Experience with dieting/looking sexy welcome!

[theroymccoy]

So I've been dieting for the past month and a half or so. Dropped about 25-30 lbs. Most of it was just from not eating delicious crap anymore (Roundtable Pizza you scorpion-woman!) and the rest was from the diet and cardio.

I seriously have no appetite. My plan was to do 6 meals...majority of the time I get 5. Assuming I want to keep losing bodyfat and maintain as much muscle, is it okay to rely on protein shakes? When I say 'rely' I'm not saying majority...I'm saying maybe 2 shakes (I've been doing 1 for post workout.)

I find myself having to force myself to try and eat that 6th meal...chalk it up to me being a huge vageen, or maybe I'm not making my food as appetizing as they should, the question stays.

I've been reading here and there and there seems to be 3 schools of thought:

1. You're missing out on the thermic effect of food = force feed myself = feel more miserable.

2. A calorie is a calorie...Dorian Yates once stated he would do 3 meals and 3 shakes for precontest at times = shakes are A okay if you don't have the appetite.

3. Go by hunger...if you're not hungry and still losing weight then what's the problem? Tom Platz once stated he would only have the appetite for 2 scrambled eggs for breakfast when it came to precontest = 5 meals is fine.

My strength is still pretty good and I'm still leaning out. Wondering if you guys had any experience with this, suggestions, or precautions I should take (when I say precautions I mean like, 'you might stagnate', 'progress might slow down so do this', etc.)

Much appreciated.

Sexually yours,

theroymccoy

[dice77]

I never do more shakes than food meals. Usually I'm at 6.meals a day, 4 food, 2 shakes. If I'm desperate for a meal I'll do 3-3. Right now the more real food I eat, the hungrier I am. Stoke the fiyaah...

What are your meal sizes?

[FK86]

Didn't Dante say Brad Castleberry lives off shakes because he has no appetite as well? He seems to be doing just fine, but is also clearly a genetic elite.

[trucelt]

when going precontest i always did 4/2 : 4 whoel food meals, and 2 liquid meals

[MachMood]

Are you on a keto or no carb diet? When I go no carb I have no appetite

[mentalflex]

Here is an interesting thought to entertain... Have you thought about taking a cruise from your diet for a week? Just chill and relax food requirements for few days.

This might make it easier to get back into your routine and feel normal and might even spark some new progress.

[theroymccoy]

I never do more shakes than food meals. Usually I'm at 6.meals a day, 4 food, 2 shakes. If I'm desperate for a meal I'll do 3-3. Right now the more real food I eat, the hungrier I am. Stoke the fiyaah...

What are your meal sizes?

I'm basing this off of 2500 calorie BMR so aiming for 2000. Assuming 6 meals, I broke it down to around 230 protein, 170 carbs, 50 fat (training days, I do DC so 3 times a week like this...fasted cardio days I probably keep everything the same and 50 carbs post-cardio.) Because I don't eat that last meal AND I don't eat as much carbs, I'm probably only getting 100 carbs, 50 fat, 190 protein.

1. 50grams of carbs in form of coach's oats + turkey bacon + egg whites = 40-50 protein.

workout

2. protein shake + 50 grams of carbs in form of oatmeal. I know I should do fast-digesting but I was lazy and didn't want to get cereal. past few days I did cereal + protein shake as my 'milk'.

3. 6 oz. post-cooked chicken + fish oil

4. 6 oz. post-cooked chicken + fish oil

5. 6 oz. post-cooked chicken + fish oil

I've been trying to eat some veggies but even then I don't really care for them. I'm having a hard time just getting the chicken in. Maybe my cooking sucks. Ima go to COSTCO and get some ground beef.

Didn't Dante say Brad Castleberry lives off shakes because he has no appetite as well? He seems to be doing just fine, but is also clearly a genetic elite.

Hmmmmm

when going precontest i always did 4/2 : 4 whoel food meals, and 2 liquid meals

How'd you like your conditioning? Was that by design or were you in the same boat as me as not having the appetite/time? If you could do more meals, would you?

Are you on a keto or no carb diet? When I go no carb I have no appetite

Interesting...well my training days I'm probably only 100 carbs...cardio days 50 carbs. My strength is not too bad even WITH the long ass cardio sessions (was doing an hour LISS fasted.) Then again, what is bad and what is good strength when dieting? I hit 455 for 6 reps on deads without a belt last week. I usually hit 495 for same amount of reps when my fat ass is full of Carl's Jr. and Roundtable Pizza.

Here is an interesting thought to entertain... Have you thought about taking a cruise from your diet for a week? Just chill and relax food requirements for few days.

This might make it easier to get back into your routine and feel normal and might even spark some new progress.

Sounds scary, lol. Have you tried this and if so, did it affect your progress for a contest?

I'm thinking of incorporating a SkipLoad as well...sounds too good to pass up.

[dice77]

I wouldn't be hungry bc I would be sick of all that chicken. LOL.

I get lean steak 6oz is 24 g pro 6 g fat. Also Jenny O exta lean ground turkey 4 oz is 26g protein 1.5.g of fat. Mix and match to meet your macros. Make some chili. Have your protein in a salad.

Variety might help. Your stomach might be sick of the same old stuff.

[trucelt]

How'd you like your conditioning? Was that by design or were you in the same boat as me as not having the appetite/time? If you could do more meals, would you?

you saw my contest pics...id say my conditioning was pretty good. i did it because i thought it worked well and was much more convenient. Plus the chocolate or chocolate peanut shakes were like a treat, esp when mixed in the blender with ice/water...

yoru diet is wayyyyyyyyyy to limited and lacks nutritional diversity. your getting all caught up thinking its jsut about macro nutrients but waht about micro-nutrients???

you know the kind you get from spinach and brocoli, and apples and raspberries and fish and beef and eggs and nuts??????

i would quit after one day on that diet.....

[mentalflex]

Sounds scary, lol. Have you tried this and if so, did it affect your progress for a contest?

I'm thinking of incorporating a SkipLoad as well...sounds too good to pass up.

Not pre-contest, but to help get my appetite going before kicking off a new blast. But eating junk type foods don't do anything for me anyway, well aside from a good burger or decadent sushi rolls...so just relaxing the quantity and eating by feel, until you are satiated.

I've also done the protein shake thing, even while dieting when I couldn't or didn't feel like eating, and did not feel like it took anything away from my conditioning.

But eating the same thing over and over might be one factor playing a role in killing your appetite.

[theroymccoy]

I wouldn't be hungry bc I would be sick of all that chicken. LOL.

I get lean steak 6oz is 24 g pro 6 g fat. Also Jenny O exta lean ground turkey 4 oz is 26g protein 1.5.g of fat. Mix and match to meet your macros. Make some chili. Have your protein in a salad.

Variety might help. Your stomach might be sick of the same old stuff.

How'd you like your conditioning? Was that by design or were you in the same boat as me as not having the appetite/time? If you could do more meals, would you?

you saw my contest pics...id say my conditioning was pretty good. i did it because i thought it worked well and was much more convenient. Plus the chocolate or chocolate peanut shakes were like a treat, esp when mixed in the blender with ice/water...

yoru diet is wayyyyyyyyyy to limited and lacks nutritional diversity. your getting all caught up thinking its jsut about macro nutrients but waht about micro-nutrients???

you know the kind you get from spinach and brocoli, and apples and raspberries and fish and beef and eggs and nuts??????

i would quit after one day on that diet.....

Trucelt, good to hear about that concerning your conditioning...feeling a bit better about this 2/4 shake/food approach...

And you guys are right, I gotta switch it up. No, I'm not really thinking in terms of macros...it's more in terms of laziness and me trying to do it on the cheap..."Welp, I've got $25 worth of chicken...might as well cook them all up while I still got this one bag of charcoal."

Not pre-contest, but to help get my appetite going before kicking off a new blast. But eating junk type foods don't do anything for me anyway, well aside from a good burger or decadent sushi rolls...so just relaxing the quantity and eating by feel, until you are satiated.

I've also done the protein shake thing, even while dieting when I couldn't or didn't feel like eating, and did not feel like it took anything away from my conditioning.

But eating the same thing over and over might be one factor playing a role in killing your appetite.

Oh I see...yeah I can definitely see that working. However, I'm kind of in the middle of this diet and want to keep it going. I figure if I implement the skipload correctly it'll be a mini "break", at least up until it becomes a chore as I get leaner.

Good to hear about the lack of negative on the conditioning in you two.

[LG1]

25 to 30 lbs in a month or so is pretty aggressive. No?

[theroymccoy]

25 to 30 lbs in a month or so is pretty aggressive. No?

Yup I agree...but as I stated above I've just been eating crap so I think reducing that a lot put me at around 185, then the actual diet/cardio put me down another 15 lbs to 170 lbs.

[martin_h]

interested in how you think your missing out on TEF?

[fatty]

it says above that not only did your weight go down but so did your strength. sure the weightloss is not too aggressive like the guy above said

i'm working with skip and he tells me to watch my strength in the gym to ensure i'm not losing lbm (well i assume thats his reasoning)