TT Eric diet log 2014

[Praetorian]

Eric I agree with Steve...enough dieting..there comes a point where the body has had enough and trying to push further will cause more harm then good. Concentrate on optimizing carb intake and get back to building some lean muscle. Drop cardio to maybe 5-6 walking session for 25-30 min only which will keep you lean and maximize recovery as well.

P

[TT Eric]

Thanks guys. You think I'm lean enough to gain until next spring ?

Eric

[steve_d]

Thanks guys. You think I'm lean enough to gain until next spring ?

Eric

You don't need to be lean to gain. Otherwise how do guys who never stay lean continue to put on muscle year after year (ex. most strongmen, many powerlifters). Some people (men and women) have gained from their early twenties to their fourties without having ever seen an ab in their lives. Even some bodybuilders are only lean for about 1 week after their contests. There may be studies showing optimal levels of body fat to better utlize nutrients uptake, but in practice it's not really as important as they might make it seem. It's just like any other research study out their. In clinical practice, just because we see some things being statistically 'significant' doesn't mean so much for an individual.

Just the same as you don't need to 'bulk' to obese levels to gain which some bodybuilders believe (or used to believe). All you need to be is consistent with your diet and training, and remain as injury free as possible.

If you find an example of people you might know that don't bulk and cut and who do not gain over time, the problem is not because of the lack of bulking and cutting. Even if their was an ounce of truth in the bulking and cutting, we're talking fractions and fractions of a pound of muscle difference in the long run - particularly for a natural bodybuilder. Just don't get fat by spring and you'll be fine. Aim for 1 pound every couple of weeks (perhaps more in the beginning as you regain some fluid and start to balance out). Once you are 190, certainly try not to gain more than a pound or so every couple weeks. If you get over 200, you've gone too far, or you consumed too much (at least from what I see as your goals). Staying under 15-16% is likely something you should aim for. This is also of importance from a health standpoint regardless of bodybuilding and particularly given your genetics. You shouldn't need to restrict too much to do so, and you should be able to gain as much as any other method doing so.

[TT Eric]

Hey guys! Perforated an eardrum (again) while doing free diving a few days ago, water is stuck into the middle ear (again) had to go to the clinic today because of pain building up instead of down, they took my weight, I was 178lbs on their scale with light clothing/sandals.

I do not have any bloating since the beginning of the vacation, I'm wondering if something in my regular eating habits make me bloat. I have 31'' shorts floating literally around my waist, it's held by the hips/legs.

I wanted to train but because of heavy pain I cannot so far (my heart is pounding in my ear). Maybe next week.

It really sucks to be in a paradise and cannot go into the water, I had planned to do at least 12-16 days of snorkeling/free diving, I did 4 and it will be it. It takes about 4-6 week to heal.

Eric

[TT Eric]

Ok I came back yesterday! I went on the scale this morning and I was at 170.8lbs so a loss of 10.2lbs since the last official day of the diet. As far as eating/exercising during the 3 weeks vacation, because of the tearing of my eardrum I did only ~6hrs of free diving instead of the 30-40hrs I had planned in the 3 weeks there, so a lot less exercise, I only hit the gym once last week and for the diet, I ate when I was hungry and stopped when I was feeling fed.

Typical day would be like this:

Meal 1: Protein shake

Meal 2: 3 eggs + 3 slices of bacon + 3 toasts + 1 cup of 2% Greek yogurt + fresh pineapple

Meal 3: Some carbs like a few cookies

Meal 4: 2 double meat hamburgers

Meal 5: 1 cup 2% Greek yogurt + pineapple + protein shake, sometime a few more cookies or similar treat

We had a great place for burgers made with Grass fed beef! And it was fairly easy to find grass fed beef and other organic meat.

I didn't loose fat, I do feel like a shrimp though, I'll hit the gym today. I will eat carbs peri workout and will keep fat a bit low for a week or 2 and see how it goes, I will start also another off season diet log soon.

Quick photo shoot, I look like sh!t, especially the back.





Eric

[steve_d]

Welcome back!

Your calories went up to about 2500-2800 per day (over 1000+ more than before). You've upped the carbs considerably and did far less exercise then previous (ie no gym, and no cardio). You must have done a LOT of walking while there. Otherwise the 10 pound loss is hard to explain! I wouldn't say you look like crap in the pics. You didn't gain fat, and perhaps look a little leaner, but hard to tell. You certainly don't look 10 pounds lighter. You have left the gym for a while, so maybe less of a pump to the muscle - although that wouldn't explain 10 pounds.

If you can eat like that and get to 170, I can't see how you ever got to 200+. Although if you asked me last month I would have said the opposite since you were eating half the calories just to stay in the 180s!

PS: are you the only one that goes on vacation and comes back with less of a tan! haha - maybe its just the pictures.

[TT Eric]

Thanks Steve!

Yes it's pretty hard to explain how I can double the calories and loose 10lbs. Plus I have move less then usual in vacation. The fact that we traveled with friends, made things much more slower, ie the girls were ready around 12h-13h and we we were back at 18h-19h because of the dark. Normally I would go free dive on my own all afternoon.

All I can see that affected my weight is partially due to the creatine that was out (but caffeine was out also) and like you said no pump at all, but it does not explain fully -10lbs. 2 years ago, after diet and vacation I was -2lbs and I moved a lot.

And LOL, it's a setting in the camera that is not the same, I have a good tan and a white butt, I never use sun screen.

Eric

[cog]

I could see a few pounds for creatine.

[TT Eric]

I went on the scale this morning (Yesterday I was in Mtl so I could not). I am at 172.8lbs so a gain of 2.0lbs. Since I had lost 10lbs, I've pretty much jumped right away to the diet I have planned to do after a transition time, this week was ~250g/pro, 60g fat, carbs 250g per day, carbs are in the peri-workout area.

This is with 15g of creatine everyday.

My strength went down even more, now it's pathetic, on the bench press I used the SAME weight I was usually using for my deload/easy week, I even did less reps then I would do normally. Also, even with 40lbs less, I wasn't able to match my numbers on chin-ups and dips...

Lost another .5'' of arms, 1'' of legs and 1'' of calves... now I'm smaller then I was after my 2012 diet.

I've been welcomed at the gym with 'Oh man, you lost a lot of muscular mass' - 'Oh Eric, you're smaller'...

I'm not too discouraged, but it's not fun. I hope it'll come back soon.

The fact that I've lost so much strength prove that I've lost some muscle, anyway I did not have 40lbs of fat & water to loose at the beginning of the diet.

Is it possible that the conversion of T4 - T3 was not very good during the diet ? I mean I did push the diet while my body was resisting/adapting fast and when I began to eat twice as before, I've lost 10lbs, maybe when back to normal the T4 - T3 conversion went full throttle ?

Or simply my testo just went down the drain like my Biosginature guy says ? (Libido is good though).

Just shooting theories, trying to understand.

Eric

[Praetorian]

I highly doubt you lost the muscle mass you think you did. If you were eating adequate protein which i am sure you were it is actually quite difficult to lose muscle unless you are doing something highly catabolic ie running long distances. Also most people under estimate the amount of weight they need to lose to get lean...this is very common. Fat combined with water loss can easily add up to numbers that are a bit of a surprise.
Naturally as you diet your test levels may drop...this is normal as well thyroid levels may drop again normal...this doesnt mean drastic muscle loss...if it did humans as a species would have died off long ago.

I wouldnt over complicate things and I also wouldnt worry too much. What I would do is create an off season plan, stick to that plan and shoot for a higher leam body mass about 10-12lbs from where you are now.
Reduced cell volumization can appear as muscle loss very easily...creatine, glycogen, water all contribute to this.

Stick to a year round plan...as an example 4 months dieting, 4 months lean mass gaining. and 4 months maintenance...this does many things...such as keeps your metabolism optimal, keeps you lean, makes dieting easier, makes lean mass gain easier, keeps you motivated mentally.

P