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Matthew 
Posts:174
Zoner
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| 03/17/2009 12:07 PM |
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<div class='NTForums_Quote'>Posted By Chad on 03/17/2009 11:11 AM
Hey Matt,
Got a question for you regarding CrossFit/Paleo/Zone. I started CF/P/Z in 8/08 as a 28 year-old male, 5'5", 140 lbs, 16% BF. Got my CF Level 1 Cert in 11/08. Now I'm 29, 125 lbs, 13% BF, and still building my CF "skills." Since starting CF/P/Z I've used the CF "small male" daily block recomendation of 16 blocks. Since starting I've always had my ups-and-downs with hunger and/or low energy, but the last month has been really bad. Evaluated my block intake and see that according to the Zone calculations, I should only be around 12-13 blocks per day. So I've cut back to 13 blocks per day and increased my fat intake about 2-3x. I've only been doing this about a week, but hunger and energy are still an issue. Also, being a "small male" I would like to add more muscle mass, but not loose the lean physique I've attained in the past few months. So my question is (finally)...in your opinion, considering my size, issues with hunger and energy, and goals to stay lean and add muscle, where should I be at with my daily blocks and additional fat?
Thanks!</div>
I am not a cross-fitter, although I do respect the CF crowd. My training is more along the lines of powerlifting, Olympic weightlifting, and combat sports.
You will also find that I tend to break a bit more than the other Zone dieters here and Dr. Sears protocols than a lot of others here. The bottom line is that if you are trying to gain muscle mass without gaining body fat, in addition to a well-designed resistance training program, you also need to eat a surplus of calories. Fred "Dr. Squat" Hatfield, recommends taking your FFM and multiplying it by two. In your case, this is roughly 220. 5 days per week, add 220 additional calories ABOVE your maintenance levels. 2 days per week, eat 220 calories LESS than your maintenance (a difference of 440 calories from your high calorie days). Make sure your high calorie days are on training days and your low calorie days are on non-training days. This is known as zig-zag dieting. This is the starting point. If your LBM is not moving up after a couple weeks of doing this, add an additional 200 calories to your high calorie days. Keep doing this until you start gaining weight. If you notice after a couple of weeks that you are adding body fat, back off a bit on the high calorie days.
Basically, you just need to make incremental changes to your diet if you want to put on muscle mass while maintaining present body fat levels. Add a little, give it time to see results, if you don't see results, add a little bit more and repeat the process until you see stead increases in muscle mass. For someone with relatively low bodyfat levels, particularly someone who isn't a novice to training, it is very difficult to gain any muscle mass in a calorie restrictive environment.
Also, I happen to believe that the basic caloric requirements of the Zone are far too small for someone who is strength training regularly and with the goal of trying to add muscle mass. The protein recommendations are probably fine. According to almost every activity + BMR calculators, my maintenance level of calories is at least 1,200 calories higher than what is suggested in the Zone. I have seen activity calculators that place my daily caloric requirements as high as 2,200 calories higher than what is recommended in the Zone. Even at the lowest levels of those calculators, there is simply no way I could maintain my muscle mass eating 8,400 calories less per week. Even if I were able to lose a lb. of fat per week doing that (3,500 calories), that means that I would also be losing about 2 lbs. of muscle per week because the calorie deficit has to come from somewhere... and that means breaking down muscle mass to supply the energy needed by my body. You just cannot get around the law the thermodynamics.
Most scientific research jibes with the idea that 0.8-1.0 gram of protein per lb. of LBM per day is sufficient (I tend to break with the Zone on the idea that consuming more protein than that, up to perhaps 1.5 g/lb. of LBM for some training regularly with heavy weights may not work even better). I also think that while the carb recommendations may be good in general, there is a huge proven benefit to eating post workout high GI carbs, particularly when trying to gain muscle mass. I usually eat a banana and another piece of fruit right after I workout with weights.
What I would recommend is that you stick to the high end of the protein/carb ratio suggested by the Zone. But then add in some extra pre-workout and post-workout carbs in addition to what is recommended by the Zone. Then slowly and steadily add additional daily calories (many suggest additional healthy fat calories) until your bodyweight starts moving up. A relatively easy way to add calories like that is to take a an ounce of EVOO and pour it into 6-8 oz. of low sodium V8 juice. This makes the olive oil easier to drink and gives you some good nutrients from the vegetable juice as well. If you do that 1x per day, you are adding about 300 calories per day (50 calories from a cup of V8 juice and about 250 calories from an ounce of EVOO). If, after a couple weeks to a month of trying this, it isn't working, add in a little bit more to your pre/post workout meal OR try adding a second V8 + EVOO drink. Make small changes over time, give the changes time so that you can measure whether they are working or not and then make adjustments as needed, incrementally. |
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Adam
Posts:2
Newbie
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| 04/12/2009 10:09 PM |
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Dear Sue,
First off thank you for all your time you dedicate to helping people.
I am 6'3" 215 pounds , I recently lost 20 pounds in last three months eating "healthy" and keeping calories between 2000-2700 and working out hard.
I recently started crossfit and was introduced to the Zone. Is there a calorie amount associated with # of blocks? I did a little math and came up with about 2400 calories for a 25 block prescription. I think the zone blocks might be more complicated than that......
wouldnt keeping calories in check be the secret to loose fat?
Thank you, Adam
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Adam
Posts:2
Newbie
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| 04/12/2009 10:13 PM |
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Dear Sue,
First off thank you for all your time you dedicate to helping people.
I am 6'3" 215 pounds , I recently lost 20 pounds in last three months eating "healthy" and keeping calories between 2000-2700 and working out hard.
I recently started crossfit and was introduced to the Zone. Is there a calorie amount associated with # of blocks? I did a little math and came up with about 2400 calories for a 25 block prescription. I think the zone blocks might be more complicated than that......
wouldnt keeping calories in check be the secret to loose fat?
Thank you, Adam
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Sue K
Posts:10512
Zone Expert
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| 04/13/2009 3:23 PM |
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Hi Adam!
You're welcome!
You're close on the calorie count. One fully balanced Zone block is approximately 100 calories, give or take, depending on what foods you use to make up the block. If you follow the Zone principles you'll be eating a calorie restricted diet, but there's much more to losing stored fat than then simply keeping calories in check. You can find the details in Zone books. TOXIC FAT and THE ANTI-INFLAMMATION ZONE are both excellent detailed resources. Good luck in the Zone!
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