Need help structuring a diet

[armsports]

A female friend of mine has asked me to help her design a diet to help her lose weight after the first of the year. Being a guy myself, most of my experience relates to helping other guys gain/lose weight in relation to their goals,"supplement" use, etc. so I feel a little out of my league here. I can tell you she only wants to drop 10-15lbs, is in good shape(lifts and does cardio), and won't want to use much in the way of supplements. She's thinking of about 4-6 small meals totalling 1500 kcal/day. She says her biggest problems are irregular schedule(works as a bartender) and the fact she eats a lot of low-fat foods which don't fill her up so she just keeps eating.
Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated.
P.S. she is 29 and her bodyfat is around 22% if that helps.

 

[Bob Smith]

How much does she weigh?

 

[armsports]

I'd have to say she's about 5'6" give or take, and about 130-135lbs. What's kind of funny is that I put her on an 8-week HST program and she gained a good amount of muscle and strength, but she did basically no cardio during that time so needless to say she didn't lose any fat. She's not doing much of anything now, just waiting to start back up in January.

 

[joe shmoe]

i'm far from an expert in nutrition, but i would think that a low carb diet, along with weights and cardio should do the trick nicely. is she doing her cardio upon rising on an empty stomach?

when you say supps, does she want to start AAS?

have a nice day

 

[armsports]

I had suggested before that she do cardio upon arising, but she was never able to work it into her schedule. She would never do AAS, and since she had a bad experience with ECA before, I would say even that is out of the question. Could someone give a little more specific info on what might work? Thanks in advance.

 

[Labrat]

A female friend of mine has asked me to help her design a diet to help her lose weight after the first of the year. Being a guy myself, most of my experience relates to helping other guys gain/lose weight in relation to their goals,"supplement" use, etc. so I feel a little out of my league here. I can tell you she only wants to drop 10-15lbs, is in good shape(lifts and does cardio), and won't want to use much in the way of supplements. She's thinking of about 4-6 small meals totalling 1500 kcal/day. She says her biggest problems are irregular schedule(works as a bartender) and the fact she eats a lot of low-fat foods which don't fill her up so she just keeps eating.
Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated.
P.S. she is 29 and her bodyfat is around 22% if that helps.

A few suggestions:

1. set caloric intake based on her body weight, rather than an arbitrary number. Depending on her activity levels, try 10-12 kcal/lb.

2. Set protein intake first: 1 g/lb. Then fat 15-25 g/day. The rest of the calories can be distributed as carbs and increased protein.

3. Try a Zone-ish type macronutrient composition: 33/33/33 (carbs/protein/fat). Most of the fat intake should preferably be poly- and monounsaturated fats.

4. Carbs preferably from low-glycemic carbs sources: vegetables, bran, grains, etc.

5. Eating 5-6 meals during the day is not really necessary. Three-4 meals is fine despite the bodybuilding lore. The research doesn't support eating many small meals throughout the day as any more beneficial than 3.

 

[Labrat]

I had suggested before that she do cardio upon arising, but she was never able to work it into her schedule. She would never do AAS, and since she had a bad experience with ECA before, I would say even that is out of the question. Could someone give a little more specific info on what might work? Thanks in advance.

Cardio first thing in the am on an empty stomach is optimal but not necessary. Alternatives are 20-30 minutes cardio after weight training, or 45 min on non-weight training days.

ECA and any supplements should be considered as Plan B. i.e. when bodyfat levels are low and trying to lose that stubborn bodyfat. Or when a plateau in weight loss is reached after a duration of chronic dieting (i.e. 'jump start').

I realize this is a steroid board, but neophytes using AAS just to lose weight, especially women, is not necessary. (I was going to say retarded, but I thought I'd be nice.) Diet and exercise are the best approach, especially for her goals.

 

[armsports]

Thanks for the suggestions Labrat.