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I need some expert advice regarding the all-round program which I have decided to follow religiously, please point out any discrepancies.

Goal: To build muscle and lose fat. (possible, please see)

Current Stats: Male, 23-year-old, 175cm height, 67kg weight

Estimations: ~ 20% body fat, TDEE (from the online calculator) ~ 2400

Past Experience: Been lifting moderate to heavy weights from the last six months. However, resting at the moment for one month because I underwent a surgery (everything is OK).

Workout Plan:

5 days a week (1-hour max/session), hitting body parts twice per week in the evening (except abs), and will be lifting heavy.

Abs (Whole core): Daily, first thing in the morning (for frequency, please see); 6 exercises (for workout routine, please see)

Cardio Plan:

45 mins walk on training days, immediately after the morning abs workout.

20 minutes HIIT on non-training days, immediately after the morning abs workout.

Diet Plan:

7:00 am (After the morning abs workout and walk): Shake (4 bananas, 1 cup milk, 25g Whey)

11:00 am: 3-4 boiled potatoes, beef kebab, 25g Whey.

1:30 pm: 2 Chapatis OR white rice with a vegetable curry OR beef OR chicken.

7:00 pm (Pre-workout): 4 bananas, 4 dates.

8:45 pm (Post-workout): 25g Whey.

10:00 pm: 3 boiled eggs with a glass of milk.

Note: The diet is going to be consistent, no cheat meals, no processed foods, minimal use of sugar and total abstinence from soft-drinks/juices/fast foods etc.

I am hoping to gain lean muscle mass and get rid of the fat I have, would this plan be useful?

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    It is seldom a good idea to follow something religiously. Maybe you have other goals, but many people work out to have a better life one way or another. If you have to eat the same stuff every day for the rest of your life and work out 5 times a week, something you weren't able to do before if I understand correctly, you might either become frustrated and unhappy and stop soon or develop serious issues later. Is this worth it? Try to get better in small increments and every day not by making big pans
    – Raditz_35
    Commented Jun 20, 2018 at 7:24
  • Adding on what @Raditz_35 said, this diet seems iffy to me. You said minimal use of sugar but you're eating 8 bananas a day? Each banana is ~15-20g of sugar. Which means, just from bananas, you're eating ~120g of sugar, which is high. I'd guess your daily sugar intake would be close to 200g per day with everything else. Sure, fruits are better than soft drinks/fast food/ etc, but sugar is sugar. Also, most of your protein is coming from whey, which isn't a good idea long term. You should try to get most of your nutrition from whole foods. I would definitely reconsider your diet.
    – Jun Kang
    Commented Jun 20, 2018 at 17:33
  • Not in my case, sir. I intend to lead a better life by keeping myself fit, even if it comes at a cost of missing out on tempting foods. I don't lift out of compulsion, but out of motivation. I enjoy what I do. I, however, become frustrated when I'm unable to hit the gym due to some reason. Hell, I want to workout on my off days as well. So no, I firmly believe that looking back at yourself in the mirror, daily, acknowledging at what you have achieved is a thing far greater than eating a chocolate cake. Anyways, thank you for your reply, we're two men with different priorities.
    – Zaitorious
    Commented Jun 20, 2018 at 17:40
  • Jun Kang, I thought sugar coming from fruits won't hurt. But thanks for pointing this out, I'd reconsider.
    – Zaitorious
    Commented Jun 20, 2018 at 17:45
  • That's a common misconception, but it really doesn't matter where the sugar comes from. Sugar is sugar. Obviously, drinking orange juice would be better than drinking a Coke, but not because fruit sugar is better. Orange juice is better because of the other nutrition/vitamins you would get from the fruit juice, while Coke is pretty much just sugar. If you got 50g of sugar from fruit and 50g of sugar from sodas, just in terms of the sugar, it's the same.
    – Jun Kang
    Commented Jun 20, 2018 at 17:50

1 Answer 1

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Recommendations:

  • Don't chase two things at the same time. Pick either muscle gain or fat loss as your goal. 6 months in is still relatively new to the game so even if you choose to lose fat, you'll still make gains. I would highly recommend you first lose fat as you're already at 20% (if that is accurate, leading to the next point).

  • I would get a DXA scan if I were you because calculations tend to be iffy. If your TDEE is actually a lot lower, you could be setting yourself up for failure.

  • Make sure you understand the concept of macros and cutting. TRACK EVERY CALORIE that goes into your mouth. Use myfitnesspal which is one of the best calorie trackers on the market and its free (or another one etc.).

  • Incorporate fasted cardio (walks are a good start but maybe find a way to up the intensity?) and look into intermittent fasting or caffeine in the morning. Your meal plan right now seems to have a lot of your food earlier in the day. Have you considered it might make you lethargic or spike insulin earlier? A lot of these factors might affect your ability to carry out your meal plan.

  • I think right now you're current meal plan is heavily carb focused and does not include much leafy greens/fiber. For example, your meal after your morning 45 minute walk/ab workout, you taken in 4 bananas, 25g whey and 1 cup of milk. 4 bananas alone is 420 calories and has 56g of sugar. Your shake comes out to over 500 cals. That's more than you'd burn walking. I don't know your food restrictions but I strongly suggest you watch the video I linked to get an idea of proper macronutrient splits. Time your meals according to your energy needs as well. Idealistic thinking will only lead you to jumping off the wagon early.

I admire your motivation and wish you the best of luck.

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  • A DEXA scan really isn't necessary. You can just estimate your TDEE, plan your caloric intake based on that, and then observe how your bodyweight and lifting performance change over a couple of weeks. If your bodyweight comes out less than expected at the end of the period, or if your lifting performance is worse than expected, add more calories. If your bodyweight comes out higher than expected and your lifting performance is fine, reduce the calories.
    – David Scarlett
    Commented Jun 20, 2018 at 23:36
  • @DavidScarlett definitely agree, if you can't get a DEXA you can experiment as you said. These days it takes 20 min to get them and in my view, it's worth it to have accurate data to save time if you can afford it (it's around 40 bucks in my area).
    – mobcity zkore
    Commented Jun 20, 2018 at 23:53

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