The "secret" to my success was exactly as the subtitle of part on says. "You can't outwork a shitty diet." I completely overhauled my diet and buckled down with obsessive determination, driven by the desire to compete in a lower weight class by means of healthy and stable weight loss. For a long time I relied on the excuse that I was "in shape enough" to "not need to worry about what I was eating." I could not have been more wrong. The bottom line is this. Imagine your current fitness level. Now imagine your diet in terms of what you eat. If your diet is not a healthy one, you may still manage to maintain what is to you an acceptable fitness level and physique. However, regardless of your current condition, imagine how great the gains could be if you actually bothered to control how much you ate and managed the nutrients you consume. The point should be clear. You may be "good enough", but is "good enough" good enough for you to settle on? For me, it was not.
The diet I followed was very strict. I DO NOT recommend such a diet for every day persons seeking to modestly "live healthier" or "get back into shape." Such a diet as the one I followed demanding to the point of near insanity and was only drawn up because the sports in which I compete mandate my body weight.
I did not bother calculating my Base Metabolic Rate (BMR) at my starting weight, nor did I calculate the current time it would take to acquire the appropriate caloric deficit needed to meet my weight goals over the given period of time; something I should have done and DO recommend to my clients. I started right off the bat with what I thought would be the minimum number of calories I needed. Then number was 1500 calories per day. I knew I would be losing a lot of weight and wanted to retain as much muscle tissue as possible to ensure that I was losing fat and not Lean Body Mass (LBM). I chose macronutrient ratios of 50% protein (187.5g / 750 cal), 25% fat (41.6g / 375 cal), and 25% carbohydrates (93.75g / 375 cal). Each day I recorded everything that I ate as well as the amount (grams or ounces), and grams of protein/fat/carbohydrates. I also planned on completely blowing my diet on a "cheat meal" twice per week. The reason for this is that it provides both and mental and physical stress relief while on a strict diet. There was no new-fangled, press-publicized "super food", or fad-diet that simply remains a "fad"... there was simply science and agonizing perseverance.
I did not adhere to any bodybuilding, isolation, or celebrity workout. I simply trained in the sports of my choice (Boxing and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu) for about 6 - 8 hours per week, as well as doing the same of strength and conditioning workouts I was having a client of mine (at the the time) do.
I did use a few supplements while dieting down. I made good use of Whey Protein both as a shake and in cooking/baking to keep my protein supply high and clean. I also used a multi-vitamin to ensure that while losing weight my body still had plenty of micronutrients to work with. In addition, I also used a Joint Health Supplement due to the nature of combat sports.
Problems:
What I found was that I ended up cheating on my diet. That is, I was eating more food than I was recording. That being said, I was still consuming few enough calories to loose the required amount of weight. About half way through the training phase I had a "coming clean" revelation where I began actually recording EVERYTHING that I ate. I did not bother to revamp my planned diet. If it ain't broke, don't fix it; as the saying goes... I was loosing weight at the sufficient rate to achieve my goal. There was no problem, just a lack of honesty with myself.
A later problem that I would find after the competition is that as I remained on the same diet, I was still losing weight. This would not typically be a complaint for most people, however, I had my ideal competition weight class in mind and (now being much leaner) could not afford (psychologically or physically) to attempt to force myself to loose more weight.
Post-Workout Blues:
What this expression means is that there is that competition drives us to remain dedicated to our diets. In a sense, it is more difficult to maintain a certain weight than it is to loose weight. This is because the aspiration of a goal gives us a mental edge to push us towards obtaining that goal. I HAVE to do this if, I want to compete at this weight class - or - I have to do this if I want to fit into that swim suit by summer.
Part III: The Story Continues
My next BJJ competition is scheduled for August 21, 2011 in Chicago. My goal is now not to loose weight, but to gain about 5 lbs and maintain that weight. My goal is also to maintain that weight in a fashion that is a lay-man's diet and does not require the obsessive recording of every calorie and macronutrient my body takes in. After much trial and error of the past few weeks, I have finally settled on a diet that I believe will allow my body to reach the weight goals I have in mind while keeping body mass lean and do so without obsessive documentation (though still with much effort). The "new" diet is documented below. The "General Guide" as well as serving sizes are all that is to be memorized and logged. I started with the basics. Daily Caloric Need, Macronutrient Ratios, and then The New American Diet by Scivation as a guide and general game plan, but not as a Bible.
6/21 Diet
2000 Calories
Protein | 40% | 200g | 800 cal |
Fat | 30% | 66.6g | 599.4 cal |
Carbohydrates | 30% | 150g | 600 cal |
Estimates
Meal | Protein | Fat | Carb | Cal |
1 BFST | 40g | 13.2g | 40.8g | 442 |
2 POW | 40g | 6.6g | 27.2g | 328.2 |
3 LNCH | 40g | 13.2g | 40.8g | 442 |
`4 BRK(2) | 40g | 13.2g | 27.2g | 387.6 |
5 SPR | 40g | 19.8g | 13.6g | 329.6 |
General Guide
Meal | ||||
1 | 5 serv PTN | 2 serv STRCH | 2 serv FAT | 1 serv VEG |
2 | 5 serv PTN | 1 serv FRT | 1 serv FAT | 1 serv VEG |
3 | 5 serv PTN | 2 serv STRCH | 2 serv FAT | 1 serv VEG |
4 | 5 serv PTN | 1 serv FRT | 2 serv FAT | 1 serv VEG |
5 | 5 serv PTN | - | 3 serv FAT | 1 serv VEG |
Information
STARCH serv = Foods Containing ~ 12 – 15g Carbohydrates
FRUITT serv = Foods Containing ~ 12 – 15g Carbohydrates
VEGETABLE serv = Foods Containing ~ 4 – 6g Carbohydrates
PROTEIN serv = Foods Containing ~ 6-8g Protein
FAT serv = Foods Containing ~ 5g Fat
*subject to change via caloric need and macronutrient ratios
**Some foods count as a serving of multiple nutrients
Free
One serv / Meal / Day: less than 20 cal, less than 5g Carb, Cream Cheese, Fat Free Mayo, Fat free margarine, Fat Free Dressing, Fat free sour cream, hard candy (1), sugar free gum (1), low sugar/lite Jam/Jelly, sugar free syrup
AND
ONE unrestricted meal per week
*I do not work for, get sponsored by, or specificlly endorse any of the supplements, websites, companies, or links contained in this post
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