I'm not sure if I've hit a plateau or not since I came back from vacation. I was away for 2 weeks and after coming back was down another 2 lbs. Then I went right into taking antibiotics for a cold I had come down with from Mexico and didn't work out for a week (I'm thinking it was Montezuma's Revenge, but whatever.) Weight coming off has seemed very slow, almost like a fight now, where as before the vacation and cold things were super great.

My stats:

Sex: Male
Age: 34
Height: 6'4" (76")
Weight: Current 235 lbs. (Started at 270 lbs.)
bf%: using accumeasure calipers I get readings of, chest:21mm, stomach:22mm, thigh:15mm not sure how accurate that is. My scale says 22.1%.

So basically I didn't know much about diet etc. and was directed towards the sparkpeople.com site and it's been great. I tell it my age/weight/height and what I have time for each day and it gives me a rough guideline. How many calories to eat broken down into carbs/pro/fat plus it tells me to burn about 1500-2000 calories a week doing cardio of some kind. I ignore it's nutirent breakdown and try to adhere to a 40/40/20 split.

When I first started it recommended that I eat between 1910-2260 calories per day. I feel as though I've been in a rut with the weight loss since it feels like it's just stopped coming off as nicely as it was so this weekend I went back and re-punched in my current weight and target weight and now it tells me to eat between 1640-1990. BB.com's (B)RMR calculator tells me my daily caloric intake should be 2360. So, now I'm a little bit confused, since I thought it was bad for a male to go below 1800cals. per day.

I'm not sure if eating even less is the right way for me to break this plateau (if I'm even in one) although I have dropped the interval training on the elliptical and am just doing some plain jane cardio for 45min. at 65%-75% of MHR. 5X's per week, and I'm mentally trying to get myself to do it less but it's prooving very difficult.

Also bought a scale to weigh food portions so I'm no longer just eyeing things. Seems like I need to tighten up that area now. Here's a sample day of my food intake http://lexluther.shackspace.com/typical_day_now.pdf . I'm scratching my head trying to figure out how I can eat more protein without increasing calories a substantial amount. The only thing I can think of is that I'm eating too much fruit (on days when I have bought a bunch of new fresh fruit I may eat more of it before it goes bad.)

I would love some advice or insight so I can clean up my act and get to 215-220, which is when I'd like to perhaps turn to Swolecat for the final stretch if I'm ready for it. (I keep thinking I'm in the FFB club and not sure if I can follow all the simple 'eat more lift more' ideas people seem to toss around.)

http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=1167788

Read Absurdity #4....it might help.

You don't have much in the way of vegetables in there or complex carbs.
1/4 cup of cereal? You need more than that....trade out some fruit if you need to.

Ditto on lunch, trade out the cheese and yogurt for some brown rice/barley/sweet potato or mixed beans etc... to have with your tuna.

Fish oil....I'd be getting more in the way of 8 grams of the stuff spread out throughout the day.


as to calories....make it easier on yourself:

Cut - 10-13 cals per lb of bodyweight
Maintain: 13-15 cals per lb of bodyweight
Bulk: 15-18 cals per lb of bodyweight

so pick around 11 to 12 and see what it does for you. Remember that you didn't gain weight overnight, it isn't going to come off overnight either. It should be a long process, otherwise skinny-fat is what you'll achieve or wind up looking like a bone rack if you cut really deep.


Good selection of veggies to include with your meals:

FIBROUS VEGETABLES

Alfalfa Sprouts
Artichoke Hearts
Arugula
Asparagus
Avocado
Bamboo Shoots
Bean Sprouts
Beet Greens
Bock Choy
Broccoli
Brussels Sprouts
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Celery
Celery Root
Chard
Chicory
Chives
Collard Greens
Cucumber
Dandelion Greens
Eggplant
Endive
Escarole
Fennel
Hearts of Palm
Jicama
Kale
Kohlrabi
Leeks
Lettuce
Mache
Millie lettuce
Mushrooms
Okra
Olives
Onion
Parsley
Peppers
Pumpkin
Radicchio
Radishes
Rhubarb
Sauerkraut
Scallions
Snow Pea Pods
Sorrel
Spaghetti Squash
Spinach
String beans
Summer Squash
Tomato
Turnips
Water Chestnuts
Wax beans
Zucchini

taken from: http://www.mindandmuscle.net/mindandmuscle/magpage.php?issueID=16&artID=999181

I need to fix this fast.. and I'm not a big fan of this 1800 calories per day. I've been at it for a few months and I think it's caught up to me or something, cuz I feel tired too much of the time now.

The cereal is actually plain old oats that are measured in it's dry form (1cup when cooked), and I was just making it based on the serving size on the bag. This I will be changing. I think I'm gonna try to go a week at 2800 calories to see what happens. I'm just not sure if I should pass on lifting weights and cardio as well, or just continue with my current routine just up'ing the calories.

Usually 5 days of the week I'm eating a 120gram piece of salmon for dinner with either 1.5 cups of mixed beans (kidney, etc.) or a pretty decent portion of Asparagus, or a tossed salad that includes tomatoes, cucumber, onions all from the home garden. I just try to keep things mixed up. I'll be eating more oats in the morning, maybe a 2 serving or something (240cals.)

You really need to get your good fats up (Olive Oil, Avocados, nuts/nut butters, seeds,fatty fish).
Probably bring your carbs down
Get more fiber in your diet
Bring up overall cals (use the 10-13 guideline)


Usually 5 days of the week I'm eating a 120gram piece of salmon for dinner with either 1.5 cups of mixed beans (kidney, etc.) or a pretty decent portion of Asparagus, or a tossed salad that includes tomatoes, cucumber, onions all from the home garden. I just try to keep things mixed up. I'll be eating more oats in the morning, maybe a 2 serving or something (240cals.)
Your sample diet didn't show that.