Hey so I've been on this deit for a while now. Im at my last 10 pounds and it has been extremely hard to get rid of it. I have now about 25 lbs in fat I would like to burn just a bit of it off. It's super tough once you get to those last couple of pounds, Im sure most of you know. My problem lately has been that I hit a plateau and I have not gotten results for almost 2 months. I have changed my exercise routine and Im also on my way to changing my eating routine (eating smaller and more frequent meals to burn more fat). I also want to gain some muscle before I play basketball again so I also added some protien to my meals. Hopefully these changes will break my plateau.

The big problem is that I cannot follow the diet 100% perfect for more than a couple of days. I heard that when you are at the last couple of pounds, that you cannot cheat. My schedule sometimes gets in the way of my eating habits especially when I go out with friends. For instance, last week I cheated about 3 times. Monday I ate Burger King( big mac & 5 nuggets, but no fries or soda), Tues I ate a honey bun, and then Sunday I ate frozen yogurt. Although I do exercise about 1 hr and 1/2 4 times a week (3 days of weight lifting, 1 day of cardio). I was wondering if any of you think this will interfere with my results. I tried to follow the diet 100% but to me its almost impossible =/ Please help if you can =)

alexander

Seems you know your body pretty well. I am wondering if you are gaining muscle. One liter of muscle would weight 1.06 kg (1060 grams) and one liter of fat would weight 0.9 kg (900 grams). In other words, muscle is about 18% denser than fat.

Have you taken measurements lately and made adjustments. When on the go I highly recommend the hand/eye method (aka dividing the plate into thirds) you simply use a full size dinner plate for meals and a dessert size plate for snacks. See: http://www.zonediet.com/tools/zone-classic

Yes I have actually. The thing is I have not gained muscle or burned fat in about 2 months now. I took my measurments yesterday and I lost 4 pounds but the inches around my stomach have not gone down at all. So I am guessing I lost 4 lbs in muscle. I have added 1 block to my shakes and added 1 day of cardio to my exercise. And like I said I cheat on the diet during the week sometimes. I explained an example of what my cheat meals look like above. I wanted to know if cheating would get in the way of me burning the last 10 lbs. I also do the hand/eye method everyday and its pretty percise Thank God because I am so over weighing my foods lol.

So far I gained about 12 lbs on the diet. I am 165 lbs in lean body mass and 25 lbs in fat. I lost about 15 lbs of fat, but I want to lose about 10 more. I want to get my body fat to about 7% and lean body mass to about 180-185. I am about 6'1 ft tall.

Alexander,

going back to your original post, I am just going to suggest that, at this point, it is all about controlling those insulin levels. Some people can "cheat" more than others (I am not one of them LOL). But, you will get out of this what you put into it.

Take a look at all of the times that you "cheated" and think of ways that you can prevent it in the future. Like, can you stop at a convenience store or a grocery store with a salad bar instead of Burger King? I agree it isn't the same as those golden fried nuggets, but the time it takes to make some healthier choices at the grocery salad bar is about the same as it takes to get through the drive thru, and you will have better control over that insulin level!

Bottom line, you know what you did, so take those experiences and try to brainstorm some alternative plans to keep you away from the bad stuff.

I feel a Food journal is a good idea at this point. Be honest and accurate and that way you can honestly evaluate.

Alexander,


I assume you mean you have gained 12 pounds lbm. Regardless, now you're at 13 % body fat. This is considered ideal. You may find it difficult to get to 7% body fat (BTW, that's something I would not advise) even if you practice the strictest adherence to the Zone diet 24/7.

Alexander,

I am just wondering if your goal is realistic? Are you an athlete? With the stats that you posted, you are at 13% body fat right now. The ideal male should be at 15% and the Zone recommends 8% for triathletes.

Using another table (not associated with the Zone), it recommends 14-17% for the ideal male (fitness), and 6-13% for athletes. Essential fat needed is at 2-5%%.

So, with these stats in mind, I am wondering if you have set an unrealistic goal?

Well at my 13% body fat I still have man boobs and a belly lol. So I think its not unrealistic to lose some more. And yes the 12lbs I gained was LBM. I am not exactly an athlete although I plan on getting back to my basketball routine sometime next year. Right now I do the exercises mentioned on my first post.

Right now I am at 165 lbs LBM and 25 lbs body fat. I want to be possibly 180 LBM and about 15 lbs in body fat. Is that unrealistic? again I am about 6'1 ft

Another thing I wanted to show all of you is an example of what i eat daily:

Breakfast: Bowl of mixed fruits (about 30g in carbs worth) and 2 eggs with turkey, cut up peppers & tomatoes and cheese.
Lunch: Whole wheat wrap with chicken, cheese, chopped peppers and broccoli or tomatoes, and about 6 ounces of mixed fruit on the side
Snack (Before I hit the gym): 1 cup of milk, protien powder, 1 tbs of peanut butter, 3 ounces of dry oatmeal. I also drink this a second time before bed.
Dinner: Fill half of my plate with broccoli, spinach, and cauliflower. 4 ounces of chicken or fish, and a small serving of mixed fruit on the side.

Although you haven't given all the protein food amounts and you haven't specifically described the extent of your workouts, for a person with your LBM who is working out it looks like like you probably aren't eating enough protein. If your workouts fall into the Active category in the Zone Body Fat Calculator (in Tools on this site) you need about 19 blocks a day. If Very Active you need about 21 blocks a day. Assuming those are 4 block meals and 2 block snacks that you described, you're getting only about 16 blocks a day right now.

I don't think your food selection looks too bad, I would recommend dropping the wrap and use some lettuce as your wrap it eat as a salad. Also, if your oats are not steel cut variety, that could add to it. Not sure what fruits you are having, so focus on berries. Other than that, it looks pretty good, so stay out of the fast food lane!

Re your goals, would love to hear what others think on that. Man boobs are probably more hormonal in nature, so Taking the approach of hormonal control will help.

Hi Alexander, I forgot that you posted you exercise here. What you're doing at this time would be considered the Active level.

Oh and I eat 36g of carbs, 28g of protien, and about 6- 8g of fats for every meal and I eat 5 meals a day. I workout 4x a week, I do cardio for 1 hr once a week, and I lift weights 3x a week. The days I lift weights I workout for 1 hour and 1/2. I go heavy and sometimes light to confuse my muscles. Im also sure I dont over do it with my weightlifting since my muscles usually take 2-4 days to recover. I used to eat and workout less before, this is a recent change I have made to my workouts in an attempt to burn a tad more fat and gain more muscle. One more question I have, how many times should I weigh and measure my self? weekly or bi-weekly?

One more thing I wanted to add is the mixed fruits I eat usually consist melons, blueberries, and grapes