Bodybuilding Forums

For me, I managed to drop from 17% body fat to 13.5% in 2 months.
I have yet to measure biceps, chest, legs, etc. but I have measured my neck which I managed to put an inch on

What are you guys' gains? How long did it take you to achieve them?

Wow thats pretty impressive!

Could you post a day in your MANS diet?

Started my journey in September 2008 just eating low-carb, then eventually went on MANS, then TSPA, then another round of MANS, and I'm on another round of TSPA.

I'm thirty-six, and a formerly obese man, so my changes aren't quite as radical as a younger man's might be. That said, I'm up from around one hundred fifty pounds of lean to an average between carb-ups and depletion of around 166 lbs of lean. My body fat is down from around 100 pounds of body fat to 50 pounds of body fat, with a target of around 18-20lbs of fat and an overall weight goal, if my lean mass doesn't go up anymore, of around 185. Of course, if my lean keeps going up a few pounds a month while my fat comes down a few pounds a month, my weight will meet somewhere in the middle between 185 and 215.

That's my fess-up: I was a really fat man. I'm getting less fat, but I'm not one of those bizarre three-month success stories who goes from obese to 3% in 90 days. Just a slow, methodical plodding toward my goal for me, just trying to make sure the body fat monitor + scale stats keep moving the right way. I'm really excited to see how much my real lean mass has gone up; four months ago, it was 162 lbs of lean, and today it's 166 (once again, averaging between glycogen depletion and full; my lean mass fluctuates a little over 4 pounds per week).

Just remember to keep track of the peaks and the valleys. If you're on MANS, compare your weight and body fat measurements to the same day last week! The Friday morning before your Saturday/Sunday carb-up is ideal to measure your depleted weight; the Monday after is ideal for measuring your fully-carbed-up weight. Compare peaks to peaks, and valleys to valleys. Comparing peaks to valleys is setting yourself up for despair.

--Matt B.

Spartan wrote:Wow thats pretty impressive!

Could you post a day in your MANS diet?

Sure This is a typical day, if we forget about the weekend carb-ups and mid-week carb spikes, my diet is like this:

6:30am - 4 egg omelette with ham and cheese (30g of protein)
8:30am - a few pepperamis, babybells or cheese strings depending on what I fancy (roughly 20g of protein)
11:30am - chicken breasts, fillets or strips (40g protein)
2:00pm - chicken breasts, fillets or strips (40g protein)
4:00pm - protein shake (60g of protein)
6:00pm - either burgers, steak, salmon or similar food (roughly 50g protein) with green vegetables

That's probably a bit protein-excessive as I weigh only 160 pounds, but more is better than less I'm thinking lol

lburnham wrote:That's probably a bit protein-excessive as I weigh only 160 pounds, but more is better than less I'm thinking lol

Sometimes... if you overeat on protein though, legend has it that it stresses out your kidneys, and science has it that it gets converted into stuff that causes the same reactions in your body as carbs (which is exactly what we're trying to avoid).

That being said, if you're looking to bulk up, yours is at the border of excessive but not quite. Usually 1g of protein per pound of body weight for an athletic guy gives you a reasonable estimate; somewhere on musclehack.com Mark has formulas to show exactly how much you need.

The MANS diet suggests your protein intake is your lean body weight in kilos and multiplying by 2.75. If you are following the Anabolic diet it suggests multiply your weight in pounds by 20 or 25 then what ever your calories are multiply by .35 then divide by 4 which is a lot more protein.

lburnham wrote:That's probably a bit protein-excessive as I weigh only 160 pounds, but more is better than less I'm thinking lol

Yes and no. According to the research I'm familiar with (unfortunately, so far with animals, not people), your liver begins kicking into gluconeogenesis somewhere between .5 and .7g of protein per pound of lean body weight, and converts it to glucose at a ratio of between .67 (high carb) and .75 (low-carb). It's a lossy process, though, with only around a .6 conversion ratio.

So let's play a math game for a second. You don't need it to lose weight, but it's fun to play with numbers. Let's assume you have 150 lbs of lean weight, you're low-carbing, and we're taking the high number from current estimates:

* Protein used whole by the body: .7g * 150lbs = 105g/lb . Protein remaining: 95g
* Protein converted to glucose: .75 * 95g = 71g converted at ratio of .6 efficiency = 43g glucose equivalent
* Additional protein used whole by the body: 200g - 95g -71g = 34g

Now, these are my current estimates based on my understanding of the research; it could be wrong. But basically, if you over-consume protein, you can be certain that some amount is going to be converted to glucose, driving up insulin and working against your goals. On the other hand, the best way to ensure muscle growth is to keep a steady supply of protein in your bloodstream after your muscles have enjoyed a hypertrophic workout within the last few days.

It's an interesting balancing act that may very well vary by person. Best of luck!

Note: The allegation that a high-protein diet causes any kidney issues for people with healthy kidneys is entirely unfounded and without any scientific merit. High blood urea is a symptom of kidney failure, not a cause. Additionally, the single greatest cause of kidney failure is diabetes, for which a moderate-protein, high-fat diet is the best treatment.

Ignore the "high protein kidney stress" arguments; they are totally specious and have been repeatedly disproved for people with healthy kidneys. Unless you are already in (probably diabetes-induced) kidney failure, your blood protein levels are irrelevant to kidney function.

--Matt B.

redgiki wrote: if you over-consume protein, you can be certain that some amount is going to be converted to glucose, driving up insulin and working against your goals.

It's like walking a tightrope! I'll have to spend some time readjusting my intake then.

What's great about musclehack is that it has taught me more about the human body than any high school science lesson

-L.B.

im using MANS to bulk up. So far, it seems to be working for me. I have gained 11 pounds in 6 weeks. 148lbs to 160. Now, weight gain has slowed but still making progress. My measurements seem to have gone up by 1/4 inches. Im eating the same thing every week though. But im so used to it that i dont mind.

when I was on it religiously, I was rail thin with good muscle mass.. began taking too much protein shakes during the day and gained some fat. in between MANS and just eating junk right now but still really lean. I am naturally lean and muscular, MANS makes me soo lean it freaks me out, though I am muscular I am really light (150) so I feel skinny when I drop too much fat. My goal is a solid 180ish with the same amount of bodyfat right now, about 9-10%. I like gorging on fat, protein and veggies but I get bored. Carb up days in the past sucked, too much sugar, not enough complex carbs. This time around, more veggies, more protein, less simple carbs on the carb up phase, less liquer and more rest between work outs.. oh, and a more precise routine then 'deadlifts, bench , squats' lol..