Hello Hermanites and feature friends,

My story (skip to the blue text for info about me, workout and mealplan)

My name is Hakan, 26 male student from Holland. I used to be chubby and that affected my personality. I was shy, insecure and introvert throughout my teenage years. Around my 18-20 birthday I decided to lose weight and came across a diet book where they simply tell you to eat 6 times a day (3 meals, and 3 "snacks" like appels, crackers, soup)

That way I lost some weight, I got me some contact lenses and got rid of my glasses. That way I gained confidence, I had my fist girlfriend on my 21th. Then I throughout the years I tried to lose more weight. I wanted to have a six-pack, and I still want it.

When I started I was around 81kg (178.5lbs) and now I'm 66kg (149.9lbs). My weight loss journey was not always a descending line. I had setbacks, gained weight and always got stuck around the same weight 73kg (160.9lbs).

My last attempt was a 10 day sport fasting. That made me lose some weight and now I'm at my lowest weight and fat percentage right now. Before I started my body fat was 11% (measured home with a clipper on myself) and after the 10 days my body fat is 9%. My waist got smaller too.

My goal is to have a body like David Beckham/ Christiano Ronaldo. Athletic lean body with not to big muscles.

My problems:
I want to achieve it fast
I want to see results every month
My waist is flabby and can’t get it tight

In the 10 sport fasting period I hit the treadmill every day for 30 min with a consistent heart rate of 157 bpm. Now I'm trying to track 5 times a week for 20-30min after my workout.

1. 26 years old male
2. 169 cm (5'6 in)
3. 66kg (149,9 lbs)
4. 11% fat (self meassuerd with a clipper)
5. 13% fat (gym meassured with a clipper)
6. Goal is to lose fat and grow visible muscles specially abs (like David Beckham) Athletic body typ)
7. Exersizing for about 8 years with very long periods of irregular or not exersizing
8. I used an excel sheet that is based on Harris-Benedict and Katch-McArdle to callculate my daily calories for cuttingI have no injuries or restrictions
   1. Target = 286g carbohydrates, 171g protein, 51g fats - Total: 2268kcal
   2. Actual = 189g carbohydrates, 141protein, 46 fats - Total: 1738kcal

How I look Now

Workoutplan

Mealplan

This is where it gets complicated a bit and I find this the hardest.

Breakfast

Yoghurt with fruit, cinamon and 2 tbs oatmeal

For in between

1 fruit + proteinshake

Lunch

Salad with Tuna and olive oil and lemon juice

For in between

Hand full rawunsalted nuts

Dinner

Brown rice, vegtables and chicken breast with spices

Before 8pm

Cucumber + protein shake

Problems with my mealplan.

• I dont reach my calories goal (see point 8 above)
• There is not much variation
• Rice (carbohydrates in the evening is not smart, before I go to sleep. I Dont need carbohydrates then right?)
  
• In 3 weeks I consume 60 dollar worth of nuts and as a student I cant aford that anymore, so where can I get my fats in large amount and for cheap?

Can't wait to hear your opinions and tips guys!

PS: If you read this Scott Herman. I would be gratefull if I could get your support and maybe join the Lean Muscle Program of yours.

Hey Hakan! Welcome to the site!

Do you play soccer by any chance? :P

About the problems you listed...

1. You want it fast. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but getting a chisled physique and overall great body takes time. It won't happen overnight. Consistency with your training and meal plan will bring you results, the key is to stick with it over a period of time to get maximum benefits.

2. You can absolutely see results every month, so long as you are consistent. Given you have been training fro 8 years on and off, you may not see as fast results as you did to being with, but you can still make impressive gains month by month.

3. Unfortunately, you cannot spot reduce body fat. So even with all of the cardio you are doing, you won't necesarilly lose fat around your stomach area, and in fact you will probably lose that fat last. The joys of being a male :) The ab work you are doing is good though, and will certainly help you tighten up your stomach.

My guesstimate would be that your body fat levels are about 13-18%. Once you get that lower, your abs should start to show.

When you say you don't want 'big muscles', do you mean you don't want to add any size at all to what you have at the moment, and are mainly after some tonage? If so, getting toned will also come down to lowering your body fat percentage, while you may want to consider total body workouts once or twice a week along with your splits, and possibly slightly higher repetitions - closer to the 12 rep range per set.

I think your carbohydrate number for your actual meal plan (189g) is closer to the amount of carbs you should be aiming for. Given you want to lean out, you'll want to possibly lower the carbs even further to about your body weight in lbs - so about 150g carbs. Therefore you will want to increase your protein and fat a bit.

Try and eat in a caloric deficit of about 250 calories BELOW your maintenance calorie number. You can learn more about how to structure your meal plan here:

If you're worried about variation with your meal plan, you can always substitute your chicken for fish or red meat on occasions, or simply switch up the spices you use.

You're right about the carbs before bed - try to avoid that, although only if you are not working out in the evening. If you are using your rice meal as your post workout or preworkout meal, that is fine. Your body isn't too concerned with when it gets food, just that it gets enough in the right amounts.

Other fats you could use are oils (extra virgin olive oil and/or coconut oil), eggs, avocados or oily fish like tuna or salmon.

Hope this helps man. Any more questions be sure to post again!

Jordan

Thanks for your reply Jordan,

I do not play soccer no, the shorts are a gift, I use them just to hit the gym. :)

I definitely want to add size to my muscles, but I do want to keep losing fat while I'm doing that.

What would be the benefit of total a body workout in comparison to splits?

I have a weak core and I hear that compound exercises are perfect to make my core stronger. Maybe that will help me with tightening my waist too? My waist is extremely flabby, it drives me crazy..

About lowering my carbs, won’t that make me feel tired the rest of the day? I experienced that after the gym I feel pretty beat up and don’t want to do anything, not even homework for the university. What can I do for this problem?


In the Building your meal plan! of Scott he says, that if I want to lower body fat and maintain muscles size I have to consume lesser Protein then I would when I want to grow my muscles.

But I want to grow my muscles and lose weight. So how much protein should I be eating? (multiply it with 1gram protein per pound of lean weight or 1.5?) Same goes for the fat.

With the help of the video I calculated my daily macro intakes:


weight: 66kg - 146 pound
body fat: 15%
fat weight: 9,9kg - 21,9 pound
Lean weight: 56,1kg - 124,1 pound
BMR at rest: 1645,77
BMR in motion: 2550,94
Average BMR : 2098,355

2100 - 500 = 1600 calories

Protein
1g per pound lean weight
1 x 124= 124grams

Fat
0.35 per pound lean weight
0,35 x 124 = 43,4grams

Protein 1 gram = 4 calorie
Carbs 1 gram = 4 calories
Fat 1 gram = 9 calories


Protein 124 x 4 = 496 cal
Fat 43,4 x 9 = 390,6 cal

496 + 390,6 = 886,6 cal

Carbs calories 1600-886 = 713,4 cal

Carbs in grams 714 / 4 = 178,35 grams


Protein 124 grams 496 cal
Fat 43,4 grams 390 cal
Carbs 178,35grams 713 cal
--------------------------------------------
Total 1600cal

Lowered the carbs to 100gram for fat loss and raised my protein and fats.

Protein 180 grams 720 cal
Fat 54 grams 486 cal
Carbs 100grams 400 cal
-----------------------------------------
Total 1606cal


The big question is, is this realistic 1606cal a day, without losing muscle and even gaining muscle?

Thanks for your time guys, I really appreciate it!

Hakan

Hakan,

Jordon covered a lot of what I would have replied. I would add the following:

1) Weight and fat loss, to be permanent, needs to be gradual. No more than .5 to 1kg per week. Any faster than that, and you are losing muscle. Rapid weight loss also shocks your metabolism and triggers a survival response. In this scenario, you can gain weight back faster and in larger amounts than you had before. DO NOT crash diet, starve yourself, or try for rapid weight loss so as to avoid this problem.

2) Muscle is active tissue burning calories even at rest. The more muscle mass you have, the more calories you will burn. I would have a goal to increase your muscle mass. Beckham and Ronaldo have the physiques they have because playing soccer is like constant HIIT cardio training thus they don't need a lot of muscle mass to stay lean.

3) Body fat is lost evenly across the entire body. This means the last areas to get lean will be the ones that have the most body fat. This is usually the waist/lower back, and side of chest/underarms on average males. You must be patient and persistent with your meal plan and exercise routine to get totally lean - it does not happen fast. It will take 6 months to 1 year or longer to do it right.

4) Full body workouts are outstanding for getting lean because you burn more calories than muscle split routines. The more muscle groups you train in one workout and the more compound exercises you do the more calories you burn. Compound esercises also cause a bigger spike in testosterone and growth hormone levels which induce muscle gain and fat loss. I do 4-day a week PUSH/PULL full body workouts. Mon and Thu are PUSH (Quads, Chest, Triceps, Calves, Abs) and Tue and Fri are PULL (Back, Biceps, Shoulders, Hamstrings, Abs). They are 60 minute workouts and I do all exercises as supersets, drop sets, or giant sets. You need to work up to this intensity and volume but the key to getting lean is not the amount of weight you lift but rather how much you lift over time with short rest periods (volume).

5) Carbs are the one macro you need to manage. Complex carbs in the 1g per pound of body weight range is a good starting point. For you, this would be about 150 - 160 grams based on your current weight. Carbs are good and important just keep them wholesome and complex and don't eat more than you need when trying to lose body fat. A surplus of carbs is needed when you want to add muscle mass and body weight. Don't get too caught up in total calories. Calculate your macros based on your lean body mass and keep the protein high, the fats moderate, and the carbs in the 1g per pound of body weight range. The extra fat will be used as fuel and fill in for a lower carb meal plan. Maintenance level will keep you exactly as you are. Cutting back 250-500 calories off maintenance level from carbs will help you lean out. Obviously, total calories consumed should not exceed your maintenance level to lose fat. You just need to manipulate the carbs and make up any calorie deficit from lower carbs with fats.

6) Other good sources of healthy fats are olive oil, oily fish (salmon, tuna), egg yolks, avocado, coconut oil, flaxseed meal. Don't eat nuts exclusively because the fat and cost add up quickly. Cook with olive oil and eat whole eggs. If you can afford some oily fish, work that in once or twice a week. Add a couple of tablespoons of coconut oil to a meal or your protein shakes. Nuts are fine as well it is just better to have a variety in your diet.

7) The best time to eat the majority of your carbs is right after you workout. Eating a large meal right before bed if you are not doing intermittent fasting (IF) is not adviseable.

8) Keep your protein intake high - 1.2 to 1.5g per pound of lean bodyweight - to keep you in a positive nitrogen balance so you will preserve muscle and burn fat.

Hope that helps clarify some of your questions :-)

John

John has given you all the advice you need.

In answer to your question about compound movements, yes they will give you a stronger core. When performing compound movements, you need to engage your core and keep it tight to stabalize yourself during the movement. Therefore it plays a big part in compound lifts.

However, those in themselves will not necesarilly shed your unwanted belly fat. That all comes down to proper nutrition firstly, and it will take time for you to lose it around the stomach area, as John pointed out.

About the protein, that is the one macro you should try not to tamper with too much. Even on rest days you should eat about the same amount of protein, because any excess protein won't be stored as fat.

Jordan

Thank you Jordan and John!

I think I can come pretty far with the info you guys gave me, thanks!

But I do have couple of question regarding your replies:

@jmboiardi

If I want to grow my muscles, cant I do 3-4 sets with low reps like 8 and afterwards do a HIIT training to burn fat. Will that work?

I dont want to burn fat by lifting, I want to lift to get bigger, and do cardio to burn fat. Whats your opnion on this?

@joehurricane

"About the protein, that is the one macro you should try not to tamper with too much. Even on rest days you should eat about the same amount of protein, because any excess protein won't be stored as fat."

So you I increased my protein, does that count as tampering too? Or are you trying to say that I need to take my minimum amount of proteins for maintaining my weight even on the days rest days?

Hakan

Hey man.

Increasing your protein was a great idea, that wasn't the kind of tampering I was talking about. Once you have a protein number that is giving you the desired results, then try not to lower it past that point.

So at the moment you have a goal of 180g, so even on your non-training days, try to make sure you hit AT LEAST that number. And if you ever find yourself needing to lower your overall calories, try and take away some carbs or fat, rather than protein.

So yes, always eat the minimum amount of protein, but aim for more than the minimum, aim closer to the maximum. You are better off eating more protein when you are trying to lean out, like I said, due to protein not being stored as fat.

Hope that makes sense!

Jordan