Started TRT and looking for ripped abs

[AverageMan]

I see plenty of profile pics on this forum of guys of ripped abs. I know, abs are made in the kitchen, but I’m not 100% sure of what to make in the kitchen. I eat healthy today – I by no means count calories or carbs, but do limit carb and calorie intake.
What I eat today -
b-fast: 12oz steel cut oats with a banana and raises (no sugar)
lunch: Salad with grilled chicken breast. I won’t lie, I do slather it was a high calorie dressing like French or blue cheese for flavor.
Dinner: Lean meat and veggie – avoiding high carb foods like rice, pasta, potato, etc.
I do have the occasional piece of b-day cake and maybe a cheat dinner on the weekends. I’m good +80% of the time. Everything in moderation, right?
I’m on day 2 of low carb diet. Holy crap, all the healthy stuff I used to eat is now off limits – Bananas, oatmeal, fat free Greek yogurt due to high carb count. Man.. I’m just starving all the time, even right after a low carb dinner.
Workout: run 1-2 miles and lift 5x a week for 1.5 hours
How do the guys with ripped abs to it? The more detail the better!

 

[halfwit]

I see plenty of profile pics on this forum of guys of ripped abs. I know, abs are made in the kitchen, but I***8217;m not 100% sure of what to make in the kitchen. I eat healthy today ***8211; I by no means count calories or carbs, but do limit carb and calorie intake.
What I eat today -
b-fast: 12oz steel cut oats with a banana and raises (no sugar)
lunch: Salad with grilled chicken breast. I won***8217;t lie, I do slather it was a high calorie dressing like French or blue cheese for flavor.
Dinner: Lean meat and veggie ***8211; avoiding high carb foods like rice, pasta, potato, etc.
I do have the occasional piece of b-day cake and maybe a cheat dinner on the weekends. I***8217;m good +80% of the time. Everything in moderation, right?
I***8217;m on day 2 of low carb diet. Holy crap, all the healthy stuff I used to eat is now off limits ***8211; Bananas, oatmeal, fat free Greek yogurt due to high carb count. Man.. I***8217;m just starving all the time, even right after a low carb dinner.
Workout: run 1-2 miles and lift 5x a week for 1.5 hours
How do the guys with ripped abs to it? The more detail the better!

You would best served by posting in the diet forums with this kind of question. I can tell you that abs are made in the kitchen as you mentioned; which means you have some reading ahead of you.

Key points you're going to want to understand are BMR, TDEE, how each of the micronutrients impacts your body, catabolism, how a ketogenic diet works (you shouldn't be starving all the time), and other alternatives to diet if keto is too much for now.

I will state that I do not have chiseled abs yet, but after several years of learning as much as I can and busting my ass (in the kitchen and gym) - I will soon. Some guys are just blessed with great genetics, and then there's the rest that have to work for it.

 

[Jimstigator]

For me - low processed food is always my fastest route to abs... not restricting calories. Just eat whole foods and don't be scared of fat. Meat, veggies, fruits, nuts. No processed bullshit. Similar to "paleo" I suppose. That's it. My every day nutrition is basically that same thing, but I add in white rice after some workouts.

While not geared specifically towards bodybuilding, these books are my #1 recommendation when people ask me questions. Same authors... one is just newer and slightly more succinct. If you put that money/business part aside, these people have some solid information in their books. I've found it mirrors most of my views on food, without me having to type/explain it to someone. Albeit being a bit cheesy, I also like the 30 day challenge part. Anyone can do something for 30 days if they put their mind to it. After the 30... you have realized such great benefit you want to just keep going.

The Whole30: The 30-Day Guide to Total Health and Food Freedom: Melissa Hartwig, Dallas Hartwig: 9780544609716: Amazon.com: Books

http://www.amazon.com/It-Starts-Food-Discover-Unexpected/dp/1936608898

-Jim

 

[AverageMan]

Thanks Jimstigator and Halfwit for the replies. I’ve been on a paleo like diet for some time and it has worked well . I dropped ~20lbs and am down to a 31” waist. I still have a bit of belly flab that just won’t go away. Upper abs are starting to slightly peek out but lowers are in stuck in a witness protection program. I’ve never really “dieted” in the traditional sense (counted calories, etc.); I just make good decisions and didn’t eat crap processed food. I’ve hit a plateau and just can’t drop the last bit of belly flab, and at 39 I have mother nature working against me. Saturday I started a low carb diet. It was rough at first but now that it’s been a few days, things are going decent. I’m assuming it will continue to improve over time. To boot, the TRT hasn’t kicked in yet (just over a week since my first test Cyp shot; I’m on the 50mg E3.5D program). I’m told 3-4 weeks for it to kick in… So yeah, low carb diet and TRT that hasn’t kicked in yet; I’m a glutton for punishment I guess. I did order some test strips for ketosis on Amazon for 10 bux to see if this carb thing is really working.. Wish me luck! I’m continue to post progress updates as things improve.
I’m determined to be ripped by 40 (or sooner) without cycling. My wife says I’m having a mid life crisis.

 

[halfwit]

The mid-life crisis is when you trade in your car/truck for the new corvette and pick up a few girlfriends. This is just prep work for that... Muwahaha.

- another 39 year old on the path to glory before 40.

 

[Jimstigator]

Sounds good! Heads up - if you are going low (nearly zero) carb, with ketosis as a goal, you need to crack down hard and not be scared of fat. If you do it right, you don't feel hungry all the time. Most people get a lot of their calories from carbs... if you cut them completely, and don't somewhat replace them with something else (fat or protein), you just stay brutally hungry when it isn't necessary. From the description of your diet, not only did you cut carbs, you are keeping fats/protein pretty low... recipe for failure or at best... eternal hunger.

Not to get all nit-picky, but slathering anything in dressings/condiments like salad dressing, ketchup, or BBQ sauce will keep you out of ketosis. The levels of sugar in those things alone is enough to keep you off track. Further, those things are the "crap processed foods" you mentioned.

Last little point - in my past 10 years of playing with diet, eliminating all processed foods, as opposed to all carbs, has always worked better.

-Jim

 

[Jimstigator]

Below is what works for me, without fail, every time. Hard to sustain forever, but I pick a duration, such as 30-60 days, and just grind with zero exception. At the end, I add back in a few things I just don't care to be without, such as cheese, and carry on. I promise if you can do it for 30 days, you will see amazing results - busting through any plateau you might be on right now.

---

Eat meat, seafood, eggs, tons of vegetables, some fruit, and plenty of good fats from fruits, oils, nuts and seeds. Eat foods with very few ingredients, all pronounceable ingredients, or better yet, no ingredients listed at all because theyre totally natural and unprocessed.

Do not consume added sugar of any kind, real or artificial. No maple syrup, honey, agave nectar, coconut sugar, Splenda, Equal, Nutrasweet, xylitol, stevia, etc. Read your labels, because companies sneak sugar into products in ways you might not recognize

Do not consume alcohol in any form, not even for cooking. (And it should go without saying, but no tobacco products of any sort, either)

Do not eat grains. This includes (but is not limited to) wheat, rye, barley, oats, corn, rice, millet, bulgur, sorghum, amaranth, buckwheat, sprouted grains and all of those gluten-free pseudo-grains like quinoa. This also includes all the ways we add wheat, corn and rice into our foods in the form of bran, germ, starch and so on. Again, read your labels

Do not eat legumes. This includes beans of all kinds (black, red, pinto, navy, white, kidney, lima, fava, etc.), peas, chickpeas, lentils, and peanuts. No peanut butter, either. This also includes all forms of soy soy sauce, miso, tofu, tempeh, edamame, and all the ways we sneak soy into foods (like lecithin)

Do not eat dairy. This includes cow, goat or sheeps milk products such as cream, cheese (hard or soft), kefir, yogurt (even Greek), and sour cream with the exception of clarified butter or ghee

Do not consume carrageenan, MSG or sulfites

Do not try to re-create baked goods, junk foods, or treats with approved ingredients

 

[Jimstigator]

Another thought - no one size fits all. The approach I take is likely different than others around here. You can check out the member "3J" who does nutritional coaching for a fee. Users seem to love him! There are ads for his service on my sidebar, so likely yours too.

-Jim

 

[IMT staff]

can't get ripped abs without a really strict diet

 

[AverageMan]

Jim – you are correct. I started the first 2 days of Keto with too low fat intake. I’ve struggled with high cholesterol & triglycerides and heart disease runs in the family so I take eating a low saturated fat diet very seriously. I was able to correct this with diet changes and exercise.
I’ve made the transition to Keto and eating 70% of my diet with high fat foods. I performed the research and found that this diet will actually help keep cholesterol and tris in check.
Purchased some keto sticks and found I’m already in the moderate (medium purple) range. I’m excited to see the belly fat all off. Even in my super active 20’s I never had super defend abs.

 

[Jimstigator]

Jim – you are correct. I started the first 2 days of Keto with too low fat intake. I’ve struggled with high cholesterol & triglycerides and heart disease runs in the family so I take eating a low saturated fat diet very seriously. I was able to correct this with diet changes and exercise.
I’ve made the transition to Keto and eating 70% of my diet with high fat foods. I performed the research and found that this diet will actually help keep cholesterol and tris in check.
Purchased some keto sticks and found I’m already in the moderate (medium purple) range. I’m excited to see the belly fat all off. Even in my super active 20’s I never had super defend abs.

I started responding to you after the first few sentences, but then stopped. You got it. Like you, my family has all the above and then some. Grandfather died from 4th heart attack at 40, grandma had triple bypass, Dad had heart attack and triple bypass at 45. He then came upon type 2 diabetes. A year ago, he finally listened to me and bought that book I listed above. Did 30 days of whole foods, no fear of quantity or fat. He's 60 now, eats 6 eggs and loads of meat a day... his cardiologist is so impressed with his numbers he took him off all meds, started giving those books to his patients, and his diabetes is gone. He's at his high-school weight, feels better than ever, and went from a small pharmacy daily to no drugs.

Saturated fat isn't from quality foods isn't the enemy... processed foods and added sugars are.

-Jim