is because you dropped your carbs very low AND you have not replaced them with another energy source...ie fats. You will probably feel lousy at this point as well because of the low carb intake which is just enough to tease the brain with glucose but yet not low enough to drop you into ketosis and tap into an alternate energy source for the brain. If you add some fats back into each meal(nuts, PB, oil etc) you can drop the oats vegs except one meal and you will drop into ketosis in three days or so. Once you do this you will feel better and start filling out from the fats. Continue having a refeed meal weekly and i you hit another sticking point you can drop the fats in each meal and add veggies to three meals and alternate this pro/veg day with the pro/fat day.
P

[fathead]

As Dk said you feel watery etc because you are flat and depleted. The reason for this is because you dropped your carbs very low AND you have not replaced them with another energy source...ie fats. You will probably feel lousy at this point as well because of the low carb intake which is just enough to tease the brain with glucose but yet not low enough to drop you into ketosis and tap into an alternate energy source for the brain. If you add some fats back into each meal(nuts, PB, oil etc) you can drop the oats vegs except one meal and you will drop into ketosis in three days or so. Once you do this you will feel better and start filling out from the fats. Continue having a refeed meal weekly and i you hit another sticking point you can drop the fats in each meal and add veggies to three meals and alternate this pro/veg day with the pro/fat day.
P

you lost me a little there at the end.. just to clarify:

for now keep oats in one meal, replace the veg in all the other meals with a fat (15-20g i assume per meal?)

when this stops working go back to:

day 1: oats/pro one meal, pro veg rest
day 2: oats/pro one meal, fat/pro rest
day 3: same as day 1
day 4: same as day 2
day 5: same as day 1
day 6: same as day 2
day 7: same as day 1, but refeed last meal of day?
day 8: same as day 2... repeat

does this look about right to you? also on the last meal of the pro/veg days what would that meal look like? chicken+veg?

[Praetorian]

you lost me a little there at the end.. just to clarify:

for now keep oats in one meal, replace the veg in all the other meals with a fat (15-20g i assume per meal?)

when this stops working go back to:

day 1: oats/pro one meal, pro veg rest
day 2: oats/pro one meal, fat/pro rest
day 3: same as day 1
day 4: same as day 2
day 5: same as day 1
day 6: same as day 2
day 7: same as day 1, but refeed last meal of day?
day 8: same as day 2... repeat

does this look about right to you? also on the last meal of the pro/veg days what would that meal look like? chicken+veg?

No i guess i wasnt that clear....see below:

Drop oats completely now you dont need them...run 6 meals per day pro/fat with carb sources coming from nuts, PB, veggie etc in other words the Palumbo diet for a 200lb male. When you stagnate again (this may take a few weeks)...start alternating one day pro/veg for every three days pro/fat. The pro/veg day will consist of 6 meals three being whey isolate shakes with only water and the other three 7 oz protein (chicken, turkey, tuna, tilapia) with some veggies(1 cup green beans, asparagus, spinach). Have your refeed meal day 7 last meal of the day. Also remeber cardio is every day 7 days per week.
P

[fathead]

No i guess i wasnt that clear....see below:

Drop oats completely now you dont need them...run 6 meals per day pro/fat with carb sources coming from nuts, PB, veggie etc in other words the Palumbo diet for a 200lb male. When you stagnate again (this may take a few weeks)...start alternating one day pro/veg for every three days pro/fat. The pro/veg day will consist of 6 meals three being whey isolate shakes with only water and the other three 7 oz protein (chicken, turkey, tuna, tilapia) with some veggies(1 cup green beans, asparagus, spinach). Have your refeed meal day 7 last meal of the day. Also remeber cardio is every day 7 days per week.
P

THAT is clear. thanks

also on the palumbo diet, with red meat... do you drain the fat off (extra lean ground beef im thinking)

[fathead]

AND- is broccoli a suitable veg or too high in carbs?

[ubcpower]

When you transitioned to protein veggie these last 2 weeks your body got used to very low carbs. You then had two huge cheats (thurs and sunday) i would say you were holding water from this sudden influx of carbs/sugar AND compounded with your low water intake, 4 litres is nothing.

[Ritch]

maybe change your name to "skinnyhead"...

[fathead]

maybe change your name to "skinnyhead"...

i still wear a size 8 hat :(

[Praetorian]

THAT is clear. thanks

also on the palumbo diet, with red meat... do you drain the fat off (extra lean ground beef im thinking)

Yes drain it!!
P

[Praetorian]

AND- is broccoli a suitable veg or too high in carbs?

Its fine...1 cup chopped.
P